Illusion

But in the next instant, under the two men's horrified gazes, the corpse that had fallen to the ground stood up again. Even the head that had been cut off and tossed onto the ground wore an arrogant expression.

That "headless corpse" leisurely walked over, picked up its own head, and pressed it back onto its neck. Grinning at the two of them, it said, "Surprised? Didn't see that coming?"

At that moment, a word Muzan had once said popped into Yoriichi's mind: Fuck!

How the hell were they supposed to fight this?

Muzan had always told him, "In the future, you'll be the combat ceiling of this world. Kill whoever stands in your way, whether human or demon!"

Now Yoriichi wanted to grab Muzan and ask him what the hell this demon was supposed to be!

Kokushibo's expression was awful as well. Already injured from the beating he had taken, he could neither flee nor win.

Yoriichi drew a deep breath and slowly looked at the demon whose strength far exceeded all reason. Without even looking at Kokushibo, he said, "Brother, run. I'll hold it off."

Kokushibo, who had originally intended to flee, froze at those words. His expression darkened further as he viciously snatched the Nichirin Blade from Yoriichi's hand, yanked him behind himself, and stood in front of him. "I don't need you to sacrifice yourself to save me! I'll hold it off. You run!"

Kagetsuki Chiyo watched the two men standing motionlessly on the ground. The mirror-like transparent screen before him displayed the events within the illusion, while Muzan's voice echoed in his mind:

"Stop playing around and straighten out Kokushibo's way of thinking."

Chiyo curled his lips. "Boss, I make illusions. I'm not a psychologist."

"I don't care."

Chiyo scratched his head. "Fine, fine. I'll do my best."

Muzan's voice came again through his mind. "I'll give you a reference for the illusion."

The next moment, an enormous story flooded into his mind. Taking in so much information at once made Chiyo's head throb fiercely for a moment.

"Tsk—"

Enduring the pain, he seemed to manipulate something in the air.

Naturally, no one could defeat the being at the top of Demon Slayer's power scale, but fabricating an illusion was effortless.

Kagetsuki Chiyo was not especially strong, but his Blood Demon Art was incredibly useful. Though it took a long time to set up, once he lured someone into an illusion, handling them became easy—and it was difficult to see through.

Within the illusion, Tsugikuni Yoriichi clearly knew that his elder brother could no longer fight. He grabbed Kokushibo, stepped back to evade the attack, snatched away the Nichirin Blade, pinned the demon back with one slash, then violently flung Kokushibo away with his other hand.

"Tsugikuni Yoriichi!!!"

Kokushibo flew backward and roared furiously.

In reality, Kokushibo's body instinctively staggered, stepping out of the illusion's range. Naturally, this too was deliberately controlled by Chiyo.

Having escaped the illusion, Kokushibo barely steadied himself and looked around in shock and uncertainty. The next moment, he understood. Drawing his sword, he charged fiercely at Kagetsuki Chiyo.

But in the next instant, he entered the illusion Chiyo had prepared.

Within the illusion, Kokushibo cut down Kagetsuki Chiyo with a single strike and returned to the Demon Slayer Corps with his younger brother, who had been of little help.

Several years later, he still could not defeat Tsugikuni Yoriichi. The gap between them could not be narrowed in the slightest.

He awakened the Clear World and Scarlet Traces.

But he also learned that he would certainly die at twenty-five. Unwilling to die, he encountered Muzan and became a man-eating demon under Muzan's command.

Soon afterward, he learned that Yoriichi had encountered Muzan and nearly killed him. However, because he had failed, because he himself had become a demon as Yoriichi's elder brother, and because Yoriichi had let Tamayo go, Yoriichi's crimes were compounded, and he was expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps.

After that, Muzan deliberately hid from Yoriichi.

Yoriichi, who had been born to slay the Demon King, never again had the chance to fulfill his mission.

When he was twenty-five, Kokushibo believed Yoriichi was about to die. That day, he recalled all the memories of Yoriichi from their time in the Demon Slayer Corps and felt only pain. He forced himself to drink bottle after bottle of wine, yet could not even get drunk.

Vaguely, he seemed to understand something, yet also seemed not to understand at all.

From then on, he devoted himself solely to improving his strength.

Many years later, in a forest, he suddenly saw the aged Yoriichi beneath a thatched hut.

He heard Yoriichi speak.

As a child, his father had not loved him, but his elder brother had cared for him.

After leaving home, he had met Uta, only for her to be killed by a demon.

He had wanted to do something useful—to slay the Demon King—yet had been powerless to do so.

Then he learned that his elder brother had become a demon.

All alone, what he had truly wanted was merely a warm family, a small house, and a wife and children within his reach.

But everything was gone.

After hearing Yoriichi's account, Kokushibo silently left.

Many years later, Kokushibo encountered the aged Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

"Brother, how tragic..."

When that slash came carrying an unmatched force, a trace of terror flashed across Kokushibo's face before he suddenly became calm.

But after that strike, though grievously wounded, he did not receive a second. He looked at his younger brother, who no longer breathed.

Clack—

A bamboo flute fell to the ground. Kokushibo bent down and picked it up, rendered speechless for a time.

Had he been wrong?

Over the following centuries, he seemed very clear-headed and desperately driven, yet also deeply lost and muddle-headed.

Until centuries later, in Infinity Castle, a young man fought him. Through the Nichirin Blade, he saw his own reflection, and his younger brother's words endlessly surfaced in his mind:

"Brother, how tragic..."

There were too many meanings contained within those words. Kokushibo suddenly seemed to truly understand. The blade swept across his neck, and he closed his eyes.

Everything before him sank into darkness. Was he going to hell?

But gradually, a figure emerged from the blur. Nearly five hundred years of memories became as hazy as a dream. In an instant, as though awakening, the dream was swiftly forgotten, leaving behind only a few unforgettable feelings.

The figure before him became clear.

Who was it?

His memories from before entering the illusion returned. Kokushibo froze, then looked down and saw the sword he had dropped when entering the dream. He hurriedly grabbed its hilt with one hand while warily backing away.

"The mission's complete, Lord Kokushibo. Farewell~"

The demon smiled as its body dispersed.

But another sentence came from nowhere: "Don't worry. I didn't hurt any ordinary people."

Not far away, Yoriichi also emerged from the illusion and looked at the scene before him in confusion.

Hadn't his brother been thrown far away by him?

Hadn't he been holding off the demon, trying to stall until dawn?

But then Yoriichi understood as well. Sure enough, it was an illusion!

Kokushibo curled his lips. What was this demon trying to do? Why had it created such an illusion?

And what did it mean by saying the mission was complete?

"Let's go."

Kokushibo glanced at Yoriichi, sheathed his sword, and walked away.

Yoriichi looked around and spotted, not far away, the man who wanted to become a Demon Slayer, already dozing off. "I'm bringing someone."

"Hurry up."