Shing!
[Where… is this place?]
As the sound of a biwa rang beside his ear, Enmu suddenly discovered that he had arrived in a strange space.
Here, buildings stretched in all directions—up, down, left, and right—layer upon layer endlessly extending toward the limits of vision, extremely bizarre.
[Is this still Earth?]
Puzzled internally, Enmu turned to look and only then discovered that his old friends were actually all here?
Lower Rank One: Ubume.
Lower Rank Three: Rokuro.
Lower Rank Four: Wakuraba.
Lower Rank Six: Mukago.
[No, one is missing… Lower Rank Five: Rui, why isn't he here?]
Shing!
As this final biwa note sounded, another figure suddenly appeared in this strange space.
She stood on a high platform directly before everyone, with a female appearance, draped in a kimono, with white hair, blood-red sclera, and pupils in the shape of strange mandala flowers.
She who emitted not the slightest aura simply stood there, looking down with a smile at the demons below.
Without a doubt, this woman was Mitsuba, who had just returned from meeting Muzan in Osaka.
Since this was the first time seeing Mitsuba's true appearance, the demons below almost simultaneously fell into confusion.
Until Ubume, as Lower Rank One, actively stepped forward, bowed her head, and saluted:
"Ubume greets Upper Rank One."
"Mm, good evening, Yae."
As Mitsuba spoke these words, the other demons—hearing this familiar voice—finally reacted and hurriedly knelt down.
"We greet Upper Rank One!"
Among them, Rokuro of Lower Rank Three even hurriedly opened his mouth wanting to explain.
"This subordinate is seeing Lord's true appearance for the first time! So, so for a moment…"
"Enough, don't waste our time on such boring matters."
Interrupting his explanation, Mitsuba looked down at them below, hands behind her back, directly cutting to the main topic.
"Last night, Rui was killed by demon hunters."
[What? Rui was killed?!]
Hearing this news, the remaining demons—excluding Ubume and Enmu—undoubtedly appeared quite nervous.
Of course, this wasn't because they cared about Rui in any way; demons never had such things.
They were panicking, even fearing, because this Upper Rank One—deeply trusted by that Lord—had suddenly gathered all Lower Rank demons here.
Why suddenly gather all Lower Rank demons in this strange space?
Such a thing had never happened before, right? Even if it was to fill a vacancy, there was no need to do this, right?
What exactly did this Lord want to do? It couldn't possibly be…
"Since several years ago, when the previous Lower Rank Two: Hairo was slain by demon hunters, within just a few short years, we have lost another Lower Rank demon."
Amidst the demons' terror, Mitsuba slowly spoke.
Her expression was quite regretful, her tone rather helpless.
"Sometimes I truly cannot understand. As fellow Twelve Kizuki, why can the gap between Lower Rank and Upper Rank be so vast?
Clearly you have all been carefully selected by me, yet why, over the past hundred years, all the Hashira killed by demon hunters were still slain by Upper Rank demons.
Why can you never kill those Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps? Instead being defeated by them one after another?"
[E-Even if you say that…]
Kneeling on the ground listening to Mitsuba's complaints, one among the demons couldn't help complaining internally.
[We've all already done our best. Some things just can't be done no matter what…]
"'Already done your best'—what does that mean?"
Her pupils turning, Mitsuba's gaze suddenly looked toward this demon complaining internally.
Lower Rank Four: Wakuraba.
[What?!]
His face instantly turning pale as paper, bean-sized sweat drops continuously falling from his forehead, the named Wakuraba only felt his body trembling uncontrollably.
[What's happening? How does she know what I'm thinking?]
"Wakuraba, I'm asking you—what does 'done your best' mean?"
Just looking at him kneeling and trembling on the ground, Mitsuba asked once more with that tone devoid of fluctuation.
Ever since Muzan transferred management authority of the Twelve Kizuki to her over two hundred years ago, for convenience in management, Mitsuba was simultaneously granted the ability to read the thoughts of demons within her field of vision.
Not just Lower Rank demons—all demons appearing in her field of vision, she had always been clear about what they were thinking in their minds.
"I, I…"
Already drenched in sweat, Wakuraba simply remained prostrate on the ground, unable to utter a single word.
[I'm going to die! I'm going to die! She'll kill me! She'll definitely kill me!]
And his silence only intensified the tense atmosphere on site.
Ubume simply raised her head, using worshipful and admiring eyes to gaze at Mitsuba above.
Enmu's brain began operating at high speed. Proficient in "Twelve Kizuki workplace survival studies," he had already realized this Lower Rank meeting was unusual and was working hard to find a new path of survival for himself.
As for the remaining Rokuro and Mukago, like Wakuraba, they simply remained prostrate on the ground, trembling all over.
"Sigh…"
Very patiently waiting for a while, seeing that Wakuraba only dared to kneel there, unable to speak a single word, Mitsuba finally let out a deep sigh.
"I think I probably know where exactly you and we differ…
Previously, I have already requested permission from that Lord. From now on, the Lower Rank of the Twelve Kizuki will cease to exist. All currently serving Lower Rank demons are immediately dismissed."
"L-Lord?"
Once Mitsuba spoke these words, the demons' faces immediately showed even more terrified expressions.
After all, the Twelve Kizuki was not truly a company in human society. What Mitsuba meant by "dismissal," they knew very clearly in their hearts.
"Quiet."
A light shout stopped their unspoken explanations. Mitsuba simply stood with hands behind her back, continuing:
"Of course, considering that after all, you were all demons transformed by me.
Just cleaning you all up like this, I would also feel somewhat reluctant.
So, I have decided to give you one final chance."
Raising her index finger, meeting the expectant gazes of the demons below, Mitsuba slowly said:
"In the near future, before my patience runs out, I don't care where you are or what methods you use.
In short, I want to see you launch an attack against demon hunters, and you must kill at least one Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps in this attack.
Thus proving to me that you still have value in continuing to exist. Understood?"
"Lord, does your meaning allow us to act together next?"
Enmu raised his head to look at Mitsuba and asked.
"That's correct."
Her gaze sweeping across the demons' faces, Mitsuba lightly nodded, speaking in a deep voice:
"I will not restrict what methods you use. I only want the final result.
Those who can do it will qualify to continue living. Those who cannot, those demon hunters will naturally clean you up for me.
Do not attempt to deceive me, and do not attempt to quietly flee. In this world, unless dead, no matter where you flee, I can drag you out."
Having finished speaking, no longer giving the demons any opportunity to speak, Mitsuba raised her hand and lightly waved.
"Alright, that's all. All of you, out. I hope you can hand me a satisfactory answer."
____________________
This story has ended in chapter 315, you can read on patreon.com/dzeref887 for faster access or wait until August to read on WebNovel until the story ends.