To be abandoned, to be accepted, and then to lose everything once again—at this moment, Kanao Tsuyuri had already made her own unshakeable decision.
In the past, whenever she had to make a choice, she would always rely on flipping her coin. But this time...
Things were completely different.
The overwhelming longing and the intense thoughts swirling inside her heart had exploded the very instant she laid eyes on Kanae Kocho.
Human emotion functions exactly like that: water droplets slowly carving through solid stone, ten thousand rivers eventually converging into a vast ocean. For a person who has stared into the abyss of loss, she no longer cared what trials she might face, nor did she care whether she even had the right to choose anymore. The only thing she knew with certainty was that when a second chance finally materialized right before her eyes, she had to ask herself one single question.
Is this going to be the last opportunity of my entire life?
The coin was never tossed into the air. Yet, she already had her final answer.
Kanao stopped arguing with Kanae. Instead, she just stared at the woman in front of her with a look of pure, serene happiness. She listened quietly to her mentor's lecture, looking exactly like the fragile, silent little girl who had first arrived at the butterfly estate all those years ago.
Standing a short distance away, Li Ke watched Kanae acting like an overly worried, hovering mother while lecturing Kanao. He couldn't help but voice his genuine admiration.
"Mmm, Kanae is definitely going to make a wonderful mother."
His casual remark prompted Mai Shiranui to forcefully elbow his chest once again.
"And yet you still chose to ruin her innocent life."
"That's because my tastes happen to lean toward women who are exceptionally brilliant and breathtakingly beautiful."
Li Ke let out a soft, dramatic sigh. Mai had originally raised her hand, fully prepared to smack his head with her folding fan. But upon hearing his shameless compliment, her posture softened. She merely reached up to adjust her hair, letting out a quiet, disgruntled mutter.
"Then I guess I'm just incredibly unlucky to have caught your eye."
Li Ke didn't say anything back. After all, the voluptuous woman resting in his arms right now was also one of those delightfully 'unlucky' ones.
Over the next few days, Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Amane Ubuyashiki extended several more formal invitations to Li Ke. He didn't outright accept them, nor did he flatly refuse. He played his cards with total passivity, maintaining a strictly detached stance. Meanwhile, once Shinobu Kocho caught wind of the choice her older sister Kanae had made, she chose to offer her silent, unspoken approval.
As the days bled together, the internal situation plaguing the Demon Slayer Corps grew increasingly toxic.
Although a Flame Pillar like Giyu Tomioka had successfully stepped forward—leading a fresh wave of military enforcers to forcefully suppress the unruly, rebellious factions of the Corps—the structural cracks and boiling hatred between the members had been completely laid bare to the world.
However, the primary reason an all-out, bloody civil war hadn't officially erupted yet was remarkably simple.
Li Ke had not yet eliminated the very last monster.
Li Ke understood the geopolitical chessboard perfectly. The exact moment he slaughtered that final otherworldly entity, Muzan Kibutsuji would go into hiding, and the entire infrastructure of the Demon Slayer Corps would instantly collapse. Because of this, he deliberately chose to wait until the final day of Kagaya Ubuyashiki's natural life before making his move toward the coordinates marked on his map.
He couldn't afford to stall any longer anyway. He could see with clarity that the ominous progression bar tracking the map's status was skyrocketing. If he allowed this trend to continue unchecked, the remaining monster would either undergo a massive surge in power, or the other two slain abominations might actually resurrect from the dead.
This was not the time to be picky or try to farm another activation of Genius Mode. If the other two colossal monsters managed to revive, it would be an unmitigated disaster.
Furthermore, Li Ke possessed zero intelligence regarding the specific powers and unique abilities of this final monster. The fractured, infighting Demon Slayer Corps was completely incapable of deploying scouts to conduct reconnaissance on the area. Even the highly intelligent Kasugai Crows they attempted to send out vanished without a single trace, never returning to report. His only viable option was a direct, frontal assault.
Still, right before setting out on the expedition, Li Ke arranged one final, private meeting with Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
"Are you departing for battle, Li Ke-san?"
Li Ke nodded as he looked down at Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who was staring back with a thoroughly calm expression. Truth be told, Li Ke harbored a slight aversion toward this man. However, hunting down the monsters was entirely for his own benefit, not for the sake of the so-called Demon Slayer Corps.
The only reason he had treated the Corps well in the first place was purely because of Mitsuri Kanroji and the Kocho sisters.
Everyone involved understood that fact perfectly.
Li Ke casually balanced the heavy greatsword in his hands and gave a direct nod. Over the past few days, he had gotten plenty of good rest and properly adjusted his mindset. There was no point in delaying things any longer.
"Yes. After all, that is my purpose here."
Looking at Kagaya, who was confined to his bed once again, Li Ke let out a helpless sigh.
By this point, he had a pretty good idea of why the man didn't want to extend his own lifespan any further.
Through the precise detection of his sensory perception, he could feel that Kagaya's internal organs were completely riddled with advanced disease. Aside from still being able to move, his tongue had lost all physical sensation. His nasal passages were blocked by massive growths, forcing him to expend immense effort just to take a single breath. To make matters worse, his lungs were heavily scarred and degraded. Every single breath he drew brought an agonizing wave of physical torment.
His nervous system was almost entirely dead, and his blood vessels and muscle tissues were constantly decaying.
The only reason he was still breathing at all was purely because the lifespan Li Ke had granted him previously was a conceptual extension, rather than actual physical healing. He was alive, but he was living a fate truly worse than death.
Looking at the timing of it all, it was highly likely that the very instant Li Ke resurrected him, his body had deteriorated right back into this crippled state. This was the direct consequence of being haunted by the intense grudges of those slaughtered by Muzan Kibutsuji. But that reality only made Li Ke question the logic of this world's spirits.
If you spirits have a grudge, you should be haunting Muzan Kibutsuji! Why the hell are you taking it out on the Ubuyashiki bloodline?
"I know this request is incredibly unfair to you, and it forces a heavy burden onto your shoulders that you have no obligation to carry. However, I must still beg of you... Please take command of the Demon Slayer Corps. For those of us whose lives have been utterly destroyed by demons, if there is anyone in this entire era capable of helping us drag Muzan Kibutsuji out into the light, it is only you."
Kagaya's physical eyes could no longer see Li Ke, yet his spiritual senses could 'perceive' him perfectly. In Kagaya's vision, Li Ke resembled a massive, perpetually roaring golden bonfire—a deity radiating a sacred, divine aura.
"We can discuss that when the time comes. But to be perfectly blunt, I really don't appreciate this kind of moral blackmail."
Li Ke kept his expression completely neutral as he stared back at the dying leader.
"I am deeply sorry... However, do you happen to have any interest in unifying Japan?"
Kagaya's trembling hand reached out from beneath the blankets, holding a sealed letter.
"If you ever wish to rule over this nation, the entire network of the Demon Slayer Corps will immediately become your ultimate weapon."
"Huh?"
Li Ke genuinely hadn't expected Kagaya to propose something so extreme.
But Kagaya merely offered a soft, knowing smile.
"After all, allowing a living god to rule over the world is a wonderful thing, wouldn't you agree?"
Li Ke simply shook his head, turning around to walk straight toward the exit.
"You should spend your remaining time talking to your wife and children instead."
With a lazy wave of his hand, Li Ke left the room.
Seeing that Li Ke had refused to inherit their entire legacy, Amane Ubuyashiki couldn't help but display a look of helpless disappointment. Kagaya, however, merely let out a soft laugh.
"That gentleman didn't actually give his agreement, you know," Amane murmured softly.
However, as far as Kagaya Ubuyashiki was concerned, the fact that Li Ke hadn't explicitly said no was more than enough. This was the maximum he could possibly achieve for the sake of everyone else.
"But he didn't explicitly refuse either, did he?"
Sensing the presence of his beloved wife and children gathered around him, Kagaya completely closed his eyes for the last time.
Every single word he had spoken was the truth. Because he fully intended to force a heavy blanket of responsibility onto Li Ke's shoulders, he had spent the final days of his life meticulously preparing a massive wealth of resources for him. The exact moment Li Ke chose to officially inherit the Demon Slayer Corps, all of those hidden assets would instantly become his personal property.
And then, those resources would aid him in completely unifying this entire nation.
Leaving the governance of this world to ordinary humans—who were perpetually driven by fractured, chaotic desires—was vastly inferior to entrusting everything to a living deity who merely possessed a healthy appreciation for beautiful women.
When looked at from that perspective, it wasn't even a real issue to begin with.
The moment Li Ke stepped out into the courtyard, Kanao Tsuyuri—who had stubbornly insisted on following him—alongside Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji, all turned their gazes toward him. The other Pillars, who had frantically rushed back from various distant regions, deliberately refrained from looking back at the traditional estate behind them.
Every single one of them knew with absolute certainty that Kagaya Ubuyashiki would draw his final breath today. But they also understood that this was an unshakeable, inevitable outcome, and they had completely accepted reality.
Instead of staying behind to mourn, they chose to embrace a state of total, fatalistic resolve. They volunteered to march alongside Li Ke to completely uproot and eliminate the final abomination.
Because of this heavy mindset, an intense, crushing silence enveloped the entire vanguard expedition.
For Li Ke, however, it was an entirely different story. His emotional state wasn't affected in the slightest. He kept his eyes glued to his smartphone, determined to cram and absorb as much information as possible into his brain before he engaged the final target.
Meanwhile, the spirits of everyone else remained thoroughly depressed. After all, to the members of the Corps, Kagaya had been far more than just a supreme leader; he was cherished family.
Shinobu's chest felt incredibly heavy. She was trapped directly in the middle, caught between Li Ke's personal freedom and the institutional weight of the Corps. She completely understood why Li Ke adamantly refused to accept Kagaya's grand inheritance.
Yet, at the exact same time, she deeply sympathized with Kagaya's desperate desire to secure a viable future for the Demon Slayer Corps before he passed away.
Staring at Li Ke's calm side profile, she couldn't help but let out a long, quiet sigh.
"If only you could allow yourself to be just a little more reckless and self-serving, things would be so much simpler."
Li Ke knew exactly what she meant. She was essentially saying that if he chose to act completely selfishly and throw his weight around like a true tyrant, none of them would have to suffer through this excruciating moral dilemma. He merely offered her a relaxed, small smile.
"Perhaps I will eventually become like that in the future."
Deep down, he understood his own psychological makeup perfectly. The protective, moral outer shell hammered into him by his past life as a weak, ordinary citizen of a civilized society was destined to eventually shatter into pieces. Right now, only a few lingering remnants of that old identity remained. As for when that shell would dissolve entirely, he had no idea; it would likely require a massive, catastrophic catalyst to force the shift.
After all, a person's core nature is incredibly difficult to alter overnight.
Shinobu didn't say another word. She merely leaned her head against her older sister's chest, her mood deeply somber. Outside the windows of the carriage Li Ke was riding in, the muffled, quiet weeping of several male Pillars drifted through the air.
They were mourning the departure of Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Yet, not a single soul among them harbored the ridiculous notion that Li Ke should somehow be held responsible for his passing.
The expeditionary force executed a grueling forced march for three straight days, passing through two thriving, lively towns that had completely recovered their natural vitality. They halted briefly to execute a rapid military resupply before immediately pushing forward again.
After marching for another two days, they finally caught sight of their destination—or rather, the colossal monstrosity they were intended to burn to ashes. However, even though the target was technically visible to the naked eye, reaching the actual base of the creature required a full day's worth of traveling, including scaling and descending a rugged mountain range.
But the precise moment the vanguard successfully scaled the crest of the mountain peak, drawing perilously close to their final hunting grounds...
"What in the living world is that thing...?"
Staring out at the towering, gargantuan entity that literally pierced straight through the low-hanging storm clouds, every single Pillar's eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated horror. Originally, a massive, jagged mountain should have occupied this exact geographical coordinate. But now, that entire mountain range had vanished completely. In its place sat a brooding, pitch-black nightmare.
It was a colossal, mountain-sized pile of writhing flesh.
Countless massive tentacles and blinking, weeping eyes sprouted across the entire surface of the flesh-mountain. The single largest eyeball was so utterly titanic that even from their distant vantage point on the peak, they could clearly see the continuous, frantic twitching of the iris and the complex, bloody networks of veins patterning its sclera.
Almost every single Pillar froze in place, their minds completely short-circuiting. Even Li Ke's jaw dropped wide open as he stared blankly at the literal 'mountain' of flesh standing before him, completely at a loss for how to even begin attacking it.
He looked down at the digital tracking interface on his smartphone map, then looked back up at the impossible cosmic horror blocking the horizon, and fell into a profound, stunned silence.
There was absolutely no mistake.
This literal mountain of cosmic meat was the exact target they had set out to eradicate.
The last monster.