"What?! A large number of Monjushiro have appeared?"
Upon hearing the report, Kagaya Ubuyashiki coughed violently, blood staining the cloth over his lips. His frail body had already reached its limit, yet another disaster had surfaced before the Demon Slayer Corps could even recover from the previous one.
What were they supposed to do now?
A Kasugai Crow had just delivered urgent news from Shizuoka Prefecture in the south. A massive swarm of Monjushiro had appeared, openly hunting humans during the daytime despite their hatred of sunlight.
That alone was enough to terrify Kagaya.
If those creatures were willing to move during the day, then it meant there was something at night that even they feared to confront.
The Twelve Kizuki.
The moment that realization surfaced, Kagaya's expression darkened.
If a member of the Twelve Kizuki truly was involved, then ordinary Demon Slayers would be walking to their deaths. Even a Hashira would be in danger.
After a long silence, Kagaya finally made his decision.
"Notify the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka; the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui; the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji; and the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito. They are to proceed immediately to Shizuoka Prefecture, exterminate the Monjushiro, and investigate the movements of the Twelve Kizuki."
The Kasugai Crow cried out sharply before taking flight once more, carrying the orders to the crows assigned to each Hashira.
Mitsuri Kanroji was the first to receive the mission.
At the time, she was happily enjoying a mountain of sakura mochi.
The moment she heard the crow's message, however, she quickly swallowed the food in her mouth, wiped her lips with a handkerchief, and leapt to her feet.
"A mission?! I have to hurry!"
She immediately turned toward Obanai Iguro and waved enthusiastically.
"Goodbye, Iguro-san! I'm heading out!"
Obanai watched her leave, concern hidden beneath his usual cold demeanor. Still, Mitsuri was a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. He trusted her strength.
Even so, he could not fully suppress his unease.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to seek out Tengen Uzui beforehand and quietly asked him to watch over Mitsuri during the mission.
As for why he did not ask the other two—
Giyu Tomioka was too difficult to approach.
And Muichiro Tokito always wore such an absent-minded expression that speaking to him felt strangely awkward.
Tengen, however, was different. As a former shinobi with three wives, he was far more attentive in social situations. Obanai believed Mitsuri would feel more comfortable around him during the mission.
Somewhere far away, Kanzaki Aoi would definitely have applauded this line of thinking.
When the four Hashira finally gathered at the rendezvous point, Mitsuri looked incredibly energetic.
"Let's do our best together!"
Tengen grinned flamboyantly. "Leave it to me! I'll make this mission flashy!"
Giyu remained silent as always.
Meanwhile, Muichiro was suffering internally.
Usually, Hashira carried out missions alone, so maintaining his usual detached persona was manageable. But this mission would require several days of travel together.
That meant he had to keep acting expressionless the entire time.
Ever since joining the Demon Slayer Corps, Muichiro had deliberately maintained a blank expression to avoid exposing too much of his true personality. After all, revealing too much emotion could make others suspicious, especially regarding his connection to Kokushibo.
But in reality, Muichiro was not naturally cold at all.
In fact, he was rather cheerful.
"Seriously… how does Tomioka-san keep that face all day long?" Muichiro thought bitterly.
Pretending for this long was exhausting.
Poor Muichiro still did not realize that Giyu Tomioka was not pretending at all.
And so, the four Hashira departed together for Shizuoka Prefecture.
"Why are you here…?"
Yushiro's left arm had been torn off, and his entire body was drenched in blood. He looked utterly miserable.
Kokushibo calmly sheathed his Nichirin katana and glanced at him indifferently.
"To see whether you were dead or not."
With a snap of his fingers, a cold-faced young man stepped forward from the shadows.
Tamayo narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who is he?"
Yushiro also became visibly cautious.
Kokushibo pointed toward the mangled corpse lying nearby.
"Eat it. Then you won't feel guilty about consuming humans."
The young man silently obeyed, kneeling down before beginning to devour the flesh.
His name was Kuchiki Makoto.
Several days earlier, Kokushibo had personally transformed him into a demon. At the time, Makoto's entire family had been slaughtered by enemies seeking revenge against his father. Left alone and cornered by death, he had accepted Kokushibo's blood in exchange for the power to survive and avenge them.
Although he had become a demon, Makoto still retained fragments of his humanity. Deep within his subconscious remained the instinct to protect others, and he would occasionally help humans without realizing it himself.
Kokushibo never interfered with this behavior.
After all, even he himself had not completely severed his remaining humanity.
Once the battle site was cleaned up, the four of them returned together to Tamayo's hidden residence.
The moment they entered, Kokushibo immediately turned toward Tamayo.
"How is the research progressing?"
That was the matter he cared about most.
Tamayo lowered her gaze slightly and shook her head.
"We still have not discovered a complete solution."
Kokushibo's brows twitched.
"You still haven't identified the structure of those creatures?"
He could already sense that the Monjushiro were evolving at an alarming rate. Compared to before, they had become significantly more dangerous.
If this continued unchecked, they might eventually surpass even Muzan Kibutsuji himself as a threat.
"And once that happens," Kokushibo muttered darkly, "even demons will become prey. At that point, the entire world will collapse."
Fearing Kokushibo might lose his temper, Yushiro immediately stepped protectively in front of Tamayo.
"It's not like we made no progress at all!" he snapped. "We already uncovered several important things."
"Oh?"
Kokushibo's killing intent eased slightly.
"Not bad, brat. Seems bringing you two together wasn't pointless after all."
Yushiro hesitated briefly before continuing.
"The Monjushiro may resemble insects, but their internal structure is extremely close to that of demons. They invade the body of a human or demon host and forcibly mutate the flesh into something insect-like."
"Go on," Kokushibo ordered.
Yushiro clenched his fists before finally speaking again.
"I'll tell you more… but you need to provide Tamayo-sama with additional blood."
"Yushiro…"
Tamayo gently tugged at his sleeve, but Yushiro's expression remained stubborn.
Hearing that demand, Kokushibo suddenly froze.
Only then did he realize something important.
He had been forcing them to conduct research for months while completely forgetting to compensate them with blood.
Even demons needed payment.
This truly was the behavior of a ruthless employer.
Naturally, Kokushibo could not admit such embarrassment openly.
"What are you talking about?" he replied coldly. "I told Arashi to deliver blood regularly. Did that fool fail to do his job? Fine. I'll deal with him later."
Far away, Saito Arashi unknowingly took the blame.
After casually sacrificing his subordinate's dignity, Kokushibo continued calmly,
"From now on, Makoto will deliver blood to you every month."
Kuchiki Makoto immediately bowed his head.
"Yes, Kokushibo-sama."
Only then did Yushiro finally relax.
"The Monjushiro's biological composition is nearly identical to a demon's."
The instant those words left his mouth, Kokushibo's six eyes narrowed sharply.
Similar to demons?
How could that be possible?
Muzan Kibutsuji was the progenitor of demons. For over a thousand years, no other being had replicated that phenomenon.
Then why did these creatures resemble demons so closely?
Suddenly, a terrifying possibility surfaced in Kokushibo's mind.
Why had Muzan become a demon in the first place?
The Blue Spider Lily medicine.
And the doctor who created it…
Was he truly acting alone?
Cold sweat trickled down Kokushibo's back.
If that physician belonged to some hidden organization… then perhaps the creation of demons had never been an accident at all.
For the first time in centuries, Kokushibo felt genuine unease.
Suppressing his thoughts, he gave Tamayo and Yushiro several final instructions before leaving the residence with Shin under the cover of darkness.
Watching Kokushibo disappear into the night, Yushiro spoke quietly.
"He's creating demons now too… I just hope he doesn't become another Muzan."
Tamayo gently touched Yushiro's cheek.
"Believe in him," she whispered softly. "Right now… he may be the only one we can still trust."
Yushiro's face instantly turned bright red.
Yet he remained completely still, silently savoring Tamayo-sama's rare gentleness for just a little longer.
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