Akaza's figure vanished completely, leaving behind only the wreckage and lingering battle spirit.
"Oh my, what an impatient fellow."
Doma repaired his half-shattered head and brushed the dust from his cult leader robes, that pleasant, spring-breeze smile still fixed on his face.
He glanced down at Inosuke, who had just slipped back into the room, and his eyes suddenly lit up as if a brilliant idea had struck him.
"Hey, Inosuke."
Doma's figure blurred and reappeared right in front of Inosuke, beaming.
"That striped uncle just said the great one is throwing a tantrum and summoning us."
Inosuke's heart skipped a beat. His tiny feet silently shuffled back half a step.
*The great one? That's Kibutsuji Muzan—the scumbag boss who kills on a whim if he's in a bad mood or your breathing annoys him!*
"Dad, then you should go quickly. Don't be late."
Inosuke waved obediently, face full of pure innocence.
"I'll wait at home. I'll eat well and grow big."
"No, no, no!"
Doma wagged a slender index finger.
"How could Papa feel at ease leaving such a cute Inosuke home alone? What if a mouse carries you off?"
Before Inosuke could protest, Doma scooped him up and plopped him directly onto his neck—just like Inosuke had climbed up himself during the first transmigration moment, except this time it was forced.
"Let's go! I'll take you to see the world! This is special treatment—ordinary demons don't even get to go there!"
Alarm bells screamed in Inosuke's mind.
*Are you kidding?! I'm just a two-year-old right now, and you're taking me to the Infinity Castle?*
*That's basically delivering takeout straight to the door!*
But his protests were useless.
*Zheng!*
A crisp biwa note rang through the air.
This wasn't Doma's power—it was the summons from that space.
With the biwa's sound, Inosuke felt sudden weightlessness.
The solid ground vanished beneath them.
When he opened his eyes again, the scenery had completely changed.
The familiar cult was gone, replaced by endless crisscrossing wooden corridors stretching in every direction.
Like a surreal dreamscape.
Stairs extended infinitely into darkness with no end in sight.
Space itself twisted here—this was the exotic domain controlled by the female demon Nakime.
The Infinity Castle.
"We're here~"
Doma strolled lightly along a corridor perpendicular to the ground, as if walking on flat land.
Ahead, on a massive platform, a figure stood with his back turned.
He wore a black kimono, had a slender build and slightly curly black hair, and was studying something at a table covered in test tubes and books.
Even from the back, the terrifying pressure radiating from him made Inosuke's skin prickle like needles.
*Run! Run fast!*
Every instinct in Inosuke's body screamed, but reason told him he couldn't move an inch.
"Lord Muzan~"
Doma's cheerful voice shattered the deadly silence, completely ignoring the oppressive atmosphere.
"I'm here! And I've brought a little surprise!"
The figure slowly turned.
Plum-red eyes with slit pupils, paper-white skin.
Kibutsuji Muzan.
His gaze swept over Doma like a blade, then settled on Inosuke perched on Doma's neck.
For a moment, Inosuke felt like prey locked in the stare of an ancient predator.
His blood seemed to freeze; the air in his lungs was squeezed out by sheer pressure.
"Doma..."
Muzan's voice was bone-chilling, devoid of any emotion.
"I told you to come for a meeting.
Why did you bring a human cub?
Do you think there's not enough food here?"
Killing intent instantly enveloped Inosuke.
If Doma's answer didn't satisfy Muzan, he'd be reduced to a puddle of blood in the next second.
Doma didn't panic at all. Instead, he lifted Inosuke high like presenting a treasure.
"He's not food, Lord Muzan.
This is my son! The child is incredibly talented!
He even took the initiative to hug His Excellency Akaza just now—and wasn't killed!
Plus, he's not afraid of me or blood. I think he's a natural demonic genius!"
Muzan narrowed his eyes, studying Inosuke.
"Human?
Talent?"
He loathed vague, ethereal concepts most of all—and despised uncontrollable variables even more.
"Boring."
Muzan raised his hand, tone dripping with disgust.
"Since he's not a demon, there's no need for him to exist."
*He's going to kill me!*
Inosuke's brain raced at lightning speed.
Cry? Instant death—Muzan hated noise.
Beg for mercy? Instant death—he despised weakness.
Rely on Doma? That hedonist would probably hesitate for a second at best.
*I have to save myself!*
*I need to prove something even the Demon King can't ignore!*
Just as Muzan prepared to strike, Inosuke mobilized the enhanced lung capacity from the System.
He forcibly steadied his pounding heart and kept his voice calm despite the terror.
In the deathly silence of the Infinity Castle, beyond Muzan's voice, Inosuke heard something else—thanks to Absolute Pitch.
Internal body sounds even Upper Ranks overlooked.
Inosuke widened his large emerald eyes, staring fixedly at Muzan's chest and head with an expression of pure confusion and wonder.
He opened his mouth and asked—in a childish but crystal-clear voice—a question that made everyone's scalps tingle, including the Upper Ranks eavesdropping from the shadows:
"Hey~
Dad..."
Inosuke pointed at Muzan, tilted his head innocently.
"Why are there seven drums beating inside this pretty uncle's body?"
"Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump."
Inosuke mimicked the rhythm with his mouth, patted his own chest with his small hand, then pointed at Muzan's head.
"And inside this head, why are five brains moving? Squeezing around—the sound is so loud."
Silence.
Absolute, suffocating silence.
Even Nakime, far away playing the biwa, slipped and struck a discordant note.
For the first time, Doma's smile froze solid.
Muzan's cold, disgusted expression instantly locked in shock; his plum-red pupils trembled violently.
Seven hearts. Five brains.
This was the ultimate secret of Muzan's physical structure!
No one—not even the Upper Ranks—had ever known it so precisely!
It was invisible to the naked eye; even the Transparent World required extreme martial mastery to perceive.
How did this two-year-old human cub know?!
To Inosuke's Absolute Pitch, the abnormal rush of blood and the roar of seven hearts beating in alternation were as clear as a revving motorcycle on an empty night street.
Muzan's figure vanished—reappearing instantly in front of Doma, his pale face nearly touching the tip of Inosuke's nose.
"What did you say?"
Muzan stared into Inosuke's eyes, slit pupils quivering.
"You can hear it?"
Inosuke had no escape now. Enduring the fear, he delivered another Oscar-worthy performance.
He reached out his chubby hand and actually tried to touch Muzan's face.
No fear in his eyes—only the innocence of discovering a fascinating new toy.
"It's really noisy, pretty uncle."
Inosuke grinned, showing two sharp little tiger teeth.
"But the sound is so loud—much stronger than Dad's. Is this the sound of a strong person?"
Muzan stared at the audacious cub.
Normally, anyone who called him "noisy" would already be dead.
But now—a human who could see through his body structure at a glance?
This level of perception, this spirit that could still talk and laugh under his full pressure...
"Hahaha... Hahaha!"
Muzan suddenly chuckled.
He turned away, back to Doma.
"Doma."
"Here~"
Doma—still reeling from the moment—was now more excited than anything.
"This thing—keep it."
A trace of interest colored Muzan's voice.
"If he can survive until our next meeting, perhaps he'll be qualified to receive my blood.
If he dies by accident..."
Muzan turned his head, casting a cold glance at Inosuke.
"Then dig out his ears and brain and offer them to me."
"As you command, Lord Muzan!"
Doma happily hugged Inosuke tight and waved his fan.
"Did you hear that, Inosuke? The great one praised you!"
Inosuke lay on Doma's shoulder, soaked in cold sweat.
He stared at Muzan's retreating back and mentally flipped him the bird.
*Zheng!*
The biwa rang again.
Doma vanished from the Infinity Castle with Inosuke in tow.
Only the pensive Kibutsuji Muzan remained.
"He can hear my hearts?"
Muzan gazed into the void, a mysterious red light flashing in his eyes.
"He's a bit like him...
Hmph. Interesting."