The study in the Ubuyashiki Estate was still brightly lit late at night.
A slender silhouette was projected onto the paper door, sitting upright in front of a mountain of files.
The candlelight flickered, casting the text on the documents in an intermittent glow.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's fingers traced the latest battle report, his fingertips lingering on the words "Seventeen dead, nine seriously wounded".
Those are not just numbers; they are young lives with names, families, and dreams.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Over the past month, the frequency of ghost activity has increased several times over.
It was as if someone had opened the gates of hell, letting all the filth pour out.
The cannibals, which had previously appeared sporadically, are now attacking villages in hordes;
The powerful demons that originally took several years to conceive are now appearing frequently in various places.
Even more disturbing are the vague descriptions in the intelligence:
"A demon was sighted with numbers in its eyes, possibly indicating Upper Rank..."
"Destroying the entire warehouse in one strike is no ordinary feat..."
"The speed was extremely fast; the team members were caught off guard and killed before they could even see clearly..."
Upper Rank!!
These two words, like poisoned needles, pierced the nerves of Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
The Demon Slayer Corps currently only has three Pillars.
Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira; Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira; Shinjuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira... are all excellent warriors, but these three Pillars must protect the entire country and deal with the potential Upper Rank...
"Cough, cough--!"
A violent cough suddenly struck.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki covered his mouth, his body leaning forward in pain.
Dark red blood seeped from between his fingers, dripping onto the battle report and making the words "killed in action" even more glaring.
He gasped for breath, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, and then continued reading the next report.
In Aomori Prefecture, three villages were turned into dead overnight, with survivors claiming to have seen "dozens of ghosts appearing at the same time."
In Shizuoka Prefecture, a squad led by A-Rank member was ambushed by a horde of demons, and all members perished.
Near Kyoto, a suspected Upper Rank demon has been spotted, and three team members have gone missing while delivering intelligence.
Every report is a wound.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's breathing became rapid, and he clenched his fist, his nails digging deeply into his palm.
"Muzan..."
The sound was squeezed out from between his teeth.
"You really are... deserving to die."
The candlelight flickered violently, reflecting the surging hatred in his eyes.
It was the purest killing intent directed at the monster that had spread pain, death, and despair throughout the world for hundreds of years.
"Why... aren't you dead yet?"
He looked up and gazed at the deep night outside the window.
The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, plunging the world into gloom, much like this millennia-long struggle that seemed to have no end in sight.
"Muzan--!"
A low growl echoed in the study, hoarse from coughing up blood, filled with the pain of helplessness, and even more so with a resolute determination to never give in.
After a long while, Kagaya Ubuyashiki slowly calmed his breathing!
He sat up straight again, unfolded a new sheet of paper, and picked up his pen!
The brush tip, dipped in ink from the inkstone, hovered above the paper, trembling slightly.
"To the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka, and the Flame Hashira Shinjuro Rengoku..."
The candlelight cast his shadow on the paper door; he was thin, yet stood ramrod straight.
The night wind in the northwestern mountains carried a biting chill.
Giyu walked along the narrow mountain path under the moonlight, his white feathers fluttering in the wind.
He has been traveling for three days straight, during which he has dealt with four ghost attacks... This frequency is abnormally high.
He stopped as he passed through a mountain village.
The village is very small, with only a dozen or so households.
At this moment, every household had its doors and windows tightly shut, and fresh Wisteria hung above the doorways—these were exorcism talismans distributed by the Demon Slayer Corps.
Even so, Giyu could still smell a faint trace of a demon in the air. It was very weak, probably from a newly born demon, but it had definitely been there.
An old man peeked through the crack in the door, saw Giyu's haori and the sword at his waist, his eyes lit up, and he trembled as he pushed the door open:
"Sword, Swordsman..."
"Did a ghost come by?"
"Last... last night..."
The old man was speaking incoherently.
"There was a dark shadow loitering at the village entrance. We scattered Wisteria, and it ran away... But... but we heard someone died in the next village..."
Giyu nodded silently and took out a small packet of specially made Wisteria potion from his pocket:
"Sprinkle it at the village entrance. If the ghost comes again, light this."
He handed the old man a specially made signal flare.
The old man accepted the gift with profuse thanks, and Giyu turned and continued on his way.
The mountain road wound its way downhill, and lights could be faintly seen in the valley ahead... That was the last village he was to patrol that night.
According to the plan, he will turn east tomorrow morning and head to the next area.
But the closer Giyu got to the valley, the more he frowned.
It's too quiet.
There wasn't even the chirping of insects, the wind seemed to have stopped, and a faint... stench of blood drifted through the air.
He quickened his pace.
As he rounded the last bend in the mountain, the view in the valley made Giyu stop in his tracks.
The village is built against the mountain and has about fifty or sixty households.
The houses were burning, and in the firelight, dark shadows crawled through the village.
Ghost!
So many ghosts!!
Giyu stood on the mountainside, his icy blue eyes sweeping over the village.
A rough estimate suggests at least several dozen!
They come in all shapes and sizes; some still retain the general appearance of humans, while others are completely distorted...
But what they had in common was the burning, red glow of hunger in their eyes.
The villagers were forced to move to an open space in the center of the village.
The men, armed with farm tools, machetes, and even iron pots, shielded the women and children behind them.
There were already more than a dozen corpses lying on the ground, and blood had pooled in the soil, forming dark red streams.
A creature about three meters tall, with bluish-gray skin and twisted horns on its head, was grabbing a boy's leg and lifting him upside down.
The boy struggled and cried out, while his mother collapsed to the ground, pleading desperately.
"Let go of my son... please...!"
Hehehe...
The horned demon grinned, revealing its jagged teeth.
"With your delicate skin and tender flesh, you must taste delicious. But wait, let me catch you all and then I'll enjoy you slowly."
It surveyed the terrified villagers, its voice trembling with excitement:
"I've heard that by consuming enough people, one can become stronger, and even... be chosen by that great one to become 'Demon Moon'!"
The surrounding horde of ghosts let out greedy howls.
Giyu stood on the mountainside, taking in all of this.
He slowly exhaled, and the white mist dissipated in the cold night.
Then, he started walking down the mountain.
The footsteps were very light, but unusually clear in the deathly still night.
The horned demon suddenly turned its head, its blood-red eyes locking onto the white figure on the mountain path.
"Oh? Another one coming to die?"
It abandoned the boy, turned to Giyu, and grinned widely.
"They're dressed quite neatly; the food should taste good."
The ghosts began to stir.
Some of the demons sensed a unique aura emanating from Giyu —a sense of "purity" that instinctively made them feel threatened.
But their arrogance, born of sheer numbers, overwhelmed their instincts; they roared and swarmed toward the mountain path.
Giyu did not stop and continued his descent.
The moonlight finally broke through the clouds, illuminating his face.
His icy blue eyes were calm and still, as if what lay before him was not a cannibalistic demon, but a fallen leaf that needed to be swept away.
"Hey, kid."
The horned demon blocked the road, looking down at Giyu as he approached.
"Are you scared out of your wits? You can't even speak—"
The words abruptly stopped.
Because Giyu raised his eyes.
In that instant, the horned demon's blood froze.
The reflection in those eyes seemed not to be its image, but something more essential:
Its death!!