"How can that be?! Not even a Hashira has ever made contact with him!" Tengen Uzui exclaimed, his gaze darting back and forth between Tanjiro and Lexon. "These two actually?!"
"What the Master said is correct. We have indeed seen Muzan Kibutsuji," Lexon replied with a smile.
"What does Kibutsuji look like?! What are his abilities?!" Sanemi Shinazugawa suddenly appeared beside Tanjiro, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him as he demanded answers.
Tanjiro's head was spinning from being shaken, and he couldn't get half a sentence out.
"Mr. Shinazugawa, he is still an injured person. Please don't do that," Shinobu Kocho reminded Sanemi. She had already seen the brief clash between Lexon and Muzan, and had seen Muzan's appearance and attack style, so she was not in a hurry.
"Where did you see him?! Hey! Answer me!!" Sanemi continued to shake Tanjiro, pressing for an answer.
"Asakusa, Kyoto," Lexon spoke up, seeing that Tanjiro was about to have half his life shaken out of him.
"Asakusa, Kyoto..." Sanemi Shinazugawa wiped the blood from his face, repeating Lexon's words.
At his side, Muichiro Tokito was clearly also very interested in Kibutsuji. His indifferent eyes looked at Lexon and asked, "Did you fight him?"
"Yes," Lexon nodded.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with answering these questions.
Lexon knew in his heart that killing Muzan Kibutsuji meant that demons would disappear forever. No one would suffer, grieve, or die because of demons again. Only then could the fate and mission of the Demon Slayer Corps be concluded. That was why every Hashira was so anxious.
"What was the result of the battle? How strong is Kibutsuji??"
"What was he doing?? Did you find his lair?!"
"Shut up! I asked first! First, about Kibutsuji's abilities—"
"You're the one who should shut up! Kibutsuji's objective is more important!"
It might have been better not to answer. The moment he did, a series of questions came flying at him. They wouldn't stop until they had gotten to the bottom of it, and they even started to bicker amongst themselves.
Suddenly, the Master placed a finger in front of his lips, signaling for silence.
The next moment, the noisy scene instantly quieted down.
"Kibutsuji is sending people to hunt down Tanjiro. Although his reason may simply be to silence him, this is the first time I've caught a tail that Kibutsuji has exposed, and I don't want to let it go. I'm afraid that something unexpected has also happened with Nezuko. Do you all understand?"
Kagaya spoke gently, wanting to make the Hashira understand and accept the existence of Tanjiro and Nezuko.
"I don't understand, Master!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's body trembled, as if a fire was pent up in his heart. "If it's a matter of sparing this brat Tanjiro and Lexon, who knows information about Kibutsuji, that's one thing. But a demon! Absolutely not!"
"Do you know with how much conviction our Demon Slayer Corps has fought until now! And how many have been sacrificed for it! You know this, Master! Therefore, I absolutely cannot agree!"
Sanemi was even willing to let Lexon, who had just injured him, go, but he could not tolerate Nezuko's existence at all.
All his past experiences had made Sanemi thoroughly believe that demons were vicious, man-eating creatures! They had to be killed!
Suddenly, Sanemi drew the deep green Nichirin Sword from his waist and slashed his own arm.
A cut immediately opened on his scarred arm, and blood flowed out continuously, staining the courtyard ground red.
His constitution was that of the rarest of the rare blood types, a great, great delicacy for demons. No demon could resist the craving for his blood.
"Master! I will now demonstrate the ugliness of demons!"
Sanemi said resolutely.
"Sanemi..." From the sound, Kagaya knew what he was about to do.
After all, Kagaya was well aware of his constitution.
Sanemi planned to use his own blood to test Nezuko's craving for humans, to see if she was truly as "non-man-eating" as Tanjiro and Urokodaki Sakonji claimed.
Because the wooden box containing Nezuko had been taken by Lexon and placed at his own feet, Sanemi walked towards him.
But Lexon took a step forward first, blocking the front of the wooden box.
"Get out of the way," Sanemi said to Lexon, his expression ferocious. He held his Nichirin Sword, his other arm still dripping with blood.
He was already restraining himself, restraining the impulse to bring his Nichirin Sword down on the other person.
'Harboring a demon, and obstructing my actions time and time again...'
"I won't," Lexon's refusals were always so direct.
"Get out of the way!" Sanemi's voice rose, emphasizing his words.
"Master," Lexon looked at Kagaya.
"Hmm?" Kagaya let out a sound of confusion upon hearing Lexon's voice.
Kagaya had been a little worried when he heard their confrontation and was just about to speak up to stop them, but he hadn't expected Lexon to suddenly call out to him.
"If he wants to prove something, I should be able to do it too, right?"
Hearing this, Kagaya instantly understood Lexon's meaning. He pondered for a moment and replied, "You may."
Shinobu, who was about to witness Sanemi's proof, also realized what Lexon was about to do, and her expression became abnormally tense.
'Since Sanemi's constitution is the rarest of the rare blood, and no demon can resist the craving for it...'
'Then if the demon that Lexon transforms into does not give in to the temptation, it means that there are indeed demons that can refrain from eating people. Coupled with the fact that Nezuko hasn't eaten a person in over two years, it can also, to a certain extent, prove that Nezuko does not eat people.'
For Tanjiro, it meant that his sister would be spared from suffering. For Nezuko, it meant not having to come out in front of everyone and be used as a test subject...
For Kagaya and Shinobu, it would allow them to see whether what Lexon had said before—that he "wasn't interested in people and didn't eat people"—was true or false. For the other Hashira, it could also make them believe that non-man-eating demons existed...
It was a happy outcome for everyone present.
And for Lexon?
He naturally had his own purpose.
After all, the matter of his "Demonization" would surely be exposed eventually. Rather than being secretive, it was better for him to reveal it openly himself.
And since Kagaya and Shinobu already knew he could demonize, it didn't matter if these people knew as well.
Revealing it all at once while everyone was gathered would also make things much easier, saving him a lot of trouble later.
Another part of the reason was that Lexon coveted Tanjiro's Hinokami Kagura. Although he could take it without asking, Lexon still held the thought of repaying Tanjiro, the only person in this world he considered a friend, if he could.
And it could also be considered payment for "using" Tanjiro in the past.
[Demonization]
The word fell in Lexon's mind.
"Proof? What are you going to prove! Don't block my way!" Sanemi shouted impatiently at Lexon.
But the next moment, his heart trembled. He instinctively used his breathing to stop the bleeding from his wound and adjusted himself to his optimal combat state.
The veins on the arm gripping his Nichirin Sword bulged, and his breathing couldn't help but become heavier.
His eyes, looking at Lexon, seemed to see something incredible. They became bloodshot, and his pupils contracted violently.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]