[Prompt: [Monster Encyclopedia] has been deployed... Detected four evil demons...]
[Lower Rank Five · Rui]
[Constitution: 137]
[Lower Rank One · Enmu]
[Constitution: 174]
[Upper Rank Three · Akaza]
[Constitution: 387]
And...
After Roy sat down with a smile, he glanced casually at a corner of the carriage where an "eye" was staring intently at him.
[Eye Demon]
[Ordinary Evil Demon]
[Constitution: 10]
[Innate Blood Demon Art: Passive Parasitism]
[Note: An evil demon that feeds on "human" eyeballs, primarily serving as a "visual carrier" for the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji.]
"Puhu." Two great suns ignited within his dual pupils.
You stand on the bridge viewing the scenery, unaware that the person viewing the scenery is looking at you from the tower. Noticing Muzan's gaze, Roy activated the [Eye of Delusion Breaking]. Looking back through the Eye Demon, he reversed the line of sight and instantly spotted him, along with a man standing beside him—a man with six eyes, wearing a purple and black patterned kimono and black hakama pants, wooden sandals on his feet, and a long, slender katana suspended at his waist!
What a sharp gaze!
Kokushibo was startled. Under his body's instinctive reaction, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, gripping [Kyokokukamusari]!
"Lord Muzan is correct; those earrings are indeed Yoriichi's belongings."
The "Hanafuda earrings" hanging from Roy's ears moved without any wind. Muzan Kibutsuji, draped in a suit jacket with his arms crossed, frowned and remained silent.
In the corner of the carriage, the eyeball remained motionless, locked tightly onto Roy. Akaza sat with his arms hanging naturally over his knees. Rui had his hands crossed, playing cat's cradle with spider silk. As the "master" of this train, Enmu, whose black hair was dipped in a bewitching rose-red at the ends, opened his arms toward Roy with an infatuated expression. "Please, my dear, we have been waiting for you."
The back of his hand opened up to reveal a mouth, which silently exhaled "drowsiness" toward Roy.
[Blood Demon Art: Whispers of Forced Slumber. Note: Enmu can create a mouth on the back of his hand. When this mouth utters the word "Sleep," it forces the opponent into a mandatory slumber, compelling them to enter a dream created by Enmu. Unless they commit suicide within the dream, they cannot wake up.]
"Sleep..."
The mouth spoke soundlessly.
[En]. "Buzz."
A milky-white aura dome, shaped like a large bowl, inverted itself over the train. From the very first moment Roy boarded, everything—every person, every demon, even a mouse, a cockroach, or a single drifting strand of hair—was captured within his "field of vision."
The boy's ears twitched, clearly capturing the voice of Enmu's heart. He gave Akaza and Rui a wink and said, "Stick to the plan we discussed earlier. The moment he falls asleep, kill him immediately."
Roy played along, feigning being "hypnotized." He closed his eyes and his body swayed. Immediately, he heard countless "fine threads" slicing through the air, cutting toward him to cage him in!
[Blood Demon Art: Caged Thread Prison. Note: "Steel-infused" spider silk binds the enemy's body, capable of instantly slicing the opponent into pieces. Its hardness is such that even a Nichirin Sword would have difficulty severing it easily.]
In the original story, Tanjiro had suffered a silent loss to this move!
"I finally found you... You killed my older sister, younger sister, father, and mother. You destroyed my home..." Rui's bloody eyes were crimson. "I will destroy you too."
"How long has it been? If not for Lord Muzan... Rui definitely could not have waited for this moment."
The spider web, sharper than blades, appeared slow but was actually as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped Roy!
Beneath Rui's expressionless face lay a trace of vindication. His gaze locked onto Roy as if he could already see the image of the boy being dismembered into eight pieces.
[Ken].
"Scritch..."
The "steel-infused spider silk," strong enough to sever a Nichirin Sword, sliced onto Roy's body. However, in an instant, it was firmly blocked on the surface of his body by a thin film of milky-white [Hardening] aura. It produced a tooth-aching friction sound, and faintly, sparks even flew.
This caused both Rui and Akaza to freeze in momentary shock!
"Such strong defensive power!"
Roy kept his eyes closed, acting as if he did not perceive the spider silk cutting into him. The Eye Demon hiding in the corner of the carriage suddenly rotated.
It stared deathly hard.
Muzan Kibutsuji furrowed his brows tightly and glanced sideways at Kokushibo. "Michikatsu, did you see anything?"
As the Lower Rank demon Muzan paid the most attention to, Rui had been raised like a biological son since childhood. Therefore, Muzan was well aware of his strength and the durability of his threads. At the very least, slicing through a piece of ordinary steel should not be an issue.
Kokushibo stood with his sword, silent.
The six eyes on his head locked firmly onto Roy through the shared vision of the Eye Demon, watching the struggle between the spider silk and [Ken]. After a moment, he said, "What is certain is that the opponent is not using a 'Breathing Style'."
As Yoriichi Tsugikuni's biological older brother, Kokushibo—originally named Tsugikuni Michikatsu—had once served in the Demon Slayer Corps alongside Yoriichi and was among the first batch to come into contact with "Breathing Styles." He had dedicated his life to "Martial Arts," desperately craving to become a swordsman superior to his younger brother Yoriichi. To this end, he did not hesitate to abandon his family and discard his honor as a samurai, choosing to defect to Muzan. He sought eternal life to continue improving himself. Thus, excluding the deceased Yoriichi, he was the one who had invested the most in and had the deepest understanding of "Breathing Styles."
Kokushibo narrowed his eyes, watching the sparks fly from the friction between the spider silk and [Ken], and said in a low voice, "The main effect of 'Breathing Styles' is reflected in 'Motor Performance.' It can instantly raise a person's offensive ceiling, but it cannot change the organizational structure of the flesh, let alone cause a person's skin to transform toward the properties of steel. This is simply... unheard of."
"Could your brother do it?"
"He could not."
Kokushibo said unceremoniously, "He was a peerlessly sharp blade; anything he touched would die. He had no need for defense."
Muzan Kibutsuji's heart clenched, and he couldn't help but recall that night he first met the crimson swordsman. He said angrily, "What is Enmu doing?"
"Why does someone who has fallen into a slumber still have the consciousness to defend himself?!"
Kokushibo remained silent. He didn't know what that Lower Rank demon was doing either. He split one eye's focus to glance at him. As Akaza and Rui looked over immediately, they sharply realized something was wrong!
"Where is your hypnosis?"
Enmu looked as if he had lost his soul, staring blankly ahead with lifeless eyes, giving no answer.
Unable to cut Roy, Rui extended a hand to touch Enmu's shoulder, but was stopped halfway by Akaza!
"Don't touch him!" With red lashes and golden pupils branded with the uppercase character "Three," Akaza sat right next to Enmu. His nose twitched, keenly smelling something unusual.
"Akaza, what have you discovered?"
The Eye Demon rotated. Sensing Akaza's movement, Muzan Kibutsuji's words abruptly surfaced in his mind.
[Browsing, viewing... deciding the life and death of a "subordinate" with a single thought is precisely the unique ability Muzan Kibutsuji uses to control the horde of evil demons.]
Akaza lowered his head and said respectfully, "Reporting to Lord Muzan, I believe Enmu must have discovered something."
For an evil demon who controls others by manipulating dreams, his fighting style differs from the vast majority of demons. For Enmu to fall into such a bizarre state, perhaps... it was related to his fierce battle with someone inside a dream.
[Dream] was the second Blood Demon Art Enmu awakened after [Whispers of Forced Slumber].
After hypnotizing others, he could trap them within a dream of his own creation.
Unlike the naturally formed dreams of humans, the dreams Enmu created were not infinitely expansive. Instead, they formed a finite dream circle around the dream's owner. Outside this dream circle lay the owner's Unconscious Realm.
In the Unconscious Realm of every dream owner, there existed a "Spirit Core." If this core was destroyed, the dream owner would lose consciousness and become a cripple; even if killed, they would offer no resistance.
In the original story, Enmu used the "Rope of Dreams" to manipulate others into entering Kyojuro Rengoku's "Dream," aiming to destroy his "Spirit Core." Unfortunately for Enmu, he was thwarted by Rengoku's powerful self-awareness, which manipulated his body to restrain the attackers instinctively.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that while an average person's "Unconscious Realm" is empty with nothing existing within it, it cannot be ruled out that for some individuals with intense self-awareness, other things might appear in the "Unconscious Realm" after entering the dream.
"The reason Enmu is in this state is likely related to what he saw..."
Akaza relayed his conjectures to Muzan Kibutsuji in full detail. He was no mediocrity; on the contrary, it was precisely because of his exceptionally high "Combat Talent" that he was noticed and recruited by Muzan. Naturally, after receiving the order to kill Roy, he had understood Enmu's abilities beforehand and now held nothing back. "Lord Muzan could attempt to browse Enmu's memories; perhaps you will obtain the answer."
I refuse!
Muzan Kibutsuji rejected the idea coldly and bluntly. "I am not here to listen to your nonsense. While he has not yet fully awakened, hurry up and act. Kill him for me!"
Once... twice... "Unexpected situations" always seemed to arise. What Muzan Kibutsuji hated most were events that exceeded his control!
He said with a dark expression, "If it is you, there should be no problem, right?"
Akaza rose to his full height and clenched his fists. "Although ganging up violates the code of Bushido, since it is Lord Muzan's command..."
[Technique Deployment · Destructive Death · Disorder!]
He punched out, generating shockwaves like a torrential downpour of pear blossoms!
Blown by the fist wind, Rui unwillingly stepped aside for Akaza. The spider web retracted, and fists like cannonballs arrived one after another like rain...
Inside the [Dream]...
Roy had played along and entered the dream voluntarily. Feeling the [Ken] rippling like waves in the outside world, he adjusted his mind, slightly increasing the output of aura to further reinforce [Ken]. Then, leaning on his blade, he simply stood there within his own dream, gazing into the distance across the Unconscious Realm.
In a world of total whiteness where direction was indistinguishable...
Footsteps gradually sounded. Then came Enmu's excited, jubilant, yet somewhat perversely magnetic hum...
It fluttered around Roy's ears.
"I can feel Lord Muzan's cells trembling; they are desperately urging me to kill you quickly."
"Kamado Eiichiro, is it? I hope you can understand me. As a subordinate, I must obey Lord Muzan's commands. Even if I must die for him..." Enmu walked over slowly, lightly biting his finger. Looking at Roy with intoxication, he murmured, "I would do so willingly."
Dogs that bite do not bark; it is usually the incapable puppies that rely on their master's backing to bark wildly.
In the original story, due to Rui's death, four of the six Lower Moons were executed, leaving only Enmu. It must be said that as a "puppy," he utilized his sycophancy toward Muzan to the extreme. It was not without reason that he was favored and granted blood by Muzan.
What a pity...
"Muzan is not here. He cannot hear your bootlicking."
"It does not matter."
Enmu smiled faintly. "Once I kill you, Lord Muzan will naturally know of my loyalty."
"So..." Enmu tilted his head and looked over. "Can you let me see your 'Spirit Core'?"
As soon as the words fell, Enmu threw out a rope woven from misty dreams, hooking onto Roy's wrist.
[Blood Demon Art: Rope of Dreams. Note: Enmu's special dream rope. It possesses the ability to invade the person tied by the rope, allowing Enmu to control them through the dream. When used, one only needs to tie one end of the rope to the target's hand and the other end to one's own hand to invade the opponent's consciousness.]
"Shoo." The rope wound around Roy's wrist and tied a knot.
It was so easy... it was somewhat surprising.
Enmu raised an eyebrow. "You aren't resisting?"
"Why should I resist?" Roy allowed Enmu to act, looking at him with a smile. "Excellent employees like you are rare. I have decided... to give you a small reward..."
As the boy spoke, he opened his arms and summoned his "Spirit Core."
"Since you want to see it, I'll show it to you..."
The hazy chaos parted, and a great sun, radiating ten thousand rays of light, rose slowly from behind Roy's head.
It was bright, it was hot, it was incomparably dazzling, yet it could not tolerate a single speck of filth or darkness...
Enmu saw it as he wished. Regrettably, he didn't seem very satisfied. Amidst a miserable shriek, illuminated by the sunlight, he turned into a man of fire. Then, silence. Annihilation. Just like that... he turned into flying ash and his existence was erased by the world.
"Dong." The leisurely sound of a bell, like a grand bell, rang out on the speeding train.
The passengers hanging their heads startled awake from their dreams.
Rubbing their sleepy eyes, yawning, stretching, or secretly wiping away the drool spilling from the corners of their mouths when no one was looking—in that instant... the train, which had been dead silent in the [Dream], came "alive"!
"Enmu, what the hell are you doing?!"
The Demon Eye hiding in the corner of the carriage rotated. Muzan Kibutsuji, hiding in the Infinity Castle, watched the customers waking up one by one and was furiously angry!
He opened his hand, wanting to manipulate the demon blood to simply explode Enmu to death. However, there was no need for him to act. In the corner by the window, Enmu, having lost the support of his consciousness, slumped to the side and immediately turned into flying ash.
At the same time, amidst the drifting ash...
The young man "finally" opened his eyes. Breaking free from the dream and returning to reality, he saw Akaza throwing a chaotic flurry of punches endlessly. He struck back with a reverse slash, slicing off Rui's head, and tilted his head to look at him, saying:
"Have you made enough noise yet?"