Within the dim, deathly silent space, not a single ray of sunlight penetrated. Elegant, old-fashioned pavilions and towers rose high, their wooden stairways and beams crisscrossing one another, while bright candlelight illuminated the rooms behind latticed doors.
The buildings resembled blocks assembled at random. Yet the intricate space did not feel like a dizzying jumble; instead, it possessed a uniquely serene elegance. Like an endless labyrinth, it left anyone within it unable to tell which way was which.
A bewitching woman in a dark kimono stood on a high platform, coldly looking down at the kneeling Twelve Kizuki. His gaze held undisguised, profound killing intent, especially when he examined the Lower Ranks. He murmured, "Hollows and Shinigami?"
Only eleven of the Twelve Kizuki were present. Not long ago, Rui, Lower Rank Five, had been slain on Mount Natagumo by a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
That incident, combined with the constant turnover among the Lower Ranks over the years as the Demon Slayer Corps repeatedly killed them, had left Muzan Kibutsuji utterly disappointed in their members. He was considering disbanding the Lower Ranks and purging them all.
However, the beings calling themselves "Hollows" and "Shinigami" that had kept appearing in recent days had disrupted Muzan Kibutsuji's plans.
Through his intelligence network, he had learned that every Hollow and Shinigami possessed strength at least comparable to a Lower Rank. The strongest among them far surpassed even the Upper Ranks. This stirred unease deep within the progenitor of demons, who considered himself "a creature infinitely close to perfection."
After the massacre in Lantian City, even the government officials secretly colluding with him had tentatively asked whether he had created those monsters.
Although Muzan Kibutsuji hardly considered himself a good person, he had no intention of taking the blame for someone else