Infinity Castle was in ruins.
Nakime sat silently amid the collapsed rubble of a shattered loft, the hand clutching her biwa trembling ever so slightly, lingering fear still coursing through her.
She remained there until another loft rose into place.
A terrifying pressure spilled down from the very top of it. Nakime's blood seemed to ignite in her veins as she dropped to her knees. A pair of exquisitely made wooden sandals came to a stop before her.
A beautiful woman stepped down from the loft, black-haired and red-eyed, dressed in a formal black kimono. Her hair was arranged in the highest-ranking courtesan style, and though her face was exquisite, it was deathly pale, blue veins faintly visible at her throat. By appearance alone, she was a noble, high-ranking oiran.
"My lord Muzan."
A white-haired boy came along the platform and knelt before the woman.
That alone made her true identity unmistakable.
Muzan Kibutsuji, progenitor of demons.
"A single swordsman broke into this place, killed three Lower Ranks, and left safely." Muzan spoke. Though he wore a woman's face, the voice that emerged was low, mature, and chilling. "Count the one called Ubume as well, the one killed by a brat who was not even a Hashira, and that makes four Lower Ranks dead in a single night."
He stepped closer to the kneeling white-haired boy.
"Tell me, Rui. Would you also be slaughtered like livestock by some Demon Slayer?"
The boy's skin was pale, red spots marked his face, and he wore a white kimono patterned like a spider's web. In his left eye was engraved the character for Lower Five.
Lower Rank Five, Rui.
He was one of the demons Muzan favored. Rui's childhood resembled Muzan's in certain ways, and for that reason Muzan had long tolerated his game of "family" on Mount Natagumo. Even if Rui never actively searched for the Blue Spider Lily Muzan desired, that had once been acceptable. But now Muzan's rage had burned away that indulgence. Rui, who had once seemed pleasing enough, now looked weak and contemptible.
Muzan needed tools.
Nothing more.
"Answer me, Rui!" Muzan's voice cracked through the air like a lash. Rui trembled beneath the oppressive weight of the Demon King's presence, scarcely able to breathe.
And then—
"What an interesting place. It's a shame it's been damaged so badly."
A bewitching female voice drifted in from the side. A young girl in a fox mask came hopping down the stairs, carefree as ever. Unlike ordinary Lower Rank demons, whose rank was split between both eyes, hers displayed the full title across them together: one eye bearing "Lower," the other "Six."
Lower Rank Six, Huojianyue.
She seemed wholly oblivious to the suffocating atmosphere. Gathering up her long sleeves, she bowed gracefully toward Muzan.
"My respects, Lord Muzan. Good evening."
"Huojianyue." Muzan bared his fangs, red eyes blazing. He was furious enough to kill, and this casual arrival of hers was no different from mockery.
"And why is my lord so enraged?" Huojianyue asked lightly. "Who has displeased you so gravely? Say the word, and I shall kill them for you."
She knelt beside him and lifted his hand to her cheek.
Muzan stared at her for a long moment, as if deciding whether to tear her apart on the spot.
Then he smiled.
"A swordsman entered this place, killed the Lower Ranks I had summoned, and departed unharmed. Four Lower Ranks have died. Tell me, why should that not displease me?"
"But they were only Lower Ranks." Huojianyue sounded utterly unconcerned. "Worthless things that cannot even kill a Hashira, only fodder to hone the Demon Slayers' blades. Keeping them around merely pollutes your blood. Only demons who can kill Hashira are fit to ease your burdens."
"Oh? And what of you?" Muzan's tone turned icy. "You caused an uproar at Kurama Mountain, yet when another Hashira arrived, you fled all the same."
"Why didn't you kill him? You could kill one Hashira, yet not a second? Were you afraid?"
"How could I be afraid?" Huojianyue replied, smiling. "Alive, he is more useful to me than dead. My lord, that is a lesson you taught me."
"Are you lecturing me?"
"Never. I would not dare. I merely learned it from you."
Her fox tails swayed behind her. Strange crimson flames began to burn, and within those flames stood a tall blond man in silence.
"My puppet is complete," she said with clasped hands and a pleased smile, gazing at that molten-looking figure.
Yet that was not the only puppet she meant.
"Oh?" Muzan let out a quiet note of approval.
Within those brilliant flames, he saw through Huojianyue's perspective the flamboyant, ninja-like man she had crossed blades with. At the instant of their clash, amid the thunderous roar of twin swords, a sliver of flame had buried itself near the man's heart. Wrapped in flesh, hidden from sunlight, the Blood Demon Art had miraculously endured without burning away. As the man moved farther and farther off, the sensation from that spark within his chest faded, and the vision sank back into darkness.
"And I have also brought you news," Huojianyue said, smiling sweetly. "News of the Blue Spider Lily."
"Before that, however, allow me to challenge Lower Rank Five, Rui, to a Blood Battle. I would like to prove my worth to you."
In Infinity Castle, Nakime struck the strings of her repaired biwa.
The twisted wooden structure reassembled like a rotating puzzle. Vermilion architecture folded over itself, building up darkened towers and corridors. One by one, warm orange lights flickered on, illuminating pathways through the seemingly endless labyrinth of the fortress.
A shape suddenly leapt down from one of the towering platforms.
As he descended, he spread his arms wide, short pink hair whipping around him. His skin was pale, his body covered in blue tattoos.
He landed with a thunderous crash atop another rising platform, which bore him upward through the castle.
Even with the crushing wind pressure at such heights, he stood effortlessly and cast a glance toward a lotus pond the platform passed.
Strum.
Nakime struck the strings again.
The next instant, the man appeared in a blood-splattered loft. The surrounding structure was marked with spider silk and sword gouges. In the middle of a pool of blood squatted a young girl, chewing on something between her teeth.
High above, Nakime sat holding her biwa, her disordered hair hiding her face.
"Who is she? Where is Upper Rank One?" the man asked. "If I've been summoned here, then one of the Upper Ranks must have died. Who was it?"
The fox-masked girl turned her head and answered for herself, laughter in her voice. "Oh my. Completely ignored."
In her eyes was the inscription for Lower Rank One.
"A Lower Rank?" The man stared, taken aback. "Why would a mere Lower Rank be here, biwa woman?"
"Lower Rank One, Huojianyue," Nakime said evenly. "Lord Muzan permitted her presence at this gathering."
"Greetings, Upper Rank Three, Akaza."
Upper Rank Three, Akaza.
Far away, the lights along one corridor went out. A hand emerged from the darkness and came to rest on Akaza's shoulder.
"What a beautiful woman," came a smooth voice. "Don't you think so too, Akaza-dono? Even if she isn't an Upper Rank, she certainly adds some color to the room."
The darkness peeled away.
A man stepped out, handsome as a god—pale blond hair, rainbow-colored eyes, and dark red clothing that showed off the clean, graceful lines of his physique.
If Giyu Tomioka had been present, he would have recognized him at once: the religious leader who had appeared in Osaka, the very same Upper Rank demon the Corps had identified.
Upper Rank Two, Doma, leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith.
"Oh?" Doma's interest sharpened. In a flash he moved away from Akaza and used his iron fan to tip up Huojianyue's fox mask. "That face…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"So I was too late to hunt Miss Sui after all. Have you abandoned humanity and chosen to join us instead? What a pity."
Dreamlike color rippled over Huojianyue's body, revealing her original face beneath the illusion—a frail, moth-eaten, almost ruined visage. Doma's expression shifted at once. This was not the same woman.
The girl fixed him with undisguised killing intent.
"You've seen Sui…" she said. "My sister?"
"So Miss Sui is your sister?" Doma smiled. "How marvelous. Does that mean she's still human? That she still has a chance to bloom?"
"You dare see her as prey?"
Doma opened his iron fan with a soft snap. "A woman that radiant… if I were to take her, I would want it to be when she had fully blossomed."
A gust of wind exploded through the chamber.
A blade, wrapped in fire, descended with a sword technique burning like a living inferno.
A man standing amid flames took shape behind Doma—
and struck without hesitation.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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