Once he was truly far from Muzan, Luochuan leaned against a wall and exhaled deeply. The sensation of walking past the gates of hell was far too intense. Throughout the encounter, he had used the talent [Concealment] to thin his presence, preventing Muzan from sensing anything unusual.
However, the reward he received seemed a bit strange. Pulling up the system panel, Luochuan frowned at the pending aura: Presence of the Demon King. Did Muzan even have this ability on his panel?
[Detected: Muzan Kibutsuji's intimacy with Host is below "Acquaintance." Special reward granted.]
Below Acquaintance? Didn't he verbally agree just now?
[Muzan Kibutsuji did not formally agree, and his psychological rejection of the Host is extremely strong.]
[Thus, it cannot be judged as "Acquaintance."]
"...So after all that effort, I only fished out an irrelevant skill?"
> [Presence of the Demon King: Grants the owner an aura where majesty and elegance coexist.]
> [Effect—Deterrence: The user can influence the enemy's psychology through a powerful aura during battle, reducing the enemy's Attack and Defense (Effect is doubled against demons).]
>
Wait, this aura? Luochuan's eyes suddenly lit up. Reducing a demon's attack and defense is essentially a massive buff to my own strength. While it wasn't as direct as a damaging Blood Demon Art, it was just as valuable.
[Would you like to fuse Aura: Presence of the Demon King?]
"Yes."
Luochuan blinked. There was no light, no vibration, not even a sound.
[Fusion Successful.]
He closed his eyes, searching for a change within his body. Aside from an almost negligible slight sensation, he felt nothing. But when he opened his eyes to go find Zenitsu, he noticed a difference. His standing posture was naturally firmer; his simple movements were more composed and powerful than before. It was a confidence and majesty radiating from the inside out.
"Not bad." He didn't fully understand the technicalities of the change yet, but the feeling was great. "Time to find Zenitsu and the others."
He returned to the spot where Tanjiro had saved the man. The crowd had dispersed, leaving only Zenitsu looking around anxiously.
"What's wrong?" Luochuan asked.
"Just now... some demons appeared... they seemed to be helping Tanjiro..." Zenitsu looked nervous. Does Tanjiro have ties to demons? It didn't make sense—if he was with them, why help the person being turned into a demon?
"You saw them?"
"No, I heard them." Zenitsu shook his head. He hadn't seen them, but he heard the movements of two demons assisting Tanjiro.
Following Zenitsu's direction and Tanjiro's residual scent, they arrived at a dead-end alley.
"Luochuan, why are we—" Zenitsu's eyes widened. There were voices coming from the wall—human voices and demon voices. It's a solid wall, where is the sound coming from?
"Let's go in." Luochuan reached out, and his arm passed through the wall without resistance. Zenitsu followed, feeling that Luochuan had expected all of this.
Inside the house, Yushiro suddenly sat up, his face alert. "Someone's coming in!"
Tamayo's expression became serious. Her identity was too special; Muzan wanted her dead, and the Demon Slayer Corps wouldn't accept her because she was a demon. She had to be cautious.
"Mr. Luochuan? And Zenitsu?" Tanjiro said, surprised. He recognized those scents—the Zenitsu who had just helped him, and the Luochuan who had left such a good impression.
"You know them?!" Yushiro looked at Tanjiro suspiciously. Did he lead them here?
Tanjiro shook his head frantically. "No, no! Mr. Luochuan is a good person, and so is Zenitsu!"
Yushiro looked to Tamayo for a cue. She stared into Tanjiro's clear eyes, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. Just as Yushiro prepared to go out and lead them in, footsteps sounded from the stairs.
A figure slowly emerged. Leaning against the banister, Luochuan smiled at Tanjiro and the others. "Lady Tamayo, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, look after me."
Looking at the handsome face with its slight smile, Yushiro and Tamayo's pupils shrank. Is this... a human or a demon? Is it HIM?
The grace in his movements was identical to Muzan's. But his scent was clearly human! How could a human carry Muzan's aura?!
Yushiro's body tensed, his hand instinctively moving toward his paper talismans. Tamayo took a step back; she was far too familiar with this pressure. Having spent time by Muzan's side, she was more sensitive to this aura than anyone. The aura Luochuan radiated overlapped perfectly with Muzan's—familiar yet strange. It was a majesty that should only belong to the Demon King, yet here it was on a human.
> [Tamayo]
> [Race: Demon]
> [Rank: Bo (戊)]
> [Comprehension: High]
> [Aptitude: Medium]
> [Skills: Medical Arts (Proficient), Blood Demon Art: Visual Dream Fragrance (Proficient), Mystical Aroma of White Daylight (Perfect), Aroma of Passage (Proficient)...]