Chapter 50: Infinity Castle
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Akaza looked down at this strange space, his pupils suddenly shrinking.
"A different space... Infinity Castle. Being summoned here means... someone has been killed!"
Veins popped out on his forehead as anger etched across his face. The lights flickered on and off, and the buildings seemed to overlap and intersect.
After a while, Akaza arrived at a platform.
He glanced around quickly.
Also present were four other Upper Rank demons.
The one missing was... Upper Rank Six!
Before they could communicate, Kibutsuji Muzan's figure suddenly appeared.
His cold gaze swept across the five Upper Rank demons. "Gyutaro and Daki are dead, killed by defectors!"
The five demons were stunned for a moment.
"Defectors?"
This name was unfamiliar to them all.
Recently, it seemed to be the only demon they heard about.
Especially Akaza, who had personally fought against the defectors.
In his opinion, the only noteworthy aspect of the defectors was their bizarre movement. Everything else was unremarkable.
Could the defectors have really killed Gyutaro?
Douma, sitting on the ground and swaying slightly, looked innocent. "I'm truly sorry. I was the one who introduced Gyutaro."
A powerful coercion erupted from Kibutsuji Muzan's body as he looked down at the Upper Ranks. "The Blue Spider Lily hasn't been found. The Ubuyashiki family and the Demon Slayer Corps are still alive, and the defectors remain uncaptured. Tell me, what is the purpose of your existence?"
Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, and Gyokko, Upper Rank Five, remained silent, while Nakime, Upper Rank Four, cowered in a corner, trembling.
Douma innocently remarked, "It's a pity that the defector didn't fall into the trap I set last time."
A strong killing intent flashed in Akaza's eyes.
Douma's preference for eating women clashed sharply with his own principles of never consuming women, fueling a deep conflict between them.
To Akaza, Douma's words were clearly mocking his failure.
Douma, however, seemed completely oblivious to Akaza's murderous intent.
Kokushibo's low, calm voice broke the tension. "Twice my subordinates crossed paths with the defector and missed the best chance to capture him."
Kibutsuji Muzan slowly retracted his pressure and spoke coldly. "The defector can grow stronger by devouring other demons. Having consumed Gyutaro and Daki, his power will certainly increase again!"
"Perform better next time. I don't want to hear about anyone else being killed by the defector!"
To him, it didn't matter much.
He could create a legion of demons comparable to the Lower Ranks whenever he wished.
But the Upper Ranks were different.
There were six, no, now five, the best demons of the past hundreds of years.
Replacing them wasn't so simple.
Finding a successor for Upper Rank Six was another challenge.
As Muzan's murderous intent towards Aoki grew stronger, he thought, "Change! Disruption! All brought by the defectors!"
However, to capture the defector, he needed a way to counter his abilities.
"Infinite Castle."
Muzan's eyes shifted slightly as he waved his hand.
*Thrum!*
The sound of a biwa resonated, and all the Upper Ranks vanished.
---
Aoki lay on his back on a rock, gazing at the bright sky, his eyes unfocused.
A blue screen, invisible to others, filled his vision.
After devouring Gyutaro and Daki, his power had reached 18 points.
To maintain balanced attributes, Aoki allocated two free attribute points to physical fitness and agility.
The skill points were insufficient to learn the next skill, so he decided to save them.
[Name: Aoki]
[Strength: 18]
[Physique: 17]
[Intelligence: 17]
[Agility: 17]
[Occupation: Hunter, White Walker]
[White Walker]
- Quality: ★★
- Level: lv12 (397/1200)
- Skills: Demon Blood IV, Space shuttle, Transparent World (not yet learned), Demon Devouring II
- Mission: Upper Rank Doom (1/3)
- Free skill points: 2
As he reviewed the system panel, Aoki began to ponder.
"Currently, the only ones stronger than me are Muzan Kibutsuji and probably Kokushibo. Douma is a tough call. As for Akaza, he may have the upper hand initially, but in a fight to the death, I would definitely win in the end."
"After learning level 2 'Demon Devouring,' I have the foundation to kill Akaza. However, until I master 'World Transparency,' it won't be easy to truly defeat him."
In the world, only three beings posed a significant threat to him: Muzan and Kokushibo counted as one each, and Douma and Akaza as halves.
As for the Demon Slayer Corps...
The trio of Transparent World, Sun Breathing, and the Demon Slayer Mark had yet to emerge, leaving no one currently able to challenge him effectively.
The only potential threat might be the strongest Hashira, the Stone Hashira.
Aoki closed the system interface.
Aside from attribute and skill points, there was another gain this time. His suspicion was correct. Daki's Blood Demon Art did possess spatial attributes.
However, perhaps due to poor compatibility or the minimal spatial nature of Daki's abilities, "Space shuttle" hadn't seen any significant change.
Yet, Aoki had a faint sense that something was developing.
Perhaps, if he devoured another demon with spatial attributes, he might gain more.
"Meow!"
A calico cat with a talisman on its chest and a small bag appeared beside him.
"Here you are. I was worried you wouldn't find me!" Aoki sat up, stroked the cat's head, and placed two blood collection devices into the small bag.
This was Lady Tamayo's cat, capable of becoming invisible using Yushiro's Blood Demon Art.
The blood collection devices, crafted by Yushiro, were specifically designed to gather demon blood.
"Meow!"
The calico cat meowed again and slowly vanished.
"Time for me to go too!" Aoki stood up, scanning his surroundings with a hint of confusion.
Where should he go next?
He had exhausted most of his information.
There were no more convenient targets like Gyutaro and Daki waiting for him to show up.
The traces of Kokushibo, Nakime, and Gyokko were elusive, though Douma offered a slight lead.
"Douma is the founder of the Eternal Paradise . If I can locate the sect, I should be able to find him. The problem is, I don't know where the Eternal paradise Sect is."
Aoki sighed quietly.
The sect was small, with just over 200 members, making it difficult to locate.
"Still, it's better than wandering aimlessly. I might even stumble upon Tanjiro's house."
Without hesitating too long, Aoki picked a random direction and set off on his journey.
Even if he couldn't find the Upper Ranks, there were still plenty of ordinary demons.
He wouldn't disdain small gains just because he had tasted major victories.
As long as he could sustain himself, any demon offering experience was valuable.
Bit by bit, he would eventually reach the next level.
Who knows? Maybe one day, by sheer luck, he might encounter an Upper Rank demon while wandering the road?
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