Going on a mission with his brother

Muzan had arrived in Nakime's Infinity Castle.

Although there had been a building similar to Infinity Castle in his previous life, he had been too poor to visit it. He had always been curious about what Infinity Castle looked like.

Just like in the manga, Nakime knelt on the central platform, holding a biwa in her hands.

Since Muzan's aesthetic sense was fairly normal, Nakime had not yet turned into her one-eyed form. Still, her long black hair covered her eyes as she kept her head slightly lowered.

Nakime could alter Infinity Castle's layout and transport those within it by playing the biwa, but she could also simply play it without using her Blood Demon Art.

After killing her husband, Nakime's only remaining hope had been the pursuit of more beautiful biwa performances. Otherwise, she would not have risked killing someone merely for a better performance back then.

After becoming a demon, she had also gained a vague thought shared by nearly all demons—to make Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji more satisfied with her.

However, Nakime did not know what task Muzan had for her. Now that he was in Infinity Castle, she feared that playing the biwa might disturb him.

Naturally, Muzan knew what she was thinking. He rubbed her head of smooth black hair. "Play me a piece on the biwa."

Nakime froze for a moment, then nodded and lightly brushed the strings.

Twang—

After a soft chime, she began plucking the strings, producing a pleasant melody.

Muzan did not know much about the biwa. He simply thought it sounded nice, so he sat down on the wooden floor.

A biwa piece did not take long to play. Before he knew it, the music had stopped.

Muzan nodded and rose to his feet. "It sounded nice. Keep it up."

The Biwa Player gave a slight nod. Though her expression remained blank, Muzan could still sense her satisfaction and joy.

Muzan wandered around Infinity Castle for a while.

The wooden structure was exceptionally grand and magnificent, with every room fully furnished.

This left Muzan deeply puzzled. How could this Blood Demon Art create things out of thin air?

It had even directly created a fully equipped house.

Normally, one could only leave Infinity Castle if Nakime used her Blood Demon Art to send them out, but Muzan could leave directly with his own Blood Demon Art.

With a flash, he left Infinity Castle and returned to the house Asanuma Seiji had prepared for him, lying back down in his rocking chair.

The moment he lay down, he sensed Asanuma Seiji approaching. When Seiji reached the door, Muzan said, "Come in."

Hearing that, Asanuma Seiji pushed open the door and entered. "My lord, I want to..."

"Go do whatever you want. You don't need to tell me."

Muzan lay in the rocking chair without even looking at him as he interrupted Asanuma Seiji.

Without Seiji needing to say it, Muzan had already learned from his thoughts what he wanted to do.

Asanuma Seiji was still unwilling to give up. He wanted to find Maruoka Gōnin and continue offering counsel.

Having received Muzan's permission, Asanuma Seiji left Muzan's room and hurried off to find Maruoka Gōnin.

Muzan had figured it out. Although Asanuma Seiji was quite capable, he was somewhat rigid. Compared to him, Maruoka Gōnin knew better how to adapt to circumstances.

For instance, Seiji had always looked down somewhat on humans, believing that as a demon, he was superior to them. Muzan even felt that he was rather stubborn, such as insisting on maintaining the proper respect for a superior before Muzan.

It would be good for him to learn from Maruoka Gōnin.

Meanwhile, the two brothers of the Tsugikuni Family were on Yoriichi's "winning over his brother mode."

After the other Hashira learned of their situation, they applied to Ubuyashiki for the two of them to carry out missions together.

After learning the reason, Ubuyashiki readily agreed.

Under the blazing sun, Yoriichi received a mission delivered by a crow—to slay an evil demon hiding in River View Town.

With the Master's support, the mission required Yoriichi and Kokushibo to complete it together.

Tsugikuni Kokushibo viciously snatched the mission slip from Yoriichi's hand and scanned it. He felt nothing but annoyance. Why did the two of them have to go on a mission together again?!

Whatever. He was going to kill demons!

He would kill more demons and prove his strength!

Kokushibo grabbed the sword beside him. Without even looking at Yoriichi, he simply said, "Go!" Then he rose and left the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

Yoriichi hurriedly picked up the sword beside him and followed his brother.

After traveling for half a day, the two finally arrived at their destination—River View Town.

Before them lay a peaceful, prosperous scene. Under the setting sun, farmers returning from the fields carried hoes home, while busy shopkeepers and vendors throughout the town gradually began packing up and closing for the day. Where did it look like there were demons here?!

As usual, Kokushibo split up from Yoriichi to investigate the specifics.

According to the mission report, someone had seen an evil demon eating a person in the farmland near River View Town at night. Terrified, he had fled, then found a place where he could contact the Demon Slayer Corps and reported what he had seen.

Tsugikuni Kokushibo told Yoriichi to find the person who had seen the demon, while he himself headed straight for the farmland at the edge of town.

The land around River View Town was flat and unobstructed. Moreover, the rice seedlings had only just begun to grow and could not hide a person's figure at all. If a demon appeared, he would spot it immediately.

Yoriichi obeyed his brother's orders, nodding as he said before leaving, "You must protect yourself."

"I'm not that fragile."

Kokushibo glared at him, then turned and walked toward the fields.

Watching his brother's back recede into the distance, Yoriichi also headed toward the local household that could contact the Demon Slayer Corps.

The families able to contact the Demon Slayer Corps were generally those who had received help from its members, or those who had suffered harm from demons and wanted to assist the Corps.

Yoriichi quickly found the household. It was a fairly well-off family, with several Wisteria Flower trees planted by the entrance. Yoriichi knew that Muzan hated Wisteria Flowers.

He had once picked some Wisteria Flowers because he thought they were beautiful. After bringing them back, Muzan seemed to have been reminded of something terrifying and urged him to stay as far away as possible.

"Don't bring that thing near me!"

Later, Muzan had explained the reason to him.

The Wisteria Flowers planted by the entrance were probably meant to prevent demon attacks.

Yoriichi knocked on the door, and before long, a young man came to open it.

"Hello, I am..."

Before Yoriichi could finish, the man hurriedly grabbed his hand, his face filled with respect and urgency.

"You're from the Demon Slayer Corps, aren't you?"

Yoriichi nodded blankly, unsure why the man before him was so excited.

"Please, come in."

The man hurriedly led Yoriichi inside. As Yoriichi followed him in, he was warmly invited to sit at the table.

Yoriichi sat at the table and watched the host go to pour tea. Not wanting to waste any more time, he said, "There's no need for tea. I would like to ask who discovered the demon."

"Huh?" the man replied as he brewed the tea, then set a cup before Yoriichi. "It was that kid Iimoto. I'll take you to him."