I don't want to be an elf!

Fighting the Upper Moon is still too much of a strain for him in his current state.

During the battle, he lost control of his muscles several times due to overuse of breathing techniques. If it weren't for his two reliable teammates, he would have died countless times over.

In the end, it was only through the combined sword techniques of Water Breathing and Hinokami Kagura that Daki's head was successfully severed.

He truly had no strength left.

"Commander..."

Tanjiro Kamado forced a smile as he looked at Kotori Itsuka who had come before him.

Just as he was about to celebrate the successful Upper Moon subjugation with her, Kotori Itsuka grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up from the ground.

"It's time to work overtime."

Kotori Itsuka's gaze was piercing as she uttered her final words, leaving Tanjiro Kamado bewildered in the wind.

"Muzan is nearby. Use your dog nose to find him right now!"

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The Demon Slayer Corps, which had not slain an Upper Rank demon for hundreds of years, finally achieved its first kill today.

This was originally an extremely meaningful thing.

But none of the people present had time to celebrate.

The recently deceased Daki and Gyutaro were completely forgotten, as if they hadn't been remembered at all.

In the brothel, all the Demon Slayer Corps members were frantically searching for something.

Even Yuzui Tengen, who should have been healing and detoxifying immediately, abandoned his usual glamorous demeanor and searched house to house for suspicious people and hiding places without any grace.

Because Muzan Kibutsuji is very likely nearby.

The Demon King, whom the Demon Slayer Corps had been searching for for years without ever catching a glimpse of, was their ultimate target, and he was nearby.

He didn't even question the authenticity of the information. After hearing what Kotori Itsuka said, he immediately dragged his heavily injured body to search for it.

However, after searching for twenty minutes without any results, the Demon Slayer Corps members and Ratatosk members who were busy in the red-light district all gave up the search.

"Sorry, we were unable to locate Muzan."

Despite being placed on high hopes by Kotori Itsuka, Tanjiro Kamado failed to track Muzan Kibutsuji this time using his keen sense of smell. He said resentfully, "That guy escaped too quickly. I could only find the last place he appeared."

"Never mind, it's not your fault."

Despite the failure of the speedrun plan, Kotori Itsuka was not too disappointed. She said with a slight regret, "There will always be a next time. This time, our target was not him. Meeting him was an unexpected surprise, but there was no loss in not finding him."

This wasn't just meant to comfort Tanjiro Kamado.

Before this operation, she had not considered the possibility that Muzan Kibutsuji would appear here.

In order to save time and end the battle with Gyutaro as soon as possible, she used a little of her true strength, which made the Upper Moon Six unable to fight back and could only passively defend.

Perhaps one of the reasons Muzan Kibutsuji fled was because he didn't want to fight Kotori Itsuka head-on.

To be honest, she didn't show most of her fighting power during the battle just now.

Not only was the spiritual power output only half of the normal level, but the defensive field of the Divine Might Armor was not activated, and even the cannon form of the Scorching Demon Annihilation was not displayed.

Given Muzan Kibutsuji's strength, he shouldn't be afraid of Kotori Itsuka, who has been hiding her trump cards.

After all, the difference between Upper Moon demons and Lower Moon demons is like a chasm, and the difference between Upper Moon demons is also like that.

The difference between the Demon King and the Upper Moon Demons is even greater.

Even Muzan Kibutsuji could easily defeat Daki and Gyutaro.

However, judging from his years of caution, he realized that Kotori Itsuka was not using her full strength.

There was no accurate estimate of her true fighting strength, so Muzan Kibutsuji, who was extremely cautious, naturally wouldn't make a move.

Even if they decide to eliminate Kotori Itsuka, this unstable factor, they will definitely do so only after gaining a deep understanding of her and mastering her true strength.

"Hmph..." Kotori Itsuka muttered to herself, "After this battle, there will definitely be no shortage of tests from Muzan Kibutsuji. He will use every means to test my limits and formulate his next plan..."

And she could just turn the tables on him.

Just as Kotori Itsuka was pondering her next move, Tengen Uzui approached.

Behind him were three beautiful women.

Although he didn't find Muzan Kibutsuji, he did find the place where Daki had imprisoned his wives and rescued them.

Uzui Tengen and Itsuka Kotori locked eyes.

No, it would be strange to make eye contact, because Kotori Itsuka is wearing a mask.

Even with the mask on, Uzui Tengen could still sense that the other person was staring at him.

After all, the common goal of the two organizations has now been resolved, and there are no more enemies, only the Demon Slayer Corps and Ratatoskr.

However, these two organizations cannot be described as friendly.

Although Ratatoskr has done things that align with the interests of the Demon Slayer Corps so far, and has even helped them on several occasions, many Demon Slayer Corps members cannot trust an organization where demons exist.

Uzui Tengen was one of the members who did not trust Ratatosk.

I accepted help this time simply because I had no other choice.

"Thank you for your help."

In the end, however, he did nothing but nod slightly to Kotori Itsuka in thanks.

Although he really wanted to bring back Tanjiro Kamado, the deserter from the Demon Slayer Corps, as well as Nezuko and Kotori Itsuka, two demons who were not under Muzan Kibutsuji's control.

But his strength wouldn't allow him to do that.

A fighter capable of single-handedly killing an Upper Moon Six in a short period of time must be at least an Upper Moon.

Even if he were in his prime, let alone now that he's seriously injured and poisoned, he feels he can't do anything to them.

Therefore, the first meeting between the Demon Slayer Corps leadership and Ratatosk did not end in conflict.

Both sides tacitly refrained from doing anything and left the partially destroyed flower street before the government intervened.

However, the next time they meet, things might not end peacefully.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Reactions of the Human and Ghost Camps

"Dahime and Gyutaro are dead."

In a dimensional space where buildings are stacked one on top of another and upside down, a man with black hair and red eyes on a high platform announced this astonishing news to everyone present.

This is the Infinite City.

It does not exist in this world; it is a space constructed purely by blood demon magic.

It is also the place where Muzan Kibutsuji meets with his subordinates.

Here, no information can be leaked.

"He's dead. What a pity."

The Upper Moon Two, Doma, dressed in a priest's robe, showed a seemingly regretful expression: "When I turned those two siblings into demons, I had high hopes for them."

"Hmph, it's only a matter of time."

Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, whose skin was covered in strange patterns, snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "Neither Daki nor Gyutaro wanted to become stronger, so it was expected that they would be killed."

“However, I have summoned you this time not because of their deaths.” Muzan Kibutsuji’s tone remained unchanged. “The deed is done, and it is pointless to discuss the reasons for their defeat now. I have summoned you this time to punish those who killed them.”

"Ah, the Demon Slayer Corps?" Douma's eyes showed curiosity. "I have indeed heard that the Demon Slayer Corps has become stronger and stronger, but I did not expect that there would be someone strong enough to kill an Upper Moon. Which Pillar is it?"

"It's not a Pillar, nor is it a Demon Slayer Corps member."

Kibutsuji Muzan narrowed his eyes.

Recalling what he had seen through Gyutaro's eyes not long ago, countless veins bulged on his face.

"It's Ratatosk."

Since he accidentally learned of the organization's existence, he has focused most of his attention on it.

It wasn't just because the other party, like the Demon Slayer Corps, was an organization that took slaying demons as its mission, but also because two demons that were not under his control had appeared in the organization.

He hates instability.

Coupled with the fact that the curse he had previously sensed in his blood had mysteriously disappeared, he couldn't help but suspect that this organization might have mastered the technology to eliminate curses.

This was even worse news for him than the death of Upper Moon.

If your subordinates die, you can always find replacements.

Ultimately, all the ghosts were merely tools created to achieve his goals.

But now, some tools have slipped out of his control.

It even helps many other tools break free from control.

This was something Muzan Kibutsuji could not tolerate.

Therefore, he had recently convened a meeting of his men to convey the mission of finding Ratatosk.

Unexpectedly, members of this organization appeared in front of him today.

This is undoubtedly a good opportunity to eliminate future troubles.

However, the power of the masked demon in Ratatosk that controlled fire far exceeded his expectations.

He clearly hadn't eaten any people, nor did he remember giving this demon a large amount of blood, yet the fire demon's power was enough to rub Upper Moon Six, Gyutaro, to the ground.

He wasn't even sure if this was the opponent's full strength.

Always cautious, he suppressed his urge to act and left immediately after being discovered.

Their fear of this organization grew stronger.

"Our biggest enemy right now is not the Demon Slayer Corps, but Ratatoskr."

Kibutsuji Muzan looked at his remaining five subordinates, his crimson eyes swirling with a sinister and malevolent aura.

"Use all your means to find out everything about this organization, no matter what."