The dungeon at Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters had always been dark and damp.
Most of those imprisoned there were members who had broken Corps rules, or captured low-ranking demons of little value.
Today, however, a cell in its deepest recesses was unusually "lively."
Several members of the Kakushi assigned to interrogation stood helpless before the prisoner inside, sweat covering their foreheads.
"What... is wrong with this guy?!" One member wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered to a companion, "We've tried everything. Flogging, branding irons, water torture... he hasn't even grunted!"
"Forget grunting. Look at his face!" Another member pointed into the cell, a trace of fear in his voice.
A man covered in wounds was bound to the torture rack in the center of the cell. He was a core believer of the Eternal Paradise Cult whom Shinobu Kocho had gone to tremendous lengths to capture.
Yet in the face of all those tortures, his face showed no pain. Instead, he kept wearing a strange smile of... utter happiness and utter devotion.
"To give my life for our leader is my supreme honor... ignorant mortals like you could never understand this great salvation..."
He murmured haltingly, his eyes fanatical and empty. He had clearly been thoroughly brainwashed; his mind had long since ceased to belong to him.
Outside the cell, Shinobu Kocho watched quietly with her arms folded, her brow tightly furrowed.
Kanao stood behind her, her fingers turning slightly white from how tightly she gripped her sword hilt.
"Master, this isn't getting us anywhere," Kanao said softly. "His mind is completely controlled by that demon called Doma. Conventional interrogation won't work on him."
"I know." A trace of helplessness colored Shinobu Kocho's voice. "Under the combined influence of drugs and a Blood Demon Art, his brain has