"Oh, a new face. How about we become friends?"
Raiden squatted down and looked up at Yue, greeting him with a relaxed smile. At the same time, Yue's information appeared clearly in Raiden's mind.
Average comprehension, average talent, no special traits. His strength barely reached the level of a Middle Pillar. His Blood Demon Art revolved around a moon-shaped blade.
Not impressive, but at least he had the minimum qualifications to stand near him.
"Friends? Hmph. You are not worthy."
Yue had no patience to waste on meaningless conversation. All he wanted was to prove his strength in front of Nakime. He could not defeat two Pillars at once, but one was enough.
Nakime, watch carefully.
Raiden did not care about the refusal. He had only asked for fun. What caught his attention instead was Yue's confidence. The demon clearly did not recognize him. Or maybe he did not understand what the number Four in Raiden's eyes actually meant.
"Does he not recognize me?"
Raiden said it casually while looking at Nakime's floating eyeball.
Nakime immediately noticed something was wrong with Yue's reaction and tried to stop him.
"Don't…"
But Yue cut her off before she could finish.
"Why should I recognize you? And right now, your opponent is me."
The moment he finished speaking, Yue rushed forward. His body curved through the air like a crescent moon.
A silver blade slowly extended from his palm as if it had been formed from moonlight itself. The edge shimmered with a cold glow, and as the light flowed along the surface, it almost looked alive. When the blade fully formed, the air around it trembled and released a sharp whistling sound.
In an instant, Yue was already in front of Raiden, his eyes filled with killing intent. He truly believed he could split Raiden in half with a single strike.
Raiden only smiled.
It had been a long time since he had met such a straightforward demon.
One hand remained focused on taking control of the Infinity Castle while the index finger of his other hand moved slightly, like he was brushing away dust.
At that moment, an invisible Red Clean Arrow appeared and shot forward at terrifying speed.
Before Yue's blade could even touch him, the attack struck him directly in the chest. The impact sent him flying backward like a broken doll. His body slammed hard into the wall with a heavy sound.
Yue slid down slowly and dropped to one knee. His face turned pale and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
He stared at Raiden in complete shock.
What just happened?
Had he really been thrown away that easily? Weren't they both supposed to be Pillars? Why was the difference this huge?
Against the other two Pillars he had fought earlier, he still had the strength to resist. If he found the right chance, he might even have killed one of them.
But if that attack from Raiden had hit his head instead of his chest, he would already be dead.
The thought alone made his spine turn cold.
Lord Muzan, where did you send me?
For the first time, Yue felt that going back to fight the other two Pillars would actually be safer.
"Hey, you over there," Raiden said lazily. "Do you know why you became an Upper Moon? Because three Upper Moons died by my hand."
He paused and smiled again.
"So can you consider becoming friends with me now? After all, your promotion exists partly because of me."
Yue's pupils shrank instantly.
Three Upper Moons had died by his hand?
Even Doma?
Although Yue had only recently become an Upper Moon, he still remembered the previous ones. During the last meeting inside the Infinity Castle, he had personally felt the overwhelming presence of Kokushibo and Akaza. Just standing near them had made it difficult for him to breathe.
He knew very clearly how huge the gap between them was.
And now this man was calmly saying that he had killed three Upper Moons, including one who had once been stronger than Akaza.
For a moment, Yue did not even know what expression he should make.
Raiden waited for an answer, but Yue remained silent. He only stared at him with fear in his eyes.
He was afraid of death, but he was not stupid. If he agreed to Raiden, Muzan would definitely kill him. If he refused, Raiden might kill him right now.
So he chose the only option left, silence.
Raiden shook his head and looked at Nakime's eyeball.
"Miss Nakime, the helper you called is not very impressive. Soon, even your control over the Infinity Castle will belong to me."
The moment he finished speaking, the eyeball became filled with red veins. Then Nakime's sharp and trembling voice echoed directly inside Yue's head.
"Do not fight him at close range. Attack his hand. Break the connection."
Nakime could clearly feel her control over the Infinity Castle slipping away. As the demon who controlled the castle itself, she understood better than anyone how dangerous Raiden was.
He was like a monster that kept devouring everything around him. If this continued, the entire castle would fall into his hands.
Yue gripped the silver blade tightly. Cold sweat ran down his forehead.
He understood one thing very clearly now. If he made even the smallest mistake, he would die here.
He steadied his breathing, forced himself to calm down, and the fear in his eyes slowly turned into determination.
If he did not fight seriously now, there would be no second chance.
Yue adjusted his stance and stepped back instead of rushing forward again. His eyes locked onto Raiden's hand, waiting for a single opportunity to strike.
When Raiden saw that movement, the playful smile on his face disappeared.
"The only reason you are still alive," he said coldly, "is because you still have some value. That does not mean you are allowed to jump around in front of me."
His voice dropped instantly, and the temperature in the entire space seemed to fall with it.
Yue felt his chest tighten as if an invisible hand had grabbed his heart. The pressure coming from Raiden felt like an iceberg falling directly onto him.
Raiden's eyes contained no warmth at all. Only cold indifference, like he was looking at something that could be crushed at any moment.
"Attack. He cannot move right now. Hurry."
On the other side, Nakime clutched her biwa tightly. If Yue did not act immediately, the Infinity Castle would truly fall into Raiden's hands.