"This is the child who joined the Demon Slayer Corps not long ago," Kagaya Ubuyashiki explained. "Two others joined at the same time as her, and together the three formed a squad to carry out missions. Their strength was not weak."
Shinobu Kocho shifted her gaze toward Luoyaya, studying the girl carefully. What she saw gave her pause. Luoyaya's expression was vacant, her eyes unfocused as though her mind were far away. She looked fragile, dazed, as if she had suffered a shock too great for her spirit to bear.
"More than a month ago, while her squad was on a mission in Kyoto, they encountered Muzan. She was the only one who managed to escape alive."
At Kagaya's words, Shinobu's chest tightened. In that instant she understood why the girl appeared so lost, her spirit hollowed out. The death of her comrades had struck her deeply. Compassion welled up inside Shinobu, and with it came a sharper edge to the hatred she already bore toward demons.
Every time she encountered someone scarred, broken, or tormented by demons, anger rose within her like an unquenchable fire. It was grief mixed with vengeance, a wound that never fully healed.
"She then gave me this," Kagaya continued, his voice calm though faint. "She told me, 'Li Xuan of the Demon Slayer Corps is a demon. The proof lies inside.'"
From his robes, Kagaya drew out a small square object.
Had anyone from the modern age been present, they would have recognized it instantly. It was a touchscreen mobile phone.
"What is that?" Shinobu asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar object.
"I do not fully understand it either," Kagaya admitted as he placed the phone in Luoyaya's hands, motioning for her to operate it. "It seems to serve the purpose of recording. She showed me the images it contained."
Kagaya himself was blind and could not see the recordings. His wife had been the one to describe them to him.
Silently, Luoyaya accepted the phone. Her movements were mechanical, lifeless, as though she were a puppet following pre-programmed motions. After a few taps of her fingers, a video began to play.
The angle was low, but the image was clear.
In the foreground stood a man wearing a white hat and a black western-style suit. His back was to the recording device. In the distance was Li Xuan, holding a large burlap sack.
Had Li Xuan been present, he would have recognized instantly that the footage came from the recording devices carried by the two slain senior demon slayers.
"Who are you?"
The sinister, chilling voice of Muzan spilled out from the speaker of the phone.
The sound struck Luoyaya like lightning. Her face drained of all color, her features twisted in terror. Her entire body trembled violently as she shrank back, curling into herself as if she could escape from the voice alone. Her fear was so visceral that her breathing turned ragged. Clearly, Muzan had left an unbearable scar upon her heart.
"Let her rest," Kagaya instructed gently. At his order, attendants guided the trembling girl away.
The video continued to play.
"Gyokko!"
Muzan's commanding voice boomed from the phone's small speaker.
Shinobu's gaze sharpened, her eyes locked fiercely on the glowing screen.
"Demonize."
In the video, Li Xuan's body shifted. His form warped and twisted, his features changing into something otherworldly and ominous.
Shinobu's breath caught. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"This…" Her words faltered, shock choking her voice.
"Lord Kagaya!" she exclaimed, unable to contain herself.
Li Xuan… Li Xuan was truly a demon.
All the time he had spent studying sword techniques that inflicted nothing but harm had never been for amusement.
I should have realized it, Shinobu thought frantically. Such sword forms were useless against demons, but against humans they cut deeply.
His reason for joining the Corps was never for the "fun" he claimed. There had always been a hidden purpose.
Fear rippled through her heart. The realization sent a chill crawling up her spine. She had fought beside him, trained with him, spoken with him for over a month, and all that time he had been a demon.
Her instincts screamed at her. She wanted nothing more than to rush back to the Butterfly Mansion, to protect the people there from the threat she had allowed into their midst.
"Keep watching," Kagaya said softly. His calm voice cut through her panic.
"But—"
"Keep watching, Shinobu." Kagaya repeated himself, his tone steady, unyielding.
"Yes…" she whispered. Reluctantly, she sat back down, her body rigid as she forced herself to watch the screen.
"Can you switch freely between being human and demon?"
Muzan's voice was trembling with excitement, and Shinobu's heart sank further at the implication.
To shift between human and demon forms meant the sun itself might no longer be the only enemy. If such an ability existed, the balance of everything they knew could shatter.
"If I devour you, perhaps I can gain the same ability!"
Muzan's madness erupted from the speakers. His figure lunged in the video, surging forward to strike Li Xuan.
"Breath of Mist. Second Form: Raging Mist Blaze."
Li Xuan's voice was hoarse, deeper than usual, and it carried a chilling resonance.
Shinobu stiffened. She recognized the technique. She had seen him practice it, though never at such devastating force. During training he had deliberately restrained himself. On the screen, however, there was no restraint.
The screen blurred with thick rolling fog. Then, in an instant, black flames erupted, devouring the view until the footage cut off abruptly.
The triangle-shaped pause icon glowed faintly against the dark screen. Shinobu sat frozen, unable to speak for a long moment.
"What are your thoughts, Shinobu?" Kagaya asked quietly.
"He does not appear to be aligned with Muzan," she admitted.
"Yes." Kagaya nodded. "And the enemy of Muzan is our ally."
"But… he is a demon!" Shinobu's voice rose again, her emotions spilling over.
"You saw it for yourself. Li Xuan can shift between man and demon. He is both. As long as he does not consume human flesh, he deserves our acceptance."
"But…" She faltered, the weight of her hatred pulling her back.
"His talent and strength are extraordinary. He possesses the ability that Muzan desires above all else. For this, Muzan will stop at nothing to claim him. Therefore, we must protect him, and we must ensure he remains with us." Kagaya's words interrupted her resistance.
"I respect your judgment, Lord Kagaya," Shinobu finally said, though her voice was heavy with unease.
"Do not worry. His trainer, Urokodaki Sakonji, lived with him for years and never once detected the scent of human blood upon him. I trust that he does not devour humans."
Kagaya's reassurance was calm, yet it did little to ease Shinobu's heart.
Her hatred for demons was too deeply rooted. They had taken her beloved family from her. She had witnessed countless innocents suffer beneath their cruelty. Even her elder sister, who had died still clinging to the belief that humans and demons could coexist in peace, had not softened her conviction.
She had promised herself she would carry her sister's wish forward. She wanted to believe. But still…
Her heart wavered.
"That is why I found it unusual when Miss Shinobu suddenly asked me those questions."
A voice drifted into the hall. A figure stepped inside.
His sleeves hung loose around his arms, flowing with a relaxed elegance that did not look sloppy. Beneath messy strands of hair, his cold eyes glimmered with a detached calm.
"Li Xuan?"
Shinobu's body tensed. Instinctively, her hand went to the hilt of her Nichirin blade.
"Even after more than a month together, you are still so cautious with me," Li Xuan said softly. He walked at an unhurried pace into the hall, his movements steady. Finally, he sat down across from them.
His eyes fell upon the device resting on the floor.
"A phone?" he murmured with mild surprise.
Li Xuan had only caught the end of their conversation. He did not know the full story, but he understood that his ability to transform into a demon had already been revealed.
"You heard," Kagaya said with his usual gentle smile. His attitude toward Li Xuan had not changed at all, as though the revelation carried no weight.
"I intended to ask you about something," Li Xuan replied calmly. "But on the way in, I overheard."
"Oh? And what do you wish to ask?"
"About Rengoku. He has been gone a long time and has yet to return."
There was a trace of longing in Li Xuan's tone. He missed the flame pillar, the one man who had accepted his request to spar freely.
Rengoku Kyojuro had been the only living soul willing to let him test his techniques without fear of dying. In that sense, Rengoku was irreplaceable.
Of course, Gyokko could also serve as a test subject, but Gyokko was needed for experiments.
Besides, without demonization Li Xuan could not easily overwhelm Gyokko. If Gyokko resisted and gained confidence, Li Xuan would be forced to transform again, and then he would have to fight him until his arms grew numb.
"Rengoku should be returning soon," Kagaya answered.
"Then I will wait a little longer," Li Xuan said simply. He rose, preparing to leave.
"Wait," Shinobu's voice rang out suddenly, sharp and cold, stopping him in his tracks.