Time passed quickly, and my relationship with Mitsuri grew stronger. We had let Kagaya know, he was all for it. Probably saw his plan of 'using love to combat the darkness inside me' coming to fruition.
I didn't tell him that other than some personality bleed, there were no negative effects from using my 'evil form'. Not that I didn't trust him, I just didn't go around telling people about my powers. I wasn't a shonen protagonist that felt the biological urge to monologue about how my powers worked.
I also didn't doubt that Kagaya and Tamayo were in contact and Tamayo has already more than likely told him about how Cursed Energy works and who Ryomen Sukuna was.
That didn't bother me, not when I was still the undisputed strongest in the world.
However, it seems that my prank on the Kamaboko squad has backfired. They had gone to Mount Natagumo to deal with the demon there not knowing I had already dealt with it.
They still got their asses jumped by the remaining spider freaks and puppets though. Thankfully Giyu had been out patrolling the area and came to their rescue.
They had spent some time recovering in the Butterfly Mansion. Not as long as they would have had they run into Rui. But long enough that Kagaya assigned them to me as a small squad since Tanjiro was my Tsugoku.
'I could complain about how I'm basically a glorified babysitter. But this provides so many new opportunities to absolutely clown on Muzan's little henchmen.'
I stared out of the window at the passing scenery, Tanjiro was arguing with Zenitsu and Inosuke was doing some weird yoga pose by the entrance to the compartment we were in.
"Oi, Monjiro, Monitsu… where is the Lord of Beasts taking us." He grunted.
"It's Tanjiro!" "It's Zenitsu, you country bumpkin!" They both shouted at the same time.
I chuckled, Inosuke had decided to ignore me after I levitated him five feet off the ground and spun him really fast for ten minutes after he called me 'Santaru'. He had puked in his mask, passed out, then tried to challenge me only to get a repeat experience of my makeshift carnival ride.
'Lmao, get rotated bozo.'
"… and could you stop doing those weird poses? People already looked at us funny because of what you said at the station!" Zenitsu scolded Inosuke some more.
"Sensei? Why aren't we looking for the demon actively? They should be on the train, no?" Tanjiro ignored his two companions and turned to me instead.
"Looking through all these cars would be tedious… the demon won't kill anyone while the train is running, I suspect it'll try a sneak attack on us first." I replied.
"So that's how it is…" Tanjiro looked pensive, "we bait the demon out, then strike when he gets close!" His eyes were practically sparkling in admiration.
'What sort of Demiurge misunderstanding was that?! I just wanted to sit around and wait for that freak to use his blood demon art so I could find him… and deal with him before we get into some overly dramatic fight.'
Tanjiro sat back down and followed my example of looking out the window at the passing fields and trees. As soon as night fell, I felt Enmu start doing his demon magic shit.
I stood up and peeked outside of our compartment. Civilians around us were passing out, a demonic presence was spreading to each train car. Limitless kept the gas or whatever it was away from me.
I sat back down inside the compartment and looked at the three junior slayers who had passed out already. No doubt they were having some sort of Infinite Tsukiyomi type dream.
'Heh… let's see how much I can fuck with this demon… I've been embodying Gojo for a bit, it was time to let the other guy out for a bit… I hope you're wearing your brown pants Enmu… you're about to get the Mahito Special.'
[Scene Break] (POV Shift)
Enmu let out a moan of satisfaction.
"Ah… bliss…" He said to no one in particular.
One after another civilians fell asleep due to his unique ability. Not even the slayers he had watched from afar, in the fear that his bloodlust would alert them, fell into his trap.
He watched them all, 'The yellow haired coward… that scar headed one, and that idiot in the mask… they've fallen too.'
He licked his lips, not even the Hashira escaped his grasps. A sneer formed on his lips as he savoured the thought of tormenting them in their dreams.
"Ah… humans are so fragile and weak… not even the strongest Hashira could escape me…" he spoke out loud again.
'So simple… so perfect.' He hummed in his mind.
He licked his lips as he looked into the scarred boys dream first. A pitiful dream of family, safety, and bonds.
'Pathetic…'
Yet, something caught his eye, in the boys dream he saw him sparring with another. The white haired Hashira that always wore sunglasses.
The presence felt off, too solid to be a figure in a dream. Enmu ignored it and moved on, he had other victims to prey upon. He set the dream deeper, made it sweeter so that it would give him so much more pleasure when he twisted it later.
The others were the same, weaknesses laid bare, fantasies etched into their hearts. Only one remained.
The Hashira.
Enmu thought about how delightful it would be. To break a Hashira by using his dreams against him. To twist his paradise into horror. To taste the fear that would come from him.
Enmu dove into the Hashira's inner world, into his dreams. Enmu could practically taste victory.
And then, nothing.
No dream, no visions of fantasies. No memories of happiness or joy.
Just an empty void.
"Wha-" Enmu whispered, his hands twisting trying to shift the surroundings.
The void rippled, cruel laughter filled the empty space. Enmu tried to move but found that he was frozen in place.
The laughter rang out louder, deep and amused. Enmu tried to find the source but couldn't. The laughter was like glass under his skin. A chill crawled up his spine.
The ripple in the void became a tide, an entire ocean of blood. Pillars of bones rose up, countless, bleached white. A shrine burst from the center of the crimson pool. Its wood splattered and rotted, its surface defaced with jagged carvings.
Then there was a throne, upon it sat the white haired man. Except he was different. Enmu saw his eyes, all four of them. Enmu looked away from the chilling cruelty in those red and blue orbs.
He looked up and gasped, the void had shifted again. The sky was filled with countless stars, constellations of demons and other strange creatures danced across the heavens.
"N-no… this is wrong, thi—
The laugh came again, even more sadistic than before.
"Pathetic…"
Enmu looked towards the throne where the Hashira, no… the demon, sat.
"… Muzan must be desperate if you're what counts as a Lower Moon." The figure sneered.
"N-no…" Enmu tried harder to escape.
"I hate it when people invite themselves into my inner world…"
"Haha…" Enmu smiled nervously, "I was just leaving…"
"No… I would normally kill you at this point… but this is your first time, so I'll let you off with a warning." The figure on the throne smirked at Enmu, "but since you need to be taught a lesson, I'll make sure it hurts."
Enmu felt the weight vanish off of him and he took a cautious step back. The figure in the throne didn't move.
"This is where you scream by the way… don't disappoint me now."
Enmu felt confused at first, this was a dream world. No harm could come to him here. Then the figure swiped a finger lazily.
Enmu felt a sharp pain and immediately withdrew from the dream. He looked down and spotted his own arm, severed and on the floor. He bit back a scream, fear and anger raging across his body. Blood gushed out of his shoulder, he grit his teeth and healed his wound.
'I need to merge with the train… I don't stand a chance against that… that beast unless I do.'
Enmu peered into the dreams of everyone in the train. He tried to brush over the Hashira to see if he was still asleep like everyone else only to notice that the Hashira was no longer in the same compartment as the other Slayers.
"Looking for me?" A cruel voice came from behind him.
Enmu paled.