The Infinity Castle was holding a grand assembly to commend the Twelve Kizuki for their recent accomplishments.
Meanwhile, far away at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki had likewise gathered the Hashira and Corps members for a meeting meant to strengthen morale after the recent battles.
At long last, Muzan Kibutsuji finally had an opportunity to enjoy himself a little.
The Twelve Kizuki knelt obediently before their creator as always.
Well…
Almost all of them.
Kokushibo sat calmly to one side, his posture relaxed as he watched the others kneel before Muzan.
Not a single demon dared object.
After all, recent events had completely changed the way the Kizuki viewed him.
In their hearts, Kokushibo's position had become almost equal to Muzan's.
Some even secretly believed he had surpassed every other demon beneath the Demon King.
Naturally, no one dared voice such thoughts aloud.
Not even Rui.
The former Lower Rank Five had once carelessly hinted at something similar and had immediately suffered the consequences.
Muzan had forced him to stand motionless in a corner of the Infinity Castle for two entire days.
Two days.
Without moving.
Without speaking.
Without leaving.
Afterward, several curious Lower Moons secretly asked Rui how he had endured such punishment.
Rui's answer had been surprisingly simple.
He handed them one of Kyogai's novels.
Thus began another tragedy.
Several Lower Moons who originally intended to mock the stories soon found themselves completely absorbed.
One novel led to another.
And another.
Before long, they had become devoted readers.
When Kokushibo later asked them about their experience, their answers were astonishingly similar.
"At first I didn't want to read it."
"Neither did I."
"I only started because Nakime kept threatening to throw me out of the Infinity Castle during daylight hours."
"But once I started reading…"
The demon paused.
His eyes shone brightly.
"The dialogue was incredible!"
"The emotional scenes were amazing!"
"The details were surprisingly realistic!"
"And there are bonus chapters!"
The other demons nodded enthusiastically.
Thus, Kyogai unknowingly gained several new followers.
At the center of the hall stood Muzan.
Today he happened to be wearing men's clothing.
Not because he preferred it.
Rather, he had only recently returned from maintaining one of his human identities and had not yet bothered to change.
Muzan slowly swept his gaze across the gathered demons.
"You performed well during the recent operation."
His eyes briefly drifted toward Kokushibo.
For some reason, he immediately felt a little guilty.
Still, he continued.
"However…"
"You disappointed me greatly when you stood by and watched Kokushibo fight alone."
The gathered demons collectively froze.
What?
Several of them looked utterly confused.
A few even wondered whether Muzan had forgotten the details of what had happened.
One unfortunate Lower Moon allowed the thought to linger for slightly too long.
Instantly, overwhelming pressure descended upon him.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he collapsed face-first onto the floor.
The others immediately corrected their attitudes.
Questioning Muzan was clearly a terrible idea.
Only Enmu reacted differently.
His eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Lord Muzan!"
"Your criticism is completely justified!"
"We deeply regret our lack of initiative and will reflect upon our shortcomings!"
Then he bowed deeply.
"Most importantly, I sincerely regret contributing to the misunderstanding between you and Lord Kokushibo!"
"I shall reflect upon this matter as well!"
The hall fell silent.
Even the Upper Moons stared.
That wasn't a response.
That was an award-winning employee performance review.
Some of the Lower Moons immediately began memorizing every word.
Others quietly wished they had brought paper.
Gyokko originally looked unimpressed.
Then he noticed Muzan's expression.
His survival instincts activated instantly.
"Excellent!"
"Very well said!"
"Everyone, applaud!"
The Lower Moons immediately obeyed.
Thunderous applause filled the Infinity Castle.
Daki and Gyutaro joined in.
Hantengu attempted to clap but somehow managed to look terrified while doing so.
Doma enthusiastically applauded harder than anyone else.
As the founder of a religious cult, he was already accustomed to this kind of behavior.
Akaza also clapped.
Though his expression suggested he would rather be training.
Ever since recovering fragments of his human memories, thoughts of Koyuki occasionally surfaced within his mind.
Whenever they did, his mood became noticeably more complicated.
Watching the entire scene unfold, Kokushibo struggled to maintain his composure.
He was a warrior of the Sengoku Era.
A legendary swordsman.
Upper Rank One.
He would never laugh at something like this.
Never.
His shoulders shook slightly.
He immediately looked away.
Muzan pretended not to notice.
After assigning responsibility and shifting blame in a remarkably elegant fashion, he moved on to the next part of the gathering.
Rewards.
The Lower Moons immediately became excited.
For centuries, many demons had spent years competing for even a single drop of Muzan's blood.
Now they were finally receiving recognition.
One by one, the members of the Twelve Kizuki stepped forward.
Muzan distributed rewards according to their accomplishments and recent performance.
The atmosphere became noticeably more positive.
At least until the demon currently embedded face-first in the floor remembered he had missed his reward.
That realization nearly caused him emotional collapse.
Eventually, Rui secretly shared a portion of his own blood allocation with him.
After all, Rui had received plenty.
Once the rewards had been distributed, Muzan's expression became serious once more.
"The next objectives remain unchanged."
"Locate the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Continue searching for the Blue Spider Lily."
"And if any of you encounter those insect creatures again…"
His eyes narrowed.
"Find the one controlling them."
The mysterious mastermind behind the insect abominations had escaped during the previous conflict.
Neither the Twelve Kizuki nor the Demon Slayer Corps had managed to locate him.
That fact irritated Muzan immensely.
"Cowards who hide behind their creations are worthless."
The irony of those words was completely lost on him.
Several demons lowered their heads to hide their expressions.
Finally, the meeting concluded.
The Kizuki dispersed throughout the Infinity Castle.
Some returned to their territories.
Others lingered inside the Haunted House district of the fortress.
There, several Lower Moons once again gathered together to continue reading Kyogai's novels.
Nakime watched approvingly.
"A good story should be appreciated."
No one dared argue.
Meanwhile, Akaza requested permission to return to his training grounds.
Nakime was still irritated about certain demons refusing to read.
Without warning, she struck a chord on her biwa.
The Infinity Castle shifted.
Moments later, Doma, Gyokko, Hantengu, Gyutaro, and Daki found themselves standing inside the Eternal Paradise Faith headquarters.
The cult members looked completely bewildered.
Kotoha stood nearby holding Inosuke.
She blinked in confusion as several Upper Moons suddenly appeared.
Daki remained as beautiful as ever.
Gyutaro remained as frightening as ever.
Gyokko looked like something that should never have existed.
Hantengu somehow looked even worse.
Kotoha visibly hesitated.
Even Gyokko seemed aware that his appearance was causing problems.
Daki stared at Kotoha in surprise.
Although Kotoha was already a mature woman, her beauty remained extraordinary.
She appeared far younger than her actual age.
Doma, however, paid no attention to any of that.
His eyes lit up immediately.
Opening his arms, he smiled brightly.
"Kotoha!"
"Come here!"
Despite her embarrassment, Kotoha obediently walked over.
The other Upper Moons watched in silence.
Doma happily hugged her.
Then, like a child seeking praise, he pointed at his cheek.
"Kotoha."
"Give me a kiss."
Kotoha's face immediately turned red.
"There are other people here…"
Doma blinked.
Then he slowly turned around.
He looked at the gathered Upper Moons.
Then at the cult members.
Then back at Kotoha.
"People?"
He looked genuinely confused.
"Where?"
The gathered demons collectively fell silent.
No.
No.
Please don't pretend we don't exist.
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