A cult?
Mizuki stopped, remaining leaned against the wall.
"What do you women know!"
*Slap!*
Along with the man's roar, a loud slap rang out.
"It is Kyoko's honor to serve the Cult Founder!"
"Our whole family gets to enjoy paradise and no longer suffer, why are you dissatisfied?"
"You should be grateful for this special honor!"
In this era, such evil cults were springing up endlessly. Due to the prosperity of Buddhist culture, the shadow of Buddhism could often be seen in these sects.
They pinned their hopes on the heavenly gods, firmly believing that good people suffered in poverty while alive but enjoyed pleasure after death.
Evil people enjoyed pleasure while alive but fell into endless suffering after death.
If that were truly the case, how would those evil people dare to commit evil?
Even modern people—if you said there were no gods or ghosts in the world, someone would argue that not seeing them doesn't mean they don't exist. The philosophy of materialism had yet to fully penetrate people's hearts.
Not to mention in ancient times, impoverished commoners desperately needed spiritual comfort, and the ruling class also needed such lies to pacify the populace.
Cults were thus able to flourish.
At least, that was the case in her previous life's world.
But things seemed different here.
Mizuki gazed calmly at the sky. This world truly seemed to have concepts of Heaven and Hell.
Just like Tanjirou meeting Sabito, and like the day she personally witnessed Yoriichi's soul disappear.
Since then, her eyes could often see things that ordinary people could not.
Ghosts.
Just like now, a young girl with her head bowed floated out from behind the door.
After exiting, she squatted by the door, burying her head in her arms like an ostrich.
Mizuki's eyes shifted slightly.
She looked about thirteen or fourteen. Was she this family's daughter?
The girl's body, hugging her head, trembled slightly. Clearly, this family likely argued often, and every time they fought, she could only hide outside with her head covered.
Mizuki remained silent for a moment, took off the bamboo hat on her head, and squatted down in front of her.
"Are you alright?"
The girl's trembling body paused, and she stiffly raised her head.
Mizuki's face was close by.
Although the lower half of her face was still wrapped in white cloth, looking from the bridge of her nose upward, it was clear that she was a gentle person.
It was evident from her gaze.
Although she possessed a pair of strange, red double pupils, the girl could read the word "gentleness" from those eyes.
They were the same as her mother's eyes.
The girl asked nervously, "C-can you see me?"
"Yes, I can."
"Really?"
"...Really." This child might not be very quick-witted.
Mizuki said gently, "May I ask you something?"
"Please go ahead."
"The question might be a bit intrusive."
Confusion flickered in the girl's eyes, but she generously replied, "I-it's fine."
"How did you die?"
...The girl froze, then her eyes slightly narrowed and began to tremble violently, her whole body shaking slightly along with them.
Mizuki offered no words of comfort, waiting patiently without rushing.
After a long while, the terror on the girl's face remained undiminished, and she stammered, "A demon... a man-eating demon!"
Mizuki's expression shifted slightly: "Does it have anything to do with that cult?"
The girl nodded tremblingly: "Douma-sama... is a demon."
"He... ate me."
The hierarchy of status in this era was just like this; even for the person who harmed her, she would still subconsciously use an honorific.
But Mizuki's focus wasn't on that.
Douma?
Mizuki was slightly startled upon hearing the name. She had an impression of it, which meant this Douma was definitely not a minor character in the story.
Is he one of the Twelve Kizuki?
To this day, Mizuki actually couldn't remember much of the plot anymore.
Mizuki had been in this world for hundreds of years, and human memory cannot be preserved indefinitely.
Perhaps it was the influence of Muzan's blood, or perhaps it was because her body remained weak and she had never truly consumed anything,
After becoming a demon, this situation not only failed to improve but grew increasingly severe.
Especially since Demon Slayer had entered her mind in the form of an anime.
Mizuki had completely forgotten things that had actually happened to her in her previous life.
The fact that she could remember fragments of the Demon Slayer plot was entirely due to her consciously recalling them after realizing this problem.
She even recorded the Demon Slayer plot she could remember using writing and methods only she could understand.
"What is the name of the cult?"
"Eternal Paradise Cult."
"Do you know where this Douma lives?"
"In the cult."
"...I mean, the address."
The girl shook her head blankly.
"Then do you remember the way there?"
She shook her head.
Mizuki felt a headache coming on, but inexplicably, she also felt relieved deep down.
Because if this Douma really was one of the Twelve Kizuki, she probably shouldn't kill him.
It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but that she shouldn't.
If he were a Lower Rank demon, killing him or not wouldn't really matter.
If he were an Upper Rank... the power scaling in Demon Slayer is highly illogical. The Pillars can easily kill Lower Ranks, but they can also be easily killed by Upper Ranks.
This led to the saying that the ending was full of plot armor kills.
This wasn't even a question of changing the plot.
Because fundamentally, even the Twelve Kizuki were just toys Muzan used to pass the time, creatures Muzan could create at will.
Perhaps the top-ranking Upper Ranks truly had some talent, such as Kokushibou.
His strength goes without saying; he was called a partner by Muzan, a status no other demon possessed.
For hundreds of years, the Lower Ranks changed generation after generation, and the Upper Ranks also changed countless times. Only Kokushibou consistently held the position of Upper Rank One with overwhelming power.
The fact that Mizuki almost beheaded him back then was truly luck.
To use the description she disliked the most: a plot armor kill.
At that time, her condition couldn't have been worse.
It was entirely because Kokushibou was too careless that she was able to disrupt his rhythm with an unexpected Sword Form.
But if she killed Douma here, the Upper Rank position still wouldn't be vacant; Muzan would find someone else to replace him.
A demon's strength is generally related to the number of humans it consumes.
That statement isn't completely accurate; it's also related to the amount of blood Muzan gives them.
If he willed it, creating an Upper Rank would not be difficult.
It's possible the replacement would be stronger than Douma, and it's possible the ending would fail because of this change in the chain of events.
Mizuki fell into deep thought.
At some unknown point, the girl, who had recovered some of her composure, looked up at her.
"Older sister."
"Hmm?"
The girl looked at her with hopeful eyes: "Can I ask you to help me?"
Mizuki's eyelids lowered slightly. If it was revenge... "Could you please stop my parents from arguing again?" The girl's words pulled Mizuki back to reality.
Mizuki's eyes flickered slightly.
She doesn't want revenge, just this?
She probably understood why the girl appeared here at home instead of at the cult.
Mizuki slightly raised her head and looked inside the door.
It must be because of her lingering attachment.
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