Kagaya Ubuyashiki listened quietly. At some point, his hands, covered in purple blotches, had clenched tightly into fists. His breathing grew somewhat rapid with the surge of emotion, but he soon steadied it again through sheer force of will.
"Rokuya." Oyakata-sama's voice was no longer as gentle as before; it carried a ringing firmness. "Look me in the eyes."
Rokuya turned and met those blind eyes that seemed to see through everything.
"You did nothing wrong. In fact, you were braver and truer than the vast majority of people." Kagaya Ubuyashiki spoke each word distinctly, his tone filled with unquestionable certainty.
"Oyakata-sama..." Rokuya froze.
"The swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps are human, not gods." Kagaya Ubuyashiki sighed, a sound of profound helplessness and compassion. "We have emotions and desires, fear and selfishness. Tanaka fled out of cowardice-that is a failing of human nature. He lied to conceal his cowardice-that was his sin. You had no obligation to sacrifice yourself for someone who wanted to harm you. Your standing by without intervening was not an act of vigilante justice, but fate passing its fairest judgment upon him."
Oyakata-sama reached out and patted Rokuya squarely on the shoulder. "As for Reiko... she was a pitiable person. Blinded by her lover's lies and driven by hatred, she ultimately fell into the abyss. But you must understand, Rokuya: what truly drove her into that desperate situation was neither your refusal to intervene nor Tanaka's cowardice."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki abruptly raised his head, deep-seated hatred and resolve showing on his disfigured face. "It was Muzan Kibutsuji! It was those demons who treat human beings as worthless grass! They created this twisted world, forcing humans to reveal their ugliest sides between life and death! If there were no demons in this world, Tanaka might have been