I don't want to be an elf!

"Yes, senior brother, Nezuko can turn back into a human at any time."

Wearing a will-o'-the-wisp mask, Tanjiro Kamado answered, his tone a mixture of barely concealed excitement and complexity: "However, Ratatoskr needs manpower right now, and if Nezuko were to turn back into a human, she would be unable to participate in the battle against Muzan in the future. That's why I haven't given Nezuko this medicine yet."

The discussion among the crowd continued for some time.

Afterwards, Tamayo tossed the two doses of medicine to the Demon Slayer Corps.

"If you don't believe me, you can try the effects of these two potions yourselves."

"Then we would rather obey orders than be respectful."

Shinobu Kocho accepted the two vials of medicine.

He is the most qualified person in the Demon Slayer Corps to speak on pharmacology, so the verification work is naturally done by her.

However, while it's called verification, most of the Demon Slayer Corps members already believe it in their hearts.

After all, the finished product of the potion was given to them directly, and all they needed to do was catch a ghost to test its effectiveness.

At this point, even the few Pillar-level members who were most hostile to Ratatosk no longer antagonized them.

"So, I think now we can really discuss how to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji?"

Seeing that the Demon Slayer Corps had finally lowered their guard, Kotori Itsuka finally spoke up and asked.

"Of course."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki nodded.

Both parties formally confirmed their cooperative relationship.

Having gained the Demon Slayer Corps as a faithful ally who would never betray her, Kotori Itsuka told them about the plan she had previously discussed with Tanjiro Kamado to lure Muzan Kibutsuji out.

Having been bombarded with countless important pieces of information, the Demon Slayer Corps felt more and more that Ratatosk was a man of great depth the more they listened.

"If that lady really was Muzan Kibutsuji's former assistant, and you have a demon who is immune to sunlight, and even a drug that can remove the curse on demons and turn demons back into humans, I think if I were Muzan, I would also take action against you."

After processing the large amount of information he had just heard, Kagaya Ubuyashiki pondered and said, "To be honest, I originally planned to use myself as bait to lure Muzan out, but you are obviously more attractive... This is a very dangerous plan. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's not dangerous at all. As long as we can find that cowardly rat, I can defeat him by myself."

Although no one knew where the leader of Ratatosk got his confidence from, they were all still stunned by the intelligence they had just received, and no one dared to refute it for the time being.

“What I’m most worried about is that we’ll lure him out, but he’ll escape.” Kotori Itsuka’s tone became serious. “You know he’s a cautious person to the point of being obsessive. Once the luring plan fails, it’s impossible for it to succeed again.”

"Even with the nine Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps and you all, you still can't stop him?"

“It’s difficult.” Kotori Itsuka shook her head. “One of his subordinates is a demon named Nakime. She can control a different dimension called the Infinity Castle. Muzan can escape through this dimension at any time if he wants to.”

"Such a thing actually happened..." Kagaya Ubuyashiki frowned slightly.

The plan to lure Muzan Kibutsuji out could be described as flawless.

If the information is leaked, Muzan Kibutsuji will definitely hunt down Ratatosk relentlessly.

Even if we manage to lure him out, whether we can defeat him is another matter entirely.

But even if we could defeat him and prevent him from escaping, that would be another matter entirely.

Neither Kotori Itsuka nor Kagaya Ubuyashiki had a good solution to this problem.

"Commander, you just said that the demon named Nakime can control an alternate dimension called Infinity Castle, right?"

Just then, Dazai Osamu, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "Was that alternate dimension created by the Blood Demon Art?"

"Yes."

“Well, I think I have a way to solve this.” Dazai Osamu patted his chest. “During the time you were away, in order to increase my strength, I drank a lot of the demon blood that you and Tanjiro had collected before, and awakened my Blood Demon Art.”

"You? Blood Demon Art?" Kotori Itsuka's expression turned somewhat strange. "What are the abilities of your Blood Demon Art?"

"Within the range of my Blood Demon Art, the Blood Demon Art of all other demons will lose its effect."

With a thought, a faint mist of blood appeared around Dazai Osamu and spread throughout the entire mansion.

I call it "No Longer Human".

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Trail of the Upper Moon Two (Part Two)

No Longer Human?

Is the power of Blood Demon Art the ability to eliminate other demons?

After hearing Dazai Osamu's explanation, Kotori Itsuka remained silent, unsure of how to react.

The only reason she brought Dazai Osamu into Ratatoskr was that there were so few demons who could meet the conditions for joining that it was almost impossible to find a suitable one.

After all, in terms of sheer strength, Dazai Osamu after becoming a demon wasn't particularly powerful.

Even when he was still human, he was a lazy novelist who could beat most of his peers.

After becoming a demon, although his physical abilities improved by more than one level, he absorbed very little of Muzan's blood, ate a small amount of human flesh, and had not been a demon for very long. Among all demons, he was still considered a shameful existence.

So even though she had him join Ratatoskr, Kotori Itsuka was not comfortable letting him go on the demon-slaying mission alone. Instead, she had him team up with the Kamado siblings.

Unexpectedly, the guy she casually recruited into the organization gave her such a big surprise.

Because she had been playing the obedient Shirakotari at the Rengoku family mansion all this time, she hadn't paid much attention to what was happening in Asakusa.

Unexpectedly, Dazai Osamu drank a lot of Muzan's blood during this period and awakened the Blood Demon Art.

Previously, Kotori Itsuka and the Kamado siblings killed many demons in order to make Ratatosk famous. At the same time, in order to help Tamayo complete her research faster, they also brought back the Muzan blood from the demons they killed.

When the blood curses were handed over to Tamayo, Kotori Itsuka burned them all, making the research easier.

After the sample was taken, the collected Muzan blood was no longer of any use and was stored by Tamayo.

The amount wasn't small either; if Dazai Osamu drank it all, awakening the Blood Demon Art wouldn't be surprising.

What left Kotori Itsuka speechless was that the Blood Demon Art that this guy had awakened was exactly the same as the superpower of Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs.

"Is it a coincidence? Or is it that Dazai Osamu's ability in all worlds is to eliminate others?" Kotori Itsuka muttered softly. "Well, it's definitely a good thing."

In Kotori Itsuka's plan, luring Muzan Kibutsuji out would be simple, and defeating him wouldn't be difficult either.

However, it would be quite difficult to truly defeat him.

If Nakime's Infinity Castle cannot be defeated, then Muzan Kibutsuji might be able to escape.

However, Kotori Itsuka is not without a solution.

After completing the main storyline of Bungo Stray Dogs, she obtained a [Tokisaki Kurumi Experience Ticket]. Although it only lasts for ten minutes, it allows her to transform back into Tokisaki Kurumi and use all of her abilities.

Originally, if the Demon Slayer Corps couldn't come up with a solution that could completely restrain Nakime, she planned to use this item card.

Once transformed into Tokisaki Kurumi, and utilizing the invincible Zafkiel, Muzan Kibutsuji would immediately become a plaything at her fingertips.

Even if the City of Time has little effect on demons, she can still pull Muzan Kibutsuji into the Shadow Dimension, a place that the Infinity Castle cannot affect.

Although Tokisaki Kurumi doesn't have many devastating abilities, as long as she uses the Seventh Bullet, which stops time, to keep Muzan Kibutsuji still, and then gradually erases his body with the flintlock pistol, she doesn't believe that Muzan Kibutsuji will still have the ability to revive when only a few scraps remain.

However, this item card is one of her only means of survival, so it's best not to use it.

Now that Osamu Dazai has awakened the Blood Demon Art, Kotori Itsuka no longer needs to consider consuming this item card.

As long as Muzan Kibutsuji can be lured out and kept within the effects of No Longer Human, Kotori Itsuka doesn't need to worry about him escaping through the Infinity Castle.

With this in mind, Kotori Itsuka, who intended to have Dazai Osamu join the battle against Muzan, continued to ask, "What is the maximum extent of your No Longer Human?"

"If it were to use its full strength, it would be about fifty meters long and wide, and about ten meters high."

"Fifty meters...?"

This area is roughly the size of half a standard stadium.

It's not a small distance for ordinary people, but for demons, especially the strongest one, Muzan Kibutsuji, it's just a short distance.

It wouldn't even take two seconds to escape this area and reconnect with the Infinite City.

"If I were given more of Muzan's blood, the range of this effect would increase as my strength grows."

Seemingly noticing Kotori Itsuka's hesitation, Osamu Dazai continued, "Originally, the length and width of my Blood Demon Art were only about twenty meters, but after drinking that vial of Upper Moon Six's blood, it immediately doubled in size."

"It's a Blood Demon Art with growth potential?" Kotori Itsuka couldn't help but glance at him again. "Very well, in that case, before the battle plan officially begins, focus on improving your strength."

After saying that, she looked at Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who was deep in thought, and asked, "You heard that too, is there anything you want to say?"

“I must say, Ratatosk is truly full of talent, and the last problem has been solved.” Kagaya Ubuyashiki said with a smile, “I have no objection to your plan. If needed, the entire Demon Slayer Corps can also be your help to collect Muzan’s blood for this gentleman.”

"Then please."

Kotori Itsuka had no intention of being hypocritical or polite; she reached a consensus directly and frankly.

No matter what, there are only four members of the Ratatoskree who can be considered as combatants, including Dazai Osamu.

If they could get the support of the Demon Slayer Corps, which has hundreds of members, the speed at which they could collect Muzan's blood would be greatly increased.

If we can quickly raise Dazai Osamu's strength to a certain level and increase the range of the Blood Demon Art by two or three times, the plan to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji can officially begin.

“Collecting Muzan’s blood requires special tools, which I will have Yu… cough cough, One-Eyed Demon deliver later.”

Since it was inconvenient to mention Yushiro's name, Kotori Itsuka simply used the mask as a code name for the organization's members: "As for me, you can call me the Flame Demon."

"I understand."

Afterwards, both sides introduced their respective members.

Having established a cooperative relationship and confirmed the operational plan and next steps, the purpose of this conversation can be considered achieved.

"By the way, Ubuyashiki, I have another request for you."

Just as Ratatosk and his group were about to leave, Kotori Itsuka suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to look at Kagaya Ubuyashiki.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki could not refuse a request from an ally, so he nodded to signal her to continue.

"I also know the whereabouts of an Upper Moon demon, but you'll need to investigate the exact location using your own channels."

"Wind up?"

Upon hearing this, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's expression turned serious: "Which Upper Moon is it specifically?"

After the battle in the entertainment district, the Demon Slayer Corps' understanding of the Upper Moons was refreshed.

The Upper Moon Six, which is being hunted, is clearly a powerful enemy. According to Tengen Uzui, at least one Pillar would be needed beside him to be confident of completely defeating the enemy.

However, this generation of Pillar-level members is also the strongest in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps.