FULL STORY SUMMARY

Rated E for explicit. Reader discretion advised.

The Progenitor of Demons, Kibutsuji Muzan and his mate, Kibutsuji Mujōna aim to achieve world domination and annihilate the Demon Slayers. The remaining Hashira along with Kamado Tanjirou, Agatsuma Zenitsu, and Hashibira Inosuke band together to defeat The Demon King and Queen.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I know I said that I was going on hiatus, but I'm addicted to writing this story T-T After a good night's sleep, I decided to actually take the time to write a great fighting scene. (My first take was lazy as FUCK.) Please keep giving me criticism and suggestions because they help me strive to do better! (This is the end of the Forcing His Hand arc! We're also nearing the end of this book 😍)

THANKS FOR READING

MEDIA DICTIONARY

* Thoughts

* "Dialogue."

* 'Telepathic dialogue.'

* '"Hearing someone's thoughts.'"

* "Past conversation."

* {Sound}

* [Movement]

NODOKA

The slayers darted out from the trees and surrounded the two demons. Mujōna growled at their intrusion and immediately summons an enchanted cage to trap Tanjirou.

"So, this was a setup. Shame on you, Tanjirou," Mujōna hissed. "I'm not returning your friends!"

As if I was going to return them anyway. Hah!

"Leave Tanjirou alone!"

"Get away from him! Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!" Sanemi roared as he aimed directly at The Queen of Demons.

"How dare you attempt to strike me?" she yelled. Mujōna fluttered her fan and sent The Wind Pillar flying backwards, slamming his back against the tree. His sword flew a couple feet away from him.

'Seize him, Nodoka.'

'Yes, My Queen.'

The silent white-haired bodyguard summoned her meteor hammer and wrapped it around Sanemi's leg. Mujōna opened a portal and Nodoka began dragging Sanemi towards it.

"Sanemi, no!" Inosuke bellowed. The beast slayer attempted to break Nodoka's chain, but Mujōna blew him away before he had the chance. Inosuke went flying in the air and was slammed into a tree. The sound of his bones cracking echoed as he groaned.

Nodoka then threw Sanemi into the portal and stood in her combat stance, ready to attack again.

"You idiots. Do you know what you've just done? You've just caused the death of three of your fellow slayers!" Mujōna laughed.

Gyomei went into a dangerous, meditative state and charged towards the two demons. "Third Form: Stone Skin!" he bellowed, releasing a series of slashes with his sword. With one easy strike, Nodoka knocked his sword out of his hands with her meteor hammer.

'Great aim, Nodoka.'

"Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!" Shinobu exclaimed. She darted left and right at an impeccable speed. She aimed her poison sword at Nodoka's neck.

Nodoka twirled her meteor hammer in the air, waiting to strike at the perfect time. Her blue eyes stayed locked on each of The Insect Pillar's movement.

I'll use my weapon as a distraction.

Once Shinobu was close enough, Nodoka attacked. Instead of using her meteor hammer, she used her leg and kicked Shinobu directly in her abdomen. The Insect Pillar was pushed backwards in the air, tumbling on the ground.

"Ah…" she said weakly. Shinobu laid down and tried to recuperate for a few seconds, then strained to lift herself up.

"Shinobu, stay down. I got this!" Tengen said. "Fifth Form: String Performance!" The Sound Pillar held one of his swords and spun the other by its chain. Then, he added small bombs in the twirling circle, randomly shooting them out.

Nodoka stood in front of Mujōna as the bombs came flying their way. She used her weapon to destroy the bombs before they detonated.

Mujōna kept her eyes locked on Tengen, then attacked at the precise moment. "Raining Sakura!" she said. A flurry of cherry blossom petals appeared out of thin air above Tengen. Since Mujōna was pregnant, her kekkijutsu wasn't as powerful. The petals weren't acidic, but could sear flesh.

Tengen attempted to dodge the petals, but some touched his flesh. "Argh!" he wailed, letting out an anguished cry. He fell to the ground, screaming as a small portion of his flesh burned.

"Fifth Form: Sea of Clouds and Haze!" Muichiro cried out. He charged at Nodoka at a high speed, ready to slash her. Once he was close enough, Nodoka started to speedily spin her chain, creating a shield.

Muichrio's sword clashed with her chains, creating sparks but causing no damage. Then, Nodoka did a powerful punch across The Mist Pillar's face, causing him to soar away from her. Muichrio's back slammed on a nearby boulder.

Realizing that Nodoka's guard was slightly down, Kanae ran towards her. "Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!" she screamed. Once she was in a close enough range, she did consecutive slash attacks.

Nodoka speedily swung her meteor hammer and aimed for Kanae's stomach and head. After the two fighters dodged each other's hits many times, Nodoka surprised Kanae by wrapping her chain around her leg.

She then tugged, causing Kanae to fall to the ground. She then swung her weapon and slammed it on Kanae's abdomen, breaking a few of her bones.

{Crack.}

"Argh!"

Obanai stood idly, observing everything that was happening. Suddenly, The Serpent Pillar charged towards Mujōna's side with a fiery rage in his eyes.

"Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent!" Obanai aimed for Mujōna's neck, intending to decapitate her. Nodoka turned to protect her Queen, but Mujōna motioned for her to stop.

My Queen?

Obanai howled as he charged towards Mujōna with tears in his eyes. His sword bended like a hook, ready to wring around Mujōna's neck. Once he was about to strike, Mujōna grabbed his throat and Kaburamaru with her bare hands.

Mujōna held the choking slayer in midair, gazing into his eyes. As she squeezed his throat, she said, "Mitsuri is doing well."

Obanai's eyes widened at the mention of his lover. He stared into Mujōna's red eyes as his eyes welled with tears.

Nodoka stared at the spectacle in shock, wondering what Mujōna was doing.

Why did she tell him that?

"R-really?" he strained to say.

The Queen of Demons loosened the pressure on his throat. "She misses you dearly," she said softly.

"D-don't kill her, I beg of you…"

"I have a proposal; if you surrender and go into the portal, we won't kill her and I'll even make sure that you're reunited," Mujōna said.

"Don't listen to her, Obanai! She's lying to you!" Tanjirou yelled. He then wailed in pain as he was suddenly racked with a searing pain.

Obanai started to struggle in her grip, but paused. He let out a quiet sob as he stared into Mujōna's eyes. "Is she really okay? I—I just want to see her…"

"Mitsuri is safe and is being cared for. I have no reason to lie to you, Obanai."

Moments later, The Serpent Pillar conceded.

"Okay! Please, I just want to be with her!" he sobbed. Then, Mujona released his neck and he fell to the ground, shivering.

"Obanai!" Tanjirou called out, ignoring the agony he was feeling because of his disobedience. "Don't go in there!"

Obanai shakily stood and walked towards the portal. Before he left, he looked at his companions one last time. "I'm sorry, everyone." Then, he walked through the portal.

The atmosphere was deadly quiet and tense.

"Surrender, or we will be forced to kill you all," Mujōna said. Nodoka began twirling her weapon, ready to attack if necessary.

Suddenly, Inosuke made a piercing battle cry as he charged towards them, but Giyu grabbed him.

"Stop Inosuke. We can't engage in combat with them right now," Giyu said.

"Oh yeah? Well, why not?" Inosuke roared in anger. He tried to squirm out of Giyu's powerful hold, but his efforts were futile.

"This battle was spontaneous and a bad idea. Our friends are severely wounded because of this! We must retreat."

"Except that's not why you don't want to fight. You just don't want to slay a pregnant demon!"

Everyone gasped at Inosuke's words. Nodoka stood in front of Mujōna, shielding her Queen even more.

"That's not how we Demon Slayers go about things. We took an oath to—"

"Nowhere in the code does it say to protect demons, pregnant or not! They hurt and killed our friends, Giyu!" Inosuke howled. Suddenly, Mujōna spoke.

"This fight is over," she said. "Retreat." As she and Nodoka turned to leave, Zenitsu prepared to attack.

"First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!" Zenitsu bellowed, charging at her.

Nodoka swung her meteor hammer, but missed the lightning fast slayer by an inch. Her demonic blue eyes widened in disbelief and fear.

I missed!

"My Queen!" Nodoka shrieked.

Mujōna gasped with a frightened expression on her face as she saw the sword aiming directly at her.

Just before Zenitsu's sword impaled her, his sword ran into an invisible barrier. A sharp, crackling sound reverberated upon contact.

W-what just happened?

Zenitsu sword shattered upon the impact and he fell to the ground. Suddenly, a tall six-eyed samurai dropped down from the sky, landing perfectly on his feet.

It's him!

Kokushibou then put his sword in his sheath and bowed before the frozen Queen.

He's so strong…

There was a tense silence as everyone attempted to process what had just happened. Slightly trembling, Mujōna stood immobilized as she stared at the yellow-haired slayer.

Zenitsu was groaning on the ground, staring at his shattered sword. "My sword…"

"N-Nodoka, capture him," Mujōna said, slightly shaking.

Nodoka nodded and did as she was told. She wrapped her chain around Zenitsu's leg and began dragging him to the portal.

"No, please let him go! You said that you only wanted me!" Tanjirou screamed.

"That was before they tried to attack me, now silence!" Mujōna hissed. She then made Tanjirou feel another sharp, agonizing pain as a warning.

"Argh!" Tanjirou shrieked as he writhed on the ground. Seconds later, he lost consciousness again.

"Gather him as well," Mujōna ordered Nodoka. Still in a shock by what just happened, The Queen of Demons quivered as she went through the portal.

The remaining slayers were sprawled on the ground, too indisposed to fight back.

While she ignored Kokushibou's presence, Nodoka continued dragging Tanjirou towards the portal. As she did so, she felt his eyes on her the entire time. Before she went through the portal, she took one more glance at the six-eyed demon.

Kokushibou was staring at her with the same blank expression. Nodoka moved her lips to speak, but no sound came out. With a sigh, she went through the portal.

MUJŌNA

"You're never leaving this realm again," Muzan said.

Mujōna was sitting on the bed, crying. Muzan had been incessantly scolding her for the past two hours.

"I've been nothing but considerate and understanding. I've allowed you to do things that I don't agree with, then this happens. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mujōna sighed and looked away from his angry stare. "I'm sorry, Muzan," she softly sobbed.

Muzan emitted a low growl and kicked a nearby nightstand, destroying it.

"Sorry? That's all you have to say? You were so close to being harmed, Mujōna." The demon spoke in a voice that sounded like it didn't belong to him; void of emotion but surpassing anger simultaneously.

"But I wasn't harmed at all. Kokushibou saved me," she whispered.

"Kokushibou was there because I insisted, after you said that you didn't need him. You put all of your faith into some reject you found a few months ago. What if he wasn't there, Mujōna? Then what?"

Mujōna turned the other way and whimpered; she had never seen Muzan this furious before. He spoke in an eerily calm, dejected manner that made her want to curl into a ball and cry. It was truly terrifying and horrific. The creature before her was nothing like the beautiful man she fell in love with.

"You will answer me and look at me when I'm speaking to you," he boomed. He gently, but firmly took her chin and made her face him. "You aren't seeing the light of day for a while."

She looked into his crimson eyes and saw the fires of Hell itself. "Please forgive me. I won't be reckless ever again and—"

"You'll stay here until I change my mind, end of discussion." Muzan then left her alone in their bedroom.

Before her eyes, their bedroom shifted into her private chambers.

He kicked me out of our bedroom…

Mujōna threw herself on her bed and cried. She was angry, hurt, frightened, and relieved all at once. She was happy that more of the Demon Slayers were in their custody, but frightened with the fact that she could've gotten seriously injured.

That sword could've gone through me and hurt my child…

She sobbed as she caressed her protruding stomach. The traumatic scene kept replaying in her mind. Not only did she almost lose her life and child, but her mate was angry with her as well.

Suddenly, she remembered Nodoka.

…Nodoka! There's no telling what he will do to her!

Mujōna rolled of the bed and waddled to the door, only to find that she was locked inside. Unsure what to do, she decided to telepathically speak to Muzan.

'Muzan, please don't harm Nodoka. It was an accident that I caused. I'm the one who didn't get her trained, so you should only be furious with me. Please don't hurt her!'

He didn't answer.

'My Love, please…'

Mujōna frantically pondered upon what to do. She banged on the door with all her might, but to no avail. Then, she realized that she could call on a servant. Mujōna telepathically told a servant to deliver her some blood.

Moments later, a female servant entered the chamber. The servant bowed while holding a golden tray that contained a tall bottle of Marechi blood. After Mujōna took the bottle, the servant began to leave.

"Don't leave just yet," she said. The servant ignored her and continued walking away. Irritated, Mujōna yelled, "I command you to stop!"

Suddenly, the servant paused and slowly turned around. Mujōna gasped in horror at the sight. The servant's eyes were empty and soulless, accompanied with an eerie permanent smile.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?"

The servant had a vacant stare and didn't answer. Moments later, she left.

Muzan…

MUZAN

Muzan sat in his office, pondering on his next move. He couldn't keep Mujōna in there for long since he knew how important the slayers were to her, she was heavily pregnant and couldn't take much stress, and that he missed her already.

He hated how she had such a strong effect on him; seeing her cry disturbed him deeply. While he chastised her, all he wanted to do was kiss her deeply. The thought of losing her and their child terrified him.

Nodoka and the Demon Slayers were proving to be a pain and a threat to the wellbeing of his family.

I'll refrain from doing away with the slayers for her sake, but I'm taking care of Nodoka.

Muzan was just about to tell one of the Demon Moons to kill Nodoka, but stopped when he heard Mujōna telepathically speaking to him.

'Muzan, please don't harm Nodoka. It was an accident that I caused. I'm the one who didn't get her trained, so you should only be furious with me. Please don't hurt her!'

Muzan scoffed angrily.

Why is she so enthralled by that weak demon? If she wanted a powerful attendant, I surely would've provided.

'My Love, please…'

Hearing the sorrow in his mate's voice was too much for him to handle. Muzan wanted to do nothing but cuddle and never let her go.

She's such a stubborn woman, but I love her dearly…

For centuries, Muzan Kibutsuji lived an egotistical life. He killed others without mercy and did as he wished. Now, he had a beautiful counterpart that made him question everything.

I can't keep her in there for long.

The Demon Lord sat and pondered for a few minutes, then decided not to kill Nodoka just yet.

'Kokushibou, I have a job for you.'

NODOKA

Nodoka sat on the floor of the hallway leading to the dungeon. She had just imprisoned the four captured Demon Slayers. She sat on the floor, trembling in fear.

I messed up bad, I messed up really bad. He's surely going to kill—

Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her. She frantically looked around but saw no one.

I'm going to die, and I deserve it. I almost let Queen Mujōna get harmed. My Lord, kill me without mercy! I don't deserve your pity!

Nodoka rocked back in forth, awaiting her punishment. Then, she heard light footsteps and a dark, powerful aura approaching. She tightly shut her eyes, believing that she wasn't worthy of looking at her Master.

It's him. He's here to finish me off. I deserve no mercy, Master! Slay me! I'm so—

"Get up," an unfamiliar male voice said.

Nodoka slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head, gasping at the man before her.

It's him… he's here to finish me off!

Nodoka started trembling as she gazed into Kokushibou's many eyes. She wanted to say something, but her lips wouldn't move, and her throat wouldn't let her.

"I said get up," he said. Nodoka shakily stood up, trying to compose herself. "Follow me."

He guided Nodoka down the foreboding hallways and stairs. Eventually, they reached a large empty chamber. Once they stepped inside, the chamber turned into a training simulation.

"Summon your weapon."

Nodoka shakily summoned her meteor hammer. Some far distance in front of her was a target that looked to be a Demon Slayer.

"Attack."

She released her weapon, letting the ball obliterate the target's center. At an even farther distance, another target sprang up.

"Again."

Nodoka aimed for the center and struck it again. This went on for a couple more times until Nodoka burst into tears. She fell to the ground, sobbing.

"We're not finished," Kokushibou said.

Nodoka moved her lips to speak, but nothing came out.

I deserve to die.

"Get up."

She shook her head and threw her weapon, causing it to vanish.

"I am trying to train you. Get up."

Acknowledging that she wasn't going to move, Kokushibou took her hands and helped her up. Nodoka gazed into his many eyes, feeling strange.

Why does he care so much? Why he is being so kind?

The more Nodoka stared at him, the more she realized that he was…

Handsome.

"I must prepare you for battle. You must cooperate with me. Understand?" he said.

Nodoka slowly nodded, feeling a little queasy.

I want to know his name…

"It is Nodoka, correct?" Kokushibou asked.

Say something!

Nodoka nodded in response, mentally scolding herself.

You fool.

"I am Kokushibou, Upper Moon One. I will coach you for now on."

Nodoka finally started to relax. Kokushibou still held her hands and lightly squeezed while he gazed into her blue eyes.

Without thinking, Nodoka responded.

"Okay."