Right then—
“It’s… It’s you!!!”
A sharp, rage-filled roar came from the back of the demon crowd.
The Aburako Oni glared fixedly at Hanayuki Ichika, his cold eyes nearly spitting fire.
“You… You actually escaped that adult’s control?! Why?! How can you overcome the urge to eat humans?! Why can you maintain your sanity?!”
His voice trembled with extreme shock:
“All demons transformed by that adult instinctively crave human blood, gradually lose their sanity, and eventually become monsters that only know how to devour… This is an ironclad rule! It’s the ‘curse’ set by that adult!”
The Aburako Oni took a step forward, his body emitting a thick murderous intent.
“Answer me! Why are you the exception?!”
Hanayuki Ichika slowly turned around, his sky-white eyes calmly looking at the other.
Then, a cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth:
“Nothing to say.”
Those four words.
Casual, yet carrying a condescending contempt.
The Aburako Oni’s face instantly contorted, rage making his entire face hideous.
“You… you traitor! As a demon, you went to the Demon Slayer Corps to be their dog! You’ve completely disgraced all demons!”
Hearing this, Hanayuki Ichika didn’t get angry; instead, he let out a sneer.
That laughter was filled with blatant mockery.
“Is your brain fried?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the Aburako Oni and the hundreds of demons transformed from villagers behind him with a look as if he were looking at an idiot.
“Working for that Scum Boss, the Demon King Muzan, every day, doing 996, having to endure that boss’s PUA, various insults, and punishments at all times, and even being eaten as food by your own kind if you’re not careful—”
He paused, his voice suddenly rising:
“And there’s no salary!”
“Tell me, what are you even after?”
After those words, the entire battlefield went silent.
Hanayuki Ichika grew more enthusiastic as he spoke, his tone even carrying a hint of…
excitement and pride?
“So what if I’m a dog? I’m a dog for the girls of the Butterfly Mansion, and I’m proud of it!”
He counted on his fingers, listing the benefits as if they were family treasures:
“I get room and board, I eat and drink for free, I just slack off and wait to die. I can sleep until noon every day. I can even eat mouth-fed meals from the Butterfly Mansion girls, and occasionally chat with the lolis—”
He gave a thumbs up:
“And if I’m injured, I get free treatment from the Butterfly Mansion girls! I don’t have to do anything but slack off every day, and I still get a salary! If I’m lucky, I might even be assigned a wife. Even the Lady of the Demon Slayer Corps thinks highly of me, asking me to help clear the drains often.”
Finally, he spread his hands and said flatly:
“This is called living off my looks and taking a twenty-year shortcut, you get it?”
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Even the crowd of demons in the distance, who had been snarling and roaring, now fell into an eerie silence.
Hundreds of demons looked at each other, and for the first time, a sense of…
bewilderment appeared in their blood-red eyes.
That’s right.
What are we even after?
[Living in fear every day, afraid of being punished by that adult. Afraid of being eaten by stronger demons. Having to hunt humans everywhere and being hunted by the Demon Slayer Corps… No salary, no holidays, no security. What… are we after?]
The Aburako Oni’s face turned pale and then flushed; he wanted to refute but found that he…
Couldn’t find any reason to refute.
Kochou Shinobu stood to the side, her purple eyes narrowing slightly, the smile on her face becoming increasingly sweet—though the corners of her mouth twitched subtly.
She lightly raised a hand to cover her lips, her shoulders trembling slightly, clearly trying her best to suppress her laughter.
Meanwhile, Kanroji Mitsuri was completely stunned. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Her small mouth was slightly open, her pinkish-green eyes filled with shock, and she even forgot to chew the pastry in her mouth.
Ichi Fu-kun…
so, so amazing…
To be able to say it so righteously and enviably?
At the same time.
Deep within the Infinity Castle.
In a dark room, Kibutsuji Muzan suddenly opened his eyes.
Within his blood-red pupils, a fury that was almost tangible burned.
He “saw” it.
Through the eyes of those demons, he “heard” Hanayuki Ichika’s words.
He even felt it—the faint but real confusion and self-doubt rising in those demons’ hearts.
“Bas… tard…”
Muzan’s knuckles cracked as he clenched them, his entire body emitting a terrifying pressure.
The air in the entire Infinity Castle seemed to freeze.
Beside him, Douma squinted, a fake, gentle smile that hadn’t changed in ten thousand years plastered on his face:
“Oh my, oh my I really didn’t expect this For a demon to actually overcome the ‘curse’ that adult engraved deep within their bloodline, and even go to the Demon Slayer Corps to hunt their own kind…”
He gently waved his Golden Iron Fan, his tone carrying a detached curiosity:
“And he said it so… righteously too ‘Taking a twenty-year shortcut’? Hehe, what an interesting thought”
On the other side, Akaza stood in silence.
When he heard Hanayuki Ichika’s words, “If anyone wants to hurt you, they’ll have to step over my corpse first,” a flicker of imperceptible emotion flashed deep within his golden pupils.
Protecting others…
At the cost of one’s life…
This pure will to “protect” reminded him of a distant and blurry figure.
But he—he really couldn’t remember…