The mountain path from Tsukimori Town stretched quietly in the morning light. Rengoku Kyojuro walked alone. The lacerations on his back had been treated by the Hidden members, but a dull pain shot through him with each step. His ribs still creaked. Yet his feet did not stop. On his shoulders lay a blue-green haori. It belonged to Aoba. When he draped it over his wounded body, the wind felt slightly warmer. He knew it was just his imagination. Still, Rengoku Kyojuro could not let go of that sensation. (I loved her.) He had realized it clearly last night. The shape of words he could not convey now rested quietly in his chest. It had not burned out. It had not disappeared. Only——the way it burned had changed. He had stopped at the wisteria-flower house of the Unebi family in Tsukimori Town just after dawn. The old woman Shige seemed to understand everything the moment she saw Rengoku Kyojuro. Without a word, she ushered him inside, tended to his wounds, and brought him warm rice porridge. After a while, Shige spoke quietly. "[gentle]……Aoba-sama was a truly admirable person." Rengoku Kyojuro nodded silently. No further words were needed. Shige did not continue either. A quiet time flowed between them. Loss requires no words. Rengoku Kyojuro learned this for the first time. After one night, he set out again. Half a day remained until the Rengoku estate. --- He arrived at the estate just before dusk. The moment he passed through the gate, Rengoku Kyojuro stopped. A figure sat on the veranda of the detached house. His father, Rengoku Maki Juro, was seated there. The sake decanter was not at his side. He simply sat. His black hair, streaked with gray, was disheveled, and the deep scar on his right cheek sank into the evening light. It was clear at once that he had been here since receiving the urgent report from the Kasugai crow. Rengoku Maki Juro looked at his son. A body covered in wounds. And——the blue-green haori on his shoulders. His eyes narrowed, just slightly. He said nothing. He spoke no words. Yet he told everything. Silence continued. Only the sound of the garden trees swaying in the wind existed between them. Rengoku Kyojuro steadied his breathing. "[serious]I intend to take the Pillar Examination." Rengoku Maki Juro slowly raised his face. "[cold]Did you……manifest the Ninth Form?" It was not a question, but a confirmation. "[serious]I did. But I could not finish it." He answered honestly. No excuses. Only facts. Rengoku Maki Juro said nothing. A long silence fell. The light of dusk gradually deepened to red. Then Rengoku Maki Juro stood. He descended from the veranda and walked toward the back of the detached house. Rengoku Kyojuro waited. Rengoku Maki Juro returned after some time. In his hand was an old scroll. Without a word, he placed it before his son. Rengoku Kyojuro picked up the scroll. The paper was yellowed, its edges frayed. It was very old. The moment he opened it——his hands stopped. Flame Breathing, Ninth Form "Rengoku"——the true activation conditions and a record of latent abilities when refined to the limit. He had thought it lost. The instructional texts stored in the storehouse had been partially damaged, and the details of the secret technique could not be read. Yet——. "[cold]……There is nothing more I will teach you." Rengoku Maki Juro spoke briefly and turned on his heel. It was neither rebuke nor encouragement. Only quiet words. Yet within that single statement lay something Rengoku Kyojuro had failed to reach for years. (Father acknowledged me.) Without being put into words, the distance that had existed between father and son narrowed by a single step. Rengoku Kyojuro clutched the scroll to his chest. He pressed down on his trembling hands. --- As he walked down the corridor, footsteps approached. "[gentle]……Big brother." Rengoku Mizuho stood there. Her soft, lustrous silver hair caught the light of the corridor, and her large amber eyes looked at Rengoku Kyojuro. The red jeweled ornament on her left ear swayed faintly. Her gaze stopped on his shoulders. The moment she saw the blue-green haori, Rengoku Mizuho asked nothing. The sight of her brother standing covered in wounds, wearing a haori of an unfamiliar color——she understood everything from that alone. Rengoku Mizuho walked slowly toward him and took his hand in both of hers. It was warm. "[gentle]You……kept your promise, didn't you?" Those words pierced quietly into his chest. There was no way Rengoku Mizuho could know the words Aoba had imposed——to become a Pillar without fail. Yet as a mother, she had received from his hand the weight of what her son carried. Rengoku Kyojuro could not speak. Something had hardened in his throat and would not move. He had decided not to cry. He had ended his tears last night. Or so he thought. Yet the back of his eyes grew hot. After a moment, Rengoku Kyojuro spoke quietly. "[serious]I'm going. To the Ubuyashiki estate." "[gentle]……Be careful." Rengoku Mizuho released his hand. Her face held both sorrow and pride at once. Rengoku Kyojuro turned back only once. That alone served as his parting words. --- He reached the Ubuyashiki estate the next morning. The headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps——the solemn white-wood mansion stood quietly deep within the forest. Wisteria flowers bloomed in profusion in the garden, their sweet fragrance dissolving into the morning air. Wisteria flowers ward off demons. No demon could approach this place. The Pillar Conference Hall was vast and quiet. Rengoku Kyojuro stood in its center, still wearing Aoba's haori. The Pillars who would conduct the examination sat across from him. Each was a master who had perfected a different Breathing Style——the highest-ranking swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps. Their gazes all converged on Rengoku Kyojuro at once. Scars still marked his body. The blue-green haori. Seeing this, one of the Pillars spoke. "[serious]Prove that you have manifested Flame Breathing's Ninth Form." Rengoku Kyojuro drew his Nichirin sword. His body was not yet at full strength. The wound on his back pulled. His ribs ached dully. Yet he drew in the breath of Total Concentration. It was different from last night. Not the flame wrung from the depths of lamentation——now it was quiet. He placed Aoba's will at its core, and layered his own flame upon it. "[serious]Flame Breathing——Ninth Form, Rengoku." The blade ran. The sword gleamed red. From red to white. The air in the Pillar Conference Hall warped slightly. Heat spread. The wood grain of the floor rippled as if undulating. A heavy wave of heat reached the far end of the room. Silence. Then one of the Pillars spoke quietly. "[cold]……So you let an Upper Rank demon escape." "[serious]I had reached my limit. Next time, I will finish it." No excuses. Only the promise of what comes next. That was all. Rengoku Kyojuro then withdrew a report from his breast. A battle record from Hotarubi Village——and a document recording the words spoken by the Upper Rank demon. "[serious]I have recorded the Upper Rank demon's statement exactly as spoken. 'We gathered on that person's orders'——I request this be accepted as official record." The atmosphere among the Pillars changed. The report was passed around. The expressions of those reading it grew gradually harder. Another Pillar spoke. "[serious]The demon ward barrier in the village?" "[serious]It had been deliberately destroyed. I confirmed patterns drawn with charcoal ash." Silence. The Pillars exchanged glances. Within that silence lay a weight beyond words. The possibility that someone with access to the Demon Slayer Corps' inner workings existed——that possibility surfaced as an agenda for the first time. Then the voice of the Ubuyashiki lord resonated quietly. "[gentle]……Examination passed. You are recognized as the Flame Pillar." Rengoku Kyojuro bowed. There was no elation. What remained was——weight. The weight of the words Aoba had delivered with her life. The weight of the fact that the Upper Rank demon was still at large. The weight that the identity of "that person" still lay shrouded in darkness. (Still, I have kept my oath.) He told Aoba in his heart. As he left the Pillar Conference Hall, the morning light spread white. The wisteria flowers in the garden swayed in the breeze. Aoba's haori fluttered quietly in that wind. Flame Pillar——Rengoku Kyojuro. Bearing that name, he stood in the light. The Upper Rank demon lived. The identity of "that person" remained unknown. The one who destroyed the village's barrier had not yet been found. The flame had not gone out. Rather——now, from here, it would begin to burn.