Arashiyama District, Kyoto Prefecture.
Arashiyama is famous for its beautiful natural scenery and rich history and culture, and it is even more tranquil and mysterious in the early morning.
In a corner of Arashiyama District, a rustic Japanese-style house sits quietly deep in a bamboo forest.
In a house deep within the mansion, heavy curtains tightly blocked the entire window, leaving not a single gap.
A boy of about ten years old was standing under the bookshelf, holding a book and looking at it.
A surge of emotion stemming from blood ties made the little boy pause what he was doing.
Has another Lower Rank died?
What a bunch of useless trash!
The little boy felt slightly irritated.
The scene of Lower Rank Six Riku's dying moments came through.
A young man seemed to be waving from across time and space in this direction.
Sayo la la!!"
Originally, it was just a routine check to see which Demon Slayer killed Lower Rank Six.
However, when that familiar figure from his memory appeared, Muzan's gaze quickly sharpened.
Instead of getting distracted by the book in my hand, I focused all my energy on memorizing it.
Lower Rank Six's memories flipped back and forth, finally settling on a certain moment.
A young man dressed in black casual clothes with a white haori (a type of traditional Chinese garment) sat upright on a stone not far away.
The sunlight shone from behind the young man, making it impossible to see his face clearly.
Muzan stared intently at the young man from his memory for a moment, then the frozen images began to play again.
"Hey, can you see that? Cough cough..."
The young man raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed lightly twice.
" Muzan Kibutsuji!"
This should be our first time communicating, right?
emmm...
Strictly speaking, it couldn't even be considered an exchange.
After all, it's just me leaving you some information.
Besides, you should have seen me several times by now, but I've never even seen you once!
Then.
emmm...
What else can be said?
There doesn't seem to be much to say.
After all, we are two different species.
Even if I could treat you like a human being, you wouldn't treat me like a ghost, would you?
The young man rested his chin on one hand, looking over calmly.
"Sigh, I was really looking forward to having a chance to chat with you."
After all, you wouldn't watch a regular demon kill, and Lower Rank demons aren't that easy to encounter.
But when it really came down to it, I realized there wasn't much to talk about with you.
Never mind, I won't say anything more.
You're just like a rat in the sewers, hiding in that filthy darkness!
At this point, the young man's lips curled into a smile, and he looked directly at him.
"But don't get too complacent, I'll come looking for you sooner or later!"
Having said that, the young man seemed to have finished speaking and gradually disappeared from sight.
As the sunlight shines in, the scenes of memory begin to sway and blur.
The next moment, the scene froze again from a tilted perspective, as if it had been fixed in place by something.
However, the blurriness remains, and it's becoming even blurrier at an even faster rate.
With a slight movement, the young man's figure reappeared in the frame.
Oh, right!
I won't trouble you to come looking for me.
I'll be going somewhere else during the day, so I won't trouble you to make another trip!
And then, this time, nothing else really happened.
Then so.
Sayo la la!!"
The young man's figure disappeared from the screen again, and then the memory began to flicker and blur once more.
Until disconnected...
inside the house.
Silence, repression...
The invisible aura seemed to materialize at that moment, slowly flowing through the room...
Muzan Kibutsuji's breathing became more and more rapid and heavy, and even his body trembled slightly.
Inside the room, the glass covering the light bulb vibrated at a frequency imperceptible to the naked eye.
The next moment.
With a loud crash, the light bulb shattered, plunging the room into complete darkness.
The sound of teeth grinding echoed inside the room.
If you could see it, you would see that Muzan Kibutsuji's five fingers had left fingerprints on the book, his scarlet pupils were wide open, and veins were bulging on his forehead.
mouse?
He said I was a mouse?
That Demon Slayer!!
How dare he!!!
Clearly, these lowly humans are the ones who are no better than rats!
Tap, tap...
The sound of glass falling seemed to alert the people outside, and footsteps could be heard outside.
Then, with a creak, the door was gently pushed open.
A gentle female voice drifted into the room.
" Yuichi- chan, what's wrong?"
"Hey, where's the light...?"
laugh--!
A flash of blood, and the woman collapsed.
Fresh blood slowly spread from the head to the ground.
Muzan had no interest in what would happen next, Muzan was he in the mood to care.
Nakime!
"Zheng..."
The scene shifted, and they found themselves in the Infinity Castle.
Clang, clang, clang...
Ignoring what the other Upper Rank were doing, several more pipa tunes rang out, and the Upper Rank once again gathered in the Infinity Castle.
The familiar scene filled Gyokko with a sense of confusion.
How long has it been?
Why have I been called here again?
Just as he was about to ask a question, his gaze fell upon the little boy in the room, whose face was contorted with rage.
He shuddered immediately, then quickly bent over and lay prone on the ground.
" Lord Muzan!!" the Upper Rank greeted him.
Muzan remained silent, his gaze fixed on the six people kneeling before him.
The pressure felt like a tangible weight pressing down on everyone, and the few who knew better didn't ask any questions.
Doma looked around and, seeing that no one seemed inclined to ask, spoke up himself:
" Lord Muzan, who has offended you again..."
Before he could finish speaking, a giant arm made of scarlet flesh emerged from behind Muzan and Doma.
Bang!
Doma was instantly slammed onto the wooden floor.
The wooden floor lasted only a moment.
The next moment.
Click!
As the wooden planks shattered, the giant arm continued to press down on the Doma.
"Zheng..."
The sound of the pipa echoes, and the space shifts.
The next moment.
The giant arm pressed down on Doma as he fell from the sky, slamming him straight onto the platform before slowly retracting.
"Cough cough..."
Doma coughed violently, and blood kept spilling from his mouth.
Ignoring Doma's situation, Muzan's gaze swept over everyone, and then his chilling words echoed throughout the Infinity Castle.
I'm very angry! Extremely angry!!
Kato Teiichi!!
That Demon Slayer!!
Find him for me!
Contact me immediately once you find it!!!
The familiar name echoed once more throughout the Infinity Castle, and the Upper Rank Moons' eyes flickered slightly before they immediately responded.
"Yes!"
"Also, tonight I'll have Nakime take you to a mountain. Search around there and see if you can find that Demon Slayer. If you do, kill him!"
Even though the Demon Slayer had said he wouldn't stay in that place, Muzan himself felt the same way.
But the Demon Slayer was still there last night, and even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Muzan didn't want to let him go.
He couldn't remember the last time anyone had dared to insult him!
Insulting yourself comes at a price!