Akaza looked down at the strange space. His eyes grew small in shock. "A hidden space, Infinity Castle... Being called here means an Upper Rank was killed!" Anger made veins show on his head.
Lights blinked, and buildings mixed.
Soon, Akaza stood on a flat space.
He looked around fast.
Four other Upper Ranks were there.
Upper Rank Six was missing!
Before they could talk, Muzan Kibutsuji appeared.
His cold eyes looked at the five Upper Ranks. "Gyutaro is dead, killed by the traitor!"
The Upper Ranks paused, surprised.
The traitor?
They knew the name well.
It was the demon they had heard about most lately.
Akaza, especially, had fought the traitor.
He thought the traitor's strange way of moving was his only good point.
How could the traitor kill Gyutaro?
Doma sat on the ground, swaying a bit, looking innocent. "I am sorry. I told Gyutaro about him."
Muzan Kibutsuji suddenly showed great power, looking down at the Upper Ranks. His voice was cold. "The Blue Spider Lily is not found. The Ubuyashiki family and the Demon Slayer group still live. The traitor is not caught. What good are you?"
Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, and Gyokko, Upper Rank Five, were quiet. Hantengu, Upper Rank Four, lay in a corner, shaking.
Doma said, sounding like a child, "It is too bad. The traitor did not fall into my trap last time."
Akaza's eyes showed strong killing power.
Doma liked to eat women, but Akaza never did. They had hated each other for a long time.
Akaza thought Doma was making fun of him for not doing his job.
Doma did not seem to notice Akaza's anger.
Kokushibo's voice was low and even. "I missed the traitor twice. I did not take my best chance to catch him."
Muzan Kibutsuji slowly took back his power. He said coldly, "The traitor can grow stronger by eating demons. He ate Gyutaro and Daki this time, so he must be more powerful now!
Be careful. I do not want to hear that the traitor has killed one of you!"
Lower Ranks did not matter to him.
He could easily make many demons as strong as Lower Ranks.
But the Upper Ranks were different.
The six Upper Ranks—no, five now—were the best demons in hundreds of years.
He could not change them even if he wanted to.
Finding someone to take Upper Rank Six's place would be hard.
Muzan Kibutsuji's wish to kill Aoki grew stronger.
Change!
Bad change!
The traitor had caused it all!
To catch the traitor, they had to find a way to stop his power.
"Infinity Castle," Muzan Kibutsuji said softly, and waved his hand.
Clang!
A biwa sound rang out. The Upper Ranks were gone.
...
Aoki lay on a rock, looking at the bright sky, but his eyes did not focus.
A blue screen that others could not see filled his view.
After eating Gyutaro and Daki, his Strength was 18.
To keep his powers balanced, Aoki gave 2 points to his Body and Quickness.
He did not have enough Skill Points to learn the next skill, so he saved them.
Name: Aoki
Strength: 18
Body: 17
Intelligence: 17
Quickness: 17
Class: Hunter, Aberrant Demon
...
Aberrant Demon
Quality: ★★
Level: lv12（397/1200）
Skills: Demon Blood Ⅳ, Space Warp, Transparent World (Not Learned), Demon Devour Ⅱ
Mission: Upper Rank's End (1/3)
Free Skill Points: 2
Aoki thought about the screen.
"Muzan Kibutsuji is stronger than me now. I probably cannot beat Kokushibo either.
Doma is hard to say.
Akaza would likely win a short fight, but I would win in the end.
I can kill Akaza now that I have Devour 2, but it will not be easy until I learn Transparent World."
At most, three beings were stronger than him—Muzan Kibutsuji and Kokushibo counted as one, and Doma and Akaza only counted as half.
The Demon Slayer group?
The Transparent World, Bright Red Nichirin Sword, and Marks had not appeared yet. The Pillars were likely no match for him.
The Stone Pillar, the strongest one now, might be a threat.
Aoki closed the screen.
He had gained something else besides stats and Skill Points.
He was right. Daki's Blood Demon Art had a little spatial power.
But it was not strong enough, or it did not mix well with his power. Space Warp had not changed much.
Aoki felt something growing inside him, though.
Maybe eating another demon with spatial power would help.
"Meow!"
A calico cat with a paper charm on its chest and a small bag on its back suddenly appeared.
"You are here. I was worried you would not find me!"
Aoki sat up and petted the cat. He put two blood-taking tools in the bag.
This was Tamayo's cat. It could hide using Yushiro's Blood Demon Art.
Yushiro had made the tools to take demon blood.
"Meow!"
The cat meowed again and slowly disappeared.
"I will go too!"
Aoki stood and looked around, a little worried.
Where should he go next?
He had used almost all of his information.
There would be no more easy targets like Gyutaro and Daki.
He could not find Kokushibo, Hantengu, or Gyokko. Doma was a little easier to find.
"Doma leads the Paradise Faith. If I can find it, I should find Doma. But I do not know where it is."
Aoki sighed quietly.
The Paradise Faith was a small group with only about two hundred people. It would not be easy to learn about it.
"Well, it is better than having no plan. I can look for Tanjiro's family too."
Aoki did not worry for long. He picked a direction and started his journey.
Even if he could not find Upper Ranks, there were still small demons.
He would not turn down simple food after eating a big meal.
Any demon that gave experience was a good demon.
Little by little, he would level up.
Maybe he would get lucky and run into another Upper Rank someday.
---
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