Muzan Kibutsuji had been slain. The evil demons of this world were finally on the verge of complete eradication, fulfilling a wish that had spanned centuries. For any Demon Slayer swordsman, this should have been a moment of overwhelming excitement and joy.
Makomo was happy about it, of course.
But these past few days, her mental state had deteriorated to its lowest point.
Although Muzan Kibutsuji was dead, far too many people had died in this battle. And there were even more wounded than dead.
On top of that, the Butterfly Mansion had suffered heavy losses before. Although it had been replenished in a very short time, medical personnel were still severely lacking. Because of this, women like Makomo had also joined the work of treating the injured.
Treating the wounded was tedious work, and the affairs involved were messy and complicated. Even so, Makomo handled everything very well.
She not only treated the wounded, but also helped arrange future paths for some of the swordsmen.
Because demons were about to be purged, the Demon Slayer Corps was close to losing its reason to exist. Perhaps they had once been heroes who protected humanity and purged demons, but once demons were gone…
The world no longer needed those heroes.
Then where should the swordsmen who had lived to hunt demons go?
As swordsmen who had long lived under immense pressure, almost all of them carried some kind of psychological burden.
As people who had once lived by the sword for the sake of purging demons, many of them seemed to know nothing except hunting demons. It was difficult for them to return to ordinary life.
The Ubuyashiki family did not abandon these Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen simply because Muzan Kibutsuji had fallen and the curse haunting the family had been lifted. Instead, they worked hard to fulfill the responsibilities of the Master, arranging future lives for these swordsmen.
Makomo was one of the people handling these matters. Every day, she had all sorts of things to deal with. There were no major crises, but small matters came one after another without end.
Of course, although handling all this made Makomo somewhat irritated, it was not the key reason her mental state had worsened.
As the former chief caretaker of Mount Sagiri, Makomo had been able to handle many problems on her own since childhood. From caring for her teacher, Sakonji Urokodaki, to managing matters on Mount Sagiri, and later, after Soma arrived, as Mount Sagiri grew increasingly prosperous and more people gathered there, the number of affairs she had to handle also increased. Yet everything placed in Makomo's hands was always handled well.
This time was the same.
She could care for patients well.
She could also properly arrange matters for the swordsmen's retirement.
What truly pushed Makomo toward collapse was the private talk among some people.
They were not saying that she had done something poorly, nor that she had handled certain matters unfairly. In truth, there was some of that too, but when Makomo heard those comments, she only corrected herself and tried to do better. Such things did not affect her mental state too much.
The true reason, the most important factor affecting Makomo, the thing that dealt her the most fatal blow…
was Soma.
Because the person they were discussing was Soma.
And the topic of their discussion was demons.
At first, when Makomo heard people saying behind his back that Soma was a demon, she was truly furious. She even stepped forward to hit them and told the swordsmen gossiping that if they dared speak ill of him again, she would beat them until they could not get out of bed.
But there were too many such rumors.
It was not just one person.
It was many people.
And it did not seem like malicious gossip behind his back, but the statement of a truth.
The truth that Soma was a demon.
This was a truth Makomo was unwilling to believe no matter what.
She had never imagined that Soma could be a demon.
Such a truth was far too cruel for her.
She wanted to confront Soma in person. She wanted to ask him directly.
But several times when she saw Soma, she ultimately did not have the courage to raise the question.
Yet the question still remained.
Because of this, Makomo had also asked many swordsmen who had participated in the battle at Yoshiwara. Some hesitated, some dodged the question, but the conclusion she ultimately reached all pointed to the same fact.
Soma was a demon.
No matter what, Makomo was unwilling to believe any of it. She kept telling herself in her heart that it was not true.
But—
the truth was the truth.
Not only was it true, Makomo also knew certain secrets that might have been buried until now.
Back then, in order to prepare for the swordsman examination on Mount Fujikasane, she had personally gone down the mountain and asked to join Hiroshi Furukawa's team to hunt demons.
That had been her first demon hunt.
Everyone had taken good care of her. They had treated her kindly, and they had all been good people. They had even invited her to eat with them after the hunt was over.
Among them, the one who had left the deepest impression was Hiroshi Furukawa. That swordsman had admired Kyojuro Rengoku. Even now, the memory remained clear in her mind…
But those people…
were all dead.
They had died on the path of hunting demons.
Makomo had once sworn to avenge Hiroshi Furukawa and the others. Although she had never known which demon had killed them, that had not mattered.
She only needed to kill demons.
But now—
Makomo knew.
She knew that the demon Hiroshi Furukawa had once pursued had been Soma.
Soma, who had Kanao with him.
Soma had cruelly killed Hiroshi Furukawa and many other swordsmen, causing those brave swordsmen to fall there forever.
Every one of them had once been so bright and warm.
After realizing this,
Makomo felt lost.
She could not face the truth that Soma was a demon.
Nor could she face the truth that Soma had once cruelly harmed those swordsmen.
This made Makomo feel increasingly tormented.
And as the pain in her heart grew, her mental state became worse and worse.
Deep down, Makomo hoped she could accept the truth that Soma was a demon. Although she had always hated demons, had always despised them, still, if…
if Soma truly was a demon,
then perhaps…
she should be able to accept that.
She only needed to tell herself that although Soma was a demon, he was different from those cruel demons.
But even that—
Makomo could not say to herself.
The scenes of hunting demons alongside Hiroshi Furukawa and the others remained vivid in her mind. The care they had shown her on that demon hunt was still clear.
Those people had been alive.
They had only died on the path of hunting demons.
Because they were dead, no one knew which demon had killed them.
No one could speak of it.
But just because the dead could no longer speak, should they be forgotten?
Could the cruel things that had once been done truly be treated as though nothing had happened?
Makomo did not know how others would feel.
But she found it very difficult to pretend none of this had happened.
Every time she thought that those people had died by Soma's hand, her heart hurt so badly that she trembled.
She truly wanted to act as though she knew nothing.
Several times when she saw Soma, she had pretended on the surface that nothing had happened.
She had even pretended that she did not know the truth that Soma was a demon.
As long as she did not say it aloud, everything could still remain as it had been.
As long as she did not say it aloud, everything would still be the same as before.
At least,
that was what Makomo had been telling herself all these days.
But the pain remained.
And so did the truth.