What Was Hundred Faces?

Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters

The candlelight was warm, the atmosphere bright with the joy of victory.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki sat at the head of the room, his complexion rosy. He seemed no different from a healthy man now.

He said excitedly, "Upper Rank Six... the Upper Ranks, unshaken for centuries, have finally fallen to us! This is not merely a great victory for the Demon Slayer Corps-it also brings justice to countless victims! Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Lord Sapphire Star, Uzui..."

His gaze swept across them, lingering for a moment on Tengen Uzui's once-flamboyant face, which now looked rather... colorful (meaning bruised and swollen, with a suspicious purplish ring around one eye).

"Truly... thank you all for your hard work..." Kagaya looked at Tengen, his voice full of sincere concern.

"Uzui, those injuries... your battle against Upper Rank Six must have been extraordinarily brutal. Even you were wounded so badly..."

"Ha... hahahaha!" Tengen tried hard to give his signature hearty laugh, only to pull at the wound at the corner of his mouth and grimace in pain.

"You flatter me, Master. These little scratches are nothing! To contribute to such a flamboyant mission, this small price..." He spoke vaguely, unconsciously covering his still-aching eye socket as his eyes drifted toward Sapphire Star beside him.

Sapphire Star gave a snort.

Like hell I'd believe that! That's what you get for running your mouth and begging for a beating!

Kagaya's gaze finally settled on Sapphire Star.

"Lord Sapphire Star, welcome back! We owe you our deepest gratitude! Not only did you previously repel Muzan Kibutsuji and Upper Rank Three, Akaza, but in this battle in the Entertainment District, you also slew Upper Rank Six, who had forced Tanjiro and the others into such a desperate fight... the Demon Slayer Corps will never forget this kindness!"

Sapphire Star waved a hand. "Aw, you're making me blush, saying all that... actually, I almost took down Muzan too. Unfortunately, he released some guy called Hundred Faces who ruined everything. I'm so pissed!"

"Hundred Faces?" Kagaya frowned slightly.

"Yeah, an ugly demon who looked like a lump of chaotic paste. A few nights ago, I was this close to shoving my blade down Muzan's mouth!"

Sapphire Star's expression turned serious. "Then that Hundred Faces guy appeared, and I fucking saw the Hand Demon! The one from the selection on Mount Fujikasane! He was babbling things like... 'Useless,' 'The World,' 'Pucci'... all these weird words I couldn't understand..."

Tanjiro and the others looked blankly at him. Hundred Faces? The Hand Demon from Mount Fujikasane had come back to life?

When Kagaya Ubuyashiki heard the key details-"a few nights ago," "the Hand Demon," and "weird words I couldn't understand"-his expression abruptly changed!

"Wait... Lord Sapphire Star," Kagaya's voice trembled. "You mean... after you were attacked by Hundred Faces while preparing to slay Muzan Kibutsuji... on that night a few days ago, you encountered an illusion of the Hand Demon?"

"It didn't seem like an illusion. He actually attacked me, and I could hear him yelling!" Sapphire Star shook his head.

"That night... that very night..." Kagaya's voice sank.

"I... also experienced a profoundly bizarre fragment of memory that did not belong to me at all."

He extended a hand, unconsciously spreading and curling his fingertips. His nails were long. Before, his poor health had made them brittle, and he had never been able to grow them out.

"In that fleeting memory... I seemed... able to see a strange figure, right beside me... a physical being made of pink lines and muscle... called... 'Killer Queen'?"

"I can even clearly remember... the sensation of pressing some nonexistent button with my thumb... and the explosive feeling that followed... it was incredibly... real..." Kagaya Ubuyashiki's voice carried confusion and a trace of lingering fear.

"The sensation lasted only an instant before vanishing... I always assumed it was a confused hallucination brought on by my prolonged illness..."

He raised his head to look at Sapphire Star.

"But now it seems... this was no coincidence. Lord Sapphire Star, you were attacked by the deceased Hand Demon and heard incomprehensible speech... while I received a strange memory that clearly did not belong to me..." He paused.

"I'm afraid this means... Muzan Kibutsuji, or rather, that demon named Hundred Faces... possesses a power far stranger than anything we imagined! He may... be capable of interfering with supernatural power?"

Sapphire Star abruptly sat upright. "Supernatural power? Could it have something to do with Dire Miralis? The guy who got me stuck here!"

Tengen seemed to have forgotten even the pain of his bruises. For the first time, the flamboyant warrior understood what it meant for his brain to overload.

Tanjiro and the others were even more lost.

Ubuyashiki shook his head. "This is only speculation-the worst possible speculation. But considering what Lord Sapphire Star and I experienced, Hundred Faces... this enemy we know nothing about... must be extremely dangerous! We must tell every swordsman to exercise the utmost caution!"

Meanwhile, deep within the Infinity Castle.

Muzan stared at the bundle of bones on the floor, unconsciously shuffling backward, his voice a little strained.

"Kokushibo... are you certain these are that man's remains? You open it..." He did not even dare touch the remains himself, as though they were some sacred relic.

"Absolutely certain, my lord." Without the slightest emotion in his voice, Kokushibo knelt on one knee and swiftly untied the shroud.

The skeleton lay quietly on the cold floor.

Even after a thousand years, it remained as white as jade, impossibly lustrous, as though its flesh had only just departed. Time had left not the slightest trace of decay upon it!

Only the cut running across its waist, its edges perfectly smooth and clean, silently spoke of that merciless blade from long ago-a blade of world-shattering power that could sever a body in two in an instant.

These were the remains of Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

Muzan's seven hearts began convulsing violently beyond his control.

He fought the urge to split himself apart and flee again, struggling to swallow saliva that did not even exist. His voice was hoarse.

"Kokushibo! To desecrate the remains of your own brother like this... do you... truly feel no qualms whatsoever?!"

Kokushibo remained utterly still and answered with unshakable conviction.

"My lord need not doubt my loyalty! They are merely bones, destined to turn to dust. He died long ago. They mean nothing!"

Those words seemed to give Muzan something to cling to. He steadied himself, his voice growing excited.

"Good!!! Well done, Kokushibo! You've done splendidly!!" He pointed at the remains on the floor.

"With these, Nameless Hundred Faces will have his final, most perfect piece! A body to serve as the ultimate vessel for a soul! The bones of the strongest swordsman!!"

He abruptly turned toward the nearby chaotic humanoid mass, which continuously writhed, merged, and separated, emitting eerie humming and unintelligible whispers.

"Kokushibo... take these remains to him!"

Kokushibo wrapped the remains back up and placed them before Nameless Hundred Faces.

"Nameless Hundred Faces! Our lord has bestowed upon you the body of the strongest swordsman!"

"Hehehe... yes... Lord Muzan... Lord Kokushibo... my thanks... still need... one... last thing..." The edges of Nameless Hundred Faces' chaotic body twisted wildly as he let out incoherent mutters and shrill laughter.

His shapeless body slowly squirmed over to the peerless skeleton and stopped beside it. Countless tendrils of dark red mist tentatively brushed against the white bones.

Kokushibo watched in silence.

Nameless Hundred Faces' chaotic core turned toward Kokushibo, issuing a viscous-sounding question.

"Lord... Kokushibo... sorry for the trouble... I... need a little... catalyst..."

Kokushibo did not hesitate. "What do you need me to do?"

"Remain... still..." Nameless Hundred Faces' voice held an eerie reassurance. "All I need... is your... permission..."

Kokushibo stood like a rock and felt only a faint chill.

"Hehehehe... found it..."

Nameless Hundred Faces abruptly blew a breath of dark purple smoke onto the bones on the floor.

Clear cracking sounds rose from the jade-white skeleton.

Tendons and muscles emerged from thin air, winding around and covering the bones.

Then came the meridians, blood vessels, internal organs... skin...

Within just a few breaths.

A fully formed male body lay quietly in the same spot.

That face-a high nose, deep-set eyes, tightly pressed lips-still carried an indelible air of sorrow and holiness even in sleep!

Beneath those closed eyelids lay the familiar feature... a blazing Demon Slayer Mark, radiant as the sun!

Kokushibo's six pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints! Even though he had prepared himself, the moment that face reappeared, his hand went to his sword hilt without his control for the first time!

Muzan outright jumped, stumbling back several steps!

"Yori!! Yoriiii!!!" The next instant, his entire body exploded with a bang, filling the air with shredded flesh and bloody mist.

Then the slender fingers of Yoriichi Tsugikuni's newly formed body on the floor... moved ever so slightly...

Next, an arm rose, and then... his legs curled up...

His eyes-opened!

Hollow! Clouded! Transformed into the demonic eyes of a beast!

The sacred, sunlike blaze of his Demon Slayer Mark turned murky and dark. Its shape shifted constantly as it spread from his forehead to his cheeks and neck, like the ugliest brand of an evil demon!

"Phew! Thank you, my lord... for granting me... this complete body!" The newly reborn Nameless Hundred Faces rolled his neck, his speech noticeably smoother.

Then those scarlet demonic eyes turned, looking in bewilderment at... Muzan, who had become a little girl...

Clearly, he had just blown himself up and re-formed, then been left so weakened that he could only take on a small body.

Muzan felt as though he was almost getting used to blowing himself up. After so many explosions, it no longer felt as awful as before...

"Hmm...? My lord? Are you playing a new game?"

Muzan hastily straightened his slightly disheveled, lavish kimono and cleared his throat, trying to recover the Demon King's dignity. "Ahem! Ahem! Well... this is role-playing!... Nameless Hundred Faces! How... how do you feel?! Have you adjusted to your new body?"

Hundred Faces flexed his fists. The muscles beneath his skin rippled faintly, as though he were getting accustomed to the flow of power.

He spoke, his voice no longer halting as it had been at first. "The power... is immense. I can feel what a mighty warrior this body's original owner was!"

He paused, then added, "...but deep within this body, a stubborn remnant of his will seems to linger... resisting my complete integration."

Muzan's pupils contracted!

Just as I thought! That bastard Yoriichi! Even after a thousand years dead, his bones still won't behave!

"Oh?" Muzan raised an eyebrow and pointed at Hundred Faces' current condition with a hint of gloating.

"This... is the result of that resistance?" He meant the other's withered, emaciated appearance. Though he still stood tall and straight, he lacked any fullness or vitality.

Nameless Hundred Faces lowered his head, looking at his pale, dry palms, and gave a contemptuous sneer.

"Hmph... nothing but the unwilling ravings of a departed soul! Every breath this body takes is an act of plunder by me! Give me a little more time, and I will wring out every last trace of its vital essence, every shred of its potential!"

He looked at Muzan, his mouth spreading into an inhuman, savage grin, then turned toward Kokushibo.

"Brother~ don't you... look forward to... watching me grow?" He deliberately drew out every word.

"I am not your brother!! And you will never be Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!" Kokushibo's six demonic eyes instantly filled with furious blood vessels. In a flash, he drew his sword and pressed it against Nameless Hundred Faces' neck.

"Nameless Hundred Faces!" Muzan barked, though he could not bear to strike and damage this creation he had obtained with such difficulty.

"You overstep your bounds! Know your place!!"

Faced with the blade against his throat and the Demon King's fury, Nameless Hundred Faces merely chuckled, allowing the edge to press a deeper indentation into his neck.

"My place... is to be a tool that clears obstacles from your path... isn't that right, Lord Muzan?"

"Exactly!" Muzan forced down his anger. "Your task is to kill that man called Sapphire Star! Kill him for me! Do you understand?!"

Ignoring the blade against his throat, Nameless Hundred Faces gave Muzan an extremely contorted bow, dried-out blood spilling from his neck.

"Of course... my lord..."

Before his words had faded, Nameless Hundred Faces had vanished, leaving only the faintest trace of a bizarre odor.

With a clang, Kokushibo viciously drove his long sword into the floor. In a rare display of anger, Upper Rank One snarled:

"Vile beast..."