Hearing this, Akaza's mind went blank. Was it really Raiden?
Raiden killed Doma? When did he become that powerful?
Back on the Infinity Train, he had needed Kyojuro's help just to stall for time and barely stand against Akaza. Now, even Doma had fallen by his hand.
Akaza's eyes filled with disbelief. These were Muzan's own words, so he had no choice but to accept them.
"He should have died by your hand, yet your carelessness allowed him to live until now."
"Doma, Hantengu, and Gyutaro are all dead, yet you, Akaza, remain alive. I find that incomprehensible."
Muzan clenched his fist, blood seeping through the gaps between his fingers.
Akaza knelt with his head lowered as cracks spread across his body. An overwhelming, invisible pressure wrapped around him as Muzan's anger bore down.
At this moment, Akaza was not unwilling to answer, he simply could not.
"And you, Kokushibo. Why did you make the same mistake as Akaza?"
"I placed my greatest expectations on you. I believed that after this morning, Raiden would vanish from this world forever."
"Why did you not use your full strength from the start?"
Muzan's killing intent filled the entire Infinity Castle. The Upper Moons existed to ease his burden, not become dead weight.
Failure after failure had already pushed him to his limit.
Was Raiden truly that difficult to kill?
Akaza's failure was one thing, but even Kokushibo had failed.
"This subordinate was negligent."
Whether it was because Muzan did not direct his pressure at him, or because his strength surpassed Akaza's, Kokushibo remained calm, his expression unchanged.
"Negligent? I do not need empty words. I want results."
"I will no longer allow Raiden or the Demon Slayer Corps to disturb my peace. Once Nakime locates the Ubuyashiki Estate, I will act personally and eliminate them all in one stroke."
"When that time comes, do not disappoint me again. Show me the purpose of your existence."
Half of Muzan's face was hidden behind a patterned curtain, yet the veins bulging around his mouth were clearly visible.
After Kokushibo's failure, he no longer had the patience to toy with demon slayers.
Raiden, the greatest threat, had to be eliminated immediately.
"Yes."
Kokushibo and Akaza, having endured the pressure, responded in unison.
Akaza kept his head lowered, his eyes burning with fury and shock.
Kokushibo had also failed? Raiden survived against him?
As a fellow Upper Moon, Akaza understood Kokushibo's terrifying strength better than anyone. Since the formation of the Twelve Kizuki, the position of Upper Moon One had never changed.
If the gap between himself and Doma was a crack, then the difference between him and Kokushibo was a chasm.
Their blood battle for rank was still vivid in his memory.
He had been defeated in a single move.
Yet even that overwhelming power had failed to kill Raiden.
What had Raiden gone through to become this strong? Were they even facing the same person anymore?
First Doma fell, then Kokushibo failed. Akaza could no longer imagine the limits of Raiden's strength.
"The Upper Moons are now severely depleted. Akaza, you will take the position of Upper Moon Two. Nakime, you will rise to Upper Moon Three."
As Muzan spoke, silence swallowed the Infinity Castle.
Neither Kokushibo nor Akaza spoke. Muzan's decisions were absolute.
A faint sound echoed.
In the stillness, it rang out like thunder.
Blood streaks appeared in Akaza's and Nakime's eyes as crimson trickled down, blurring their vision.
The numbers within their eyes shifted and twisted. Akaza's former rank, Three, inverted and transformed.
New numbers formed within Nakime's gaze.
Akaza suddenly lifted his head, shock flashing in his eyes. It was not the change in rank that startled him.
It was the power.
Muzan had infused more of his blood into him.
A violent surge of strength flooded his body, triggering his Compass Needle technique instinctively.
Akaza raised his hands, feeling the difference. The power within him now rivaled Doma's.
Once he fully absorbed it, Doma would no longer stand above him.
"I will not tolerate failure again. Do you understand, Akaza?"
Muzan's gaze turned cold.
"I understand. I will not fail you, my lord."
Akaza lowered his head once more, his voice firm. Power was never given without reason, and he knew exactly why Muzan had granted it.
"As for the remaining Upper Moon positions…"
Muzan paused, his eyes shifting toward Nakime.
Nakime adjusted to her new strength and, sensing his gaze, lifted her biwa and plucked a single note.
A sharp sound resonated.
Doors opened, and demons poured out as if discarded like refuse.
Some had faces covered in mouths, carrying sacks. Others bore twisted horns or crawled with distorted limbs.
Muzan looked upon them with open disgust.
If the Upper Moons were not so depleted, he would not even acknowledge such worthless creatures.
Yet the demons stared at him with fanatic devotion.
They knew where their power came from, and who could grant them more.
Among them stood one demon who appeared almost human, confusion etched across his face.
Muzan immediately noticed him.
"You. State your name."
With a mere gesture, the demon was pulled forward. The others vanished, leaving him alone before Muzan.
"Tsuki."
"You possess some strength."
A massive arm extended from behind Muzan and pressed down on Tsuki's head. It pulsed as if something within it was alive.
Tsuki's head began to swell, expanding grotesquely beyond proportion.
Veins bulged across his skin, his head resembling a balloon ready to burst.
Just before it reached its limit, Muzan withdrew his arm.
Tsuki trembled violently.
Moments later, the swelling receded, his form stabilizing.
"From this moment on, you are Upper Moon Four."
Muzan turned away.
"As for the rest…"
The monstrous arm behind him opened wide and devoured the remaining demons, along with the platform beneath them.
He had briefly considered filling the remaining ranks.
That thought vanished the moment he saw them.
To elevate such creatures would only waste his blood.
They were nothing more than worthless trash, unworthy of standing among the Upper Moons.