Chapter 57: Who Killed Doma?

—In the Infinite Castle.

Whoosh——

The strong wind blew Akaza's short coat, he slightly lowered his head, maintaining a falling balance posture.

Bang!

Like a cannonball, Akaza's feet touched the ground, he fell heavily on the ground, stirring up a cloud of wood chips.

Akaza slowly straightened up, his muscles exposed, his expression calm, he looked left and right.

This is... the Infinite Castle.

He looked up at the door above his head that was open and could see the night sky outside.

The door slowly closed, and then gradually faded and disappeared in mid-air.

Almost instantly.

With his own powerful perception spreading around him, he triggered the existence of several other Upper Ranks.

—There are other Upper Ranks.

Akaza's pupils shrank, he looked at the crisscrossing wooden Japanese-style buildings around him, and no longer sensed the existence of other Upper Ranks.

He was also called here... in other words.

The Upper Rank meeting.

Muzan-sama has not convened an Upper Rank meeting for over a hundred years.

And every time it is convened, it signifies——

"...An Upper Rank has died." Akaza muttered to himself, his eyes becoming sharp.

——Who was it?

His golden pupils moved on the blue cracked sclera, Akaza seemed thoughtful.

——...Doma?

Yes, it would make sense if that guy died.

He blatantly gathered a large number of followers.

And he even brazenly revealed his doctrine in public, it would be normal for the demon hunters to discover him.

However...

Just as Akaza was thinking about this.

Clang!

With the sound of a lute.

The surrounding environment changed instantly, the direction of gravity was erratic.

The light flickered on and off, finally stabilizing.

Thud.

He arrived on a platform.

"Please be quiet." Nakime slowly spoke, she lifted her long hair, revealing her huge single eye.

On her clear yellow single eye, the black character 'Six' was prominently displayed.

Akaza noticed this, his eyebrows raised.

——The lute woman... 'Upper Rank Six'?

Compared to the previous Upper Rank meetings, the atmosphere of this meeting was clearly more serious.

Akaza slightly lowered his head, he glanced around with the corner of his eye.

Then, he saw a familiar figure, his pupils slightly contracted.

With golden hair, a twisted mushroom-like pattern on top of his head, smiling——

——'Upper Rank Two·Doma'

Doma was sitting in the corner, with an innocent look on his face, seeing Akaza's gaze sweep over, he even waved at him with a smile:

"Haha, Akaza-dono, I'm here."

"Are you looking for me? Congratulations on finding me~"

"After such a long time without seeing you, I'm truly happy to see you again~"

Doma was laughing and talking, his colorful eyes slightly narrowed, as if he didn't feel the killing intent emanating from Akaza at all.

His tone suddenly became low, his eyes became interesting, suppressing his voice, word by word:

"... Akaza-dono."

Creak...

Akaza clicked his tongue, a vein bulged at the corner of his eyebrow, his fist unconsciously clenched, he glanced at Doma with a disgusted look.

He immediately withdrew his gaze, as if looking at him one more time would infect him with a disease.

"Tsk." He grunted in annoyance.

——He didn't die.

For Doma, who was born without feelings, but pretended to be a good person.

And especially liked to eat women.

Akaza was very indifferent, all the signs from him disgusted him, and it was seriously inconsistent with his martial arts philosophy.

"Eh— Akaza-dono, don't be so cold~"

"Let's have a good chat..."

Doma was still continuing to speak, he was about to tease something, but was glared back by Akaza fiercely.

At this moment.

"Hey!!"

A slightly dissatisfied coquettish voice came from the high platform above, she pointed at Nakime:

"That lute woman!"

Hearing the sound, Akaza raised his head and looked up.

It was a woman who looked about twenty years old.

She was standing on the platform above.

It was Daki.

She was dressed gorgeously, her long hair neatly coiled behind her head, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, a look of annoyance appeared on her fair face:

"Why?"

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes looked at Nakime with contempt:

"Why does your eye have the character 'Six'?"

Daki looked at the "Six" character in Nakime's eye, feeling as if her position had been taken away, she was very uncomfortable:

"Upper Rank Six is me...!"

"...It's the identity Muzan-sama bestowed upon me! What are you?!"

As she spoke, the characters for [Upper Rank] [Six] slowly appeared in her green eyes, and the hair tied up behind her head turned into white silk:

"Didn't you hear me! Answer me!"

Behind Daki, a plum-colored ribbon slowly floated up, she didn't mind killing that guy before she was replaced.

—Before being robbed by others, strike first.

This is the fundamental principle she has survived to this day.

Clang!

"Daki-sama."

Nakime didn't directly answer her question, but plucked the biwa, and summoned another Upper Rank, speaking leisurely:

"Please don't rush."

Nakime's tone was slow, her gaze slowly swept over the Upper Rank that had already arrived, and finally slightly raised, looking at Daki.

"...Huh?" Daki heard this, her eyebrows furrowed, her face with distinct features and three-dimensional features showed a petal tattoo:

"What are you talking about, you one-eyed monster..."

Just as the two seemed about to quarrel.

On the lower platform.

"Biwa woman!"

Akaza suddenly raised his head, he interrupted the two's conversation, and without any hesitation, questioned Nakime:

"Is Muzan-sama not here?"

Nakime's voice suddenly paused, she plucked the biwa, and her voice rose:

"...Muzan-sama has not yet arrived."

Daki, who was suddenly stopped, was slightly stunned, she looked at Akaza's back, her eyebrows furrowed.

But after staring at him for a while, Daki didn't burst into conflict, she just slowly sat back down, her face full of resentment.

Near the lower platform.

"I see."

"Then..."

Akaza looked around, he glanced at the Upper Rank that had already arrived, plus the two [Upper Six] that had inexplicably appeared in front of him, there were exactly six demons.

Gyokko and Hantengu were together, unusually silent.

The only one currently missing from the Upper Rank is one person—

"...Where did Upper Rank One go?"

Akaza withdrew his gaze from looking around, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, his tone was very suppressed, as if he was provoking.

He casually said:

"He wouldn't have been killed, would he?"

Although he said so, Akaza didn't believe that there were humans capable of killing Upper Rank One.

That guy's strength—is the existence he has been pursuing to challenge.

But.

After his words came out.

Nakime did not respond.

She didn't even pluck the strings of the biwa, she just stiffened there.

Seeing this, Akaza was slightly stunned.

He quickly turned his head to look at the Upper Rank around him.

But even Doma, who is usually the most lively and jumping, is not speaking at this moment, just sitting there quietly.

What...

Akaza's pupils suddenly shrank.

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