"Nakime... open the passage."
Clang!
The biwa rang out.
Muzan Kibutsuji stood before the passage but did not immediately step through.
His figure twisted and warped like a melting candle.
A few breaths later, Muzan Kibutsuji's form had changed from that of a beautiful woman to that of a small child.
On the other side of the passage was a rather Western-style room, with books filling every spot in sight.
A "child" whose appearance was identical to Muzan Kibutsuji's froze on the spot when he saw the passage open.
Then, looking at Muzan Kibutsuji, who had transformed to look exactly like him, he immediately prostrated himself on the floor:
"My lord, I have been following your instructions, playing the part of a bright, precocious child."
"They all trust me, and I have already handed over what you entrusted to me for them to study."
"They seem to have reached a conclusion now. They're chatting outside."
Muzan Kibutsuji did not answer, merely stepping slowly into the room.
That was right. He looked like a child but had a mind unlike anyone else's... Muzan Kibutsuji.
Seeing Muzan Kibutsuji enter the room, the "child" immediately walked obediently into the passage and entered the Infinity Castle.
For a long time, he had been following this lord's instructions, disguising himself as a child to infiltrate the household of this famous Japanese pharmaceutical tycoon and become his adopted son.
Now that his lord had suddenly appeared, he clearly thought the information he had provided was of considerable value.
He just wondered... whether his lord might grant him some more blood.
Yet just as the "child" was about to pass Muzan Kibutsuji, Muzan Kibutsuji's hand clamped viciously around his head.
Muzan Kibutsuji's fingers instantly transformed into sharp claws, digging deep into the other's skull.
Immense pain surged