The first ray of dawn pierced through the clouds, sweeping away the morning mist in the mountains.
A Kasugai Crow entrusted with top-level confidential messages came hurtling into the courtyard, its throat torn raw as it shattered the morning calm.
"Caw—! Emergency report! Emergency report!"
"Kamado Tanjiro encountered Kibutsuji Muzan's direct assassins! Direct assassins! Suspected candidates for the Twelve Kizuki!"
On the veranda, Kocho Shinobu paused mid-sort, her pale violet eyes narrowing slightly.
"Direct assassins… If it's that caliber, then even Tanjiro-kun will probably be in for a hard fight."
But the crow's next words made several Hashira—who had just stepped into the courtyard to begin their morning training—stop in unison.
"Instant kill! Caw! All of them—instant kills!"
The crow wheeled in the air, as though repeating a fact so absurd it could hardly believe it itself.
"No hard fight at all! Didn't even use a single Breathing Form! Only hand-to-hand and a Bright Red Blade—heads severed in an instant! The wounds were scorched by blazing sunlight—no regeneration! No regeneration!"
"Hm… What a truly astonishing report."
A hearty laugh rang out at once.
Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyojuro strode over, long hair like blazing fire and a broad, sunny smile on his face—yet a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Killing demons with special abilities without even using a Breathing Form, and inflicting injuries that 'can't regenerate'? This boy's swordsmanship is something else. I'd love to spar with him right now… and treat him to sweet potato rice while I'm at it!"
"Hold on a moment, Rengoku."
From the roof, a flamboyant figure dropped down upside-down.
Sound Hashira Uzui Tengen stroked his chin, brows knitted. "This kid's definitely strange, but 'no regeneration' is… a bit too exaggerated, isn't it? Even Nichirin blades only suppress regeneration."
Hearing the exchange, Shinobu gently set down the medicinal herbs and smiled. "It's true, Uzui-san."
She recalled that day at the Butterfly Mansion—how scorching the blade felt when she saw it turn red.
"That child's sword… is a 'Bright Red Blade' that can burn everything. Perhaps the 'ending' we've been searching for all this time is truly about to arrive."
Still smiling, Shinobu turned to Uzui.
"...A Bright Red Blade?!" Uzui's eyes widened in disbelief. "That guy's Nichirin sword—what color is it?!"
Shinobu didn't answer. Her face remained perfectly composed in that signature, flawless smile.
Yet when she turned away and walked alone into the depths of the Butterfly Estate, the curve of her lips gradually eased…
Until the smile vanished completely.
She returned to her apothecary room.
On the table lay a freshly refined vial of wisteria toxin at an extremely high concentration.
…It was the "funeral" she had prepared for herself.
According to her original plan, she would ingest this poison day after day—pickling every drop of blood, every shred of flesh into a lethal toxin powerful enough to kill an Upper Rank demon.
For that, she had long accepted the resolve to rot slowly in the process, and in the end, to be devoured by a demon.
Because she wasn't strong enough.
Because her strength was so small she couldn't even cut through a demon's neck.
Because… this was the only method she could think of to avenge her sister.
"Breathing isn't meant to be used that way."
The boy's voice abruptly echoed in her mind, overlapping with the promise made back then in the forest.
"Leave cutting off demon heads to me."
Shinobu reached out, her slender fingertips lightly touching the cold glass of the poison vial.
"Unable to regenerate…"
She murmured those four words under her breath.
The crow's report struck like a hammer, smashing down on the death wish she had sealed away.
That boy hadn't been lying.
What he possessed wasn't merely strength—it was a terrifying sword skill capable of dragging her out of this abyss of despair.
If… if it was him…
If demons truly could be cut down that easily, if her sister's revenge really could be concluded by his hand…
"Then… do I not have to die?"
The moment the thought surfaced, Shinobu felt a tremor rise from the very depths of her soul.
She reflexively hugged her arms tight, fingernails digging deep into her haori.
What filled her heart now was a wavering that was almost "fear."
She had grown used to embracing death—used to treating herself as nothing more than a tool for revenge.
But now, someone had suddenly barged in, arrogantly telling her, "You can live," telling her, "You don't have to sacrifice yourself."
This sudden "hope" left her more at a loss than despair ever had.
"What a… self-important brat."
After a long while, a faint sigh drifted through the dim apothecary room.
Staring at the vial, Shinobu did not drink it in one gulp as she usually would.
She simply capped it in silence.
And in those violet eyes that had always suppressed emotion, for the first time, a glimmer of hope—belonging to the living—appeared.
…
The Infinity Castle.
A realm where the laws of physics were twisted beyond recognition.
Countless buildings hung inverted; gravity had lost all meaning here.
Yet at this moment, the magnificent, grotesque castle was saturated with a suffocating low pressure—as though even the air had solidified into lead.
"Zing—"
With the crisp pluck of a biwa string, several silhouettes abruptly materialized on the central platform.
Beings who, for centuries, had never been summoned together at the same time.
The nightmare of all demon slayers.
—The Upper Ranks, standing at the pinnacle of all demons.
"Oh my, oh my~"
A frivolous voice broke the silence first.
A man whose hair looked as though it had been splashed with blood fanned himself with a golden folding fan, smiling with careless ease. "What's this? Muzan-sama actually called everyone here? Could it be you were lonely?"
Upper Rank Two—Doma.
"Shut up, Doma."
Beside him, a pink-haired man covered in tattoos shot him a disgusted glance, killing intent bristling like cold steel. "If Muzan-sama summoned us, something major has happened. Keep talking and I'll kill you."
Upper Rank Three—Akaza.
"Eek—so scary, so scary…"
In the corner, an old man trembled, as if he might faint at any second.
Upper Rank Four—Hantengu.
And at that moment, the warped creature in the pot—Gyokko—and the gaunt, skeletal Gyutaro also fell silent.
Because that man had arrived.
The pressure in the air multiplied tenfold.
Kibutsuji Muzan stepped forward in a black suit, his face dark enough to drip water.
He did not bother disguising himself in a human form as usual. Instead, he revealed his true body, overflowing with savage brutality.
All the Upper Ranks immediately prostrated themselves, not daring to breathe too loudly.
They had followed Muzan for hundreds of years, yet they had never seen their master wear such an expression…
Fear.
Yes—fear.
Even as Muzan forced it down, the twitching at the corners of his eyes and the restless, startled-bird tension permeating the air told the Upper Ranks one thing—
Their king had just lived through a nightmare.
"Raise your heads."
Muzan's voice was hoarse and icy.
With a wave of his hand, an image surged through blood itself, forcibly projected into every Upper Rank's mind.
It was the last sight Yaha-ba saw before death.
Under moonlight, a youth with a flame-like mark on his forehead and hanafuda earrings hanging from his ears stood holding a blade that burned red from end to end, staring coldly ahead.
His gaze was calm as an ancient well—yet scorching like the noon sun.
"Find this demon slayer."
Muzan snarled, almost hysterical.
"I don't care what methods you use. I don't care how many humans you have to kill—"
"Kill him for me!!"
"Whoever brings back his head… I will grant them blood sufficient to become the 'new Demon King'!"
Boom—!
The words detonated like thunder in the Upper Ranks' hearts.
Blood enough to become a new Demon King?!
Akaza's eyes ignited with battle lust for a strong opponent. Doma looked intrigued. Gyokko and Hantengu trembled with greed.
And yet—
In the midst of that feverish atmosphere, one figure remained dead silent.
A man seated high on the steps, wearing a warrior's outfit beneath a purple kimono patterned like serpents.
Upper Rank One—Kokushibo.
From beginning to end, he did not speak.
But the instant the youth's image—especially those hanafuda earrings, and that bright red blade—appeared in his mind…
Crack.
The hand resting on his sword hilt tightened abruptly.
Then began to tremble—slightly.
Not because of Muzan's lavish reward.
Not from excitement over a powerful enemy.
But from something far more complicated—an emotion steeped in jealousy, nostalgia, hatred… and awe.
Those earrings…
That red blade…
Kokushibo slowly raised his head.
On that face with six eyes, all six pupils contracted violently as he stared at the youth's phantom image in the void.
Space around him seemed to warp beneath the sword aura erupting from within, and even Muzan couldn't help turning to look at him.
After a long time—
A raspy, low voice—like it had crossed four hundred years of time—slowly sounded through the deathly stillness of the Infinity Castle.
"Could it be… you have finally returned?"
Kokushibo rose to his feet, his palm clamping down on the hilt as cold, terrifying light swirled within all six eyes.
"…Little brother."
-------
Promotion Valentine's Month Sale: 20% off for 7 days. Apply now!
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (123 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (72 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (92 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (93 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (75 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (115 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (105 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (105 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (42 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty…then Who Am I? (50 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (47 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (40 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (40 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (46 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (43 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it