Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Inside the hall room.
Tap.
Muzan waved his short feelers as the nimble eyeball moved and swiftly climbed onto Doma's body.
He hopped a couple of times and landed on the shinpen (ceremonial crown) atop Doma's head, concealing himself there.
Tap tap!
He extended his feelers, striking the crown twice, as if reminding Doma of something.
"Understood, Muzan-sama."
A light flickered in Doma's colorful irises. He tilted his head slightly, his golden fan covering the lower half of his face, his eyes curving into a smile as he looked toward the doorway.
"Oh~"
His tone was drawn out and eerie.
"Sanjō-kun has found the blue spider lily, has he?"
"My apologies for keeping you waiting." He closed the fan, tapping it lightly against his palm, lowering his gaze in brief contemplation.
Snap!
Doma looked up with an expression of sudden realization.
Surely, with Muzan-sama watching, the proper course of action is to respectfully go and receive the Blue Spider Lily.
…wouldn't that be better?
Thinking this to himself, he rose excitedly, his bare feet padding on the floor, and turned with a smile.
He crossed the room in a few steps and arrived at the entrance.
Doma placed his hand on the door.
Click.
He slowly slid the door open, poking his head out, his voice cheerful as he spoke.
"Sanjō-kun, it's been so long. Knowing you're still alive truly makes me happy~"
At the same time.
The group gathered by the door, hands tightly gripping their nichirin blades, eyes fixed intently on the slowly widening crack.
The dim moonlight streamed through the gap between the doors.
Creak…
Light spilled into the pitch-black corridor through the gradually expanding opening, bringing a faint glow.
Doma's shadow fell upon the floor. The group's breathing grew increasingly erratic.
"The Blue Spider Lily is…" The moment Doma's head emerged from the room.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four gleaming blades reflected Doma's seemingly startled expression.
The sharp blade tips sliced through the air, aimed straight for his neck!
Time seemed to slow down.
"…I see."
"There are… four of you." Doma's surprised, distant gaze shifted swiftly, scanning the corridor, the faces of the four swinging their blades reflected in his eyes.
A strange smile appeared on his face.
"So you all think this highly of me. I'm truly delighted."
"What a wonderful night~"
He clapped his hands lightly, his smile radiant.
"And all of you are Demon Slayers."
Whoosh!
His smiling face vanished into a blur.
Something above Doma's head seemed to hover in place for a moment, tilting as if confused.
Before falling to the ground with a thud.
"He disappeared!" Sanemi felt his pupils contract sharply mid-swing. His eyes hadn't been able to track Doma's movement!
His Nichirin Blade cut through empty air, striking and embedding itself in the wooden door beside him.
"Damn it!" Sanemi clicked his tongue, gritting his teeth as he wrenched the blade free from the door. "You bastard!"
That hadn't been a perfect opportunity.
—He had simply seen through their attack and was toying with them.
"…I missed." Shinobu slowly straightened up, withdrawing her blade, which had been thrust upward.
At the tip of her slender, needle-like sword, a bead of purple liquid formed, dripping slightly.
She stared through the open doorway at Doma, who had landed some distance away, her brow furrowed slightly.
Throb. 💢
Veins of rage slowly spread across Sanemi's forehead.
He glanced sideways, noticing the intense surge of emotion from Shinobu beside him.
"It's him, isn't it?" he asked in a low voice, the ferocity in his eyes intensifying.
Shinobu stared hatefully at Doma, observing his features, her gaze finally settling on the golden fan in his hand.
Her voice was ice-cold, and her usual gentle smile was gone.
"Yes." She simply nodded.
Shinobu's expression darkened, her brow furrowed in anger.
—The demon who killed her sister.
The Doma was crystal clear—the shiner on his head, his white-ash-colored hair with a streak of crimson at the top, his rainbow-like irises, and his expression one of pure delight.
Just the same as when she encountered him before.
"Hn..."
Sanemi's emotions churned to their peak. His expressionless face and vacant stare sent a shiver down the spine.
Thick, white vapor seeped from the corners of his mouth.
The former Flower Hashira, Kochō Kanae.
Shinobu's older sister.
She had rescued Tsuyuri Kanao from a human trafficker and adopted her as a sister.
She was the second corps member who had treated Sanemi with kindness.
Her dream had been naive.
"For demons and humans to coexist peacefully."
Two years ago, she died at the hands of an Upper Moon demon.
She was only seventeen years old.
Muichiro and Yuichiro remained silent, staying crouched and ready. They gripped their swords without a word.
For now, it seemed only the four of them were in the corridor.
The bald follower, the so-called "Sanjō," had been knocked unconscious by Sanemi earlier to prevent him from compromising them at a critical moment and was left at the other end of the hallway.
Tap.
"Don't be discouraged; come on in, dear guests." Doma smiled, his toe tapping lightly as he approached carefully.
"Making it all the way down from the mountain to here, you've already worked hard enough."
Doma fanned himself, the curve of his lips radiant, his tone suggesting he barely considered the four a threat.
"Oh dear, I've forgotten my manners."
"Hello there. Nice to meet you." He tilted his head slightly, removing his hat, his smile revealing the fierce fangs of a demon.
"I'm Doma~"
He still held considerable confidence in his speed.
His eyes curving, Doma looked toward the four at the entrance, sighing with delight.
"My, all four of you are such pretty girls. Tonight is truly—hmm?"
As he spoke, his voice suddenly caught. He maintained his smile, but it stiffened as he turned his gaze sideways with hesitation.
He stared with a strange expression at Sanemi, who was wearing a kimono with a butterfly bow in his hair.
His smiling, narrowed eyes slowly opened wide.
'Strange… this child… No, this person is…?' Doma's gaze traveled up and down Sanemi's form.
After taking in the fierce expression and the murderous look in his eyes.
'How… pitiful… this human…'
Doma's brow furrowed unnaturally, his cheerful expression twisted slightly. He even instinctively covered the lower half of his face with his fan.
His colorful irises reflected Sanemi's features.
'To attempt to disguise himself as a girl… is he ashamed of his own ugly appearance… or… what exactly...?'
Finally, he let out a slow sigh.
'Human emotions are truly incomprehensible…'
Doma didn't even notice the glare from Yuichiro, whom he had called a "pretty girl." The boy's eyes were wide with fury, veins beginning to bulge on his forehead.
"Nii-san, stay calm; it's part of the plan!" Muichiro quietly tugging at his brother's kimono, a hint of worry in his heart.
Doma withdrew his gaze.
'Well… If all they desire is happiness…'
He half-closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
'That is my duty, after all.'
'If you die, you won't have any more worries, you know.'
"Muza—" Doma shook his head, looking up with a renewed smile. He instinctively sought to communicate with Muzan.
However.
It seemed his previous movement had been a bit too fast.
The top of Doma's shin pin was now empty.
Muzan, who had been residing there in eyeball form.
Apparently had been shaken off during that high-speed movement.
"…Eh?"
Doma froze, his smile turning nervous, his eyes, curved from smiling, widening in shock.
His pupils contracted slightly. He blinked in disbelief.
His gaze, tinged with confusion, darted left and right before finally fixing on the doorway.
"…" The eyeball Muzan landed silently on the floor. He hesitated for a moment before stiffly looking up.
When Doma had retreated, he had been caught off guard and flung off.
After all, this was just an eyeball construct created from a fraction of Nakime's power. It had no sensory perception and couldn't utilize any strength.
Being casually shaken off by Doma, the current Upper Moon One demon.
That was only natural.
No! That's not right!
Muzan's thoughts suddenly shifted. His crimson pupils trembled violently.
'Doma!'
He slowly turned his gaze.
The large eyeball immediately took in the Demon Slayers surrounding him from four directions: above, below, left, and right.
His feelers trembled involuntarily.
"What's this?" Muichiro tilted his head curiously, poking the defenseless eyeball of Muzan with the tip of his sword.
"Tch." Yuichiro frowned deeply, pressing his lips together in distaste. "Demons sure can conjure up all sorts of nauseating things."
Muzan's vision still frantically roamed among them.
He examined the four figures before him, carefully identifying them.
After identifying them one by one, Muzan suddenly froze.
Then came an overwhelming surge of relief and ease as his underlying anxiety dissipated.
'That man isn't here!'
His trembling feelers steadied themselves.
His frozen form no longer dared not move; instead, he raised himself, glaring fiercely at Muichiro, who had poked him with his sword tip.
Veins of bloodshot red filled the whites of his eye. His crimson pupil contracted sharply, quivering with turbulent emotion.
Hum—
An overwhelming wave of fury erupted from the small eyeball!
To be flung off by his own subordinate and treated like a plaything by these pathetic humans...
Veins bulged on the eyeball's feelers. Blood vessels pulsed in the whites, throbbing with rage.
'What an utter humiliation!!'
"Muzan-sama!"
Doma's eyes widened instantly. A primal instinct deep within his blood caused a crushing pressure to descend upon him.
"Ugh!" Blood involuntarily seeped from the corner of his mouth.
The eyeball glanced sideways.
Muzan's voice, dripping with menace, resonated. "Doma…"
He enunciated each word slowly.
"Perhaps I have granted you too much freedom."
"Leading you to entertain certain… misguided notions…"
The faint image of a black kimono appeared. Muzan's long, crimson, narrowed eyes seemed to open within Doma's mind, glaring at him.
"To this day, you have yet to find the Blue Spider Lily…"
The eyes drew closer to Doma, nearly pressing against his face.
"And now, you dare show me such disrespect!"
Minions.
A creation made on a whim!
That's all the Upper Moons are.
"Muzan-sama!" Doma instinctively leaned his head back, his expression a mix of terror and excitement, his colorful eyes trembling.
Just as Muzan was preparing to discipline Doma through the power of their bond.
Within the field of vision provided by Nakime's eyeball.
In the dark ceiling of the corridor, there was a neatly cut hole, normally difficult to spot.
But from the low vantage point of the eyeball, it was perfectly visible.
Several individuals hidden in the ceiling, possessing the Transparent World and exceptional stealth capabilities, primed for a decisive strike, heard the commotion below.
Tengen crept forward. He halted and glanced back.
Tanjuro sat within the crawlspace above, shifting slightly. His dark crimson eyes glanced downward.
Their gazes met, his and the upturned eyes of Muzan's eyeball on the floor below.
In the dim environment, Muzan couldn't see it clearly.
But.
The sight of a pair of earrings swaying gently from Tanjuro's earlobes was enough to tell him who it is.
!!!
In an instant.
Muzan's expression shifted to shock.
Then to panic.
Of course, of course!
If the Demon Slayer Corps had obtained information on an Upper Moon, how could that man not be here?!
Muzan began to tremble violently, his expression blank. His pupils quaked uncontrollably as he froze in place.
The relief and ease that had risen in his heart moments before vanished without a trace.
Replaced by an overwhelming, chilling dread.
While Muzan was having his episodes, Doma was concerned for his well-being.
'What punishment will Muzan-sama give me?'
Doma's eyes were wide open, like a child's hand caught in the cookie jar, awaiting Muzan's judgment. He held his breath, tense with anticipation.
He waited a long time. Yet Muzan's voice did not speak again.
The terrifying image of Muzan-sama, born from the primal fear in his blood, which had appeared in his mind moments ago, suddenly dissipated.
"Muzan-sama?" Doma called out hesitantly, softly. He tentatively moved his stiff body.
But whether he called out from his heart or directly with his voice.
Muzan gave no response whatsoever.
"Eh?"
Doma blinked in confusion. For the first time, an emotion he couldn't quite name welled up inside him.
"..."
"…"
Man and eyeball simply stared at each other, a long silence hanging between them.
Tanjuro observed the eyeball.
The number [Two] was clearly visible within it.
'Nakime's Blood Demon Art, huh.'
'Damn. I've been spotted.'
He frowned slightly, sensing trouble.
Tanjuro was contemplating how to destroy the eyeball on the floor without Doma noticing when it happened.
Shhh…
A faint sound of something dusty reached him.
Tanjuro looked toward it.
The eyeball was stiff as stone, frozen in its upturned position.
The luster in its pupil slowly faded.
Then, the eyeball began to crumble into ash, scattering on the floor.
???
A question mark practically materialized above Tanjuro's head.