"Beat me up and then try to recruit me?" she asked in fury, her distorted expression would undoubtedly cause fear… if it weren't for the fact that she was constantly spitting blood.
This ended up removing any deterrent effect it could have, perhaps leaving only the pity that her situation could bring to others.
"It may not be the best, but it is certainly the quickest way to gain respect." Lucian smiled, even if he couldn't command respect, he could still command fear.
"Hahaha I can't say if I'm wrong," Mayu laughed as her bleeding slowly stopped.
Being a ghoul who grew up in poverty she knew very well that power was the only way to gain true respect from others, and likewise, in this world the weak are bullied.
Whether they were ghouls or humans, they were constantly "feeding" on those who were weaker, whether physically, psychologically or financially.
"I'm never wrong, not even when I'm wrong." Lucian crouched down and then took some of the blood that was spreading across her body, quickly bringing it to his mouth.
'Simply the most efficient way to analyze blood,' he thought as he closely observed the constituent cells of Mayu's blood, gaining some insight into the interaction between the two different types of rc cells present, 'And her blood is quite tasty…'
Being a demon is a lot of fun, after all it brings several very interesting supernatural powers, including the ability to consume its victims to become stronger.
Following an evolutionary impulse, the more nutritious the "food", the greater the stimulation to the palate – therefore, tasty proves the power and potential possessed by Mayu.
Although it is also possible to have a pleasant taste without the individual being powerful and vice versa.
"Saying that just shows that you are very stubborn, I don't think serving as a subordinate would be pleasant," she retorted, completely uninterested in the fact that Lucian was drinking her blood.
Over time, things like that just stop affecting you.
"Which also means that I won't give up even if you reject me." He smiled, lightly holding her chin, "And I can be stubborn, after all, I'm capable of crushing your head with a single hand."
Lucian then squeezed lightly, exerting slight pressure on her jaw. Too bad Mayu didn't think the same, as she felt her bones almost breaking.
"It's going to break…" she said weakly, practically unable to move her mouth.
"Of course not!" Lucian let go of her, stood up, and looked at Tsukiyama who seemed to be stoned: "I hope we can continue our cooperation for a long time."
Not giving anyone time to respond, he soon disappeared, entering the infinite castle.
"How was the 'negotiation' with Tsukiyama?" Shinobu asked as soon as she saw him, standing up from her chair.
"Everything went perfectly, it won't be long before he gets addicted." Lucian smiled mischievously, "But why did you call me?"
"Kanao wants to meet you."
"She took a while to ask for that."
"I think so too, but you know how she is: she has great difficulty making decisions."
Kanao did not have any great desire or obsession, similar to the other demon hunters, she had the goal of killing demons and protecting people, but for a very different reason - none of her family members had been killed by demons, the only thing that made her join was being adopted by Shinobu and Kanae.
Over time, seeing people who suffered because of demons made her develop feelings against them, but not to the same level as others.
And eventually she would train and become a demon slayer at the same time as Tanjiro.
'Or at least not at the present time.'
If Lucian hadn't appeared, she would probably have followed the same path as the original work, but at the present moment, Kanao is still not much different from the empty shell she was when Shinobu and Kanae found her.
'Just as she doesn't have any wishes that can be used, she also doesn't have any against the demons. The only thing that can be used… is the connection she has with Shinobu.'
After that he started walking: "Come on! I'll talk to her."
"You also took a while to make a decision, three whole seconds thinking about it." Shinobu joked as she followed suit.
"Of course, if it's important to you, it's important to me." Lucian proudly boasted, demonstrating his noble personality.
"I wanted to believe your words, but I think there's a high probability that you want something from me." She raised one of her eyebrows and expressed her doubts.
"You know me so well, I'm always wanting something." He smiled, looking at her beautiful face. Noticing the intensity of Lucian's gaze, Shinobu blushed, feeling embarrassed.
Thankfully, their embarrassment soon faded away as they reached Kanao's room/cell, which didn't take more than a few seconds considering the room came to them.
This is one of the benefits of the infinity castle, no matter how "far" you are, you can reach your destination in the blink of an eye.
Of course, this only occurs if someone is operating the castle to rearrange the rooms and corridors in a convenient way.
'Undeniably the Infinity Castle has become better since I added my powers to it.'
Shinobu opened the door and announced her arrival: "Kanao, we're coming in!"
When they entered they saw Kanao sitting on the bed, her face expressionless as she stared into space, as if she had no emotions.
The unfortunate result was that she and her siblings were mistreated by their parents for years, until her siblings died and she was sold into slavery.
After all this suffering, she ended up breaking inside.
"Although it's not hard to convince her… it's hard for Shinobu, she wouldn't be able to put Kanao in 'danger', so she wants me to talk to her," Lucian thought, realizing what Shinobu's motivation could be.
It's almost impossible for Kanao to refuse, but if she accepts merely because it's a request from whoever controls her, Shinobu wouldn't be able to live with that.
'Moral dilemmas are very irritating.'
Ignoring that, he approached her and began to use some of the laziest arguments he had: "The Demon Slayer Corps was destroyed, your only relative is among the demons, so why don't you join too? If you want, you can flip a coin."
"…What happened to the others in the butterfly mansion?" Kanao asked, expressing a barely noticeable trace of concern.
"Just like the others who didn't die in the attack, they're still alive, more specifically, they didn't have any injuries," Lucian answered honestly, after all, the people from the butterfly mansion didn't pose any danger and Shinobu didn't want them to die, so there was no reason to kill them.
"Thanks. Tails I go, heads I stay." She then took a coin from her pocket and tossed it in the air, catching it as it began to fall.
Letting such an important decision be made by a simple inanimate object.