Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

At this moment, Yoriichi's aged face revealed only deep helplessness.

And there was that trace of relief, as if all had finally been let go.

"You won, Mitsuha."

As he said this, Yoriichi slowly knelt down, and at that moment Mitsuha withdrew her index finger from his heart, from which a large amount of blood gushed out.

In fact, even at this moment, Yoriichi still had a chance to turn the tables.

With his superb control over his own muscles, Yoriichi was able to temporarily delay his death by tightening the muscles around his heart.

Although this still couldn't prevent his eventual death, it was enough to make Yoriichi kill his sister dozens or even hundreds of times over.

But Yoriichi did not do that; he did not even draw his sword again.

The man, hailed as the son of God, simply collapsed slowly.

All he could say was praise for his sister's perfect scheme.

"Really... absolutely amazing... I never expected this... Mitsuha, you actually had this trick up your sleeve..."

"Brother Yoriichi?"

Standing there, staring blankly at Yoriichi lying on the ground, Mitsuha's face was filled with nothing but dazedness.

No, this is completely different from what she expected...

Why didn't Yoriichi's brother try to kill her with his last bit of strength?

Why are you praising me?

What's with that relieved look on your face?

Given your status and your fate, shouldn't you be trying to stop your bleeding now, and then do everything in your power to cut off my head?

Mitsuha didn't understand.

For the first time in decades since she transformed into a demon, she felt "out of control".

As if suddenly realizing something, the slight smile that Yoriichi had shown after learning about her future from her suddenly surfaced in Mitsuha's mind.

Mitsuha, can you tell me what my fate will be?

After that, will I meet any other memorable people?

So that's how it is, I understand now...

【Mitsuba, I'm about to draw my sword. Show me your Blood Demon Art!】

The contents of the brother and sister's previous conversation all came flooding back at this moment.

Mitsuha suddenly remembered the story of the small mountain village that Yoriichi had first told her, the various questions he had asked her about the gods, and his own future...

And then there was his unremarkable slash without activating his Crimson Blade.

In his mind, all the subtle anomalies seemed to connect at this moment.

Mitsuha, finally realizing what was happening, looked at Yoriichi lying on the ground in disbelief, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

"Brother Yoriichi, are you... trying to kill yourself?"

She finally realized it.

Tonight, Yoriichi, the aged Yoriichi before him, actually had no fighting spirit, nor the absolute determination to kill her.

In fact, he was prepared from the very beginning for her to scheme against him.

Over the past decades of wandering, the Son of God's heart has long been weary.

The murder of the poet, the murder of the villagers in that small mountain village... all deeply struck the heart of the Son of God, a mere mortal.

In this long journey of life, the Son of God, who was originally devoid of emotions, gradually gained human emotions through repeated experiences and losses.

He gradually became aware of his uniqueness and gradually understood the fact that he was the son of God.

At the same time, he gradually felt the great force that originated from the high heavens and kept propelling him forward in the predetermined direction.

Driven by this great power, he gradually developed a hatred for demons and made it his lifelong goal to kill Muzan and eradicate all demons in the world.

However, what Yoriichi never told anyone was that this was actually... not his real dream.

Chapter 61 This is his only and final act of defiance against the gods, as the son of God.

"Mitsuha, do you know..."

Try to use breathing techniques to tighten the wound in your heart and delay your impending death.

Yoriichi, the son of God, lay on the dusty floor tiles, gazing up at the night sky.

"My dream was to live a peaceful and happy life with poetry."

In a small room, the family sleeps side by side, able to see the faces of their loved ones when they look up, and reach out to touch them…

In my mind, I recall countless times the lively, energetic, and somewhat rustic country girl I met when I was young.

A bitter smile appeared on Yoriichi's aged face.

"This was my dream, and it remains my only true dream to this day..."

Not the son of God, but the only thing I, as a human being, crave.

But poetry died...

I died from an attack by an evil spirit while I was out.

In the years that followed, I regretted that day more than once.

If I hadn't left Shi alone at home that day, if I hadn't been delayed that day, if I had gone home earlier that day, would the final outcome have been completely different?

I have thought about this countless times, and I have regretted it countless times, and it has ignited my hatred for evil spirits countless times...

But only now have I gradually realized that the outcome of all of this was already predetermined.

From the moment I fell in love with poetry, from the moment I decided to spend an ordinary life with her, the death of poetry was inevitable.

In any case, the final outcome will not change...

Because I am the Son of God, the Son of God born into this world with a mission.

"Brother Yoriichi..."

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, tears streamed down his face, and Yoriichi's gaze was fixed on the night sky above him, as if he were trying to find something in the vast expanse of the heavens.

"The gods have arranged the path I must take, so any obstacles on this path will be removed."

My wife and children were like that, the villagers of that small mountain village were like that, and all those who were killed because of my desire to stay were like that!

Mitsuha, do you know that sometimes... your older brother also feels... so tired...?

Finally, he slowly turned his head and looked at his sister, who was already in tears, and forced a smile on his face.

A smile tinged with apology, weariness, and helplessness.

At this moment, he finally spoke the truth that had been buried deep in his heart.

"My brother is just like you; he doesn't want to be the son of God, nor does he want to possess extraordinary power..."

Actually, I also want to live a normal life with my wife and children, just like a real ordinary person...

However, even this small wish... seems to be denied by the gods in heaven..."

"Brother..."

Listening to the true heart hidden beneath her brother's guise as a child of God, Mitsuha instinctively stepped forward. She knelt down, trembling, and reached out to tightly grasp Yoriichi's hand, which was also reaching out to her.

"me……"

At that moment, she suddenly felt an extremely strong desire to rewrite the outcome of Yoriichi's impending death.

Yes, Yoriichi's brother hasn't left her territory. She can try, if she puts all her effort into it...

However, the moment this thought popped into her head, Mitsuha immediately rejected it.

Because she realized once again that Yoriichi's brother was the son of God.

Even if she could really rewrite his death and bring him back to life.

In the end, he will only become a puppet of the gods once again.

This was not the outcome that Yoriichi's older brother wanted.

He was tired; over the past decades, his mortal heart had been scarred.

The truth about the gods, the truth about fate, the truth about his lover's death... all these truths had long since exhausted him.

Death is the best destination for Ji Guoyuan, a human being.

This was also the ending he longed for.

He truly didn't want to be a puppet of the gods anymore.

"Mitsuha, thank you for seeing your brother off on his final journey..."

Having seen through his younger sister's thoughts at a glance, Yoriichi simply smiled gently.

His breath grew weaker and weaker; the death that had been forcibly delayed was fast approaching.

"There is no need to feel sad for your good-for-nothing and irresponsible brother. You have won against your brother and against the sharpest blade of the gods."

"You helped me escape the fate of being a god's puppet; you should be happy for your brother..."

Looking at Mitsuha, who was sobbing uncontrollably, Yoriichi seemed to have a lot more to say.

But when the words finally came out, all that remained were a final apology and a blessing.

"I'm so sorry about what happened back then... I was too oblivious to understand your and my brother's feelings... I'm truly sorry..."

From now on... Mitsuha, you must live well... Don't be like your good-for-nothing brother...

In his final moments, Yoriichi completely relinquished his identity and burden as the son of God.

He stopped thinking about the complexities between humans and ghosts, and he didn't criticize his sister at all.

He was simply speaking from the perspective of an older brother, offering a heartfelt blessing to his sister who seemed to have taken a completely opposite path to him, yet was actually remarkably similar to him.

Perhaps, this was also his final act of "disobedience" to the god who controlled his destiny, the son of God.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni has passed away.

The strongest warrior in the long history of Demon Slayer has passed away.

He died at the hands of his sister, who was a demon, on the night the new century was about to begin.

His death was shrouded in conspiracy and scheming.

This includes both his sister's scheming against him and his scheming against his sister.

However, it was within this calculation that he made the only act of defiance in his life against the god who manipulated his destiny.

At least, he decided on his own death.

In the same year that Yoriichi Tsugikuni died, the era of the Edo Shogunate officially began.

Everything seemed unchanged; the demons still existed, and the Demon Slayer Corps followed suit, with both sides relentlessly battling each other in every dark night unseen by the world.

Lord Muzan is still hiding in some unknown place, determined to remain hidden for several more decades, until he surpasses the limits of human lifespan before emerging.

Yan Sheng's elder brother secretly found a secluded mountain cave and lived there like a caveman, continuing his ascetic life of swordsmanship research.

As for Mitsuha herself...

[This concludes Volume One, meow~ As per my plan, there will be two more chapters before the main storyline.]

[These are, respectively, the "Small Town Ballads" featuring Upper Rank Three Akaza, also known as Komaji.]

[And "The Chosen One," which mainly features Doma and Bansei Gokuraku, plus some episodes about the Gyutaro siblings.]

[In this, many things that weren't explained in detail in the first volume will also come to the fore in the town ballad, such as the fate of the butterfly, the future of the butterfly clan, what Tamayo has been doing recently, and Mitsuha's closest encounter with death, etc...]

The Chosen One arc is divided into two parts. The first part mainly focuses on Mitsuha, Doma, and the siblings Gyutaro, and is relatively short.

As for the later stages... it could also be called, "Let us together present the Ubuyashiki family with the grandest gift as the 20th century approaches!"

That's how it is, meow~

Isn't the name exciting, meow? Stay tuned, meow!