Chapter 35

*Kyoto - Infinity Castle*

*Crack...*

The test bottle in Muzan Kibutsuji's hand shattered.

"Failed again," he muttered.

It was the first time his experiment had failed. His heart was gradually filling with irritation. As he grew more agitated, he recalled the time he killed the doctor thousands of years ago. He endlessly regretted not learning about the Blue Spider Lily before killing him.

Over the past thousand years, Muzan had collected numerous medical books from across the globe, but none of them contained records of the Blue Spider Lily.

"Damn it... That bastard Yoriichi Tsugikuni from five hundred years ago caused these wounds that have never fully healed."

Muzan clutched his aching chest.

He had barely survived his encounter with Yoriichi and had managed to put an end to his legacy. With the Blood Demon Art of Space: Infinity Castle, he had hidden for five hundred years, thinking he could rest easy. But suddenly, the gods reappeared. Any blessing from them could make those demon slayers stronger than Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

To avoid detection, he had halted all outside activities and even severed contact with his demons. The only reason he kept creating demons was to use them to gather information of value to him.

But after all the demons he had created over the centuries, not one had brought him anything beneficial.

Now, he was beginning to wonder if creating all those demons had even been a good idea. If he hadn't created so many, someone like Yoriichi Tsugikuni wouldn't have arisen, and he wouldn't have drawn the attention of the gods.

The more Muzan thought about it, the angrier he became. The Hashira only came into existence because Yoriichi created the breathing techniques five hundred years ago, and the Hashira must kill an Upper Rank demon to become one. It was an insult to him, as if the Twelve Kizuki existed solely for the purpose of raising Hashira.

As he was thinking this, the memory of the death of the Upper Rank demon suddenly appeared in his mind. The death of an Upper Rank did not alarm Muzan. He had long since given up on the demons outside Infinity Castle. The group of demon slayers blessed by the gods were far stronger than Yoriichi. Killing an Upper Rank was like cutting vegetables for them.

He had no regrets, even if they killed every demon. At least it saved him the trouble of eliminating demons that brought him no benefit.

However, Muzan panicked when he saw Gyutaro's memory.

Very panicked.

The demon slayers knew about Infinity Castle.

It all made sense now. The gods must have told them, and they also had those paper cranes searching for demons.

He wasn't sure if the Thousand Paper Cranes could find Infinity Castle, but its exposure meant it was no longer safe.

"If all the demons are killed, or even fewer than fifty remain, my whereabouts will be exposed!"

Muzan didn't know if the demon slayers were bluffing, but he couldn't take that chance.

"As long as I'm still in this land, they'll find me..."

Fear gnawed at Muzan's heart. He had no doubt about it—after all, there were gods in this land. Cold sweat continued to drip from his face onto the floor, the only sound in the empty Infinity Castle was his pacing footsteps.

"It seems there's only one option."

He pulled the brim of his hat lower and looked coldly at Nakime, who held a biwa nearby.

"Go to hell."

"Uh..." The curse within Nakime's body activated instantly, her form swelling and twisting like decaying flesh. As she reacted, her distorted eyes looked at Muzan.

"No... Muzan..."

"Infinity Castle is of no use to me anymore, and neither are you," Muzan said indifferently.

Although Muzan was the progenitor of all demons, he was as cowardly as a mouse. To the outside world, he never showed any signs of being a leader. Internally, he used demons as tools—if they were useless, they died. If he was in a bad mood, they died. If they leaked any information about him, they died.

"..." Nakime was speechless. As Muzan's close attendant, she knew him better than anyone. The cowardly demon king was ruthless to all demons, killing any who displeased him—even the Upper Ranks.

She didn't know what had made him unhappy, but she had no time to ponder it, as she was about to die. Nakime, the spatial demon, perished, and Infinity Castle began to collapse.

Muzan appeared in a forest, pulling the brim of his hat down to cover his face. He glanced at the bustling city nearby, his blood-red eyes glowing from the shadows.

"If the number of demons drops below fifty, they'll find me... Then I must create more demons before I leave this land."

He decided to leave the land and the country, heading across the sea. There should be no gods there.

To prevent the demon slayers from inexplicably tracking him, he planned to create a massive number of demons to cause chaos, drawing their attention. It would keep them preoccupied.

Previously, Muzan would never have created demons on such a large scale, fearing it would attract the attention of the government and prompt them to use state power against him. Thus, he had always ordered the demons to act discreetly, even when consuming humans, never drawing attention.

But things were different now. The fewer demons there were, the greater the risk to him. He needed more demons, and the more chaos they caused, the safer he would be.

As for the royal family and high-ranking officials...

"If I turn them all into demons, both the gods and the demon slayers will be overwhelmed."

A strange smile formed on Muzan's face.

Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?

If he turned all the royal family and officials into demons, he could use the power of the state to search for the Blue Spider Lily. Surely, he would find it.

By then, once he became the perfect being, state power would be of no concern. He could change his appearance, even his gender, and no one would know that he was the one who had turned the royal family and dignitaries into demons.

…

*Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward, Imperial Palace, Katsura Palace*

The current Emperor was pacing, pondering how to convince the powerful officials to hand over their authority and transform the country's system, turning the nation into a war machine to secure a share when European powers divided the Nine Provinces of China.

"Those damn local officials, the damn Shogunate—even though I'm the Emperor, I have no authority over the military," he cursed.

At that moment, a magnetic voice echoed behind him.

"You want power? How about I give you power."

"Who?!" The Emperor was startled, but before he could turn, a finger pierced the back of his head.

"Aahhhh...!"