Meanwhile, the Infinity Castle.
In a dimly lit Japanese-style room, Kibutsuji Muzan sat in the seat of honor, his scarlet eyes half-open and half-closed.
Kneeling before him was a figure.
It was Baba-bi, who had just returned with over a dozen villager demons.
“So,” Muzan began, his voice terrifyingly calm, “you two Lower Ranks, plus over a hundred demons… couldn’t kill those two Hashira and a kid who just turned into a demon?”
“…Yes.” Baba-bi knelt on the ground, her voice trembling, “That brat is too strange.”
“He has a domain-type Blood Demon Art and a self-created Breathing Style. His strength is already approaching that of an Upper Rank…”
“Shut up.”
Muzan’s voice turned cold abruptly.
Baba-bi immediately fell silent, not even daring to lift her head.
“Failure is failure.” Muzan slowly stood up and walked over to Baba-bi, “And losers… have no value in living.”
“But…
but My Lord!” Baba-bi hurriedly raised her head, pointing to the trembling villager demons behind her, “Although I failed to complete the mission, I brought back these newly transformed demons!
They can serve as reinforcements.
As long as they are nurtured for some time—”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
Because Muzan’s fist had already slammed into her face.
No, not slammed.
It was “smashed.”
Like a hammer crushing a watermelon, Baba-bi’s head exploded instantly!
Blood and bone fragments splattered everywhere, covering the floor.
The headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing with a thud.
Lower Rank Five, Baba-bi — deceased.
“Are you feeling proud of yourself?”
Muzan shook the blood off his hand and swept his scarlet eyes toward the dozen villager demons, “Bringing these pieces of trash back and daring to call them ‘reinforcements’?”
He raised his hand, fingers curled into a claw.
“Garbage that can’t even withstand a single slash from a Hashira… what is the point of keeping them?”
The moment his voice fell, those dozen villager demons let out shrill screams simultaneously!
Their bodies began to twist and swell, and then—like balloons squeezed by an invisible hand, they exploded one after another!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Blood mist filled the air, and gore flew everywhere.
In just three seconds, all the villager demons were wiped out.
The entire room fell into a deathly silence.
Only the “drip, drip” sound of blood falling from the ceiling could be heard.
“Oh my, you’re quite temperamental, Muzan-sama.”
A frivolous voice came from the corner.
A man holding a golden fan, wearing a white oak-colored hat, with a fake smile permanently etched on his face, walked out from the shadows.
“That brat named Hanayuki Ichika is really quite interesting.” Douma covered his mouth with his fan, his eyes squinting into crescent moons, “To think he could overcome the desire to eat humans and go off to hunt his own kind in the Demon Slayer Corps… Arah, does this count as being a ‘traitor’?”
Muzan glanced at him coldly: “What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing, just find it amusing, that’s all.” Douma laughed, “After all, he’s the first demon in hundreds of years who can resist your ‘curse’ and not eat humans, right? And he can even create his own Breathing Style and possesses a domain… Oh my, it’s truly curious~”
“Curious?” Muzan sneered, “Then go kill him. Haven’t you always wanted to fight strong opponents?”
“Eh—no thanks.” Douma made an exaggerated expression of fear, “That kid sounds so scary~ Even Lower Ranks Five and Six working together couldn’t beat him. I’ll get hurt.”
In the shadows to the side, another figure stood quietly.
Upper Rank Three, Akaza.
He hadn’t spoken from start to finish, just silently watching and listening.
When he heard that Hanayuki Ichika had exhausted himself to protect Kochou Shinobu and take her away, a minute ripple flashed through Akaza’s eyes.
What kind of emotion was that?
Approval?
Confusion?
Or…
some kind of resonance he couldn’t even understand himself?
He didn’t know.
He only knew—that the kid named Hanayuki Ichika was different from every demon he had ever seen.
He didn’t eat humans.
He protected humans.
He even risked his life for humans.
“Boring.” Akaza said in a low voice, then turned and disappeared into the shadows.
He didn’t need to understand.
He only needed to become stronger.
Strong enough to defeat all enemies, including that special guy…
The Japanese-style room fell into silence again.
Muzan sat in the seat of honor, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
He was thinking.
Thinking about the “anomaly” that was Hanayuki Ichika, thinking about why he wasn’t affected by the curse, thinking about his bizarre domain and Breathing Style, thinking…
about how much longer he could live.
“Hanayuki Ichika…”
Muzan whispered the name, and in his scarlet pupils, killing intent flashed and vanished.
“I’d like to see… just how long you can remain’special’.”
The dawn gradually faded, and the morning light completely bathed the mountains and forests.
On the mountain path, Hanayuki Ichika was carrying Kochou Shinobu on one shoulder and Kanroji Mitsuri on the other, walking steadily toward the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
“Put me down!
Ichi Fu-kun!” Kanroji Mitsuri was squirming restlessly on Hanayuki Ichika’s left shoulder, her pink and green hair swinging about with her movements, “I can walk by myself!
This…
this is too embarrassing!”
“Ippū-san…” Kochou Shinobu was being carried on his right shoulder, her voice still gentle, but if one listened carefully, a hint of suppressed shame and anger could be detected, “As Hashira, being carried back like this… it really lacks decorum~”
Instead of putting them down, he bounced them upward to adjust his posture: “Is decorum more important or is your life? You two can barely even stand right now, and you still want to walk?”
“Th-that doesn’t mean you can do this!” Mitsuri’s face turned bright red, “If people see this, all our dignity as Hashira will be gone!”
“Dignity?” Hanayuki Ichika scoffed, “Can dignity be eaten as a meal? Can it heal the wounds on your bodies?”
He paused, intentionally using a teasing tone:
“Besides—in your current state, what dignity do you even have left?”
Before he could finish speaking.
“Smack!”
“Smack!”
With a swing of both hands, Hanayuki Ichika backhanded a slap onto each of their bottoms.
The crisp sound echoed along the mountain path.
The air froze instantly.
Kochou Shinobu’s body stiffened visibly.
She slowly raised her head.
Her purple eyes, which were always squinted, were now completely open, and a dangerous light flashed in their depths.
But the smile on her face became even more radiant, the curve of her lips so perfect it was almost eerie.
“…Arah, arah.”
Her voice was soft and melodious, like a clear spring in a mountain stream, but every word carried the chill of deep winter:
“Ippū-san, you always ‘treat’ girls like this…”
She tilted her head slightly, her smile sweet:
“You should understand the principle that men and women should not touch, right? I really want to use the blade hidden in my shoe to give you a fierce kick to the head~”
Hanayuki Ichika subconsciously felt a chill rise up his spine.
He, of course, knew that Kochou Shinobu hid a poison blade in her shoe—in the original story, she had almost used this trick against Tomioka Giyu.
The Wisteria Toxin coating that blade was fatal to demons.
“Um… Shinobu-san, I was just joking…” Hanayuki Ichika tried to remedy the situation.
“Joking?” Kochou Shinobu narrowed her eyes, and several blue veins had appeared on her forehead at some point, but her smile remained perfect, “Ippū-san’s jokes are truly unique~”
On the other side, Kanroji Mitsuri was also blushing, stuttering:
“Q-quickly put me down! My strength… my strength is extra, extra, extra much stronger than Shinobu-san’s!”
She waved her small fists.
Although it looked cute, Hanayuki Ichika knew she wasn’t lying—Kanroji Mitsuri’s innate super strength was top-tier even among the Hashira.
“If I land a slap on you…” Mitsuri’s face became even redder, and her voice grew smaller and smaller, “You’ll fly very, very far away…”
Facing the two’s “threats,” Hanayuki Ichika didn’t show the slightest panic.
Instead, he grinned, a look of black-bellied mischief appearing on his face.
He stopped walking, looked left and right at the two Hashira on his shoulders, and then said leisurely:
“If you two don’t behave…”
He deliberately drew out his voice:
“I’ll carry you both right now and change direction—”
He gestured with his chin toward the deep mountains:
“And run toward Kibutsuji Muzan’s lair.”
“I’ll take you two Hashira straight into the demon’s nest~”