Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

The bird neither dodged nor chose any means to deflect the force.

He took the punch head-on.

Because Zenitsu was in a state of extreme grief and anger, the force of his punch was immense. Asuka's face was hit hard, her head tilted to one side, and her mouth was immediately cut open, with a trace of bright red blood seeping out.

"Lord Lanzhu!!!"

The team members around Zenitsu were startled by his behavior and quickly came over to pull him away.

Zenitsu had completely lost his strength and knelt helplessly in front of Asuka, covering his face with his hands and letting out a mournful cry like a wounded beast.

"Answer me... why aren't you saying anything...?"

"Ugh... old man... master..."

The cries drifted in the evening breeze, echoing through the exquisite yet cold corridors of the Ubuyashiki mansion.

Asuka looked down at the boy kneeling at her feet, offering neither comfort nor explanation.

He took another Nichirin sword from his waist and handed it to him along with a yellow-covered book from his bosom:

"Go and become stronger than anyone else, and don't look back."

The bird circled past the sobbing Zenitsu and strode forward.

"Old man, this is all I can do."

Whether he will undergo a complete transformation is not something I can decide.

He murmured to himself, touching his slightly swollen lips.

Chapter 98 The Lord Who Used His Body as Bait

Before Asuka could even take a sip of tea to clear his head, he was stopped by a member of the Hidden Forces who looked anxious as he entered the mansion.

"Lord Arashihashi! The Lord has issued an urgent summons for an emergency meeting of all the pillars within the inner quarters!"

The main house is a large house with a meeting room.

The atmosphere here was even more somber than before the birds left, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

When Asuka pushed open the door and entered, all the pillars' eyes were drawn to him.

Besides the few people he knew, sitting beside Gyomei of the Gringoire was a masked man with a calm and steady demeanor like a rock—that was Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro Kamado's teacher, Sakonji Rin.

Even the front water column has been summoned? Asuka sat down without making a sound.

"What happened to your face?" As soon as he sat down, Obanai Iguro curiously examined Asuka's swollen mouth, looking at him suspiciously. "How come Narutoshi committed suicide after you went to Momoyama? What were you doing at the time?"

"...I did what I was supposed to do." Asuka's brief reply was puzzling, but that wasn't the focus today.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki was not present at the main seat; instead, his two children, Kiriya and Hangna, presided over the ceremony with unprecedented seriousness.

"My lords, please look here." Kiriya unfolded a map covered with red dots: "In the few days since Lord Arashihashi went to Momoyama, the Hidden Branches all over the country have sent back very unusual information."

The red dots are densely packed, covering Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and even remote parts of Kyushu.

“The evil spirits no longer lurk in the shadows and commit crimes alone as they used to; they have begun to create disturbances on a large scale and indiscriminately.”

"In just a few days, ten villages have been massacred, and the local guard force has been almost completely wiped out. The incident has alarmed the cabinet..."

"That bastard..." Shinazugawa Saneya's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He could already picture the horrific scene: "That bastard Kibutsuji Muzan, has he finally lost his temper?"

“This is truly a terrible disaster…” Beimingyu Xingming frowned, and the prayer beads in his hands stopped being turned.

"I think he deliberately used the lives of ordinary people to force the Demon Slayer Corps to mobilize, so that he could track us down and find the location of headquarters in the chaos of battle."

Rin-taki Sakonji added at the opportune moment: "Traces of demons have also appeared in the narrow Mt. Mizuki where I am. Muzan has more information than we thought, and his methods are all kinds of strange. We must not lose our composure because of momentary anger."

"Although it's cruel, it's best to put aside the tragedies in these places and focus our efforts on defeating the Musangumi as the top priority." Obanai Iguro's voice was cold yet realistic.

Kiriya nodded, his voice unusually calm for a child his age: "...That's right."

"With the help of two special allies, Father has learned important information about Muzan—Muzan's true form and his Ghost Moons are hiding in a special space called the Infinite City."

"That is a different dimension controlled by a demon named Naruto. We may search our whole lives and still not find a way to enter, but the riots continue."

"Since Muzan also wants to use his wits to fight... In order to satisfy him, Father has made a decision: He will reveal the location of the Ubuyashiki mansion, using himself as bait to lure Muzan Kibutsuji into taking action! This will prevent damage and killing in the area!"

"What a joke!" Shinazugawa Saneya suddenly stood up, the floorboards creaking under his feet. "Let that bastard just barge in here? Then what about our lord...!!"

"Lord Shinazugawa, please let me finish." Facing the murderous aura of the Wind Pillar, Kiriya tried his best to remain calm: "This is just a trap. To the outside world, we will release false information through special channels, making Muzan believe that because several Pillars are away for training, coupled with the Lord's serious illness, this place is being guarded against and is vulnerable."

"But in reality, we will deploy the strongest defenses and ambushes around the mansion! This is just a show to trick him into showing up."

"Once he enters the encirclement, we will immediately ignite enough gunpowder to burn down an entire street! Combined with a specially made potent poison to counter Blood Demon Arts, this will definitely weaken Wuchan and his demon lord to the greatest extent possible!"

Radiant words are well-founded, but it is said that the lingering influence of the charlatan has not dissipated.

"Is it really... fake information?" Kanroji Mitsuri asked cautiously.

"Yes, please rest assured, everyone." Kiriya bowed, addressing Lord Kaguya. "Lord Kaguya still has many unfulfilled wishes; he will not easily give up his life... Please continue training according to the original plan, pretending nothing has happened. We absolutely cannot lose this battle!"

The meeting ended with a repressive resolution.

The Pillars obeyed the order and set off, each one putting in their utmost effort, determined to cherish every second to break through the markings and the Crimson Blade, preparing to unleash their full potential in the upcoming final battle.

As Asuka prepared to leave with the succulent, Hang Nai, who had been silent all along, gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Lord Arashihashi... Father requests that you come alone."

Asuka glanced at the silent Kiriya and felt a sense of unease.

Just now, Kirito's performance in the "Sex and the Dark Scheme" scene was too perfect, so perfect that it was like he was reciting a line that had already been rehearsed.

.....

As you walk through the long, dark corridor, the fragrance of wisteria blossoms is mixed with a strong smell of decay.

Asuka opened the paper door, and the scene that greeted him moved even someone as indifferent as him.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki lay on the tatami mat, half of his body completely covered by purple curse marks, and his skin had begun to ulcerate.

He was so thin he was practically skin and bones, and even breathing seemed to be a struggle for him.

In just a few days, Kagaya's health had deteriorated to such an extent, something Asuka never expected.

"You've come, Asuka..." Kagaya's voice was extremely soft, like the last withered leaf swaying in the autumn wind.

"My lord," Asuka said, sitting directly by the door, "your health..."

"It's alright, you'll be free soon." Kagaya's lifeless eyes tried to turn towards Asuka.

Although she knew he was blind, the bird could always sense his gaze.

"Was what Kiriya said just now true?" Asuka asked directly.

Kagaya gave a weak yet gentle smile: "...Only when they believe I'm safe and sound can they train without any worries and make their final breakthrough..."

"So this is a true sacrifice."

“Yes,” Kagaya said calmly, as if using his own life as bait was no big deal.

"Mortal is an extremely cowardly and suspicious fellow... He wouldn't have stepped into this prison unless I truly showed him that I was dying, unless he was absolutely certain that the Pillars weren't around..."

“My wife, my life, even... my children... are prepared to turn to ashes.”

Such a decision is far too cruel.

Putting himself in her shoes, even Asuka couldn't bring himself to sacrifice Arashizaki Tesshin, Rika... or Shinobu Kocho.

Why tell me this separately?

The question seemed rather pointed, causing Kagaya's body to tremble slightly.

His lips parted and closed several times, as if he hesitated whether to say those words, but finally he made up his mind:

"Asuka...you're not human, are you...?"

Chapter 99 I Am Not a God

The bird's breathing paused for a moment.

Since he learned to concentrate breathing, this long, continuous breathing has not stopped even when he was unconscious and seriously injured.

But when Yaozai said those words, he still couldn't control his shock.

"Lord Kagaya, I don't quite understand what you mean."

In that instant, he had already detached himself from his identity as a Demon Slayer Corps member and was seriously considering how to answer this terminally ill, dying man.

How could he know? How could he possibly know?

Kagaya gasped for breath, each word seeming to be squeezed out from his shattered lungs: "Before answering my question, I want to tell you something from the past..."

"A thousand years ago, the Ubuyashiki family's nightmare, a tragic past..."

It turns out that the Ubuyashiki family already existed as a noble family during the distant Heian period.

Kibutsuji Muzan is a curse born from this very clan.

His heart stopped beating several times while he was still a fetus, and he had no breathing or pulse at birth, and was once thought to be a stillborn baby.

This frail condition accompanied him throughout his growth; he was constantly plagued by illnesses, both major and minor.

The doctor asserted that the child would not live past the age of twenty if things continued this way.

Despite the Ubuyashiki family's best efforts to find him a doctor, they could not change the tragedy that he was slowly walking towards death.

Until a mysterious doctor appeared.

Even now, the Ubuyashiki clan themselves don't know the doctor's background, but they do know that he turned Muzan into a man-eating demon.

Whether it was because the heavens rejected him or not, Muzan, who became a demon, left the Ubuyashiki family, but left behind a curse that lasted for a thousand years.

Since then, every boy born into the Ubuyashiki family has been plagued by illness and rarely survived.

In order to continue the family bloodline, the Ubuyashiki family followed the advice of the shrine priest and arranged for the male members of the family to marry female members of the priest family generation after generation. This barely extended the lifespan of the men to their twenties.

"...It sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? This is completely unfounded." Kagaya smiled bitterly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Tianyin, struggling to suppress her grief, wiped away the bloodstains for him, and he continued, "Our clan has lived for generations to atone for our sins... We consider finding that man and severing his head as our only reason for living."

"A thousand years is too long... long enough that our souls are almost dried up..."

He abruptly changed the subject, steer the conversation back to Asuka: "So, Asuka, I truly believe in gods and hell... You don't need to be nervous..."

"Although I can't sense any 'human' presence in you..."

Kagaya murmured, as if talking to himself, "But it's not the kind of brutal and vicious demon... it's more like a desolate wilderness, where I can't see the other side..."

"I've been watching you since your very first battle, Asuka. I'm not referring to when you killed Beninuma and became a Demon Slayer."

"Back then, I wondered what kind of child could kill a demon with just an ordinary sword... After so many things, including communicating with your friend, the Fist Pillar, I'm pretty sure now."

"Asuka, what I want to ask is, are you a god?"

With Tianyin's help, he struggled to sit up a little, staring intently at the bird with his gray-white pupils.

It was as if it could penetrate his flesh and see the figure hidden deep within him, and the soul-slaying blade.

The question came so suddenly that even the bird didn't know how to answer.

The light and shadow in the room flickered, and the interrogation caused Asuka's spiritual pressure to involuntarily spill out with her emotions, making the surrounding air heavy.

For a dying man as perceptive as Kagaya Ubuyashiki, this small reaction said it all.

He was not afraid of the oppressive aura; instead, he showed a relieved expression, as if he had finally confirmed a long-standing mystery.

"Now that I am about to die, my senses have touched the Sanzu River... I just want to hear you tell me, does a soul truly exist in this world?"

"After death... is there really another world?"

Having said all that, Asuka silently closed her eyes, pondering how to respond.

"I am not a god."

After a long pause, Asuka opened her eyes and calmly answered Kagaya's question: "If you really want to call me, you can call me... Death God."

"grim Reaper...."

“That’s right… Death is not a god, but more like a scavenger who harvests souls… I only have the potential to become Death, not any god.”

Yaozai paused for a moment, then burst into a violent cough.

But between coughs, he burst into laughter, laughing until tears streamed down his face, mingling with blood as they dripped onto his bluish-purple skin, making him look exceptionally tragic.

"Great...that's wonderful." He grabbed Tianyin's sleeve, his laughter trembling. "So there really are gods in this world..."