Chapter 34

The golem collapsed piece by piece, its massive rocky form disintegrating around Ali, dragging its creator down with it. Leo now lay lifeless on the ground for all to see, his body broken and unmoving. Mark stood paralysed in disbelief, his arms falling limply to his sides. He stared at Leo's body, memories flooding his mind, heavy with grief. 'I remember when I first met the twins', he thought, 'they were so guarded, so suspicious of everyone. I convinced Zach to help me gain their trust, to show them we could be allies... but now? I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Leo, Lila, Julia, Zach...' His heart sank as he scanned the battlefield. His comrades, his friends, were all gone. He alone remained.

With a soft hiss, Mark's helmet peeled back, revealing his pale, grief-stricken face. His gaze locked onto the man standing in the midst of the carnage-the man with the black spear slung casually over his shoulder. That man, that devil, was the cause of all his misery.

The remaining Demon Slayers moved toward Ali with slow, deliberate steps, their expressions dark with a mixture of dread and determination. Ali, still radiating cold confidence, met their eyes with quiet detachment. 'Enough games', he thought to himself, 'it's time to end this'.

Ali inhaled deeply, drawing the very air around him into his lungs. The atmosphere seemed to change, growing thick and oppressive. Black, wispy tendrils of energy began swirling around him, coiling and twisting before engraving themselves into his skin like living tattoos. The sheer force of his presence sent shockwaves rippling outward, shaking the ground beneath him.

In an instant, Ali disappeared from sight, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the wooden floor where he had stood. His speed, now vastly increased, made him a blur to the Demon Slayers. He reappeared beside Inosuke, his spear already raised high in a deadly arc.

With brutal precision, Ali brought the spear crashing down. Inosuke instinctively raised his twin serrated blades to block, but they stood no chance. The spear sliced through them effortlessly, continuing its lethal descent.

B00000000M

The strike detonated with catastrophic force. Inosuke's entire body was obliterated, reduced to nothing more than a red mist, the surrounding area ravaged by the blast. The shockwave hurled Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Giyu backward, their bodies slamming into the ground with bone-rattling impact. In mere seconds, the four Demon Slayers had become three, their ranks cut down with terrifying speed. They hadn't even had time to register what had happened.

Ali's spear, still dripping with Inosuke's remains, tapped lightly against the floor as he took slow, deliberate steps toward the others. The silence that followed was suffocating. Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Giyu, shaken but resolute, inhaled deeply and activated their breathing techniques in unison. This was it—do or die.

Zenitsu was the first to strike, his speed like lightning as he surged toward Ali.

But this time, Ali saw him coming with ease. With a fluid motion, he sidestepped Zenitsu's blade and slammed the butt of his spear into Zenitsu's abdomen. The blow was devastating, sending Zenitsu crashing to the ground, his mouth filling with blood as he gasped for air.

Giyu came next, his Water Breathing technique flooding the air with a deep, sinking blue aura. Ali took one calm look at the Water Hashira before swiping his spear horizontally with devastating force, his own breathing style at full power.

The strike unleashed an arc of destruction that tore through everything in its path. Giyu attempted to block, but the power behind the strike was too overwhelming. His body was caught in the blast and torn to shreds, the once formidable Hashira reduced to nothing more than blood and scattered remains.

Tanjiro, standing further back, was also knocked off balance by the shockwave, skidding across the ground, barely holding on.

"Activate self-destruct mode," Mark's voice rang out, distant yet resolute, from above. His suit propelled him through the air, speeding toward Ali's back in a final desperate assault.

Ali turned his head slightly, noticing the bright blue glow emanating from the centre of Mark's chest plate, growing more intense with each passing second. 'A suicide attack', Ali thought with mild amusement, 'how desperate'.

Casually pointing behind Mark, Ali smirked. "Behind you Idiot!"

Mark's eyes widened in surprise as a red vine suddenly speared through his back, piercing his armour. The vine stopped him mid flight, suspending him in place as his suit's core shone brighter and brighter, seconds away from detonation.

Ali looked at the scene and picked up Zenitsu before throwing him towards Mark who was held high in the air by the red vine.

Below, Zenitsu, still struggling to rise, found himself directly beneath the trapped Mark, unaware of the impending explosion.

'Demon Slayer World', Mark thought bitterly, 'what a cruel irony'. His suit detonated in a blinding flash, the explosion consuming both him and Zenitsu in an instant.

Ali turned his back on the blast without a second thought. His eyes, calm and indifferent, shifted to Tanjiro, who now stood alone amidst the wreckage, his face contorted in shock and grief. 'Of course, the child of fate is the last one...' Ali mused as he began walking toward him.

Tanjiro, trembling, took a deep breath, steadying himself. His once bright, hopeful eyes were now dull, clouded with despair. A mark began to spread across his forehead, and small wisps of fire ignited around him as he held his blade high in the air.

Without hesitation, he charged at Ali, the last of his strength fuelling his desperate attack.

Ali watched him approach, unflinching. 'Is this it?' he thought, his eyes narrowing in disappointment. 'Is that all the child of fate has left?'

But in an instant, Ali's expression changed as Tanjiro's speed suddenly surged. In the blink of an eye, Tanjiro crossed the distance between them, moving faster than Ali had anticipated. Flames danced around him, illuminating the area as he closed in for the final strike.

"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!" Tanjiro shouted, his voice a mixture of rage and sorrow as his fiery blade swung toward Ali.

The heat of the attack was palpable, the very air around them crackling with energy. Ali could feel the world itself seemingly bending toward Tanjiro's victory, as if fate itself willed the boy to succeed. 'It feels inevitable...FATE' Ali thought, a strange calm settling over him.

But just as Tanjiro's blade was mere inches away from Ali's throat, something shifted.

Ali's left eye flickered, the pupil turning pitch black, an ominous void. In that fraction of a second, the entire battle seemed to freeze. Tanjiro, mid-swing, suddenly found himself staring not at his blade cutting through Ali's neck, but at a black hand reaching for him.

SPLASH

In an instant, Tanjiro's world went black. His body crumpled to the ground, headless. Blood pooled beneath him, the flame of his Sun Breathing flickering out.

Ali stood over the body, Tanjiro's severed head clutched in his hand. His face was impassive, his breathing steady as he let the head drop to the ground with a sickening thud. Blood dripped from his fingers, pooling at his feet as he exhaled, the markings on his body slowly fading.

The battle was over.

Ali surveyed the battlefield, the destruction and carnage spread around him like a grim tapestry. The bodies of the fallen littered the ground, their stories ended in blood and ruin.

His gaze wandered until it landed on three figures at the far end of the platform. Ali walked slowly towards the three as his body healed from the damage done by his breathing style.

Shinobu and Mitsuri lay prone on the ground, their faces pale and their breathing shallow. Beside them, Tsuyuri stood with trembling hands, her fingers tightly gripping the hilt of her sword. She placed herself between Ali and the two fallen Hashira, her expression torn between fear and resolve.

"P-please.." Tsuyuri's voice wavered as she stood her ground. "Please... don't."

Ali, surprised by her defiance, paused. He sighed heavily, setting his bloodied spear down before sitting on the ground, much to Tsuyuri's bewilderment. She remained tense, unsure of what to make of the sudden shift.

At the far end of the platform, Muzan's laughter echoed, loud and triumphant.

"НАНАНАНАНАНАНА!" His voice rang out, gloating at his enemies' defeat.

But Ali ignored him, his attention drawn to the intricate markings on his right forearm. Veska's sigil, filled to its maximum, began to evaporate, the once vivid design disappearing into the air like smoke. Ali's eyes widened in surprise, but nothing else happened.

The laughter cut short. "HAHA-AGH-COUGH COUGH-!" Muzan's voice faltered, his body convulsing violently as his skin began to melt. His once impenetrable form started to dissolve, muscles and tissue disintegrating into sludge. He let out a scream, his voice trembling with fury and confusion.

"What is this? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"

Ali smirked, rising to his feet. "Nothing much," he replied coldly. "Just added every poison I could find in Shinobu's room into your food."

Muzan's eyes widened in horror, realisation dawning too late as his body disintegrated into nothingness, consumed by the lethal concoction. His final scream faded into silence as the last remnants of his form melted away.

With Muzan's death, the very fabric of the Infinity Castle began to collapse. Walls crumbled and the ground beneath them shook violently. Ali and Tsuyuri, alongside the unconscious Mitsuri and Shinobu, heard the distant string of a Biwa as a portal opened beneath them. The four were whisked away, the collapsing castle disappearing behind them.

They reappeared in the tranquil garden of the Butterfly Mansion, the night air cool and still.

Ali stood, gazing up at the moon that shone brightly overhead. His silver eagle, having returned, perched on his arm, its sharp eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Ali gently stroked the bird's feathers. "You're free now," he whispered to the eagle, before tossing it into the air. The bird flapped its wings, soaring high into the sky before vanishing into the night.

"It's time," Ali muttered to himself. His body began to dissolve, turning into glowing blue particles that slowly drifted away into the wind.

Tsuyuri watched in shock as the man who had caused so much destruction began to fade before her eyes.

As Ali disintegrated, his powers, his strength, and his breathing style, everything he had gained in this world, left him. His body continued to dissolve, until only faint blue light remained, scattering into the night sky.

"Evil... monster..." Shinobu's broken voice whispered, the last words Ali heard before he vanished from the Demon Slayer world.

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