"Monjushiro… according to current research, it is a life-form with cellular properties similar to demons, yet it is unaffected by sunlight."
Tamayo closed the report with a calm expression, her voice steady but grave.
"At first, it manifests as a normal insect. After it infects either a human or a demon, it gradually assimilates the host into an insect-like state. Once that process begins, it is irreversible."
"Their regenerative ability and combat traits are nearly identical to demons. However, their only known weakness is their extremely short lifespan."
That was the full extent of their current understanding.
Kokushibo tapped his fingers lightly against the table, his expression unreadable beneath the shadow of his six eyes.
"So that is all… even after all this time."
A faint sense of dissatisfaction lingered in his voice.
Is this truly all the Demon Slayer Corps has uncovered about such a phenomenon?
From what he had seen in battle alone, one could already infer most of this information.
Yet he said nothing further.
If Tamayo's research appeared incomplete, it was not unexpected her efforts were always divided between studying demons and resisting Muzan Kibutsuji.
As he turned to leave, Kokushibo silently retrieved a sealed vial of medicine from the previous exchange.
It will be useful later.
Now was not the time for hesitation.
The era ahead would require preparation for the inevitable confrontation involving the Twelve Kizuki.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro Kamado and his companions had returned once more to the Butterfly Mansion.
However, the atmosphere in the infirmary had changed.
Several of the more prominent figures had already recovered and departed for active duty.
The remaining patients were now the more severely injured Pillars most notably the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro.
Both men were notorious within the Demon Slayer Corps for their sharp tongues and volatile temperaments, making the recovery ward anything but peaceful.
During this period, Genya Shinazugawa arrived once again to visit his older brother.
As always, Sanemi's response was cold and cutting, filled with hostility rather than concern.
Tanjiro, unable to remain silent, suddenly interjected.
"Mr. Sanemi… you actually care about Genya, don't you? I can smell it. You're lying when you say otherwise."
The room fell silent.
No one fully understood what he meant, and most assumed it was simply Tanjiro's unusually sharp intuition at work.
Sanemi clicked his tongue in irritation, refusing to acknowledge the claim.
Obanai remained silent, while Mitsuri Kanroji gently stepped in to defuse the tension.
"Sanemi, that's enough. You're only making things harder for him."
A brief pause followed before Genya quietly bowed his head.
"…Thank you."
And then he left the room.
At the window, Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira watched him go.
Inosuke tilted his boar mask slightly.
"Hey… do you smell something good?"
Zenitsu nodded immediately. "Yeah! It smells amazing!"
From the hallway, Aoi Kanzaki entered carrying a large pot of freshly prepared chicken soup, with Kanao Tsuyuri following behind her.
Inosuke pointed immediately.
"That black crow thing! I knew it was food storage!"
Aoi froze.
"That is a Kasugai Crow! It's a messenger, not food!"
Inosuke paused, visibly reconsidering the logic.
"…Can I eat it after it delivers messages?"
"No." came a firm voice.
Kyojuro Rengoku, still recovering, answered with unwavering seriousness.
From somewhere far away, a Kasugai Crow on assignment felt a sudden chill run down its spine.
Zenitsu sighed dramatically while watching Inosuke contemplate the idea far too seriously.
Obanai, meanwhile, refused the soup outright, keeping his face partially covered with bandages.
Sanemi, though harsh, insisted anyway.
"If he doesn't want it, don't waste it. Everyone else, drink."
And so they did.
Tanjiro received a bowl.
Zenitsu received a bowl.
Sanemi and Rengoku also drank.
Inosuke, unsurprisingly, claimed the entire pot.
That afternoon, rehabilitation training resumed under the supervision of the Pillars.
Meanwhile, deep within the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki remained bedridden, his body still consumed by the hereditary curse afflicting his family.
Despite his fragile condition, his voice remained calm and composed.
"So the number of Monjushiro sightings has increased…"
A faint unease lingered beneath his gentle tone.
The disappearance of demon activity alongside the emergence of this new threat did not feel coincidental.
Kagaya closed his eyes briefly.
Something is shifting.
He then issued his command.
"Deploy all recovered Hashira immediately."
At that moment, his children entered the room Teruko and Hinaki Ubuyashiki small footsteps echoing softly in the quiet chamber.
"Father…"
Kagaya's expression softened slightly as he looked at them.
Within him, a silent resolve formed.
He would end the curse in his generation so his children would never inherit this suffering.
Far away, in an unrecorded and hidden location beyond human reach…
A mass of insect eggs pulsed within a dark cavern, surrounded by unnatural silence.
A distorted voice echoed through the chamber.
"No… this is unacceptable. These specimens are failures."
The presence behind Monjushiro's emergence was neither demon nor human in the traditional sense something else entirely, observing, adapting, and waiting.
"Continue. Find it. All of it."
And the eggs responded… with faint, unsettling movement.
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