"Gyokko is dead. For the first time in the hundreds of years since the Twelve Kizuki were established, the Demon Slayer Corps has left a vacancy among the Upper Ranks."
"He was obsessed with nothing but that so-called 'art' of his, paying no attention to improving his strength. I knew this day would come... never mind. There is no point saying more. A dead demon is not worth wasting words on."
"That includes you. I no longer have any expectations of you, either."
While Muzan spoke in a low voice, clearly in a foul mood, and the other Upper Ranks merely bowed their heads in silence, one handsome fellow looked up at him instead. "There you go saying such lonely things again. When have I ever failed to live up to your expectations?"
Muzan stared at Doma, who could not read the room at all. Considering his strength and talent, he barely suppressed his anger.
Gyokko, the Upper Rank most adept at gathering intelligence, was dead. By comparison, the Eternal Paradise Cult under Doma's control had become a decent intelligence-gathering base.
Apart from him, only Daki, who mingled in the Entertainment District as a geisha, could gather intelligence.
But this meeting was meant to put his subordinates in their place and vent his displeasure, so Muzan naturally would not stop his lecture there.
He ignored the attention-seeking Doma and continued, "You have yet to eliminate the Ubuyashiki Clan and the Demon Slayer Corps they lead, nor have you found any clues about the Blue Spider Lily..."
At the mention of the Blue Spider Lily, which concerned him most, the anger Muzan had just suppressed surged up again. He slammed both hands onto the laboratory bench, and the force spilling from him shattered every instrument.
In the thousand-plus years since becoming