Muzan threw Akaza against the wooden wall, smashing a large hole in it.
His chest heaved violently. He strode forward and pressed his hand onto the top of Akaza's head, forcibly reading the memories in his mind.
Muzan did not believe that the Demon Slayer Corps had the ability to kill two Upper Ranks in one night. He wanted to find the flaw in Akaza's memories himself.
However, no matter how he searched, the images in Akaza's mind regarding the battle on the Mugen Train remained the same scene of "the demon slayers struggling to hold on and barely surviving."
There were no logical loopholes, everything seemed real. But that was precisely the biggest problem.
If the demon slayers really only had that much strength, how could Hantengu and Gyokko have died so quickly? They didn't even have time to send back a distress signal.
Muzan let go and stepped back two paces, a chilling guess gradually forming in his mind.
"Your memories have been tampered with."
Muzan looked at Akaza, who was collapsed on the ground, and for the first time, real fear appeared in his eyes.
As the progenitor of demons, he held the power of life and death over all demons, and he also controlled their minds. Yet, he had failed to notice that Akaza's memories had been tampered with.
This meant that the person hiding in the shadows possessed the terrifying ability to override his bloodline suppression and directly interfere with the mental realm.
The other party had deliberately let Akaza go on the Mugen Train and fabricated false information just to make him lower his guard and continue sending Upper Ranks to their deaths.
"That human... that lightning swordsman!" Muzan's breathing became rapid.
He recalled the young man with deep black pupils in Akaza's memories. Now it seemed that what was hidden in those eyes was not the fighting spirit of a swordsman, but mockery when looking at prey.
If even Akaza could have his memories manipulated without knowing it, what if he were to face that monster himself?
Muzan, who valued his life more than anything, retreated.
He had lived for a thousand years, not by fighting head-on, but by having a sense of danger sharper than anyone else's. When he encountered Yoriichi back then, he split and fled without hesitation. Now, this familiar sense of crisis surged into his heart again.
"Kokushibo, Doma, Akaza." Muzan turned around, his back to the three remaining Upper Ranks.
His voice returned to being cold, but it now held a hint of irresistible determination.
"Stop all hunting and probing operations. From today on, everyone is to withdraw to the Infinity Castle. Without my orders, no one is to step a single foot out of the Infinity Castle."
Doma was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Muzan-sama, what about the mission to find the blue spider lily?"
"I will have the small fry on the outskirts continue looking for the blue spider lily. Your only task now is to stay in the Infinity Castle and get stronger." Muzan turned his head abruptly, eyes full of gloom.
"A variable has appeared in the Demon Slayer Corps. Before I figure out the details of that variable, or until I complete my evolution, no one is allowed to go to their deaths."
Even if he was called a coward, he would never provoke that mysterious swordsman at this time. As long as he hid in this intricate dimensional space, the Demon Slayer Corps would never find him.
Time was on his side, he could wait. Wait ten years, a hundred years, until that monster died of old age, and he would still be the ultimate winner.
"Nakime, close all entrances to the Infinity Castle."
Following Muzan's order, the crisp biwa sound rang out again.
The entire underground space fell into a dead silence of hibernation.
Meanwhile, at the Swordsmith Village.
The sun was bright, and the breeze was just right. Compared to the oppressive, nerve-wracking atmosphere in the Infinity Castle, the scene here was so harmonious it made one want to doze off.
"Help! Haganezuka-san! I really know I was wrong! Don't hack at me with a blade!"
Tanjiro, with several large bumps on his head, hugged the new nichirin blade he had just received and ran for his life on the village's main road.
Behind him, Hotaru, wearing a Hyottoko mask, clutched a gleaming blade in each hand and chased after him relentlessly like a furious butcher.
"You bastard who broke the sword! I'm going to mince you into meat filling for dumplings today!"
On the corridor, Yamada held a cup of hot tea, watching this chase scene that played out every day, and shook his head helplessly.
Three days had passed since the killing of Hantengu and Gyokko. During these three days, the swordsmiths in the village worked overtime, not only helping Tanjiro reforge his blade but also performing comprehensive repairs and maintenance on Zenitsu and Inosuke's weapons.
Mitsuri and Muichiro had already set off to return to their respective jurisdictions yesterday.
Before leaving, Muichiro specifically walked up to Yamada, and although he didn't speak, there was more clarity in his eyes, clearly having rediscovered the original intention of holding a sword.
"If you've watched enough of the show, pack your things and get ready to get lost!"
Yamada put down his tea cup and shouted to the three of them—Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke—who were running past the corridor.
Half an hour later, at the village entrance.
A member of the Kakushi, Goto, had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Yamada walk over, he immediately stood straight, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Yamada-sama, do you need me to prepare a blindfold for you?" Goto gulped and asked cautiously.
"What do you think?" Yamada glanced at him sideways.
"U-understood. Please do as you wish. I'll put them on the three of them right now."
Goto felt as if he had been granted an amnesty. He skillfully took out three strips of black cloth, tied Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke up tightly, then hoisted Tanjiro like a sack and dashed into the mountain forest in a flash.
Yamada followed behind at a leisurely pace, one hand in his pocket.
The journey back was uneventful. Without the harassment of the Upper Ranks, Yamada treated it as a walk in the deep mountains and forests. He replayed the points earned over the past few days in his mind, feeling quite pleased.
That old schemer Muzan was probably scared enough to have sealed off the Infinity Castle by now, and he shouldn't dare to send anyone out to die for a short time. This meant he would have some rare, leisurely time.
***
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