The Kasugai Crow Takenoshin conveyed what happened after the squad member left the estate chasing Rei and the demon.
At that time, the Ubuyashiki family's personal physician happened to be passing nearby. With his professional sensitivity, he muttered, "I smell blood," and immediately entered the estate, miraculously pulling the couple, who were on the brink of death, back from the threshold of the afterlife.
The moment he heard that story, the squad member's face turned from pale blue to completely white.
The evil deeds could no longer be hidden. Execution was inevitable. As if there was only one action left, he began to beg for his life this time.
Excuses poured out—he had a sick brother and needed money, he had a woman he promised to marry, please spare him just this once—all pathetic, vile, and shallow.
However, such lies couldn't possibly work on Lord Kagaya, who saw through the squad member's entire upbringing.
In the end, the squad member was sentenced to beheading. Beheading in the Demon Slayer Corps is the most dishonorable punishment. Because it is treated the same as a demon, being beheaded, there is no pity, no grave, no mourning for that death.
Perhaps there was no more fitting end for a man who trampled on others' lives more viciously than a demon.
The execution was carried out by Shōjuro. Despite劝阻 from those around him, he insisted on doing it himself.
Whether out of hatred or anger, the sword of judgment, thrust down with all his might, ironically cut off the squad member's life in one stroke without causing him pain.
There was no relief on Shōjuro's face after beheading the man. Only emptiness filled it.
Urokodaki Sakonji stepped down from his position as a Hashira. No one could hold back the man deeply exhausted by the series of events.
After retiring from the Hashira, he said he would live as a cultivator, secluding himself in a suitable mountain to discover and train new swordsmen.
In Urokodaki's luggage as he left the Demon Slayer Corps was the talisman mask that Rei had declined and ultimately never accepted.
Only Kuwajima heard Urokodaki regret not forcing it upon him. He would probably carry that regret for the rest of his life.
Kuwajima Jigorō also soon left the Hashira. Kuwajima, who hunted demons even more fiercely as if to shake off the emptiness from losing Rei and Urokodaki's retirement, but that recklessness eventually brought disaster. In one battle, he misjudged and suffered a severe injury, losing one leg.
No longer able to fulfill his duties as a swordsman, he chose the path of contributing to the Demon Slayer Corps as a cultivator, just like Urokodaki.
The full story of the incident caused by the squad member spread instantly throughout the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
But almost no one spoke of it. The more those who had fallen for the squad member's tricks and badmouthed Rei were, the more tightly they kept their mouths shut and even avoided mentioning Rei's name.
Because the moment they brought up his story, their own mistakes would also be exposed.
As those who knew decreased, those who spoke gradually disappeared, and rumors cut off——
The name Urokodaki Rei slowly faded from the Demon Slayer Corps.
Kibutsuji Muzan was very fond of Ayaki Rui.
Because his situation of being too weak to go outside resembled his own, Muzan secretly cherished the child with pity and a strange sense of closeness.
——Lord Muzan, help me! Please!
Thus, it didn't take long to realize that the thought was Rui's. If it were a plea from any other demon, he would have ignored it all, but with Rui, it was different.
Wondering what had happened, Kibutsuji Muzan looked into Rui's vision and screamed.
"─────!!!"
He screamed without sound. His cat-like pupils widened sharply, not a silent meow but a silent shriek.
This really couldn't be helped. Because the man Rui was holding had a face monstrously familiar. That guy, covered in blood, battered and barely clinging to life, was none other than Kibutsuji Muzan's friend.
You were perfectly fine just a few days ago, why are you in that state now don't make me laugh it's a lie it's a lie please tell me it's a lie.
"Nakime——!!"
Kibutsuji Muzan, seized by confusion, ran to his subordinate. The man who usually summoned subordinates now sprinted at full speed through the Infinity Castle.
He even tripped on the stairs and rolled down, so there's no need to say how panicked he was. It was an unsightly appearance he could never show before the Twelve Kizuki.
"You called."
Fortunately, Nakime was a perceptive woman. The moment Kibutsuji Muzan called her, she plucked a biwa string with a ding— and appeared before her superior in an instant.
She was a woman who knew how to read the mood, not picking on the demon among demons, the man notorious as a cold-blooded beast, even if he was flustered.
"Naki, Nakime! Bring Rui here! Yes, I'll send the coordinates, the coordinates of that village, right now…… Ah ah, wait Rui! Don't move there! You mustn't leave the village, be a good child and stay still— Hey, are you being chased by a demon hunter?! Good, don't stop, keep runniiing no no no opposite opposite opposite! Run in the opposite direction no if you get farther from there the thought won't reach aaaaah bring Rui here Nakime, quickly!!!"
"Understood."
Coolly answering and plucking the biwa string with a ding. Nakime was truly a woman who worked well.
And so, Rui and the white-haired red-eyed one on the verge of death literally rolled into the Infinity Castle.
Before Rui could say anything, Kibutsuji Muzan, who snatched his friend and held him, didn't hesitate to shed his own blood and pour it in.
But one drop of blood wasn't enough, and a small amount didn't turn him into a demon. Frowning, he injected more blood, and only then did his friend's wounds close and the severed arm begin to regrow.
The sight of his friend turning into a demon was surprisingly peaceful. The process of cell mutation is usually filled with loud, painful screams, but his friend only let out a breath so deep it seemed he couldn't even dream. It was a face peacefully asleep without a trace of pain.
Kokushibo had once said that it takes time for a strong swordsman to become a demon. Perhaps because of that, his friend slept for a full three days.
"So you've finally opened your eyes. Good timing. I was getting tired of seeing that peaceful, foolish face."
"………………Long time no see, Lord Muzan."
His friend's awakening was also different from other demons.
Usually, newly awakened demons lose their reason. They become like starving beasts, craving human blood and flesh, and it's common for them to be in a state where conversation is impossible.
"How do you feel?"
"……."
His friend, rising from the futon, silently looked down at his newly grown right arm. With no reaction, Kibutsuji Muzan's brow slightly furrowed as if displeased.
"What's with that reaction after a long-awaited reunion."
"No, it's just too different from the reunion I imagined…… I was a bit taken aback."
Kibutsuji Muzan can read the thoughts of those with whom he shares blood. The closer the distance, the more clearly.
So he knew his friend's heart well too.
"……I didn't want to become a demon."
His friend spoke the words in his heart aloud.
"With what mouth do you say such a thing."
Even as he said that, Kibutsuji Muzan was sure his friend would say 'that'.
Because he knew him better than anyone, he could fully guess what reaction he would show if he became a demon. He believed in his kindness to the point of finding it endearing.
Thus——
"It was you who made me a demon."
He had prepared an answer to trample that kindness long ago.
"When everything was ruined by the doctor's medicine, I desperately endured. I tried not to eat humans, biting my fangs against the demon's appetite, until you tempted me by offering your body to eat."
His friend remained silent. Not surprised, not flustered, even his heart silent, just silently accepting Kibutsuji Muzan's words as they were, without self-defense or a single excuse.
"You taught me the taste of humans. You are the one who made me a demon."
The humanity remaining in Kibutsuji Muzan screams. This is sophistry, the remnants of memory from the time he lay only on his sickbed lament. Don't hurt my friend with such ugly logic.
Nevertheless, Kibutsuji Muzan wanted to keep his friend here. He wanted to plant guilt in his friend and live together, even parasitizing on it.
The Kibutsuji Muzan here was no longer human. He was a monster who had lived for a thousand years.
"Then shouldn't you also become a demon as atonement. It would be fitting for you to become the same existence as me."
Before that selfishness, more absurd than a child's tantrum, his friend just——
"……Yeah, it must be my fault after all."
Nodded like that.
"I kind of thought so. Vaguely. I tried not to think about it, but I had a feeling. Maybe it might be my fault."
To the point of making Kibutsuji Muzan dumbfounded, his friend accepted that nonsensical logic too readily. Not as a temporary falsehood, but he sincerely acknowledged it as his own sin.
"But still, Lord Muzan."
Even so, his friend speaks.
"I wanted to remain human. For your sake, who should have remained human."
He was smiling. It wasn't the overflowing bright smile left in Kibutsuji Muzan's memory. It was a gentle, benevolent smile tinged with loneliness.
"People won't forgive demons who eat humans. No one will forgive you. Everyone is trying to kill you, Lord Muzan."
All the murderous intent, hatred, and resentment belong to Kibutsuji Muzan, so why does his friend tremble his voice as if it were his own affair? Kibutsuji Muzan only found that point strange.
His heart had already become too accustomed to being a demon to understand.
"So I wanted to be the only human who would forgive you, Lord Muzan."
"……Who needs forgiveness."
This isn't bravado. He had never even thought of wanting forgiveness. If his friend would just stay by his side, that was enough.
Was that truly a human heart, or a demon's obsession?
"You really don't need it?"
"I don't need it."
Even to his friend's repeated confirming question, he gave an unchanged immediate answer.
A sigh flowed out. The long-exhaled breath was his friend's, and his eyes, filled with determination, stare straight at Kibutsuji Muzan.
"I see. Then——"
A firm voice as if shaking off hesitation.
His friend clenched his fist tightly.
Someone once said that anger is vitality for living.
"This is for Mom!!"
With a roar bursting from his gut as he throws a punch, Lord Muzan's APP 18 face is knocked back.
A demon's brute strength is tremendous, so he adjusted his power just enough to punch without his face flying off.
"And this is for my teacher, for Rui, for the child demon of Mt. Fujikasane, and as a bonus for the cult leader!!"
"Who keeps hitting like that!!"
"Whose mouth said they don't need forgiveness~~! The answer is~~ this mouth~~~!!"
"Ouch ouch ouch ouch!! Don't be angwy!!"
"I, Lord Muzan, am really angry!! Turning people I like into demons, and increasing demons! Actually, why are you increasing demons in the first place, Lord Muzan?!"
"To ovahcome sunlight by findin' demons wif special bodies!!!"
"Huh, I don't get it!!"
"Shtop it!!"
Seeing no end to this, he let go of Lord Muzan's mouth to hear the explanation, and it seems Lord Muzan wants to overcome sunlight.
At first, he tried to overcome sunlight by researching the Blue Spider Lily medicine left by the doctor, but he couldn't find the Blue Spider Lily, the ingredient.
So, he said he turned all sorts of humans, regardless of age or gender, into demons to find demons with special bodies strong against sunlight.
"I see. Then from now on, don't turn humans into demons."
"Huh? I refuse??"
"The point is just to overcome sunlight, right? I'll make the medicine. I'll find the Blue Spider Lily too."
Of course, Lord Muzan flatly refused, but this was an issue he absolutely couldn't compromise on.
If demons increase, human victims increase. If victims increase, the proportion of humans who hate demons will proportionally rise.
So, he desperately begged to make sure this condition was accepted. Then Lord Muzan pretended to ponder for a moment and eventually accepted.
"……Fine. If you say you'll make the medicine, I'll refrain from turning humans into demons."
It was a bit suspicious how readily he agreed after initially hating the idea, but it should be fine.
If he can just develop medicine to turn back into humans, everything will be resolved. Then Lord Muzan won't have to eat humans, and Mom, Rui, and I myself can return to being human.
Even if we return to human, the past of eating humans won't disappear, but still, I want the people I like to live as humans. I want them to die as humans.
"Hey, who said they want to turn back into humans? I don't need such medicine. Don't make it, don't even research it. What I want is medicine to overcome sunlight."
"Huh? What, did I say it out loud?"
"Even if you turn back into humans, you'll just grow old, get sick, and die. What's fun or happy about such a trivial end. As a demon, you can live forever."
"But I hate having to eat humans. At least improve it so we can live on human blood alone——"
"Don't humans hunt and eat beasts when they're hungry? It's the same."
No, it's completely different. I don't want to agree.
That's something only the hunting side, demons, can say.
"In the first place, even if you're eaten, you should think of it as a natural disaster and give up. Is there anyone who hates the sky for being struck by lightning? Anyone who curses the sea for a tsunami? If there is, they're just crazy. The ones making a fuss are the strange ones."
……Was the Lord Muzan I knew a kid who said such things? I don't think so.
Even considering the美化 of memories, he was a more considerate kid. He wasn't this steeped in demonic cruelty.
If I had found him earlier, maybe he wouldn't have changed this much.
"……You've changed a lot after not seeing you for a thousand years."
"What are you talking about. We met once three, four hundred years ago."
"What?"
Three, four hundred years ago would be the Sengoku period? When I was training under my teacher?
Wait, when was that? Come to think of it, I did meet a person named Tsukihiko who looked exactly like Lord Muzan at an old temple. Don't tell me…….
"That person who called himself Tsukihiko was me."
"……."
"So easily fooled, you fool."
Now, how should I express my feelings at that time?
First, about three strands of the patience rope in my head snapped. My chest was filled with indescribable emotions like sadness or anger at being deceived. It was shocking enough to crouch in a corner of the room, hugging my knees and staring at the wall.
If it weren't Lord Muzan, I would have ended the friendship.
"Are you angry?"
"I'm not angry."
"You sound angry."
"I said I'm not angry."
"(You are angry.)"
"(This guy…… directly into my head……?!)"
When asked, Lord Muzan, the leader of demons, can send telepathic messages to those he turned into demons. Moreover, he can track their current location, share vision, and even read thoughts.
"Huh, then all my thoughts are leaking?"
"That's right. If I want, I can peek into memories too. By the way, who is this Shōjuro guy? Why are you acting so friendly?"
"Even if we're close, privacy!!"
I desperately threw a tantrum. I'd compromise on tracking location or telepathic messages, but I absolutely hate thought or vision sharing.
"What, do you have circumstances that are problematic if I read? Tell me."
"But if I secretly prepare a gift to surprise you, Lord Muzan, it'll all be found out. I don't want such unrewarding gifts. I won't give you anything now!"
"…………"
Thus, thought-reading and other such interferences were exempted.
Testing it by shouting "(Give me strawberry daifuku)" in my mind but getting no reaction, it seems thoughts really aren't being read. This obedient aspect is just like before, which relieved me a bit.
Besides thoughts, being able to read memories is really dangerous. If Demon Slayer Corps information leaks entirely, it'd be a disaster.
Let's move on to the next thing.
Things I want to ask, say, and am curious about are piled up like a mountain. Too many, feels like my head will burst, but I have to solve them one by one.
Lord Muzan's straight hair, which I'm most curious about now, has low priority, so on hold.
The first thing that came to mind among curiosities was about that trash squad member. But I'll trust that Hanachiyo-chan reported all his evil deeds. Hanachiyo-chan is a competent Kasugai Crow.
The problem is whether my demonization is known to the Demon Slayer Corps. When asked, Lord Muzan said demonization happened after coming here. So, probably not known to the Demon Slayer Corps.
A Demon Slayer becoming a demon—there's no greater scandal. If this fact is revealed, it could bring trouble even to Urokodaki, so I hoped I was treated as dead.
And are my aunt and uncle safe? I want to confirm their well-being as soon as possible. I heard I came here thanks to Rui bringing me, but not seeing Rui is also不安.
"As for Rui, he left this place saying he has no face to see you after doing something terrible to you. Now…… hmm, he's somewhere in the northern mountains."
"What? You let Rui go out alone?! You should have stopped him!"
"What are you to Rui."
"I'm the cousin written as older brother and called bro!"
I need to go find him quickly. He must be lonely. Ugh, where's the exit!
"Are you thinking of going outside? Leaving me so soon after reuniting?"
"Can you not say things like a bothersome long-distance lover??"
"Have you ever had a lover?"
"No."
"Actually, even without going outside…… no, fine. Okay, I'll allow you to go out."
Lord Muzan, who until a moment ago was displeased with me going out, suddenly changed his attitude.
He soon shouted "Nakime" loudly towards somewhere. Immediately after, a heavy string sound ding— echoed. Before I knew it, a black-haired woman holding a biwa was sitting next to me.
"I'll leave the telepathic message connected. If it gets dangerous, call Nakime. Then you can return here immediately. You're prone to dying one way or another."
"Most of my deaths are due to demons, though?"
"Shut up. Nakime, take that guy outside."
"Yes."
The lips painted with red rouge briefly recited the answer.
As the biwa pick plucked the string, a hole opened beneath my feet. Entrusting my body to it and slipping through the hole, the air felt on my skin changed completely in an instant.
The greenness of grass, the sound of wind, and under the night sky pouring starlight——
I smelled that smell.
"Ms. Nakime help!!!!!"
*
Ding——
Without a moment's delay, Nakime's biwa rang.
"Thank you! I'm saved, Ms. Nakime! I'll never forget this favor for the rest of my life!!"
The white-haired red-eyed one who returned to the Infinity Castle shouted like that. While drooling profusely from the mouth.
Seeing that, Kibutsuji Muzan clicked his tongue and sighed, not hiding his disappointment that the plan went awry.
"What a pity. To think you'd resist the cannibalistic impulse."
"You allowed me to go out knowing this would happen, Lord Muzan! Huh, it's a lie, right? Humans look that delicious to demons?! I'm hearing this for the first time?!"
"It would have been better if you didn't resist and just devoured them, becoming a complete demon in both body and mind."
"No wayyyyyy!!"
The white-haired red-eyed one wiped his drool with his kimono sleeve. The parts not fully wiped wet the floor. Dirty.
Nakime thought 'I'm the one who cleans…….' and averted her gaze, but thanks to her long bangs, no one noticed her gaze.
"What do I do? I can't go outside like this. I can't go meet Rui……!"
"Stop useless struggles and just eat humans."
"I absolutely, firmly refuse that!! Humans are friends! Not food!!"
"Noble effort. I might cry…… though not as much as your drool."
"Lord Muzan, I know your personality has gotten worse?!"
"Hahahaha, say as much as you want."
"By the way, I just noticed, where did my Nichirin Blade go?! And my luggage, that's really important!!"
"As for your luggage and Nichirin Blade, Kokushibo is taking care of them."
"Who is Kokushibo?!"
"One. Upper Rank 1. I'll let you meet him once you calm down."
For reference, that Upper Rank 1 is currently far away from the Infinity Castle. To briefly explain the situation:
When the white-haired red-eyed one was brought in, Kokushibo, who heard the news and immediately rushed to the Infinity Castle, carefully tended to his disciple, who was fast asleep, even changing his blood-stained kimono.
Kibutsuji Muzan is a man who doesn't know how to care for people, so it was a good thing, but he was displeased with Kokushibo maintaining his human form the whole time "so the disciple can wake up anytime."
Usually, it's easy to forget because of his six-eyed异形, but Kokushibo's human-era face is a spitting image of Kibutsuji Muzan's natural enemy.
Yes, the face that shines at number one on the list of faces he never wants to see again (Kibutsuji Muzan survey), that Tsugikuni Yoriiichi's face.
Kokushibo who doesn't want to show his six eyes to his disciple VS Kibutsuji Muzan who doesn't want to see his natural enemy's face. Fight!
The one who knelt was Kokushibo. No, it wasn't a defeat by force. He withdrew on his own to not cause worry to his lord.
Upper Rank 1, Kokushibo is a considerate demon. A disposition carried over from the Tsugikuni Michikatsu era.
Of course, Kokushibo's consideration wasn't only for Kibutsuji Muzan but also fully exerted for his disciple.
The fact that the Nichirin Blade, which should have been hated and destroyed by Kibutsuji Muzan, remained unharmed was also thanks to Kokushibo pleading prostrate, "That child will be sad, so please……."
Moreover, the thoughtfulness of being far from the Infinity Castle, saying, "Having a blade that slays demons nearby must be uncomfortable for you."
Kibutsuji Muzan basically doesn't trust beings other than himself, so entrusting a Nichirin Blade to a demon is something unimaginable under normal circumstances.
But that Kokushibo has no duplicity was already proven long ago.
Because, when this man became a demon himself, he cut his Nichirin Blade in two as a symbol of submission. Voluntarily, even before Kibutsuji Muzan ordered it.
At that time, Kibutsuji Muzan thought. The loyalty of Sengoku-era samurai is impressive.
Anyway, because Kokushibo is such a man, Kibutsuji Muzan could entrust the Nichirin Blade with peace of mind.
As a side note, if Kibutsuji Muzan had ignored Kokushibo's plea and disposed of the Nichirin Blade, his friend would have definitely decided "I might stop being Lord Muzan's friend, for about a year or so," so Kibutsuji Muzan should be a bit more grateful to Kokushibo.
"Damn it, just wait! I'll definitely overcome this, this appetite!"
"Do it if you can. But it'll be impossible!"
Kibutsuji Muzan looked up and laughed heartily.
For reference—— this is a flag.
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