[That voice...]
He subconsciously looked up, meeting a pair of blood-red pupils shaped like mandala flowers, with the characters "Upper Rank One" carved into them.
"Oh my~ This is quite an unexpected child..."
Tilting her head, Mitsuba used the Transparent World to instantly see the bloodline within Muichiro's body, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.
But immediately, she smiled.
"Little one, tell me your name."
She was... Upper Rank One?!
"..."
---
Rewinding to slightly earlier, at the same time the Demon Slayer Corps members were being sucked into the Infinity Castle, the Upper Rank demons had also taken their positions.
"Kotoha, I have some business to attend to tonight~"
In a grand Tokyo villa, Doma removed his hat, took off his coat, and changed back into his rarely-worn outfit as the founder of the Eternal Bliss Sect.
"What's with that? Why do both you and Inosuke have to go out tonight? You just know how to leave me home alone..."
From the bedroom nearby came Kotoha's slightly dissatisfied voice.
"It's just a little work matter~ I promise, I'll be back before dawn~"
"Fine, then remember to take the flower on the table. It's on the table in the living room."
"Flower?"
Doma turned to look and only then noticed a pitch-black mandala flower placed on the table in the corner of the living room.
Without a doubt, this was a creation of Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art.
*[Strange, why would the Holy Maiden's flower be here?]
"Inosuke left it there."
As if guessing Doma's inner confusion, Kotoha's voice explained from the bedroom:
"Inosuke specifically left it when he went out tonight. He said if you were going out tonight, I should give you this flower. Something about keeping you safe..."
Hearing this, Doma instantly understood everything.
Over the years, Kotoha and her son had been very close to him.
Among them, Kotoha was with him almost every day, so it was fine.
But Inosuke often wandered around outside by himself. Considering the petty temperament and strong vengeful nature of that God fellow.
Mitsuba had previously given Inosuke a mandala flower to protect him from being inexplicably killed by God.
That flower was most likely the one now before Doma.
[I see, that child Inosuke... was actually worried about me?]
Really, if he wanted to show concern, he could have just told him directly. Why be so tsundere~
Realizing Inosuke's intention, Doma suddenly felt a bit tearful.
As expected! He knew it!
Although this tsundere child always seemed to dislike him verbally, deep down he actually cared about him too!
"Then, Kotoha, I'll be going now?"
"Got it, come back early."
Carefully swallowing the mandala flower in one gulp, Doma waved his hand and left with cheerful steps.
"..."
---
On the other side, Gyutaro and his sister had also arrived at the Infinity Castle.
They rendezvoused with Ubume and Enmu, coming together to the area where Nakime was located in the Infinity Castle.
"It seems our mission is specifically to protect Miss Nakime's safety."
Inside the Infinity Castle, in a certain hidden room, a light red incense filled the air, dyeing the entire room in a smoky haze.
"By the way, Ubume, why are you burning so much incense?
It's so sweet and cloying, my nose is about to be ruined..."
Sitting cross-legged beside Nakime, Gyutaro turned to look at Ubume sitting on the other side, unable to help complaining.
"Replying to my lord, of course it's to be able to activate my Blood Demon Art at any moment."
Ubume covered her mouth with a light laugh, explaining:
"Protecting Miss Nakime's safety is the task Miss Mitsuba entrusted to me.
Therefore, considering the most dangerous situations that might occur, I need to be ready at any moment to transfer Miss Nakime into my Blood Demon Art space and escape with her."
"If you ask me, Ubume, this is completely unnecessary."
Enmu also spoke up from the side:
"With the strength of the other lords, tonight's battle is completely without suspense. Those Demon Slayers could never make it here."
"Although I think so too, one should always prepare for the unexpected~"
"Ah... so bored..."
Amidst the conversation of the three, Ume lay spread-eagled on the floor, listlessly looking at the ceiling above.
"Oh! Right!"
Suddenly thinking of something, she sat up abruptly and excitedly shouted to the other three:
"Since we're just sitting around anyway, how about we play mahjong!"
"Mah... mahjong?"
At these words, the other three were instantly stunned.
It wasn't that they didn't know what mahjong was, but... was now really the time to play mahjong?
Was it really okay for them to be so relaxed?
"Exactly! There are four of us here! Perfect for a full table!"
"Eh, but, at a time like this..."
"Ah~ Ubume, don't mind so much~ No matter what happens, Sister Mitsuba and Brother Michikatsu can definitely handle it. Let's just play together~
Brother! Hurry up and go to the next room to bring the table! Hurry hurry!"
"Sigh..."
Under Ume's urging, Gyutaro eventually stood up.
Amidst the smoky haze, Nakime, who had been focusing her attention on other parts of the Infinity Castle, also slightly opened her eyes.
After glancing at the four people before her, she silently closed her eyes again.
"..."
---
[Hakuji, the Demon Slayers have come knocking. Hurry back to fight.]
At the same time, near that deserted mountain cabin, Hakuji, who had been practicing Tai Chi in the open space, suddenly heard Mitsuba's message.
[OK, coming right away.]
Putting away his stance, Akaza turned to look at Shinobu, who was sitting on the wooden porch at the cabin entrance wrapped in a blanket, and spoke:
"Butterfly, I have some business and need to go back for a bit."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Settling some old scores with the Demon Slayers, you know."
Shinobu instantly understood everything, her expression becoming somewhat worried. She bit her lip and subconsciously asked:
"Then my sister..."
"Your sister... Previously, my sister didn't let me tell you, but now at this point, I think it should be fine to say it."
Looking at Shinobu, Akaza grinned:
"Don't worry, she's always been on our side. The reason she never told you these things before was just that she didn't want you to get involved in these matters too."
"So it really was like that..."
Finally hearing the answer she had always wanted to know from Akaza's mouth, Shinobu's expression now seemed to relax.
As expected, she hadn't made the wrong choice...
"Hakuji."
Looking seriously at the Akaza before her, she said word by word:
"You all must come back safely. Both you and Mitsuba."
Hearing this, Akaza just smiled and waved his hand, turning to leave.
"Don't worry, Koyuki is still waiting for me. By dawn, I'll definitely be back."