How could you lose with a dragon in their face?

Finally transported to the Infinity Castle, Muzan breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Nakime, who held her biwa with her head lowered, and plopped down on the floor without a shred of dignity.

"I survived."

Thank goodness he had Nakime.

If he had asked Nakime to teleport him during the fight, given how inexperienced she still was, she almost certainly would have brought Yoriichi to the Infinity Castle along with him.

If he hadn't called Yanagisawa Jiyuki over to lend a hand, he might not have held out.

As for turning Yoriichi into a demon?

What a joke. He wanted to, sure, but it was completely impossible.

A sneak attack was out of the question, too. Muzan was certain Yoriichi would notice him the instant he appeared, and getting away would become a problem all over again.

Muzan looked at Tamayo, who stood off to the side, and asked, "Is there really no other way?"

Since he could hear Tamayo's thoughts, he already knew the answer. He just hoped she could come up with something else.

Michikatsu, who had also been teleported over, lay weakly on the floor. At Muzan's question, he propped himself up and looked at Tamayo, too.

Tamayo shook her head. "There's no other way.

"The Blood Demon Art affecting Yoriichi clearly alters every memory related to you, ultimately making him hostile toward you. And no one except the caster can undo a Blood Demon Art. The only way to change things is to turn him into a demon.

"Otherwise, even if we resolve things this time, his memories will keep being altered in the future. There's simply no way around it.

"Once he becomes a demon, though, he'll be under your control. Since the Blood Demon Art's effects come from your blood, your presence will also prevent them from taking effect.

"And this is the only way to solve the problem for good. Otherwise, who knows what else might happen?"

Both men's faces fell.

Muzan wailed, "The problem is, I can't turn him into a demon either!"

"No!" Tamayo said with complete seriousness. "You can!"

Muzan: "?"

He looked at Tamayo expectantly, hoping she would offer something useful.

"You said it yourself: heaven rewards those who persevere. As long as you keep trying, you'll succeed sooner or later!"

Muzan: "..."

Well, aren't you a little genius!

Seeing Muzan's expression, Tamayo said helplessly:

"There's no other way. You just have to keep trying. If you fail, run back to the Infinity Castle and hide. Otherwise, the two of you will have to stay here until Yoriichi dies."

Tamayo, who had already learned that Yoriichi was the little boy Muzan had raised about ten years ago, continued:

"Besides, you don't want the little fellow you raised for five years to become your natural enemy, do you?"

The corner of Muzan's mouth twitched. "Calling him my natural enemy is a bit much, isn't it?"

Muzan looked at Tsugikuni Michikatsu. "What are you going to do?"

Tsugikuni Michikatsu said, "Hide, I guess."

They really were brothers in misfortune now.

Three days later, Yoriichi Tsugikuni returned to the Demon Slayer Corps and recounted the "truth." Just as in the original story, he was expelled from the Corps.

At some point, Sumiyoshi Kamado and his family had moved into the little thatched cottage. The people Muzan had arranged to live in the house he built had become their neighbors, and had even kindly helped rebuild the cottage to make it more comfortable.

After leaving the Demon Slayer Corps, Yoriichi headed toward his former home with Shi. Seeing from a distance that both houses were occupied, he had been about to leave, but Sumiyoshi spotted him while returning home from cutting wood.

At the sight of the two of them, Sumiyoshi raised his arm and waved, firewood on his back.

"Hey-it's almost dark! Come stay the night."

Yoriichi glanced at Shi beside him.

"So this used to be your home..."

Sumiyoshi scratched his head sheepishly.

"It's all right," Shi said with a gentle smile. "My husband and I plan to build another house. Sorry for the trouble, but we'll need to stay with you for a few days."

Yoriichi sat beside Shi, holding her hand and smiling tenderly.

Through the people living in the other house, Muzan learned that Yoriichi had settled there.

Considering that the Blue Spider Lily might appear because of the Kamado Family's arrival, he put his "assassination" plans aside for the time being.

If no Blue Spider Lily appears in two years, I'll make my move.

After learning from Muzan that Yoriichi was staying there, Michikatsu left the Infinity Castle. If he couldn't beat him, surely he could at least avoid him?

By now, he understood: Yoriichi, whom the gods had tasked with slaying Muzan, wasn't human. Every demon, including the Demon King, had accepted that.

His fighting prowess was beyond anything in this world. They might as well treat him as a player using cheats.

Insisting on competing with him would just be foolish.

Still, Michikatsu hadn't given up his dream of becoming the strongest samurai-excluding Yoriichi.

But the moment Michikatsu left the Infinity Castle to head home, he ran into members of the Demon Slayer Corps. Misled by Yoriichi's account, the Demon Slayers had long since come to regard him as a demon.

"Tsugikuni Michikatsu!"

A Demon Slayer charged at him with an enraged expression, roaring as he swung his sword. "You don't deserve to learn a Breathing Style!"

Tsugikuni Michikatsu: "..."

"Nakime!"

Whoosh!

Tsugikuni Michikatsu appeared in the Infinity Castle once more.

Fighting was out of the question.

Muzan had already instructed Nakime to bring Tsugikuni Michikatsu back to the Infinity Castle immediately if anything happened to him.

And Tsugikuni Michikatsu's actions only convinced the Demon Slayer Corps even more firmly that he had become a demon.

Standing in the Infinity Castle, Tsugikuni Michikatsu suddenly remembered that dream. This was feeling more and more familiar!

Sumiyoshi listened as Yoriichi Tsugikuni told his story. When he heard that Yoriichi's older brother had become a demon, a sad expression quietly settled over his face.

Sitting beneath the eaves with a sorrowful smile, Yoriichi gazed into the distance. Then he saw Sumiyoshi's child running toward him with a smile, and something seemed to stir in his heart.

He took off his Sun Wheel Flower Earrings and carefully placed them on the child's ears, first the left, then the right. Sunlight fell across his face, lending a touch of warmth to his sorrowful smile.

The following year, Yoriichi taught the Kamado Family Sun Breathing in the form of the Dance of the Fire God.

The Kamado Family, who made their living burning charcoal, already had close ties to fire. As Sumiyoshi followed Yoriichi's movements in the Dance of the Fire God, a Blue Spider Lily quietly bloomed.

Sitting beneath the eaves, Shi watched the two dance in unison under the sunlight. Suddenly, she noticed a flower blooming in a corner, familiar yet somehow a little strange.

She couldn't help looking at Yoriichi.

The people who had been arranged to live nearby noticed Shi's unusual reaction, too. They followed her gaze, their pupils contracting as delight spread across their faces.

They quietly approached and carefully dug up the flower, roots and all.

By the time the flower reached Muzan's hands, it had already closed up, but still!

He had the flower now. Why worry that it wouldn't bloom?!

How could he lose with a dragon in their face?!

With the cautionary example from the original story, where a certain boar's descendant had cultivated the Blue Spider Lily to death, Muzan took exceptional care of the one he had obtained.

He sent it to Maruoka Masahito and Maruoka Yoshiko, entrusting its cultivation to people who could go out in the sunlight.

That day, Muzan grinned from morning to night like a complete idiot.