Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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-Location: Infinity Castle-
"...Damn it, damn monster..."
"You're still haunting me!"
Muzan was wearing a smart suit, but his face showed his anxiety and rapid breathing as he kept walking on the wall, ignoring gravity.
The building in the castle was more haphazard than before.
He rubbed his chin. Contemplating the recent dilemma happening to him since his encounter with his past.
"Kokushibo... is dead."
It has been many days, and yet, the Upper Moon One hasn't reported back at all.
Even he himself can't contact the man now.
As the Demon King, he has the ability to listen to the heart of all demons at will and hijack their consciousness by force.
Through the medium of his blood, every demon is connected to him.
And Kokushibo...
The last thing he remembered was the fire that burns, and burns, and BURNS.
After he came back to his senses, Muzan was unable to sense Kokushibo's whereabouts.
Muzan stopped in his step and looked up ahead. His crimson pupils hide the dread he was feeling as the curls of his black hair frame his face.
He had been getting shock after shock these days that he still couldn't stop his trembling. He clenched his fist repeatedly to reduce the anxiety he felt, to no avail.
The searing image of what he had seen through Kokushibo's eyes that night...
"...what should I do?" Muzan muttered. The man seems to contemplate things on the outside, but on the inside he was furiously searching for a way to continue and survive his existence.
The orange-yellow lighting provided a calming effect of safety inside the castle as he stood there, bulging veins covered his face.
"...It must be that guy... there's no other..."
"...unbelievable..."
Muzan whispers in fear. Not saying the name of the person who caused such primal dread in his very soul, afraid if he did, the man would appear magically before him to finish the job.
Can a mere human live for such a long time?
Muzan shook his head wildly.
"No, that man is not human."
"It's the real monster!"
'If that man had really become immortal like himself...'
Muzan's eyes widened at the direction his thoughts were going. He holds his head in his hands as his knees shake, his nightmare and trauma amplified at such possibilities happening.
"I... am going to have to hide in my castle..."
"...forever..."
The Infinity Castle.
The word "infinity" in the name represents Muzan's desire to swim in the infinite ocean that is life.
He wanted to stand in the sun, not cower in the dark like rats.
He wants to do whatever he wants for the eternity of his days, and not even judgment day will get him.
He wants Freedom.
He designed the Infinity Castle with all the comfort in the world has to offer to weather the rough time he faces until he gets that freedom.
Which constitutes another desire in his black heart.
—Safety.
Bam!
"Nakime!"
Muzan's adam apple bobbled up and down gloomily. He punched the wooden building beside him as he called out his aide.
"Summon all the Upper Moons here!"
His crimson eyes glowed in contempt as he whispered his order. The fury in his eyes was enough to disintegrate any unlucky demon wandering in his sight.
No, he will NOT have HIS FREEDOM taken away!
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-Location: Unknown Dojo, Unknown Region-
The cold wind blew through the martial arts hall that connects to the public road. The white curtain stained with blood was fluttering slightly, and the smell of blood was thick in the air.
The candle lighting the hall was flickering from the wind as several figures in white Taoist robes rushed against someone in the middle of the room.
"Damn you! Bastard!"
Bump!
Pow!
The sound of a heavy man hitting the wall rang out.
"Leader!"
"Don't underestimate our—Guh!"
Puchi!
"...I'm going to fight you to the death!"
Crash!
"Argh!"
The figure being surrounded by the martial artist pulled his hand from the body of his victim. Red blood gushed out from the body as his hand was colored crimson.
"Weak, too weak."
Scattered corpses lay all over the dojo. The red-haired figure with the purplish-red short shirt casually threw aside the person hanging on his hand.
"The strongest martial arts dojo in the town is just at this level?"
"It's disgusting how weak you really are."
He kicked a still-breathing man on the floor, which flung his body across the room and slammed him against the wall violently.
That strike seems to have finished the man, as his body slid down slowly like a rag. The puddle of blood spread and seeped on the floor, leaving bloody footprints leading away from the carnage.
His footsteps gradually approach the warehouse, where a woman with a pale face and terrified expression was hiding in a box.
Bang!
"Eek...!"
The night air was cold enough that her quick breathing caused puffs of white vapor to continually escape her lips.
She stared at the gap of holes of the box, clutching an umbrella in her hand.
Her body trembled non-stop, not just from the cold, but from fear of the creature hunting her.
Without her noticing, the sound of footsteps stopped in front of the box she occupied.
She couldn't help but flinch as she covered her mouth in horror. Her pupils widened as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Her nose wheezed air so quickly in panic, and her hands covered her mouth so not a sound escaped her.
She tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, hoping this monster would forget her existence.
Her palm started squeezing so hard that it was making it hard for her to breathe properly. Spots of black firefly seemed to float around her vision.
Nothing seems to be happening for a while.
The woman even breathed a sigh of relief for a little bit when...
"...do not run from the fight."
"It will only make you weaker!"
The voice sounded so disgusted to those who heard it.
Bam!
The man kicked the box where the woman hides and angrily shouted his words.
"Come out!"
"Fight me!"
"...hmmm!" The woman didn't answer and kept a tight hold over her mouth. Her face was starting to turn blue, and she was on the verge of passing out.
She was just a photography assistant, and her crew was hired by this dojo to take photos for advertisement.
'Why...' Her tears finally fall out from her bloodshot eyes as she keeps wheezing her breath through her nose.
'Why did I run into something like this!?'
Just imagining the sight of the screaming and silenced men in the hall makes her squeamish.
'I'll die.'
'This monster is going to kill me...!'
"...aren't you coming out yet?"
The man was impatient as he waited for the woman.
Bang!
He finally punched through the box and grabbed the woman on her covered mouth!
The tattooed fingers and the dark bluish fist gripped so strongly that the woman felt her skull would be crushed like grapes. The punch forces her momentum to slam into the wall behind her.
The woman's mind turned blank as she escaped reality and accepted her death. The biting wind and her colored cheeks were the only proof she's still alive.
"...what?" The man exclaimed in surprise seeing the woman.
His short peach-colored hair swayed as his face puzzled at the woman's appearance.
"A woman?" His golden eyes slowly lost their savagery as he withdrew his fist and released his hold.
His eyebrows furrowed as his fighting spirit suddenly dissipated. A hint of boredom settled down on his shoulder.
"...forget it."
He glanced at the woman's dull eyes and turned around to leave.
Leaving the woman alone to deal with the aftermath.
And the scene of the massacre of the disciples of the dojo, with their corpses strewn around the hall, is too graphic to be described.
The man walked out into the cold night and looked up at the full moon in the sky.
His golden eyes reflected the kanji written in it that says:
[Rank][Three]
This is the [Upper Moon Three, Akaza].
His face showed disappointment at not having a strong opponent to fight. This trip has turned out to be another bust.
Whoom.
Suddenly, a portal opened beneath his feet, and before he could respond, he felt a force pulling him inside the portal with force.
Thus, the culprit of the XX Dojo Massacre disappears without a trace.