'A demon?'
The Lower Ranks smelled the scent of a demon coming from her.
"Lord Muzan?" Mukago looked at Muzan Kibutsuji, not understanding his meaning.
'Is this female demon the object of the proof? How do we prove it? By killing her?'
Muzan Kibutsuji ignored her and instead responded to Youmei's words.
"You may."
Hearing Muzan's response, a glint of excitement seemed to appear in Youmei's crazed eyes.
In an instant, she grabbed the head of Rin Tabane from her waist.
"Blood Demon Art: Wailing Undead."
The peaceful expression on Rin Tabane's face twitched. The closed eyes on the young girl's face suddenly snapped open, her mouth gaped wide, and her expression changed from serene to one of extreme terror.
An eardrum-piercing scream came from Rin Tabane's wide-open mouth.
The Lower Ranks present had already wanted to be on guard, but the sound came too suddenly and too quickly. Their eardrums were instantly shattered, and a ringing sound filled their entire heads.
Their minds went into a daze, as if they had lost control of their own bodies.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Amidst the screams, the Lower Three, Wakuraba, felt his neck being gnawed on. The strength in his body seemed to drain away as his flesh was torn.
'I can't... I can't move...'
He wanted to resist, but his body felt like it belonged to someone else, no longer under his control.
'I can't... I can't regenerate...'
He wanted to regenerate his body, but he found that his demonic regenerative ability seemed to have lost its effect.
He could only watch helplessly as that female demon, holding a continuously screaming head, devoured his body.
Soon, Wakuraba was completely devoured, not leaving a single trace behind.
The Lower Two, Rokuro, and the Lower Four, Mukago, just stared blankly at the whole process, terror filling their hearts...
Unease, despair.
They wanted to beg, but even opening their mouths was an extravagant hope.
Before long, the two of them followed in Wakuraba's footsteps.
Next, Youmei walked towards the last remaining demon, the Lower One, Enmu.
He was different from the other Lower Rank demons. From the moment he appeared in the Infinity Castle until now, he had not shown a trace of fear. Instead, he had been staring at Muzan's figure with a look of sick excitement.
Those who didn't know better might have thought he was lusting after Muzan's body.
"Stop," Muzan said to Youmei, who was about to devour Enmu.
"You said I could kill them," Youmei's fangs, with remnants of flesh still on them, were still approaching Enmu's body.
Muzan frowned. "I told you to stop."
Another terrifying arm of flesh and blood shot out, violently grabbing Youmei's body and crushing her entire upper torso into the purest form of blood.
Along with the head of Rin Tabane that Youmei had been holding.
But Muzan Kibutsuji did not destroy the demon cells carried in Youmei's blood. He did not stop her ability to regenerate. Clearly, he had no intention of killing her.
"Ah... Lord Muzan," looking at his beloved Lord Muzan, a faint blush appeared on Enmu's sickly face.
Muzan Kibutsuji moved the arm of flesh, which was gathered into a mass of large mouths and eyes, to Enmu's side. A large mouth on the arm opened, revealing a foul stench. "Are you not afraid of death?"
"To be able to die at your hands, Lord Muzan, is my honor! It is the supreme glory!" Enmu opened his arms, a look of longing on his face.
It seemed that to him, dying at Muzan's hands was a wonderful, wonderful thing.
"You have caught my eye!" The corners of Muzan Kibutsuji's mouth curled up slightly. The other's posture had piqued his interest.
Suddenly, a sharp blade extended from the arm of flesh and, with the speed of lightning, stabbed into Enmu's neck. Muzan's blood was transfused into Enmu's body through the blade.
"I bestow upon you my blood. You will gain even greater strength. However, you may also be unable to withstand the power in the blood and die," Muzan said slowly. "If you live, then go and kill that demon hunter with the earrings. If you succeed, I will grant you even more of my blood."
"Lord Muzan..." Enmu's body twitched continuously as he felt the information being transmitted along with Muzan's blood.
The figure of Tanjiro appeared in his mind...
'If I just kill this person, I can obtain more of Lord Muzan's blood...'
"Twang."
The sound of a biwa rang out again.
The door beneath Enmu opened, and he fell through, being sent to another place by Nakime.
"Why didn't you kill her?" a deep voice came from a distant building.
"Twang."
The sound of the biwa rang out once more.
The owner of the voice appeared abruptly beside Muzan Kibutsuji.
It was a man.
The man had a high black ponytail with long sidelocks, and he wore a purple, snake-patterned kimono and black hakama. He had six eyes on his face, with the middle two eyes engraved with the characters for "Upper One." There were red markings on his left forehead and from his right lower jaw to his neck. A sword similar to a Nichirin Sword hung at his waist.
His identity was obvious.
The strongest Upper Rank of the Twelve Kizuki, Muzan Kibutsuji's most powerful demon, the Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
His strength was so great that even Muzan Kibutsuji only considered their relationship to be a partnership.
"Because she is interesting," Muzan Kibutsuji knew very well who the "she" Kokushibo was referring to. He looked at the still-recovering Youmei and replied.
"Hmph," Kokushibo showed little interest in Muzan's "interesting" and did not pry, instead asking Muzan, "Why did you have Nakime summon me?"
"The Demon Slayer Corps has a powerful swordsman who can switch between human and demon. I want to eat him," Muzan Kibutsuji made no attempt to hide his desire.
He wanted to eat Lexon. He wanted to become a truly perfect creature, no longer having to fear the sun, completely free.
"Alright," Kokushibo agreed directly. "When?"
"When all the Upper Ranks have arrived," Muzan Kibutsuji said.
"To what extent is his strength?" Kokushibo asked. He was more concerned with the other's power.
"Not below yours," Muzan said.
"Oh?" a look of interest appeared on Kokushibo's face. He then said, "What if he tries to run?"
After all, if their strength was on the same level, it would be very difficult to stop him if he wanted to run.
"Gyokko was captured by him. I can track his position at any time. But because he is at the headquarters of those damn demon hunters, to avoid their interference, I will find a chance to lure him out. Once he and Gyokko appear within the range of Nakime's Blood Demon Art, I will have Nakime use Gyokko as a medium to pull him into the Infinity Castle."
Muzan slowly explained his calculations. Immediately, an incomparably excited and ferocious expression appeared on his face as he continued, "And within the Infinity Castle, with all the Upper Ranks gathered, he will have no chance to escape."
"After eating him, I will become a truly perfect creature," Muzan spread his arms, declaring his wish. "And then, we will go and destroy the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps and slaughter all of those damn demon hunters!"
Muzan's calculations were very thorough. From the moment Lexon had left, he had already planned all the steps. All that was missing was a little time.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]