Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

No matter how powerful Yoriichi is, he is still human and has his own lifespan limit. He cannot live forever like a demon.

The world is so vast. If Muzan is determined to hide from him forever, even for a hundred or two hundred years, then he has absolutely no way to stop him.

Realizing this, Yoriichi was immediately overwhelmed with deep despair.

He failed to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The gods clearly bestowed upon him such immense power, allowing him to be born into this world with such a formidable mission, yet he failed…

He failed to live up to God's expectations.

What should he do from now on?

Just as Yoriichi was feeling deeply remorseful for letting Muzan go, Tamayo, standing in front of him, was carefully scrutinizing his face.

"Mr. Yoriichi, may I... ask you a question?"

"Ms. Tamayo, please speak."

Coming to his senses in an instant, Yoriichi managed to force a polite smile onto his face.

Seeing this, Tamayo hesitated for a moment before tentatively speaking:

"Do you have a younger sister named Mitsuha...?"

Seemingly completely unprepared to hear this name from Tamayo, Yoriichi paused for a moment before nodding and saying:

"That's true, but how did Miss Tamayo find out about this?"

Could it be that Mitsuha and Tamayo had met before without his knowledge?

"Is that really the case..."

Having received Yoriichi's affirmative answer, Tamayo hesitated once more. Meeting Yoriichi's questioning gaze, she hesitated several times before finally speaking:

“I saw your sister a few days ago, and even traveled with her for a while... not as a human, of course, but as a demon…”

Not as a human, but as a demon?

What does it mean?

His brain briefly went blank, and Yoriichi's clear eyes showed even deeper confusion.

"Ms. Tamayo, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, Mr. Yoriichi, your sister didn't die, but turned into a demon."

Also, if you have a brother, he too, a few days ago, was persuaded by your sister to become a demon..."

Finally, she blurted out everything in one breath. Looking at Yoriichi, who was completely stunned in front of her, Tamayo also told Yoriichi without reservation how Mitsuha was turned into a demon by Muzan, and all the things she and Mitsuha had experienced together in the past few days.

Yoriichi didn't interrupt at all, simply listening silently to Tamayo's story.

His expression shifted from initial stunned shock, then to confusion, and finally to complete silence with his head bowed.

"That's all, Mr. Yoriichi..."

It wasn't until Tamayo stopped and remained silent for a long time that he finally spoke his first question.

"Was Mitsuha really doing this willingly?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure."

With a slight nod, Tamayo gave Yoriichi the affirmative answer he least wanted to hear at that moment.

His sister became a demon willingly; she was neither forced nor confused. Mitsuha made this choice entirely of her own volition.

Once again, the scene of the last time he saw Mitsuha flashed through his mind, recalling her holding him that night and calmly saying, "Everyone must die eventually." Yoriichi's heart was suddenly filled with deep confusion.

He didn't understand, he really didn't understand...

Why was Mitsuha, who was so calm in the face of death just a few days ago and even comforted him, completely changed just a few days later?

They might even willingly become demons to escape their own death?

With his head bowed, Yoriichi's eyes gradually welled up with tears, which dripped onto the back of his hand.

He simply couldn't understand what his younger sister was thinking...

"Mr. Yoriichi, I know you must be feeling very sad right now, but there's something I must remind you of..."

Without giving Yoriichi much time to grieve, Tamayo continued:

"Your younger sister, Mitsuha Tsugikuni, is not only extremely satisfied with her current identity, but she also shows no mercy when facing her former comrades, especially demon slayers..."

Most importantly, her Blood Demon Art was a terrifying power that defied all reason and logic!

Recalling once again the abilities Mitsuha had demonstrated to her over the past few days, Tamayo reminded her in an extremely serious tone:

"Hyperpolating cause and effect, manipulating life and death, influencing thought... This ability to arbitrarily alter and tamper with the fate of others, in terms of the threat to humanity alone, even surpasses that of Muzan, the Demon King..."

No, from a human perspective, she could almost be called a 'god'!

Tamayo gave Mitsuha's Blood Demon Art the highest praise.

This is not an exaggeration on her part. As the only person in the world who has been able to observe and understand Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art up close multiple times, Tamayo is very clear about just how terrifying the power Mitsuba possesses is!

Yoriichi's strength is beyond doubt.

Even though Tamayo had just witnessed Yoriichi's strength firsthand, seeing how Yoriichi cut Muzan into pieces and forced him into a desperate situation... Tamayo still didn't believe that Yoriichi had absolute confidence in defeating Mitsuha.

No matter how strong Yoriichi is, he is still human.

Any human being would be at a severe disadvantage when facing Mitsuha.

"Um, I'm sorry I overheard your conversation just now..."

Just as the two were silent, a young woman suddenly interrupted from the seats next to them.

The woman was beautiful, wearing a butterfly hairpin in her hair. She looked to be in her early twenties, and there was a medicine basket next to her, making her look like an itinerant doctor traveling around.

"Excuse me, is the 'Mitsuba of Tsugikuni' you're referring to the Mitsuba family head of Tsugikuni?"

Turning to look at the couple beside her who had been having a strange conversation, Butterfly, who had been eavesdropping for a while, finally couldn't resist going over to strike up a conversation...

Chapter 51 Don't forget, you were also someone who escaped from the country back then.

"I see……"

In the teahouse late at night, after the three introduced themselves to each other, they fell silent for a moment.

"Do demons really exist...?"

The butterfly lowered its head and murmured to itself.

Although she had never believed that such supernatural beings existed in the world.

But after witnessing Tamayo break her wrist and then grow it back from the break—something no normal human could possibly do—Butterfly had no choice but to believe it.

Demon King, evil spirits, demon hunters, breathing techniques...

All the stories Mitsuha had told her were actually true?!

In other words, Mitsuha really did turn into a demon on the night of the fireworks festival that Mitsuha forced her to leave.

After a brief moment of shock, the butterfly quickly calmed down.

He is probably the only person in the world who accompanied Mitsuha through the last few years of her life and experienced all the changes in her emotional journey.

Butterfly understood better than anyone else the reasons why Mitsuha made this choice.

"What was Miss Butterfly thinking about Mitsuha's choice...?"

Beside him, Yoriichi broke the silence first.

Facing this close friend who had been with Mitsuha for several years and whom Mitsuha had personally acknowledged, he wanted to hear Kocho's opinion on Mitsuha's decision to become a demon.

He also wanted to learn more from her about his sister, whom he seemed to have never truly understood...

“Mr. Yoriichi, you’re asking the wrong question. It’s not about why Mitsuha made this choice, but rather that she did indeed make this choice.”

Facing Mitsuha's older brother, Butterfly, after a brief silence, said in a deep voice:

“I must tell you clearly that, in my opinion, given Mitsuha’s past experiences, it was entirely inevitable that she would make such a choice. I can’t even think of any reason why she wouldn’t do it.”

"Is it...inevitable?"

Yoriichi was slightly taken aback. He turned to look at the butterfly, his eyes filled with doubt.

Meanwhile, Tamayo remained silent.

"That's right, it's inevitable."

Meeting Yoriichi's gaze, Butterfly nodded and then asked:

"I'm curious, what kind of image does your sister have in Mr. Yoriichi's eyes?"

What kind of person is Mitsuha?

Yoriichi lowered his head and seriously considered the question.

"When I was still in the country, Mitsuha was very active and lively. She wasn't the kind of well-behaved girl; in fact, her personality was even closer to that of a boy..."

After my mother passed away, I left Tsugikuni. The next time I saw Mitsuha was more than ten years later, one night.

She was quite different from the image I remembered by then.

She was gentle and quiet, rarely smiled, and every gesture she made exuded the majesty of the matriarch of the family.

When she met me, she always used polite language and maintained proper etiquette; her behavior was impeccable.

At that time, Mitsuha perfectly embodied every fantasy people had about a matriarch of a family... absolutely perfect.

But that was also the first time I felt a distance between myself and Mitsuha.

"Have you ever thought about why she grew up to be the way she is?"

"Is it...our family's education?"

"No, it's because she has a typical family father, a typical family mother, and two irresponsible brothers."

She stated those words very bluntly, and the butterfly stared intently at Yoriichi before her, her eyes wide open, and said in a tone that seemed to be suppressing something:

"She was born with a heart that yearned for freedom and adventure, but it was gradually stifled by her conventional family parents."

She could have chosen to abandon everything and run away, just like her two irresponsible brothers.

But the so-called sense of responsibility and morality that her parents had repeatedly instilled in her when she was young has repeatedly held her back.

This ultimately forced her to stay, making her the one to take on everything and clean up the mess.

She had also fantasized that after a few years, when she could finally unload the heavy burden of serving the country, she would choose the life she truly wanted.

But the terminal illness within her body dealt her another blow at this time.

The gods in heaven were so eager to kill her that Mitsuha didn't even have a chance to choose anymore...

"Yoriichi-sensei, tell me, if you were Mitsuha, would you refuse the opportunity to choose again?"

"But no matter what, Mitsuha shouldn't have chosen to become a demon..."

Faced with the butterfly's calm question, Yoriichi almost instinctively retorted.

He had barely finished speaking when the butterfly continued:

"For someone who has almost ruined their short life because of morality and responsibility."

Do you think that when this last chance is presented to her, she will still cling to the things that have ruined her life and let herself die silently in pain and resentment?

Mr. Yoriichi, don't forget, you too abandoned everything and 'escaped' from the country.

The butterfly deliberately emphasized the word "escape".

"You have no right to criticize your sister for making such a choice."

The butterfly's mind remains clear.

As someone who grew up in the mountains and had little contact with human society, she herself did not have a strong sense of morality or responsibility.

She studied medicine because she loved it, because she had a great talent for it, and because it brought her joy.

She has medical ethics and takes every patient seriously and responsibly because she likes to see the heartfelt happiness and gratitude on her patients' faces after they are cured.

This would bring her a deep sense of satisfaction, allowing her to find her own value and feel needed, rather than because she has high moral character.

Ultimately, how could a "wild man" who grew up in the mountains and forests all year round possibly possess so many morals?