Muzan’s Death

Gyomei Himejima’s Nichirin Blade failed to hold for even two seconds before shattering.

But it had at least hindered Muzan for a moment and served its purpose.

Shimizu flashed in front of Muzan, swung his Nichirin Blade with both hands, and slashed.

"Separation Breathing Seventh Form Mirror of Separation!"

A bright, dazzling blue circular mirror appeared, then shattered with a thunderous crash.

The giant infant instantly broke apart, turning into chunks of flesh that fell away and revealed Muzan’s despairing figure.

Five figures moved in unison to block Muzan’s path, while Shimizu held his sword in one hand, standing against the light as he watched Muzan before him.

In a daze, a strand of golden dawn rose in the east.

Yet Muzan still refused to give up.

From the moment he was born, he had nearly been discarded as a stillborn infant. Since then, he had fought against death.

Now, more than a thousand years had passed. Not only had his desire to survive not weakened, it had grown stronger with time.

But at this point, no matter how strong his will to live was, it no longer mattered.

The sun had risen. Even if Shimizu did not act, the remaining Pillars could delay him until he was burned to ashes.

"Serpent Breathing Fifth Form Slithering Serpent!"

"Stone Breathing Fifth Form Arcs of Justice!"

"Sun Breathing Twelfth Form Flame Dance!"

At that moment, every Pillar unleashed their most powerful technique.

Shimizu did not even make a move. He merely remained vigilant, guarding against casualties or other accidents.

Only at the very end, when Muzan tried once more to break through the encirclement, did Shimizu act.

"Separation Breathing Sixth Form Dragon Night Dance of Separation."

Separation Release Chakra surged forth. A bright blue horned dragon pounced on Muzan and slaughtered him, while the last scraps of flesh he had left in this world turned to ash beneath the sunlight that had just begun to spread.

Clang!

A Nichirin Blade fell to the ground.

A swordsman suddenly dropped to his knees, staring blankly in the direction where Muzan had vanished, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Are the demons… finally all gone?"

"Not necessarily."

Shimizu shook his head.

All the swordsmen who had just relaxed immediately tensed up again.

Tamayo and Yushiro were even more anxious.

"We are no longer demons."

Tamayo gently took two syringes from her sleeve.

"Yushiro and I injected ourselves with the medicine that turns us back into humans just before sunrise. Otherwise, we could not be bathing in warm sunlight again like this. Nezuko has also turned back into a human."

"Yes, Lady Tamayo is right!"

Shimizu shook his head.

"I wasn’t talking about you. Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki have been eliminated, so no more demons will appear in the future. But the demons who appeared in the Infinite Castle tonight were all relatively powerful. The weak demons Muzan believed were useless in battle may not have died.

"They may be weak, but they still threaten ordinary people. If they continue eating many people, their strength will keep increasing."

So that was it…

That made sense. Muzan had created so many demons; there could very well be some that had slipped through the net.

Most of the Corps members agreed with Shimizu’s explanation.

In truth, Shimizu had his own selfish motives for saying this.

With Muzan eliminated, where should the Demon Slayer Corps go from here?

Many people had joined the Demon Slayer Corps solely to fight demons and avenge themselves upon them.

Now that Muzan was dead and the number of demons had greatly decreased, many swordsmen might leave the Demon Slayer Corps.

Those officials above also would not want to see an organization like the Demon Slayer Corps continue to exist.

It was an unofficial armed organization with bases all across Japan, a complete intelligence network and personnel and logistics system, as well as several hundred people who had mastered Breathing Styles and possessed extraordinary strength.

The organization had also accumulated enormous wealth and connections over several centuries, with an orderly ability to preserve and cultivate its own ranks.

If it were not needed to fight demons, what ruler would allow such a force to exist right under their nose?

And Shimizu did not want to disband the Demon Slayer Corps so quickly.

Even if it had to be disbanded, it should be done gradually over the following years. Only then would he have room to maneuver.

Shimizu hoped to preserve the Demon Slayer Corps in another form, as a card in his hand.

He hoped that, with the forces inherited from the Ubuyashiki Clan and his own strength, he could take control of Japan within five to eight years, change Japan’s system, and restore the shogunate.

By ordinary means, it would have been impossible for him to take control of the country in such a short time. Even entering the cabinet within ten years would have been considered fast.

So restoring the shogunate was the most suitable approach.

Plotting for the Japanese emperor’s throne would not be easy, but if the shogunate were restored and the Japanese emperor fell into his hands, he might have room to make further moves afterward.

Shimizu was not worried about failure, either.

In this era before nuclear weapons had appeared, he was invincible with his immense power and demonized body.

Naturally, he could not reveal these plans yet. Shimizu himself had only a rough plan in mind.

Just as all the swordsmen were cheering joyfully over their victory, Gyomei Himejima suddenly clutched his chest in pain and fell to one knee. The weakness in his body rapidly worsened.

"Mr. Gyomei!"

Tanjiro, who was closest to Gyomei, hurried forward to support him.

Shimizu frowned and stepped forward. He first used the Mystical Palm Technique to restore some of Gyomei’s strength, then bit his finger and quickly used his own blood to draw sealing incantations over Gyomei Himejima’s arms.

His Demon Slayer Mark was located on both arms, forming gray-black patterns like stone.

After covering both arms with incantations, Shimizu immediately drew a circle of incantations around them.

All the swordsmen watched Shimizu and Gyomei Himejima with deep concern.

They did not know what had happened or why the Stone Pillar, who had been so mighty while fighting Muzan moments ago, had suddenly become like this.

But they could tell that Shimizu was using some method to save Gyomei.

Several Pillars silently formed a perimeter around them.

They had all witnessed some of Shimizu’s methods before, such as his miraculous healing ability.

"Seal of the Corpse Soul Collection!"

Shimizu formed Hand Seals and pressed his hands onto Gyomei’s Demon Slayer Mark.

The sealing incantations on the ground suddenly crawled over Gyomei’s body like insects. In the end, they gathered beneath Shimizu’s palm and formed an extremely complex incantation.

Gyomei Himejima let out a muffled groan, then raised his head as he panted.

Shimizu nodded to himself.

This sealing method was indeed effective.

It seemed his guess had been correct.

The Demon Slayer Mark was likely a method of utilizing Natural Energy, similar to senjutsu, though it was closer to an inferior version of senjutsu—Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal.