aircannonsinc #137 - I became the villain boss! I hated everything and was targeted by the world!
#137 - I became the villain boss! I hated everything and was targeted by the world!
"You…" Kanao, her pretty face still carrying a hint of baby fat, revealed a clear look of shock, and she said, "How many Upper Moon demons have come this time?"
"How many?" Luo Fu shook his head and said, "Upper Moon Six has already died in my hands. Now, among the Upper Moon demons, there are only four left."
"That's not right." Kanao raised an eyebrow and said, "As I recall, the Twelve Kizuki are made up of both Upper Moon and Lower Moon demons. That is to say, there should be six Upper Moon demons and six Lower Moon demons respectively. You only killed one Upper Moon Six, so there should still be five Upper Moon demons left."
Luo Fu first nodded, then changed the subject, saying, "Have you forgotten that before I broke free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control, I was also one of the Upper Moon demons?"
In addition, Gyokko was staked to the ground by Luo Fu's clones and guarded until the sun rose, being burned to death by the sunlight.
The number of Upper Moon demons now is indeed only four.
But the lineup is somewhat different from what Luo Fu had guessed.
Kokushibo, Akaza, Doma, plus Gyokko.
These are the only Upper Moon demons under Muzan Kibutsuji's command now.
As for the Lower Moon demons, all six have come.
Unlike Luo Fu, who had a powerful sensory ability that could cover the entire Yoshiwara red-light district, and even had plenty of range to spare.
The members of the Demon Slayer Corps obviously couldn't do what Luo Fu could, sensing the demons before they even officially entered the Yoshiwara red-light district.
These Demon Slayer Corps members, although they didn't know exactly how many demons had come outside the Yoshiwara red-light district, they were only a little later than Luo Fu in noticing the demons' appearance.
The difference was that Luo Fu relied purely on his own sensory abilities, while the Demon Slayer Corps relied on the sheer number of people.
Ever since learning that Luo Fu was going to fight the demons to the death, the Demon Slayer Corps had begun to make arrangements around the Yoshiwara red-light district.
It could be said that, to some extent, the defense and concentration of power in the Yoshiwara red-light district now even surpassed the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Even outside the Yoshiwara red-light district, there were numerous Demon Slayer Corps members constantly patrolling.
Don't assume that the Demon Slayer Corps only has a few Pillars, and then mistakenly believe that the number of members in the Demon Slayer Corps is small.
Don't forget that the Demon Slayer Corps' ranks are divided by the ten Heavenly Stems.
Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui. Above these ten ranks are the Pillars. Besides the demon slayers and Pillars of these ten ranks, the Demon Slayer Corps also has the Kakushi, who are responsible for cleanup work. At the same time, some demon slayers who can't continue fighting demons on the front lines for other reasons will also switch to the identity of trainers.
The former Water Pillar, Sakonji Urokodaki, and the former Thunder Pillar, Jigoro Kuwajima, are trainers, constantly nurturing qualified new members for the Demon Slayer Corps.
Just from this huge system alone, one can feel that the Demon Slayer Corps is definitely a large organization with numerous members.
The Demon Slayer Corps members responsible for guarding the periphery reported the news as soon as they noticed the appearance of the demons.
Soon, the news of the demons' appearance spread to the ears of the Demon Slayer Corps members.
In a short period of time, the entire Yoshiwara red-light district quickly became tense.
In the Demon Slayer Corps, the Kakushi, who are responsible for cleanup work, are not just simply responsible for cleanup. In fact, under the conditions that permit, the Kakushi will still try to avoid exposing the existence of demons before fighting them.
For example, right now.
Although the wisteria house where Luo Fu was staying was indeed in the Yoshiwara red-light district.
But it was in a rather remote location.
After all, the Demon Slayer Corps' purpose is to hide themselves and the existence of demons as much as possible.
The special nature of the Yoshiwara red-light district meant that they could only choose a suitable location that was neither too far from the Yoshiwara red-light district nor would cause trouble for the cleanup work of the Kakushi department.
Who let the Yoshiwara red-light district have such a large flow of people that even the Kakushi department would find it quite difficult to clean up?
The demons, although they came to the surroundings of the Yoshiwara red-light district because of Muzan Kibutsuji's orders.
But they didn't act rashly, but kept gathering, seemingly intending to start a real fight with Luo Fu after gathering a sufficient number.
The demons also didn't kill. Although they had to face Luo Fu because of being controlled by Muzan.
But Luo Fu was an existence that even Muzan Kibutsuji was afraid of.
Especially Kokushibo, who still remembered being Upper Moon One during the Demon Slayer Corps' era. He knew very well how terrifying Luo Fu's strength was increasing.
It was almost impossible for demons to break free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control.
Except for Tamayo, who by chance, took advantage of Muzan Kibutsuji being severely injured by Yoriichi Tsugikuni and falling into an unprecedented state of weakness, and took the opportunity to escape.
Only Luo Fu had truly broken free from the control of the Demon King under Muzan Kibutsuji's nose.
More importantly, when Luo Fu broke free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control, Muzan was at an unprecedented peak state.
What did this mean? No one knew better than the demons, especially the Upper Moon demons.
The demons' power came from the demon blood bestowed by Muzan Kibutsuji.
To some extent, there was almost no possibility for demons to break free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control.
But now, first there was Tamayo, who relied on her own talent and wisdom to escape Muzan's clutches while he was weak.
And Luo Fu truly relied on his own strength.
Luo Fu's breaking free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control was without any discount. It was a true sense of elevating himself to the same level as, or even above, Muzan Kibutsuji that allowed him to do it.
Even Kokushibo didn't dare to underestimate Luo Fu in the slightest.
As for the other Upper Moon demons, Akaza and Doma, they had personally seen how Luo Fu used his Nichirin Blade to hack Gyokko into eight pieces and stake him to the ground.
Akaza and Doma were clearly going to help Gyokko, but they were easily held back by several of Luo Fu's clones.
Several clones were able to stalemate with Akaza and Doma, even if they were at a disadvantage, but this still allowed many demons to feel how terrifying Luo Fu's strength had risen to.
The improvement in the strength of the demons controlled by Muzan Kibutsuji was also equivalent to being locked in by Muzan Kibutsuji.
For example, Kokushibo, who had been a demon for so long, hadn't grown much except for his Moon Breathing. At most, he had just added a means of manipulating his Blood Demon Art to turn it into a blade.
Wanting to improve their strength through themselves was almost impossible for demons.
This was also why demons often had an extremely strong desire for Muzan Kibutsuji's blood.
To some extent, Muzan Kibutsuji's blood was like a treasure that could replenish their own lives for demons. That kind of craving from the root of life was even enough to completely distort the self of an individual with a complete personality.
From the night Luo Fu escaped, none of the Upper Moon demons dared to underestimate Luo Fu anymore.
Only the Upper Moon demons closest to Muzan Kibutsuji truly understood what incredible realm Luo Fu had reached to be able to break free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control.
For several days in a row, the demons had clearly gathered outside the Yoshiwara red-light district.
But these demons seemed to be waiting for something, and had not stepped into the Demon Slayer Corps' guarded area.
The two sides had surprisingly presented another strange tacit understanding in these few days.
As if they were two masters about to compete, staring at each other, using all means to find flaws in each other.
Inside the wisteria house.
Ever since they noticed the appearance of the demons.
Several Pillars had completely rooted themselves in the wisteria house.
After receiving the news from the Demon Slayer Corps members again, the demons still hadn't acted.
The hot-tempered Kyojuro Rengoku slammed the table in displeasure and said, "Damn it, what are these demons doing? Why have they come but insist on waiting outside and not coming in?"
"Perhaps… they are waiting for more demons to gather," Tengen Uzui said with a solemn tone.
"Those ordinary demons are enough for other Demon Slayer Corps members to deal with. We only need to keep an eye on the Upper Moon and Lower Moon demons of the Twelve Kizuki," Giyu Tomioka said with a calm expression.
"Amitabha, this humble monk now only hopes that the Demon King can also appear. In that case, we can achieve our goal in one battle, and from then on, let humans no longer suffer from the invasion and harm of demons," Gyomei Himejima clasped his hands together, looking compassionate.
As Gyomei Himejima's words fell, Kyojuro Rengoku quickly read through the message from the Demon Slayer Corps members again.
Laying down the piece of paper filled with writing in his hand, Kyojuro Rengoku said unhappily, "That damned Demon King, we still haven't found any trace of him."
"The Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, is not a reckless person." A sudden voice immediately drew the attention of all the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Following the sound, a woman wearing a floral kimono, looking both like a young girl and exuding a different kind of maturity, strolled towards them.
"So it's Ms. Tamayo." Tengen Uzui stood up and gave Tamayo a slight nod, saying, "Ms. Tamayo, do you know the Demon King well?"
Tamayo's existence was a secret known to only a very few within the Demon Slayer Corps.
After all, the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons were mortal enemies.
Although Tamayo had broken free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control, she was, in the end, still a demon.
Even though Tamayo only needed to consume a small amount of human blood to survive, and didn't need to feed on human flesh and blood like other demons.
However, there were still many within the Demon Slayer Corps who couldn't accept Tamayo's existence.
However, the Hashira were clearly more rational than ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members.
At this moment, seeing Tamayo appear, Gyomei Himejima, Kyojuro Rengoku, Giyu Tomioka, and others stood up and nodded to Tamayo in greeting.
"How could I not know him?" Tamayo's tone revealed obvious, deep-seated hatred. She said, "Now, Muzan Kibutsuji knows of Lord Luo Fu's existence. Before Lord Luo Fu dies, or rather, before Muzan confirms Lord Luo Fu's death, I'm afraid this Demon King simply won't appear."
"Ms. Tamayo, are you saying that the strongest opponent we'll face this time will only be Upper Rank demons?" Giyu Tomioka said matter-of-factly.
"Don't underestimate the Upper Rank demons." Tamayo frowned, reminding them, "Don't forget, even Lord Luo Fu was only an Upper Rank demon before breaking free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control. The Upper Rank demons are different from those demons who were transformed by just a little of Muzan Kibutsuji's blood. In fact, the two are fundamentally different. In theory, Muzan Kibutsuji is the source of all demons. If a demon wants to improve their strength, the only way is to obtain more of Muzan Kibutsuji's blood, but Muzan Kibutsuji's blood contains a terrifying corrosiveness. Once this corrosiveness exceeds the threshold, then even a demon will instantly perish. And the Upper Rank demons are the strong ones who can withstand demon blood that would be enough to make ordinary demons vanish!"
"It doesn't matter." Gyomei Himejima's eyes suddenly welled up with mist, and his voice even became somewhat choked.
"Even if the Upper Rank demons are strong, we have Lord Luo Fu's help this time. He is an existence that can make Muzan Kibutsuji retreat."
"I think you shouldn't be too optimistic." Tamayo was silent for a moment, then said with a somewhat complicated tone, "Lord Luo Fu doesn't care at all whether ordinary people die at the hands of demons. The only thing he cares about is Muzan Kibutsuji. Apart from Muzan Kibutsuji, Lord Luo Fu doesn't care about anything!"
Through her interactions with Luo Fu during this period, Tamayo had truly felt Luo Fu's almost detached nature.
From Luo Fu, Tamayo couldn't feel any of the emotions that a normal human should have.
You must know that Luo Fu had already broken free from Muzan Kibutsuji's control. In theory, he should have regained his humanity.
But precisely because of this, Tamayo felt that Luo Fu's personality was even more terrifying than a demon's. He seemed to despise, even hate, all humans.
Tamayo was right in this feeling.
Luo Fu truly hated the humans of this era in Japan.
It's no exaggeration to say that in Luo Fu's eyes, nine out of ten contemporary Japanese people deserved to die.
Don't look at the fact that World War I hasn't really started yet, but it will be the descendants of Japan, even their direct relatives, sons, and even themselves, who will invade the ancient Eastern country in the future.
In this situation, how could Luo Fu, who had awakened the memories of his previous life, possibly empathize with the Japanese?
He couldn't wait for the Japanese, whether demons or ordinary people, to all die out.
The members of the Demon Slayer Corps all looked at each other when they heard Tamayo's judgment.
They had very limited knowledge of Luo Fu.
In fact, they first learned of Luo Fu's existence during the time around the encirclement and suppression of Mount Kumotori.
Most of their understanding of Luo Fu was based on fragmentary records in scattered books. In fact, many of the records about Luo Fu contradicted each other.
This was why, not long ago, when Kagaya Ubuyashiki proposed the condition that after Muzan Kibutsuji was eliminated, the Ubuyashiki family and the Amane family could make Luo Fu a god to be worshiped by their two families, the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps were so resistant.
In reality, their perception of Luo Fu was still largely based on Luo Fu's past identity as a demon.
You must know that there was almost no possibility for a demon to regain their humanity.
This was something that everyone had agreed on for thousands of years.
Even though Luo Fu had jumped from an ordinary demon to an even more terrifying existence, the impression of him as a demon remained for the Demon Slayer Corps.
"In that case, if we fight these demons, will Mr. Luo Fu take action?" Gyomei Himejima couldn't help but ask.
Tamayo smiled bitterly and said, "Whether he will help or not, I don't know."
Everyone was silent again for a moment, and then the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, spoke, "It doesn't matter, even if we have to face those Upper Rank demons alone, what about Lower Rank demons and ordinary demons? Don't forget, our goal before was all demons. Now, because of Mr. Luo Fu, we don't need to care about the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji. Are you saying we don't even have the confidence to defeat his subordinates?"
Everyone knew that what the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, said was just to boost morale.
But at this time, with the war imminent, even if they didn't have much confidence themselves, the Hashira wouldn't boost the morale of others and diminish their own prestige at this juncture.
For a time, everyone showed an attitude of shared hatred against the enemy.
No one noticed that while all the Hashira were showing a passionate and high-spirited attitude.
In the corner of the courtyard, a small head silently emerged from a wine jar that had been weathered and even looked somewhat dilapidated.
And this head, faintly visible, even had its own unique demonic aura sealed by the wine jar.
Not a single Hashira noticed the abnormality of the wine jar. Everything they discussed was clearly heard by the demon hiding in the wine jar.
Outside Yoshiwara Pleasure District.
In a dark mansion.
Upper Rank demons and Lower Rank demons gathered together.
In the central position of these demons, a figure suddenly emerged from a scarlet, simple-looking small pot.
"It seems we haven't been taken seriously by this mission's target?"
Gyokko.
Upper Rank Five!! His special Blood Demon Art allows him to freely teleport within all pots.
This doesn't mean that his Blood Demon Art has truly reached the level of a concept. The reason why Gyokko can teleport himself within pots is entirely based on his own love for pots. In fact, his ability is more like a means of teleporting using some fixed external object.
It's somewhat similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique in the ninja world.
The premise of the Flying Thunder God Technique for teleportation is the need to leave a Flying Thunder God mark, while the premise of Gyokko's teleportation is to use the pot as a coordinate.
From the moment they arrived outside the Yoshiwara Pleasure District, they began to plan to send a pot to the Wisteria House courtyard.
Compared to personnel coming and going, monitoring the Wisteria House courtyard through a pot is undoubtedly a more subtle means that is harder to guard against.
Fortunately, the demons succeeded. After all, although demons have special characteristics that are easily noticed by members of the Demon Slayer Corps, at night, unless they actively expose themselves, demons can almost perfectly blend into ordinary people.
Ordinary people may not even be able to perceive the essence of a demon.
The Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro and Daki, who died at the hands of Luo Fu, were in such a situation.
You must know that Daki was hiding in the bustling Yoshiwara Pleasure District with a large flow of people. Even so, she didn't expose herself for so many years. It can be seen how difficult it is to guard against demons if they truly want to hide.
Even in the Demon Slayer Corps, not everyone can accurately distinguish between demons and ordinary people.
There are only a few who have this ability.
For the demons, personally infiltrating the Wisteria House courtyard might not be such a simple matter, but if it's just sending a pot that looks slightly dilapidated to the Wisteria House courtyard, then the process is much simpler.
It's even so simple that it can be easily accomplished by simply hiding the pot among the daily necessities required by the Wisteria House courtyard.
At this moment, the pot hidden in the place where Pillar and others were communicating was delivered here by the demon, who borrowed the ability of an ordinary person.
As soon as he crawled out of the pot and returned to his position, Gyokko said in a mocking tone, "Rengoku is now only truly concerned about Master. As for us... according to those Demon Slayer Corps members, he probably doesn't even care about us."
"He has the qualifications," Akaza said with a solemn expression. "Back then, when this guy had just betrayed Master, Douma and I personally faced his clones. At that time, his clones were already able to resist the sun for a short period of time. Now..."
Akaza paused slightly, glanced in Douma's direction, and said, "Now that he dares to stand up so openly, I'm afraid he truly has the confidence to confront Master."
Wielding a blood-colored long sword, or rather, a sword formed from solidified blood, is Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, the elder brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who almost killed Muzan Kibutsuji.
During his time as a human, this guy's name was Iwakata Tsugikuni, but similar to other demons, Iwakata Tsugikuni's emotions from his human period were greatly affected after transforming into the demon Kokushibo.
At the very least, his emotions and memories are no longer completely identical to those of the former Iwakata Tsugikuni.
At this moment, after hearing the information conveyed by Gyokko, Kokushibo said in a cold voice, "The current Demon Slayer Corps doesn't even have a single person who has awakened a mark. They are not worth our attention at all. Our only true goal is to kill Rengoku. Only Rengoku is our target."
Without a doubt, Kokushibo's words struck a chord with all the demons present.
If it weren't for Muzan Kibutsuji's orders, none of them would have actively engaged in direct combat with the Demon Slayer Corps members.
Currently, in terms of overall strength, the demons are sufficient to crush the Demon Slayer Corps.
However, the demons seem to be deliberately letting things slide, or rather, they have never taken the Demon Slayer Corps seriously from the beginning.
In most cases, it is the Demon Slayer Corps members who actively find the demons' location, and then the two sides engage in a battle.
On the contrary, it is rare for demons to actively seek out the Demon Slayer Corps.
The overall strength of the demons is stronger than the Demon Slayer Corps when considering pure strength, but in battle, environmental factors have a greater impact.
This is especially evident in the case of demons.
Don't forget that even Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King, cannot withstand sunlight.
Demons, who live in the shadows and come out at night, almost never show their faces during the day.
And at night, the Demon Slayer Corps members completely lose the advantage of the sun, which is the greatest restraint for demons, thus falling behind the demons in all aspects.
Douma pondered for a long time, and then said, "The current Demon Slayer Corps is indeed not worth our attention. But if these Demon Slayer Corps members really fight to the death, with their breathing techniques and the Nichirin swords in their hands, they might actually pose a threat to us. Therefore, even when targeting Rengoku, we cannot underestimate the Demon Slayer Corps members. I think we might be able to temporarily hold back the Demon Slayer Corps members and try to eliminate Rengoku as soon as possible. Once Rengoku is dead, our mission will be complete, and it won't matter whether we kill or release the remaining Demon Slayer Corps members."
It must be admitted that Douma's words did strike a chord with many of the demons.
Kokushibo thought about it and then said directly, "Then I will take care of the Demon Slayer Corps members. I also want to see how poorly the breathing techniques are being cultivated in the current Demon Slayer Corps. I will try my best to buy you enough time to deal with Rengoku. Remember, our time is limited. Rengoku is now like a human, no longer afraid of sunlight. If we are delayed until dawn, we will have no chance to kill him!"
"Are you really able to hold back the Demon Slayer Corps for an entire night with your strength alone?" Akaza asked with some concern.
"I can," Kokushibo said with certainty. "The current Demon Slayer Corps doesn't even have a single person who has awakened a mark. Not only am I confident that I can fight them alone for an entire night, but I am even confident that I can wipe them out completely if they don't run away."
"There's no need for that. Our mission is only Rengoku after all. Kill the Demon Slayer Corps members if we can, but if we can't, it's enough to delay them so they don't come and cause trouble," Douma said confidently.
At this moment, despite the fact that so many demons are gathered in this room,
in fact, only a few, such as the Upper Rank Demons Kokushibo, Douma, Akaza, and Gyokko, are qualified to speak.
Neither the Lower Rank Demons nor the other demons have the right to speak.
Although the situation of Lower Rank Demons challenging Upper Rank Demons is not uncommon at other times,
don't forget that this mission was personally ordered by Muzan Kibutsuji. In fact, in the memories of many demons, there has never been a situation like the one before them where they were directly ordered by Muzan Kibutsuji.
Under these circumstances, if anyone acts too actively, they will inevitably suffer Muzan Kibutsuji's punishment if the mission fails.
For demons, they would rather face the Demon Slayer Corps than endure Muzan Kibutsuji's punishment.
Soon, in a few words between the Upper Rank Demons, the general plan for this operation was decided.
They were only waiting for the moment when night fell to begin, which would also be the moment when all the demons acted in unison.
Time passed.
The moment night fell,
Rengoku couldn't help but reveal a disdainful smile.
Although he already knew that Muzan Kibutsuji was indeed despicable, Rengoku still didn't expect that Muzan Kibutsuji could be so despicable.
Knowing full well the threat he posed, Muzan Kibutsuji showed no intention of appearing at all, instead using his demons as expendable pawns.
Rengoku was even certain that Muzan Kibutsuji was now constantly watching him through his abilities, and once these demons felt an insurmountable power from Rengoku, Muzan Kibutsuji would hide in a hurry like a frightened ostrich.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni once made Muzan Kibutsuji hide for a hundred years.
It wasn't until Yoriichi Tsugikuni had completely died of old age that Muzan Kibutsuji retaliated by destroying the Demon Slayer Corps and completely erasing the legacy of Sun Breathing.
And this time, the person who was about to enjoy the same treatment was about to become Rengoku.
But Rengoku is different from Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
No matter how brilliant Yoriichi Tsugikuni was, he was still just an ordinary human.
The hundred-year lifespan limit was a shackle that Yoriichi Tsugikuni could not break free from.
No matter how powerful Yoriichi Tsugikuni was, even nearly killing Muzan Kibutsuji directly, he would eventually grow old and die under the passage of time.
Rengoku is different.
If Muzan Kibutsuji single-mindedly hid, then Rengoku would have a headache.
Of course, Rengoku is not worried about his own lifespan, but rather, he is worried that Muzan Kibutsuji will continue to have constant small thoughts after hiding.
If Muzan Kibutsuji really buried himself and didn't appear,
then it would be a fortunate thing for Rengoku.
After all, as long as Muzan Kibutsuji hides for a period of time, even if it doesn't take long, Rengoku can share two or three more times, and Muzan Kibutsuji will have no hope left.
Obviously, no matter how despicable Muzan Kibutsuji is, he wouldn't be stupid to that extent.
A greater possibility is that after feeling his own inability to resist Rengoku's terrifying power, he would directly choose to leave Japan and search the world for the Blue Spider Lily, erasing his greatest weakness and flaw.
Rengoku vaguely remembered that Muzan Kibutsuji seemed to have mentioned that the doctor who treated him or completely transformed him into a demon did not seem to be a native of Japan.
Or rather, that doctor had experience studying medicine in the ancient country of the East.
Judging from the environment in which the Blue Spider Lily grows and the doctor's experience, it is very likely that the Blue Spider Lily does not only grow in Japan.
If Muzan Kibutsuji really expands the scope of searching for the Blue Spider Lily from Japan to the entire world, with Muzan Kibutsuji's special nature, once he falls into the eyes of those dignitaries,
then what Rengoku will face will not only be mere demons, but the entire world.
If this kind of situation really occurs, then Rengoku is more likely to become the villain of this world.