Several days passed in a blur, with Vincent Fox idle around the Butterfly Mansion.
With his current strength, he could have gone out on missions any time he wanted.
But that was not his goal.
He was waiting.
Today was the day Hotaru Haganezuka would arrive to deliver his Nichirin sword.
A few days earlier, Shinobu Kocho had sent word via a Kasugai crow that Vincent needed a blade. After a long, angry rant from Haganezuka, the swordsmith had still agreed to forge one for him.
"If you do not take care of my sword again, I will kill you myself!"
That was the exact message Haganezuka had passed along.
Before long, a figure wearing a red demon mask appeared at the Butterfly Mansion's gate.
"Mr. Haganezuka!"
Tanjiro Kamado spotted the familiar silhouette and ran toward him excitedly.
Haganezuka recoiled with visible disgust at Tanjiro's enthusiasm.
"Do not think I have forgiven you for breaking my sword."
"I am sorry, Mr. Haganezuka. I will cherish my Nichirin sword this time, I swear!"
Tanjiro's face was full of guilt and determination.
Haganezuka snorted and then began handing swords out one by one.
"Lady Kocho said you have tremendous physical strength. This blade was forged specifically for you."
He stepped up to Vincent and offered a sword with both hands.
"Thank you."
Vincent received the sword with both of his hands, a faint flicker of admiration in his eyes.
"So this is the Nichirin sword Mr. Haganezuka made for me."
Shing.
The blade left the scabbard with a clear, ringing note that filled his ears.
Vincent inspected it carefully. Even the spine of this sword was noticeably thicker than a standard Nichirin blade. The guard was broader and heavier as well.
It was obvious Haganezuka had accounted for Vincent's overwhelming strength when he forged it.
"If you break this one, the next Nichirin sword you see will be lodged in your neck."
Haganezuka's tone was vicious.
Vincent could only nod helplessly.
The sword was excellent. The man was excellent too.
It was just a shame he had a mouth that never stopped.
Paying no attention to Vincent's expression, Haganezuka turned away and continued distributing swords.
"Hey, boar-headed brat, what do you think you are doing?"
Haganezuka had barely caught his breath before he saw Inosuke Hashibira banging a rock repeatedly against the edge of his brand new sword.
"You filthy boar. Do you have any idea how long it took me to forge that? Treat it with some respect, you idiot!"
Haganezuka stormed toward him, furious.
Inosuke only grunted in annoyance.
"This sword is not as good as my old ones. I will have to fix it myself."
Clang.
Another notch appeared in the blade.
"You little bastard. I will kill you!"
Haganezuka nearly saw red. In all his years as a swordsmith, this was the first time someone had dared say his finished blade was worse than their junk tools.
He pulled a short dagger from his robes, the edge glinting with a dark shine, and rushed straight at Inosuke.
"You are not worthy of using my sword!"
"You are the one who should be ashamed. I have to fix your work for it to be usable. I have not even started complaining yet."
"You maniac!"
Haganezuka roared and charged.
"Mr. Haganezuka, please calm down!"
Tanjiro appeared just in time and wrapped his arms around the swordsmith from behind.
"Let go of me. I am going to kill him!"
"Come on then. I will show you how strong I am!"
Inosuke lunged forward as well.
"You shut up too, you idiot!"
Zenitsu popped up behind Inosuke and grabbed his boar mask with both hands, dragging him backward.
Watching the chaos unfold, even the usually stern Aoi Kanzaki could not help but laugh.
At last, under Tanjiro's steady coaxing, the commotion slowly died down.
On the other side of the world.
Inside the Infinity Castle.
Twang.
The clear note of a biwa string echoed through the bizarre, layered corridors of the castle.
A second note followed.
The structure of the Infinity Castle began to shift and twist.
Nakime, the biwa demon, calmly plucked the strings. Lower Rank Six, Kamanue, was pulled into the Infinity Castle.
"This place is… the Infinity Castle."
Kamanue stared at the strange architecture surrounding him, a deep terror rising in his chest.
Months earlier, he had heard the news that the previous Lower Rank Six had been killed by the Demon Slayer Corps.
Since then, he had lived in constant fear.
And today was the day of judgment.
Moments ago, the blood in his veins had surged and boiled, the signal that Muzan Kibutsuji was summoning the Lower Ranks to a meeting in the Infinity Castle.
In the blink of an eye, he had been dragged here.
Nakime plucked her biwa again.
With several more crisp notes, the other four Lower Rank demons were called into the castle.
As they appeared one by one, each demon wore the same expression. Fear.
Muzan Kibutsuji.
That name was etched into their very genes.
Unlike the Demon Slayer Corps, who pursued them from the outside, Muzan was a crushing pressure from within. The blood in their bodies belonged to him. It was that blood that made them members of the Twelve Kizuki and gave them immortality.
Broken bones, ruptured organs.
To their powerful regeneration, such wounds were nothing more than scratches.
But in exchange, they carried the terrible weight of his expectations.
That moody, unpredictable master.
The image of Muzan rose in each of their minds, and all of them trembled.
Twang.
Another note from the biwa rang out, and the scene around them shifted once more.
The five Lower Ranks were transported onto the same platform.
Apart from Lower Rank One, Enmu, the others glanced around in panic.
Then, in front of Nakime, the figure of a noblewoman appeared.
She wore a black kimono printed with red flowers, her hair pinned up in an elaborate style. Her long, narrow, blood red eyes swept coldly across the five demons.
Who is this woman?
Kamanue stared at the stranger who radiated suffocating pressure yet felt oddly unfamiliar.
He gritted his teeth.
"Bow."
The noblewoman's voice was soft, but the sharp glint of her canine teeth showed when she spoke. Her red lips parted and closed with natural authority.
"Kneel and bow."
In that instant, the pupils of all five Lower Ranks contracted.
This tone. There was no mistaking it.
Thump. Thump.
All five fell to their knees together, pressing their heads low against the floor.
They shook from head to toe, not daring to so much as breathe too loudly.
Kamanue stared at the wooden floor in front of him.
Cold sweat dripped down one drop at a time.
Damn it. I did not recognize Lord Muzan.
His whole body trembled.
A terrible sense of foreboding crawled up his spine.
"I… I am sorry, Lord Muzan. We did not…"
Lower Rank Four, Mukago, stammered an apology, her voice shaking as she clung to the tiny hope of being forgiven.
Muzan's reply froze her blood.
"Idiot. Who told you to speak?"
"Do not challenge my authority with your pathetic will. You only need to answer when I ask you something."
His cold voice carried an anger that seemed to burn through their bloodstreams, and each of the Lower Ranks felt the same crushing pressure inside their bodies.
"You worthless trash. The Lower Ranks are always the first to die. Why are you all so weak?"
"Becoming one of the Twelve Kizuki is not the end. It is the beginning."
"The beginning of eating more humans."
"The beginning of becoming stronger."
"The beginning of actually being useful to me."
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The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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