While little Muzan was busy attending classes, talking to girls, and experiencing the strange thing known as "student life," another Muzan was moving through the shadows of the outside world.
The difference between the two was honestly ridiculous.
One was currently acting like a proper high school student and teaching a socially anxious sword prodigy how to relax.
The other was dragging a screaming criminal through a flesh-made dimension while wondering if Genestella organs tasted different from normal humans.
Duality, heh.
The man was tied up using thick black cords created from Muzan's flesh. Not that they were necessary. The man's limbs were broken anyway.
Muzan had not done that intentionally.
Well... mostly unintentionally.
Apparently, Genestella were much weaker than he expected, at least in comparison to himself.
The experiment had been simple. He wanted to see if Genestella limbs could take more pressure than normal humans.
The result? Barely 3 times more.
This man's name was Jorge.
A serial killer.
One hundred and twenty-three confirmed victims, a whole lot more injured, and a few deaths that were accidental.
Muzan had observed the structure of society, the treatment of Genestella, the corporations controlling Lux distribution, and the general political climate.
And honestly?
The situation was exactly the kind of environment that produced extremists and dumbasses like Jorge.
Genestella were stronger than normal humans. That was a fact.
They were faster, tougher, capable of using Prana.
And even among Genestella, there were the elite ones, the Strega. Some could generate fire, others manipulated gravity, ice, magnetism, sound, or stranger things.
Yet despite all of that, the majority of authority still rested in the hands of normal humans and massive corporations.
The Genestella were useful, profitable, entertaining, and good tools.
But they were not free.
There were many laws especially made for Genestella. The punishments given to Genestella were harsher.
There were many such things that made sure humans remained dominant.
And some people hated that.
Muzan understood their logic as well.
Strength, afterall naturally desired dominance.
History had proven that countless times already.
Unfortunately, people were also stupid, and stupid people with power often became terrorists.
Which led him to Jorge.
The man suddenly appeared outside a bank wearing a black cloak and laughing like a complete lunatic.
Then he started killing people.
No demands.
No negotiation.
No strategy.
Just murder.
Apparently, Jorge believed terror itself was revolutionary. That he was serving some kind of equality by giving people pain and death.
Muzan personally thought Jorge was an idiot.
A dangerous idiot, admittedly, but still an idiot.
The interesting part was not Jorge himself, but the group behind him.
At first, Muzan assumed Jorge was acting independently. That assumption lasted approximately four minutes before he got his answers through Dream Manipulation.
During the "interrogation," Jorge repeatedly referred to "The Future King of the World."
Pretty dramatic, and useful information.
Muzan sat down on the wooden engawa of the Infinity Castle while watching Jorge sleep.
Or more accurately, while watching Jorge remain trapped inside a dream.
Dream Control was absurdly useful.
The more Muzan experimented with it, the more terrifying it became.
Dreams were fragile things. Human minds even more so.
Once someone fell asleep, their subconscious became vulnerable in ways physical defenses could never protect against.
Memories, instincts, traumas, fears, desires, everything became accessible.
Jorge's mind was, messy.
Very messy, as if something had interfered with it.
And this was definitely not because of him being a madman, or a Dante or having a particularly strong or weird mind.
Anyway, he had already extracted most of the important information about him and his organization.
The organization itself was laughably small.
Nine members. No proper funding, no support, no fame, no nothing.
Just a bunch of angry Genestella radicalized by one charismatic lunatic.
And their goal?
Overthrow human authority and establish Genestella supremacy.
Very original.
As for their actual operational level?
Pathetic.
They possessed one hideout, stolen equipment, a few low-grade Lux weapons, and a lot of delusions.
Most of their members were unstable people gathered from prisons, underground arenas, and extremist circles.
But the truly interesting one was their leader.
Because unlike the others, the leader was intelligent, manipulative, and somewhat charismatic. At least as charismatic as you could be as a lunatic.
The man possessed an Orga Lux capable of hypnosis.
Not crude hypnosis either.
It subtly influenced emotions and loyalty over time.
The members believed they were following him willingly.
Muzan had reached this conclusion after going through the memories in a bit more detail. Honestly, it was still speculation, but he was quite certain of it.
Or Jorge and the other members were bipolar or something.
"King of the world, huh."
Muzan chuckled just thinking about it. People truly dreamed big, but then again,
So did he.
A man's dreams never end, right?
The difference between them was that Muzan actually had the potential to back it up. (The system)
Jorge suddenly jerked awake.
His eyes opened wildly before immediately locking onto Muzan.
Fear appeared on his face instantly.
That was good.
Muzan preferred honest reactions.
"W-where..." Jorge tried to move before realizing his condition.
His expression twisted in pain.
"You..." he tried to say through the pain.
"Me." Muzan nodded politely.
Jorge's breathing grew rough.
Muzan could practically hear his thoughts.
Confusion at his condition, fear for his life, anger due to humiliation and pain.
And underneath all of it...
A strange haze.
The hypnosis's influence.
"Let's skip the dramatic part," Muzan said casually. "You tried to murder civilians in broad daylight. I kidnapped you. Very tragic story, but, you kinda deserve it though."
Jorge glared at him.
"You don't understand anything."
"Probably true," Muzan commented.
"The world belongs to Genestella!"
"And yet you were losing to a random man in a suit," Muzan teased the guy.
He was having fun, even if he wasn't actually a random man.
"..."
Muzan leaned back slightly.
Honestly, the more he learned about this world, the more interested he became in Prana itself.
It was fascinating.
A biological energy system generated through mutated structures within the body after exposure to Invertia radiation.
It strengthened the body, enhanced cognition, and allowed supernatural phenomena.
And most importantly, it followed rules.
That meant it could be studied, replicated, and improved.
Muzan looked at Jorge thoughtfully.
The human body was adaptable.
Demonic biology even more so.
If demons could evolve Blood Demon Arts from emotion and consumption, then absorbing a Genestella should theoretically allow adaptation toward Prana compatibility.
At least in theory.
That was why Jorge mattered.
Not because he was strong or important.
Not even because he was evil and it wouldn't matter if his life became miserable.
No.
It was simply because he was the first one available.
And yes, he was morally acceptable enough.
After all, Muzan had promised not to devour innocents anymore.
This guy definitely did not qualify as innocent.
"So." Muzan rested his chin on his hand. "Now then, tell me something,"
He knew most things already. Dream interrogation was extremely efficient.
Still, hearing information verbally sometimes revealed emotional reactions dreams concealed.
"You're part of an organization, right?" Muzan asked casually.
The man's expression twisted from pain, then became proud as he declared, "We are the future."
...Yep.
Honestly, organizations should avoid introducing themselves like edgy teenagers.
That is, of course, unless it was an organization made by an edgy teenager.
"Which organization?" Muzan asked again.
The man smirked.
"You think I'll tell you?"
"No." Muzan smirked as well as he answered honestly again.
"I just wanted to see if you'd say something stupid."
"..."
"..."
"...You bastard!!"
Jorge spat blood toward him.
The blood stopped midair.
Invisible arrows redirected it downward before it even reached Muzan's clothes.
The serial killer froze.
Muzan smiled pleasantly.
"That was rude."
The air shifted.
A translucent red arrow appeared around Jorge's body.
One touch at his arm lightly and,
Crunch!
The already twisted limb twisted even more.
"AAAAAHHH-!!!" Jorge screamed.
"Relax," Muzan said calmly. "I already know everything important. This is mostly for entertainment."
That was, of course, true.
Muzan laughed while seeing the trembling serial killer.
"Tell me, what's your real goal? World domination?"
Jorge laughed painfully.
"The King's vision is beyond people like you."
Muzan sighed.
Why were cultists always like this?
"You know, every insane organization somehow ends up with a guy calling himself king, god, emperor, or savior."
No response.
Muzan continued anyway.
"And somehow all of them think killing random civilians helps their cause."
Jorge still remained silent.
'Still nothing, huh.' Muzan thought in amusement.
The arrows tightened slightly around Jorge's other limbs.
Jorge hissed through clenched teeth.
"He will change this world."
"Sure he will."
"He understands Genestella suffering."
"Mhm."
"He will free us."
"Oh! There it is." Muzan pointed. "That one. That's the manipulation talking! It just flared slightly there!"
Jorge's eyes widened slightly.
'Interesting reaction. Seems like the hypnosis really was subtle.'
It wasn't complete mind control, more like emotional reinforcement.
Loyalty enhancement. Suggestion amplification.
Could be any one of them. Could be every one of them.
Very dangerous long term.
Especially for emotionally unstable and traumatized people like Jorge.
Muzan suddenly stood.
"Actually..." He looked thoughtful. "This whole thing might save me time."
Because originally, he planned to investigate the criminal underworld separately.
Now?
A terrorist organization basically delivered itself directly into his hands.
How considerate of them.
Jorge glared upward, still trying to put up a front.
"You think you've won? Once our leader-"
But he was cut off by Muzan.
"Buddy, I kidnapped you in under ten seconds. If all of them are just as pathetic as you, then I don't think I'll need to waste more than an hour kicking you all to death."
"You have no idea who you're dealing with!"
Jorge screamed in desperation.
His fear, insecurity, and everything else,
were laid bare.
Like an open book.
Muzan stared at him silently for several seconds, and then he burst out laughing.
Not mocking laughter.
Genuine laughter.
"Oh, that's a good one."
Muzan walked toward him slowly, and Jorge stiffened.
"You know what the funny part about this is?" Muzan crouched slightly. "You're not even strong enough for me to hate, not even enough for me to notice, actually."
"And that's saying something, because my previous biggest enemies were all just humans."
He leaned down and said,
"You're more pathetic than a bunch of random humans."
The words landed harder than violence.
Jorge's expression twisted, grimacing, but Muzan ignored it.
He was more focused on his experiments.
While Jorge had been unconscious, Muzan had used his blood, biology control, and knowledge of biology to analyze his body.
The way the Prana flowed and interacted with biology resembled Blood Demon Art system more than expected.
But in the demons' cases, there was no "sudden surgery of aura." Their enhancement came with consumption and converting that consumed matter into vital energy, while Prana was different.
Muzan's eyes sharpened slightly.
If compatible integration was possible, then...
'No.' He shook his head.
'Let's take one step at a time.'
Rushing experiments usually ended badly.
Well, unless you were immortal.
Then they only ended painfully.
Still, caution was important.
Muzan stood again and stretched slightly.
He didn't need to, but the action itself was something that felt naturally good.
"Alright," he said lightly. "Let's begin."
Jorge frowned.
"Begin what?"
"The experiment."
For the first time since waking up, genuine fear appeared in Jorge's eyes.
Good instinct, or maybe experience?
Muzan opened several doors throughout the Infinity Castle.
Different rooms became visible.
Tables emerged from the ground itself, carrying various tools and equipment.
One room was completely empty except for restraints.
And another...
Another was filled with flesh.
Living flesh was all around. Walls pulsed slowly, big blue veins visible in places, organic growth spreading across floors and ceilings.
Jorge paled instantly.
"...what are you?"
Muzan paused.
That was a surprisingly difficult question to answer nowadays.
Human? Demon?
Just a monster? Or maybe a traveler?
He was many things already.
So instead of answering properly, he simply smiled and said,
"Currently?" he said softly. "A researcher."
The doors slammed shut one by one.
The Infinity Castle shifted.
Rooms rotated.
Hallways extended infinitely.
And while the academy prepared for another ordinary school day,
deep within a personal dimension hidden from the world itself, Muzan Kibutsuji began his first true experiment in another universe.