[On Screen]
The camera shifted, now focusing on Muzan Kibutsuji.
He was the Demon King unanimously considered the most disgraced by the audience across the multiverse.
At this moment, Muzan Kibutsuji was cowering like a turtle in his Infinity Castle.
As Muzan's personal fortress, the Infinity Castle was the place where he felt the most secure. It was a complete extradimensional space. Let alone DIO, if Muzan wished it, no one in the world could set foot in this domain.
Standing in the center of the Infinity Castle, Muzan, having reverted to his original male form, wore a cold expression. In his hand, a radiant red stone shone with exceptional brilliance.
This type of red stone was a magnificent gem rarely seen in nature. Light would reflect within it hundreds of millions of times, be amplified, and then radiate out from a single point—a miraculous power created by nature.
And the red stone in Muzan's hand was even rarer, a perfect specimen without a single flaw on its surface.
However, for such a flawless red stone to fall into the hands of Muzan Kibutsuji was undoubtedly a priceless pearl in the hands of one who doesn't know its worth. When faced with someone who couldn't recognize its value, its brilliance and power were all for naught...
"A red gemstone... Daki, is this what you call a momentous gift for me?"
Muzan tossed the red stone onto the ground beside him, his face ashen as he questioned Daki below.
This subordinate of his wasn't very bright. What kind of time was this? On a normal day, he might overlook a useless rock like this, but to present it as a gift when his nerves were so frayed...
Did she not know that a battle with DIO in Asakusa could break out at any moment?
Hmph. If it weren't for the fact that Gyutaro was a genuinely useful subordinate who had solved many problems for him, earning his keep through hard work if not merit, how could this idiotic woman have possibly become an Upper Rank?
"L-Lord Muzan, please forgive her, seeing as her intentions were good."
Gyutaro was drenched in nervous sweat, the "Upper Rank Six" characters in his eyes revealing a look of profound awe and fear.
The gem had fallen from the sky, and because it was so visually striking, his beauty-obsessed sister had treated it like a precious treasure.
He never expected his sister to lose her mind and actually present this thing to Lord Muzan as a treasure. Did she really not understand how she became an Upper Rank? To do such a thing in front of Lord Muzan...
Perhaps it could fetch a good price for an ordinary person, but before the Progenitor of Demons, the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, it was truly just a rock that was pretty and nothing more.
"My, my, Lord Muzan, don't be so angry. Daki didn't mean any harm. As comrades, we must get along, you know."
A white-haired man with rainbow-colored eyes, hair that looked as if it had been drenched in blood, wearing a Western-style kimono and holding an iron fan, spoke up to smooth things over.
His carefree and gentle tone, combined with the perennial smile on his face, truly made many of the more superficial members of the audience gasp in admiration.
However, as the characters for "Upper Rank Two" appeared in his eyes, the audience had to grudgingly admit that this handsome man was, in fact, Upper Rank Two, a demon second only to Kokushibo and Muzan himself.
"S-So scary! Lord Muzan is so scary! And Lord Douma, who dares to speak at a time like this, is also scary!"
An ugly old man with a swollen forehead and two horns, with no number visible in his eyes, trembled uncontrollably.
The fear in his eyes was clearly not an act. This aged demon seemed to possess no intimidating presence, and with no Upper Rank number visible, he was immediately labeled as weak by many viewers.
However... even so, to be able to appear directly in Muzan's stronghold, sharing the stage with the Upper Ranks, this demon was definitely not as simple as he looked.
"Nyeheheh, a worthless rock is a worthless rock. How can it be more eye-catching to Lord Muzan than my art?"
Suddenly, a hideously ugly, misshapen demon with misplaced eyes and mouth, fins on its head, numerous small arms growing from its head, and a body connected to a pot appeared on the screen.
Now, that's what a demon should look like, some thought. The old man and Upper Rank Two looked almost identical to humans. Especially Upper Rank Two; ignoring the characters in his eyes, he was indistinguishable from a gentle, handsome man.
As for Gyokko, Upper Rank Five, the audience had little interest, and some even felt an urge to laugh.
Although the light curtain presented them with the appropriate sense of pressure, the thought that everyone present, all combined, couldn't break DIO's time stop was inexplicably amusing.
The nine Hashira might be weak, but at least they were self-aware; they never felt they could crush the Upper Ranks and kick DIO around. In contrast, the demons—aside from Muzan acting like a frightened grandson—all seemed quite confident of their victory.
"..." As the Upper Ranks continued to appear, Akaza, Upper Rank Three, who had appeared on screen before, made his entrance.
He had no interest in Muzan's words or the chatter of the other Upper Ranks. Akaza, still traumatized by his defeat at DIO's hands, now thought only of finding a way to defeat him.
Since his hasty retreat, Akaza had been honing his martial arts more ferociously than ever. He remained convinced that the absurd event had only occurred because DIO's speed had completely surpassed his perception.
After undergoing a trial of fire, Akaza's strength had risen to a new level, and he had even truly touched the so-called "supreme state."
His confidence was now overflowing. In fact, the one who most wanted to fight DIO immediately was Akaza himself. If Muzan hadn't been holding him back, his personality would have driven him to charge into Asakusa for a deathmatch with DIO long ago.
In contrast, Kokushibo, who appeared more intelligent and stable, did not believe he currently had the ability to fight DIO.
A large part of the reason Muzan had yet to act was due to Kokushibo's counsel.
Until he understood how DIO had suddenly appeared behind him and the nature of the golden phantom behind DIO, Kokushibo would absolutely not choose to initiate an attack.
On screen, Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, slowly appeared. With his arrival, the very air around him seemed to vibrate.
He did not bend down. Instead, a flash of white light passed, and without anyone seeing him move, he picked up the red stone.
"This red stone... its material is quite unique. May I have it, Lord Muzan?"
As Kokushibo spoke, the entire Infinity Castle fell silent. Such was the oppressive aura of Upper Rank One. All the other Upper Ranks, except for Muzan, were affected, unable to speak under his intimidating presence.
Muzan didn't mind at all. "It's just a worthless rock. Take it if you want," he said to Kokushibo.
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Muzan," Kokushibo replied gratefully.
This red stone was indeed an ore he had never seen before. Even with the power of the Transparent World, he could not see through the gem to its interior.
This sparked a great interest in Kokushibo, which was why he asked Muzan for it.
He had a feeling that this red stone was not as simple as it appeared.
Kokushibo did not know... how much he would come to regret this action.
---o---
With this, all six Upper Ranks had appeared on screen.
As the strongest combatants on Muzan's side, while the Upper Ranks might not have the power to fight a Stand user, they were indeed the strongest force Muzan could muster.
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Naruto Uzumaki: "A red stone? Is there something special about it? I can't see anything."]
[Conan Edogawa: "Wait a minute, a red stone? A little while ago, when Kars appeared, the screen mentioned that his goal was to find the Super Aja Red Stone and become an Ultimate Lifeform that doesn't fear the sun!"]
In the world of Detective Conan, Conan, with his sharp observation and memory, quickly made the connection. Could it be... the red stone Kars wanted was the one Muzan had?
The Super Aja Red Stone, capable of turning one into the Ultimate Lifeform, forever free from the weakness of sunlight?
[Muzan Kibutsuji: "The Aja Red Stone? To conquer the sun?"]
In the Demon Slayer world, Muzan was dumbfounded. He had dreamed of becoming immune to the sun, and now, when such an opportunity appeared right before him, he had just let it slip away?
At this moment, he was sick with regret. Thankfully, this was just a screening; otherwise, Muzan would have died from his own anger.
[Otto Apocalypse: "Heh heh, the stone by itself is of little use. It should only be able to display its full effect when combined with Kars's Stone Mask."]
At Schicksal HQ, Otto shattered Muzan's fantasy. The red stone alone was meaningless.
On the contrary, for Muzan's faction, the red stone was purely a hot potato. Those three Pillar Men were not easy-going characters.
---o---
[On Screen]
After all six of Muzan's Upper Ranks had made their appearance, the camera decisively shifted its focus.
In the dead of night, three figures streaked through the air.
As the camera zoomed in, the Pillar Men's iconic BGM, "Awaken," once again echoed through the broadcast.
The trio of Pillar Men appeared on screen. Based on the environment behind them, their current location was right near Asakusa, not too far from either Muzan or DIO.
"The location of the red stone should be around here. But Kars, there's nothing here but grass, trees, and some other life forms. There's no trace of the red stone's aura."
Esidisi looked somewhat anxious as he spoke to Kars, the leader of the Pillar Men, beside him.
The Aja Red Stone. For this stone, they had crossed an unknowable length of time, waiting through a slumber of two thousand years for this very moment.
But now, though the red stone was clearly within reach, they couldn't find a single trace of it for some reason.
Kars frowned slightly. Esidisi's feeling was not wrong; the red stone should be nearby. It was just that for some reason, it had not yet appeared before them.
"Don't be anxious, Esidisi. We have waited for so many years; a little more time is nothing."
Although he was desperate to obtain the red stone, Kars knew that impatience was useless, so he calmed his friend.
As a genius, the moment Kars arrived in this world, he had already realized that the three of them had likely transmigrated.
The flow of the air, a subtle sense of wrongness, and that foolish demon on the ground that was neither a zombie nor a vampire...
All of this was enough for Kars to understand. He, along with Esidisi and Wamuu, had arrived in a completely new and different world.
But... even so, the red stone still existed in this world.
A presence in the unseen had already told him the location of the red stone. The Aja Red Stone was here, nearby. It just hadn't appeared yet for some reason.
But that was only temporary. He, Kars, would inevitably become the Ultimate Lifeform, transcending all living things, transcending the Earth, and even transcending the Sun itself!
Because this was fate. A destiny that could not be desecrated or changed. He, Kars, was destined to ascend to the pinnacle and become the strongest.
As Kars's inner voice resonated, the audience outside fell into shock. Transcending the Earth and the Sun?
Good heavens, Kars's ambition was far too great! This was something even DIO wouldn't dare to imagine.
Was this man named Kars truly so confident? What kind of being was he, and what was his past?
As the audience's curiosity piqued, the long-awaited dedicated character introduction slowly materialized before them...
[Legend tells of an ancient time, when a special species of being existed. They were known as the Clan of Darkness. They could only live in the night, for exposure to sunlight would annihilate them. Thus, they lived underground, surviving through the long ages by absorbing the energy of other animals and plants. Their mortality rate was extremely low, and their population was very small, allowing them to live in peace.]
[However, a genius was born into this race—Kars. To overcome the weakness of being unable to face the sun, he sought to unlock the potential hidden within his own people's bodies and created the Stone Mask.]
[But the bone protrusions of the initial Stone Mask were not enough to stimulate their full potential. Later, Kars discovered that by inlaying a perfect ruby into the Stone Mask and having his clansmen wear it, he could unlock the potential of the Pillar Men, allowing them to become the Ultimate Lifeform, no longer fearing the sun.]
[But this genius's creation was opposed by his clan. They believed that the Earth had no need for an ultimate lifeform and that all life should experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. Because of this, a great war broke out within this super-species. The result of the war was that the genius killed almost all of his own kind.]