Everything was arranged for the best!

Infinity Castle was collapsing. One illusory pavilion after another turned to ash and vanished, and the black curtain shrouding the sky shattered completely.

A faint burnt smell drifted through the air, filling their nostrils. It meant the Demon Slayers had returned to the Valley of the End.

The somewhat bewildered swordsmen looked at the scorched earth around them. Before long, their faces filled with utter elation. It seemed they had won!

"Victory?"

"We won!!!"

"We really won! Quick, slap me! I'm not dreaming, am I? I made it out alive!"

"Hahahahaha! Ha! We won!"

Countless swordsmen raised their Nichirin Blades high, cheering, shouting, and weeping.

For this single moment today, from becoming swordsmen to becoming the best among them, who knew how many comrades they had lost, or how many times they had faced death.

Meanwhile.

At the center of the explosion in the Valley of the End lay a pitch-black crater. Lu You sat there, propped against his Nichirin Blade.

Faint calls reached his ears.

He slowly opened his eyes. A familiar face came into view, streaming with tears, and he couldn't help smiling.

"What are you crying for?"

Tanjiro wiped away his tears and snot.

"I'm sorry, Big Brother You. I couldn't help you again. I'm sorry! Please don't die! I can't bear this!"

Large tears kept spilling from his eyes, dripping onto the ground and the backs of his hands. Tanjiro couldn't wipe his tear- and snot-covered face fast enough.

Lu You raised his head and looked at the people approaching.

He lifted his hand and gently stroked Tanjiro's head.

"Silly boy, don't you know me by now? Tanjiro, everything was arranged for the best.

"I'm just setting off on the next leg of my journey. Don't worry. You've done well all along.

"From now on, cherish this hard-won life with Nezuko."

When Sakonji Urokodaki took Nezuko away, she had been injected with the Demon Transformation Medicine. She was human now.

Lu You then looked at Zenitsu, who had limped over, wrapped in bandages, and was kneeling beside him, wailing incessantly.

"Big Brother You, I... I..."

"Stop right there. There's no need. Life and death are the natural order. I'm not sad, so what are you sad for?

"Zenitsu, you did it. Old Man Kuwajima would be proud of you... and of course, so am I. Cough."

He began coughing violently, his consciousness gradually blurring. Lu You frowned and looked at the other sorrowful Hashira.

The Wind Hashira gritted his teeth and dropped to one knee, his head bowed and his voice hoarse. "Sorry I couldn't get here in time. I..."

The Serpent Hashira lowered his eyes in self-reproach.

"I'm sorry. I was too weak."

"You, don't die." The weeping Love Hashira's face was a streaky mess. She clutched Lu You's arm tightly.

The veins on Lu You's arm bulged as he stared at Mitsuri Kanroji, dumbfounded.

This girl was strong!

"Shinazugawa, Iguro, I have only one piece of advice for you: cherish the people beside you and before you.

"As for Miss Shinobu..."

Shinobu Kocho trembled slightly, a clear tear slipping from the corner of her eye. "I'm here."

"I'm sorry for the trouble, but I still need you to resolve the Demon Slayer Mark's side effects. Please collect Muzan's blood."

"Thank you. Thank you..."

Lu You turned to the downcast Kyojuro Rengoku and Giyu Tomioka, and the corners of his mouth finally lifted.

"Rengoku, there's no need for tears between us, is there? Haha, seeing you always makes me feel much better. Keep lighting the way for others like the sun!"

"I understand! No, I promise!"

Giyu Tomioka clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles cracked. He kept his head lowered, not daring to look at Lu You.

He blamed himself and suffered. What had happened with Sabito was happening again. Why was it always someone else, and not him?

Of course, he could never know that this was the grand finale Lu You had designed for himself.

"There's no need to grieve over my departure, Giyu. I told you, this is my mission. Everything was arranged for the best.

"Promise me that, for the rest of your life, you won't keep shouldering such heavy burdens. I want you to live for yourself."

A faint mist gathered in Giyu's eyes, sorrow appearing on his face. "I promise, You."

Lastly, Lu You looked at the towering Stone Hashira. He too had awakened his Demon Slayer Mark and was now bidding the others farewell.

Finally, he pressed his palms together and sat cross-legged beside Lu You like a wrathful Wisdom King, a smile on his lips.

"Gyomei, shall we head out together?"

Gyomei Himejima opened his pale, tearful eyes and recited, "Exactly what I had in mind. Namu Amida Butsu."

They smiled at each other and closed their eyes at the same time, their breaths slowly fading. The others remained silent, clenching their fists in helpless frustration.

[Congratulations to the host for killing the source of all evil, the progenitor of demons—Muzan Kibutsuji—and thoroughly advancing the development of the entire world. Template—Yuji Itadori applauds you. Synchronization Value +20%!]

[Congratulations to the host for fulfilling the hidden ultimate ideal: dying surrounded by everyone. This deeply moved Template—Yuji Itadori, filling him with envy and triggering an absolute critical hit. Synchronization Value +100%! Final settlement rewards increased by 20%!]

[Congratulations on reaching 70% cumulative Synchronization Value. Trait unlocked: Cursed Energy Like the Sea—Purple!]

[Congratulations on reaching 80% cumulative Synchronization Value. Trait unlocked: Cursed Energy Like Steel—Purple!]

[Congratulations on reaching 100% cumulative Synchronization Value. Trait unlocked: Absolute Cursed Energy Manipulation—Purple!]

[Congratulations on breaking the cumulative Synchronization Value limit. Trait unlocked: Soul Touch—Purple!]

[Congratulations on acquiring a total of 5 purple skills. Final settlement rewards +80%!]

Lu You's final thought before his consciousness faded was:

Fuck, if you'd given me these earlier, I could've speedrun Demon Slayer in a day. Why the hell did I even learn a Breathing Style...

By then, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Sakonji Urokodaki, and the other noncombatants had also received the news.

Old Man Urokodaki felt dizzy at first. He sat alone in silence for a while before recovering.

Even his figure looked much more stooped.

He let out a deep sigh.

"You, was this your choice?"

From what he knew of Lu You, he was certain Lu You had a better way. But since he had chosen this, he must have had his own reasons.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki rose shakily to his feet.

"A new era has begun."

A thousand years of enmity had finally ended at Lu You's hands.

He didn't know how to describe his feelings: both joyful and sorrowful, both grateful and guilty.

After Muzan's death, the Demon Slayer Corps disbanded following Ubuyashiki's announcement, and some of the Hashira-level swordsmen returned to normal lives.

Others were willing to remain with the Ubuyashiki Family.

Time flew, and the years slipped by.

Three years had passed since the final battle.

Tanjiro returned to Mount Kumotori with Nezuko and resumed a peaceful life.

During that time, he hadn't eased up on practicing his Breathing Style, even though demons no longer existed in the world.

Yet Tanjiro always had a feeling.

He would have a use for it.

Within half a year, Tanjiro had mastered the Transparent World. Within a year, he had also learned to use the Bright Red Nichirin Sword on his own.

"If I'd known how to use this back then, we definitely wouldn't have gotten held up..."

He continued refining Sun Breathing, trying to reach its pinnacle. His former weakness had left him able only to watch helplessly as his family and friends died.

Now, he would protect everyone with the blade in his hand.

Several more years later, on the day of remembrance that year, Tanjiro, now a young man, brought Kanao and Nezuko to Lu You's grave, his face sorrowful.

Suddenly, the sense of a mysterious call made him pause in a slight daze. "Who's there?"

Star Realm Space.

Lu You's consciousness slowly returned to his original body. He opened his eyes to a vast, empty white space.

[Congratulations to the host for completing a traversal!]

[Calculating final rewards!]

[Template character: Yuji Itadori

Cumulative Synchronization Value: 180%

Final settlement reward bonus multiplier: 100%

Final reward exchange multiplier: 180% + 180% * 100% = 360%]

[You may distribute this 360% among the following rewards. Redeemed abilities will merge into your original body:]