After taking his time admiring the exquisite ukiyo-e painted across the paper sliding door, Hiru finally reached out and pulled it open.
Beyond lay a corridor roughly twenty meters long. There were no windows connecting to the outside world; instead, the walls were lined with one refined artwork after another.
Hiru closed the door behind him and walked slowly forward.
He had intended to go straight to the door at the far end of the corridor to see just what kind of person this so-called Cult Leader was—but as he passed one particular painting, his steps halted unconsciously.
The canvas was set against a pitch-black background. A blood-red river wound its way inward from the edges, converging at the feet of a lone figure, pooling into a dark crimson stain. And behind that figure loomed a white, faceless silhouette—identical in shape, yet eerily hollow.
Though the colors had faded slightly with age, the painting radiated a warped, unsettling dissonance—yet at the same time, there was a strange sense of harmony within it.
…That time.
"A wonderful painting, isn't it?"
Hiru snapped back to himself and turned around—straight into a pair of eyes as radiant as a rainbow.
"Oh dear, did I startle you? My apologies."
The tall man stood with one hand clasped behind his back, the other holding a golden folding fan that concealed half his face. "I'm quite fond of this piece. Do you like it too?"
Hiru's gaze paused briefly on the characters engraved within the man's irises before returning to the painting.
"It's not so much that I like this piece," he said calmly, "as that I'm familiar with every painting Yomi-sensei ever made."
"Oh my, then it seems we share a hobby?" The man snapped his fan shut, revealing a handsome face adorned with a dazzling, bewitching smile. "That makes me very happy~ My name is Doma. And yours?"
"…Akiwa. Just call me Akiwa."
"Akiwa? What a cute name," Doma said, eyes sweeping over the petite woman before him. "You really are taken with this painting~ You haven't looked away even once."
"It's not fondness," Hiru replied, shaking his head slightly. "Just memories of things I was about to forget… or rather, things I find a little unpleasant."
He looked up at Doma. "You're the Cult Leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith, aren't you?"
"That's right~"
Doma gently waved his fan, smiling warmly.
"To be honest, I thought I'd be meeting Keiko today. I'd already arranged to guide her to eternal bliss. But meeting you instead isn't bad at all. Come now—tell me your troubles. I'll listen very carefully."
"My troubles?" Hiru tilted his head. "It's nice to have someone to talk to, but some things can't be solved just by talking."
"For example?"
"For example… the fact that the one I hate is still living freely in this world."
"Oh…"
Tears welled up in Doma's eyes. "That really is pitiful. To hate someone so deeply, yet be powerless to do anything because of one's own weakness—how very pitiful…"
He reached out slightly. "Come now, poor soul. Tell me your wishes. I'll save you."
Hiru laughed softly. "Aren't you afraid I might falsely accuse an innocent person?"
"How could that happen?" Doma's expression grew even more sorrowful. "Women and children, weakened by their bodies, are born to be preyed upon. How could they possibly be in the wrong? Even the gods would surely grant them extra mercy."
"…Ha." Hiru finally turned to face him directly. "There are no gods or Buddhas in this world. If there were, how could man-eating demons still exist?"
"Oh my…" Doma paused, startled. "Could it be… you're from the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Yes," Hiru nodded lightly. "You could call me a swordsman."
"How tragic…"
Tears fell from Doma's eyes once more.
"To force such a lovely child to carry out a mission like this… Were you abandoned? Don't worry, don't worry. I'll accept you completely. Let's live on together."
"I'm almost moved to tears myself," Hiru said with a smile, shaking his head as he continued forward. His gaze swept across the artworks lining the corridor. "Compared to the demons I've met before, you're much purer. That's something worth praising."
"Eh—did I hear that right?"
Doma followed beside him, beaming. "Are you praising me? I'm so happy—then it's decided. I'll make sure to savor you properly later. I won't waste a bit, and I'll make sure you feel no pain at all~
"But if your lord heard that, he'd probably cry, wouldn't he? One of his carefully trained subordinates praising a demon while on a mission… It sounds utterly absurd."
"It is absurd," Hiru agreed, stopping before another painting. "But I don't intend to die here."
"You really do love Yomi-sensei's works," he added.
"Ah, yes," Doma replied cheerfully. "They're truly beautiful. And somehow, they're filled with such blazing emotion that even an amateur like me can't help but be moved~"
"But you said you don't plan to die here… Did you hide a Nichirin Blade under that skirt?"
"…Of course not."
"Then what's your trump card?"
Doma circled him curiously, then suddenly slapped his fist into his palm. "Poison? If you have any, I'd love to try it~ Did I guess right? Is it poison?"
"No," Hiru said, continuing onward. "I am good with poison—but not this time."
"Then what is it? What is it? Come on~ Tell me?"
"Sunlight." Hiru reached the end of the corridor. "Did you forget that it's daytime?"
"Eh—well, that's true."
Doma opened his fan, looking puzzled.
"But these walls are specially reinforced. No windows, and plenty of trees planted outside. You don't even have a weapon—how are you planning to use sunlight? You're sure you don't want to poison me instead? I can give you some time to prepare~"
"…Honestly," Hiru muttered, lifting a hand to his forehead, "am I really that different from before?"
"Eh? Before?"
Doma tapped his chin with the fan, frowning in confusion. "Hmm—I don't think I've ever met you."
"That's disappointing. I thought Muzan would have made a point of telling you about me."
"Let me think." Doma shifted the fan to his left hand and jammed his right index finger hard into his temple. "What was it again? I can almost remember~"
Hiru's mouth twitched as he quietly slid open the paper door behind him.
"…Your way of thinking is certainly enlightening."
"Mmm—almost there," Doma muttered, watching Hiru step into the grand hall where he usually resided, his finger still stirring. "What was it? What was it? I was given special instructions by Lord—ah!"
His eyes lit up.
"Are you the one who made Kokushibo betray Lord Muzan? Looking at you now… could it be that you and Kokushibo aren't just brothers, but something even closer?"
"We are brothers," Hiru replied, frowning slightly, "but not in that way."
He sighed.
"I really don't know how someone as short-tempered as Muzan ever managed to tolerate you."
"How could that be~ I'm actually quite favored by our lord~" Doma withdrew his finger, the wound on his head healing instantly. "Our lord has the same habit too, you know~ Could it be a shared hobby among Demon Kings?"
After a brief silence, Hiru spoke. "If you were human, you'd probably get along quite well with him… No—there's even a chance you'd become friends."
"Oh~ Who might that be?" Doma produced another folding fan, icy-white mist spreading between his hands. "Since you like me so much, why not tell me?"
"That won't do. If you escaped, wouldn't that be leaking intelligence?" Hiru lowered his head and adjusted his clothes. "Honestly, if circumstances allowed, I would've changed outfits before coming. How about giving me some preparation time, just like you suggested?"
"Oh my~ That won't work. If I gave you time, wouldn't I just be digging my own grave?"
Ice crystals radiating bitter cold spread rapidly from Doma's feet, racing across the walls and ceiling.
"I really miscalculated today~ Looks like I'll have to schedule my meetings with the believers for later in the day from now on."
Hiru's height began to increase, his eyes clouding over with gray. The once well-fitted kimono shrank accordingly—though thanks to his slender build, aside from being noticeably shorter, it didn't look too out of place.
"If you even have a next time," Hiru said calmly, "I'd actually agree with that."
"If I remember correctly, Akaza-sama only fought you to a draw last time—" Doma tapped his own eye with the fan. The characters Upper Moon stood out vividly within his rainbow-colored iris.
"I'm much stronger than Akaza-sama, you know?"
"But for me, you're actually easier to deal with than him." Hiru looked around at the tatami room, now transformed into a frozen world, and casually tied his loose hair up. "After all, I don't like—and I'm not good at—close combat."
"Neither do I~" Doma gently waved his fan. "But are you really fine with this? Just letting me use my Blood Demon Art freely?"
"Heh… To be honest, I'm starting to like you a little."
Despite the stinging pain in his lungs, Hiru laughed softly.
"Blood Demon Art: Banshoku Seki."
"Eh—now that's just cheating." Doma could feel the ice crystals created by his Blood Demon Art severing their connection to him, yet he still smiled brightly.
"What should I do~? Should I call in reinforcements? Hmm, I wonder if Akaza-sama could make it over right now~"
Hiru didn't respond. He only stared blankly at the stone in his hand.
"Hey, hey~ Don't ignore me~ You said you liked me, but you're being awfully cold—"
"…You really are pitiful," Hiru said, lifting his gaze to Doma. "I'm genuinely starting to pity you."
"How so?"
Ice and snow swirled around Doma as delicate crystals gradually formed into translucent ice lotuses encircling him.
"I'm living a very happy life, you know~"
"Can you really call it happiness when you feel nothing at all?"
The smile on Doma's face slowly faded. "What are you talking about? I'm just like you."
"After becoming a demon, I didn't have many obsessions," Hiru said quietly.
"First, I wanted to find my brother and tell him about our family. Second, I wanted justice from my elder brother and from Muzan. Third, I wanted to find a demon that could be made into white pigment—"
His gaze settled on the pure white stone in his hand.
"But that last one… no matter how often I talked about it, I never truly held any hope."
"Oh my, oh my—why is that?"
Doma tilted his head. "Isn't anything possible?"
"Because humans have emotions, and demons are born from humans. Blood Demon Arts are nothing more than amplified manifestations of the obsessions one held as a human."
"Though it wasn't intentional, I've conducted experiments. The manifestation of Blood Demon Arts is deeply tied to the user. Most appear in cool tones or neutral shades between warm and cool. Since Blood Demon Arts are projected outward, they tend to lean toward warmer hues."
"The heavier a demon's desires, the deeper the color. That's why low-ranking demons who can't even maintain their sanity yield nothing but black when extracted…"
Hiru gently pinched the stone between his fingers.
"But you are pure white."
Doma narrowed his eyes slightly, saying nothing as more ice lotuses bloomed around him.
Hiru finally looked straight at him.
"White itself has many variations. Moon-white is actually an extremely pale blue. Rice-white is an extremely pale yellow. Among all the demons I've encountered, only one barely qualified as moon-white. It might pass when set against darker colors, but compared to true white, you could still see the blue. None of them were pure."
"Isn't it perfect that I'm white?" Doma smiled. "Doesn't that let you fulfill one last wish before you die?"
"That's exactly why I pity you." Hiru didn't smile. He looked at Doma with a far more complicated gaze.
"You feel nothing, yet you force yourself to learn human emotions, pretending you're rich in feeling… This is the moment you should be angry, you know. But you probably can't feel that, can you?"
Doma's smile stiffened for a moment before slowly fading. "Akaza-sama was right. You really are irritating."
"Maybe so. And I suppose I've said too much." Hiru lowered his eyes, idly turning the white crystal in his hand, lost in thought. "You're good-looking, your taste isn't bad, your Blood Demon Art is easy to deal with, and the color suits my preferences… I'm starting to feel a bit reluctant to kill you."
Doma lost interest in continuing the conversation. He flicked his golden folding fan, and the ice lotuses drifting around him shattered into countless petals.
"Blood Demon Art: Scattered Lotus Blossoms—"
The storm of icy petals tore through the air with mournful shrieks, carrying a freezing torrent capable of stopping all life as it surged toward Hiru, who stood unmoving at the center.
Facing that terrifying cold, Hiru merely raised the hand not holding the stone and made a grasping motion.
With a cascade of crisp, clinking sounds, countless white crystals rained down onto the floor.
Hiru looked at the now expressionless Doma and spoke slowly.
"All living beings in this world—so long as they can connect to something beyond themselves—naturally experience emotional change.
"Joy and delight, sorrow and grief, anger or fear. People learn to laugh and cry to express these emotions, understand how to respond, and come to grasp the importance of bonds.
"Even trash like Muzan knows what fear feels like, and will tremble or rage because of it.
"But you—born without emotion—have to learn and imitate even these most fundamental things…"
Hiru's voice was calm, almost gentle.
"Doma. You, who understand nothing—do you even know why you're alive?"