"Hmph! Who lives and who dies is not yet certain!"
Amid everyone's silence, Himejima Gyomei was the first to speak, breaking this silence.
"Demons will eventually be eradicated! No matter how powerful the demon, they will ultimately meet their destined end of being slain! Absolutely no exceptions!"
"Oh! A very standard answer! But... this rule that 'demons will eventually be eradicated,' how did it come about?
Is it because the rules of this world stipulated it this way, or did some existence with supreme power tell you this?
Or perhaps, is this merely your own wishful thinking used to hypnotize yourselves?"
Doma asked with a smile, his words very sharp.
"Speaking of which, I've really always been very curious. Why is it that humans who join the Demon Slayer Corps eventually all become so incredibly resolute in will?
Normal creatures, when facing unbeatable enemies, endless setbacks, and failures with no end in sight—
Their hearts would naturally produce thoughts like fear~ wanting to give up~ self-doubt~ despair and collapse~ and so on.
But why is it that humans in the Demon Slayer Corps don't have these?
No matter how powerful the enemy faced, no matter how desperate the situation, even if it's hundreds of years of repeated failures—
You all seem completely unaffected, forever so determined and fearless, even firmly believing that demons will certainly be defeated by you.
And in your Demon Slayer Corps, the higher one's position, the more obvious this situation becomes.
So, I'm really, really especially curious—where does this determination of yours come from? Why can you be so convinced that we will definitely be killed by you?
Hey, big guy, can you seriously tell me—are you all still human?
Are you really still the kind of humans who can think for themselves, possessing the emotions that normal humans should have?"
His eyes fluttering, Doma asked with particular curiosity.
As a demon skilled at penetrating human hearts, in Doma's view, the demon slayers of the Demon Slayer Corps were absolutely the most special humans in this world.
They were different from normal humans.
Although among normal humans, there also existed certain fearless revolutionaries who could sacrifice themselves at any time for some greater ideal—
But these revolutionaries often only became this way after suffering through tempering, ultimately growing step by step.
But the Demon Slayer Corps was different.
It was as if it possessed some special magic—no matter what kind of person you were before joining, no matter what experiences you had in the past, whether you had grudges against demons or not, after joining, everyone would start transforming in this general direction.
Like being imprinted with some kind of mental seal, very few people could break free from this impression.
Take that Uzui Tengen who was still frantically chopping at the ice dragon—Doma could tell at a glance that this person absolutely had no grudge against demons.
Because there wasn't a trace of hatred in Uzui Tengen's eyes when he looked at him earlier. His reason for joining the Demon Slayer Corps probably also contained some element of luck.
At the same time, this person's character wasn't particularly upright either—far inferior to that Flame Hashira who fought Akaza at Infinity Villa.
But it was precisely such a human who didn't meet standards in any aspect, yet Doma had no doubt that if he needed to sacrifice himself to slay demons, he would do so without hesitation.
But this was what Doma couldn't understand.
Looking closely at those fearless revolutionaries who sacrificed themselves, Doma could always see life experiences in their trajectories sufficient to support them in making this choice.
Seeing them, he would think, ah, it's very reasonable that these people are willing to sacrifice themselves like this—this is the choice they should rightfully make.
Even if it were that Kyojuro, he would think the same.
But on Uzui Tengen, he couldn't see similar things.
This person's foundation was insufficient to support him casually sacrificing himself to slay demons, and there were definitely more than just Uzui Tengen like this in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Joining the Demon Slayer Corps for inexplicable reasons, yet somehow suddenly becoming resolute and fearless, able to completely overcome biological instincts and casually sacrifice oneself.
This looked very passionate, but in Doma's eyes, he only had two feelings—
Absurd, hollow.
It was like seeing a group of strange creatures disguised as humans, performing a cheap and hollow passionate drama according to some beautiful longing in human subconsciousness, without logic and unable to withstand deep scrutiny.
As a director with pursuits, every time Doma saw this kind of cheap drama, he would feel very disdainful.
[Sigh, if only I had been the demon at Infinity Villa instead of Lord Akaza...]
[I really wanted to see with my own eyes that Lord Flame Hashira whom the Holy Maiden appreciated, and have a good chat and play with him...]
"Enough enough~ I'm tired~"
The more he thought, the more uncomfortable he felt, and Doma suddenly shook his head and sighed.
He reached out to turn off the speaker beneath him, sat on it, turned around and prepared to slide away.
"I don't want to fight anymore. Let's end here for tonight. You all hurry home, I need to go back too..."
"DEMON!! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE!!"
Among everyone, only Uzui Tengen was still roaring and struggling.
Originally, that ice dragon had been entangling him relentlessly, but after Doma recalled it, he directly charged roaring toward Doma.
"So I said, you really are annoying. I've repeatedly, again and again, wanted to let you go..."
Hearing the movement behind him, Doma sighed helplessly once more.
"Really now, as a demon slayer, being killed by a demon—isn't this a very normal thing?
Little friend, when you let your wives come out on missions, you should have already anticipated this day, right?
A decision you made yourself, why do you have such an expression of being unable to accept it?
If you really loved her so much, shouldn't you have kept her far from danger, always safe and happy?"
Saying this, Doma slowly raised the hand holding his folding fan.
"Lord Sound Hashira?!"
Seeing this movement, Tanjiro almost subconsciously shouted out.
And beside him, Himejima Gyomei even more gritted his teeth and swung his flail, using all his strength to smash toward Doma, trying to stop his next action.
But everything was meaningless.
SPLAT!
In an instant, Doma's figure vanished from where he stood and appeared behind the charging Uzui Tengen—no obstruction could keep up with him.
Then in another instant, Uzui Tengen's head on his neck rolled to the ground with a *thud*, followed by his headless body slowly falling...
Without any technique.
Doma, having seriously decided to kill, merely relied on that unbelievable speed and strength, using the refined steel fan in his hand to make an ordinary slash at the other's neck—and killed a Hashira who had awakened his mark.
As easily as swatting a fly.
"Finally quiet..."
Casually shaking off the bloodstains on the fan's surface, Doma didn't even turn back to look, merely waved his hand, then dragged his beloved little speaker, swung his hand, and disappeared into the darkness with cheerful steps.
"Well then, that's all for tonight. Everyone remember to go home and sleep early~"