Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters — Butterfly Mansion
Under the wisteria trellis in the courtyard, everything felt desolate.
Once, this had been the noisiest place in the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
There had always been a blond boy screaming "I'm gonna die!" at the top of his lungs.
A gentle red-haired boy patiently telling everyone, "Please don't fight."
And a foolish young lord who stole snacks wherever he went.
But now—
It was far too quiet.
By the drying racks, Kanzaki Aoi stood holding a white bedsheet, frozen in the same position for a long time.
The wind blew.
The sheet billowed, as if someone were hiding behind it, playing a prank.
Aoi called out instinctively,
"Inosuke! Stop messing around! If you get it dirty again, I won't give you any food!"
But the sheet fell back down.
There was no one behind it.
Aoi froze. The bedsheet slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.
She crouched down, covering her face, her shoulders shaking violently.
"You idiots… leaving just like that… without even saying goodbye…"
On the corridor nearby, Tsuyuri Kanao sat quietly.
In her hand was the coin she used to make decisions.
Again and again, she tossed it into the air and caught it.
Heads — they would come back.
Tails — they wouldn't.
Tails.
Tails again.
Kanao stared at the cold, unfeeling reverse side, her eyes empty.
"Kanao-neesan…"
Three small girls with round, worried eyes—Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho—crept over timidly.
They were holding a few candies in their hands, candies they normally couldn't bear to eat, saving them for Inosuke.
"Um… when are Big Brother Inosuke and the others coming back?"
"We really want to see him do tricks again…"
"People say… say he's a bad person… but… but he secretly gave us allowance money. Would a bad person do that?"
Kanao opened her mouth—
But no sound came out.
She could only reach out and pull the three clueless children into her arms.
Tears slid silently down her cheeks.
Inside the infirmary, Kocho Shinobu was preparing medicine.
Her face still wore that familiar, gentle smile.
"Shinobu-sama, isn't this dosage a bit—"
An attendant from the Kakushi spoke carefully.
Shinobu's hand trembled.
A drop of purple poison fell onto the table, instantly corroding a black hole into the surface.
"Ah… sorry."
She was still smiling, but the smile looked stiff—like a mask glued to her face.
"I was… distracted."
That night.
The tide of emotions surged in from all directions.
Shinobu curled up beneath her blanket, biting down hard on the corner.
In the darkness, her mind replayed that day in the courtyard over and over, like a lantern reel.
Inosuke's tear-streaked face.
And those words, spoken again and again—
"I'm sorry…
I'll… atone for him."
"Mm… ngh…"
Her nails dug into her palms.
Emotion flayed her alive.
"I pointed my blade… at a child who desperately wanted to belong."
"I used my sister's death… to stab a heart seeking redemption…"
"Sis…"
Shinobu whispered into the darkness.
The guilt gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
She could never forgive Doma.
But she also could not forgive herself—the self who had pushed Inosuke away.
Finally—
One morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the Butterfly Mansion—
Shinobu pushed open her door.
The emptiness in her eyes was gone, replaced by an almost obsessive resolve.
She went to the Master's estate and submitted a written request.
"Master.
This began because of me. The collapse of trust—I was one of those who pushed it.
I'm going out.
No matter the cost… I will bring them back."
Late Night — Eternal Paradise Cult
Inosuke had been handling cult affairs for many consecutive days.
Here, absurd human dramas played out endlessly.
Wearing the magnificent cult leader's robes, Inosuke sat atop the high platform.
That handsome face was beginning to resemble his father's more and more.
He lazily fanned himself.
Below the platform, a small boy knelt.
So filthy and ragged that at first glance, he looked more like a pile of rags than a human being.
He was too thin—so thin his bones seemed ready to pierce his skin.
The clothes on his body looked ancient, blackened with grime, reeking of sour rot.
His knees pressed into the expensive carpet, leaving behind two dirty marks.
His name was Shōsaburō.
He was six years old.
"Divine Child… Cult Leader…"
His forehead struck the floor with a dull thud.
His voice was weak—he hadn't eaten properly in a very long time.
"Please… give me an answer."
Inosuke looked at him. A ripple passed through his eyes.
"Go on," he said calmly.
"What do you want to ask?"
Shōsaburō didn't lift his head.
Still lying flat on the floor, he told his story in a numb tone—one that was all too common in this era.
"My mom was a courtesan.
If you gave her a rice ball, or a few coins, anyone could take her away.
The villagers called her a slut. They called me a bastard.
I don't know who my dad is. Mom said she didn't know either."
The hall was silent.
Daki's fingers tightened slightly.
Gyutaro's eyes darkened.
"Mom got sick," Shōsaburō continued.
"She coughed blood. The blood was black. She said it was the dirty stuff from her heart coming out.
She couldn't get out of bed anymore. She couldn't take clients. We had no food.
I was hungry. Mom was hungry.
She pulled the cotton out of the quilt and told me to chew it, said it was clouds."
Inosuke's fingers clenched around the fan handle.
"Do you need money?" he interrupted.
"I can give you money. Take it and save your mother."
Shōsaburō shook his head slowly, like his neck had rusted.
"No need.
Mom is already dead."
"…Dead?"
Zenitsu couldn't help blurting out.
"Didn't you say… she was just coughing blood?"
"Yeah. Dead."
Shōsaburō lifted his head.
There were no tears on his dirt-smeared face.
"Someone in the village said Mom died from the medicine I gave her.
But the village head said… she went to the Land of Bliss."
"To save Mom, I went to beg the village head's son."
Shōsaburō pulled a filthy paper packet from his clothes.
"The village head's son said he was educated, said he had medicine from the big city.
He said if I kowtowed a hundred times—kowtowed until he was happy—he'd give me the medicine."
"I can't count," Shōsaburō pointed to the scabbed wound on his forehead.
"So I just kept bowing… until I passed out.
He kept his word. He threw the medicine on the ground and told me to take it to Mom."
"I was really happy. I thought Mom could be saved.
I ran home, dissolved the medicine in water, and fed it to her.
She drank it. She said it was a little bitter, but since it was from her son, it was sweet."
"And then…"
Shōsaburō's eyes grew hollow.
"Then she started rolling on the floor, clawing at her throat, eyes wide open.
She vomited so much blood—more than ever before.
In less than half an hour… she stopped moving."
"The village head said the medicine was too effective.
That Mom's sins were heavy, so her soul was taken away all at once—to the Land of Bliss to enjoy happiness.
Everyone said… the Eternal Paradise Cult was very efficacious.
So I wanted to ask you…"
He kowtowed again, his forehead smashing heavily into the floor.
"My mom… did she really reach bliss?
Was I… a filial child?"
Inosuke didn't answer.
He signaled Tanjiro with his eyes.
Tanjiro walked down, took the paper packet, and only needed to smell it once—his face instantly turned pale.
"This is…"
His hands trembled.
"This is… arsenic."
In the Taisho era, such poison wasn't hard to obtain in the countryside.
Daki covered her mouth, eyes filled with disbelief.
Inosuke and Zenitsu fell silent.
A vast, crushing sorrow blanketed the hall.
A six-year-old child, smashing his head bloody to save his mother—
Only to be given poison and unknowingly kill her with his own hands.
And those so-called "people" told him this was blessing. This was bliss.
Shōsaburō still looked at Inosuke, hope trembling in his eyes.
"Divine Child… my mom… did she go to the Land of Bliss?"
"Of course~"
Doma's voice drifted out from the shadows behind Inosuke.
He stepped forward, golden fans swaying.
That compassionate smile—like a savior descended.
"Your mother went to heaven."
He walked to the edge of the platform, looking down at the child.
"She suffered all her life, and in the end drank the liberation medicine her son begged for.
Such pure filial devotion.
The gods were moved by you, so they took her to the Eternal Paradise—where there is no hunger, no sickness."
Shōsaburō's eyes lit up.
"Really?!
That's great! That's great!
Mom is enjoying happiness… I'm not a bastard… I'm a filial child!!"
"Yes."
Doma smiled and extended his hand.
"You're a good child.
Since your mother has gone to heaven, would you like to stay in the cult?
There's food here. Clothes.
Your mother, watching from above, would be happy to see you living well."
Shōsaburō nodded frantically.
"I want to! I want to!
Thank you, Cult Leader! Thank you, Divine Child!"
Inosuke watched it all.
He didn't refute a single word.
He only clenched his fists.
"She's in hell."
A cold voice sounded from the entrance of the hall.
Everyone froze.
That familiar, suffocating pressure.
The doors had opened at some point.
Backlit by the light stood a man in a black suit.
Kibutsuji Muzan.
He didn't look at Doma.
He didn't look at Inosuke.
He walked straight toward the kneeling child.
"Muzan-sama…"
Doma tried to stop him—but one glance from Muzan froze him in place.
Muzan stopped before Shōsaburō.
His gaze was like he was looking at trash.
"They're lying to you."
Muzan's voice was clear and cruel, every word like a blade.
"Your mother didn't go to heaven.
You poisoned her.
That medicine was arsenic.
When she drank it, her intestines rotted, blood poured from her seven orifices, and she died in extreme agony."
"N-no… no…"
Shōsaburō's pupils shrank violently.
"That's not true… it was medicine… it was to save her…"
"You fed it to her with your own hands."
Muzan continued, savoring the destruction of a soul.
"Your foolish filial devotion became the final blade that killed your mother.
The village head's son was laughing at you.
The whole village was laughing at you.
You poisoned the woman who gave birth to you."
Muzan bent down, whispering near the child's ear, a faint smile curling his lips.
"A matricide… how could he ever go to heaven?
Both of you… belong in hell."
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
Shōsaburō let out a scream that no longer sounded human.
Pfft!
He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
His eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling.
The hall fell into dead silence.
Only Muzan's soft laughter echoed.
"Inosuke."
Muzan straightened, eyes narrowing as he stared at the boy on the platform.
Inosuke stood up, his eyes bloodshot.
"What?
Angry?
Why are you angry?
I came to see you. Shouldn't you feel honored?"
He smiled faintly.
"Care to explain?
Why did you come back here?
Don't tell me…"
Muzan's crimson eyes met Inosuke's reddened gaze.
"…you were kicked out?"
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