Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

And he is naturally no exception.

But what is the price for gaining all this?

Mitsuha was the only one of the three siblings to inherit their mother's terminal illness, and the symptoms began to appear when she was a teenager.

If Mitsuha hadn't met Muzan, and if she hadn't successfully transformed into a demon, her short life would have inevitably come to an end soon.

While possessing that remarkable talent, Mitsuha also acquired a fragile body with a lifespan as short as a shooting star.

This is the price Mitsuha has to pay.

If she hadn't been lucky enough to meet Lord Muzan, she would have been a tragic figure, dying before she could even display her talents.

If extraordinary talent inevitably comes with a short life, then all of this should be what his sister deserves.

Although Yan Sheng might feel envious or even jealous, he would never resent or be hostile towards his sister because of it.

Yan Sheng's attitude towards Mitsuha was completely different from his attitude towards Yoriichi.

Kokushi never felt he owed Yoriichi anything.

Everything the Son of God receives comes without a price; he is born a favorite of the heavens, enjoying the utmost divine favor.

But he truly owed his younger sister a great deal.

It's always been like this, from childhood to adulthood...

"Now that we have mastered it, we should go and pay our respects to Lord Muzan."

"Yes, elder brother!"

Composing himself, Yan Sheng spoke to San Ye in front of him.

Ignoring Mitsuha's cheerful response, he turned to grab the head from Ubuyashiki.

But at that moment, an inexplicable, intense sense of fear, as if surging from the depths of their souls, swept over Mitsuha and Mitsuha's bodies like a tidal wave, leaving the brother and sister frozen in place!

Unable to move, their vision gradually blurred. The brother and sister vaguely saw that they seemed to have suddenly found themselves in an unknown suburb, with a fiery red figure rushing towards them, enveloped in blinding flames.

The next moment, all the scenery disappeared, and the brother and sister returned to the dilapidated temple once again.

Chapter 49 The Weak, Pitiful, and Helpless Muzan

"Huh...huh..."

Her chest heaved violently, Mitsuha's eyes widened, her breathing rapid, her mind filled with countless questions.

What was that just now?

Where did that happen? Was it a hallucination?

However, Yan Sheng's similar reaction proved that what she had just felt was not an illusion.

But if it's not a hallucination, then what could it be...?

"It's Yoriichi."

Quickly adjusting his breathing, Yan Sheng took a deep breath and explained in a deep voice:

"The fiery red figure in those illusions must have been Yoriichi."

Yan Sheng will not admit his mistake.

No matter who he mistook, he would never mistake this figure he longed for, a figure he couldn't forget even in his dreams.

The red-clad swordsman and the raging flames in the illusion were Yoriichi and the Breath of the Sun he was using.

Yan Sheng just couldn't understand why this illusion suddenly appeared in their minds.

"No, elder brother, that's not an illusion..."

Suddenly realizing that the connection between her soul and Muzan had been severed, Mitsuha instantly understood everything and quickly said:

"That's what just happened! Lord Muzan... ran into Yoriichi!"

"Monster...that monster..."

In the deserted mountains, Muzan, who had only managed to escape from Yoriichi's clutches by suddenly self-destructing, had now barely regained his human form and was walking unsteadily along the mountain path.

He now has a full head of white hair, is completely naked except for a pair of shorts, and his body is covered with ugly, unhealable scars from Yoriichi's Nichirin Blade.

"It's so hot... Damn it! What's wrong with that monster's knife? Why won't these burns heal?!"

"Hey! Who's there?!"

As he cursed, shouts from nearby villagers suddenly came from afar. Muzan shuddered and immediately shut up, hiding in a patch of grass beside him.

What was that sound? Who was shouting just now?

Could it be that monstrous man who's caught up with us?!

Damn it! He doesn't have the strength to self-destruct again!

Not daring to breathe loudly, Muzan cautiously peeked out from the bushes, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then tiptoed out, running wildly along the mountain path for hundreds of meters in one breath!

At this moment, Muzan was so weak, pitiful, and helpless.

"Damn it! How can there be such a monster in this world?!"

In his mind, the scene of being frantically hacked to death by Yoriichi kept replaying itself, and that long-lost feeling of death, which he hadn't experienced for hundreds of years, once again tightly enveloped Muzan's entire body.

In that instant, the feeling of vulnerability and helplessness he once had as a human seemed to return to Muzan, making him feel every cell in his body tremble.

That's not human!

That man must not be human!

It's a monster even more monstrous than him!

He doesn't want to see him again...

He was going to hide, he was going to hide for a hundred years... no! Two hundred years!

He didn't want to encounter that monster again; he wanted to hide from it forever! Until the monster was completely dead!

"Master Wuhan!"

Startled by the sudden shout, Muzan was about to find a place to hide when he recognized the owner of the voice.

The visitors were none other than Mitsuha and Kokusatsu, whom they had searched for all the way from the temple.

After learning the approximate area of ​​Yoriichi's mission from Yan Sheng, the brother and sister followed the lingering aura of Muzan in the vicinity and tracked him all the way here.

After confirming Muzan's location, Yan Sheng and Mitsuha exchanged a glance, then quickly turned and left.

"Mitsuha, I..."

Upon seeing Mitsuha suddenly appear in front of him, Muzan was about to say something when Mitsuha interrupted him.

"Lord Muzan, please hold on, I will heal you immediately."

As the formation activated, her pupils transformed into the shape of mandalas, and Mitsuha immediately saw Muzan's entire body.

Muzan, who should have been free of any karma, was now covered in numerous karmic threads as thick as fingers.

Like broken spider silk, they clung tightly to Muzan's body along the burn scars.

But unlike normal causal lines, on these broken causal lines, Mitsuha cannot see any "past" or "future"; their existence serves only one purpose—

He inflicted Muzan with scorching burns that he could never recover from.

Ah, the cleverness of the gods.

In an instant, Mitsuha understood the origin of these broken causal lines.

Since the demons had no causal threads, the gods, who could never directly punish Muzan, used Yoriichi's brother... through the blade of this son of god, to wrap these causal threads around him, in order to curse him.

Under normal circumstances, the burns caused by these causal lines would forever scorch Muzan's body and continuously drain his power.

Fortunately, Muzan had Mitsuha, whose unique Blood Demon Art could completely remove these causal threads for him.

Unlike normal causal lines, Muzan's causal lines are broken and do not have a direct connection with the gods in heaven.

Therefore, as long as Mitsuha activates the formation to eliminate them, even the gods will not be able to restore them.

"Lord Muzan, please wait a moment, I'll be right there..."

The mandala flower in her hand kept spinning, and in Mitsuha's vision, as she continuously activated her Blood Demon Art, the causal threads wrapped around Muzan began to dissolve little by little.

From Muzan's perspective, although he couldn't see these causal lines, he could clearly feel that the burn scars on his body that were originally impossible to heal were being rapidly repaired.

As the burning sensation in his body gradually subsided, Muzan, weak, pitiful, and helpless, gazed at Mitsuha, who was earnestly healing him, and suddenly felt a little... teary-eyed.

Mitsuha, you're so powerful...

Without giving Muzan much time to build up his emotions, Mitsuba quickly cleared away the causal threads on Muzan's body, then put away his formation and let out a long sigh of relief.

Only then did she look up at the rather disheveled Muzan before her, and smiled as she said:

"That's enough, Lord Muzan. I think your body should no longer feel those burning sensations."

Compared to the previous causal changes to Ubuyashiki, removing the causal threads from Muzan this time did not consume too much of Mitsuha's strength.

This is normal. After all, they are just some broken, rootless duckweed. Without the direct blessing of divine power, they can be modified however they want in front of Mitsuha, the usurper who stole the authority of the gods.

Looking at Mitsuha's smiling face, Muzan suddenly choked up.

When he was in such a sorry state, the first people to come to his aid were Mitsuha, whom he had transformed into, and her brother.

Even though she had already escaped his control, instead of trying to escape and hide, she was the first to try to come to him and protect him.

Mitsuha, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!

"Mitsuha...I...you..."

Muzan seemed to want to express his gratitude, but having not said anything like that to anyone for hundreds of years, he couldn't come up with a suitable word at this moment.

Like a lost "child" who has finally met his long-lost "mother," Muzan, whose heart had been broken by Yoriichi's attack, now simply stares intently at Mitsuha with his wet eyes wide open.

Until Yan Sheng returned with several demon hunters.

"Lord Muzan, I have brought back the food for you."

"Woo...wow!"

He casually tossed the demon hunters, whose hands and feet were bound and whose mouths were stuffed with cloth, onto the ground. Yan Sheng knelt on one knee and bowed his head to Muzan, who had suddenly jumped behind Mitsuha. He spoke in a deep voice.

That's right, his departure just now was to find food for the weakened Muzan.

Unlike humans, demons cannot recover their lost strength through rest or sleep; the only way they can replenish their strength is by devouring humans.

Among these, the stronger the human, the more physical strength they can replenish.

Yan Sheng originally intended to capture a few villagers nearby to make do, but he hadn't gone far when he unexpectedly ran into a team of demon hunters who were on a mission in the vicinity, so he casually tied them up and brought them back.

After all, compared to ordinary villagers, powerful demon hunters can naturally replenish far more stamina...

Glancing down at the few demon slayers still struggling at her feet, Mitsuha turned to Muzan, who was cowering behind her in fear of Yan Sheng's face, and said with a smile:

"Lord Muzan, please recover your strength first. We can discuss the rest later."

Chapter 50 From a human perspective, she could almost be considered a god! (Bonus Chapter)

At the same time, in a village on the other side, an oil lamp was lit in a teahouse that was still open at night, and seven or eight customers were sitting sparsely inside eating.

Judging from their travel-worn appearance, they were clearly travelers who had been traveling all night and were just stopping here for a rest.

Yoriichi and Tamayo found a corner seat and sat down, talking in hushed tones.

"Muzan is an extremely cowardly man who is terrified of death. After tonight's incident, I think he probably won't easily appear before the world again until it's completely certain that you, Yoriichi, are dead..."

Upon hearing Tamayo's words, Yoriichi immediately asked:

"Isn't there any way to lure him out again, like by announcing to the public that I'm dead or something...?"

"This is impossible."

Tamayo shook her head slightly, giving an affirmative answer once again.

"Muzan values ​​his life above all else. Once he feels threatened, no amount of temptation can lure him out."

I'm quite certain that after tonight, he'll find a place no one knows and hide away for a hundred or even two hundred years, until he exceeds your lifespan, Mr. Yoriichi."

After she finished speaking, both of them fell silent.