The next morning, it was Shinobu Kocho who woke Lexon up.
Just as she once woke Lexon up to practice with Gyokko, she knocked on his door and woke him.
"Is something the matter?" Lexon asked Shinobu Kocho after opening the door, having used a lazy ninjutsu to clean himself.
"Let's go for a walk," Shinobu Kocho said outside the door, giving Lexon a gentle smile.
Today, Shinobu Kocho wasn't wearing her Demon Slayer Corps uniform; instead, she wore a beautiful long robe embroidered with butterflies and white mist.
The sapphire necklace Lexon had given her yesterday hung around her fair neck, accentuating her beauty and making her look even more like a stunning young woman.
"What is there to see..." Lexon didn't quite understand. This place was full of deep mountains and dense forests; while the wisteria was beautiful, he had already grown tired of it... what else was there to explore?
"Mis... ter... Lex... on..." Shinobu Kocho slowly squeezed those words out from between her pearly teeth.
"Fine, show me some of the nice spots then." Lexon eventually didn't refuse Shinobu Kocho's invitation, walking to her side as they headed out together.
After all, he was here to relax, so a leisurely stroll was fine... Perhaps Shinobu Kocho knew of some beautiful scenery he didn't...
The next five days passed like this.
It had to be said that once Shinobu Kocho got serious, her direct advances were truly difficult to parry.
After fully confessing her feelings, Shinobu Kocho had completely cast aside her reservations.
She would always blurt out direct statements when they were alone, or perform small gestures that showed a keen understanding of male psychology.
However...
Due to Lexon's personality, many of Shinobu Kocho's actions didn't receive the intended response.
This made Shinobu Kocho feel a bit frustrated, but she also redoubled her efforts.
She truly liked Lexon...
Now that she was living for herself and no longer bound by a single goal, all her thoughts were on Lexon.
On the sixth day, all the swordsmen arrived at the Master's mansion.
Even people from the former Swordsmith Village, numerous cultivators, and Tamayo and Yushiro had arrived...
It was as if the Demon Slayer Corps had returned to its peak before disbanding.
The Master's physical recovery brought immense joy to every member of the Demon Slayer Corps who revered him.
Taking this opportunity, everyone met up and held a grand banquet.
It was organized by the affluent Ubuyashiki clan.
At the banquet, everyone was filled with joy, as laughter and cheers echoed continuously.
Tanjiro and Kanao, who turned into human steam engines after being teased to kiss and urged to get married and have children soon...
Nezuko, who was hit on by some swordsmen for being too beautiful and cute, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, who sat in a corner drawing circles and muttering curses...
Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji, who were inviting familiar faces to their wedding...
Giyu Tomioka, who had finally eased his inner turmoil through traveling and was now chatting and laughing with Sakonji Urokodaki...
Muichiro Tokito, who was happily chatting with Tanjiro...
The monk Gyomei Himejima, smiling with his hands clasped, moving his prayer beads...
The Shinazugawa brothers, showing off their ramen-making skills to everyone...
Kyojuro Rengoku, full of energy as he greeted familiar faces in the banquet hall...
Murata, boasting to others about his experiences killing demons...
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, standing with his wife and smiling as he looked over the crowd in the banquet hall...
And... Shinobu Kocho, who invited Lexon to dance with her...
This banquet...
Gave even someone as cold as Lexon a slight feeling of joy.
As for where this joy came from, Lexon couldn't quite explain it.
...
Three weeks had already passed since he arrived at the former Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
Unknowingly, not much time remained until the next plot mission was set to begin.
During this time, Lexon hadn't forgotten what he intended to do upon returning to this world.
To find the world of the dead...
After causing a fair amount of commotion and noise...
Lexon finally grasped that faint, mysterious singularity leading to a strange space.
After forcibly squeezing into that narrow rift using the power of the Six Paths...
Lexon witnessed a bizarre sight.
A multitude of souls suffering through endless calamities and punishments...
The moment he saw this scene, he understood what kind of place it was.
This was Hell...
The place where the wicked would end up.
Lexon wandered through Hell, searching for familiar figures.
But the numbers were too vast, and the place too expansive.
Even Lexon found it difficult to observe everything.
However, after prolonged observation, Lexon still spotted some 'familiar' figures.
Muzan, enduring countless punishments...
His figure was the most prominent because the oil vat frying him was exceptionally large, and the blades cutting him were exceptionally numerous.
One could say he received the 'best' treatment in all of Hell.
"You damned Demon Slayer!!!!"
Seeming to spot Lexon, Muzan let out a violent roar amidst his punishment.
But Lexon just smiled at him and continued his observation.
Doma, who seemed completely indifferent amidst the punishment...
Akaza, who actively accepted his punishment, wanting to reincarnate as quickly as possible to find the reincarnated Koyuki...
Hantengu... Daki and her brother...
And Gyokko, who was constantly howling in agony...
In the end, he didn't find a single familiar soul he intended to resurrect.
"The place I'm in now is Hell... where all the wicked go..." Lexon, having broken into Hell in a living body, murmured, "So where are those who weren't wicked?"
'Could it be that all the non-wicked have already reincarnated?'
He pondered this and subsequently withdrew from Hell.
Lexon searched for another old man on the verge of death.
After the old man died, he followed the soul into Hell... only to find the soul passing straight through it.
Lexon pursued closely, passing through spatial barriers to arrive at a distant place.
"Wah... wahhhhh..."
As the soul entered a mother's body followed by the cry of a newborn baby, Lexon confirmed his theory.
There was no Heaven in this world.
There was only Hell and reincarnation...
If there was anything else... it would be the spirits still lingering in the human world due to their obsessions...
Like Makomo and Sabito... or the souls of the relatives who helped Tanjiro on Mt. Natagumo...
But those souls... were no longer in the mortal world...
Looking at it now, their obsessions must have faded with Muzan's death, and they had already moved on to reincarnation...
Then there was nothing to be done.
Thoughts flowed through Lexon's mind.
'If I had the power to turn back time, maybe I could...'
But not now...
I can't do it now.
Without dwelling on it, Lexon flew directly back to the Butterfly Mansion.
...
"Are you leaving?" Shinobu Kocho asked, standing before Lexon.
"Yeah," Lexon responded.
The plot world was about to open, so he naturally intended to leave.
"Come back soon," Shinobu Kocho urged, giving Lexon a most gentle smile.
"Okay," Lexon nodded slightly.
Without any hesitation, his thoughts surged, and he instantly transformed into a white light, returning to the Main God Space.
He hadn't said goodbye to anyone else except for Shinobu Kocho.
After all, while a plot world only lasted an instant for the real world, time flowed the same in the Demon Slayer world and the real world; thus, to the others, Lexon would have only been gone for a short while.
There was no need for a grand farewell like last time.
After Lexon left, Shinobu Kocho's hands tightly gripped the sapphire necklace around her neck, her eyes shimmering.
I hope he stays safe.
She prayed in her heart.
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