When the first ray of morning sun shone through a crack in the window, Doma snapped out of his dissociated state with a jolt.
Demons didn't need to sleep, but the gnawing hunger in his stomach had been torturing him, leaving him looking a little weak. As the "Child of God" of the Eternal Paradise Cult, Doma had barely ever gone hungry in his life.
"I'm so pitiful~"
Doma put on a pathetic expression, though his emotions remained completely flat. He raised his rainbow eyes to look at the sunlight falling on the distant floor.
Mmm, it feels like I'm looking at my natural enemy.
Just looking at it from a distance made him feel a burning sensation, and his body instinctively tensed up.
Doma slowly got up from his cushion, avoiding the sunlight as he moved to the window. With a curious expression, he stuck his left index finger into the sunbeam.
A searing pain hit him, and his finger turned to ash in the sunlight.
"Ouch~"
Doma pulled his hand back, watching as his finger quickly regenerated.
"Ugh, I'm even hungrier now."
He complained in a whining tone, then slammed the window shut with a swish, satisfied as the room plunged back into darkness.
"I'll have to get the believers to rebuild the temple."
"Hmm, thicken the walls and ceiling, cover the windows..." Doma muttered to himself as he sat back down. He waved the fan in his right hand, and a smooth ice mirror materialized before him.
He tilted his head, examining his reflection. When he saw the conspicuous bloodstain-like pattern on his white-oak hair, a sad expression appeared on his face.
"Oh dear, why does that man like to stab people in the head?" he pouted. He really liked his original pure hair color and didn't want to dye it.
However, he didn't feel any real heartache. After all, what he loved most were his eyes—like a rainbow after the rain, clear, translucent, pure, and more beautiful than the most precious gems.
"I feel like they would make the most sincere gift for a friend~"
"Everyone would surely love them."
Doma touched his eyes, fantasizing with an expectant look for a moment before he attempted mimicry for the first time. He was a quick study with his abilities; he'd always been smart, even as a child.
In no time, he managed to hide the few demonic traits on his body, and the ink-splash bloodstain on his hair slowly disappeared.
"There, that's better."
Doma closed his fan, watching the floating ice mirror shatter and dissipate.
Actually, this Blood Demon Art was quite simple. It just turned his blood into mist-like ice crystals that he could spread around. He could call it "Mist-Ice." He could freely shape the ice crystals into various forms. All the fancy abilities shown in the manga were developed by himself.
"But they are all very fun and beautiful. So I'll continue to create them in that direction."
"My sense of aesthetics is as great as ever~"
Doma smiled, fanning himself. Flakes of mist-like ice crystals scattered from the edge of the iron fan.
He then remembered his other Blood Demon Art, and a melancholic expression crossed his face.
He had a feeling that this Blood Demon Art... could deceive Lord Muzan's mind-reading.
But then again, Doma didn't really care if that man read his thoughts and memories, and he was willing to obey his commands... After all, that man had helped him greatly, saving him from the predicament of emotional loss. It was like being reborn a second time.
Although that man was cold and ruthless, a coward, not very smart, and prone to firing his subordinates... since he helped me, he must be a pretty good guy.
He didn't mind having him as a boss~
Whether such thoughts were influenced by the demon blood in his veins was irrelevant to Doma.
However...
"It's probably best not to let Lord Muzan know about the contents of the manga. Otherwise, he probably won't let me live."
"That's so sad~"
And there were the orders Lord Muzan had transmitted to him through his blood...
—Find the Blue Spider Lily.
"Oh my, although I know a clue, it's probably better not to find it."
"Once that man overcomes the sun, the demons created for that purpose will lose their reason for existence."
"We'll definitely be laid off. What a shame." Doma lowered his eyes with a sad expression. He wanted to play for a while longer; he didn't want to die just yet. Though his current attitude towards life was completely "living is good, dying is fine too"...
—And, if you encounter a Demon Slayer from the Demon Slayer Corps, kill them.
"But the Demon Slayer Corps has so many cute people. I'd be a little reluctant~"
"But that man's orders are absolute..."
"Well, I'll deal with it when the time comes."
—Also, eat more people and strive to become stronger.
The thought of this made Doma even sadder. He touched his stomach, a tearful expression on his face.
"Oh well." He shook his head, wrinkled his nose slightly, and reluctantly used his ability.
"Blood Demon Art: Hisōten."
A world of nothingness seemed to unfold before him, like a waveless, black lake. Doma rummaged through his own memories and thoughts as if flipping through a book, tossing things he didn't want to be seen into it.
Those memories and thoughts hidden in Hisōten became like dreamlike bubbles, existing and yet not existing. They didn't affect his thinking or interfere with his memory, yet they were so illusory that they seemed like they would shatter with a single poke.
"What a strange feeling."
"Sigh, for various reasons, I can't be completely honest with that man. I feel so wronged~"
Doma finally finished reviewing his mind and eagerly exited the state of Hisōten. He was reluctant to use this ability because it wasn't fun at all.
A commotion was heard from outside the door.
"Finally, someone's here to clean up," he muttered.
"Lo... Lord Doma! Are you there?" Noriko's tearful voice called from outside.
Doma put on his Founder's hat and said with a smile, "I'm here, Sister Noriko."
The door flew open with a whoosh. Noriko stood there with tears in her eyes, several people behind her.
"I'm so glad you're alright," she said, wiping her tears. "So many... so many people have died!"
"I know," Doma said, his expression one of profound compassion, his voice as gentle and calm as ever. "Bandits broke in last night. Although I drove them away, some people still left us."
"But there is no need to be sad. They have simply gone to paradise as they wished," Doma said without joy or sorrow. "From now on, they are freed from the sufferings of the human world and have attained eternal happiness."
Mmm, they've probably already gone to hell.
"Is that so? That's wonderful," Noriko said, stunned for a moment, before bowing her head in prayer along with the other believers.
...
Due to the major reshuffle of the cult's leadership, the chaos lasted for several days before calm was restored. The cult did not arrange for any believers to come for confession during these days, and Doma enjoyed a rare period of leisure.
But this life was not very comfortable, because he was very hungry.
Looking at the food Noriko brought him, Doma picked up a piece of fish, chewed it, and then spat it out with a blank expression.
"It's disgusting."
It was like eating tasteless sand, and his body refused to digest it.
Doma's expression remained unchanged as he froze the food on the plate into a block of ice, then watched it shatter and disappear.
"My body is gradually weakening..."
Demons don't starve to death, but they grow weaker and weaker during prolonged hunger.
"I can't even develop my Blood Demon Art."
After all, using a Blood Demon Art consumed stamina.
"As I thought, a demon like Nezuko who can recover just by sleeping is a special case."
Doma noted that he was too hungry to even sleep.
"If this goes on, I'm just dying a slow death."
Doma put on a pitiful expression, though his heart was unmoved.
"That man will also be very disappointed and might even fire an unqualified subordinate like me."
Although he wasn't afraid of death, the thought of dying so senselessly was deeply regrettable. He ground his teeth, and sharp fangs slowly grew in his mouth.
"As long as I maintain my reason while eating and am not influenced by instinct, it should be fine..."
He accepted this with unusual speed. The morals he had cultivated in his previous life had already crumbled during his struggle against emotional loss. At most, it would only make him slightly biased when choosing his ingredients.
As the Founder of the Eternal Paradise Cult, Doma couldn't bear to see people suffer. But some people only brought suffering to others by living.
And then there were the pitiable believers who eagerly awaited the Lord Founder to guide them to paradise. The Eternal Paradise Cult never lacked people who had lost all hope in life. They lived every day in pain, and even with the cult's help, they were like walking corpses. If the doctrine didn't state that those who commit suicide cannot enter paradise, they would have ended their own lives long ago.
"Even if I told them that paradise doesn't exist, they would only think of seeking death immediately. How pitiful." Doma sighed softly, his expression seemingly compassionate, yet also utterly ruthless.
"Therefore, I will bring them salvation and release. This is my duty as the Founder."
"After death, those who belong in heaven go to heaven, and those who belong in hell go to hell."
"It's very fair~"
"Mmm, after all, I will eventually fall into hell too." Doma propped his chin on his hand, feeling no sadness or fear in his heart, just a calm indifference.
"Lord Founder, a believer has arrived," a voice came from outside.
"Ah, please come in," Doma said, putting on his Founder's hat.
This time, the believer was a beautiful woman. She stared at Doma with a captivated and obsessive gaze, pouring out her sorrows to him through her tears. She had never received love from her family or from the person she loved; she had always been alone...
"Oh my, I'd like to hear the truth, Miss."
Doma opened his fan to cover the lower half of his face, revealing only his rainbow eyes, which always struggled to show any emotion. He could smell the scent of lies~
He reluctantly tried his "Hisōten" ability, and the woman's expression instantly twisted.
"I hate them!"
"Why did my parents always favor my younger brother? After I secretly threw him into a well, my parents actually abandoned me!"
"Why does Kazuhiko never look at me? Even after I pushed his lover off a cliff..."
"I buried Kazuhiko in the garden, along with all the others who didn't like me. The flowers that grow there are exceptionally vibrant."
"Lord Founder, you are so beautiful. I like you so much. Can we be together forever?" The woman's expression became fanatical as she walked crazily towards Doma.
"Oh my, you're making me blush."
Doma looked at her with sparkling eyes, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.
What a wonderfully twisted young lady~
As the woman approached, he leaned in closer. His purple nails elongated and gently grazed her cheek.
Meeting the woman's terrified gaze, Doma licked the blood from his fingertip. His rainbow eyes lit up.
As I thought, I'm fine.
"Well then, time to eat~" (Sore dewa, itadakimasu~)
Doma said with a devout heart, pressing his hands together in a gesture of gratitude.
-------
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