The Platinum Prophecy

The silent mountain forest was brushed by a gentle night breeze, yet it could not disperse the awkward atmosphere that hung as frozen as ice.

Tanjiro, lying on the ground, looked at Giyu Tomioka, whose face was as calm as water on his left, and then at Kashu, whose expression was indifferent on his right, his brain spinning wildly.

Europe? What is that? Isn't Mr. Kashu from the Demon Slayer Corps? But he clearly defeated such a powerful member of the Twelve Kizuki in a single strike!

Mr. Tomioka's expression is so scary... Why won't he explain? Wouldn't it be enough to just say he is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?

On one side was a calm senior, on the other a mysterious powerhouse; both were benefactors who had saved his sister and him, and Tanjiro truly did not want to see them come to blows.

Just as Tanjiro was caught in a dilemma, not knowing what to do, an unexpected figure broke the stalemate.

A petite figure tore through the night breeze, carrying sharp killing intent as she lunged at high speed toward Nezuko, who was still lying in a pool of blood!

Giyu Tomioka's pupils constricted. He recognized the newcomer, and his body moved before he could even think, preparing to forcibly intercept her.

But he was fast, and someone else was faster!

Golden light flashed in an instant, and Kashu arrived before the others despite starting later.

The platinum longsword was positioned with absolute precision across the path of the petite figure, forcefully cutting off that lethal thrust!

"Oh my?"

The intruder in mid-air let out a soft exclamation, clearly surprised by this sudden obstruction.

She used the recoil from the sword to drift back lightly for over ten paces, steadying herself as she narrowed her beautiful eyes.

"Sir, the one you are protecting is a demon. Could you please step aside?"

Kashu looked up, carefully sizing up this uninvited visitor.

She wore a pink and white haori with a butterfly pattern, her black hair styled in a short, elegant updo, and her features were delicate and soft.

Although a faint Smile hung on her face, deep within those beautiful purple eyes, a cold, unmelting killing intent was congealed.

"So, you Demon Slayers don't need to confirm the situation before you start attacking?"

Kashu's voice carried a hint of playfulness, and Shinobu Kocho's eyes narrowed further, like a lazy yet dangerous cat.

She tilted her head and asked with a Smile.

"The situation? That is not necessary."

The smile on her face remained unchanged, but her tone was absolute.

"There must never be the slightest hesitation when slaying an evil demon."

Hearing this, Kashu merely lowered his head and chuckled softly, not bothering to argue further.

He raised his platinum longsword and pointed it toward Shinobu Kocho, his stance speaking for itself.

Just then, Giyu Tomioka stepped forward quickly to block the space between them, shaking his head at Shinobu Kocho.

"Stop, he is likely not an enemy."

Shinobu Kocho's brows furrowed tightly, her tone carrying a hint of interrogation.

"Mr. Tomioka, as a Hashira, do you also intend to shield a demon?"

Facing the questioning of his colleague, Giyu Tomioka remained his usual icy self, his gaze not wavering in the slightest.

Shinobu Kocho looked at the two men blocking her path and fell into a brief silence.

She secretly assessed the situation.

To ensure she could kill that demon in one strike, her previous thrust had been delivered without reservation, pushing both speed and power to the limit.

Yet, not only had it been easily intercepted by that strange swordsman, she hadn't even seen when he had appeared.

The massive recoil from the sword made her right wrist ache even now.

This man's strength was unfathomable!

Coupled with Giyu Tomioka, who was also a Hashira and clearly intent on protecting that demon—

The situation had become tricky.

Just as the atmosphere solidified again and the three parties stood in a standoff, a pitch-black Kasugai Crow broke the silence of the forest and flew straight toward them.

"Orders! Orders! Orders from headquarters!"

"Immediately bring Tanjiro and the demon Nezuko back to headquarters. Tanjiro wears a checkered haori and has a scar on his forehead; the demon Nezuko has a bamboo tube in her mouth."

"Additionally: If you encounter a male holding a platinum longsword, you must treat him with courtesy and invite him to return to headquarters together!"

"Repeat, immediately bring..."

The crow's sharp voice echoed through the forest, and the content of the order stunned both Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho.

The two turned their heads in unison, their gazes focusing on Kashu, who was shielding Nezuko.

In the man's hand, he was indeed holding a platinum longsword that shone with a unique luster.

Kashu looked up with interest at the Kasugai Crow as it circled and flew away.

He knew of carrier pigeons and had heard of parrots that mimicked speech, but a crow that could speak human language so fluently was a rarity.

Moreover, someone at the Demon Slayer headquarters actually knew of his existence? And even specified his weapon?

He had only just arrived in this world.

Does this world possess precognitive abilities?

"My sincerest apologies for my earlier hostility."

Shinobu Kocho suppressed her killing intent, her face once again wearing that impeccable, gentle mask of a smile.

After a quick exchange of information with Giyu Tomioka, she seemed to reach a consensus and bowed slightly toward Kashu.

"My name is Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps."

"Mr. Kashu, would you be willing to accept our invitation and accompany us to the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters?"

Although her attitude was gentle and polite, and her tone soft and delicate, Kashu could keenly sense that deep down, she still harbored dissatisfaction and vigilance toward him.

However, he did not care about such trivialities and simply nodded, signaling for her to lead the way.

Man-eating demons, demon-slaying swordsmen; the structure of this world is gradually becoming clear.

A trip to their headquarters might yield more clues regarding the Calamity of the World.

Meanwhile, in the Infinity Castle.

Deep within this inverted, twisted, and infinitely extending interdimensional structure, several figures were forcibly summoned, appearing abruptly amidst the interlocking architecture.

"Where... is this place?"

Lower Rank Six looked around, his eyes filled with confusion and suspicion.

His gaze quickly locked onto the woman on the high platform, who sat expressionless while cradling a biwa.

"Is this that woman's Blood Demon Art? It looks like the entire space is warping around her..."

As he pondered, Lower Rank Six suddenly realized a problem—

Rui, the Lower Rank Five, was not here!

Nakime plucked the biwa strings again. Under the influence of spatial power, the Lower Rank demons, who had been scattered, were instantly shifted into the same area.

This forced teleportation, which offered no defense and left no time to react, caused cold sweat to bead on the foreheads of the Lower Rank demons who usually acted with impunity, their inner anxiety growing rapidly.

Just as the five demons stood in uncertainty, a figure appeared without warning on the high platform before them.

It was a geisha dressed in a luxurious kimono, her appearance beautiful, yet her aura chilling to the point of suffocation.

"Bow your heads, kneel, and submit to me."

The flat, emotionless voice reached the ears of every Lower Rank demon, yet it seemed to carry a magical power that stripped them of control over their own bodies.

Thud! Thud!

The five ruthless, man-eating demons were like marionettes, uncontrollably prostrating themselves before the figure on the platform, their foreheads pressed against the cold ground.

Only then did their remaining sanity allow them to realize—

The woman before them, whose aura and appearance were completely different from before, was their absolute ruler.

The progenitor who had lived for over a thousand years and stood at the pinnacle of all demons, Muzan Kibutsuji!

"My... my sincerest apologies! Lord Muzan!"

Mukago, Lower Rank Four, spoke with a trembling voice, attempting to explain.

"Because your appearance and aura had changed, we were unable to..."

"Who gave you permission to speak?"

The cold words cut off her defense.

The next second, a thorned whip made of flesh and blood, like a living viper, instantly enveloped Lower Rank Four completely.

Squelch... squelch...

The teeth-gritting sound of bones and flesh shattering, followed by dull chewing, emerged from the flesh whip, brief and rapid.

When the whip retracted, only a pool of filthy blood remained; Lower Rank Four was gone, leaving no bones behind.

The brutal act of their boss—turning hostile at the drop of a hat and killing without a second thought—left the remaining Lower Ranks trembling in silence. They barely dared to breathe, fear gripping their hearts.

Having casually erased a Lower Rank, Muzan Kibutsuji vented a portion of the rage he had accumulated since Rui was killed.

He swept his gaze over the four demons below and continued in that emotionless voice.

"Rui has been killed, Lower Rank Five."

"I will ask only one thing—why are the Lower Rank demons so weak?"

The question struck the four demons like a heavy hammer. They trembled even more violently, yet none dared to look up and answer.

Muzan watched this group of trash, who lacked even the courage to face his questioning, and the violent, impatient emotions surged once more within his crimson eyes.

His personality was extremely contradictory; he possessed both an arrogant conceit that looked down on everything and a cowardly timidity that ran deep into his marrow.

He craved powerful subordinates to consolidate his rule, yet he was pathologically terrified that they might become too strong and unite to threaten him.

This contradictory mindset led him to strictly control his subordinates, even issuing a ban that prohibited demons from gathering in private.

However, there were always exceptions to every rule, such as Rui.

Rui's experience of being sickly during his time as a human bore a subtle resemblance to Muzan's own, which led him to bestow an unusual amount of care and affection upon the boy.

Therefore, against the backdrop where all demons were required to fight alone, only Rui was tacitly permitted by him.

He was allowed to form a twisted, fake family and play a cruel, bloody game of house.

Now, with Rui—whom he viewed as his "son"—dead, it completely detonated the Demon King's already twisted and pathological psyche.

"For over a hundred years, the positions of the Upper Ranks have never changed. Only the Upper Ranks have been able to continuously send the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps to their graves."

"I have had enough of the incompetence of you Lower Ranks!"

Muzan's voice rose sharply, and deep within his scarlet eyes, a viscous, ink-like darkness seemed to churn.

"If you cannot immediately demonstrate your worth... then there is no need for the Lower Rank demons to continue existing!"

As his words fell, a terrifying pressure, vast and suffocating, crashed down as if to completely crush this Infinity Castle along with the four remaining Lower Rank demons!