"What?!"
The revelation shocked Tanjiro greatly. He'd heard of the Upper Moon Demons, even meeting three of them—Akaza, Daki, and Gyutaro.
Those demons were centuries old and full of malice. They were the top ranks of the demons.
'Why would she—?'
His thoughts churned. He couldn't understand.
"Shinobu Kocho left with that demon a month ago and hasn't returned, her stance is unclear."
Lady Amane remarked, her expression tinged with disappointment. She was also shocked when she heard the news. Shinobu wasn't the type to easily switch sides. Something must be driving her resolve.
"It doesn't matter. They're obviously with the demons now." Sanemi sneered, his eyes sharp.
"That is where you're wrong." Gyomei countered, tone even. "According to the demons, Muzan has put a bounty on the duo. I suspect that Muzan also wants to kill them."
This piece of information surprised the Hashiras.
"Really? That's strange. Demons hunting demons." Obanai quipped.
"Nezuko is a good example, though." Muichiro retorted flatly.
"Whatever it is... We can't let the demons get them first."
Surprisingly, Sanemi was the one who spoke.
Others looked at him with varying degrees of surprise.
"What? Don't give me that look! We need to bring Shinobu back."
Seeing them look at him strangely, he explained in exasperation.
"You're actually kind, Sanemi-kun." Mitsuri smiled, "So you care for Shinobu."
With his earlier attitude, one could easily mistake his anger as being directed towards Shinobu. However, he was just frustrated by the situation and deeply hated Douma. That demon was definitely playing some tricks on Shinobu.
"Quit the crap. We need to find them and kill the demon."
He snorted, arms crossed in displeasure.
Gyomei nodded, turned to Lady Amane, and asked. "What are your orders?"
Lady Amane took a deep breath, then spoke resolutely. "Find Shinobu and kill the Demon Douma."
Giyu hesitated, conflicted. "But wouldn't that be against Oyakata-sama's order?"
In response, Lady Amane smiled. "My husband would understand."
"Understood, Lady Amane."
The Hashiras echoed.
...
[Eternal Paradise Cult]
Douma lazed in the confines of his bed, though his mind worked overdrive.
'Ever since my transformation, it seemed I've regained only one emotion—more attachment to Shinobu.'
He had always viewed her as a treasured toy or trinket, yet... he was starting to feel genuinely attached.
'Oh my~ This is getting quite interesting~'
He smiled at the thought. However, the feeling quickly disappeared, replaced by the usual void in his heart.
'Ara~ I really made the right choice by becoming a demon. I'm sure I couldn't have achieved this as a human.' He mused to himself, 'Interestingly, this new form guarantees high physical power.'
He flexed his fingers, feeling the muscles vibrate. Perhaps, he could even rival Akaza in brute strength.
'Should I pay a visit to the Infinity Castle? It's been a while now.'
He thought, missing Gyokko's remarks and Akaza's tsundere tendencies.
That contemptuous fish tried to kill his 'human', though. His lips curled downward—a frown.
'Oh my my~ Am I feeling upset? Hmm, tastes bitter~'
Still, he shook off those thoughts. No matter how much he falsified his emotions, he knew what his fate would be if he visited the Infinity Castle.
Death and consumption by Muzan-sama.
'Such nasty thoughts...'
He didn't really care about Muzan. Even when he became a demon, the instinct engraved in a demon's mind; to be absolutely loyal to Muzan, didn't have an effect on him. Why? He couldn't feel fear, couldn't feel trust, so he simply couldn't feel loyalty. Even reverence was out of the question.
Still, he followed Muzan's orders because that man(?) was an interesting being.
With his signature smile, he sat up from bed and sized up his room. Specially built to block sunlight, it was the perfect abode for him.
'I thought Muzan-sama wanted the Blue Spider Lily to waive the effects of the sun. But even after injecting it, I'm still affected. Should I tell him it's useless? He wouldn't be devastated, would he?'
Keeping the thought shelved, he made his way to the secret basement he had brought Shinobu to earlier.
From afar, he watched her meditate in deep concentration—trying to harness hamon in the air.
'Shinobu-chan has such impeccable concentration. Truly magnificent~'
Careful not to disturb her, he moved away from her spot. His expression reverted to its usual cold indifference. There was something he intended to test out.
"Blood Demon Art—Frozen Lotus Bloom."
Lotus petals made from ice materialized around him, the suddenly splintered into icicles which exuded a chilling air.
'It's still the same but...'
His eyes caught the reflection of his snowflaked eyes in the icicles and he instantly realized another property that had been added.
Illusion.
When he had used it against Shinobu, he thought it was only applicable through eye contact. However, now he realized this new ability had been ingrained into his techniques.
His smile widened, genuinely pleased.
"Eternal Winter Mist."
This technique spread an icy fog that obscured vision and caused difficulty in breathing, from his fans. Now however, he noticed it was harsher. Likely any ordinary demon slayer would die of frozen lungs immediately.
Also, as he expected, a sense of illusion was adopted into the fog. He saw several silhouettes resembling himself moving through the fog.
'Whoa, whoa~ This is getting more interesting.' His eyes gleamed.
Another new technique was the one he used against Shinobu earlier. Now named 'Snowflake', the technique caused the snowflakes in his eyes to spin in gradual acceleration, drawing the target into a false reality which could not be differentiated from actual reality.
[T/N: Something like Itachi's Sharingan.]
It was very useful and didn't require much energy—at least from his perspective.
Similarly, he could pull the target into false dreams of their loved ones, cherished moments, secret dreams endlessly, draining their mental power. This required a lot of his energy, though his energy reserves made it seem insignificant.
Another one that intrigued him was named 'Illusory Devour'. While the target is trapped in endless illusions, Douma could easily shatter their consciousness and kill them. It was a cruel mental attack ability.
Despite being armed with all these in his arsenal, Douma felt no true joy. Only mild curiosity.
Perhaps, letting Shinobu interest him with her plans was the best he could gain for now.