In the next few minutes, Muzan cleaned up his room and destroyed any traces of blood and dust that might give him away.
"It's almost dawn."
Muzan gazed out of the window. The sun was starting to rise and the sky was becoming colorful.
"Until they find Tanjiro's place, I have to hide from the sun; what a disgusting feeling."
Muzan's forehead throbbed. He was a regular human a few minutes ago, but suddenly, he needed to hide from the sun like an insect.
"Sigh, it is what it is. I hope they find Tanjiro's house soon."
The demon king calmed himself down and looked around, like he was trying to find something.
After searching for a while, Muzan walked up to a relatively normal wall.
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
Muzan knocked on the wall like it was a door. Of course nobody replied, because it was a solid wall.
That is, until Muzan said.
"Open the door."
*Rumble*
As if responding to Muzan's words, the wall shook. And within a few more seconds, a paper door appeared in it's place.
The door opened automatically, and Muzan walked through it. He was now inside a dimly lit room.
And at the very center of this room, a female demon was sitting silently.
"Your blood demon art never fails to amaze me, Nakime."
Muzan complimented the female demon. This demon's name was Nakime, and the door was part of her blood demon art. Which was called Infinity Castle.
This castle was infinitely large, as the name suggests. On top of that, it was in its own separate space.
Infinity castle was impossible to find too, it was Muzan's base of operations. This was how he traveled around the world.
And Nakime, the female demon who owned this blood demon art, was the only demon who was actually loyal to him.
"I am not worthy of your praise, my lord."
Meanwhile Nakime, who was suddenly praised by Muzan, was feeling nervous.
Her lord had praised her four times in her entire life. This sudden praise had caught her off guard.
"Do I need to do something, my lord?"
Not feeling very confident, Nakime asked Muzan. Maybe he was telling her to do something, and she wasn't understanding his hidden meaning.
'Seriously? Even she, who is so loyal to me, is starved of praise. Muzan never appreciated what he had.'
Muzan was taken aback; no wonder his demons did their own thing. If Muzan himself didn't care, why would his demons care?
"No, I want to ask you something."
Muzan shook his head and walked up to Nakime. He flipped his coat and sat besides her, directly on the floor.
Nakime froze, and her nervousness increased yet again. But then Muzan spoke.
"Don't you miss the sun? I saw the sun rise today, and it felt awful."
Muzan said it with a straight face, but Nakime felt a pang of pain in her heart.
"My lord, you will beat the sun sooner or later. You are the perfect creature!"
Nakime said this somewhat quickly; she held her biwa tightly as she said it. Talking to Muzan was risky, but she felt her lord needed some support.
"Do you think so too? I think so as well."
Muzan smiled; he smiled softly while speaking freely, as if he were happy about something.
But then, his smile slowly vanished.
"I have been alive for millenia, yet I hate hiding in the dark every morning. I feel like a rat, an inferior creature begging for my life."
"Nakime, I am the demon king, but I run for my life each morning. It is a disgusting and cowardly act."
Blue veins were throbbing on Muzan's hand. He stared at Nakime and asked.
"Does this worm-like behavior look like a demon king to you? Because all I see is a coward."
Muzan's eyes were glowing red; he couldn't forget how pitiful he felt this morning. The more he thought about it, the more rage he felt.
It shouldn't be like this; the demon king should not have to live like this.
"I think I want to try it once. I want to feel the sun on my hand. Even if I lose my hand, I can regrow another one."
"Fear shouldn't make me run like this."
"The demon king should act like a demon king. A demon king must have the courage to stand even before death."
Muzan finally understood where the problem was; he hated the original Muzan's cowardly behavior.
"It doesn't matter if I can beat the sun or not; the sun will never beat me. For I am Muzan!"
"The king of demons."
Muzan's determination rose after his declaration. The more he thought, the more he felt he had to change.
Muzan can regenerate instantly; he had no reason to act so scared of the sun. As long as he wasn't directly under the sun, he would be fine.
"No, my lord! You are amazing; you gave us pitiful demons eternal life. You are our one and only leader!"
"Going into the sun would be too dangerous."
Nakime stuttered; she knew she couldn't stop Muzan if he wanted to walk into the sun. But she had to try!
"I have decided Nakime."
"Send me to a remote tavern. Find a place where there are plenty of shadows."
Muzan got up; there was no use waiting. It was dawn right now, and the sunshine was weak currently.
This was the perfect opportunity to do what he wanted. Who knows, maybe if he stops acting like a total coward, he might develop sunlight immunity by himself?
You know, even Nezuko wasn't immune to sunlight at first. She developed immunity after repeated exposure to the sun, and her sun flames.
"... as you wish, my lord."
*Rumble*
Nakime helplessly strung her biwa, and a door opened in front of Muzan. Beyond that door was a dark corner of a tavern.
"Good job. "
Muzan suddenly praised her again, which made Nakime freeze completely. A praise from lord Muzan again. Did lord Muzan plan to die or something, and that's why he was being so nice?!
Just when Nakime was thinking wildly, Muzan noticed her trembling hands, and smiled at her.
"You do not need to feel nervous, I can feel your worry for me is real. You are loyal and I appreciate that."
Muzan gazed at the frozen demon woman, who was still looking at him with an open mouth. He chuckled and bent down, holding her chin with his hand.
"I have noticed that you like to hide your face with your hair. You are beautiful as is, but if you want to modify your eyes, let me know when I return."
*Step*
With that said, Muzan walked out of the castle, and emerged from the shadows. The door soon closed behind him, and disappeared into the wall.
The wall had restored itself, everything in the tavern was normal again. Except this time, it had an extra demon as a guest, and on the opposite side of the door, back at infinity castle, there was a flustered demon woman playing a melodious biwa.