Before me, a dying man lies on a futon, staring at me.

No, judging by the grotesque bruises and bandages covering most of his face, he likely can't even see me properly.

A woman sits close beside him, supporting his shoulders as he struggles to sit up.

Without her, he probably wouldn't even be able to remain upright.

His breathing is labored... the same ragged sound I've heard countless times from those on the brink of death.

Blood seeps from his eyes and mouth—left alone, he would die soon enough.

He teeters on the edge of death.

Even so, the man—Ubuyashiki—looks straight at me.

"Do you… wish to defeat me…?"

Ubuyashiki speaks, saying that he should have died half a year ago.

And yet, he continues to live—for one reason alone.

To defeat me... Kibutsuji Muzan.

"You may not… know this… but… you and I… share the same bloodline…."

"You were born… over a thousand years ago… so our blood is no longer close…."

"But because… our family gave rise to a monster like you… we have been cursed…."

He speaks of fate—the consequences of my transformation into a demon.

The Ubuyashiki bloodline is doomed—no one among them lives past the age of thirty.

And to break this curse, they must dedicate everything to my destruction.

A shared bloodline…?

Is that why this mansion feels so strangely familiar?

I remember—long ago, when I was still human—lying on a futon, gazing at a garden, just as Ubuyashiki does now.

Even though it was a thousand years ago, the emptiness, the helplessness I felt then... I recall it as if it were yesterday.

"…For a thousand years since I became a demon, you have endured?"

"That’s right… We created the Demon Slayer Corps for that very purpose… generation after generation…."

"To defeat you, the progenitor of demons… Kibutsuji Muzan—! Guh—!"

Coughing up blood, struggling to breathe, Ubuyashiki forces out his words.

"…I see. So you believe… I should die?"

I close my eyes.

To collect my thoughts.

"I don’t expect you to simply accept death…."

"But tell me one thing."

"Muzan… what dream do you live for?"

"A dream…?"

"Or, if you prefer… a purpose… What is it that you seek?"

"A purpose huh? Then, let me ask you in return."

I open my eyes and quietly pose my question.

A thought that has lingered within me for so long.

"When faced with the choice between life and death, why do humans like you always choose death?"

I've seen it countless times.

Time and time again, I've witnessed that incomprehensible sight.

"For a loved one, for a friend, for a child, for a parent… for the future."

Stepping forward, I press my foot into the gravel of the garden, drawing closer to Ubuyashiki.

Crunch–

"No matter how beautifully you dress it up with words, in the end, it's someone else's problem.

Why stake your life on it?

Why can you sacrifice yourself without hesitation?

For a thousand years… I have never understood."

"Muzan… you…"

For the first time, Ubuyashiki’s composed demeanor wavers.

He turns toward me, appearing uncertain.

Though his blood-filled eyes see nothing, I feel as if he is gazing into something within me.

"…I think it is admirable. I even find it noble.

Even when ravaged by such an affliction, your will remains unshaken.

I respect you for that, Ubuyashiki.

Your obsession, your resolve to ensure that your curse does not burden your children.

…If I were to give you my blood now, you would live.

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I could give it to your family as well.

What do you say, Ubuyashiki?"

A single question from me to him.

"You already know the answer, don’t you?"

His refusal doesn't even need to be spoken.

But of course, I already knew.

"…I expected as much."

Many humans, when faced with death, have taken my offer.

But people like him—men of his nature—rarely ever do.

"Magnificent… this is human strength, the brilliance of life…

Few humans are as strong as you.

Standing at the precipice of death, without hesitation, without fear.

For the sake of the future, you cast aside your own life without a moment’s doubt…"

I offer him genuine praise.

He is an extraordinary man.

Because of me, he has suffered. He must have been in agony.

Surely, in truth, he wishes to make me suffer, to kill me with his own hands.

"I do not… believe I am throwing my life away.

It will continue… my life… my will…

Just as my family has carried it forward until now… my children… will inherit it…

Human will is eternal. It is indestructible."

Even so, Ubuyashiki truly believes that it doesn’t matter if he himself fulfills his long-held desire.

As long as I die and the future continues, that is enough.

And as long as the future carries on, his will shall be passed down endlessly.

"…I do not understand. No, I do understand.

That is human strength—this ability to pass down one's will and create something new."

"…If you understand that, then why… why do you…?"

"Even so, that is only something I can comprehend when looking at it from the outside, as a mere observer of events that do not directly concern me.

Even if someone tells me that my death would save people… I cannot choose to die.

I cannot choose to sacrifice myself, to protect something, to pass something on."

Ubuyashiki falls silent.

I offer him my answer once again.

"You asked me about my purpose, Ubuyashiki? Very well, I shall answer you.

I have no purpose. I live simply because I do not want to die."

At my response, Ubuyashiki forces out his words.

"…You consume humans as a demon, prolonging your existence… and you call that living?"

"It does not matter whether I am cursed or despised.

It does not matter whether I am no longer human.

Even if I am monstrous, I could not care less.

What I fear is the loss of my self.

If before me lay the choice between life and death… I would never choose death."

"…And so we are to suffer in your place?"

"It is not that… I am indifferent to it."

It was the first time I had heard of it—that the curse of my transformation into a demon had been passed down through my bloodline.

I had always known that the Demon Slayer Corps was obsessed with my destruction.

To fight against the threat of demons, to avenge those who had suffered, to strike down their enemy for countless reasons…

It had always been a mystery to me why their ranks never diminished.

Even when Kokushibo once took it upon himself to slaughter many of their key members, their numbers soon swelled again.

I recall the irritation that twisted his six-eyed face.

"But… if you ask me whether that would make me choose to die, my answer is no."

Now that I think about it, Ubuyashiki’s frail form reminds me of my own past self, lying sick in bed.

When I first became a demon… I no longer remember my exact age, but I was not much different from Ubuyashiki now.

It seems that the curse upon his family forces them to endure the same suffering that my human self once did—the suffering I should have endured.

Had I not become a demon, I would have died soon after.

Even then, I had already lost the strength to stand on my own.

"But… if gods or Buddhas exist, they are cruel indeed.

If retribution must be given, it should have been given to me directly.

…In the end, there are no gods or Buddhas, are there?"

To think that the powerlessness I once felt has now been forced upon my distant kin…

Even I cannot help but feel something stir within me.

Whatever force is responsible… it is truly malicious.

"…No, you will face the consequences of your cursed existence."

"…What?"

"You have already… stepped on the tails of sleeping dragons and lions.

Perhaps not you, yourself.

But the demons you created have given birth to countless tragedies.

Muzan, the time has come for you to pay for your reckless, irresponsible existence.

My beloved children… will be the ones to bring retribution upon you."

"…So you acted as bait?"

The woman supporting Ubuyashiki's shoulder flinched slightly.

Ubuyashiki himself merely smiled, showing no reaction.

"I can smell gunpowder… far more than enough to blow this estate to pieces.

Are you truly planning to take yourself, your wife, and your daughters with you in the explosion?"

The two daughters, who had been playing innocently in the garden, now stood still, gripping a ball in their hands.

Their mother, too, stood beside them.

All three looked straight at me.

In their eyes, I saw unwavering resolve.

"Even knowing this… you still chose to engage in conversation with me?"

"…Yes. I believed it was the least I could do for the man I was willing to stake my life against."

"Hah… is that so?"

For the first time, Ubuyashiki's smile was different—somehow more carefree, almost frivolous.

"Perhaps… you are not as evil as we had thought you to be.

It seems my intuition… was not as reliable as I had hoped…"

…What nonsense.

"Are you suggesting that I, who have devoured humans and created man-eating demons, am not a villain?"

"Yes… You have killed countless people, no doubt…

But we, the Ubuyashiki family, have also sent countless children to their deaths.

I have no regrets about it… yet, whenever a death report arrives, I can't help but think—

Am I not just the same as you, in taking so many lives?"

"I have never once believed myself to be righteous…

But if what I have done is to be called evil… then I must be— cough, cough!"

"Foolishness."

What absurdity.

It was none other than what he had just told me moments ago.

"Whether good or evil, you upheld your conviction to the very end.

There was not a single falsehood in it.

Was it not the will of humanity to be passed down?

Was your conviction so feeble that it wavered now?

If so… perhaps I should kill you with my own hands before you die in the explosion."

Ubuyashiki seemed taken aback by my words, but soon lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.

He coughed up a particularly large clot of blood and then grinned.

"Heh– haha– To think you would be the one to console me.

Ah… Muzan. I never imagined I would have such an enjoyable conversation with you in my final moments."

The presence of fire grew stronger.

It was likely only moments before this entire estate would be engulfed in flames.

The man before me, his wife, and his daughters must have known this.

And yet, they looked at me with nothing but calm determination in their eyes, as if they were simply going about their daily lives.

—Up until that moment, I had intended to escape just before the explosion.

But suddenly, I changed my mind.

I wasn’t sure what caused it.

"Ubuyashiki."

"…What is it?"

"Tell me your name, one last time."

Ubuyashiki let out a small chuckle and composed himself slightly.

"I am Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the 97th head of the Ubuyashiki family."

"I am Kibutsuji Muzan, the progenitor of man-eating demons.

Kagaya… As long as I remain myself, I will never forget your name."

"That… makes me happy."

"…Kagaya, in honor of your resolve, I declare this now.

The long-standing feud between demons and the Demon Slayer Corps… will be settled here and now.

By tomorrow’s sunrise, only one side shall remain—either us demons or the human Demon Slayers."

The explosions had begun.

Flames roared, consuming everything—the futon where Kagaya lay, the garden where his daughters stood—everything was within the blast zone.

As the fire engulfed all, Kagaya—

"Thank you, Muzan."

—was smiling.

A radiant, unwavering smile.

The deafening explosion followed, flames swallowing me whole.

The intense heat melted and burned my body, yet strangely, my heart remained still.

Surely, I should have died long ago…

Perhaps when I became a demon.

No, even before that—when I killed the doctor.

And yet, I had lived.

I had continued to live…

If I were to be completely incinerated here, that would be the rightful end.

All I had to do was relinquish my strength, lie down, and let it happen.

That was all it would take.

And yet—

"Even so, I do not want to die."

Amidst the all-consuming flames, I recalled the path I had walked—

The long, relentless path that had brought me to this moment.