After the Hashira Meeting concluded, although they learned that a crisis was imminent, the Hashira, unclear on the demons' objective, could only temporarily disperse to their respective duties.
Shinichi walked to his residence.
Looking at the courtyard before him, he could only marvel at the wealth and extravagance of Moriki Conglomerate.
Even though it was a base hastily provided to the Demon Slayer Corps, it still boasted such exquisite housing.
Night fell.
In the quiet courtyard, the moonlight mingled with the fragrance of wisteria. Shinichi stood under the eaves, watching Shinobu's back disappear at the end of the corridor.
Before parting, she had turned back to give him a worried look, to which Shinichi responded with a reassuring gaze.
He knew that if she could, Shinobu would definitely want to stay with him out of concern.
However, just like him, Shinobu was also a Hashira.
They had their own responsibilities and needed to prepare for the impending storm from their respective positions.
However, Shinichi had not anticipated that some storms would arrive so swiftly.
As the night deepened, just as Shinichi was closing his eyes in contemplation while holding his Nichirin Blade...
Twang!
A crisp, abrupt, and cold note from a biwa string exploded without warning in the silent night!
Swish!
In almost an instant, Shinichi's eyes snapped open, and a sharp, green blade flashed!
Plop!
A fleshy, eyeball-shaped mass fell from above Shinichi's head, split in two!
However, it was still a little too late.
A sudden feeling of weightlessness made Shinichi's pupils shrink abruptly.
The solid tatami mat beneath his feet suddenly vanished, and a strange suction force pulled at him, accompanied by intense vertigo and a sense of spatial distortion.
'So, you've finally come,' the thought flashed through Shinichi's mind.
He looked down.
Beneath him was a wooden door that had appeared out of nowhere. Inside the door was a brilliantly lit, yet bizarre and twisted city.
"This must be where Shokyu is hiding, right?" Shinichi made no attempt to escape, instead allowing himself to fall into the Infinity Castle.
During the dizzying, disorienting fall where light and shadow were inverted, Shinichi focused his senses as much as possible, observing the strange and treacherous interior of the Infinity Castle.
Twisted wooden structures, upside-down rooms, chaotic staircases, wooden doors appearing from thin air... Everything was spinning and contorting, as if he were inside a kaleidoscope being shaken violently, making it impossible to get his bearings.
Shinichi wasn't surprised that Shokyu had acted so quickly.
He was just wondering, how would this guy set things up? Was the target himself, or the entire Demon Slayer Corps? Would he separate everyone to be picked off one by one? Or would he concentrate his superior forces to eliminate him first? Or perhaps... he had prepared something even more bizarre?
...
At the same time, the sound of the biwa spread like a plague, sweeping through nearly every corner where Demon Slayer Corps members were located.
At the Butterfly Mansion, Kanae was gently comforting a few injured members who had yet to recover, her face wearing its usual gentle smile.
Twang!
When the biwa sounded, Kanae's smile froze slightly.
Almost instinctively, her right hand was already on the hilt of her blade.
The moment the ground beneath her collapsed, she did not panic, but a pink glow of Flower Breathing instantly bloomed around her.
"Everyone, don't panic! Maintain your breathing!" Her voice was still gentle, yet it carried a strange, calming power that slightly settled the few Kakushi members and Aoi Kanzaki who had cried out in alarm from the sudden weightlessness.
As she fell, Kanae's gaze scanned the inverted space around her, her eyes glinting with calm analysis.
....
At the temporary training ground.
Sanemi Shinazugawa had just shattered a training dummy into splinters, the markings on his face seeming to glow faintly in the moonlight.
His explosive aura had yet to subside when—Twang!
The biwa's sound and the sensation of falling struck him simultaneously
"Hmph! So you've finally shown yourselves, you scumbags!"
Far from being afraid, he grinned as if in anticipation.
As he fell, his Wind Breathing surged, and several wind blades shot from his Nichirin Blade, shredding the wooden debris falling with him into dust.
....
In another courtyard.
Tengen Uzui was inspecting his dual Nichirin Blades and ninja combat tools. His three wives were also in the room, preparing various weapons.
However, before he could flamboyantly reinforce the Demon Slayer Corps' security as planned—Twang!
The biwa's sound rang in his ears.
Tengen clicked his tongue. "What an utterly unflamboyant way to make an entrance!"
But his movements were not slow in the slightest. His dual Nichirin Blades were already in hand.
As his body plummeted, Tengen's sharp eyes scanned the ever-changing structure of the Infinity Castle.
....
In the dining hall, Kyojuro Rengoku had just finished his twentieth bowl of sweet potato rice for the night.
He boomed at the empty bowl, "Thank you for the meal! I'm full!"
Suddenly! Twang!
The floor disappeared. Kyojuro, still holding the empty bowl, fell while maintaining his seated posture.
His flame-like hair flew upward in the airflow, and his bright, piercing eyes erupted with astonishing light.
"Umu! A cowardly attack! But it is meaningless! Having eaten my fill, I am now at full combat strength!"
His resonant voice overpowered the sharp whistle of the wind in his ears.
....
Sabito and Giyuu, who were on patrol together, pressed their backs against each other almost the instant the biwa sounded.
Sabito's smile vanished, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"Giyuu, be careful."
Giyuu's brow furrowed slightly. "Right!"
They unsheathed their Nichirin Blades in unison.
The stability and tacit understanding of their Water Breathing allowed them to maintain a perfect defensive posture even in their rapid descent.
....
In the Tokito brothers' room.
Yuichiro and his younger brother Muichiro were discussing the potential for coordinating Mist Breathing and Maple Breathing.
The sudden change occurred, and the brothers' reaction was lightning-fast.
Muichiro's figure almost dissolved into a faint mist, instantly appearing by Yuichiro's side.
Yuichiro had already drawn his blade, a maple-red glow suffusing his Nichirin Blade.
Just like that, the two brothers fell into the Infinity Castle together.
....
On patrol duty within the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters tonight were the Serpent Hashira and the Love Hashira.
Obanai Iguro's snake, Kaburamaru, suddenly tensed its body, hissing and flicking its tongue. Obanai was immediately on alert, his mismatched, narrow eyes squinting.
"They're here."
With a flick of his wrist, his uniquely serpentine Nichirin Blade shot out like a striking viper, shielding Mitsuri Kanroji behind him.
Mitsuri, who had been happily contemplating whether to have sakura mochi or pudding for a late-night snack, cried out in surprise at the sudden feeling of falling.
She subconsciously held down the skirt of her uniform, a blush rising on her cheeks.
'Iguro-san is still right here!!'
It wasn't just the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps who fell into the Infinity Castle; many regular members and Kakushi members were also pulled in.
Panic was inevitable.
Cries of alarm, the sound of drawing blades, and collisions echoed throughout the Infinity Castle.
"What is this place?!"
"Grab onto me!"
"Don't panic!"
Unlike the regular members, most of the Kakushi were not skilled in combat and were now in a state of panic.
However, with the encouragement of some of their comrades, they gradually calmed down.
Among the Demon Slayer Corps members, a swordsman named Kaigaku had an extremely ugly expression on his face.
He had been on a reluctant patrol mission with two companions.
Unexpectedly, a biwa note had sounded in his ear, and he had been plunged into a space that was bizarre at a glance.
This sudden, terrifying experience nearly made Kaigaku's heart stop, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
"Are you kidding me... a place like this..." Kaigaku gripped his Nichirin Blade, but the blade trembled slightly.
His panicked eyes darted around.
Unlike his two terrified companions, Kaigaku's face also showed a strong will to survive.
"Caw! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"We're separated! Everyone is separated!"
Countless Kasugai Crows flapped their wings, flying with difficulty through the chaotic Infinity Castle, relaying fragmented and anxious messages.
However, regardless of how everyone reacted, the Infinity Castle continued to operate.
Inverting, rotating, reassembling... Finally, the feeling of weightlessness from the fall came to an abrupt halt.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The sounds of landing echoed one after another throughout the Infinity Castle.
The members of the Demon Slayer Corps landed in different rooms, corridors, and on platforms, forcibly separated from one another.
Shinichi landed steadily, his feet on the unique wooden floor of the Infinity Castle, which was covered in strange patterns
All around were tall pavilions and buildings whose tops could not be seen, stacked layer upon layer.
The environment was terrifyingly silent, though he could faintly hear the distant shouts or clashes of other Demon Slayer Corps members.
"So it wasn't just me. Shokyu! You bastard!" Shinichi tightened his grip on his Nichirin Blade.
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