The Demon King's Evolution

The following day, Oboro, accompanied by his maid, stopped at a small town on the way to Edo Castle.

At this moment, golden light was already appearing on the horizon; dawn was approaching.

Because his flesh and blood had been transformed by Muzan's cells, when he looked at Tenkyo, an instinctive fear drove him to want to escape outdoors and run into the shadows.

The stronger the sunlight, the greater the fear in one's heart.

But Oboro didn't run away; he just stood there.

His gaze was calm.

Early in the morning, some families in the town were already busy with their work.

As the sun rises in the east, the night fades, and the chill dissipates... golden rays of light fall upon the pedestrians on the street.

This includes Oboro.

A stinging pain... an unbearable stinging pain.

The feeling was like having a bucket of molten iron poured over your body.

The skin on his face began to Separation and melt away.

The maid standing nearby was so frightened by what she saw that she covered her mouth.

Long remained calm.

No matter how strong his soul is, it can't compare to when he roamed the Dark Continent in the Hunter x Hunter World. He's countered by sunlight, a consequence of Muzan's genes. Oboro's will can suppress cellular abilities, but it can't completely change their attributes, so... sunlight remains his natural enemy, something he can't resist with his soul.

Now we need to see... whether the Blue Spider Lily we ate earlier will have any effect.

Passersby who were passing by saw the noble-looking samurai in a black haori suddenly disintegrate and his whole body seem to be burned by fire. They all turned pale and fled one after another.

"Grown ups..."

Chiyoko snapped out of her daze and suddenly stepped forward to hug Oboro.

I wanted to use my body to block the sunlight and prevent Long from getting hurt.

Rina also regained consciousness and, like Chiyoko, protected him.

"Fine..."

Long smiled gently and patted the two of them on the shoulders.

The areas on his body that had been scorched by the sun had stopped burning and no longer emitted smoke... leaving only some shallow scars. Long sensed a very peaceful and warm power flowing in his blood, repairing the damaged cells. Once the cells were healed and regenerated, his body was no longer affected by sunlight.

The power of the Blue Spider Lily.

Sure enough, this is the key.

But the problem is...

As the Blue Spider Lily's effects cleanse the body's cells, having an almost 'cleansing' effect, it removes the 'demons' from the cells... restoring normalcy. This causes the body's attributes, which were enhanced due to the demon's transformation, to be instantly weakened.

They no longer possess the power of 'demon'.

When the spider lily took effect, Oboro tried her best to leave behind some of Muzan's genes with her will, but she could only leave behind an extremely small amount. Once it exceeded a certain level, it would cause a reaction and be scorched by the sun again.

Therefore, he has now returned to being a human.

The only difference is that because he retained a tiny bit of his genetic cells, his physical strength is slightly greater than that of an average person, but it is not obvious.

To imagine being able to grow flesh from bones and regenerate severed limbs like a ghost is almost impossible.

However, Oboro had already achieved his goal.

The root cause of his illness has been eliminated through this transformation.

Right now, he has no worries about cultivating or refining his physical body.

What surprised Oboro was the behavior of the two maids. He had thought that seeing his ruthless side would make Chiyoko and Rina fear him and keep their distance. Even if they followed him, it would only be out of necessity for survival.

Now it seems that it's not just that...

Humans are emotional beings.

The emotional bond formed when you grow up together is very difficult to break.

This is... the warmth of humanity.

Unconsciously, the image of Fills Lily flashed through Long's mind—that woman's appearance... In his previous life, that woman's feelings for him were the same. But Long didn't care, or rather, he didn't take it to heart at all... Their relationship started with the exchange of interests, so he cared more about the value of a 'person' than feelings.

Only he could preserve a limited number of Muzan cells.

When a person with advanced strength descends to a lower-level world, they can perform some fancy tricks.

"Even if you obtain the Blue Spider Lily, it seems... you cannot achieve immortality."

Long chuckled softly.

This fate is due to the fact that the power of the spider lily and Muzan's cells are also mutually antagonistic.

If Muzan consumes a large amount of Blue Spider Lily, he might turn back into a human from a Muzan.

This might be more painful than killing him.

Muzan is currently the only remaining seed in this world that can intensify the power system, since Yoriichi Tsugikuni is gone... Therefore, the will of this world secretly guides and drives everything, and it is impossible for Muzan to obtain the Blue Spider Lily.

If Muzan consumes the Spider Lily, his seed will lose its value.

"Back then, the prescription given by the person who treated Muzan was the same as mine: to first restore his life force with the power of a 'demon,' and then use the Blue Spider Lily to turn him back into a human. That doctor's idea and initial intention were good, but he never expected that the patient he treated, setting aside his human form, was himself a demon..."

He thought to himself in a daze.

Muzan killed the pharmacist before consuming the Blue Spider Lily.

Actually, someone like Tanjiro could have absorbed Muzan and become a completely demonic being, unafraid of sunlight, and become the next Demon King... It's just that his will was too weak, and even if he became the Demon King, he wouldn't have been able to retain a sound personal mind.

Muzan's consciousness will always linger in his brain, that is, deep in his soul.

Oboro could certainly make the spider lily work its intended purpose and absorb all the power of the demons.

He simply didn't want to; the power he possessed was already sufficient to satisfy him without relying on 'ghosts'.

His mindset is different now than when he was Hunter x Hunter.

If he had been the first to transmigrate to Demon Slayer, he might have tried to achieve the 'life' state that Tanjiro exhibited after devouring Muzan in later generations. But this is no different from evolving in the Dark Continent, even though Oboro didn't actively choose to participate in the evolution process there.

He still tried his best to maintain his human identity... although, in a sense, he no longer belonged to the category of human life at that time.

Tanjiro can become the new generation of 'Demon King', but Muzan, even if he obtains the Spider Lily... The reason is simple: despite Muzan being the progenitor of demons, when observing Muzan's soul, Oboro discovered that... his will was too empty.

This character has a deep obsession, great desires and ambitions... but his mental strength is not only inferior to Tanjiro's, but even some of the Pillars'.

Obsession is obsession, but it does not represent the full extent of one's will.

To put it bluntly, they lack a strong inner strength.

His power is all manifested in the power of 'ghosts', which is given to him by his genes and flesh and blood, not by his inner self.

Especially after experiencing the effects of the spider lily, Oboro was certain that if Muzan consumed the spider lily, the result would definitely not be 'evolution,' but degeneration.

"To improve the power system, it must evolve, but... we need to change the person."

Long murmured softly.

"Let's go."

Then, she turned her gaze away from the rising sun and smiled slightly at the two maids.