Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.
The usually busy Pillars were unusually gathered together, silently waiting.
A moment later,
a young man with a gruesome scar on his face, accompanied by a beautiful woman, slowly emerged from the room at the front.
"You've all come. I'm so glad you can all gather here again for the 'Pillar Meeting'."
His voice was gentle and steady, with a unique rhythm that instantly soothed everyone.
All the Pillars knelt on one knee.
"Greetings, Master!"
"May Master be in good health!"
"..."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya slowly sat down, smiling gently, "Then, let's begin!"
The Pillar Meeting is held every six months, with participants being the Pillars, the Demon Slayer Corps leader, and the head of the Ubuyashiki clan.
They discuss areas where demons appear, the movements of Muzan Kibutsuji, the next generation of Pillars, and the overall discipline and power balance of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Time slowly passed.
Just as the meeting was drawing to a close, Ubuyashiki Kagaya said, "Besides the matters mentioned above, there is one last matter at this Pillars meeting, related to a special demon!"
"A special demon?"
Many Pillars looked puzzled.
Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen brushed a strand of hair from his forehead, asking doubtfully, "A special demon? My lord, is it one of the Twelve Demon Moons?"
"Not one of the Twelve Demon Moons."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya shook his head. "Let's call him 'Aomura' for now.
Aomura first appeared last November at Fujikasane Mountain."
"Fujikasane Mountain?"
All the Pillars looked astonished, including Flower Pillar Kocho Kanae, who knew some of the details.
Wind Pillar Shinazugawa Sanemi's expression was cold as he slowly said, "I remember around that time, a large-scale incident of mysterious demon deaths occurred at Fujikasane Mountain."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya nodded slightly. "At the time, we couldn't investigate the truth behind the mysterious demon deaths, but now we can basically confirm that it was Aomura who did it."
The Pillars grew even more curious.
Demons fighting each other was not unusual.
However, without a Nichirin Blade, it's not easy for demons of similar strength to kill each other.
How did Aomura manage to kill dozens of demons in less than a month?
What was his purpose?
Ubuyashiki Kagaya didn't explain, continuing, "We first observed Aomura when he left Fujikasake Mountain." Shinazugawa
Sanemi couldn't help but ask, "My lord, please forgive my intrusion, but leaving Fujikasake Mountain? Fujikasake Mountain is covered in wisteria flowers, how did he leave?" Ubuyashiki Kagaya's
tone remained gentle: "Aomura prepared a special outfit so he wouldn't come into contact with the wisteria flowers. Also, Aomura was probably not captured and brought into Fujikasake Mountain by us; he most likely went there voluntarily."
At this point, the Pillars understood that Aomura had entered Fujikaze Mountain to kill demons, and his strength was likely far greater than the demons on Fujikaze Mountain.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya said, "On the night Aomura left Fujikaze Mountain, something else happened: Lower Moon Six and Lower Moon Four appeared at the foot of Fujikaze Mountain.
That's right, they were both there for Aomura.
After meeting, they didn't exchange words and immediately began fighting.
We don't know the specifics, but we can confirm that Aomura didn't die."
The Pillars nodded secretly.
To escape from two Lower Moons, Aomura's strength was considerable.
This matched their previous guesses.
"Our second encounter with Aomura was last month."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya glanced at Kocho Kanae as he said this.
Kanae Kocho interjected, "On the night of December 17th, a Kasugai crow passing by Mount Natagumo accidentally discovered demons fighting each other, one of whom was Aomura. The
Kasugai crow witnessed Aomura defeat another demon and then, through some means, devour it!"
"Devour?"
The other Pillars looked puzzled.
"Aomura's hand touched the demon, and then the demon's body gradually disappeared. That's the Kasugai crow's description. Based on my judgment, it was devoured,"
Kanae Kocho said.
The other Pillars remained silent, but they generally agreed with Kanae Kocho's assessment.
So, Aomura went to Mount Fujikaze to eat demons?
What was his purpose?
Could he become stronger by eating demons?
"Can you confirm that the demon is dead?" Tengen Uzui asked.
"It's basically certain."
Kanae Kocho nodded. "I was ordered by my lord to investigate Mount Natagumo. I found several signs of battle, but I didn't see any demons except for Aomura. It's basically certain that they are all dead."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki added, "According to the subsequent investigation, the demons that once occupied Mount Natagumo were a group led by Lower Rank Five, numbering about five."
Everyone's expressions varied.
Gyomei Himejima clasped his hands together. "Kanae, did you see Aomura?"
Kanae Kocho nodded. "Yes, but he disappeared as soon as we met. I didn't notice anything."
"Blood Demon Art?"
"I can't be sure."
Kanae Kocho said, "There's another thing. Aomura actually recognized Kasugai Crow and captured it.
But he didn't harm Kasugai Crow. Instead, he sent Kasugai Crow back to the Demon Slayer Corps to call for help to treat the injured people on Mount Natagumo."
"Kanae, this doesn't prove anything." Tengen Uzui shook his head.
The other Pillars reacted similarly.
They all knew of Kanae Kocho's ideals, but didn't support them, nor did they believe they were achievable.
Kanae Kocho offered no explanation.
"There's more information about Aomura than this,"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki began, drawing everyone's attention. "We received intelligence that a large number of young women had disappeared near Azabu-Iikura, with rumors that the killer was an Oni (demon).
After investigating, Shinobu Kocho discovered that there were no Oni; rather, humans were using the Oni's name to commit the crimes. All the missing women were imprisoned in a secret location, becoming tools for these criminals to vent their desires."
Everyone fell silent.
They could protect people from Oni, but they were powerless against this kind of human-on-human harm.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki continued, "This was originally a secret, but the night before Shinobu Kocho arrived, a major event occurred.
Hundreds of criminals in the Demon's Den were all killed overnight, and hundreds of victims regained their freedom. Only then was the truth revealed."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked at everyone: "The one who did it was a man named Aomura."
The Pillars frowned.
They understood their lord's meaning: the killer was that demon named Aomura.
Putting aside other issues, demons killing people was perfectly normal.
But this matter was very strange.
According to their lord, Aomura only killed criminals and saved hundreds of victims.
His methods were extremely violent, but it was hard to say his actions were wrong.
If there were no other problems, he could even be considered a champion of justice!
Thinking of this, they not only couldn't believe it, but they also found it hard to accept.
Demons were righteous?
What a joke!
Ubuyashiki Kagaya added, "Shinobu Kocho personally investigated the scene; none of the corpses showed any signs of being eaten." Shinazugawa
Sanemi said without hesitation, "Perhaps he just didn't eat them on the spot, but took some of the corpses away."
The other Pillars remained silent.
They wanted to agree with his point of view, but logically, it didn't make sense.
Demons eat people; when have they ever done it secretly?
If Aomura really wanted to eat people, why did he let the victims go?
Kagaya Ubuyashiki said solemnly, "We'll discuss whether Aomura ate people later. What I want to tell everyone is that when Aomura lived in Azabu as a human, he went out during the day more than once."
"What?"
"That's impossible!"
"Lord, isn't there some mistake?"
Upon hearing this, the Pillars instantly forgot about the question of whether Aomura ate people, and the courtyard erupted in chaos.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki raised his hand, signaling everyone to calm down: "I've checked this repeatedly, there's absolutely no mistake!"
A demon unafraid of sunlight?
The Pillars were all somewhat dazed.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki continued, "Besides the above, there are a few other pieces of information that are not yet confirmed.
A little over a month ago, it was suspected that Aomura killed Lower Moon Six and saved a woman.
Half a month ago, Aomura was suspected to be present in a town. At that time, rumors circulated in the town that a demon with the characters 'Lower Moon Three' carved in its eyes was eating people.
Seven days ago, a fierce battle took place in that town at night, and an abandoned street was completely destroyed. After that, there were no more reports of demons eating people.
In addition, there have been several recent cases of demons suddenly disappearing. When our team members rushed over, they found that the demons had already been eliminated. Although there is no evidence, it is possible that Aomura was responsible."
The Pillars all looked shocked.
Lower Moon Five, Lower Moon Six, Lower Moon Three.
If this information is true, it means that Aomura has killed three Lower Moons.
Good heavens.
He is more professional than the Pillars when it comes to killing demons.
None of them have ever killed three Lower Moons!
The heavy death toll of demons should be a good thing, but most people are not happy about it.
They hadn't forgotten that Aomura was suspected of growing stronger by devouring demons, and might even have overcome sunlight.
If he grew up, he would be far more threatening than the three Lower Moons combined.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya said with a slightly serious tone, "Therefore, I hope everyone will keep a close eye on Aomura's movements.
If anyone encounters him, unless he's harming someone, don't engage him. What do you all think?"
Shinazugawa Sanemi frowned, "My lord, demons cannot be trusted!"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya said gently, "So, Sanemi, we need more information to make a judgment, don't we?"
Shinazugawa Sanemi didn't say anything more.
The group exchanged glances and responded simultaneously,
"Yes, sir!"
They hadn't let go of their hostility towards Aomura.
However, investigating the situation first was a viable option.
Kocho Kanae had previously mentioned that Aomura possessed an ability that allowed him to disappear suddenly without her noticing.
Kanae's strength was among the top of the Pillars.
If even she couldn't detect him, the others probably wouldn't be able to do anything either.
Without breaking this ability, even if they wanted to deal with Aomura, it wouldn't be easy.
Sorry for the lateness.
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(End of Chapter)