DS Chapter 109: An Artist?
As though sensing the worry in one another's eyes, several people spoke in unison...
At Mitsuri Kanroji's home, the Love Hashira and Serpent Hashira spoke at the same time.
Beneath a waterfall, the Stone Hashira, Mist Hashira, and Wind Hashira each trained their respective techniques, yet they all said the same thing.
The Sound Hashira was already overflowing with ideas; the Water Hashira silently worried; the Flame Hashira rode alone on the train.
And all of them said the same thing.
There was one more.
The Insect Hashira, Kochou Shinobu, hurried toward her master's residence with a determined gaze and an imposing aura.
A delicate butterfly pattern appeared upon her body, surrounded by faint patterns resembling wisteria flowers.
Her physical strength continued to increase as she ran.
Suddenly, she raised her head.
Her gaze fell upon the sky.
The originally energetic morning sunlight had already transformed into a blazing sun, dazzling and brilliant like Katsuragi Ren's name itself.
Shinobu's vermilion lips parted slightly.
Along with everyone else, she spoke in unison:
"Katsuragi Ren is the Dragon Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. He won't die that easily!"
"Wait for me!!!"
...
In a dark and damp basement, the sound of chains clattering echoed through the room.
Katsuragi Ren's hands and feet were bound.
His limbs felt completely powerless as he struggled to open his eyes.
What happened afterward?
Ren was confused.
He remembered that his Hundredfold Total Concentration should have already neutralized Gyokko's poison.
So why was his strength still so terribly weak?
With his thoughts in complete disarray, Ren's consciousness was still hazy.
He vaguely remembered that he had already entered the Infinity Castle halfway when Muzan seemed to have sensed his unique scent.
And then...
Muzan had let him go.
Was it the wisteria?
It seemed so.
Ren repeatedly thought about it.
He hadn't expected old Muzan to be even more cautious than he appeared. He wasn't willing to take even the slightest risk.
But perhaps that was precisely why he had survived for a thousand years.
Still, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Ren himself wasn't particularly eager to enter the Infinity Castle.
Without absolute strength, deliberately putting himself in a dangerous situation was an extremely risky—and perhaps even foolish—decision.
So where exactly was this place?
Ren began looking around.
Based on the original story, he couldn't determine where this place was, let alone figure out its geographical location.
Ren's heart tightened.
If he couldn't return to the Butterfly Mansion in time, the girls would surely be worried.
He had to find a way back!
However, the sensation of the chains binding his hands and feet constantly reminded Ren that escaping would not be easy.
Ren took a deep breath.
He knew that he first needed to understand his surroundings.
So he had to calm down.
The next moment, Ren began carefully observing the environment.
First, this was an extremely narrow space.
There were no windows, and not even the slightest trace of outside light could be seen.
Judging from the humidity in the air, Ren determined that this was probably a basement.
Second, Ren took another breath through his nose.
A strong smell of blood seemed to permeate the air.
Pungent.
Cold.
Damp.
Ren immediately began examining the layout of the room.
There were many cabinets.
Between each section was a horizontal glass window, allowing Ren to see that there were countless pots inside.
The ceramic pots had intricate patterns and wide openings. They were arranged extremely neatly.
From a distance, they looked like display cabinets filled with carefully arranged works of art.
However, Ren felt that something about the openings of those pots was unusual.
He focused his vision.
Soon, his sight became incredibly clear.
The images before his eyes continued to enlarge.
And then Ren discovered it.
On every intricately decorated ceramic pot were distorted human heads, each with a different expression!
What was even more disgusting was that these heads were far from intact.
Some had male faces.
Some had female faces.
There were even faces belonging to old people and children.
Some had their ears cut off.
Some had their scalps peeled away.
Others had facial features that had been completely destroyed.
They had been processed into grotesque "works of art."
The heads had been fashioned into "flower pots" of different sizes and casually placed over the mouths of the ceramic pots, just like flowers arranged in a vase...
These horrifying masterpieces could only remind Ren of one demon.
Upper Rank Five—
Gyokko!
For some reason, Ren's heart became unusually calm.
After arriving in this world, aside from the first demons he had encountered, he had spent most of his time living at the Butterfly Mansion with Shinobu, Kanao, and the other girls.
As time passed, Ren had almost forgotten just how twisted the demons could be.
But today, when he saw the remains of these victims...
He couldn't describe what he felt.
Fear?
Disgust?
Anger?
It seemed to be none of them.
What Ren felt was simply indifference.
A deep-rooted hatred and disgust toward demons.
He could never understand how creatures like them could slaughter people so casually simply for their own amusement.
"Awake?"
A voice came from an unseen corridor.
The next moment—
The sound of ceramic rolling across the floor suddenly echoed through the room.
Under the faint candlelight, Ren vaguely saw a huge and bizarre ceramic pot slowly rise upright before him.
Four pale little hands grasped the rim of the pot and slowly emerged.
A nauseating stench rushed toward him, invading Ren's nostrils.
"Since you're awake, let's discuss the Blue Spider Lily."
Gyokko stood before Ren with a smile.
"So stinky."
Ren muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
Gyokko narrowed his eyes.
A dangerous glint flashed through them.
Ren raised his head and spoke word by word.
"I said this place stinks. There's nothing here that could possibly make anyone happy."
The veins on Gyokko's forehead bulged.
"Damn Demon Slayer! Do you even hear yourself?!"
Gyokko pointed toward the ceramic pots inside the display cabinets.
"These are works of art! Don't you have even the slightest ability to appreciate beauty?!"
Ren shook his head.
"I don't consider them art."
He paused.
"I don't even consider you an artist."
Gyokko chuckled.
"Heh heh. What does a Demon Slayer like you know about art?"
"If you didn't know the secret of the Blue Spider Lily, that insult alone would have been enough to get you killed!"
Ren continued shaking his head.
But suddenly, an idea emerged in his mind.
He remembered that Gyokko was a demon who genuinely loved art.
Could he use that obsession to escape?
Ren's thoughts began racing.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Art itself is an expression of imagery."
"An artist isn't merely someone who sketches, paints, or sculpts."
"He has to think."
"Think about what?"
Gyokko licked his dry lips.
His thoughts were already in turmoil.
Yet Ren's words had genuinely caught him off guard.