Infinity Castle.
The uncountable hallways were silent despite the constantly shifting blocks.
At the centre of the castle sat Nakime in her usual posture, biwa resting in her hands.
Directly above her head hung a giant lump of mangled red flesh in a grotesque form.
Inside that lump, Kibutsuji Muzan was busy healing the still-burning scars on his body.
The deep scars caused by that hanafuda-wearing boy with that strange sword had rapidly destroyed his demon cells at a cellular level. Those scars still continued to burn his cells even though he was only a head at the moment.
Such excruciating pain had etched itself deeply into his mind and soul.
No matter how much he healed his body, the burning pain never stopped, giving him unending anguish.
"Curse this…" he growled in pure anger.
After pondering for a moment, he sent an order to Nakime through their mental link.
'Bring all those useless Lower Moons here immediately. What garbage tools. It's not even been a year and the rankings have already changed twice! Now another one got himself killed in the most shameless way possible… Hmph, I have no use for these bastards. At the very least, by being consumed by me they can finally prove some worth.'
TING… TING… TING… TING… TING…
Nakime played the biwa. Immediately, the remaining five Lower Moon demons were teleported into the Infinity Castle from all across Japan.
Enmu, Lower Moon One, like the others, was forced to his knees by the breath-stopping pressure from above.
'L-Lord Muzan…?'
A voice slammed into their minds.
'Rejoice… You will finally be of use to me. Now begone.'
Hearing that paralyzing voice in their heads, all five demons convulsed. Blood gushed from every orifice.
Rui, Lower Moon Five, trembled so hard his face began to mutilate itself.
The others vomited blood in terror.
'Is this how it ends?' was Rui's last thought before a flesh tentacle seized him and absorbed him into the lump.
"WAAAHHH…!!"
Some tried to run but couldn't move an inch before they too were dragged in.
'Aaah, Muzan-sama~' Enmu's face flushed with reverence and joy as he was swallowed whole.
"…" Muzan looked slightly disgusted but dissolved their bodies into nutrition for his healing.
After some time, he regained enough strength to start regrowing his vital organs.
Nakime, uncaring of what had just happened, simply continued managing the castle.
....
The morning air was chilly, and the surroundings were partially enveloped in mist.
Tanjiro breathed in the cold air normally, completely undisturbed by the harsh weather. His Total Concentration Breathing operated constantly like a body clock, keeping him warm and energized.
Cold of this level meant nothing to him.
To tell the truth, he could even run naked and still wouldn't feel a thing.
After a minute of moving through the forest area, Tanjiro's mind sharpened as he activated his extremely powerful senses.
The moment he did so, the world around him changed completely.
By focusing sharply, he could detect life signatures several hundred meters away. Within seconds he easily located a large mansion some distance ahead.
Many life signatures were gathered there, including the familiar presence of his siblings.
He turned the Transparent World off and kept running in that direction.
There were many things to do today, so the sooner he finished here, the better.
A minute later he arrived at the Butterfly Mansion.
The mansion shared a similar aesthetic with the Ubuyashiki Manor, but it was larger and had an extra floor. Since it served as a hospital and recuperation base for Corps members, that explained its size.
He stepped through the entrance and was quickly noticed by a lone girl sweeping ahead.
The girl had black hair tied in twin tails. Pale skin, deep blue eyes. From her expression and features she seemed the serious type.
"May I know your identity and the purpose of your visit to the Butterfly Mansion?" she asked with a straight face.
While speaking, she studied Tanjiro's calm features: fair skin, long hair, earrings, scar, toned physique, carrying a basket, and definitely taller than her.
He wore no uniform and carried no Nichirin sword. Just who was this person?
Wait… She suddenly remembered something.
"I think my siblings are here—Nezuko and the others. I'm their big brother, Kamado Tanjiro. I came to see them."
He appeared beside her in an instant, like a ghost, causing her sharp eyes to widen. He added with a warm smile, "And who might you be?"
The girl returned to her usual self in a split second and answered calmly.
"I see, so you're Nezuko's Onii-chan, huh. The guy who defeated Giyu-san and one of the Twelve Kizuki in the blink of an eye…"
'…ha'
Surprisingly, she immediately gave him a respectful bow.
"I'm Kanzaki Aoi, a worker at this mansion. I assist the Insect Hashira, Kocho Shinobu… Please, come in."
She turned around and led him inside, quiet admiration obvious in her eyes.
Tanjiro followed silently, feeling waves of self-pity and self-loathing oozing from her.
'If I remember correctly, and judging by her current state of mind, she's lost confidence in herself, right? Hmm, that's easy to break… All these people are suffering from some kind of trauma or pain. That's so easy to deal with… wait, why do I sound like a horrible villain?'
He contemplated.
Seeing Aoi walking calmly ahead, Tanjiro stepped beside her in a single motion.
Aoi flinched slightly at his sudden appearance but didn't speak as he asked first.
"Aoi-san, are you alright? Is something bothering you?"
"…No, I'm fine," she muttered, keeping her head straight as she walked. She tried to hide her emotions, but could they slip past his keen sense of smell?
Tanjiro matched her pace.
"Is that so… Well, do you know that when something's bothering you, it's better to talk it out with people close to you? Keeping it bottled up will only hurt you more. My grandmother used to say that when I was little…"
Listening to his words, Aoi's deep blue eyes flickered for a moment. She stayed silent for a few seconds before responding in a low voice.
"My whole family was killed by a demon… There are no close ones left anymore."
Despite saying that, she didn't seem sad. Her expression stayed serious and composed. Her mind must have gone through a lot to temper her spirit to such a state, he concluded.
In that instant, a new system notification appeared. Mitsuri's mission was still active since it had no time limit, so this one popped up below it.
[𖤐 Mission: Pat Aoi's head]
[𖤐 Reward: Self-healing]
'Healing powers…? That's really something! Although the missions are weird and appear randomly, the rewards are great and there is no time limit. This Weird-as-Fuck System is great, despite its unsightly name…'
Next, he acted immediately.
Tanjiro exhaled loudly with a sympathetic look, drawing Aoi's attention.
His hand reached the back of her head and began patting gently.
Looking kindly at her, he spoke softly.
"Don't say that. You have the entire Corps as your family now. And that Kocho-san of yours—isn't she one of your close ones too?"
At the end, he added with a smile, "And if that's not enough, just consider me your brother from now on. My siblings are a handful, but they won't mind having another sister in the family, heh."
Noticing the mission was complete, he stopped patting. They had just met, so it wouldn't be appropriate to continue.
Aoi's usual composed face was gone.
She looked baffled and conflicted.
Yet shortly after, she regained her composure and said smoothly,
"Thanks for your kind words, but I'm really fine. And I'm the older one here, you know. You can't treat me like that…"
"…"
She was fourteen or older, while Tanjiro was thirteen.
"Ha…" He chuckled lightly. "Right… Sorry about that. It's become a habit of mine. I can't help myself, especially when I'm with someone who genuinely needs it."
"What are your thoughts, Kocho-san? Don't you agree with me?" he suddenly said in a raised voice toward a certain direction.
....
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