As Qingfeng spoke, his voice grew shrill.
"In my eyes, you're simply unforgivable—standing in the way of our justice."
Kurosaki Rei paused mid-step, then sneered coldly. "You seem to have misunderstood something."
"Isn't that the truth? Or have you never read history?"
Qingfeng spoke as he gnawed on his little snack, his mouth smeared with blood. The sight was eerie to the extreme. It was clear that the side effects of the man-eating demon bloodline were severe—even an explorer with strong mental fortitude couldn't overcome the urge to consume humans. Or perhaps it wasn't that he couldn't restrain himself—he simply believed he was doing something sacred.
"I never said I was fighting for this country," Kurosaki Rei said coldly.
"I just find you bunch of demonic freaks disgusting."
Compared to most explorers, Kurosaki Rei was something of a "man from the future." In his era, nations no longer existed. Yet whether by birthplace or by the education he had received growing up, he still identified himself as a descendant of the ancient Eastern civilization.
Many people of that era never studied history, but under his master's guidance, he had. He knew of the five thousand years of twists and turns of that ancient land, and the suffering it endured in modern times.
He acknowledged the evil committed by this country during wartime, and deeply respected the heroes who fought to defend their homeland, sacrificing everything rather than yielding. But none of that meant he would ever stand on Muzan's side.
"But we are heroes," Qingfeng said, his expression growing manic.
"That Lord has the potential to become a hero. As long as we overcome sunlight, we'll be able to dominate the fate of this land."
He stared at Kurosaki Rei. "Isn't there something wrong with your brain?"
Kurosaki Rei lowered his stance, his voice sinking.
"Shut your filthy mouth. You dare put Muzan on the same level as those heroes who fought to protect their homeland—those who gave everything and never surrendered. In my eyes…"
Lightning wrapped around his body. White steam and violet mist surged upward. Kurosaki Rei glared like a wrathful Myōō, murderous intent shaking the wilderness as he swung his blade.
"…that is the greatest insult of all!"
With godlike speed, dozens of meters vanished in an instant. The jet-black blade, bathed in moonlight, swept across Qingfeng's neck.
Yet the madness on Qingfeng's face vanished at that instant, replaced by a bizarre smile.
Though his head had clearly been severed, he was perfectly fine.
Because in that split second, he had judged that there was no way he could dodge Kurosaki Rei's god-speed slash—so he severed his own head first.
In essence, Kurosaki Rei's strike had cut through empty space. This was a dodge technique only demons could employ.
And Kurosaki Rei's extreme-speed charge—just as Qingfeng had anticipated—was the true purpose of today's encounter.
At the instant Kurosaki Rei passed by Qingfeng, a door suddenly appeared behind Qingfeng's back. It burst open, revealing a brightly lit, labyrinthine space beyond.
At such speed, Kurosaki Rei couldn't possibly brake or change direction in time—and so he charged straight in.
Qingfeng's head fell. He caught it, reattached it, and in an instant the flesh fused and regenerated. Then, unhurried, he stepped through the door as well.
Bang—!
Once Qingfeng entered, the door slammed shut.
One after the other, the two entered the Infinity Castle, falling through midair.
From above, Qingfeng looked down at Kurosaki Rei with a smile.
"A brute really is a brute. A little provocation and you lose your head. How could I possibly plan to deal with a powerhouse like you on my own?"
Kurosaki Rei adjusted his posture in freefall and landed steadily on a platform. Qingfeng, meanwhile, came to a stop on a higher tier, gazing down at him from the edge.
"Before coming here, you must've thought that the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters had been exposed—didn't you?"
Kurosaki Rei surveyed his surroundings. At the edges of platforms and through cracks behind doors, countless demonic eyes stared at him. By rough estimate, several hundred demons were watching him even now.
As expected of Muzan's lair. The recent decrease in man-eating incidents was likely due to Muzan concentrating his forces here.
Beyond the weaker demons, Kurosaki Rei also sensed several powerful auras rapidly approaching, leaping between platforms to seal off all possible escape routes.
Hearing Qingfeng's words, Kurosaki Rei frowned. He realized he might have made a mistake.
"The Corps' original hiding methods weren't all that clever," Qingfeng said with a smile from above.
"But after you changed the relocation pattern, we were limited by daylight and couldn't act freely. At best, we could only analyze and track you down to a general area."
"But thanks to you," he continued, "I now know exactly where the Demon Slayer Corps' main base is."
He began counting on his fingers, as if doing calculations.
"By analyzing the speed of your assassination attempt just now, and the instantaneous speed I observed when you arrived, I can infer how fast you traveled. Add in message transmission time and your response window, and your travel distance becomes obvious."
"You came from the east. Fifty li eastward, there are only a few old estates—no villages or cities. Narrowing it down is incredibly easy."
Smiling, he looked down at Kurosaki Rei.
"So it was you who exposed the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters. You are the one who'll get those Hashira killed."
Kurosaki Rei stood there, his aura calm. Even the lightning had faded, leaving only faint violet mist drifting around him.
"So what?" he asked.
"Don't you hate us demons? Don't you like the Nine Hashira and the Corps?" Qingfeng crouched, peering down.
"Now your recklessness is about to get them killed. Shouldn't you be angrier? More desperate?"
"But don't worry," he added softly. "You'll be waiting for them down below first."
As his words fell, several figures landed on the same platform as Kurosaki Rei.
From the west came a demon with short peach-pink hair, golden eyes, deathly pale skin. His body was covered in countless dark-blue tattoos symbolizing criminals. His nails were blood-red, and he wore a purplish-red short robe, prayer beads hanging around his ankles.
That unmistakable appearance made Kurosaki Rei recognize him instantly—
Upper Rank Three: Akaza.
"You look really strong," Akaza said. "Why hate demons? Why not join us instead? Then we could spar every day."
"Oh my, Akaza," another voice chimed in lazily.
"Your idea isn't bad, but it seems we're already disliked. I don't think he'll join us."
The speaker had white-oak-colored hair. His irises were rainbow-hued, with the words on his eyes hidden beneath a comically patterned hat. Draped in a black cloak, he wore a casual smile as he spoke.
Upper Rank Two: Dōma, the cult leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith.
"Dōma, behave yourself," came a deep, authoritative voice.
"This enemy is no weakling. Lord Muzan is watching."
From a northern platform descended a man clad in a kimono patterned with purple serpents and black markings, wearing black hakama. His deep crimson hair was tied in a high ponytail, and most disturbingly, he possessed six eyes, all golden with crimson sclera.
On the central left and right eyes were engraved the characters:
Upper Rank — One.
Kokushibo.
Kurosaki Rei looked at the demons before him and laughed self-mockingly.
"You really think highly of me—luring me into the Infinity Castle with such careful planning?"
"You've already slain two Upper Ranks," Qingfeng said as he jumped down to Kurosaki Rei's level. He couldn't stand higher than the First Upper Rank—Kokushibo cared deeply about hierarchy.
"Since we decided to deal with you for real, of course it had to be a killing blow."
This plan had been Qingfeng's idea, and Muzan had approved it. Muzan had never forgotten the sense of unease he felt when he first saw Kurosaki Rei in Asakusa.
Luring Kurosaki Rei into the Infinity Castle meant there was no escape—no reinforcements. Surrounded by all the Upper Ranks, death was inevitable.
Kurosaki Rei took a deep breath, his spirit surging.
"I really have to thank you."
"Thank me?" Qingfeng frowned. "Even if you beg now, I won't leave you an intact corpse."
He couldn't understand why Kurosaki Rei was still so calm at such a dead end.
"I spent two months thinking of every possible way to enter the Infinity Castle," Kurosaki Rei said, baring a grin of stark white teeth.
"But you…"
"…invited me in."
The moment those words fell, the Upper Ranks closest to him all halted instinctively. They sensed Kurosaki Rei's aura skyrocketing.
Akaza, closest of all, leapt backward on pure combat instinct, widening the distance.
Qingfeng's confident smile froze on his face.
"Oh dear," Dōma said cheerfully as he retreated,
"Looks like we let something truly dangerous into the castle."
Only Kokushibo remained unmoved, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, six eyes locked onto Kurosaki Rei.
"Indeed… a formidable opponent. Worth cutting down."
Kurosaki Rei fully activated the Thunder Breathing he had completely mastered, combining it with the released state of Demon-Imprisoning Blade. His body's temporary attributes leapt dramatically—his overall stats reaching 36 points.
The moment he landed, he had already roughly scanned the Upper Ranks' attributes:
Upper Rank Four · Qingfeng
Constitution: 34Strength: 31Agility: 38Spirit: 35Charm: 19
Upper Rank Three · Akaza
Constitution: 38Strength: 38Agility: 38Spirit: 20Charm: 13
Upper Rank Two · Dōma
Constitution: 37Strength: 35Agility: 39Spirit: 40Charm: 20
Upper Rank One · Kokushibo
Constitution: 42Strength: 40Agility: 40Spirit: 30Charm: 1
In pure attributes, aside from Qingfeng, Kurosaki Rei held no obvious advantage—and he was clearly inferior to Kokushibo. Yet all the demons instinctively grew wary or distanced themselves.
Because as beings who had fought for centuries, they could sense danger on a primal level—the gap lay in combat mastery.
Even Akaza, obsessed with martial arts, was only around master-level in combat specialization. Kokushibo's might be close to Kurosaki Rei's—but still below his level.
With Kurosaki Rei's physical body elevated to this extent, as a demon slayer, he now posed a genuine lethal threat. Hence the instinctive caution.
However, Kurosaki Rei's current aura was still not enough to greatly endanger someone like Kokushibo. Calmly, Kokushibo stepped forward, intending to strike first and end this enemy's life.
By temperament, he would normally attempt to recruit such a warrior to become a demon and cultivate further—but for some reason, the moment he saw Kurosaki Rei, he felt an instinctive rejection.
As if Kurosaki Rei stirred memories he did not wish to recall.
At that moment, from a far higher tier, a figure stepped to the edge, overlooking the battlefield.
He wore a well-tailored suit and a fashionable white hat. A pair of crimson slit pupils stared coldly at Kurosaki Rei.
"Though you're nothing but an eyesore of an insect," Kibutsuji Muzan said,
"I can still give you one chance. Become my subordinate."
"So you finally show yourself…"
Lightning crackled around Kurosaki Rei as violet mist surged. He raised his head to look at Muzan. At Muzan's words, the other demons did not attack, clearly awaiting Kurosaki Rei's response.
Kurosaki Rei locked eyes with Muzan.
"…You've got some nerve."
The demons and explorers within the Infinity Castle reacted instantly—some furious, others mocking. To them, Kurosaki Rei was already dead, yet he still dared provoke Lord Muzan. How foolish could one be?
This was the demons' stronghold. Surrounded by Upper Ranks, with Muzan overseeing the battle—did he really think there was any chance of survival?
Yet as Kurosaki Rei finished speaking, his aura exploded once more.
Muscles bulged beneath his clothes. Dark-violet demonic patterns crawled across his skin, forming eerie markings on his face.
Scalding steam burst from his mouth with a whistle like a steam engine. Under Ghost-God activation, his primary combat attributes skyrocketed again—reaching 40 points!
As he crouched, the muscles in his legs swelled further. With Shunpo, thunder erupted across the platform. The ground shattered, debris exploding outward like blooming flowers.
Lightning shot skyward. Air rippled in expanding rings. A piercing sonic boom shook the entire Infinity Castle!
Before Muzan could even process his shock, Kurosaki Rei surged up like a demonic god, appearing directly before him.
The fatal black blade was already descending toward Muzan's head.
In that instant—
Muzan smelled death.
Just as he had hundreds of years ago.
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