//------------------------------//
// Final Battle: Fateful Encounter 
// Story: Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Based on what Pinkamena found it took Tanjiro a week after joining Gyomei's training before he was able to manifest his Slayer Mark again, which allowed him to push the rock that Inosuke then pushed by force, which only worried the rest of the lower ranks as they witnessed it happen. Her attention, for the most part, was on preparing for the start of their war with Muzan, because Tamayo and Shinobu were concocting an elixir that would turn a Demon back into a Human, which was why they were planning on giving it to Nezuko as soon as their foe made his move. If they were right it would erase the only one who had conquered the sun, at least in Muzan's eyes, so even if most of the Slayers perished this would set the Demon King back quite a bit, because Sanemi and the Hashira were tasked with eliminating the Upper Moons, so they might put him back to square one if they were lucky. To aid them in their efforts Kagaya had sent crows to the Cultivators and asked them if they would come and aid them, in defending Nezuko from Muzan or his allies, and to make sure each one was brought in without wasting time Pinkamena opened Doors for them to get to Nezuko's place in seconds.

When one of the eyes found the path to Kagaya's place, however, that's when things started to move, as Pinkamena let it leave before informing their leader that Muzan now likely knew of his location, even though Kagaya laid on his bed with all sorts of bandages over his body, indicating that he only had a few days left before his death. Once more she asked him and Amane if this was the path they wanted to walk down, to get their final battle with the Demon King started, and both of them agreed that, even if they had more time to think of another plan, this was the best plan that would spur the Slayer into battle and ensure their survival. As such she made sure Tamayo was ready for her part of their plan, that Yushiro was resting in the members of the lower ranks of the Corps, and that Gyomei, despite his protests, was ready for what was to come, all while she made sure all of the crows were sent out to inform the other Slayers that this final day was for them to rest, indicating that they would be at war soon enough. The Hashira were scattered around the mountain range that Kagaya's mansion was hidden in, in houses for them to rest in so they could get up and rush to battle as soon as the plan was set into motion, all while Pinkamena condensed her Zones into shadowy auras that would follow the Hashira, as she had her own plan added to Kagaya's.

Other than that there wasn't much she could do besides wait for the day to go by as everyone got ready, though when it got dark out, and the sun went down, Amane opened the door so Kagaya could get some fresh air and tended to him once more as two of their kids, twin sisters no doubt, played in the courtyard, though it wasn't long before Muzan, in his male form this time, appeared nearby.

"Hey... you're finally here... nice to meet you, Muzan Kibutsuji." Kagaya commented, as he heard the footsteps as soon as they happened, plus Amane squeezed his hand as soon as the figure appeared nearby, all while he knew that Pinkamena was watching them as she waited to contact the crows.

"...Well, you sure look horrible, Ubuyashiki." Muzan replied, where Pinkamena found that he was wearing a suit again, to the point where if he had been wearing his hat from their second encounter she would have thought he had retreated into the shadows, instead of becoming a woman for some time, all while finding that he glanced around, no doubt looking for anyone who might attack him while he was standing there, "So this is where you've been hiding."

"Yes, this is my home. I am lucky... to have lived long enough... for you to come visit me." Kagaya said, where he could tell that Muzan didn't care about the mansion, a place he was likely going to destroy on his own if they left him alone, just so he could stomp out the remnants of the family that had been hunting him for a long time, though he coughed for a couple of seconds, "Muzan... the Demon my family... has been hunting... chasing, really... for a thousand years. Amane, tell me, what form does he wear?"

"He looks like a man in his late twenties, wearing a business suit, but he has plum red eyes that have vertical silts, much like a cat's." Amane said, though she wasn't afraid at all, as she and her family, those that were around her, had prepared for this event since Nezuko conquered the sun, and by offering Pinkamena vials of their blood they should have Echoes in her inner world, so part of them would live on, especially when she considered her husband's plan.

"I see. I had a feeling you'd come for me... you must be extremely angry at my family, though I had a feeling that after all that we've done you would kill me yourself." Kagaya commented, because the more they talked the more time they took up, in the sense of stealing Muzan's ability to remain safe from the sun, even though he and everyone else knew that he would flee the moment something happened, hence why he showed no bloodlust.

"I am disappointed, Ubuyashiki." Muzan said, which seemed to be his default emotion, disappointed in everything and everyone that he encountered over his long life, though Pinkamena remained silent as she observed from the shadows, because if their foe thought they were alone he'd keep talking and waste time, "I have lived for a thousand years, without showing signs of aging, and yet the family that has been hounding me all the time, getting in my way, has been reduced to this pathetic state... how repulsive, especially since you already smell like a corpse... you'd probably taste like garbage if I took the time to devour you."

Kagaya coughed for a moment as he forced himself to sit up, with Amane aiding him, where he told Muzan that he was correct, as the doctors told him half a year ago that he would be dead in a few days, yet, despite their predictions, his body was able to last much longer and allowed him to dedicate more of his life to bringing him down. He went on to explain an interesting fact that Pinkamena didn't know about him and his family, apparently they were related to Muzan, which told her that Muzan must have had a sibling, or multiple siblings, who suffered after Muzan became a Demon. He went onto the fact that the Demon King came from their family and the Human side had been cursed with the rot disease that the males from his family suffered from, while an order of priests told them to dedicate their souls to defeating Demons and that they would be provided with wives, to allow their children to survive until thirty. That told Pinkamena why the heir to Kagaya's line had four sisters, either because they had been born at the same time and he was the middle child of them all or their Leader wanted to ensure that he had some family, in cause something bad happened during his life.

Muzan informed him that such a thing didn't matter to him, as he had eaten so many people and had suffered no curse for his actions, especially since he had seen no gods or Buddah's over his long time, showing that he really didn't care for the consequences of what he did to those who were trying to go about their lives.

"Tell me, Muzan... what is your dream?" Kagaya asked, as he had a feeling he knew what the answer might be, given that the Demon King was seeking immortality, without the fear of burning in the sunlight so he could go about his life and do whatever it was that he wanted, "Its been hundreds of years... what sort of dreams do you have?"

Muzan tilted his head for a moment as he thought about that, though he was likely thinking about the fact that this was a strange occurrence, that his hated foe was speaking to him in this manner and yet he felt nothing, not even a shred of his own hate for the Ubuyashiki family. As he thought about that the two girls continued to play nearby, without a care in the world and not even a bit of fear when they considered the fact that the Demon King was standing in front of their parents, while the song they sang while doing that didn't seem to do anything to Muzan. In fact he seemed to think that everything was far too peaceful, that no one had come out to stop him since his arrival, though Pinkamena found that Muzan didn't have his guard up after discovering that there were no guards in this entire mansion, meaning he couldn't tell that she was lurking nearby. He actually seemed repulsed by what he was seeing right now and kept a straight face, not that there was a reason for him to do so since Kagaya couldn't see him and Amane didn't care about his presence at all, and both of their kids weren't worried about him either, though he simply stood there as he considered his remaining options.

While all of that happened, however, Kagaya felt that Muzan's focus wasn't on him, thanks to Amane's help, and gestured to Pinkamena without doing much to draw attention to himself, allowing her to contact the crows within seconds, which meant it was only a matter of time until reinforcements arrived, and to let him know the deed was done she tapped his wife on the shoulder and she squeezed his hand twice.

"Allow me to guess: you dream of immorality, of being able to walk under the sun without fear." Kagaya continued, as he found the silence to be odd and decided to roll with it, especially since there was no telling what Muzan might do while the two of them were exchanging words, though once things either went south or he activated their trap he knew the others would make their move and assault Muzan.

"Exactly, and it will come true soon, once I find out where you've hidden Nezuko." Muzan remarked, showing them that he had definitely been seeking them out and only came out here once he figured out where Kagaya was hiding, meaning he likely had no idea where to find Tanjiro's sister and her guardians, "I know you are confident in your skill to hide her, but, unlike you, I've had a lot of time on my hands and I'm positive I've found out where you've hidden her."

"Let me tell you something: I know something about eternity... Human thoughts are eternal." Kagaya said, showing them that he didn't care about Muzan's thoughts on the matter, rather he was continuing to make sure he wasted time talking to him and his wife, and while the Demon King told him to be quite, which he knew based on Amane's touch, he kept at it to disrupt their foe's concentration, "The Demon Slayer Corps have been fighting your kind for a thousand years, as while we've come close to being exterminated several times over the years, thanks to your efforts, we've never died out... true, a lot of unfortunate children have died to stop you, but they haven't disappeared at all. The thought of 'never forgiving those who have taken the lives of one's loved ones away' is eternal, as no one has forgiven you for all you've done, not in the thousand years our organization has existed... you have stepped on the Tiger's tail too much, Muzan, and soon you will face the wrath of the Dragon. In essence you have awoken a slumbering creature that has been sleeping for all these years, and, I'm sorry to say, they utterly despise you, to the point where they'll sacrifice everything to make sure you don't get away with your crimes."

"Is there a point to all of this, or are you wasting time on purpose?" Muzan remarked, as while he was fine with talking with Kagaya, even though part of what he was saying infuriated him to no end, he wanted to see what the point was before he laid waste to this entire area and killed the head of the family that had been hunting him, and if there were more children hidden nearby they'd die as well.

"If you kill me, I know my Slayers won't feel anything at all... in fact, they don't need me that much." Kagaya replied, as if he was telling Muzan there was no reason for him to even raise his hand to strike him down, that he should just leave him to die on his own terms, especially since his time was limited and he would perish to the rot in no time, "This connection of Human thought is something you wouldn't understand... not that it matters, since most of your kind will perish once once you cease to exist."

"That's a big if, don't you think?" Muzan inquired, showing his arrogance for those that were around him, where he took a step up onto the edge of Kagaya's area and approached the weakened man, while his wife remained at his side and both of his daughters stopped playing, simply curious as to what was going to happen next, "Not that what you said matters, as you'll be dying in the next couple of seconds."

"Maybe, but that's all I wanted to say before my death." Kagaya said, referring to the rot and nothing else, which Muzan seemed to understand when he thought about it, since he was losing the desire to actually take his head and display it for all of the Slayers to see at some point, before the weak man considered something, "Oh, while I said that the Slayers don't need me, that doesn't mean my death will be inconsequential... I am fortunately, yet undeservedly, loved by the members of the Corps, especially the Hashira, and if I die their moral will be boosted. Anyway, I wasn't expecting you to listen to me talk so much, let alone let me speak at all, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Muzan."

In that moment, just before the main event happened, Pinkamena wrapped herself in a barrier and watched as the entire mansion exploded with enough force to wipe out every inch of the place, to the point where Kagaya, Amane, and both of their daughters were reduced to ash, leaving nothing behind for Muzan, who had lost his suit in the explosion and was, at that very moment, starting to regenerate. He had lost a good portion of his face, plus his arms and legs were scorched in most places, going all the way to his flesh since the explosion had been laced with the very powder that Genya used with his gun, including Nichirin spike traps, though the upper part of his pants had survived as he lost his shirt. It was all made to delay his regeneration, to make him think about everyone that was coming from their residences, meaning he'd focus on all of the Slayers and not the silent figures that were moving into position around him, causing her to smile as Tamayo made her move, calling forth black seeds around Muzan, transforming into black spikes that pinned him down. This was, as she explained to Pinkamena, the Blood Demon Art of the man who had been transformed in Asakusa, meaning she had figured out how to take it to let him live a normal life, and while this didn't do all that much to Muzan there was a reason behind the attack.

That reason was that he would absorb the technique and, in the moment he did that, Tamayo would pierce his wounded stomach with her left hand, with the drug that turned Demons back into humans, but that was just the cover she quickly presented to him, as there was far more than that inside it, and as soon as he started to absorb her, taking that poison into his body, Gyomei, hidden by Yushiro's technique, smashed them into the ground with his weapons, a spike ball that was attached to an axe.

"YOU ANT! DID YOU THINK THIS WOULD KILL ME?!" Muzan shouted, as his regeneration, even slowed down by what was around them, rebuilt his head enough so he could speak to Gyomei and anyone else who happened to be in the area, but in that moment, as Tanjiro and the Hashira showed up, each unleashing their Forms to get close so they could begin the battle and make him pay, the Demon King smiled, "Nakime! Pull us in!"

Pinkamena smiled as multiple doors opened beneath Muzan and everyone else, as she had thought that he would flee to his private dimension when his enemies came to fight him, hence why she prepared her power ahead of time and sent it straight down into the depths of his domain as she followed him and Tamayo. In addition to all of the Hashira, who Muzan had scattered across his strange and twisting realm, made out of what looked like pieces of houses that connected in their own way, all of the lower ranks were brought in as well and she felt Yushiro among them, meaning the Demon King really wanted to exterminate all of them tonight. As the lower ranked Slayers dealt with the Demons, who had been empowered to the rank of a Lower Moon, Pinkamena sent out her power and infected the dimensional fortress, allowing her to sense all sorts of things and collect the fallen parts of the slain Demons without having to be nearby, before sensing three rather powerful demonic signatures and two more that were close to them. It informed her that Muzan must have gained two new Upper Moon Demons, from where she really had no idea since the candidates had been slain beforehand, but, at the same time, she knew that everyone had prepared for this and kept her focus on what was in front of her, a plum red orb, a cocoon, that Muzan was contained in.

In the end Pinkamena shifted into her Kitsune Form and sat down on the edge that was nearby, setting up a barrier that would keep her safe from attacks as three copies of her, each with two tails, rushed out and disappeared into the fortress they had been brought to, as she wanted to make sure the Upper Moons were dead before making her move against the Demon King.