A year later—
Infinity Castle.
Kagetsuki Chiyo looked like Fan Jin after passing the imperial examination, waving a test paper high over his head as he ran around like a madman, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"I'm free! I passed! Hahahahaha!"
Muzan pressed a palm onto the head of the "Fan Jin" who had darted past him.
"Calm down."
Chiyo flailed a few times but could not break free. He stopped dejectedly, turned to look at Muzan, then grinned.
"Boss, could you let go of me first?"
Splat!
Chiyo crashed to the floor, hurriedly climbed back up, and said seriously:
"Boss, I want to become one of the Twelve Kizuki too."
Muzan could read demons' minds. How could he not know what Chiyo was thinking?
He just wanted to have fun, didn't he?
He wanted to stick his nose into everything. He was a complete thrill-seeker.
To be honest, Chiyo's Blood Demon Art was not suited for combat. He was still not strong enough to be one of the Twelve Kizuki.
But as support, he was exceptionally capable. Although it took a long time to set up, it could be tremendously useful.
After thinking it over, Muzan said, "Forget about the Twelve Kizuki. I can give you a place among the Star Ranks."
Chiyo had only brought it up casually and had not expected Lord Muzan to take him seriously. This came as a pleasant surprise. "Awesome! Thank you, Boss!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he hurriedly winked at Nakime, urging her to send him out already!
He was clearly afraid Muzan would change his mind.
Nakime glanced at her boss and lightly plucked her biwa strings. With a soft twang, Chiyo was sent away.
"Lord Mu... Lord Muzan, why do you require us to learn to read?"
Although Akaza had gotten through the hardest stage of literacy, they were still required to continue studying according to Muzan's orders.
Weren't they demons?
Fierce, infamous, powerful demons!
Muzan naturally could not be bothered to explain.
"Because I feel like it."
Akaza: "..."
Fine. He was the boss, so he had the final say.
"Oh, right. Since you have nothing to do for now, go help Maruoka Masa. He's run into a bit of trouble."
Maruoka Masa and the others were already quite old. In order to conceal their identities as demons, they had to disguise themselves as gradually aging with time.
But remaining in high positions for so long was bound to make some people unhappy. As things developed, certain blind fools had also begun causing trouble.
It was the perfect time to send Akaza over to cooperate with them and help Maruoka Masa's group transition into new identities.
Over the past year, Akaza had heard about Maruoka Masa and Maruoka Kinuko, but he was only good at fighting. What ability did he have to help them?
Yet he could not disobey Muzan's orders. Looking confused, he asked, "Lord Muzan... what do you need me to do?"
Muzan waved a hand. "I don't know either. Ask Maruoka Masa when you get there."
With that, Nakime understood Muzan's intent. Her biwa gave a sharp twang, and Akaza was forcibly sent away, directly to the vicinity of Maruoka Masa.
He suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar environment. Gentle sunlight spilled across the streets, several pedestrians hurried past, and magnificent buildings towered before him.
Akaza looked up at the enormous building before him and silently swallowed.
The doors opened, and a young woman ran out. After looking around for a moment, she spotted Akaza and brightened, hurrying over in a few quick steps.
"You must be Lord Akaza, correct?"
"Yes."
Akaza answered instinctively, then realized that Lord Muzan must have already made arrangements.
The woman wore a professional smile. "Lord Maruoka is waiting for you. Please follow me."
Following the woman, he entered the building and pushed open the door to a room.
An elderly man sat inside. When he saw Akaza, he smiled.
After the woman left, the room was sealed off from the light. The old man rose and locked the door. "Please, have a seat."
Once Akaza sat down, the man said, "You are Akaza, the one Lord Muzan mentioned?"
"Yes."
Akaza had already sensed the demonic "aura" emanating from the man before him. It was something quite mystical. Humans might not be able to distinguish it, but demons could clearly sense it in one another.
Of course, it might also have been Lord Muzan's doing.
Another ten years passed in the blink of an eye. Muzan always felt that as he grew older, time seemed to pass faster and faster.
It felt as though ten years truly vanished in the blink of an eye.
But since he was immortal and indestructible, it did not matter.
The year was already 1670.
What made Muzan realize the passage of time was the appearance of a new character from the story—Douma.
He had never planned to turn Douma, that emotionless, complete thrill-seeker, into a demon as in the original story.
But perhaps under the influence of "plot force," Chiyo had encountered another thrill-seeker like himself. He immediately found a kindred spirit, like Boya meeting Ziqi.
Douma was the same. Faced with an invitation from Chiyo, another thrill-seeker, the emotionless Douma naturally did not regard demons as anything frightening.
In the original story, he had inexplicably taken the initiative to ask Muzan to turn him into a demon. Now that he had received an invitation, he naturally accepted with pleasure.
One was willing to strike, and the other was willing to take the blow.
They hit it off at once!
Thus, Muzan, who had not paid much attention to his subordinates, suddenly noticed that there was another demon...
Upon closer inspection—oh, Douma!
Thinking back to his memories from before transmigration centuries ago, Muzan sorted through Douma's "achievements" in the original work.
Kanae: dead.
Shinobu Kocho: dead.
Inosuke's mother: dead.
He was truly an expert at drawing hatred!
Thus, Douma and Chiyo were suddenly transported to Infinity Castle.
Chiyo: "?"
Douma saw the renowned Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, and revealed an obviously fake smile. "Lord Muzan."
Chiyo looked around, found Lord Muzan standing on the railing, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Lord Muzan, what is it?"
Other than Nakime and Muzan, Infinity Castle seemed to contain only the two of them. Why had the boss summoned them here?
Muzan leaped down from the railing and landed before Chiyo and the curious-looking Douma.
"Can he read?"
Chiyo: "!!!"
How could Douma, who had been called a child capable of communicating with the gods since childhood and had listened to people's complaints at the Eternal Paradise Cult, know how to read?
Chiyo had already guessed what Muzan would say next. His face turned ashen as he listened to Muzan pronounce his "sentence":
"Teach him to read. Neither of you may leave Infinity Castle until he has learned every character. Also, explain the rules to him. Don't make me clean house."
Watching the boss leave, Chiyo looked as though he was about to cry. He listlessly slapped Douma, who still wore that fake smile, on the shoulder. "We're finished. Whether we ever get our freedom depends on you."
Douma looked puzzled. "Why does Lord Muzan require 'literacy'?"
"Because he feels like it." Chiyo pouted unhappily. "I told you already. The boss is definitely nothing like what you imagine."
Muzan did not pay any more attention to the two of them.
As for Douma, Muzan did not know whether his personality had become so twisted purely because he lacked emotions, or because of his experiences.
After all, lacking emotions did not mean lacking intelligence. The impact of memories would not vanish along with one's emotions; at most, that impact would become weaker.
But Douma was already fourteen or fifteen years old. He had already heard the complaints of his "followers" and witnessed his parents' deaths.
Without realizing it, he had already placed himself in a hollow position above everyone else. His so-called "salvation" was beginning to take shape.
But it had only just begun.
Douma, who had not yet freely devoured humans, was not yet as beyond saving as he had been in the original story.
Before you continue