Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

"So, Mr. Ubuyashiki, you weren't surprised at all by my arrival. Did your god foresee this event for you?"

Gods cannot predict the actions of evil spirits as they can predict humans, but they can speculate from a human perspective.

It seems that from the moment she and Yan Sheng approached the camp, the gods had already hinted at their arrival to Ubuyashiki.

"No wonder Mr. Ubuyashiki is so calm. After all, you had already ordered Mr. Flame Pillar to send your child away, so you have no worries about the future."

To prevent me from tracing their cause, they even deliberately didn't arrange a place for them, leaving them to decide for themselves...

"Oh, what a pity. I was thinking that tonight I might be able to wipe out your entire clan and hand them over to Lord Muzan..."

Upon hearing Mitsuha's smiling words, Ubuyashiki's scarred face finally revealed an expression that could be described as panic for the first time.

Chapter 46 Please tell God for me that He can never kill me.

"Why... do you know this?"

How did the female ghost in front of me know that he had already sent his child away beforehand?

Why was she even able to directly point out the person he had entrusted with the task?

How did she know all this? Did her companions already intercept the Flame Pillar?

No, that's impossible... Her words just now didn't seem like she had already done that.

It was obvious that she had only just found out about this.

After a brief moment of shock, Ubuyashiki forced herself to calm down again.

She was completely unaware of this at first, but just one glance at him revealed all his previous arrangements...

Could it be that the female ghost's blood demon magic allows her to see a person's past through their body?

Could there really be such a bizarrely effective blood demon technique in this world?

If that's true, wouldn't that mean she could directly "see" the location of the Demon Slayer Corps' base from the Demon Slayers who know its location?!

Admiring the ever-changing complex expression on Ubuyashiki's face, Mitsuha was just about to tease him again when she saw Kokushiro, who had just dealt with the other side, slowly step into the courtyard.

"Brother, I arrived a little earlier than you!"

Mitsuha turned her head and smiled at Yan Sheng.

He casually tossed the long-handled axe used by the current Stone Pillar to the feet of Ubuyashiki, then checked on Mitsuha's condition before turning his gaze to Ubuyashiki and the Water Pillar in front of him.

"Yan Sheng, it really is you..."

Compared to Mitsuha, Ubuyashiki was clearly more shocked when he saw Kokushiki.

He did not quite understand.

In Ubuyashiki's memory, Yoriichi's twin brother, the second strongest Moon Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, had always trained extremely hard and never showed mercy to any demons he encountered on missions.

Such a person, with such a personality... no matter how you look at it, doesn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly degenerate into a ghost.

But that's what happened.

At this moment, Yan Sheng stood before them in the form of a ghost, even wielding his sword against his former comrades.

"Can you tell me why you did this?"

When asked about Ubuyashiki's question, Genshin showed no intention of answering.

He raised his knife and stepped forward to cut off the head of the Ubuyashiki.

"Why do this?"

But just then, Mitsuha slightly raised her hand to stop Kokushiro. As if suddenly intrigued, she looked curiously at Ubuyashiki, who had asked the question, and countered with:

"Mr. Ubuyashiki, can you tell me why we can't do this?"

I've always been curious why people always ask why they should do something, but rarely ask why they shouldn't.

So, Mr. Ubuyashiki, could you please give me a suitable reason? Please tell me why we cannot do this?

Why can't a person choose to become an evil spirit?

Ubuyashiki gave his answer to Mitsuha's curious question.

"You were once human beings too."

Ubuyashiki's answer was brilliant.

He perfectly avoided the difficult-to-debate issue of stance, and instead chose "morality" as his starting point.

Because you were once human beings, and because demons live by devouring humans.

From a moral standpoint, even tigers don't eat their cubs. How could you, who were once human, degenerate into monsters that live by devouring humans?

Unfortunately, Mitsuha lacks morality.

"You know this used to be?"

Mitsuha laughed at Ubuyashiki's answer.

“Mr. Ubuyashiki, no matter what, I am a daimyo who once ruled a town with tens of thousands of people.”

Therefore, please don't treat me like one of your ghost hunters who can't even read a few words, okay?

"Never mind, I'm in a good mood tonight anyway. Since you're unwilling to tell the truth, then I'll do it myself..."

Smiling and shaking her head, Mitsuha put her hands behind her back, paced back and forth, and slowly said:

"Morality, mission, responsibility, meaning... all these definitions are merely things that humans have assigned to them. They do not exist naturally, nor have they ever been a part of this world."

Every life in this world is free at birth. They have no morality, no mission, no responsibility, and no meaning.

All of these things are gradually accumulated on us by the people or environment around us as we grow up.

They are necessary products born to maintain the operation of this entire social collective; they are a spiritual tool created by human society to maintain collective rule.

Therefore, when a person decides to give up their human identity and no longer be human, they naturally have no reason to abide by these tools.

"Mr. Ubuyashiki, my mind is very clear, perfectly clear."

Raising her hand and pointing to her temple, Mitsuha looked directly at Ubuyashiki in front of her and said, word by word:

"I know my current identity better than anyone else. I am no longer human, but a demon, a demon that will be completely rejected by human society once my identity is exposed."

I am extremely satisfied with my current identity and have no lingering attachment to my former human identity.

We only look similar; in reality, we belong to different categories of beings. For someone like me, why should I abide by the universal rules set by human society as a whole? What reason do I have to do so?

The answer is, there is no reason.

Mitsuha's answer completely stripped away all moral ambiguity; she spoke to Ubuyashiki in the most straightforward terms—

Even as a human being, there is essentially no reason why one cannot become a demon.

Morality, responsibility, mission...

All the reasons you can list are only valid for the social identity of "human beings." From the perspective of the whole world, they are all pale and powerless.

Therefore, from the moment you decide to give up your human identity, they can no longer be a reason to stop you.

The only difference between the two is their positions.

I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat you, and you have no reason not to let me.

If you don't want to be eaten by me, the only option is to kill me, and I have no reason to stop you from doing so.

The principle behind everything is that simple.

"Finally, Mr. Ubuyashiki, after you go down to see our deity, please pass on a message to Him for me..."

The formation unfolded instantly, with countless intricate mandala patterns extending from the soles of her feet. Mitsuha looked at the Ubuyashiki before her, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and smiled brightly, saying:

"Please tell Him for me... You can never kill me."

Chapter 47 This is a destined encounter

As the words fell, the petals of the datura flower fluttered gently, and the trajectory of a person's destiny changed once again.

Ubuyashiki, who was supposed to die from the curse three months later, suddenly widened his eyes, then coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutched his chest, and knelt on the ground.

"My lord?!"

Blood continued to spill from his mouth. With great difficulty, he raised his head to take one last look at Mitsuha standing in front of him before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

"My lord, how are you?!"

At the same time, Mitsuha seemed to suffer some kind of backlash; her face turned deathly pale instantly, and she staggered back two steps.

"Mitsuba? What's wrong?"

Yan Sheng frowned and immediately reached out to support him.

Mitsuha shook her head and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"It's just that almost half of the blood in my body was drained in one go..."

The causal power on Ubuyashiki's body is extremely strong, and also extremely fixed.

Arbitrarily altering the causal chain to this extent, even just slightly bringing forward his death date, has caused considerable strain on Mitsuha.

From this perspective, she doesn't seem to be truly omnipotent.

At least, those "chess pieces" under the watchful eye of the gods are not ones she can manipulate at will.

Of course, gods are not omnipotent either.

Ultimately, beings like Ubuyashiki are extremely rare, and even the gods are not capable of shaping everyone in the world into the "Ubuyashiki" they desire.

Those humans who cannot be powerfully manipulated by the gods regarding cause and effect are still objects she can modify at will.

But in any case, she needs to be careful when encountering similar entities in the future...

Suddenly, Yoriichi came to mind.

Will the karmic threads on her brother Yoriichi, who is the "son of God," be the same as, or even more severe than, those on Ubuyashiki?

She struggled so much to handle a sickly postpartum woman.

So how can she protect her life, or even... defeat her brother Yoriichi, when facing him?

"You bastards! You actually killed our lord! You... I'll fight you to the death..."

Just as Mitsuha was deep in thought, the one-armed water column shakily stood up from the ground, and in his grief, he raised his knife to pounce on Mitsuha.

Annoyed by his constant noise, Mitsuha, still deep in thought, immediately roared at him:

"Shut up! Then die!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the thread of cause and effect was stirred once again.

This time, Mitsuha barely used her strength to kill the man in front of her instantly, sending him to join his lord.

Indeed, it's much more comfortable for ordinary people, whose causal relationships are incredibly fragile, to handle this kind of situation...

With the water column falling, all five pillar-level swordsmen in this base tonight, except for the Flame Pillar who left earlier, are now dead.

But Yoriichi's older brother is not here.

In Mitsuha's mind, Yoriichi's fiery red figure reappeared once again.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Demon Slayer Corps' current strength is entirely due to Yoriichi.

He created the Breathing Techniques for the Demon Slayer Corps, he brought the Demon Slayer Mark and the Transparent World, his swordsmanship is nothing short of divine, and his strength far surpasses that of ordinary people...

As the strongest demon slayer in history, Yoriichi alone represents the strongest and most irreplaceable force among demon slayers.

As long as Yoriichi is alive, no matter how many times the demons wipe out the Demon Slayer Corps, it will not have any impact on the overall combat strength of the Demon Slayers.

This sounds cruel, but it's the reality.

Yoriichi, being the son of God, is that powerful.

Mitsuha never doubted that Yoriichi would stand by her, on the opposite side of the demons.

This is because it was an inevitable outcome, and it was also the purpose for which the gods brought Yoriichi into the world.

Yoriichi's brother is destined to embark on the path of defeating the Demon King; this is a future that has already been ordained by the gods and is unshakeable.

As long as Mitsuha wants to live, she absolutely cannot harbor any illusions about this.