Selena Theia Starlight watched from her throne as her brother, Sirius… well, Akira finally activated Stellar Radiance by himself and delivered the final blow to Muzan.
A warm smile spread across her face.
"…Finally," she murmured softly. "You finally did it, brother."
Satisfied, Selena leaned back and sent a telepathic message, deliberately exaggerating her tone.
"You did it, brother! All my blood, sweat, and tears were not in vain!"
On the other end, Akira's face immediately twisted into an exasperated expression.
"What blood, sweat, and tears?" he shot back. "You basically did nothing."
Selena puffed out her cheeks.
"Come on! I worked hard too, you know!"
Sure, from her brother's point of view, she might have just been sitting on a throne providing commentary, but Selena knew she had done her part. Crossing her arms proudly, she watched as Akira sighed.
"Tell me one thing you did that was actually helpful."
Selena smirked.
"Who do you think put the Sacred Gear inside you?"
Akira paused, thought about it for a moment, then sighed again.
"…Fine. You did one thing."
"That's right," Selena said proudly, straightening up on her throne. "This victory was impossible without me. You may now worship me."
"Not in a million years," Akira replied instantly.
"Rude. Utterly rude," Selena huffed. "I expect offerings. Praise. At least a statue."
"The best I can give you is a cheap candy," Akira said flatly. "Take it or leave it."
Selena gasped dramatically.
"Unbelievable," she declared. "I carry this family."
Their bickering was interrupted by a soft thud.
Akira looked up just in time to see Erika drop down from an upper platform. The moment her feet touched the ground, she rushed straight toward him.
"Are you fine?" she asked, her voice tight with worry.
"Yes, I'm fine," Akira replied quickly.
"Ah… I see," Erika said.
And then, silence.
Both of them suddenly found it very difficult to decide where to look. They turned their heads away almost in sync, staring at the floor, the walls, anywhere but each other. The air between them grew strangely heavy, thick with unspoken thoughts.
From her throne, Selena watched the scene unfold and muttered to herself with a grin.
"Hehe… this is awkward. But it's fun to watch."
She knew now that both of their feelings had been laid bare. They were aware of their own emotions, and painfully aware of each other's. But since this was the first love for both of them, neither knew what to do next.
As Selena observed them, she felt genuinely happy.
Her little brother… yes, even if he had a previous life, she had been born before him, so she was obviously the big sister and the girl she considered almost like a little sister… ending up together. It felt like watching her favorite ship finally sail.
Of course, neither of them had actually confessed yet. But Selena knew—it was only a matter of time.
Still, watching them stand there in total silence, clearly stuck, she decided to intervene and snap them back to reality.
"Wow," she said aloud, far too pleased. "You two can be awkward later. Right now, we need to leave."
Akira blinked.
"Leave?"
Selena continued briskly, her tone shifting into something more serious.
"Yes. Now that Muzan is dead, any demons directly connected to him should start collapsing soon. Yushiro will probably finish Nakime any moment now. Which means…"
The Infinity Castle groaned.
Not a small sound, but a deep, ominous crack that echoed through the structure, as if reality itself were protesting.
Selena finished calmly, "This place is about to fall apart."
Erika glanced around, then back at Akira.
"…So. Um. We're leaving."
"Right. Leaving. Yes. That's… logical," Akira replied, nodding far too stiffly.
Another violent tremor shook the floor beneath them.
Akira cleared his throat. "We should, uh… hold hands."
Erika froze.
"…Why?"
He answered far too quickly. "So we don't get separated. Tactically."
She nodded way too fast. "Yes. Tactically. That makes sense."
They grabbed each other's hands.
And immediately became far more aware of it than was necessary.
From her throne, Selena watched the scene unfold and sighed inwardly.
"Haven't they already gone way past holding hands? Why are they this awkward now?"
And if they were this flustered just from holding hands, how were they supposed to survive anything else?
Still, despite her mild complaints, Selena was smiling.
Watching them felt like watching a romance anime live, or playing a dating sim where her brother was the protagonist. Sure, she couldn't fully control him, but influencing him was fun in its own way, especially since she was trapped here herself.
And more importantly… she genuinely cared about him.
This was her own way of having fun.
Then the Infinity Castle finally gave in.
The structure collapsed violently, and Akira, Erika, and everyone else were thrown outward.
They tumbled down a rocky slope, crashing through trees and dirt, the night sky spinning overhead. One by one, others landed nearby, groaning, coughing, until the Infinity Castle vanished behind them like a bad dream.
Silence followed.
Crickets chirped softly in the darkness.
Akira lay flat on his back, staring at the stars as he realized they were in a forest somewhere.
"…So," he asked calmly, "does anyone know how to get back to headquarters?"
No one answered.
They were all just as confused, scattered among the trees, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings.
Despite everything, Erika was still holding his hand.
Neither of them let go.
Watching them, Selena smiled again.
It was a small smile.
The quiet, fond kind you only wore when you thought no one was looking.
Akira and Erika got up from the ground, hands awkwardly tangled together, both of them blushing and deliberately looking anywhere except at each other.
Neither was brave enough to let go first.
Selena muttered softly, "This is cute."
For a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy it, like a fan savouring her favourite pairing finally coming together.
Then guilt crept in.
Because the next phase of the plan would test them, test their relationship.
Selena knew what she was about to do would make both of them sad. But after witnessing Akira's Stellar Radiance, seeing Akira awaken it, and even amplifying it with Erika's feelings, she knew it still wasn't enough.
It was powerful. Strong enough to defeat Mega Muzan.
But not enough for what was coming.
But it wasn't enough for what was coming.
As the Destined One, Akira was meant to wield an overwhelming amount of Stellar Radiance. Yet as the incomplete one, he still lacked the power to do so on his own.
Because it wasn't enough, the love of one person alone was not sufficient.
That was why she had to move forward with the Ring Bearers plan.
Even though it hurt.
Even though it meant doing something painful to the two people she cared about most.
But she was the head of the family now. And The Destined One. And that meant she had to steel her heart and do what needed to be done.
Still, as she watched Akira and Erika, looking like two kids experiencing first love, Selena sighed.
She didn't know how she was going to do this.
After a while, Akira and the others realized they were actually quite close to headquarters. With no need for anything dramatic, they simply began walking, carrying the dead and injured with them.
As they moved, Akira watched silently.
The casualties were probably not as heavy as in the original story, but they were still there. Not even Akira could save everyone. At least, not with his current power.
Guided by the Kasugai crows, they finally reached headquarters.
That was when they ran into Nezuko, now fully human.
Tanjiro broke.
"NEZUKO!" he shouted, sprinting forward and wrapping her in a tight embrace.
"Onii-chan!" Nezuko cried out, laughing as she hugged him back just as fiercely.
Zenitsu screamed.
"NEZUKO-CHAN?! SHE'S HUMAN?!" Tears streamed down his face instantly. "AND SHE'S RIGHT THERE?! IN FRONT OF ME?! IS THIS A DREAM? AM I DEAD? AM I ASCENDING?!"
Inosuke smacked him on the back of the head.
"Shut up, yellow hair! You're annoying me!"
Around them, Demon Slayers reunited with comrades they had thought lost forever. The injured were supported, stories overlapped, and laughter mixed with exhausted sobs. Even the Hashira, battle-worn, bloodied, yet victorious, allowed themselves to finally breathe.
Everyone celebrated.
They had survived the battle. Muzan was finally defeated. The demons were gone.
Akira stretched, his joints cracking audibly.
"Finally," he muttered. "I can get a good night's sleep."
At that exact moment, the sun crested the horizon.
Warm light spilled across the courtyard.
Akira squinted up at it.
"…Of course."
He sighed deeply.
"Fine. Morning sleep it is. Or the next night. I'll take what I can get."
He raised a fist toward the sky, half-serious, half-dramatic, shouting at the sun that he would get his rest.
And so, with the demons gone, everyone finally rested.
A few days passed after that day.
With Akira's medicine, all the injured Demon Slayers finally recovered. The tension that had filled the headquarters slowly faded, replaced by a quiet sense of relief.
Sitting in his room, Akira muttered to himself, "Well… seems like we're finally going to finish this mission and leave."
Across from him, Erika was fixing the red ribbons in her hair. She paused for a moment before replying, "Yeah… I guess we completed all the missions."
Akira glanced at her. "Are you sad?"
Erika hesitated, then nodded lightly. "A bit. But… It's inevitable."
Silence settled between them.
Ever since that day, things had been… awkward.
They both knew it. They knew they had to take the next step, but taking that step wasn't easy.
Normally, Akira would've charged forward without hesitation. But as a boy in his first love… he didn't know what to do.
So they remained awkward.
After a moment, Erika broke the silence. "When are we leaving?"
Akira leaned back slightly and answered, "We still need to finish some loose ends before that."
He looked out the window, expression calm but thoughtful.
"Yeah… the final battle might be over," he said quietly, "but I still have things to do in this world."