"The what mountain?" she muttered in a dazed voice, only to get a karate chop straight to the head.
'That one's for making me live like a shota for an entire decade!' Doma thought, a shiver of satisfaction running down his spine.
At last, he understood the protagonists of those martial arts novels who slapped arrogant young masters left and right.
Thanks to the effect of Hlökk's glove, the blow hurt Muzan far more than it had any right to.
Pathetic tears even welled up in those plum-red eyes as she glared defiantly at Doma.
If you ignored the fact that she was nothing more than a head dangling by her hair, Muzan looked exactly like a woman who'd just suffered domestic violence.
"Don't look at me like that. You're gonna make the audience think I'm the villain here," Doma shot back, pretending to be embarrassed, much to the spectators' dismay.
"Did he really just beat Lord Muzan?" asked a newbie demon who'd never seen Doma in action.
"Shh… I don't wanna get involved in your doubts," replied an older demon who'd already watched Doma slaughter skeptics questioning his rank among the Upper Moons.
Luckily for them, Doma wasn't paying attention to their chatter.
Just another everyday conversation right now.
"I did try talking it out, but madam here thought she was some kind of divine being," Doma continued, answering Muzan's furious glare.
After that one-sided little exchange, Doma started walking toward the army of demons and the Shadows.
Of course, Muzan's head was still tucked under his arm.
"Doma, let me go right now or—!" Her venom-laced voice was cut off by a mocking question.
"Or what? You'll explode and run away? Haha, Muzan-san, you're hilarious," he said, hiding the lower half of his face behind his fan.
"Doma… you'll pay for this," she muttered coldly, her "strategic retreat" having been completely exposed.
Muzan's escape attempt had been detected by Doma thanks to his Blood Demon Art: Vanity Paradise.
Beyond the desire to flee, something else stirred in the Demon King's mind: fear.
Muzan was afraid of Doma.
It wasn't the same as with Yoriichi—he hadn't felt total helplessness.
Still, he knew death was a very real possibility right now.
'I'd already felt that sensation temporarily, back when I sparred with Yoriichi using Muzan's cells and Michikatsu's memories as my simulation database,'Doma thought as he watched the fallen Demon King.
The unsightly appearance of his former master momentarily disgusted him, but he decided to be understanding.
Muzan had been traumatized, and those scars had lingered physically for centuries.
As for the mental ones? They were still healing.
The sheer raw power his former subordinate had revealed today only made the latter even more complicated.
"No need for threats. You're neither my prisoner nor my enemy, to begin with," Doma declared casually.
With those words, the ice demon did something that instantly split his subordinates' opinions.
He released Muzan.
'My debt ends here,'he concluded inwardly, watching Muzan's head reattach to its decapitated body.
Muzan's pale face showed shock at the sudden gesture, but she quickly regained control of her limbs.
After a brief silence, a single word—laden with doubt and suspicion—finally slipped from the demon's red lips.
"Why?" she asked, staring into those enigmatic multicolored eyes.
"I told you, didn't I? I don't want to fight you or kill you, but you insisted on forcing your opinion. Sigh. I really hate situations like this," he explained calmly, glancing around.
'What a waste, tch…'he thought, looking at the demons and humans who'd died because of two people's decisions.
Doma didn't care if Rin got mad at him, or about the dissatisfied looks and complicated feelings of duty mixed with family from Mugen.
The ice demon wasn't bound by any obligation except his own will.
The Shadows had followed him because they wanted to; the cult followers had done the same.
He had guided and controlled them because it suited his interests.
'Now… will they leave me? If they do, oh well,' he thought as he walked through the ranks of Shadows and demons.
During his slow stroll, Doma stopped in front of the bloodied Nakime and Gyutaro.
He slightly adjusted Michikatsu—whom he was carrying like a sleeping princess—and looked at his beloved.
"Nakime-chan, I'm not mad at you," he said gently, getting straight to the point.
The demoness's body trembled slightly at his words, but all she could whisper was, "Sorry…"
The sound was barely audible, yet every superhuman present heard it clearly.
"Just 'sorry'? How ridiculous…" he thought, though his face gave nothing away.
Words.
In Doma's opinion, they held no real power in this world.
On the contrary, they were a form of shackle that morality used to bind people.
Excellent tools for tying someone down, but Doma never believed in them or relied on them when they came from someone else.
What? He'd believed Kikyo's words? Of course. Because every single one was factual.
In the end, the ice demon only believed in undeniable facts.
Kikyo's, Kaguya's, and Ume's feelings were pure, just like Nakime's current hesitation.
'Loyalty versus love? So poetic,'he thought, genuinely curious about Nakime's final choice.
"Haha, don't make that funeral face. Anyway, I'll come back often to play music with you," he said, striking a thoughtful pose and ignoring the troubled look on the demoness's face.
"I know! How about we play that song… you know, the one that made the entire Infinity Castle dance—" he suggested, only to be cut off by Nakime.
Perhaps because of Doma's contagious energy and his complete disinterest in pursuing her "betrayal," Nakime found a bit of courage to speak to the godlike demon.
"I'm sorry, but… I'm still on duty," she said, casting a pleading glance toward Muzan.
The onlookers were confused by the exchange, but the older demons under Muzan suddenly recalled an embarrassing memory: Thriller blasting through the Infinity Castle while Doma forced them to do ridiculous dances.
"Muzan-san, can you really deny a request from your hardworking 'partner'?" he asked, turning to Muzan, who was now back in her usual geisha attire.
She had already reverted from her monstrous form.
'Partner? You? With me?'Several veins bulged on Muzan's face.
Doma had literally turned their master-servant relationship into a partnership.
From the outside it might sound reasonable, but Muzan wasn't stupid.
She had lived a thousand years, ever since the Heian era.
She saw right through Doma's shameless plan the moment he spared her and headed toward Nakime.
'He still wants to use my resources without working under me? Doma!'she screamed internally.
An insulting proposition for someone like Muzan, but she couldn't really oppose it at this point.
Better a partner than a monster like Yoriichi.
'No… he's worse than Yoriichi, because he's immortal,'she thought, her fear and fascination with Doma's mind intensifying once more.
"N-Nakime… lend your talent to our dear guest," Muzan stammered, but managed to finish the sentence anyway.
The music from Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal music video echoed once again through the Infinity Castle.
"Why are you all just standing there? Dance! The war's over. And you, Muzan-san, should be able to copy me, right?" he said, sliding into a perfect moonwalk to the tune Nakime was playing.
At that moment, Doma was officially recognized as a monster who surpassed even Yoriichi.
***
Author's Note:
Feel free to check out my Patreon (the link is in my profile), as well as my other fanfictions.
Personally, I recommend the one inspired by Hunter x Hunter.
A quick note: my Patreon will offer three bonus chapters this week, but unfortunately the "Pro Aficionado" tier will need to be refunded this month—sigh… I have way too little personal time at the moment (and I have the terrible habit of starting stories whose ideas I absolutely love… rip me).