Pierce~
Douma's cold claws pierced Nakime's scalp and let his chilling blood flow into her. Five seconds later, he removed his hand from her head.
The demon froze, frostbite blooming on her face and skin. Inside, a bone-chilling cold was ravaging her blood as she felt two presences clash. Her one eye cried tears of pain which froze on her face.
After a minute of enduring the harrowing cold, her entire body was encased in a block of ice, surprising the two Upper Moons.
"What... did you do?" Daki asked, casting a curious glance at Nakime. She didn't really care about that demon anyway.
"I'm simply testing something on her." The rainbow-eyed demon answered.
"Uh.." Gyutaro was speechless, unable to understand what was going on. "Ugh, my brain is hot."
Crack!
Finally, the block of ice encasing Nakime cracked, then shattered into icy particles. The appearance of the demon within was revealed.
"Gasp-!"
The demon siblings gasped in sync, their eyes widened in surprise.
Nakime had changed. Instead of a single ugly eye, she now possessed two beautiful pink eyes, like a normal human. Her hair remained black while her skin grew dazzling pale like water under moonlight. On her forehead, a snowflake sigil manifested, making her figure look divine.
The demon turned to look at Douma, her expression indescribable.
"Master..."
The voice that escaped her mouth was soft and musical, pleasant to the ears.
'So it worked. No time to revel though. We have to move.'
Douma thought, his smile broad.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the demon siblings and locked their consciousness. Then he spoke to his new follower.
"Nakime-chan! Could you please get us out of here? Hmm?"
The biwa demon obeyed.
Thrumm~
.....
Not even a second after the four demons escaped the Infinity Castle, the space trembled. Its spatial laws distorted and convulsed, unstable. After Nakime was transformed into a demon under Douma, her blood demon art changed. And the Infinity Castle, being a manifestation of her blood demon art, grew increasingly unstable without its anchor or source.
In his lab, Muzan sensed the instability and grew confused. What was Nakime doing?
He dug into her memories and realized she had pulled Douma into the Infinity Castle after he exposed himself to her.
'So she caught him...'
The demon progenitor misunderstood. Nakime didn't catch Douma. Instead, Douma tricked her overly obedient mind into bringing him in.
As he read the memories, Muzan's expression changed. He clearly heard the part:
"Sorry, but we can't talk much. Simply put, I'm taking you guys away from the Infinity Castle, and Nakime, you're coming too."
Something about the way that emotionless demon said this made Muzan feel uneasy.
The next second, he sensed Nakime try to contact him but—
'Hm?'
He couldn't read further than that. It seemed Douma had done something to the demon.
Exhaling in restrained rage, the demon progenitor reached out to his connection with Nakime only to feel nothing.
'Huh?'
The connection was... gone. She wasn't killed, because if she was, her memories would have returned to him. Yet, she was gone. Just like Tamayo.
BOOM!
The table before him shattered, his experiments crashing to the ground. His expression was utterly furious as his body trembled in rage.
'That demon...' He growled, expression contorting. Douma had done it. He had cut Nakime from him—further exposing the flaw in Muzan's seemingly inescapable dominance.
'I'll personally tear apart that demon.'
....
When Douma and the others reappeared, they were underground the Eternal Paradise Cult. It was a simple thing. He had simply planted an image of the cult into Nakime's consciousness, allowing her to teleport them here.
Seeing neither Shinobu nor Saki, Douma was curious and reached out to the demon.
What he saw surprised him. Those two... we're out sparring. Not fighting, but sparring.
'Women are truly weird creatures.'
"Oi, why do I get the feeling you're thinking something unpleasant?"
Daki asked rudely, still reeling from the turn of events.
"Ugh.. what is going on here?" Gyutaro asked with a scowl, scratching his hair impatiently.
Douma turned to them with a genuine smile that caught them off guard.
"Well, let's work on you two, shall we?"
He grabbed their heads without permission and injected his cold blood into them.
'Ah~ am I getting addicted to this position?'
After all, that was how Muzan had turned him. A cruel stab through the head.
The demon siblings froze over in a minute, their transformation inevitable.
Meanwhile, Douma turned to Nakime, eyeing her specially. After tasting Saki, he was curious about how others would taste. What of a masterpiece like Shinobu?
'No.' He shook his head. 'I'll save the best for the last.'
The biwa demon became nervous under his bold stare that roamed her body, feeling shy. This was the first time someone had shown interest in her ever since her marriage as a human.
'Nope. Priorities first.' Douma shook his head, burying the thought of devouring the musician now. However, an even bolder thought arose.
What if he devoured her alongside Daki?
Unconsciously, he licked his lips while his eyes remained serene and unfeeling. After all, it was just a fleeting stimulation.
Crack!
The sound of ice breaking brought him back to reality as the siblings emerged from the ice cocoon, looking entirely different.
Daki had regained her white hair and blue eyes like when she was a human, and a light blue snowflake pattern replaced the flower marks on her cheeks and body.
Gyutaro on the other hand, looked entirely different. His scrawny physique had changed, becoming lean but athletic. His ribcage no longer pressed against his skin. Though the black ink-like patterns on his face remained, and his teeth remained shark-like.
"Hah? Why do I look different?" He asked as he patted his cheeks which were unnaturally smooth.
Douma spread his arms and replied earnestly. "I can't have ugly followers can I?"
"Douma. You need to explain..."
Daki stated sternly. Unlike Nakime who had quickly sensed that Douma had become her Lord, she was still confused.
"Oh my~ poor siblings. You're not the brightest, are you?" Douma laughed, though there was no trace of mockery in his voice. "Let me explain to you..."
"I severed your connection with Muzan, then made you demons under my command. Is that clear now?"
The two demons blinked, then nodded perfunctorily. They didn't really understand, but at least they got the message. Douma had become their master.
"Well then, you all can bond together. I'll join you soon."
As he said that, Douma disappeared, reappearing in his room.
His expression changed as his presence grew weaker like a flame under fierce winds.
'I expected it to drain me, but not this much. Oh well~'
While it seemed easy peasy to overcome Muzan's blood and control over a demon, especially Upper Moons, it was anything but easy.
He had to personally guide his blood through his consciousness to break down the demon progenitor's blood. And the process?
It was as draining as hell. Still, it was worth it. He had gained three powerful demons on his side, and he made Muzan infuriated.
"Hahaha~ It's so amazing."