I don't want to be an elf!

Kotori Itsuka's mind raced as she answered, "But that fire didn't happen naturally; it was set off by Muzan. Moreover, he seemed to be conducting some kind of experiment at the time, feeding me his blood. It was at that moment that I became a demon."

She chose to shift the blame to Muzan Kibutsuji.

Anyway, he's not here, and even if he were, he couldn't refute anything.

After all, Muzan Kibutsuji really did conduct experiments all over Japan in order to create a demon that could overcome sunlight.

This is also the reason why Nezuko Kamado became a demon.

“But perhaps because of my special constitution, after becoming a demon, I am not only no longer under Muzan's control and do not need to eat people, but I am also not afraid of sunlight,” Kotori Itsuka continued. “This is also why I have been able to live as a human.”

After listening to his sister's explanation, Rengoku Kyojuro slowly nodded.

This sounds like something that happened before Kotori Itsuka was adopted by the Rengoku family, so he has no way of verifying it.

Although it sounds completely illogical, Kotori Itsuka is standing right in front of him, and no matter how illogical it seems, he has no choice but to accept it.

"When you were living with me, Father, and Juro, were you actually... acting the whole time?" Rengoku Kyojuro's tone was somewhat complicated. "The Kotori we know now has absolutely nothing in common with the Kotori I know."

“No, I am the same person I am now as I am now, just with a different personality,” Kotori Itsuka asked matter-of-factly. “It’s all thanks to you, isn’t it?”

"Huh?" Rengoku Kyojuro was taken aback. "Because of me?"

“When I was first adopted by the Purgatory family, I was still immersed in the grief of losing my loved ones and cried all day long. It was you who told me to be strong,”

Kotori Itsuka pointed to the black ribbon in her hair, blinked her big eyes, and said with a sincere expression, "You gave me the black ribbon and told me that 'wearing this makes you a strong child,' don't you remember?"

"I...I don't remember..."

A look of confusion appeared on Rengoku Kyojuro's face.

Did I say that myself?

when?

Why do I have absolutely no recollection of this?

"This is the first gift you ever gave me!" Kotori Itsuka said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "It's so unfair! This is my most precious memory, but you don't remember any of it!"

Rengoku Kyojuro scratched his head.

As the Flame Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, he devoted himself almost entirely to slaying demons, and forgot many trivial things from his childhood.

But since Kotori Itsuka is taking this so seriously, she must have given the hairband herself, right?

"I'm sorry..." he said apologetically, "but now that you mention it, I do seem to remember it."

"Hmph." Kotori Itsuka snorted coldly, "You'd better really remember."

Although she said this on the surface, as if she was still angry with him, Kotori Itsuka actually felt relieved inside.

Because she made up this story.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Brother, for My Sake

There are still many problems with Kyojuro Rengoku.

Kotori Itsuka also gave her own answers one by one.

If you really can't give a reasonable explanation, then implant non-existent memories into your cheap brother's body.

Perhaps because he didn't want to doubt his sister, Kyojuro Rengoku didn't question her answer and believed almost everything she said.

He accepted the fact that her sister was actually a ghost who had been lurking by his side for over a decade without much hesitation.

Compared to the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps, his hatred for demons was not as intense.

He became the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps only to take his father's place, hoping that his efforts would move his father, who had been in a state of despair for a long time.

If Kotori Itsuka were a man-eating demon, he would still struggle with how to make a choice.

But now that the Demon Slayer Corps has allied with Ratatoskr, and Kotori Itsuka no longer needs to eat people, he no longer needs to consider whether to sacrifice his own family for the greater good.

However, to be honest, even if I considered it, it wouldn't make any difference.

How can a powerful demon who recently beat up all nine Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps and didn't even spare himself possibly justify killing his own family?

Therefore, Kyojuro Rengoku quickly came to terms with it.

"I will not tell anyone about this, not even my father or my lord."

After digesting all the information he had learned from Kotori Itsuka, Kyojuro Rengoku pondered for a moment and said, "Telling everyone will only bring unnecessary trouble."

More importantly, telling them wouldn't make any difference.

Is the Balrog of Ratatosk the sister of the Flame Pillar?

Even if others find out, what good will it do?

Because of kinship, can the relationship between the two organizations be deepened?

After forming an alliance, Ratatoskr and the Demon Slayer Corps already had a close enough relationship.

Next, all that's needed is to proceed with the plan step by step, and if the plan succeeds, Muzan Kibutsuji will surely be defeated in the near future.

By then, the Demon Slayer Corps will have no reason to exist.

Therefore, whether or not to tell others that Kotori Itsuka is a demon doesn't really matter much.

"I thought that with your straightforward and earnest personality, you would definitely choose to make my affairs public." Kotori Itsuka looked at him with some surprise. "It seems that you have finally come to your senses and become a little smarter."

Hearing Kotori Itsuka's somewhat harsh evaluation of him, Kyojuro Rengoku felt a little conflicted.

Although he already knew how his sister's personality changed, he still wasn't quite used to the current Kotori Itsuka.

Seemingly noticing Rengoku Kyojuro's predicament, Itsuka Kotori chuckled softly and then changed into a white hairband.

Although it was just a small change, her temperament changed dramatically.

"Then, I'll leave the matter of keeping it a secret to Onii-chan~"

Upon seeing his familiar Kotori Itsuka return, Kyojuro Rengoku nodded subconsciously.

Seeing this, Kotori Itsuka smiled sweetly.

“Then, brother, now that you know my identity, I suppose I don’t need to go home with you, right?” Kotori Itsuka said. “The Upper Moon has appeared nearby, so Muzan must know that my friends and I are in Asakusa. I need to warn them.”

In Ratatoskree, there are actually very few truly high-level combatants.

Having drunk a large amount of purified Muzan's blood, Dazai Osamu's strength is probably only at the Lower Moon level, and for the sake of the final battle, his Blood Demon Art abilities absolutely cannot be exposed.

After a period of training and their own efforts, the combined fighting strength of the Kamado siblings is now roughly equivalent to that of the Pillars.

Tamayo and Yushiro, on the other hand, had no fighting ability whatsoever.

If Muzan Kibutsuji chooses to attack Ratatoskr's stronghold in Asakusa, his hard-won recruits could very well be wiped out.

Even if he doesn't do it himself, just throwing a top-mounted ball would achieve the same effect.

Now that she knew that Muzan Kibutsuji had set his sights on Asakusa, Kotori Itsuka naturally couldn't just sit idly by.

Currently, both Ratatoskr and the Demon Slayer Corps still need some time to develop.

Therefore, in order to prevent the final battle from taking place before she was fully prepared, she had to go back and take her subordinates with her, move the battlefield, and bring them to a safe place.

"Of course, go ahead."

Kyojuro Rengoku naturally had no reason to refuse this request.

The only reason he originally planned to bring Kotori Itsuka back to Tokyo tonight was because Asakusa might become dangerous.

But that was before I knew that the Flame Demon was Kotori Itsuka.

Now that he knows his sister's hidden identity, he naturally no longer needs to bring her back to the Rengoku family mansion in Tokyo.

Of all the people and demons he encountered, his younger sister was undoubtedly the strongest.

If even she can't protect herself from demons, then probably no one in this world can stop Muzan Kibutsuji.

"Kotori, are you 100% confident that you can defeat Muzan?"

Just after the two said goodbye, Rengoku Kyojuro, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped and asked one last question.

"Of course! Muzan is nothing to me, I can take him down in a few moves!" Kotori Itsuka brandished her seemingly harmless fist. "I'll protect everyone, whether it's Ratatoskr or the Demon Slayer Corps!"

"And what about you?" Kyojuro Rengoku asked earnestly. "You'll be alright, won't you?"

Not long ago, he wouldn't have cared about the consequences of the battle between the Flame Demon and Muzan Kibutsuji.

But things are different now.

After learning that the Flame Demon was his younger sister, and that his sister was going to have a final battle with the Demon Slayer Corps' archenemy, he couldn't help but worry about Kotori Itsuka's safety.

Kotori Itsuka did not answer Kyojuro Rengoku's question immediately.

Will she be alright?

Of course she'll be fine.

Just as she said, Muzan Kibutsuji was no threat to her.

only......

After completing the main quest, she will leave this world.

Even if she leaves this world, her ties to this world will not disappear.

Therefore, even if she revealed her identity to Kyojuro Rengoku in advance, she still needed to fake her death to escape during the battle with Muzan Kibutsuji.

This is the most reasonable ending.

"My opponent is the ancestor of all demons," Kotori Itsuka said quite frankly. "No one can be confident of victory against her, right?"

That's true...

"If I really fail, then please, brother..."

Kotori Itsuka paused, raised her fist, and said with a smile.

"Use the Breath of Flame on him for my sake."

Chapter Thirty-Five: The Prelude to the Final Battle

Rengoku Kyojuro kept his promise and didn't tell anyone that Kotori Itsuka was the Flame Demon.