"Mmm…"
Makomo slowly woke from her dazed state, her eyes opening little by little. Her long eyelashes blurred her vision, but she could still vaguely make out the tall figure standing inside the room.
The moment she recognized that familiar silhouette, a sense of safety rose instinctively in her heart, easing much of the tension weighing on her mind.
Scenes from the battle last night surfaced uncontrollably in her thoughts. No matter how hard she had fought, no matter how desperately she struggled, nothing had changed in the end. The people she wanted to protect had all died beneath the demons' attack. Even though she had ultimately slain the demon with everything she had, the dead would never come back.
"You're awake?"
Noticing the movement, Soma walked over and looked at Makomo lying on the bed.
"Everyone… everyone died…"
Makomo lowered her head, pain filling her expression. Ever since stepping onto the path of a demon slayer, she had been losing people one after another—her seniors, her juniors, even her teacher… all of them had left her behind. Up until now, only she remained.
"You already did everything you could. Some things simply can't be changed."
Soma let out a quiet sigh.
No one could have predicted the demons' sudden uprising.
"Even so, their sacrifice won't be meaningless. Rest well. There will still be battles waiting for us in the future."
The girl pressed her lips together tightly and gritted her teeth.
"One day… we'll wipe every demon from this world clean."
"Yes," Soma replied in agreement. "We will."
He said it so naturally that there was not the slightest awareness that he himself was also a demon.
…
Over the next few days, Soma remained busy at Mount Sagiri. Injured members of the Demon Slayer Corps constantly arrived there, and he provided each of them with shelter and treatment.
One after another, the wounded recovered enough to leave again, returning to carry out their own missions. Of course, there were also many whose injuries were far too severe. Though they had survived death itself, they would never again be able to walk the path of demon slaying.
For those people, Soma arranged lighter duties around Mount Sagiri, allowing them to do whatever work they still could manage.
During these past two days, Soma had also gradually learned what exactly had happened that night.
Demons across every region had erupted into chaos. The entire Twelve Kizuki had mobilized, attacking Demon Slayer Corps strongholds and support facilities everywhere, causing devastating destruction.
The Wisteria families had been attacked. The Butterfly Mansion had been heavily damaged. The Swordsmith Village had nearly been completely destroyed.
Not only that, but the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, had fallen in battle. The Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro, had also died.
Even Kaigaku—who would later betray the Demon Slayer Corps to become a new member of the Twelve Kizuki—had perished during this massive ambush.
However, the thing Soma cared about most was Muzan Kibutsuji's condition.
According to the severely injured Gyomei Himejima, Muzan had not died, but he had suffered grave injuries.
Still, considering Muzan Kibutsuji's terrifying regenerative abilities, Soma believed it would not take long before he fully recovered.
…
Five days later.
Soma received a message delivered by a Kasugai Crow. The new Oyakata-sama, Kiriya Ubuyashiki, had called for his first Hashira Meeting since inheriting leadership.
With the Demon Slayer Corps' upper ranks suffering catastrophic losses, Soma had been invited to attend despite not being a Hashira himself.
The invitation surprised him slightly.
Without realizing it, his status within the Demon Slayer Corps had risen higher and higher, even though he had not personally slain many demons.
After setting aside his work and giving instructions to Nezuko, Kanao, Kie Kamado, and the others, Soma set out alone.
…
Guided by the Kasugai Crow, Soma traveled for roughly half a day before arriving once more at Mount Fujikasane.
He was quite familiar with the mountain. It had once been the trial ground for newly recruited swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, and it was also a place filled with painful memories for Sakonji Urokodaki.
Soma had not expected Kiriya Ubuyashiki to choose Mount Fujikasane as the location for the Hashira Meeting.
But when he looked at the endless sea of blooming wisteria flowers covering the mountainside, he could roughly understand Kiriya's reasoning.
Following the mountain path upward, he had only reached halfway when he spotted a young girl ahead carrying a paper lantern. It was Hinaki Ubuyashiki.
"Sir…"
The moment she saw him, Hinaki hurried over at a near run, a trace of happiness appearing on her face.
"We meet again, Miss Hinaki."
Soma gave a slight nod. Compared to the last time they met, Hinaki had clearly grown taller and looked more mature as well. However, her face was noticeably paler than before.
It was obvious that the events of the past few days had dealt the young girl a heavy blow.
Soma walked beside Hinaki as they continued up the mountain together, casually chatting along the way. Through their conversation, he learned something unexpected—Amane Ubuyashiki had not died alongside Kagaya Ubuyashiki in the explosion.
The news surprised Soma greatly.
In the original story, Amane should have perished together with Kagaya, along with two of their daughters.
Sure enough, ever since his arrival, the future had completely drifted into the unknown.
Nothing could be predicted anymore.
By the time they reached the mountainside, Kiriya Ubuyashiki had already come out to greet them after receiving word of Soma's arrival.
The moment he saw Soma, he approached warmly.
Compared to their last meeting, Kiriya had clearly become more mature. There was now a steadiness to him that had not existed before, though traces of youthful innocence still remained on his face.
Kiriya personally led Soma into a room, and after chatting for a while, Soma gained a much clearer understanding of the Demon Slayer Corps' current situation.
The Corps' losses were even worse than he had imagined.
Although Muzan Kibutsuji had completely vanished after the explosion, the surviving members of the Twelve Kizuki had become increasingly active. The remaining Demon Slayer Corps outposts scattered across the country were constantly under attack by demons, and there were now very few swordsmen left capable of standing against the Twelve Kizuki.
On top of that, ordinary demons had become far more active as well. Incidents of demons attacking civilians were increasing everywhere.
At this point, the Demon Slayer Corps was no longer capable of fully handling the growing crisis.
And that was not the end of it.
As demon activity spread across the land, the resulting tragedies and disturbances had begun attracting serious attention from the authorities. The Ubuyashiki family had already been questioned several times, and now the government had formally demanded that the Demon Slayer Corps resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
In this world, ordinary people might not know demons existed, but the higher authorities were fully aware of them. However, because demons were not something that could be exposed openly to the public, the Demon Slayer Corps still remained an organization unrecognized by the government.
This Hashira Meeting organized by Kiriya Ubuyashiki was not only meant to discuss the future direction of the Demon Slayer Corps, but also how to deal with the worsening crisis before them.
But with the Corps in its current condition, there was simply no way to confront the disaster unfolding across the country.
In the end, the gap between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons was still far too great.
From Soma's perspective, there were very few options left besides finding a way to strengthen the Corps as quickly as possible.
Given the current circumstances, the best choice was likely to lie low for the time being and endure.
...
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