I, the spiritual mentor of beautiful girls from all over the world

"My lord! Forgive me for not understanding! How can you allow such a thing to exist?! A ghost is a ghost! It eats people! It lies! How can you—!!"

His words were abruptly cut short by extreme anger, his chest heaving violently as if he were about to draw his sword at any moment.

Shinobu Kocho, Giyu Tomioka, and Muichiro Tokito are all as silent as mountains.

Meanwhile, Kanro "847" Teru Mitsuri was torn between "How scary, he's going to be executed" and "But he looks so pitiful," and ultimately decided to continue observing Shinobu's reaction.

The opposition from the five pillars was like a knife, while the silence of the four pillars was like a wall.

...

The rough gravel pressed against Tanjiro's cheeks, cold and hard.

Every word spoken by the four pillars was like an invisible blade, piercing his heart.

Tanjiro Kamado wanted to scream, to argue, to use all his strength to tell them—Nezuko is different!

She overcame her bloodthirsty instincts by sleeping for two years, and she never harmed a single person!

But the arms tied behind his back and the heavy pressure on his back locked all his words in his throat.

He could only bite his chapped lips tightly until the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

His gaze stubbornly pierced through everyone's figures, past their indifferent or wavering expressions, and locked firmly on the small wooden box that held all his hopes and his sister's life.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki seemed to have anticipated this outcome.

He wasn't angry; he only let out a barely audible sigh.

That sigh contained helplessness and pity, but it did not waver.

He raised his hand gently.

The white-haired youngest daughter beside him understood immediately and unfolded a letter.

A childlike yet exceptionally clear voice echoed in the deathly silent courtyard.

That was a letter written with the life of the former water pillar, Urokodaki Sakonji.

In the letter, he vouched for Nezuko's entire reputation as a former "Pillar" that she had never eaten a human during the two years Nezuko was demonized.

The letter ended with an increasingly somber tone—

"If Nezuko does anything to attack humans."

"Then, he, Sakonji Urokodaki, along with Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro Kamado, will be together—"

The girl paused for a moment, then used all her strength to utter the last few words:

"—Seppuku (ritual suicide) as an atonement!"

"boom--!"

This promise isn't a bomb, but it's more terrifying than one!

The anger and disdain on the faces of the five staunchly opposed pillars instantly froze, turning into pure, unbelievable shock.

Three lives lost! Two of them were Pillar-level swordsmen they respected or looked down upon!

They staked their lives and honors, the highest honor of the Demon Slayer Corps.

This has gone beyond the realm of common sense, reaching a level they cannot refute called "enlightenment."

This heavy "realization" weighed heavily on Tanjiro's back, like a mountain.

It was even a thousand times, ten thousand times stronger than the force of that white-haired soldier.

He was stunned at first, his mind went blank.

Master Urokodaki… Mr. Tomioka… He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, as if his soul had been ripped from his body by these words.

The next second, the emotions that had been suppressed so intensely broke through the dam of reason.

“Ugh…ah…” A broken sob, not like a human voice, squeezed out from deep in his throat.

He could no longer hold on, and his whole body went limp.

Tears didn't just overflow like a dam bursting; they gushed from his bloodshot eyes like scalding blood, splashing onto the dry sand and leaving a dark stain in an instant.

He wasn't crying because of grievance or despair, but because of the trust and entrustment he couldn't bear or repay.

He pressed his forehead against the rough ground with all his might, sobbing uncontrollably.

The whole place was dead silent.

Only the boy's heart-wrenching cries and heavy breathing echoed in the summer courtyard.

……

The butterfly rested quietly on its knees under the eaves, like a beautiful yet fragile painting.

Sunlight streamed through the eaves, casting dappled patterns on her signature butterfly-shaped brocade, enveloping her in a soft yet distant halo.

Her face remained completely expressionless; her small and beautiful features were serene, almost like ice and snow.

She looked at the boy on the ground, trembling with grief, her gaze neither scrutinizing nor judging, but simply watching quietly.

Just as Tanjiro let out a suppressed sob—

A barely perceptible ripple swept across the depths of those beautiful eyes, which seemed to be home to purple butterflies.

Like a pebble thrown into a deep, ancient well, it instantly returns to boundless silence.

Her hand, hidden in the wide sleeves of her haori, unconsciously curled its fingertips for a moment, as if trying to grasp something, but then slowly relaxed in the next second, returning to its original position.

No one saw this subtle movement, nor could anyone understand the complex emotions hidden beneath her cold expression.

She understood the weight of that "enlightenment" that involved risking one's life better than anyone else.

In her mind, her sister's gentle smile flashed by; it had once been the warm light of her entire world.

"Shinobu, if only one day... we could live in harmony with the demons."

—That naive, unrealistic dream, along with the person who was talking in their sleep, has long been devoured by evil spirits.

However, as her sister's figure gradually blurred, another figure became incredibly clear in her mind.

That was Lynn, her teacher.

He stood under the cherry blossom corridor, his posture languid yet exuding an air of composure that commanded all things.

Those deep eyes seemed to be able to easily see through the essence of everything in the world, and without any words, they were enough to convince her and make her follow them.

"Be patient. Never be deceived by the inefficient way of expressing emotions, but learn to interpret the data behind them."

His calm voice, like the most precise measuring ruler, measured every phenomenon and every fluctuation.

"Tears are the cheapest liquid in the world. But a promise, especially a promise made with three lives at stake, is no longer an emotion."

His words were not whispers, but rather like a command from the highest authority, leaving an undeniable mark on the depths of her frozen soul.

"It is an 'outlier data point,' a most valuable variable that is capable of challenging existing 'rule-based models.'"

"Your task is neither to sympathize with it nor to deny it. Rather, it is to grasp it, dissect it, utilize it... to verify a completely new possibility."

The teacher's words completely stripped her of that last remaining warmth called "sympathy".

Yes, the older sister's gentleness cannot vanquish the demon, but the teacher's "logic" can.

Furthermore, only the teacher's "logic" could guide her onto the path of ultimate revenge, or even beyond revenge.

She slowly raised her eyelids, her gaze passing over the weeping boy, and finally landing on the small wooden box.

His gaze remained calm, but it held an unwavering determination to verify things personally.

Ultimately, enlightenment and tears need the cruelest facts to prove them.

This brother and sister were the perfect "pop quiz" that the teacher had delivered right to their doorstep.

...

However, Sanemi Shinazugawa remained unmoved.

A more ferocious, obsessive look even appeared on his face.

"So what if they commit seppuku?! Can those innocent people who were eaten and tortured to death come back to life?!"

"This so-called 'guarantee' is nothing but another naive insult to the deceased! It's utterly worthless!"

"I, Sanemi Shinazugawa, will never tolerate any 'exception' that could give birth to more demons!"

His words were harsh, like a knife scraping against rock, yet they were also incredibly realistic.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki remained silent.

On his pale face, only the purple mark on his forehead gleamed faintly in the sunlight. He knew that simple assurances could not convince these children who had witnessed too many human tragedies and were covered in wounds.

"There is no guarantee that she will not attack humans, but there is also no proof that she will attack humans."

The lord's voice rang out again, still gentle, but with an added touch of unwavering determination.

"It is a fact that Nezuko has not eaten people for two years. It is also a fact that three people were willing to risk their lives for her."

"If you want to object, then the objecting party also needs to provide strong evidence that she would attack humans."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words, like an unshakeable pointer, set the tone for this chaotic debate.

He didn't shout or give orders; he simply calmly presented a "reason" to everyone.

These words instantly froze the tense atmosphere in the courtyard.

Purgatory withdrew its fighting spirit, Yu Sui stopped its playful amusement, and even the sound of Beiming Yuxingming's prayer beads slowed down by half a beat.

They weren't silenced, but rather overwhelmed by the absolute fairness and decisiveness beneath that gentleness.

Yes, how do you prove it?

A glint of ruthlessness, born of being driven to the brink, flashed in Shinazugawa Sanemi's eyes.

"evidence?"

"It's easy!"

He suddenly stood up, his movements as swift and decisive as a predatory beast, snatching the wooden box from the ground without the slightest hesitation.

"If she's a human being, we can let her live."

"But a ghost is a ghost! It's an ugly, disgusting monster!"

"Let me prove to you how ridiculous the so-called kinship is in the face of a demon's instinct!"

He drew his Nichirin Blade and, without hesitation, slashed a deep, bone-revealing wound into his own arm!

"Bah—!"

Fresh blood gushed out instantly.

That wasn't ordinary blood.

It's the rarest of all blood types!

To a ghost, it is a deadly poison that is a hundred times more tempting than the finest delicacies or the most exquisite flavors!

He brought his bleeding arm to the crack in the wooden crate, a sickly, ferocious smile on his face.

"Come out, you ghost!"

"Don't hold back! This is your favorite food!"

From inside the wooden crate came muffled, painful scratching sounds and growls, as if some trapped wild beast was struggling desperately. The sounds were deep and heart-wrenching.

That was Nezuko, waging a desperate battle against her most primal and insane instincts!

"Hey, Shinazugawa, demons don't come out under the sun. If you want to prove it, at least go to the shadows, right?"

Obanai Iguro reminded him in his sarcastic tone, neither warm nor cold.

"My lord, please forgive my rudeness!"

Shinazugawa Sanemi let out a hoarse, piercing, almost hysterical laugh, picked up the box, and leaped into the shadow of the lord's mansion.

For him, this was not an easy test.

This is a defense of his entire worldview.

His most tender mother in the world, even after becoming a ghost, still became a monster who had lost her mind.

In the end... he personally beheaded his own mother.