Dear readers, dear customers!
When I typed "End of this volume," I breathed a long sigh of relief and casually touched my increasingly thinning scalp.
From Chapter 101 to Chapter 228, that's a massive 128 chapters!
After more than two months of frantic typing, our second volume has finally wrapped up filming!
Where is the applause? Where are the flowers?
I'm usually an author who likes to act aloof and doesn't like to write author's notes.
But then I thought, after writing for so long, I still need to have a heart-to-heart talk with all of you brothers who stay up all night to follow the updates!
First, let's report on the achievements of this book.
As for this result, I can only sum it up in four words: absolutely appalling!
The traffic curve in the background was like a roller coaster with no brakes, plummeting all the way to the center of the earth, leaving nothing but dust.
Every day I open the backend with high expectations, only to see that my daily earnings are a pitiful single digit!
Can you believe it? Single digits!
This amount of money isn't even enough to buy a sausage for the stray cat downstairs from my house!
Tormented by both writer's block and dismal data, I spent countless late nights staring at the ceiling, frantically rehearsing in my mind how to "run away with the bucket" and abandon the book.
I started writing this book entirely on a whim.
To be honest, before I started writing the book, I didn't really understand many of the settings in the Demon Slayer world. I relied entirely on frantically searching for information in encyclopedias while I was writing.
The pain of learning as I wrote, constantly fearing I would mess it up, is simply indescribable to outsiders!
But in the end, I was able to persevere and write these hundreds of thousands of words purely because of my obsession with "garlic bird"!
I'll just consider it doing this out of love, finding some spiritual sustenance for myself!
Therefore, I must sincerely apologize to everyone here.
As you've probably noticed, my updates have been really bad lately.
It's not entirely my hands' fault for not obeying my commands.
After all, food is essential for survival. Under the pressure of hunger, I also need to prepare to start a new book and find another way to earn some money for food!
But I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to ensure a smooth conclusion, giving everyone and the characters a peaceful ending!
Next, let's review the overall concept of this novel.
Those who have been following the story closely have probably noticed that while the second volume primarily revolves around Giyu's perspective, the writing style shifts towards a more ensemble cast!
With its family, friendship, and love storylines, plus a series of brain-teasing battle scenes, this volume is as long as a ramen noodle!
Let me be honest with you, when I first started outlining in my notebook, I estimated that the second volume would only have about 100 chapters at most.
But once the characters came to life and the plot started to unfold, the word count still mercilessly exceeded the limit!
Please don't complain about how long it is; this is the final result after I've become a ruthless scissor and cut off a portion of the main storyline!
For example, the Mount Sagiri storyline, and the two major scenes where he confronts Doma, I heavily edited and compressed them from the pile of discarded drafts.
If we don't cut it drastically, this volume will probably be close to 200 chapters long!
That would definitely make people gossip and criticize me for padding the word count!
What are my plans for the upcoming third volume, which is also the final volume of this book?
The core task of conceiving the third volume can be summed up in just four words: connecting the plot!
I'll floor the gas pedal, speed through the current plot points, and head straight for the final battle to take down that thousand-year-old mummy, Muzan!
This is also the final volume of the book. I will try my best to control the pace and strive to conclude it perfectly around chapter 100.
I've long since given up on the book's success; my only wish now is for the story to settle down smoothly.
Therefore, the story will be fast-paced from here on out!
I will ruthlessly cut out a lot of drawn-out and lengthy emotional journey scenes, and even make some drastic changes to the original plot for the sake of enjoyment!
Those who enjoy watching people chat over tea should probably prepare themselves.
The daily life scenes in Volume 3 will be significantly reduced.
In terms of the romance, I also made a painful decision: to Giyu and our lovely Kocho Sisters!
As for the romantic subplots involving the other characters, they were all cut!
In the face of the final battle, the supporting characters don't need to fall in love!
Finally, and most importantly, let's talk about the plot arrangement for [Mist Hashira] Muichiro Tokito.
Because in the fast-paced pace that followed, I didn't have much extra ink or energy to describe too many side stories in detail.
Regarding the Muichiro, I currently have two completely different ideas in my mind, and I'd like to hear everyone's opinions.
Option 1: Let's stick to the original story and follow the original plot exactly.
I won't give Muichiro too many solo storylines; I'll just try to save his life in the final, chaotic battle!
However, the price of following the original story is that his twin brother Yuichiro, will still die!
This option is a bit heartbreaking, but it retains the tragic core of the character.
Option 2: Let's cut the Gordian knot and completely eliminate his main storyline!
Because of the butterfly effect created by the protagonist, the evil spirit did not attack Tokito's family!
In this way, Muichiro Tokito and his family lived happily in the mountains, and he naturally wouldn't have had to endure those hardships to join the Demon Slayer Corps!
These two completely different plot developments don't really matter to me, a writer; I can make either one work.
It all depends on what you readers think!
Our main advocacy is democracy and freedom!
Oh, and there's also the part about Giyu & the Kocho Sisters!
After all, Giyu is already an adult!
Those who understand, don't understand; there's nothing that can be done about it.
Although the description says "Female readers beware," I don't know if that's even a valid point!
Let's conduct a survey!
I'm planning to write a bit of suggestive content; if there are many female readers, I'll just use "..." instead! •͈ᴗ⁃͈ ✧
Feel free to leave your comments in the section review; the option with the most votes will be Muichiro's final fate!
Alright, that's all for my heartfelt words! Thank you all for your understanding and support along the way!
Volume Two has officially come to an end! Hooray!
Volume Three!
Start up!!