In the brightly lit space.
The sound of wood colliding, opening, and closing, accompanied by the whistling wind, echoed constantly.
Several rooms are slowly moving in the boundless space, and the layout of the building is changing every moment.
Warmth filled the domain, though it was impossible to distinguish the top, bottom, left, and right of the entire building.
-Location: Infinity Castle-
Dang!
A crisp biwa sound rang out in the direction of the sound.
A woman in a black kimono with long black hair covering her face, sitting in the center of the room, playing her biwa.
As the string of the biwa vibrated, the layout of the entire castle seemed to change accordingly.
Dang!
She stroked the string again with her bachi pick.
Whoosh! Bang... Drap! Drap!
A black figure appeared suddenly, staggering out of the portal and crashing down on the wooden floor.
The impact of the crash was so great that the figure bounced up again and again like a skipping stone on water.
Bam!
After smashing through the second floor, Muzan knelt down on the platform and spat out a mouthful of blood. His black suit is tattered. His hands trembled constantly as they tried to support his body.
"Gah...! Cough, Cough!"
The fresh blood poured out like wine as he tried to cover his mouth with his hands, the blood still leaked between his fingers.
Drip. Drip.
Muzan breathed heavily. He raised his hands to see the injuries he suffered.
The pale skin was thin and transparent, tightly attached to the muscles on the back of his hand. Blue veins spread along the incision on the wrist.
His hands were almost completely severed from his wrists, with only a small piece of skin connecting them.
The charred wound was still glowing faintly red, a testament to the attack power to carbonize the demon.
Shaa!
White smoke burst from the injury as his body tried to recover, but it didn't seem to have much effect.
His abdomen also suffered a slash from the sword, though it was much shallower than his wrist.
Muzan was livid. Rage veins instantly covered his face at this humiliation.
Sharp fangs protruded from his mouth as his wrath reached its peak, and his eyes turned bloodshot.
"NAKIME! GET OVER HERE!!"
A powerful oppressive force caused by his anger crushed the surrounding rooms to smithereens.
Clouds of dust and wood chips flying everywhere.
Treng!
Nakime's hand playing the biwa trembled violently as she missed a note on the strings. The lower half of her face suddenly bulges with dense veins.
"Khh..." She couldn't say a word, biting her lips to stop the blood that had overflowed her mouth.
Her single eye under her long black hair exudes fear and confusion.
She had never seen the Lord so angry and panicked.
That strong fear even affected her through his blood in her.
Even if those feelings weren't directed directly at her, but...
Nakime's eye widened fiercely!
She can't take it anymore!
Nakime choked her own neck, trying to swallow the blood gushing from her mouth. The muscle veins in her neck kept spasming.
Being by Muzan's side for so long, Nakime knew how to survive.
She immediately blocked her heart and stopped thinking.
Pitter. Patter.
Muzan stepped on the viscous necrotic blood as he walked out of the dust fog. His face was fuming, and his voice was suppressed with strong anger.
"Call Kokushibo over to me!!"
He covered his arm, which was full of small charred wounds.
The moment Muzan successfully split and escaped, he knew it in his heart.
The places that were cut were basically the same as 300 years ago, though smaller in injuries.
Yet still difficult to heal.
Dang!
As Muzan contemplates his situation, Nakime has to use all her strength to lift her numb right hand and gently stroke the strings of her biwa.
That was all she could do as her body dropped every ounce of strength it had and she fainted.
Swosh!
In front of Muzan, a kneeling figure emerges from the dust. He wore a purple snake-patterned hakama and a katana that was a mix of flesh and blood tied around his waist.
He slowly raised his head, opened his six eyes that almost filled his entire face, centered on the tip of his nose, and tilted slightly.
His red-colored sclera and golden pupils were hideous with dark red markings that twisted and covered his entire eyes.
In the center of the golden pupils, the following kanji appeared.
[Rank] [One]
The Upper Moon One, Kokushibo.
Among all the demons, his strength is only second to Muzan, the Demon King.
"Muzan-sama..." Kokushibo answered his Lord's call, his tone steady and calm. At the same time, Kokushibo noticed Muzan's injured hands and the sorry condition his outfit had become.
Whether it was because he is used to Muzan's tantrums or for other reasons, Kokushibo silently waits for Muzan to start ranting about his frustration.
Muzan stared at Kokushibo, his wrathful face and scarlet pupils pressed down on him from above.
"Kokushibo..." His tone was cold as ice.
"Three hundred years ago..."
"You killed all the swordsmen who knew the Sun Breathing, yes?"
Hearing the specific time of 300 years ago, Kokushibo's mind fluctuated, like throwing a stone into a still lake.
He lowered his head. His dark red hair tied into a high ponytail hung behind his head.
"That's true." Kokushibo replied.
Muzan stared at him, sensing his emotions and thoughts through the connections of his blood.
Kokushibo remained silent after answering him.
"Then... what is this!?" Muzan stated calmly, his voice growing louder and angrier. He raised his injured hands for Kokushibo to see.
In his six eyes, the scorched red wound was still sizzling, as well as the bright flesh that was trying to heal itself but failed repeatedly.
"This...!" Kokushibo's pupils contracted.
For the first time in 300 years, his emotions fluctuated significantly, and memories that he tried to bury surged out.
Anxiety gushed out of his heart as it rushed all over his body.
"I... don't know..."