Regret?
With difficulty, he raised his head and looked at Mitsuba smiling as she asked him this question. A trace of confusion appeared on Kyojuro's pale face, twisted by intense pain.
"I don't understand... why... would I regret..."
"Because you fell just short of success."
Supporting her chin with both hands, squatting before him and gazing into his eyes, Mitsuba spoke the bloody truth with a smile.
"You awakened the Demon Slayer Mark, even temporarily entered that Transparent World.
At this moment, you became the unquestionable strongest member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Yet the final result is, not only did you fail to kill Akaza, you instead forced him to break through his own limits—not only did he step into that Transparent World as well, he even overcame the weakness of decapitation.
Little one, do you regret this outcome?"
"I... have nothing to regret..."
Facing Mitsuba's sharp interrogation, Kyojuro simply shook his head slowly. He took a deep breath and replied in as steady a tone as possible:
"I indeed lost, but I also truly killed him once.
I proved through my own actions that Upper Rank demons are not undefeatable.
Even as powerful as you are, we Demon Slayers still have the possibility of victory.
And as long as this possibility remains, then we have hope of reaching that future where demons are completely eradicated.
And the Mark and Transparent World... I also demonstrated to my comrades through myself this most important means for Demon Slayers to break through their strength limits.
I have done my utmost and achieved the best I could do, so why should I regret?"
"A truly splendid answer."
Mitsuba nodded gently, generously offering her praise.
"But Kyojuro, have you ever considered that there were actually other choices in your life?"
"Other... choices?"
"Yes."
Nodding once more, Mitsuba looked at the confused him and slowly spoke:
"You never needed to become a Demon Slayer. You could have been like the vast majority of humans in this world.
Gone to school and studied, worried about exams, made many friends, cultivated interests in clubs, then by chance met a girl your age whom you liked, fallen in love with her, graduated together, found jobs together, naturally married her, had children, worked hard together for life, grown old together, and finally passed away together surrounded by children and grandchildren.
Kyojuro, do you know? You could have had such an ordinary yet happy life.
But now, for an impossible goal, you have abandoned most of the things you should have had in your life, and at merely twenty years old, you must sacrifice yourself so early...
Don't you think this is actually a very regrettable thing?"
"What you describe... is indeed beautiful..."
Listening to Mitsuba's words, a trace of distraction flashed through Kyojuro's eyes.
"But, I was born into the Rengoku family... there are things I must do..."
"Is that so? What a pitiful answer..."
"Pitiful..."
Hearing this, the confusion in Kyojuro's eyes deepened. He struggled to look up at Mitsuba before him and asked:
"Upper Rank One, I don't understand—why are you asking me these things?
What meaning do these have for you?"
He suddenly felt that this demon before him was different from all other demons he had encountered in the past.
From her, he couldn't sense that obvious malice toward Demon Slayers or even humans that other demons possessed.
She was peaceful. Conversing with her was like talking with a gentle older sister from next door.
Kyojuro even felt that if not for their opposing positions, he could perhaps become friends with this demon before him.
Yes...
In an instant, Kyojuro realized the source of this strange feeling.
Perhaps it was because although this demon's words were sharp, there was no hatred or belittlement in her tone.
On the contrary, there was even a trace of... regret?
So that's it—was she actually regretting for him?
"Why are there so many whys in this world?"
Mitsuba smiled, but her gaze fell upon the fiery red haori on Kyojuro's body.
"Just like you, little one—why do you keep wearing this haori?"
"Because it represents that senior's expectations of me."
"Have you never considered that person perhaps only wanted to practice her skills and casually wove this haori?"
"Perhaps... that possibility indeed exists... but I still choose to believe this is her expectations of me."
Kyojuro's tone was incomparably firm, completely unaffected by Mitsuba's words.
"Such surprising will."
Looking at his appearance, Mitsuba shook her head slightly and suddenly smiled.
"Perhaps it wasn't before, but now, I think it must certainly be for the reason you said..."
From her mouth came a somewhat inexplicable sentence.
Before Kyojuro could understand the meaning of Mitsuba's words, he saw her suddenly speak:
"Alright, that's enough, little one. You deserve a better life."
Strum!
Before Mitsuba's voice fell, the sound of a biwa suddenly rang out!
Immediately after, the gate of the Infinity Castle suddenly opened beneath Kyojuro, and before anyone could react, it instantly sucked him in!
"Kyojuro?!"
Only reacting when the gate closed, Sabito raised his blade abruptly and shouted angrily at Mitsuba:
"Demon! Where did you send Kyojuro?!"
"Who knows~ Perhaps sent to meet that missing companion of yours~"
Mitsuba replied with a smile.
Completely unconcerned with Sabito's anger, she simply stood up and stretched lazily.
"Alright, tonight's story has finally ended. I will keep my promise and let you leave.
So, hurry back and review your experiences. I look forward to our next meeting. Goodbye~"
"You?!"
Waving her hand, Mitsuba turned to leave.
Despite her such arrogant attitude, not a single Demon Slayer present dared to step forward and stop her.
Yes, for the Demon Slayer Corps, this was indeed already the best possible outcome.
Aside from Kyojuro, not a single person had died, and they had even witnessed the awakening of the Mark and Transparent World.
From a rational perspective, leaving now and not attempting to provoke this demon who was likely far more terrifying than Akaza was actually the correct choice...
It's just, it's just...
Silently watching Mitsuba's slowly departing figure, everyone couldn't help but feel a thick emotion rising in their hearts—humiliation.
To let her leave so gracefully and arrogantly, it truly made one...