Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
The center here is the Imperial Palace, where successive Emperors have resided. Surrounding the Imperial Palace are the residences of various imperial family members, and further out are the homes of the elder nobles of the country's shogunate.
Kibutsuji Muzan, who had lived for a thousand years, showed no respect for this place, and its security could not detect that a Demon King had already entered.
The Emperor? Although legend says the Emperor is a descendant of Amaterasu Omikami, passed down from ancient times, and is called the unbroken Imperial Line.
However, for Muzan, who had truly experienced history, the so-called Emperor was merely an ordinary human, and the so-called unbroken Imperial Line was just a slogan.
In these thousand years, the Emperor's bloodline had changed no less than three times; its value was far inferior to that hateful Ubuyashiki clan.
...
Imperial Palace
At this time, the Taisho Emperor was already terminally ill. The next Emperor, the current Crown Prince Hirohito, was kneeling by his father's sickbed.
"Hirohito, the burden of this country falls upon you. You must reclaim power from those old fogeys, the shogunate elders."
"Then, use the entire nation's strength to plunder that declining China."
"I dream of that fertile land, stretching for thousands of miles."
"From south to north, a vast land that even a carriage cannot traverse in half a year!"
Hirohito showed no sadness: "You may rest assured, Father Emperor. Having returned from studying in Western European countries, I have been influenced by world-class powerhouses, and I will surely lead the Empire to its peak."
Taisho Emperor: "Alas, I don't want to die yet; I still want to live."
Just then, the sound of leather shoes on the ground reached them, and the moonlight cast a long shadow of a body, illuminating the faces of Taisho and Hirohito.
Both were startled and looked over, only to see a man who resembled a Western gentleman, but with glowing crimson eyes.
"Heh heh... If you don't want to die, then I shall bestow upon you immortal bodies."
"But before that, you must do one thing for me."
Before Taisho and Hirohito could even shout, Muzan instantly appeared before them as before, his demon claw gripping their necks, fingers piercing directly in.
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle…"
As demon blood was injected, the blood vessels throughout Taisho and Hirohito's bodies writhed like earthworms, their eyeballs protruded and turned crimson, their mouths widened, and two demon fangs emerged: "Roar——"
"Go, turn all the imperial family members and shogunate ministers into demons."
"Then, gather the entire nation's strength to completely eradicate the Demon Slayer Corps."
"And do not reveal anything about me."
After doing all this, Kibutsuji Muzan turned and left.
"Yes, Master!" Hirohito and Taisho looked at their hands, which had turned into demon claws, with immense excitement.
Especially the Taisho Emperor, who was already terminally ill: "Eternal life! Eternal life!"
Hirohito's demon claw scratched his own arm, and the skin-torn arm healed in the blink of an eye: "Demons! Demons actually exist! Hahahaha! Immortality! This is the legendary immortality!"
In his mind, he had already received a lot of information as soon as Master Muzan's blood was injected.
Demons fear sunlight; they will turn to ash if exposed to it, and from now on, they can only eat humans.
However, this was completely trivial for eternal life.
They were royalty; the entire country belonged to them. They could eat as many commoners as they wished, and it was a great honor for those commoners to be eaten by the imperial family.
In myths and legends, Emperor Sutoku became a great yokai, a Tengu. What was wrong with him, the Taisho Emperor, becoming a demon?
"Your Majesty! Prince Hirohito, your subordinate just saw an unknown person appear here!"
Two house servants arrived at the door, panting. As soon as they entered, they saw their Emperor and Crown Prince with blood-red eyes, sharp teeth in their mouths, and drooling, looking at them.
"Your Majesty…"
"Roar!"
"Ahhhhh! Your Majesty! Prince Hirohito! What's wrong with you?!"
"Crunch!" The sound of bones breaking and screams echoed throughout the Imperial Palace.
"Ahhhh! They're mad! They're mad! His Majesty and His Highness are mad!"
"Help me——"
Hearing the sounds, the servants and retainers in the Imperial Palace rushed over in a hurry, terrified to see the Emperor and Crown Prince gnawing on hands and feet.
"You came just in time; the more demons, the better!" Taisho ferociously lunged at the servants and retainers.
How could ordinary humans escape demons? Amidst screams and cries, more than half of the retainers and servants turned into demons, leaving only a portion of the servants as food.
After the Imperial Palace became a demon's nest, the Taisho Emperor called the rest of the imperial family to the Imperial Palace. Hirohito personally went to the residences of the shogunate ministers, turning each minister into a demon, while the house servants in the ministers' homes became their first meal as demons amidst screams and cries.
Shouts and cries were incessant in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
However, commoners were never allowed near here, and the bustling Tokyo's various sounds covered these shouts and cries.
On the other side, in the army, thousands of demons had already appeared, and some soldiers, unaware of the truth, were used as food.
Kibutsuji Muzan walked out of Chiyoda Ward, listening to the continuous screams behind him, and couldn't help but smile.
"Hehehehe... Demon Slayer Corps, Demon Slayers! Facing the entire nation's military power, let's see how you struggle."
"Do you dare to point your swords at the imperial family, at the shogunate ministers who control everything in this country? Or do you dare to resist the army's firearms?"
Tokyo began to gradually descend into chaos. The army units received orders from the shogunate to enter the Tokyo urban area in large numbers to arrest and kill those unofficial personnel wearing special haori and carrying swords.
Commoners watched the endless stream of troops entering the urban area in panic.
"What's happening?"
"Why is the army entering the urban area?!"
"What's going on?!"
With such a major event occurring, reporters from Western news agencies stationed in Tokyo grabbed their cameras and began taking photos and documenting.
"Shogunate military order! Gather the entire nation's strength to arrest unofficial persons wearing haori and carrying swords, especially the Ubuyashiki clan, and the illegal organization formed by the Ubuyashiki clan!"
"Those who resist will be immediately killed!"
One by one, military officers shouted while leading army soldiers in searches.
...
Meanwhile, the demons who had lost their minds in the Chiyoda area broke free and spread out to various areas of Tokyo.
The instinct to eat humans consumed their minds; they bit anyone they saw, and ate anyone they bit, quickly causing great chaos.
The concept of 'demons', which in this scientifically enlightened country was considered an impossible myth, now appeared nakedly before people's eyes.
In less than ten minutes, the brightly lit, bustling streets became a nightmarish scene.
"Ahhhhh! Someone's being bitten!"
"What is that! Someone's being bitten! There's blood! So much blood!"
"Ahhhh! An arm was torn off! He's eating someone!"
"Bastard! Stop it!"
"Don't come near! Help me!"
At first, people only thought it was a sick person having a fit, but as more and more people were bitten and eaten, and red fluid splattered on walls and other people's faces, they realized this was not a disease at all.
It was a monster! A man-eating monster! A monster that could easily tear people apart and in an instant could pounce on and kill several people.
"Ahhhhhhhhh! Monster! Bugyōsho! Bugyōsho! Quickly contact the Bugyōsho…"
"Help me! There are monsters here too! So many monsters!"
"Run!"