After bidding farewell to Tanjiro's family, Ren and Tomioka Giyu set off for the Butterfly Mansion, where Kocho Shinobu resided, to help him eliminate any of Muzan's cells that might remain in his body.
Meanwhile, in the center of the Infinity Castle, Nakime was kneeling before Muzan, dressed in a black kimono and holding a wooden biwa.
After a night of recuperation, Muzan had completely recovered. Even the bloody hole in his chest, smashed open by Ren's club, had healed without a trace.
He stood up slowly, lifting the spiked club beside him. Feeling the weight of the weapon, Muzan couldn't help but frown secretly, muttering to himself.
"This spiked club has quite some heft. It would be absolutely impossible for an ordinary human to lift it, let alone wield it as easily as an extension of their own arm. Is that brat born with supernatural strength..."
Thinking about how his head had been blown apart by a mere teenager, Muzan felt filled with resentment. His face flushed red with extreme rage. Emotions of anger and hatred instantly swept through the entire Infinity Castle.
Sensing Muzan's mood, Nakime hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground, emptying her mind completely. She dared not think of anything, terrified that Muzan might read her thoughts.
Under Muzan's oppressive aura, her body trembled slightly, and blood began to flow continuously from her seven orifices.
"Nakime! Teleport Akaza into the Infinity Castle for me!" Muzan commanded, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
"As you command."
Nakime gently plucked a string. The ethereal sound of the biwa rang out, and a red-haired young man covered in tattoos instantly appeared before Muzan.
Although the young man's skin was pale and bloodless, he possessed a robust physique. His bulging muscles looked incredibly thick and strong; it would not be an exaggeration to say he could kill a bull with a single punch.
In the eyes of the red-haired youth, the characters for "Upper Rank" and "Three" were visible. He was Muzan's direct subordinate, Upper Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki.
Akaza!
"Akaza pays his respects to Lord Muzan!"
Upon seeing Muzan, Akaza immediately knelt on one knee and spoke with the utmost reverence.
However, Muzan showed no appreciation. He immediately threw the spiked club in his hand directly in front of Akaza.
With a loud boom, the spiked club smashed a large crater into the floor. The spikes on it stopped less than a centimeter from Akaza's pupil.
"Akaza."
"You see the spiked club before you? I want you to memorize the scent on it, and then, by any means necessary, go and kill a black-haired boy for me. Remember, by any means necessary!"
"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"
Akaza nodded solemnly, then departed the Infinity Castle to the sound of Nakime's biwa.
After he left, Muzan immediately said, "Nakime, send me to the core area of the Infinity Castle at once!"
"Now that the brat possesses the ability to threaten me, I had better stay in the Infinity Castle and not take a single step outside until Akaza brings back his head!"
"As long as I stay in the Infinity Castle, no one can hurt me!"
One could only say that Muzan lived up to his reputation; he was truly cowardly to the extreme. However, Muzan had his own justification. How could the affairs of a demon be called cowardice? This was called "following one's heart"!
'As the Demon King, if I die, wouldn't all the other demons lose their lives too? Therefore, for the sake of my compatriots' lives, I must ensure my own safety.'
Thinking of this, Muzan changed into his female disguise and settled down comfortably in the Infinity Castle, waiting with anticipation for Akaza to bring back Ren's head.
Muzan trusted Akaza considerably. Not only was he powerful, but he was also loyal. Compared to Kokushibo and Doma, Muzan felt more at ease using him.
As for the fact that he frequently beat and scolded Akaza? Well, surely that was just "tough love."
...
In the evening, three days later, Ren finally arrived at the Butterfly Mansion with Tomioka Giyu.
Looking at the rows of two-story buildings before him, Ren was astonished. Although the buildings were made of wood, the scale of the place was no less than the large hospitals and rehabilitation centers of his past life.
It had to be said that the Ubuyashiki clan of the Demon Slayer Corps was truly wealthy to be able to create such a medical institution in this era.
At this moment, outside the courtyard of the Butterfly Mansion, a young girl with short, dark blue hair was gathering patient uniforms and bedding that had been hung out to dry.
'Dark blue hair... That girl should be Kanzaki Aoi, right? Also Inosuke's future wife...'
As Ren watched the blue-haired girl, he was lost in thought. Meanwhile, Kanzaki Aoi noticed Tomioka Giyu outside the gate and hurriedly ran out to greet him.
"Welcome, Lord Water Hashira!"
"Mn..."
Giyu nodded slightly, then pointed to Ren beside him, speaking expressionlessly.
"This guy was injured by an evil demon. There might be residual toxins from the demon in his body, so I brought him here to ask Shinobu to give him an antidote injection."
"No problem, please follow me. Lady Kocho Shinobu is in the treatment room."
Saying this, Kanzaki Aoi gestured for them to enter and led the two into the Butterfly Mansion. Ren looked around, taking in the scenery.
Although this was essentially a medical facility, the surrounding environment was indeed pleasant and scenic.
Soon, the two arrived at the treatment room on the second floor. Before even entering, relying on his sense of smell which far exceeded that of ordinary people, Ren smelled a pungent odor of medicinal herbs.
Just smelling it was bitter enough, let alone drinking it.
Kanzaki Aoi knocked on the door and said, "Lady Kocho, the Water Hashira has arrived."
"Ara ara, Mr. Tomioka is actually here? What a rare guest! Could it be that Mr. Tomioka was scratched by a demon? Hee hee..."
Before the door even opened, Kocho Shinobu's melodious and ethereal laughter drifted out. Then, the door to the treatment room slowly opened, and a petite, exquisite, and cute figure walked out.
Kocho Shinobu had short black hair that reached her shoulders, with the ends of her bangs dyed a dark purple. She wore a beautiful butterfly ornament on the back of her head.
Her eyes, beautiful as amethysts, revealed a hint of playfulness. Although she was wearing a mask, anyone could tell that she was a beautiful girl.
However, Kocho Shinobu's figure was somewhat petite. Her height of 1.5 meters only reached Ren's chest.
'If this were in my past life, Kocho Shinobu would probably be considered a loli, right?'
Ren silently criticized in his heart. At that moment, Kocho Shinobu stared straight into his eyes and spoke in a sweet voice that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"This gentleman, you were badmouthing me in your heart just now, weren't you? You were looking down on me for being short, right?"
"Huh? How did you... Cough cough, how could that be, Miss Kocho? I just thought you were too cute and couldn't help but take a few extra looks."
Ren hurriedly changed his tune, thinking that a woman's sixth sense was truly accurate.
"Is that so? Then I shall thank you in advance. But it turns out it is you who is injured, sir? That really is a pity!"
Kocho Shinobu glanced at Tomioka Giyu with a smile and spoke sarcastically, "I thought it was Mr. Tomioka who was injured. I was planning to use you to test the latest anesthetic I concocted!"
Hearing this, Giyu maintained his stone-faced expression, while Ren looked at him with a gaze that said he was hopeless.
As the saying goes: a hero among men is Giyu, a hero among demons is Doma. Giyu's popularity was truly terrible.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]