Ubume

Ubume is the primary antagonist in the Third Light Novel of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. She was a demon affiliated with the Twelve Kizuki, having formerly held the position of Lower Rank One (の).

Appearance
Ubume is a petite woman whose long, black hair was styled in a braided bun. She had crimson red eyes.

Personality
When she was a human and a mother, Ubume was a kind parental figure who cared immensely for her loved ones, especially her only daughter, Sae. But after she became a demon, Ubume started becoming a more wicked and twisted person, displaying a kind and compassionate disposition on the outside, but an extremely merciless and cruel one when she fights.

History
Multiple decades ago, Ubume was a human by the name of Yae and lived a normal life along with having a husband before turning into a demon personally by Muzan Kibutsuji.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: As Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, Ubume was the strongest Lower Rank at the time and the closest to matching the strength of the Upper Ranks. She was able to stand her ground against both Sanemi Shinazugawa and Masachika Kumeno (who were Kinoe-ranked at the time), two powerful Demon Slayers trained with their respective Breathing Style, Wind Breathing, even killing the latter before she died.

Enhanced Speed & Reflexes As a member of the Twelve Kizuki, Ubume possesses excellent speed and reflexes which allowed her to dodge Sanemi's and Masachika's attacks with relative ease.

Blood Demon Art
Illusion Manifestation: Ubume can cast powerful illusions at will. She initially uses it to change a room in a mansion into fleshy walls of her stomach. The illusions are so powerful that even a Kinoe-ranked Sanemi failed to sense he was under its spell and continued to struggle against Ubume but to no avail. He only escaped this illusion through Masachika, who broke the demon-dispelling mirror, which greatly weakened her illusions. She used this ability one last time on Masachika by manifesting the image of her deceased daughter, Sae, to stop his blade attack, allowing Ubume to stab him in his abdomen.

Trivia

 * Ubume is not Yae from Giyu Tomioka's Story, as the kanji for each of their names are completely different.
 * The timelines of the events that the two characters are too far apart for it to be the case as well.
 * The name, Ubume, is composed of the kanji for "woman, mother-in-law" (姑), "to catch, to obtain, to harvest, seize" (獲) and "bird, inferior" (鳥).
 * Her human name, Yae, contains the kanji for "distant, overflowing, full" (彌) and "glory, honor, to flourish" (榮).
 * She has stated that Muzan is the one who gave her this name.
 * Ubume's name is likely named after the mythical creature of the same name from Japanese folklore. An ubume is often described as a ghostly woman with long hair, pale skin, and dressed in white burial robes. An ubume is said to appear to human beings, usually pregnant women or young mothers, and ask them to hold her infant. As the woman or mother takes the baby in her arms, Ubume vanishes, leaving the person holding a heavy rock or bundle of leaves instead of the baby. It is believed that an ubume is the spirit of a woman who died during childbirth or before being able to properly care for her child. The spirit remains on earth, still concerned for the welfare of her child and seeking a proper caregiver.

Quotes

 * (To Masachika Kumeno) "I have abandoned that name ages ago. I am called Ubume. Other than this beautiful demon form of mine, that lord also bestowed me with this precision name."

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姑獲鳥 姑獲鳥 Убуме