Greed Island.
After talking with Makomo, Tamayo had a pretty clear picture of what was going on.
(Makomo hadn't tried to hide anything. She answered every question honestly and directly.)
The first thing Tamayo learned was that she was no longer in the Demon Slayer world. Everything around her now belonged to Shuya—a small private world called Greed Island.
Second, she really had died. Muzan had killed her. Her current state was the same as Makomo's. According to the girl, the only place they could manifest physical bodies that other people could see and touch was inside Greed Island. Outside of it, they needed aura supplied by Shuya or one of his contractors to keep a solid form. If they strayed too far and ran out of that aura, they would simply reappear back in Greed Island—like what had just happened to her.
This only applied to people like them. The dead.
Third, the way to leave Greed Island and return to the original world was through special gates called Crossing Gates. Right now Greed Island was connected to two worlds: their old one, and the world Shizuka and the others came from.
Only Shuya and his contractors could open those gates. No one else.
For Tamayo, though, it didn't really matter whether she was in Greed Island or the Demon Slayer world anymore. Her only reason for living had been revenge against Muzan. Once that goal was gone, even life and death had stopped mattering to her.
The one thing she couldn't figure out was why her soul hadn't gone to heaven or hell after she died. Instead, it had been pulled straight into Shuya's Greed Island.
Could it be…?
A month ago, the night she first met Shuya, after watching him casually beat Upper Rank Four, they had made a deal. At the time she had been so focused on the possibility of finally killing Muzan that she hadn't paid much attention to the glowing parchment that carried the contract terms.
Now that she thought back on it, right after they reached an agreement, a small orb of light had flown out of her body and into Shuya's.
That must have been the moment the connection was made.
Tamayo shook her head, a complicated feeling rising in her chest. His power was terrifyingly domineering. Just because she had broken the deal by never intending to finish the longevity drug, he had apparently snatched her soul out of heaven or hell the moment she died.
She even had a strong hunch that no matter how many times she tried to kill herself inside Greed Island, she would never reach heaven or hell. She would just keep reappearing here. Like some kind of bound spirit tied to this world.
At least there was one upside. Once Shuya returned to Greed Island, she could finally ask him the question that mattered most.
Was Muzan dead?
The only awkward part was figuring out how she was supposed to face him when he got back. She had been fully prepared to die with Muzan as atonement for breaking their deal. Instead, she was now in a position where she could start "repaying" him right away.
While Tamayo was still lost in thought, a loud rumbling suddenly echoed from far away.
She looked up.
On the distant plain, a massive Edo-style wooden building was rising straight out of the ground.
"What in the world…?"
Tamayo was stunned. She turned to ask Makomo what was happening, but the words died in her throat.
Makomo's eyes were half-closed, her breathing slow and steady. Her head kept nodding forward like she was about to topple over.
She had fallen asleep without Tamayo noticing.
Soft little breaths came from her nose. The distant rumbling had already faded, leaving only the peaceful sound of Makomo sleeping.
Looking at that delicate, angelic sleeping face, Tamayo couldn't bring herself to wake her. Makomo had been in Greed Island much longer than she had. Something like a building suddenly appearing probably wasn't even surprising to her anymore.
After all, if a whole private world like Greed Island existed, one extra building was nothing.
Tamayo gently pulled Makomo into her arms, letting the girl lean against her. She sat down with her back against the large rock Makomo had been using as a bed and adjusted her position so Makomo could sleep comfortably.
Her fingers slowly stroked through Makomo's short black hair.
For the first time since she had decided to die with Muzan, Tamayo felt a small, quiet warmth in her chest as she looked at the sleeping girl.
Maybe… this isn't so bad after all.
---
Infinity Castle.
At the exact moment Tamayo saw the building rise in Greed Island, Shuya felt it too.
The entire Infinity Castle beneath his feet gave a violent lurch.
The building that had just appeared in Greed Island was the result of the Blood Demon Art he had taken from Nakime. He had been worried that the ability might only work inside the Demon Slayer world, but it had manifested in a completely different way—by embedding the entire Infinity Castle into Greed Island itself.
That meant he could now use the Infinity Castle no matter which world he traveled to, as long as Greed Island existed.
Of course, the Infinity Castle wasn't exactly normal real estate.
It functioned more like a prison than a building. Besides the doors Nakime used to enter and exit, there were no windows or other openings. It was completely sealed off. Normal people couldn't live in it, and no one in their right mind would want to stay somewhere that didn't let in a single ray of light.
That made sense. It had been built for demons who couldn't stand sunlight.
Shuya glanced at Nakime. After losing her ability, the former Upper Rank Four had become quiet and withdrawn, curled up in the corner like a bullied girl. He knew better than to trust the act. Nakime had never been harmless.
Back when she was human, she had been a biwa-playing courtesan whose gambler husband abused her. One day, after he pawned her performance clothes for gambling money, she snapped and beat him to death with a hammer. But instead of stopping there, killing had become an addiction. Before every performance she would murder someone. Muzan had turned her into a demon after she tried to target him as her next victim.
"Sir… um…"
Nakime's long bangs had fallen back over her eyes, giving her a fragile, delicate look again. She looked up at Shuya timidly.
"Can I leave now?"
"I'll let you leave," Shuya said calmly. "Just not yet. Until then, you're staying right here."
He had no intention of setting her free so easily. Not when she had such a strong urge to kill. At the very least he wanted to wait until Shizuka could recreate Tamayo's reversion drug and turn her back into a human—or find some other use for her. Maybe send her to the zombie world with the other demons so she could grow stronger by eating the undead and provide new Blood Demon Arts that hadn't existed in the original story.
Either way, he wasn't letting her walk around freely.
Nakime lowered her head and didn't argue.
Shuya manifested a biwa identical to hers and plucked the strings.
Twang!
A gate appeared in front of him. Without another word, he stepped through it and returned to the Butterfly Mansion.
"Sir—!"
Nakime reached out toward his retreating back, but the gate closed before she could say anything else.
She knelt in the middle of the Infinity Castle she had controlled for so long, but it no longer felt like an extension of herself. The space felt cold and alien now. For the first time, she felt truly lost.
She didn't try to run. She knew better than anyone that without her ability, the Infinity Castle had no exits.
A short while later, another biwa note rang out inside the castle.
"Sir!"
Nakime's face lit up with hope as she turned toward the sound.
But the person who appeared wasn't Shuya.
Instead, several enormous glass jars materialized in front of her. Inside them were Muzan, Lower Moon One Enmu, Lower Moon Five Rui, and a handful of other captured demons.
"M-Muzan-sama…? So it's true…"
Nakime finally understood.
The moment she realized she couldn't close the gate she had opened earlier, she had known something was very wrong. Even the invincible Muzan had apparently been cornered this time.
Seeing him and the others sealed away only confirmed it.
At least she was still alive. She hadn't been stuffed into a jar. She still had some freedom.
Compared to them, that was something.
---
Butterfly Mansion.
After dropping the sealed demons into the Infinity Castle, Shuya's arms were immediately grabbed by Yuriko and Saya on either side.
He gave them a helpless look. "You two don't have to go this far, do you?"
"Of course we do," Yuriko said with a bright smile. "We had a deal. Once the fighting was over, we were all going to drain you dry together. We're not letting you run off now."
"That's right, that's right," Saya echoed, nodding hard.
Having two soft bodies pressed against his arms wasn't exactly uncomfortable—actually, it was way too comfortable—but it did make moving difficult.
Shuya tried again. "I already said I'd keep my word. So can you let go for a second?"
"Little Shuya!"
Shizuka had just heard about the plan from her best friend Rika. She immediately jumped onto his back, pressing her full weight against him. Her lips brushed his ear as she whispered excitedly,
"Let's go back to Greed Island right now. Go go go!!"
Yeah. Now he really couldn't move.
He had originally planned to visit Kagaya Ubuyashiki after dealing with Muzan, but with the current situation, that clearly wasn't happening.
Besides, compared to these girls, Kagaya could wait.
Shuya sighed and shrugged as much as he could with everyone clinging to him.
"Fine, fine. We'll head back to Greed Island."
He looked over at Kanae and Shinobu.
"Kanae, Shinobu. You two coming too?"
At this point, adding two more people didn't even register as a big deal. Besides the six women from the apocalypse world, Nezuko and Mitsuri were already waiting in Greed Island. What were two more?
Honestly, part of him was curious to see where his limit actually was. Before crossing into this world, Saeko and the others had teamed up on him plenty of times. So far his record was still undefeated.
"What do you mean, 'coming too'?" Kanae asked, tilting her head.
"Ah—!!"
Shinobu, on the other hand, immediately understood. She had only just received Yuriko's invitation a little while ago. She grabbed Kanae's arm, face slightly red.
"Sister, look at the Butterfly Mansion. It's been completely destroyed. We should stay behind and handle things here, don't you think?"
"Eh?"
Kanae tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But I'm really curious about what Shuya was talking about earlier. Aren't you curious too? And you still haven't even been to Greed Island yet, right?"
"I'm not curious. Not even a little bit," Shinobu answered immediately.
"Then how about you just stay here by yourself?" Kanae suggested weakly. "I probably wouldn't be much help with the cleanup anyway."
In Kanae's opinion, the Butterfly Mansion held memories, sure, but it had already served its purpose. It had been destroyed in the battle. Rebuilding it here felt pointless when they could just recreate an identical one inside Greed Island. After all, they were eventually going to live there with Shuya anyway.
"No way!" Shinobu shouted. "You're staying with me tonight. You're not going anywhere without me."
She would have to be insane to let her sister go have fun while she stayed behind alone. Especially when she could feel everything through their shared sensations. If Kanae joined the others, Shinobu would be stuck experiencing it all secondhand by herself.
She took a deep breath and turned to Shuya, voice firm.
"Mr. Scumbag, I don't care what you all plan to do tonight. My sister and I are not joining you."
"Is that so? Alright then."
Shuya didn't push. He simply said, "In that case, could you do me a favor and let Kagaya know that Muzan has been dealt with? There won't be any new demons born in this world anymore. Also, have him send over all the ore they use for forging Nichirin Blades like we agreed."
"As for the Butterfly Mansion…"
He paused. Shizuka was responsible for a lot of the destruction with those giant wooden dragons she summoned. After thinking for a moment, he continued.
"From now on, you and Kanae should just live with us in Greed Island."
"What exactly is Greed Island?" Shinobu finally asked. They kept mentioning it like it was obvious.
"Let your sister explain it to you," Shuya said, nodding toward Kanae. He didn't feel like giving the long explanation right now. Besides, Shizuka and the others were already getting impatient.
"Alright, alright. We're heading back to Greed Island now."
He opened a Crossing Gate right in front of them. Under Shinobu's surprised gaze, he led Shizuka and the others through it.
At the same moment, Makomo—who had been resting against Tamayo—suddenly opened her eyes.
"Little angel? What's wrong?" Tamayo asked.
Makomo didn't comment on the nickname. She just said softly, "Master Brother is back."
She hadn't forgotten what Tamayo told her earlier—that she wanted to make things up to Shuya. So the second she sensed him return to Greed Island, she woke up.
Makomo grabbed Tamayo's hand. "Come on. I'll take you to him."
"Ah, wait—"
Tamayo tried to protest, but Makomo was already pulling her along.
Truthfully, Tamayo wasn't even that worried about facing Shuya anymore. If he had returned, it meant he had won the battle. Muzan was probably dead.
The bigger issue was that she had no idea how she was supposed to act around him now.
Before she could explain any of that, Makomo was already dragging her toward the gate.
They arrived just as Shuya and the others stepped through.
Makomo smiled brightly. "Master Brother."
"Makomo? Perfect timing. You're joining us tonight too."
Yuriko greeted her with a smile, then looked curiously at the woman Makomo was holding hands with. "And who's this?"
"Tamayo-san! You're alive!"
Shizuka jumped off Shuya's back and rushed over, grabbing both of Tamayo's hands with obvious joy.
"Shizuka-san…"
Tamayo lowered her head, genuinely moved. She hadn't expected Shizuka to care this much after only knowing each other for a little over a month.
She felt even more guilty when she thought about how she had planned to betray Shuya.
"Also, Shuya-san—"
Before she could continue, Shizuka spoke again.
"Tamayo-san being alive is such a relief! Now I don't have to work so hard helping little Shuya research the reversion drug and the longevity drug anymore."
Tamayo: "…"
Shuya stared at Shizuka with a deadpan expression, a vein twitching on his forehead.
This lazy woman really was beyond saving.
Shizuka, completely unbothered, simply decided that since Tamayo had appeared in Greed Island, she must be one of them now. No need to be overly polite with family.
She grabbed Tamayo's hand again and asked cheerfully,
"Tamayo-san, want to join us too?"