El's words sounded very simple, yet there was something strange about them. Even though he wasn't entirely lying, he also wasn't being completely honest. There was a hidden mystery behind his words, but Tanjiro couldn't detect it.
The conversation between El, Tanjiro, Tokitou, Mitsuri, and Genya about certain aspects of the Hinokami Kagura continued until the sun began to set in the western sky.
After the sun had fully set, they finally left El's room and returned to their respective missions.
In the previous conversation, El had quietly hidden a few things, but Tanjiro's keen olfactory skills were unable to detect those secrets.
Tanjiro returned to his room to rest due to his injury, followed by Nezuko who was faithfully by his side.
Meanwhile, Tokitou, despite her injury, recovers quickly, with Mitsuri and Genya preparing to help prepare for the relocation of the Sword Forge Village that will take place tomorrow, before they all leave the village.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, El decided to leave Sword Forge Village as soon as possible, even though the night was still dark.
Before leaving, El apologized for not being able to help with the relocation preparations, explaining that he had important things to do.
Earlier, El had been running fast, through the darkness of the night. However, after feeling far enough away, he decided to slow down and walk.
Now, El was in the middle of a quiet forest, far beyond the reach of the Sword Forge Village. His footsteps felt steady, following a path lit only by the faint moonlight between the trees.
The sound of El's footsteps sounded slow, yet firm, blending into the silence of the night that was only accompanied by the rustling of leaves in the slowly blowing wind, and the sound of small insects.
The cold moonlight highlighted his body, adding a mysterious feel to his appearance. El wore a Demon Slayer uniform covered by a black haori with a silver dragon pattern, while at her waist hung a Metsu, ready to be drawn at any time.
In the cold darkness of the forest, El fell silent and suddenly his eyes changed. From the original brown-black color, they became a purple color patterned like the orbit of the universe.
As soon as El's Six Tomoe Rinnegan activated, the atmosphere around the forest changed drastically. The air that previously felt calm now gradually cooled, as if an icy mist began to flow through the wind.
A thin night mist hung between the trees, creating an eerie atmosphere of silence.
His luminous purple eyes with six tomoe patterns swirled slowly, giving off an intimidating aura. Every second felt heavier, as if time itself was reluctant to move in the presence of this power.
The sounds of nature suddenly stopped, there were no more sounds around, such as the sound of crickets or even caterpillars digging in the ground, there was only deadly silence.
"Come out quickly," El said in an ice-cold, emotionless voice. "How long are you going to hide?" he asked, with a tone full of real threat.
Crek... Crek... Crek!
The sound of rustling, footsteps stepping on the grass could be heard from behind a tree not far away. Slowly, the figure emerged from the darkness.
The moonlight made the darkness around him fade, revealing his true figure. The figure was a tall man with pale skin. He had long, spiky black hair with red tips that he tied in a ponytail.
The most prominent feature was the three pairs of eyes on his face with yellow irises and red sclera that had black straight lines diverging from each iris.
His middle pair of eyes had the kanji Upper Rank (じょう) engraved on his left eye, and the daiji for One (壱I) on the right, while his other pair of eyes had black pupils and a cracked pattern on the iris.
The man wore a purple-black hexagonal-patterned nagagi kimono and black umanori-style hakama pants tied with white uwa-obi. On his waist hung a katana with a red scabbard, made of flesh.
"Oh," El said, feeling intrigued by the figure that appeared from the darkness. "Upper Moon Rank One, what kind of special treatment is this?" he said in a slightly mocking tone.
Twelve Kizuki, Upper Moon Rank One, Kokusibo, that was the demonic figure that emerged from the darkness and stood silently before El at this moment.
Kokusibo watched El silently, without speaking a single word. His three pairs of eyes traced El's figure from the bottom of his feet, to the top of his head by utilizing the Translucent World of the Field.
'Who is he?' Kokusibo said in his mind, full of curiosity. 'What are those strange eyeballs, why does it feel like the blood in my whole body is boiling?'
"What's wrong? Why the silence?" asked El in a calm voice, even though the air around him was beginning to stiffen just from the presence of the two of them.
Kokushibo who had been silent finally opened her mouth. "You... didn't lie about having and knowing the whereabouts of the Blue Spider Lily?" she asked in a slow, emphasized tone, her eyes staring at El intently.
With the calmness of unruffled pond water, El replied, "The Blue Spider Lily only blooms during the day, and only blooms for a few moments a year."
Hearing El's words, Kokushibo's eyes instantly tightened. An understanding began to form in her mind as to why the Blue Lily Spider Flower was so hard to find.
The Blue Spider Lily only bloomed during the day and for a few moments a year. Now, everything had become clear.
'So that's it...' he thought with a serious look, Kokushibo asked, his voice slow and full of emphasis, "You... have that Spider Lily Flower?"
El smiled slightly, her eyes shining with a deep calm. "Take me to your base, to meet your master, then I'll talk," she replied in a calm voice, as if the circumstances around her had no effect on her.
Kokushibo was silent for a moment, she intended to examine El's body more thoroughly, looking for signs of where the Blue Spider Lily might be hidden.
However, based on the information obtained from Akaza, the human before him had the mysterious ability to bring objects out of the void.
Realizing this, Kokushibo abandoned his intentions. With more thought, he chose to follow El's words.
Kokushibo turned around, then focused on contacting Muzan, begging Nakime for permission to open the way to the Infinite Castle.
Kokusibo conveyed his message through inner communication, his voice filled with sincere respect, "Muzan-sama, is it necessary to bring this human to see you?"
Muzan, with an electrifyingly cold voice, responded without hesitation, "Bring that human before me. I want to see for myself, what that human with the Blue Spider Lily looks like, Kokusibo."
After a brief pause that added to the tension, Muzan continued in a calm yet sharp tone, "Although his strength is quite attractive, he is but a bug in my eyes."
Kokusibo replied respectfully, unwavering in his loyalty, "Yes, Muzan-sama."
As Nakime's biwa plucked, the melody seemed to pierce the air around El, breaking the silence of the dark and cold forest.
In the next second, El's body felt light, and the sight of the dark forest around his vanished in an instant, like a vaporized illusion.