CHAPTER 13: AN OFFER
The Infinity Castle twisted and shifted, echoing with Muzan's laughter as he returned from the surface.
His voice reverberated like a storm, mocking, triumphant.
"That will slow them down," he sneered. "Ten thousand—turned to dust. Let them feel the weight of futility."
But the moment was brief.
Nakime bowed low, Biwa strings humming behind her.
"…A report, Lord Muzan."
He stopped. "Speak."
Her fingers trembled. "All ten thousand… were annihilated."
Muzan's smile froze.
"…What?"
"One man," she continued. "Sahiru Orasawa… he unleashed something we've never seen before."
The silence was suffocating.
Then—CRACK.
A column near Muzan shattered under his fist.
"DAMN HIM!"
He paced, fury radiating off him in waves. But then… his rage turned cold.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"Then we change the game."
That evening, beneath a sky dyed red with dusk, Muzan walked among the humans.
In a small village on the outskirts, he found her.
Hiyori Ubaka.
Nineteen. Fierce. Driven. The girl who once fought Kokushibo and had survived. The same one from the Tokyo Corps who idolized Sahiru, who wanted to reach his level.
She stood beneath the cherry blossom tree, practicing her breathing.
Muzan appeared, like a whisper in the wind.
"You have talent," he said smoothly. "But you'll never be like him… not as you are now."
Hiyori spun, blade drawn—but froze at his gaze.
"That pain you feel… that powerlessness. I can take it away."
His voice was silk and venom.
"Do you want to surpass Sahiru?"
Her grip on her sword faltered.
"…I… I want to be strong enough to fight beside him."
Muzan smiled, the devil's smile.
"No," he whispered. "You want to stand above him."
A moment of hesitation.
Then—
"…Yes."
He extended his hand.
"Then come."
She took it.
His blood flowed into her veins.
And with it, her fate was sealed.
Muzan's grin stretched wider as her eyes began to shift—black sclera, glowing crimson.
"The dragon may have found his wings…" he murmured, watching the transformation.
"But even dragons… cast shadows."