After putting enough distance between himself and Muzan, Raiden leaned against a wall and exhaled deeply.
Walking that close to death was far more exhausting than he expected.
The entire time, he had relied on his Ghost of Concealment talent to suppress his presence, thinning it out just enough to avoid Muzan's attention.
Even so, the reward he received felt strange.
Raiden summoned the system panel and stared at the unopened reward.
Ghost King's Aura.
He frowned.
Had Muzan even possessed this ability?
[Detected that Kibutsuji Muzan's intimacy with the host is insufficient for Initial Acquaintance. Special reward granted.]
Raiden paused.
Insufficient?
Muzan had verbally acknowledged him.
[Kibutsuji Muzan did not formally acknowledge the host and harbors extreme rejection toward the host.]
[Friendship intimacy cannot be classified as Initial Acquaintance.]
So all that effort earned him a consolation prize?
Raiden clicked his tongue and read the description.
[Ghost King's Aura]
[Effect: Bestows the user with an aura of dignity and elegance]
[Passive Effect: Deterrence]
[Enemies affected by the aura suffer reduced attack power and defense. The effect on demons is doubled.]
Raiden's expression shifted.
Reducing a demon's offense and defense was effectively the same as strengthening himself.
It was not as brutal as Muzan's Blood Demon Arts, but it was far from useless.
[Fuse Ghost King's Aura now?]
[Yes]
Raiden waited.
Nothing happened.
No surge, no light, no sensation.
[Fusion successful]
Raiden closed his eyes.
He searched inward, trying to sense the change.
At first, there was almost nothing.
Then he opened his eyes.
Something was different.
His posture felt natural, steady.
Every movement carried quiet confidence.
Even standing still felt imposing.
Raiden lifted his arm slowly.
The air around him rippled faintly, subtle enough to be missed, but unmistakable once noticed.
"Not bad."
He did not fully understand it yet, but the result was satisfying.
"Time to regroup."
With Muzan dealt with for now, his next target was clear.
Tamayo.
When Raiden returned to the street where Tanjiro had saved the civilians, the crowd was already gone.
Only Zenitsu remained, pacing nervously.
When he spotted Raiden, he hurried over.
"What's wrong?" Raiden asked.
Zenitsu hesitated, clearly unsettled.
"Earlier… there were demons. They were helping Tanjiro."
Raiden raised an eyebrow.
"You saw them?"
"No. I heard them."
Zenitsu swallowed.
His hearing had picked up multiple voices, some human, some not.
"Which way did Tanjiro go?"
Zenitsu pointed left.
Following both the direction and Tanjiro's lingering scent, they arrived at a narrow dead end.
"Raiden, why are we…"
Zenitsu stopped mid-sentence.
Voices echoed from within the wall ahead.
Human voices.
Demonic ones too.
But it was a solid wall.
"Let's go in," Raiden said calmly.
He reached forward.
His hand passed straight through the wall.
Zenitsu froze, then hurried after him.
At this point, it felt like Raiden already knew everything.
Inside, Yushiro abruptly stood up, eyes sharp.
"Someone's entered."
Tamayo's expression darkened.
Her existence was unacceptable to both Muzan and the Demon Slayer Corps.
Anyone entering uninvited was a threat.
"Raiden? Zenitsu?"
Tanjiro's voice broke the tension, surprise clear on his face.
He recognized their scents instantly.
"You know them?" Yushiro asked, suspicion flaring.
Tanjiro shook his head frantically.
"No, they're good people. Both of them."
Yushiro did not relax.
He looked to Tamayo instead.
She studied Tanjiro's eyes, searching for deceit.
After a moment, she nodded.
Yushiro exhaled and turned toward the courtyard.
Before he could move, footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
A figure appeared, leaning casually against the railing.
Raiden smiled faintly.
"Miss Tamayo, it's a pleasure meeting you for the first time. I look forward to working with you."
The air changed.
Tamayo and Yushiro stiffened.
Human.
Yet not.
His bearing, his composure, the pressure radiating from him were painfully familiar.
Too familiar.
It mirrored Muzan.
But his aura was undeniably human.
How could that be?
Yushiro's hand drifted instinctively toward the talismans at his waist.
Tamayo took a step back.
As someone who had once stood beside Muzan, she felt it more clearly than anyone.
Raiden's aura overlapped with the Demon King's.
Similar.
But not the same.
A king's shadow, worn by a man.
[Tamayo]
[Race: Demon]
[Rank: Lower-Class]
[Comprehension: Superior]
[Aptitude: Medium]
[Skills: Medical Arts, Blood Demon Art, Visionary Dream Perfume, Daytime Demonic Scent, Unhindered Communication Perfume]
[Yushiro]
[Race: Demon]
[Rank: Lower-Class]
[Comprehension: Average]
[Aptitude: Medium]
[Skills: Blood Demon Art, Eye Concealment, Craftsmanship]
Raiden met Tamayo's gaze calmly.
____
Milestones
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
By becoming a patron you get access to chapters way ahead of web novel
patreon.com/Zphyr