Chapter 71: The Treacherous Hearts of Men, So-Called Teammates
In the dead silence, Gyomei Himejima was the first to move. As the strongest man of the Demon Slayer Corps, he was completely blind, but he could still sense the terrifying aura radiating from Kaito.
"Muzan escaped?" he asked, his voice directed at Kaito.
Kaito turned, his gaze sweeping over the other Reincarnators like a sharpened blade. Each of them reacted differently. Elizabeth was pale, while Yanagi and the Professor remained outwardly calm.
"Yes, Muzan escaped," Kaito announced. "And one of our members betrayed us, defecting to Muzan Kibutsuji."
Elizabeth's lips trembled, but in the end, she said nothing to refute him. She wasn't a fool. From Vincent's mysterious behavior earlier in the mission to his sudden "attack" by "Mercenary Tao" tonight, it was obvious he was not the honest, simple defender she thought he was. And, as she thought about it now, as a Reincarnator who had been around as long as she had, or perhaps even longer, Vincent had never displayed any unique proficiencies or abilities beyond his 10+ Constitution, relying almost exclusively on firearms. Even she possessed a powerful trump card. How could a Reincarnator who had survived so long on his own have no special abilities at all? The trial mission alone was the easiest place to get one's first ability.
Both Yanagi and the Professor, with their own sharp senses, had also reached the same conclusion. They knew that if Kaito had wanted to assassinate them after his identity as a special Reincarnator was exposed, he never would have used such a massive, attention-grabbing attack.
Therefore… Vincent was the problem.
Gyomei frowned. Kanae Kocho, however, was the first to rush to Kaito's side. At that moment, the giant fox spirit began to flicker like a dream, dissipating in the wind as if it had never existed. Only the massive crater in the ground and the row of completely collapsed houses bore witness to the horrific event that had just occurred.
"Mr. Tao, you were already injured from your last battle! You shouldn't have fought Muzan alone!" Kanae said, her voice filled with a pure, simple kindness.
Kaito stored the [Source Blood of the Demon] and delivered the worst possible news to the group.
"Muzan didn't just escape. He will most likely get the [Blue Spider Lily] from Vincent, which means he will conquer his final weakness: the sun."
"Therefore… give up, Demon Slayer Corps."
Kaito's expression was cold. His words struck Kanae like a physical blow. Even Gyomei, who had been walking toward him, froze in place.
The Professor's expression changed. He understood the hidden meaning in that message. Muzan was likely about to become a true [Ultimate Lifeform]. Against such a being, a few [Paper]-tier Reincarnators stood no chance of killing him. Therefore, from the Reincarnator perspective, they needed to boost the main quest's completion percentage as fast as possible, then settle the mission and leave.
After a rapid series of calculations, the Professor immediately turned and ran. He had to find the Shinto priests and the heads of the noble families. He had to make them immediately declare their alliance with the Ubuyashiki Clan and begin suppressing the demons at the highest levels of government. It was the only way to raise their completion rating.
Gyomei and Kanae were still frozen, their minds reeling. Their entire lives, their entire faith, had been dedicated to killing Muzan Kibutsuji and eradicating all demons. But now, this powerful martial artist—the one who had just slain multiple Upper Ranks with his own hands—was telling them that Muzan could no longer be killed. How could they possibly accept that?
Kaito walked over to the remaining Reincarnators. Yanagi put his hand on his sword, his expression wary. Yanagi was an "old-fashioned" Reincarnator—the type who valued loyalty and teamwork over personal profit. He felt that after the battles they had been through, he had built a degree of trust with Elizabeth and the Professor. He would not stand by and watch Kaito kill them.
"Elizabeth. I want all the information you have on Vincent."
Kaito stood in front of the tall, green-haired woman. The distance between them was now dangerously close. Elizabeth could even smell the scent of blood on "Mercenary Tao's" breath. This man... he was just like a wild animal. And now, it was clear that Vincent, in some way, had enraged that animal.
Elizabeth frowned and took two steps back, raising her right hand in a dangerous gesture. "Mercenary Tao. You should know that Vincent and I are fixed teammates." She was forcing back her anger. Even if Vincent had his own selfish motives during this mission, for her to hand over his private information was a humiliation.
Yanagi felt the same. He moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Elizabeth, his grip on his tachi shifting. In the real world, he had trained in the [Xinyou Sword Style] since childhood and had entered the Nexus with a Lv4 Sword Proficiency. In Japanese martial arts, there was an old saying that one dan rank in kendo was the equivalent of three dan ranks in an empty-handed art, simply due to the lethality of the blade. In close combat, Yanagi possessed an exceptionally high, out-of-class level of destructive power.
Kaito's lips curled into a mocking smile. He leaned his head slightly, bringing his face close to Elizabeth's chest. The move wasn't meant to be lecherous or insulting.
"People," he whispered, "love to lie to others to convince themselves."
"Elizabeth. You suspect Vincent too, don't you? Your heart, your breathing, your pulse… they're all telling me so."
Kaito looked up, watching as Elizabeth's face and eyes shifted through a myriad of emotions. He could read her mind on her face. His own breathing was short and fast; he had not yet deactivated the [Transparent World] he had opened during his fight with Kokushibo.
At this very moment, Kaito was applying his full will to pushing Elizabeth's most hidden thoughts to the surface. Vincent, in Kaito's eyes, was a fool who thought he was clever. He didn't know how he had learned of his plan, but Kaito hadn't really tried to hide it anyway. The Professor had understood what he was doing with the Blue Spider Lily, as had Yanagi and Elizabeth. But they had all possessed the basic sense not to try and make a deal with a demon as famously untrustworthy as Muzan. Only Vincent, that seemingly honest and simple man, had been dreaming an unrealistic dream.
And… Kaito's smile widened. Elizabeth had clearly never even shared the information about the Blue Spider Lily with him in the first place. Their "team" wasn't nearly as solid as it appeared.
Yanagi turned his head, unable to believe that these two, who had fought side-by-side and were even fixed teammates, were so suspicious of each other. It made him question his own desire for teamwork.
Kaito glanced at the man in the worn-out kasa hat. His mind is so simple. He thought with a "tsk." A person like that surviving this long… he must actually be quite skilled.
A flood of memories washed over Elizabeth—all the times Vincent had done something that made her suspicious. It all culminated in the system notification she had just received. [Doppelgänger]. An ability she had never known he possessed. An ability he had hidden from her.
Once the seed of suspicion is planted, the "evidence" will come flooding in from memory.
Elizabeth sagged, her tall frame seeming to crumple.
"I only know his ID number. And his old codename, [Lu Ziyang]. I'm not sure if that's his real name. He might be from Northern China; he has an accent sometimes. In the Nexus, he…"
"I really don't know anything else about him."
Yanagi slowly released the grip on his sword. Elizabeth, while seemingly flustered, had just relayed Vincent's information with perfect clarity.
Kaito nodded, committing every detail to memory.
Vincent. I hope you use every ounce of your cleverness to escape from Muzan. Bring that medicine formula of mine with you. And then… wait patiently for me to come and kill you.
Vincent's eyes fluttered, but he found he couldn't control his own body. In the next instant, a voice spoke.
"You worm. Your possession ability is interesting. But it seems... it doesn't stop the host from moving at all, does it?"
Muzan Kibutsuji sat in a horse-drawn carriage, with Hantengu acting as the driver, trotting through the moonlight. Muzan had reverted to his female form, his crimson eyes filled with amusement. He looked at the blond-haired head protruding from his own shoulder, wondering how he should torture it to get the [Blue Spider Lily].
Ah, yes. First, I'll turn him into my demon…