challenge

Chapter 13: 

A deadly stillness...

The air in the room vanished, followed by a suffocating silence.

Even Doma, who was laughing moments ago, froze in place, his fans trembling in his hands.

Kokushibo slowly closed one of his six eyes… as if in forced respect.

Nakime… dropped her biwa from her fingers.

Everyone in the hall fell silent.

Then…

"Tap... tap... tap..."

Footsteps.

Not just the sound of feet hitting the ground, but a heavy rhythm… each step enough to make your heart stop.

Every step carried with it a suffocating silence.

The floor began to tremble faintly… the infinite hall seemed to shrink into nothingness upon his arrival.

His aura dominated the entire space.

"Tap... tap..."

Two more steps… and the light in the hall began to dim.

Then he appeared.

From the depths of the shadows… a figure with human features emerged, but no one dared to call him a "man."

Muzan.

Pale skin, as if it had been created from nothingness… eyes glowing with lifelessness, and if you stared at them for more than a second, it felt like your soul was being drained.

He walked slowly, yet his presence continued to crush every soul in the room.

He took a step closer… and the weight vanished from my hand. The sword began to tremble between my fingers.

With every step he took, I felt like I was losing something important inside me.

Then he spoke… in a low voice, but terrifying, like an echo from the abyss:

"Any progress… on the plant?"

He didn't say its name. He didn't say "Blue Spider Lily."

He didn't need to.

Everyone understood the question.

And everyone… remained silent.

Kokushibo, who could tear through an entire army, bowed silently without daring to answer.

Doma, who never shuts up, opened his mouth—then closed it again, as if words betrayed him.

Even Nakime, who controls the castle, shrunk into the shadows, her fingers trembling on the biwa strings.

As for me…

I didn't know what to do at that moment.

I kept praying silently inside that he wouldn't notice me.

But fate had other plans.

Muzan slowly turned his head… his eyes scanned us one by one, as if weighing our worth, deciding who would die today.

"Silence?"

He said it calmly… but it was more terrifying than any scream.

The castle trembled, the ground cracked beneath me, and the ceiling began to drip with what looked like blood… no, not blood… something black and thick, like liquid nightmares.

He stepped forward one last time.

He stood before us… without touching anyone, without raising his voice, just… watching.

"So… no news."

He whispered it as if speaking to himself, but we all felt it like a blade against our throats.

Suddenly…

He lifted his head, looking at Doma, then at the sword I was still trying to hide in my hand.

"And what… is that?"

His voice wasn't angry…

I froze in place.

Damn it… why did I bring that sword with me?

Even if it saved my life… it's causing far more trouble now.

If you hesitate to answer… it's as good as admitting guilt.

I swallowed hard, trying to hide the shake in my voice, then calmly said:

"I… just liked the way it looks."

Muzan didn't respond.

As if he lost interest instantly.

His eyes no longer on me… as if I were nothing more than a shadow unworthy of his wrath.

Then he turned slowly to the rest of the group.

"Let me remind you… the Blue Spider Lily is not just a plant."

His voice was calm, yet held something deeper than a threat… something like fate.

"Without it, none of you have a future."

The light in the hall flickered, as if even the shadows feared those words.

"Search properly. Turn the earth upside down. Burn forests. Stop time if you must."

Then his tone softened slightly.

He turned his back, about to issue the order to leave—

But…

"Wait, please… Lord Muzan."

The voice came from the back, from within the shadows.

But it was not a normal voice.

It sounded… layered, as if multiple throats were speaking at once.

Everyone turned…

Gyokko, the Upper Moon Five.

A grotesque demon emerging from a ceramic jar, his body covered with scattered eyes, his arms warped like fish fins.

"I wish… to request a change in rank." he said, bowing respectfully.

Muzan raised an eyebrow, not in anger, but didn't speak.

The grotesque demon continued in a firm tone:

"I want to fight Akaza… for the position of Upper Rank Three."

He pointed at me, and all of his eyes turned toward me at once…

A nauseating feeling, like my entire body was being dissected under a microscope.

"I request… a duel."

Quiet murmurs rose in the hall.

Doma smiled with his lips, but his eyes remained fixed on Muzan.

Kokushibo, as always, remained unreadable.

Silence.

Then Muzan moved again, slowly turning his head from me to Gyokko.

"Are you… certain?"

He spoke the words like an ancient law that must not be defied.

And the moment he saw the seriousness in Gyokko's many eyes…

He turned to me.

Then simply said:

"The duel will take place… in two days."

And with those words… he vanished from the room.

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[Time left for body recovery: 02:01:06:20]

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