Infinity Castle

"Lord Akaza, I am relieved to see you are safe. It has been over eighty years since we last met, has it not?"

"I truly thought you had been killed. My heart is simply overflowing with emotion..."

"Heh... heh... the pain in my heart was truly unbearable!"

A series of lewd, grating voices emanated eerily from a white-patterned porcelain vase sitting on the ground.

Following the voice, the creature itself emerged from the narrow mouth of the vase, wriggling out like a bloated maggot.

The creature resembled a human from the waist up, though it possessed eight small, infant-like arms evenly distributed along its shoulders and neck.

Its lower half was that of a serpent's tail, with a third of its body still coiled inside the vase.

This deformed creature was none other than Upper Moon Five of the Twelve Kizuki, Gyokko!

Akaza stood with his arms crossed over his chest, not even sparing the deformed monster a glance.

A dark, cowardly voice whispered from a corner of the Infinity Castle:

"So scary! So scary! It hasn't even been that long, and Gyokko can't even count anymore..."

"The last time we were summoned was clearly one hundred and four years ago..."

The owner of this timid voice was a strangely small creature with horns on its head resembling a demon, yet possessing an incredibly cowardly temperament.

This "creature" was none other than Upper Moon Four, Hantengu!

Upper Moon Six, Daki, looked around for a moment before withdrawing her gaze; there was not a single demon here she could afford to provoke.

She simply tugged on the hand of her brother, Gyutaro, and asked softly:

"Brother... am I beautiful in this outfit today? Do you think Lord Muzan will like it?"

Gyutaro, who shared the rank of Upper Moon Six, wore his hair like tangled kelp and stared out with dead, fish-like eyes.

He looked at his sister, Daki, with eyes full of doting affection and said:

"Of course, Daki, you are the most beautiful!"

"I am sure Lord Muzan will love it!"

"Really!" Daki chirped, her face flushing a deep red.

The expression on her face was as if she had reached a state of ecstasy!

Just then, a handsome young man wearing a strange round hat and red clothing appeared abruptly beside Akaza.

Deeply branded within his multicolored eyes were the characters for Upper Moon Two.

This "demon" was none other than Upper Moon Two, Doma!

Doma placed his hand lightly on Akaza's shoulder, a look of worry etched onto his face as he said:

"Oh my, oh my... Lord Akaza!"

"Do you know how worried I was about you just now?"

"I am so glad you are safe. Aren't you worried about me, too?"

"After all, you are all my most important companions!"

"Not a single one of you can be missing!"

Seeing Doma appear, Akaza's expression turned ugly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His composure was completely lost.

Doma!! Why are you still alive??

Doma's incessant chatter made it even harder for Akaza to endure!

Since he could not endure it, Akaza decided he would not hold back today!

His life motto was simple: he never coddled idiots.

And in Akaza's eyes, Doma was the definition of an idiot.

Akaza's left hand shot up instantly.

With a powerful uppercut, he slammed the back of his fist heavily into Doma's handsome face.

With a light "thwack," Doma's pretty face was instantly smashed into a wreck by Akaza's punch.

"Yo-yo... Lord Akaza, you've gotten a little stronger than before!"

"Only a little, though. It's a pity you still can't beat me."

No sooner had Doma finished speaking than the wounds on his face, inflicted by Akaza, healed in an instant.

Hearing this, the rage that had just been slightly vented from Akaza was instantly refilled!

Just as he prepared to strike again...

At that moment, the female "demon" who sat quietly kneeling to the side, holding a biwa and controlling the Infinity Castle, Nakime!

He spoke up, "Lord Akaza, please, stop!"

"The first one I summoned was Upper Moon One, Lord Kokushibo!"

"He has been here the entire time."

Upon hearing these words, Akaza's pupils couldn't help but constrict!

He turned around and scanned the surroundings of the Infinity Castle, searching for the figure of Kokushibo.

Regarding this Upper Moon One, Kokushibo!

Akaza could be said to harbor infinite wariness.

Compared to Upper Moon Two, Doma, Akaza was unconvinced of his inferiority.

The gap between the two of them was not that large, and for Akaza, this gap was not insurmountable.

However! That man, Kokushibo!

To this day, Akaza had yet to see where Kokushibo's limits truly lay!

At this moment, Kokushibo was kneeling in a tea room high above the Infinity Castle.

He looked down from above at the other Upper Moon demons in the distance below.

His long red hair was tied behind his head, and his appearance was basically no different from a human's, except for the six eyes that grew in a neat, symmetrical arrangement across his face!

Beyond that, two clusters of dark red markings were distributed on Kokushibo's forehead and chin, respectively.

Sensing the arrival of Kibutsuji Muzan, Kokushibo finally spoke, addressing Akaza down below:

"Stop looking, I am here."

"Lord Kibutsuji Muzan has arrived."

Hearing this, the Upper Moon demons on the platform all knelt to the ground in unison.

Gyokko had no legs and could not kneel, so he remained floating at the mouth of his pot, taking a small advantage!

Kibutsuji Muzan, dressed in women's clothing, looked down at these useless subordinates and said in an icy tone:

"You... truly disappoint me!"

Hearing this, the other demons remained silent as they knelt.

Only Doma looked at Kibutsuji Muzan with an innocent expression and asked:

"I am terribly sorry, but I do not know what you are referring to?"

To tell the truth, Doma, who lacked emotions, was not afraid of Kibutsuji Muzan at all...

He didn't even possess the emotion of fear, so how could he be afraid?

Kibutsuji Muzan gave Doma a deep look; if it weren't for the fact that this tool still had some use, he would have killed Doma!

After a long while, Kibutsuji Muzan finally spoke:

"Where is the Blue Spider Lily?"

"Why has it not been found after hundreds of years?"

"Furthermore, you have still not destroyed the Ubuyashiki clan!"

"Hundreds of years! This is the first time that Lower Rank Demons have been slaughtered by the Demon Slayer Corps one after another within a single year!"

"I have begun to doubt the value of your existence!"

At this moment, the most cowardly, Hantengu, had already begun to beg for mercy frantically.

"I have no excuse, the Ubuyashiki... are hidden very cleverly," Kokushibo said calmly in explanation.

"After all, I am not good at scouting or searching! What should I do?" After Doma gave Kibutsuji Muzan a perfunctory remark, he touched his own face and began to ponder:

How many people should I eat tonight?

Only Akaza looked firmly at his master, Kibutsuji Muzan, and said:

"Lord Kibutsuji Muzan, I will certainly slaughter everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps for you!"

Kibutsuji Muzan looked at Akaza and said coldly:

"Oh, is that so?"

"Then you shall first go and bring me the head of that Rumble Hashira, who has been the most active in the Demon Slayer Corps recently!"

After saying this, the figure of Kibutsuji Muzan vanished from before their eyes.