The quiet central platform of the Infinity Castle.
Akira had his hand placed on Nakime's forehead as her limbs regenerated.
Deep purple waves emanating from his fingertips enveloped Nakime's entire body.
This was no mere healing. It was a process of rebirth—the genes of Akira, a perfected being and King of the Night, devouring the curse and cells of Kibutsuji Muzan remaining within Nakime, constructing new circuits in their place.
"Ugh... Gaaaah...!"
A suppressed groan burst from Nakime's mouth.
The pain of bones twisting and nerves reconnecting was terrible, but the euphoria she felt simultaneously was beyond words.
Finally, her large, closed eye snapped open.
No, transforming to Akira's taste, her eyes became two again, as in her human days.
Her pupils, once ordinary, were now dyed a deep, mysterious abyssal purple imbued with Akira's magical energy.
"Haa... Haa..."
Nakime gripped her biwa with trembling hands. On her pale skin, a sorcerous pattern proving her allegiance to Akira appeared and vanished.
"How do you feel, Nakime?"
At Akira's question, Nakime deeply bowed her head where she stood.
"Strength... overflows through my entire body. It's a sensation on a different dimension from my former self. The Infinity Castle also seems to have grown even more immense than before. My Master."
Twang...
She lightly plucked a biwa string as a test. With that simple sound, the entire Infinity Castle responded majestically like a living creature.
If before it changed spaces mechanically, now the space rearranged as fluidly as flowing water and as swiftly as lightning.
Akira had previously evaluated the Infinity Castle as a place like the Backrooms, but now it could be said to be closer to the real Backrooms.
"Excellent. The level of your Blood Demon Art has risen. To think this Infinity Castle is now mine. Nakime, the day a woman like you falls into my hands is truly a joyous one."
Akira smiled with satisfaction and commanded.
"I'd like to properly tour this vast castle. Guide me."
At his words, she blushed and lowered her head. An euphoria incomparable to Muzan's time made her heart pound.
"As you command."
Ding...
As Nakime played her biwa again, the wooden floorboards tore away, forming a giant floating platform.
Defying gravity, the platform rose into the air and halted at Akira's feet like a palanquin to carry the king.
Akira and his party boarded the wide platform. It slid through the air, slicing through the void as it headed toward the depths of the Infinity Castle.
The sight before them was truly spectacular.
Endless spiral staircases, tatami rooms hanging from the ceiling with up and down reversed, corridors tangled like mazes with thousands of doors. A surreal space mocking the laws of physics stretched on without end.
"Amazing. I can't believe such a space exists. Now I understand why Akira-san wanted Nakime so badly."
Kanao exclaimed in awe and admiration as she viewed the spaces of the Infinity Castle. Beside her, Shinobu, Mitsuri, and Tsubaki were also speechless.
"Tch! What a terrible structure for cleaning. It'd take a hundred years to dust off those corners. But... I gotta admit the space efficiency is impressive."
Benienma clicked her tongue but showed interest in the space's efficiency as the master of Enma's Court.
"To create such a space... the level of mystery is different. It's similar to a Reality Marble, but more physically tangible and permanent. Fascinating."
Even Tamamo acknowledged that the Infinity Castle was indeed a high-level space.
Hokusai (Oei) was busy pulling out her brush to sketch this bizarre scenery, and the scale and structure of the Infinity Castle were overwhelming enough to astonish even the other Servants.
Akira looked upon the Infinity Castle with satisfaction, already calculating as a businessman that he could start a subspace delivery business, tapping his mental calculator.
He then stood at the edge of the platform and spoke to Kokushibo, who followed him silently.
"How about it, Michikatsu? Does this castle you've watched for so long look different now that its master has changed?"
Kokushibo was reading the flow of the changed castle with his six eyes.
"...Indeed. The flow of space has become more flexible. If before it was creaky, like gears, now it's like flowing river water."
Kokushibo admitted honestly. The castle's movements were far more vibrant than under Muzan's rule.
Akira's blood had invigorated the entire castle through Nakime.
"What do you think strength is?"
Akira asked abruptly, gazing into the abyss of the Infinity Castle.
"...Cutting down enemies and surviving. And endlessly training to reach the pinnacle of martial arts. What else could there be?"
Kokushibo's answer was concise and firm.
"Not a wrong statement. But that's merely individual strength. Strength in a closed world."
Akira stretched out his hand and clenched the air.
"True strength is the power to dominate one's environment and twist fate to make it your own. Look at Muzan. He's strong, but for a thousand years, he couldn't overcome the environment of the sun and hid away. That's not a true ruler."
"..."
"On a tombstone three steps from the sun, Muzan keeps spinning. Without even knowing its meaning. A dull and foolish existence. That is Kibutsuji Muzan."
He stood before Kokushibo.
"Yoriichi was a genius loved by the gods from birth. You envied him, abandoned your humanity to surpass him. Even discarding your pride as a samurai. But what was the result?"
Akira stared directly at Kokushibo.
"You're still in his shadow. Muzan's blood couldn't even reach Yoriichi's feet."
Kokushibo's fist trembled violently. A truth that pierced his heart. An undeniable sense of defeat.
"Michikatsu. By becoming a demon and Muzan's subordinate, what did you grasp—your own foolishness? With a body that can't stand under the sun, what did you achieve—a loneliness without even family? With the wisdom of centuries lived, what did you build—the delusional desire to surpass one who died and vanished hundreds of years ago?"
"What... are you... trying to say?"
"In short, don't abandon your pride. I don't want you to become my dog. Strength originally comes from pride. Each time we discard pride, we take a step closer to beasts. Each time we kill a part of our heart, we step back from beasts. What makes you strong is that pride as a samurai. But that pride has stagnated into an inferiority complex toward a human who no longer exists."
The swordsman loved by the gods. Even to an 80-year-old man, he had to taste the humiliation of being beheaded.
If he had lived just one second longer, if they had met just one year earlier. He, who wanted to surpass Yoriichi even by becoming a demon, would have died at the hands of that old man.
"We find flowers on cliffs beautiful because we stop our feet at the cliff. Because we cannot step into the sky like that fearless flower. I truly love this saying. Michikatsu, you are as dull as the name Kokushibo implies. You still haven't escaped Yoriichi's shadow."
"..."
"Remember this. All humans are imitations of monkeys. All gods are imitations of humans. Yoriichi is loved by the sun (the world), by the gods (humans)? I am a monster who even enslaves that sun goddess. Tsukiguni Michikatsu. Those who strive are beautiful and admirable. Yoriichi is a genius and you're mediocre? No, from the moment you sought to catch up to him, to surpass him, you too are a genius. So take my hand. Grow stronger with my blood, overcome the sun. And train alongside my Servants to reach a realm even Yoriichi could not touch."
"...In a different way from Muzan, you have a talent for enchanting people. Much like Ubuyashiki."
"Heh, a businessman should have this much eloquence, don't you think?"
Akira pulled out a glass vial containing his blood from his breast and offered it to Kokushibo. The radiant red liquid shimmered.
"Drink. This is the proof of our contract. If you drink this, you will be reborn not as Muzan's puppet, but as my companion and warrior."
Kokushibo swallowed hard.
If he could become stronger, if he could surpass Yoriichi, he was prepared to sell even his soul.
He reached out a trembling hand to grasp the vial.
Just then, Shuten Douji staggered over, reeking of alcohol.
"Hey~ Samurai bro. Hold up a sec."
Shuten Douji giggled in her thick Kyoto dialect and slung an arm over Kokushibo's shoulder.
"You, know what'll happen if you drink that?"
"...?"
"Our Master here loves women like crazy, see. So he turns all the strong ones into girls. Look over there."
Shuten Douji pointed at Ushigozen with her finger.
"That Ushigozen over there, Minamoto no Yorimitsu was a man, you know~ Drank the blood and became a cute girl like that, didn't she? I was originally a rugged demon boss too, but now I'm a pretty lady, ain't I?"
Shuten Douji's words were half-true and half-false, but Kokushibo had no way of knowing that.
A trick where they were men in this world but women in another.
Kokushibo's gaze turned to Ushigozen. Certainly, in history, they were men. But now they were beautiful women.
"If you drink that... you'll become a girl, won'tcha? Turn into a busty, pretty swordswoman... Master might jump you, you know? You ready to get pinned under him every night, moaning and groaning?"
"...?!"
"Other demons who drank that ended up like that too~ Today, Enmu? Lower Moon One got turned like that, I hear."
Kokushibo's hand froze in mid-air. All six of his eyes shook violently as if from an earthquake.
Become a woman? Himself? The body of this proud samurai who had trained for centuries to surpass Yoriichi...
Growing breasts and a larger butt... being held by Akira?
'...Just imagining it... is horrifying.'
An image of himself not as Tsukiguni Michikatsu, but as a seductive swordswoman in a kimono shyly embracing Akira, flashed through Kokushibo's mind like a vision of hell.
A chill ran down his spine, and cold sweat dripped. But... he soon clenched his eyes shut.
"...If I can become stronger."
Kokushibo spoke heavily.
"If I can reach Yoriichi's realm... gender is trivial. Even if my body changes and I suffer the humiliation of being a woman... I will endure it. I've already abandoned my humanity."
His desperate resolve cast a chill over the surroundings. Mitsuri and Shinobu covered their mouths, and Kanao imagined him becoming a woman.
"Kahahaha! This guy's serious! He says he'll get stronger even as a woman!"
"Hey!!! Shuten!!! Don't put weird ideas in his head!!"
Akira shouted in dismay. He tightly grabbed Kokushibo's hand holding the vial.
"And Michikatsu, don't take it seriously either. Please."
Akira had a genuinely mortified expression.
"I have absolutely no intention of turning you into a woman. Sure, I don't mind if someone was a man in the past as long as they're appealing, but I don't plan to add more women here unnecessarily. Why would I even do that to you? So please, don't think like that."
"...Is that true?"
"Yes! Besides, my ability can be influenced by the subconscious or desires of the one receiving my blood. If you strongly believe it's fine to become a woman, my blood might react and actually change you. So please erase that image from your head, right now."
At Akira's desperate cry, Kokushibo finally nodded, seeming relieved but with a strangely bittersweet expression.
It was good not to become a woman, but he had been confident in his appearance, having been popular with women in his human days.
If he became a woman, he'd surely be a peerless beauty, so being rejected like that left a peculiar feeling.
"...I understand. That's a relief."
Kokushibo shook off his stray thoughts and opened the vial's lid. Red blood tinged with blue light. He downed it in one gulp.
Gulp. Gulp.
"Grrrugh...!!"
The vial fell to the floor and shattered. Kokushibo clutched his chest and knelt.
A heat as if his entire body was burning. Muzan's cells screamed as they vanished, and Akira's perfected being cells began reconstructing his bones, muscles, and blood vessels anew.
Crack! Thud!
Blade-like bones sprouted from his back, and his six eyes shone with a clearer, more vivid crimson.
But that gaze was no longer the murky madness of before, but transformed into a clear, intense fighting spirit with reason.
A body that wouldn't burn even under the sun. The only path to reach Yoriichi.
His flesh began to burst apart and slowly rebuild itself.
"Well, as for Hantengu, I'll just turn him into a woman. His abilities are quite good, but I can't stand seeing a man act like that. No need to keep Hantengu's main body separate; I should turn him directly into Zohakuten."
Of course, Kokushibo was different, but Hantengu's obnoxious personality was reason enough to change him into a woman on his own, like Enmu.
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