Chapter 196

I Am (は) is the one hundred and ninety sixth chapter of Koyoharu Gotōge's Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Summary
Nezuko Kamado slowly makes her way panting towards the town where the battle with Muzan Kibutsuji is underway. Suddenly she flashes back to her memory of Muzan's attack on the Kamado family. After he had attacked all the members of the family and seen that they had all apparently died due to his attacks, the demon notes that even with the small dose of his blood he had kept in his attacks none of them had been able to become demons. Saying that it would be difficult for him to make a demon who could withstand the sun, Muzan left the Kamado house, unaware that Nezuko had survived.

More memories flood Nezuko's mind as she sees visions of the people and events she and her brother Tanjiro Kamado had encountered during their journey, including Giyu Tomioka, Sakonji Urokodaki, Tamayo, Yushiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira. She collapses to the ground, unable to keep walking and more memories flash through her brain, of the Pillar Meeting and Sanemi Shinazugawa attempting to lure her into attacking him for his blood and of Kagaya Ubuyashiki. She remembers her time at the Butterfly Estate and meeting it's residents, including Shinobu Kocho who during her stay once offered to give her a closer look at the goldfish next to her. Nezuko thinks back to their adventures with Kyojuro Rengoku, Uzui Tengen and their time at the Swordsmith Village. Finding her footing, Nezuko stands up, with her hand transforming back to a human hand as she gets up. With another memory of her brother's hand, as he told her that he would save her no matter what, Nezuko holds her head, sweating and grunting profusely and she turns back into a human, declaring that she is Nezuko Kamado, whose family was killed by a demon.

Meanwhile, the battle with Muzan rages on as the demon rues the fact that he has still been unable to finish off Tanjiro. Sensing that the other Pillars are slowly reviving, Muzan curses the Demon Slayer Corps, saying that they are like the linked beads of a rosary which had always been there trying to end him. A Kasugaigarasu announces that there are thirty five minutes left till dawn and upon hearing this, he attempts to split himself into several pieces the way he had done in his fight with Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Tanjiro recognises this technique and realises what Muzan is about to do, calling out to Obanai Iguro, telling him Muzan's plan, secretly worried that if the demon successfully managed to split himself then they would be unable to stop him.

However, Muzan finds that he is unable to do so and quickly realises that this is yet another side effect of Tamayo's medicine. He is shocked yet again, however, as he suddenly coughs up blood and Tamayo tells him that there were four ingredients to the medicine and that when the first three had weakened him, the fourth would take effect. The fourth effect being the destruction of Muzan's cells, with Tamayo saying in Muzan's head with an eerily menacing grin that the death he had hated so much throughout his life was now terrifyingly near.

Events

 * Nezuko turns back into a human.
 * 35 minutes left till dawn
 * Muzan discovers two new side effects to Tamayo's medicine:
 * Being unable to split himself into tiny pieces as he had done to escape Yoriichi.
 * When the first 3 effects successfully weaken him, the medicine would begin to destroy Muzan's cells.