Time rewound to not long after the Red-light district arc ended.
Akaza looked at the Different Space, an otherworldly space made up of countless room structures, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
Infinity Castle?
How many years had it been since he was last summoned here?
Now.
Being summoned to the Infinity Castle could only mean... an Upper Rank Demon had been killed by a Demon Slayer!
"Clang!" With the sound of a biwa string, Akaza was instantly transported to another location. On the same platform was a hideous jar.
The jar was covered in gaudy patterns, yet it lacked any beauty, and a sticky, damp sound emanated from within.
"Ah~ Isn't this Akaza-sama~"
"I thought something had happened to you~"
"My heart was truly... *cough*... aching endlessly."
His lower body was a black mist connected to the jar, while his upper torso had three pairs of small, infant-like hands. His facial features were even more bizarre; where his lips should have been, there was a grotesque pupil, and another eye was on his forehead.
Green lips appeared in his eye socket, and two more pairs of small hands were on the back of his head.
Akaza shot a disgusted glance at Upper Moon Five, Gyokko, then turned his head to look at Upper Moon Four, Hantengu, who was cowering on the ground nearby.
"Biwa Woman, is Muzan-sama not here?"
Nakime, whose eyes were hidden by her black bangs, only revealing her chin, held her biwa and slightly bowed her head.
"Muzan-sama has already arrived."
"Hmm?"
Akaza instinctively looked up. Standing on a high platform was a man in a tuxedo, surrounded by precise instruments and potions.
Immediately kneeling on one knee, Akaza bowed his head, his face expressionless. Muzan-sama was very angry right now.
"Gyuutarou and Douma are dead..." Muzan, seething with rage, squeezed the words through clenched teeth, his crimson eyes filled with fury.
"The Upper Moons are incomplete. Over a hundred years have passed, and another Upper Rank has died at the hands of a Demon Slayer."
"Useless!" The test tube in his hand turned to dust, red liquid oozing from between his fingers. He slammed his palm onto the table, shattering all the glassware. The splashing liquid rained down on Akaza, Gyokko, and Hantengu below.
The liquid dripped down their heads onto the floor, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in Akaza's eyes.
Douma is dead?
Having been by Muzan's side for many years, he had long mastered the ability to clear his mind, so Muzan couldn't know what he was thinking.
So, while Akaza cleared his mind, he secretly lowered his head, a slight curve to his lips.
He had long been displeased with that hypocritical and disgusting fellow; his death suited him perfectly!
Douma seemed to contradict him in everything.
Akaza didn't eat women, but Douma specialized in eating women and had invited him countless times to visit his cabinet decorated with women's skulls.
He had become a demon for a shorter time than Akaza but had risen to Upper Rank Two, and his words constantly provoked Akaza's nerves.
Though he didn't know which Demon Slayer did it, Akaza would still thank him.
Then Akaza would find him and kill him!
To prove that he was stronger than that useless Douma!
Muzan was still in a frenzy, his fingers digging into the wooden table, leaving imprints. His cheeks twitched, veins bulged, and an immense sense of pressure enveloped the entire Infinity Castle.
"Why haven't you helped me eradicate the Ubuyashiki family yet?"
"And where is the Blue Spider Lily?"
"Why have you spent hundreds of years and still haven't found it!"
"Why?!"
"I no longer understand the meaning of your existence!"
Hantengu cowered, kneeling on the ground, his aged face filled with fear.
"Please spare me, please spare me!"
Akaza gritted his teeth, the immense pressure causing him to bite his lip, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
He vividly remembered what happened after he escaped from the sun that day.
"Why is that demon still alive?"
"You didn't even kill a single Hashira, and not even the three weak humans present died!"
"Akaza! Do you even have the face to return?!"
Facing Muzan-sama's wrath directly, his body felt as if it was about to shatter into a million pieces. Akaza dared not look up into Muzan's eyes.
His body trembled incessantly.
And now it felt like that day all over again.
"Akaza! You are also responsible!"
"If you had killed that demon that displeased me that day, none of this would have happened!"
"Bang!" Akaza's head instantly turned into a pool of blood, splattering on the ground. He didn't even dare to regenerate. His headless body prostrated itself even lower.
Only the bulging veins on the back of his hands, pressed against the ground, betrayed his emotions.
"Muzan-sama! I am different from them!"
"I have a piece of information that will surely help you!"
No sooner had Gyokko's words fallen than his world spun, and his head appeared in Muzan's hand.
Icy, rose-colored eyes stared coldly at Gyokko in his hand, his chilling voice filled with endless brutality.
"I hate change. Immutability is what I seek."
"Dare to try and fool me with unconfirmed information, you..."
The grip in his hand tightened, and Gyokko's pale skin actually oozed a strange, faint red.
"Gyokko, you might as well not live."
"If the information is correct, then you and Hantengu will go together."
Gyokko, falling from above, trembled with his head, his atrophied hands on his head serving as his means of movement.
"Ah~"
"You are truly violent."
"But..."
"That's what's so good about it~"
As Muzan left, the suffocating pressure also vanished. Akaza slowly regenerated his head, then punched through the ground and stood up.
His chest heaved violently, his face cold.
"Akaza." A man appeared beside him. He looked up to see a man with three pairs of eyes on his face staring at him coldly.
Upper Rank One — Kokushibou.
"Are you... dissatisfied with Muzan-sama?" Anyone would feel a shiver down their spine being stared at by those three pairs of eyes, but Akaza didn't; he stared back.
Kokushibou was also someone he found extremely displeasing.
What he hated most was someone who constantly spoke of hierarchy, status, and class. Kokushibou was such a demon.
His mood, which had been somewhat better due to Douma's death, completely soured. He glared sideways at Kokushibou, his voice low and filled with venom.
"Stop telling me what to do. I will kill you one day!"
Kokushibou's indifferent demeanor once again filled Akaza with rage.
"Is that so? Then work hard."
With that, Kokushibou left.
Akaza also didn't want to stay. His head was aching terribly now. Ever since that day, whenever he closed his eyes, the figure of that fragile girl would always appear in the void.
No matter what, he couldn't shake her off. What should have bothered him instead caused a pang in his heart whenever he saw her.
Who exactly are you?
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