Chapter 22: Future

"One [Devil no.1] each" said Lucian, announcing to the large line of demons in front of him.

Each of them had dull expressions and empty eyes, and they moved mechanically, looking like soulless puppets.

And they really are, Lucian had deprived them of their consciences.

As for where these demons came from, you may not remember, but in the first chapters, Lucian gave an order: "bring to the castle of infinity any demons you find."

And now he was arming these lesser demons, preparing them for combat that would come in just a few days.

With such weapons in possession, those who were so weak that they could not defeat even a slightly more prepared ordinary person, could now take down several demon slayers.

"How many?" asked Shinobu, who was watching everything with a smile on her face.

"There are two hundred" replied Lucian, also smiling.

I must say that the two have a remarkable resemblance, the smile practically constant on their faces.

Then Shinobu seemed to think of something, a trace of hesitation appearing on his face.

"Does anything worry you?" questioned Lucian.

"I assume you know about Kanao, right?" Shinobu asked, foreshadowing what he would say next.

"Right." Lucian nodded.

"I want her to go with us, but she is at the Demon Slayer Corps base, plus her personality is a little strange" said Shinobu, expressing her concern.

"I think even if I asked her, she would just flip a coin to decide."

"You'll have the chance to talk to her soon, and if she refuses, just knock her out" Lucian said, comforting her.

If you're going to use gentle means, just flip the coin again. By being a little more aggressive, he might just knock her unconscious.

"Even though I know the intention of her words, they aren't exactly comforting…" sighed Shinobu, looking embarrassed.

"Maybe" laughed Lucian, turning his attention to the two hundred armed soldiers who stood in front of him.

'I think it would have been more impactful if they were rifles instead of pistols. As my first time entering into an armed conflict between organizations I'm really excited.'

Anxiety appeared slightly on Lucian's face, after all, this would be the first time he had destroyed an organization, especially one the size of the Demon Slayer Corps.

"So are you ready to attack yet?" Shinobu asked, his reluctance could be seen.

"I will attack in a few days, but don't worry too much, you won't need to get involved in this combat" said Lucian, her reluctance was understandable, after all she had been part of the Demon Slayer Corps for a long period of time.

It was the Demon Slayer Corps that had taken her and her sister in.

So he understood this reluctance. And he preferred to bear the blame for her.

 Just as he had put himself in a villainous position with Mitsuri, saying that it was not her who chose it, but he who "forced" her.

Similarly, he intended to carry the guilt Shinobu felt for betraying the Demon Slayer Corps, he just didn't know how to do it yet.

'I can do this easily, what weighs their hearts doesn't weigh mine.'

Hearing Lucian's words, Shinobu just sighed before laying her head on his shoulder.

Lucian glanced at her lightly, and then continued commanding his soldiers.

Even though there were no problems in the chain of command and all of them could be passed quickly due to the telepathic link, Lucian still wanted to set up some formations first.

...Not that they would maintain any formation during the attack.

"In the future I'll give them wings" declared Lucian after pondering for a while.

"Can you do this?" Shinobu raised her head slightly upon hearing his words, curiosity appearing in his eyes.

"Did you hear what I said?" Lucian froze slightly and asked.

"Of course, I'm so close that it would be impossible not to hear your words" she said, blushing a little when she realized how close she was to him.

"Coff... yes I can give you wings, do you want to fly?" Lucian quickly covered up his embarrassment, not letting anything show.

'I have to break my habit of talking to myself.'

Yes, he often talked to himself, a habit he developed for reasons even he didn't know.

"Of course I want to, I think almost everyone does" exclaimed Shinobu, excited by the idea of moving freely in the sky, cutting through the clouds.

"Then we will go out to fly" agreed Lucian, snapping his fingers and taking her out of the infinite castle.

He then picked her up in his arms, spread his wings and took off.

"Just relax and enjoy the trip" he said to Shinobu.

And she followed her words, looking down she saw the city illuminated by yellow lights and even though the sun had already set it was still busy.

The constant flow of people coming and going, the large number of vendors on the sides of the street.

This was a scene that made Shinobu sigh for the beauty of the world.

'Those who don't know about the existence of demons can really stay relaxed...' she thought, until she heard Lucian's voice.

"In the future this will become increasingly common, thanks to the advancement of technology, there will be electric lights in the streets and in houses, which will greatly increase nightlife" commented Lucian upon seeing the fascination shown by Shinobu.

"I certainly want to see that" she replied.

"I'm curious about what the world would be like in 100 years."

"Not much will happen in 100 years. Let me see here... two world wars, man goes to the moon, computer technology undergoes a gigantic advance and smartphones are created.

Medicine has also made great advances, previously incurable diseases now have an easy cure, and life expectancy is greatly extended.

 I think the most notable thing would be globalization, with a lot of people traveling all the time" Lucian presented.

"Two world wars and you say not much happens?!? And how did trips around the globe become so frequent?" Shinobu was clearly exasperated by this information.

"Ah, I forgot that at this time information travels slowly, but Santos Dumont and the Wright brothers already invented the airplane.

In 1906, Santos Dumont already carried out a public flight, with a plane capable of taking off without rails, catapult or specific wind" replied Lucian.

"I really look forward to seeing the future" said Shinobu, her curiosity only increased after this conversation.

"You'll be able to see it soon" smiled Lucian.