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The Upper Rank Three, Akaza, was dead—by his own hand.
Despite Muzan's attempt to manipulate his will from afar to stop him, Akaza stubbornly broke free from the progenitor of demons' control. Holding his lover's hand and accompanied by his two fathers, he willingly stepped through the Gate of the Underworld.
As the Gate of the Underworld closed, Akaza bowed deeply to Kaito in gratitude.
After bidding farewell to the prison guards, Kaito noticed the complex gazes of Tengen and Obanai.
They were all demon slayers, so why was it that only he could perform such miraculous feats?
Their eyes conveyed this unspoken question.
At the same time, both men kept glancing suspiciously behind themselves.
Kaito bent down and picked up a glowing crystal pendant from the pile of ashes left behind by Akaza.
"You two, stop looking. There's no one following you," Kaito said, holding the pendant as he approached them.
"Is that so?" Tengen let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried my old man might pop out of nowhere, scolding me for abandoning my ninja duties."
Obanai, however, widened his eyes, his expression turning strangely intense as he asked, "No one? How could there be no one? I can always feel them—always lingering by my side, trying to drag me into hell!"
"There's really no one," Kaito said, standing in front of Obanai and looking directly into his eyes. "I don't know what you've been through, but it's likely just your imagination. After all, spirits lingering in the mortal world need an obsession to sustain them."
Obanai lowered his head, his voice sinking. "Obsession? I thought… they would hate me for causing their deaths…"
"Hate? If they were filled with hatred, they would become vengeful spirits," Kaito explained. "In this era where mysteries are fading, vengeful spirits cannot persist in the world for long."
"What do you mean?" Obanai looked up at him again.
Kaito walked toward the sealed Upper Rank Six, casually explaining as he went. "Souls that become vengeful spirits are like living people who turn into man-eating demons—they lose their memories from life, greedily devouring other souls or even each other, until they lose all reason."
He glanced back at Obanai and added, "However, this world no longer has an environment where vengeful spirits can survive. Their fate is the same as a demon stepping into sunlight…"
"They turn to ash?" Obanai murmured.
"Exactly. The more souls they devour, the stronger they become, and the faster they vanish."
Kaito reached the sealed Upper Rank Six and gestured to the two men. "Gentlemen, please lend me a hand and carry these two test subjects back."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Tengen refused. "If we bring these two demons back, Muzan will immediately sense the location of the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters."
"No need to worry. I've sealed them, so Muzan can no longer track their location," Kaito explained. "Besides, I'll set up a barrier there before conducting my research."
"Well… we can't make that call," Tengen said, shaking his head.
"Fine, I won't trouble you," Kaito said after a moment's thought. "In that case, I'll find a secluded spot in the mountains where I can work undisturbed."
"No problem," Tengen agreed immediately, patting the dazed Obanai. "Let's get moving, then." He strode over to Kaito, hoisting Gyutaro onto his shoulder. "The cleanup here will be handled by the Kakushi."
Snapping out of his trance, Obanai silently picked up Daki.
After sending a Kasugai Crow to report back to headquarters, the three quickly departed. Before dawn, they crossed the city outskirts and countryside, heading straight into the mountains.
Along the way, Obanai remained silent, while Tengen bombarded Kaito with questions, his curiosity insatiable. Especially after Kaito casually mentioned that he, too, came from a ninja clan, Uzui's interest peaked.
Kaito could only respond reluctantly, eventually asking Uzui to help gather some animal blood to keep him occupied.
After the sun rose, the two swordsmen shared wild fruits and a boar they hunted in the forest. They crossed several more mountains before arriving at a desolate, remote valley.
"This will do," Kaito said, surveying the quiet valley. "I'll need you two to help me build a simple house."
"Just something to keep out the wind and rain," he added. "I don't need to eat or sleep anymore."
The two Pillars quickly constructed a small thatched wooden hut.
Kaito took out the animal blood he had collected along the way and began mixing it.
"What's this for? Drawing talismans with animal blood?" Tengen asked, his curiosity reignited.
"No, it's for creating a barrier," Kaito replied, pouring different types of blood from bamboo containers into a makeshift wooden bucket in specific ratios, stirring them with a bare branch.
'From luxury to simplicity, how difficult it is…' he sighed inwardly.
In his own world, he had access to abundant Ryūmyaku energy, omnipresent natural energy, and easily obtainable yokai materials for setting up barrier arrays. But in this barren world, he was reduced to using something as crude as animal blood.
"Hey, Mr. Onmyoji," Tengen suddenly leaned in. "So, what exactly is that crystal pendant that tempted Upper Rank Six?"
At this question, even the distracted Obanai perked up his ears.
"Just an ordinary crystal," Kaito said. Seeing Tengen's skeptical look, he continued, "I merely infused it with a significant amount of spiritual energy."
"Spiritual energy?" Tengen's eyes gleamed with curiosity.
Kaito sighed. "Since you've heard of Onmyoji, you probably have some idea of what spiritual energy is."
"Then why are demons attracted to spiritual energy?" Obanai finally spoke up, stepping closer.
"That involves a lot of other matters," Kaito said patiently, as he used a makeshift brush to draw intricate incantations on the wooden hut.
"To be precise, everyone possesses some spiritual energy, but most people can't harness it. In this era, those capable of awakening spiritual energy are almost nonexistent. What you call 'Marechi' refers to people with more active spiritual energy. Naturally, their blood contains more of it. Your breathing techniques are a clever way of using spiritual energy. Through specific breathing and swordsmanship, you passively draw out small amounts of spiritual energy to enhance your strikes, triggering a faint resonance with natural energy. That's how you produce techniques with elemental effects."