Demon Slayer: Why Did Muzan Kill Nakime?

The Demons of Demon Slayer are a truly fascinating lot. They come in all shapes and sizes, and while they are evil in their demonic form, their backstories and their lives while they were human usually contain a tragic note that makes you sad for them. But there are also exceptions, and one such exception is the protagonist of this article – Nakime. The Upper-Rank Four of the Twelve Kizuki who succeeded Hantengu, Nakime was a very peculiar Demon with a unique ability that was not necessarily powerful but was very useful to Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King. Still, she was – in a twist of fate – killed by Muzan himself, and in this article, we are going to tell you why that happened.

After Kokushibō‘s defeat, Nakime remained the last surviving member of the Twelve Kizuki, and since she was controlling the Infinity Castle, Muzan was sure that her powers would be enough to defeat the Corps. But, as the Demon Yushirō took control over Nakime, Muzan lost his ground and was aware that Nakime’s powers under Yushirō‘s control could kill him. This is why, after failing to retake control over her, he simply killed her by blowing up her head.

The rest of this article will focus on Nakime and her death in the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series. Nakime is a villainess but an exceptionally important and very peculiar character. Her death was both a complex and intriguing process, so we have decided to dedicate this whole article to her and her death, focusing on how and why Muzan Kibutsuji killed his last remaining ally. This article will contain some spoilers from the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga, so be careful how you approach it.

Muzan had to kill Nakime, or he would have been killed by her

Muzan appointed Nakime as the new Upper-Rank Four after Tanjirō killed Hantengu. In terms of fighting prowess, Nakime was by no means a powerful Demon, but the biwa-playing Demon had the power to control Muzan’s Infinity Castle and modify its environment, giving her the authority to rule over everyone else there as well.

She was particularly tough to overcome for this reason, and inside the walls of the Castle, the Demons had a slight advantage. This was the essence of her powers and why Muzan considered her to be such a powerful and valued ally, although he would not, as time will show, hesitate from sacrificing her to save his own skin. However, the Corps and their allies took advantage of Nakime’s abilities and employed them against Muzan and the Demons.

In particular, Nakime and Muzan were the only Demons still alive in the Castle after Akaza, Dōma, and Kokushibō were killed by the Demon Slayers, with Nakime being the final survivor among the Twelve Kizuki. Nakime first utilized her powers to separate the Demon Slayers, and with her capacity to manipulate space, she would have been able to use the Castle’s structures to execute the Demon Slayers as she pleased.

The first two Demon Slayers to locate Nakime were Obanai and Mitsuri, but they could not do much damage to her because she had complete control over the Castle. The Demon King claimed that Nakime had murdered Mitsuri and Obanai with her rooms, mocking the Demon Slayers, when Tanjirō and Tomioka later met him.

Muzan was astonished when the ostensibly dead Demon Slayers unexpectedly attacked him, proving that they were both still alive. Muzan was enraged and wanted to know what Nakime was doing, but he soon understood that he was in trouble and that Nakime was no longer under his control. Specifically, Muzan learned that Yushirō, the young Demon who traveled with Tamayo, had seized control of Nakime and, with it, the Castle. Yushirō vowed to Muzan to destroy him in retaliation for Tamayo’s murder since he loved Tamayo so much.

Muzan utilized his telekinetic abilities to engage Yushirō in a struggle of wills for control over Nakime’s body after realizing that Yushirō’s control was bad for him. He was battling the Demon Slayers concurrently. Muzan, who had greater strength than Yushirō, could recover control of Nakime, although he lost concentration during the fight and was hurt by the Demon Slayer Corps. Naturally, this led to him losing control over Nakime once more, and Yushirō once more gained the upper hand because Nakime was once again under his control.

Muzan immediately understood that he would be unable to control Nakime and battle the Demon Slayer Corps at the same time. Although he was aware that the Demon Slayers would find it difficult to defeat him, the Demon King decided to put Nakime’s life to an end to prevent Yushirō from using her to destroy the Castle and himself alongside it. He killed the Upper-Rank Four and saved his own skin by using his own powers to simply smash Nakime’s head into pieces while she was under Yushirō’s control. While Nakime was dying, Yushirō once more used her powers to bring the Castle to the surface.

By doing this, Muzan escaped being killed by a Nakime under the influence of Yushirō, but in doing so, he revealed how vicious and evil he was, how he had no regard for his companions, and how loyalty meant nothing to him because only thing that mattered to him was saving his own skin. As a result, Nakime passed away, and the Twelve Kizuki disappeared. Muzan was the sole foe the Demon Slayers had to overcome, and soon after Nakime’s passing, the crucial final duel would start.

So, Muzan killed Nakime because he was a narcissistic and egomaniacal villain who cared for no one but himself. He valued Nakime until she was useful to him, but when he found her to be potentially dangerous, he simply eliminated her like an unimportant insect. Such an attitude would ultimately leave him facing the Corps and his death all alone, which scared him quite a lot, as his final scene in the manga suggested.