Muzan's musings

"Overthrow the Daimyo's tyranny! Build a peaceful nation!"

"Overthrow the Daimyo's tyranny! Build a peaceful nation!"

Muzan shouted it once, and the two children repeated after him, their blood pumping with fervor.

After some brainwashing-scratch that, guidance-the two had established a firm goal and resolve.

Satisfied, Muzan bought them clothes and had them wash up. Once they were clean, he passed on his relevant knowledge through the link between himself and the demons under his command.

The nation Muzan described was something to yearn for.

Just like that, Muzan had won over the two young children. As knowledge appeared in their minds, a hint of fanaticism crept into their eyes when they looked at him.

"Let's start here."

Muzan stroked their heads and smiled.

The two nodded resolutely.

The following night.

Screams rang out from the towering, lavish building at the center of town. Strangely, the next day, every surviving dignitary who had been there denied that anything had happened.

Those who had died had died for nothing, and the surviving Daimyo said nothing either.

Perhaps Muzan had overdone the brainwashing. After the two grew stronger by eating humans, their Blood Demon Art turned out to be Alteration.

By altering people's perceptions, they could make others obey them. And both of them had the same Blood Demon Art...

Before leaving, Muzan patted their heads in satisfaction. "Keep it up. There's no rush, so take your time. Make sure you stay safe."

Encouraged, the two nodded with even greater resolve. For a brighter future!

Watching this, Jiyuki felt a chill. His master's smooth progress naturally wasn't just due to his overwhelming strength and the brainwashing of the two children. There was also the subtle influence the Demon King exerted on demons' thoughts.

Perhaps because the demons under Muzan depended on his blood to survive and grow stronger, their thinking gravitated toward his, and they felt a sense of reverence for the Demon King.

Muzan had noticed this too. In the original story, even though that scumbag of a boss was both despicable and cowardly, and brutally harsh toward his subordinates, the demons were all loyal to him. Many even revered him or were outright infatuated with him.

He had thought it was utterly ridiculous. They should have been slacking off and pulling their punches, just like in the final battle!

But now he understood. That behavior was perfectly normal.

Muzan left the town with Jiyuki, leaving behind a "Flame of Hope."

Perhaps he had gotten a taste for it, or perhaps he simply found it fun. After that, whenever Muzan disliked what he saw somewhere, he would create a demon and leave them there.

Several months passed, and Jiyuki gradually grew accustomed to his boss laying off staff while hiring new employees.

Along the way, they covered practically the entire Edo area. Almost all the demons the original Muzan had created were laid off, while those who remained were ordered to study the correct ideology.

The atmosphere among the demons changed dramatically.

Naturally, they also encountered plenty of Demon Slayer Corps members on their travels. Most couldn't tell that the two were demons, but some did notice.

Muzan led them on a merry chase, and they never managed to catch up...

He also mocked them mercilessly.

The Demon Slayer Corps gradually realized that the demons seemed more active, yet something was different.

There were no longer reports of people being carried off by demons in remote forests or someone suddenly disappearing from a home at night. Instead, they heard more reports of dozens dying somewhere overnight, or of evildoers suddenly vanishing.

In some places, after people suddenly disappeared, everyone flatly denied anything had happened. They insisted there were no demons and told the Demon Slayer Corps not to come and cause trouble.

Their attitude toward the Corps was terrible.

This left the Demon Slayer Corps deeply concerned. Just what was Muzan plotting?

He had managed to deceive the people so thoroughly.

Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters-the Ubuyashiki Family estate.

The Demon Slayer Corps' Oyakata-sama gazed into the distance with worry. For some unknown reason, the future had changed.

He couldn't foresee much detail. He could only vaguely see that the gloom shrouding the future world was growing ever darker, with only faint glimmers of light flickering like terribly unstable sparks of hope.

There was no hope of killing Muzan within the next hundred years...

Just how long would it take before they could kill that evil demon?!

Looking at that bleak future, he sighed heavily and summoned a crow.

Muzan couldn't have cared less about what was happening with the Demon Slayer Corps. He was deep in thought.

By now, all the demons under his command were well versed in the Twenty-Four Truths and no longer ate innocent people. Some devoted themselves to creating a better world. Some lazed around, only going out to take down bandits when they occasionally got hungry. Some punished evildoers while robbing the rich to help the poor. Others passed themselves off as humans and lived happily with their wives and children. Some even posed as deities or spirits in shrines, having those under their protection regularly supply them with blood...

Still, they were all keeping an eye out for the Blue Spider Lily.

But Muzan had had his fill of fun. He began considering some deeper questions.

For instance, what exactly was a demon?

Judging by the bonus scene at the end of the original story, technology was still supposed to drive this world's development. Demons seemed more like the last remnants of the supernatural.

Yet their condition also resembled a medical illness.

Supposedly, the Blue Spider Lily could let Muzan overcome his weakness to sunlight. But would it merely eliminate that weakness, or would taking it also resolve his need to eat humans and his vulnerability to wisteria? Could it even turn him back into a human?

And without the accompanying prescription, would taking it on its own have any effect?

Furthermore, what part of a human's tissue did demons actually need to consume?

Amino acids? Blood? Antibodies? DNA? Or something else?

Why wouldn't animals work?

Why did eating humans also make demons stronger?

What underlying defect made demons vulnerable to sunlight, even allowing it to kill them, when they otherwise couldn't die?

What component of sunlight harmed demons? Ultraviolet light? Infrared light?

Or something else?

And why could wisteria poison demons? Which component caused it? What exactly were the poison's effects?

For humans, wisteria blossoms weren't poisonous, but other parts of the plant were. Which parts were poisonous to demons?

Muzan realized that the pitiful scraps of knowledge from his previous life were no help at all. The primitive technology of this era couldn't answer his questions either.

Besides, the existence of demons seemed less like a disease and more like a bug in the world.

They were the sole supernatural bug in a technological world. The supposed illness seemed more like a trigger.

According to speculation among fans of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Nezuko ultimately overcame sunlight and her need to eat humans, and Tanjiro became the strongest Demon King, because they had eaten the Blue Spider Lily.

Using the Blue Spider Lily would most likely eliminate the need to eat humans and the weakness to sunlight.

But judging by Nezuko's behavior in the series, even without needing to eat humans, a demon might still crave them.

Still, what exactly was the Ubuyashiki curse?

Was it a supernatural issue, or a hereditary disease?

Muzan had originally been an Ubuyashiki too. Rather than a curse, the Ubuyashiki Family's affliction seemed more like a hereditary disease, or a gene-related infectious disease, originating with the short-lived Muzan.

Then what about the Demon Slayer Mark?