Wandering the World

Late at night.

Yuko jolted awake from a dream, her mind in turmoil. She couldn't recall what she had dreamt, but it had been many years since she'd felt this way, not since she became a demon.

Demons didn't need sleep, but Yuko hadn't lost her human emotions, so she was accustomed to it.

Humans who turned into demons generally gradually lost their human emotions, especially those newly transformed, whose minds were often filled only with the thought of eating people.

Only after they had eaten humans would their rationality gradually return. The more humans they ate, the closer a demon's intellect would approach that of a normal person.

The reason she hadn't experienced this was likely due to the Blue Spider Lily, and the fact that Kokushibo had infused her with a sufficient amount of Muzan's blood.

Given Kokushibo's relationship with Muzan, it was highly probable.

After waking up, the unease in Yuko's heart hadn't subsided, as if something was about to happen, or... was already happening.

The tightness in her chest was no different from when she had dreamt of Kokushibo becoming a demon.

Yuko adjusted her breathing and walked out of her room, trying to relax her mind.

The open doorway caught her eye. Yuko quickly sensed for Yoriichi's presence.

None.

Yuko's heart skipped a beat. She went to Yoriichi's door and knocked. Receiving no response, she immediately pushed the door open and entered, finding it indeed empty.

At this hour, where could an eighty-year-old man go?

But for some reason, her sixth sense gave her an answer outside the city.

A scarlet blood moon hung in the sky, and the pagoda outside the city was now in sight. The unease in Yuko's heart intensified.

Arriving at the open space in front of the pagoda, the ground reflected the dappled moonlight. A familiar scent of blood wafted into Yuko's nostrils.

Kokushibo...

Her heart sank.

Yuko's gaze swept further ahead. With her excellent vision, she saw a pile of tattered cloth scattered there.

Yuko's pupils contracted sharply, her breathing hitched.

She walked forward with heavy steps. What met her eyes was Yoriichi's body, cut in half at the waist.

Yuko stared blankly for a moment. Her wine-red eyes instantly turned into golden vertical pupils, and hideous blood vessels spread across her eyeballs.

Yuko gritted her teeth, squeezing two hateful words from her throat.

"Kokushibo!"

Even after betraying her master and becoming a demon, even after being turned into a demon by Kokushibo, Yuko had never resented him.

Only this time...

This was his own twin brother! Had he lost all humanity after becoming a demon?!

Yuko clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh. Cold blood dripped from her palms, but she didn't notice.

Under the extreme rage, her long, wine-red hair showed faint signs of turning white.

"Yuko..."

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded from behind her.

Yuko instinctively turned her head.

A head of flowing fiery red hair danced in the air, emitting a faint white glow. Yoriichi, looking like a twenty-year-old youth, gazed at her gently.

Yuko was too surprised to speak, merely staring blankly at Yoriichi.

A demon?

No, it should be a ghost.

There was no other way to explain what she was seeing.

She remembered... Tanjiro seemed to have had a similar experience.

"Brother..." Yuko's eyes welled up with tears, and she gritted her teeth with grief and indignation, "That bastard, I will definitely cut off his head!"

Such a disloyal and unrighteous person, she had actually once hoped to change him!

How ridiculous!

Yoriichi stared at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and stroked her head.

There was no physical touch, yet she inexplicably felt warmth.

Yoriichi's gentle voice rang out.

"It's okay."

Just as she had comforted Yoriichi back then.

"I don't have much time left. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself." Yoriichi's tone carried a hint of reluctance.

Yuko took a deep breath. Though tears still lingered in her eyes, she said with immense determination, "I will definitely take Muzan's head."

Yoriichi smiled gently, "If it's Yuko, I'm sure you can do it."

Yuko opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, when Yoriichi's body suddenly began to dissipate.

"Older Brother..."

As soon as she spoke, she heard Yoriichi's voice.

"If you feel tired, why not stop and rest for a while."

Yuko's eyes flickered, lost in thought for a moment.

Yoriichi's smiling face vanished into the air.

Standing frozen in place for a good while, Yuko, with a heavy heart, collected Yoriichi's remains and Nichirin Blade.

The flute Yoriichi always carried was gone; she figured Kokushibo must have taken it.

It made Yuko feel so sick she wanted to vomit.

Yoriichi had left no last words about where he wished to be buried, but Yuko thought he would want to be laid to rest with Uta.

As winter approached, Yuko arrived at Tanjiki's home under the cover of night.

Things had changed, and the Tanjiki couple had passed away many years ago. Yuko didn't want to interact with their descendants, lest it only add to her sorrow.

With the mountains sealed by heavy snow, Yuko, passing by Tanjiki's house, was drawn to the firelight in the yard.

She hid in the twilight woods and witnessed Tanjiki's descendants practicing the sword forms of Sun Breathing.

Sun Breathing had indeed been passed down.

Yuko withdrew her gaze, brought Yoriichi's remains to Uta's grave, clasped her hands in prayer, then dug up Uta's grave and buried Yoriichi's remains alongside hers.

She was alone again.

Unlike before.

She had nowhere to return to.

Yuko wrapped Yoriichi's Nichirin Blade in white cloth and secured it at her waist, especially the tsuba, which she bound tightly to prevent demons from recognizing it.

It formed a pair with the snow-white Demon Blade at her waist.

The Nichirin Blade slays demons; the Demon Blade slays humans.

With no home to return to, Yuko wandered aimlessly across the land.

Under the night sky, faint lights flickered from distant villages, and wisps of black smoke drifted in the air.

It was the Sengoku period, a time of warring states and constant conflict.

In this era of the strong preying on the weak, acts of arson, murder, robbery, and village massacres were not uncommon.

A strong demonic aura wafted into her nostrils, and it wasn't coming from just one place.

It was clear that the village, which had just experienced the ravages of war, was now occupied by demons.

Yuko hadn't encountered many demons over the years. Even in the Taisho era, demons mostly existed only in folktales, used to scare children.

But since she had encountered them, she wouldn't ignore them.

Yuko stepped into the village, where scattered limbs and dismembered bodies were visible everywhere.

Compared to the devastation of war, the impact of the demons seemed insignificant.

Yuko didn't linger; by now, these "food sources" could no longer sway her will.

Yuko walked towards the area with the densest demonic energy, which was an open space in the center of the village.

The further she went, the more corpses she saw along the path.

The bodies also began to show signs of animal gnawing.

Yuko knew it wasn't animals; it was demons.