[Seiji's POV]
"So what's your next move?" I asked, or should I say, final move?
Muzan and Kokushibo looked around cautiously before they turned to me as some sort of unspoken leader.
And then...
The answer came in the form of a biwa string being struck. I could not hear the sound, but I saw the vibration ripple through the air before it ripped the fabric of space.
A door appeared under Muzan and Kokushibo, and they both fell inside together almost immediately. Just like that.
"...." I simply deadpanned at the scene.
On the other hand, every Hashira shot out with urgency. They moved as fast as they could but ultimately failed to catch them. The teleportation had come out of nowhere; no one other than me was prepared for it.
So they escaped.
"DAMNITTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" Sanemi screamed in absolute rage. He swung his sword around, destroying his surroundings from sheer anger.
On the other hand, my eyes remained fixed on the ground where a door of the Infinity Castle had disappeared. The way the vibration of the biwa manipulated and parted the fabric of space was interesting, to say the least.
I would say it gave me ideas that seemed impossible at the moment, but who knows? I was in a different world compared to my past life, a world where logic and universal laws were slightly different and exaggerated.
I shelved my thoughts and ideas for a moment in favor of walking towards a certain flying eyeball in the sky. Nakime needed to mark someone or station one of these to open her portals if I was not mistaken.
"Can you see me?" I asked the floating eyeball and waved my hand.
"I've done this more than once, of course, you can see me, Muzan," I said before I put my bruised hand into my uniform and rummaged through my inner pockets.
Under the gaze of the eye, I took out a certain flower. A flower that Muzan had spent centuries looking for. It was his only key to perfection.
"Look what I found during my journey," I said and waved the flower around. It was not in the best condition due to having to survive many battles, but you could still see the ethereal glow of its blue petals.
"Blue Spider Lily," I said and then proceeded to crush the flower in my hand.
The flower fell on the ground, destroyed. That was to make a statement more than anything.
"The next time these bloom, I am going to destroy them completely. I will burn down the last garden and make sure they never fall into your hands or anyone else's," I said.
The Hashiras stood behind me and watched as I sent a message to the Demon King.
"You cannot hide from me, Muzan. If you want them, you have to come to me," I said and then a smile spread across my face.
I had become the bane of demons. I possessed power that would annihilate any plan he could come up with. I only needed him to show his face to me one last time.
I wonder what would win—his cowardice or his desire and dreams. If he decided to abandon his dream, I would have to come up with another way to kill him, but I doubt that would happen.
"Come find me soon, before it's too late," I said before exploding upwards and catching the eye. I crushed it in my hand also.
I landed with a small thud. My message complete and my job done.
"Rengoku, will you please reduce this spot to ash?" I asked while pointing at the place where the destroyed Spider Lily fell.
"Oh okay," he shrugged before burning it like I asked.
"Thank you."
Then... silence.
For a moment, no one moved.
We stood there, surrounded by the wreckage of battle, blood still warm on the ground. The sun had not yet risen, and the weight of the night still clung to us like heavy fog.
I turned to face the rest of the cast, the pillars of humanity. They had done their duty and stood with dignity.
After a year of not seeing them, I took the moment of silence to look at them carefully. I noticed the slightest changes in their appearance, from Muichiro's face that was showing maturity to Obanai's new muscles.
They also looked extremely exhausted. Some were even injured. So I spread my arms in a lighthearted gesture.
"This battle is over. It's our victory."
There was a beat of silence, and then Mitsuri let out a breathy laugh. Hysterical, maybe. Relieved, definitely.
"Thank the gods…" she cried out before collapsing in Kanae's arms like a total drama queen.
Tengen tilted his head back and let out a loud laugh as well, "Yoooo, I thought I had him for sure!! It's hilarious how easily he escaped again in the end."
He slapped Muichiro's back hard enough to almost knock the kid over. "If only you guys were as fast as I, we might have finished him for good."
"Can you not touch me," Muichiro grumbled, but even he didn't sound annoyed. Just tired.
But Tengen ignored his plea like it were air. He just laughed harder and touched the kid even more.
The laughter began to spread, and everyone relaxed.
It was like a dam had burst. The tension cracked, and what followed was a flood of movement.
Sanemi finally stopped swinging his blade and let it fall to the dirt with a heavy thunk. He wiped his brow, glared at the sky, and walked toward me with a limp. His sharp eyes searched mine.
"Welcome back, I guess," he said gruffly.
I blinked.
"Aww that's so cute—"
I never got to finish my sentence as I had to jump away to dodge a fast hook from the wind demon.
"Bastard, I'll put you into another year of coma."
The others joined in the antics as well. There were claps on the shoulder, tired jokes, and half-hugs. Even Giyu nodded in approval of my return.
Rengoku was also another piece of attraction. He was in his demon form but he still retained his humanity. Everyone had much to ask him, the same goes for goodwill.
But eventually, the sun rose on the horizon.
"Guys, the sun's coming up," Rengoku said with a strained smile.
"Yeah, so?" Sanemi asked with folded hands.
"You can't be real," Giyu said with a dead face beside him.
"What?!" Sanemi exploded back immediately. At that point, it finally clicked in his mind why his question was stupid, but he still screamed with a red face.
"Let's dig a hole for Kyojiro," I said with a smile. Since there were no trees to create shade, the next option was to dig and bury Rengoku in the ground.
"Are you sure? We could run to better shelter really quickly," Giyu said, being too logical at times.
"I know but this will be fun."
I mean, who doesn't like being buried? That's like the first instinct whenever a man comes to a beach.
So we all dug a grave for Rengoku. It became a rather fun activity while we caught up after a year of not seeing each other.
We even held a funeral for shits and giggles.
After that, we left him underground and he slept there. He would come out at night and return to the Demon Slayer Corps. In the meantime, we went back and helped the survivors.
...
...
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[3rd POV]
(Infinity Castle)
While the Hashiras enjoyed their victory, Muzan was seething.
It had become kind of normal to see him seethe because of the humans over the years. Nakime was not too shocked to see the state her master was in.
"That... that... fucking brat," Muzan choked out with blood-shaking eyes. He had seen Seiji's message, and he was furious.
Even though he had escaped using Nakime's overpowered ability, he was still cornered. He might be free physically, but Seiji had trapped his soul.
Muzan was a fucking coward, but for his dream of perfection, he could overcome that cowardice. He hid for centuries after being defeated by Yoriichi, but this time it was not the same.
He couldn't do that. He had to fight, he must fight.
He had lived for thousands of years, and that was only possible due to his ambition. Without that, he would've gone insane a long time ago. No sentient being could exist that long without holding anything in their heart.
Love didn't matter to him, families didn't matter to him, and so did power, wealth, and everything in between. The only thing that mattered to the Demon King was his dream of becoming perfect.
And that was the only thing he would fight for with his life. Seiji had deduced correctly. That dream was Muzan's whole existence, his entire purpose behind everything he did.
Creating the first demons, creating the Upper Moons, fitting in with the humans, and studying the new technology — all of it was to find the goddamn flower and finally become the perfect being.
"So... what's next, Lord Muzan?" Kokushibo asked from the side. His six eyes stared at empty space with dissatisfaction. He would've preferred to die fighting than running away like this.
But he made the excuse in his mind that since he spared Seiji once, it was only fair he was spared in return.
Muzan stayed silent for a long time, his multiple brains worked together to come up with a plan on the spot. After a few minutes, he stood up, seemingly coming to a decision.
"Nakime, collect all the demons that roam the human world. I want every creature with a lick of my blood to gather in the Infinity Castle," Muzan said and walked away.
His eyes turned bloodshot, and he gave command to every single cell of his. Even the lowest-ranking demon felt Muzan's call, and they came together.
And for the first time in a thousand years, no demon roamed the earth.
.
.
.
[IMAGE]
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Hopefully I don't abandon this story right at the end like I did for every other books.