Demon Progenitor Development Project

Muzan Kibutsuji has been searching for the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, wanting to directly eliminate the head of the Ubuyashiki clan—the very same clan that leads the flies.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it.

Muzan narrowed his eyes; he had some understanding of the Demon Slayer Corps' internal system.

"You know where the headquarters is? You're not even a pillar, how could you possibly know?"

It's good to ask questions.

This means the other person is interested.

A letter calmed me down, but my suspicions only intensified.

The two ghosts in front of him were more dignified than he had ever seen before, with a calm and confident demeanor and an inherent elegance, just like when he was a child and hid in a crack to meet a noble person.

Ordinary ghosts are no different from wild beasts, but these two ghosts must be of very high status, and may even be the legendary... progenitors of ghosts.

“The Water Pillar, that middle-aged man, went out once, very seriously, and when he came back, he told us some things about the other pillars.”

Actually, Yusuke was just curious and asked a few more questions, so Shuizhu told him some interesting stories about his colleagues.

"He only went for nineteen days, an eight-and-a-half-day journey. He even brought back Arima Castle's specialty, water jets that cause motion sickness. He could only have gone there on foot or on horseback. If we just go and eliminate the possibilities one by one, we'll definitely find the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters." Ichijo Shin said a lot, as if he was showing off his intelligence.

He deduced the secrets hidden by the Demon Slayer Corps from the slightest clues, which made him quite proud. He kept this conclusion to himself and didn't tell anyone.

"Anything else?" the pale ghost continued to ask.

Shugo figured it out; the other person was the kind of person who would do anything to survive.

"That's not enough. We need something on you, Shin-kun. Otherwise, we can't trust you." Shugo's tone was polite, but his words were very rude.

"I don't care about the Demon Slayer Corps. I just want to learn the Breathing Techniques and take them back to my family." Shinichi's eyes were particularly sincere as he revealed his true purpose.

He dared not fabricate lies, nor... there was any need for it.

He would return directly to his family as long as they let him go.

At that point, it will be too late for the Demon Slayer Corps to do anything.

So, it turns out he was just a little spy all along? Shugo thought to himself, no wonder.

"Family? Which family?" Muzan asked suspiciously, glancing at the letter that lacked any aristocratic air or manners.

"One?" Muzan seemed thoughtful after receiving the answer.

"You're an illegitimate child?" Muzan directly pointed out the truth.

Yi Tiaoxin's expression froze for a moment, but he still nodded.

Muzan smiled, and a long, blood-red worm shot out from his sleeve and burrowed directly into the chest of a letter.

A letter was filled with cold sweat; he dared not utter a sound, suppressing his fear and nausea.

"You can leave now. I'm sure you know what happens when someone is betrayed, right?" The beautiful woman in front of me smiled warmly, making me feel instantly fond of her.

The words he uttered revealed his true nature.

She's a femme fatale!

"Wait, how about we send him undercover?"

The letter froze, swallowing nervously.

"Okay." Muzan agreed without hesitation.

A letter watched in despair as a streak of crimson light flashed past.

The night was filled with events such as Demon Slayer Corps members killing demons and being killed themselves afterward, and the story was drawing to a close.

In the distance, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

The dark creatures, which die in the light, also temporarily hid, waiting for the next night.

Muzan removed his hairpins and jewelry, still in a good mood.

Both Gardenia and Sakura, who had been training for some time, were working diligently.

Sakura tidied up the jewelry she had taken off, and as instructed, took out the brand-new jewelry and arranged it neatly.

"Which one looks better on me?" Muzan picked up a gold hairpin and compared it to the others, her lips slightly parted.

"They all look good. Ningning looks good in anything."

"Is she prettier than the courtesan?" Muzan scoffed and asked again.

Isn't this over yet?

“What I want to see is the courtesan's path, not the courtesan herself,” Shugo replied nimbly without hesitation.

"Ningning, aren't you being a little too sensitive?" Shugo hesitated, then continued speaking.

"Do you think I'm a jealous woman?" Muzan clenched the gold hairpin in his hand.

Muzan certainly knew that as the mistress of the house, she had to be magnanimous, prioritize the greater good, and not stop her husband from seeing other women.

Muzan was once in such an environment.

However, she is not a woman who can only rely on men, nor is she a wife bound by worldly rules.

He must get what he wants.

Greed, arrogance, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and haughtiness are all inherent traits of Muzan's character, which cannot be changed and need not be changed.

Even metals as hard as gold could not withstand the immense power of the progenitor of demons, and were already slightly deformed.

The atmosphere in the room turned cold and menacing.

The two newly appointed maids, Zhi Zi and Ying Zi, huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

Hiiragi spoke up at the right moment to defuse the situation.

"Sakurako, Gardenia, please go out first," Shugo said gently.

The gentleness caused Muzan's murderous gaze to fall upon the two little devils he had picked up.

Muzan remembers that Shuugo always showed compassion for the weak.

The two women ran away in a panic, losing one of their shoes in the process.

Just as Muzan was wondering if he had made a mistake by creating a rival in love for himself.

"Ningning, I don't like how suspicious you are." Shugo walked to his wife's side, gently stroking her long hair with his hand, the slightly curled ends brushing against his palm and causing a slight tickle.

Muzan's expression changed. Did he hate me now?

Perhaps I shouldn't have agreed to go on this trip with them?

Would it be better to lock his Shugo at home?

Having been unchecked and invincible for a century, Muzan's heart had been hardened. The fact that he could quietly play a couple's game with Shugo was the greatest patience the extremely bad-tempered demon king could muster.

"I want your trust." Pulling out a strand of hair, Shugo lowered his head and kissed the black hair.

Trust is essential between husband and wife.

A marriage built on suspicion and distrust will only lead to its collapse.

“You need to have your own life. Talk and chat with other people more. You’re always with me, which isn’t good for you,” Shugo sighed.

"You want to break up with me?"

Muzan only grasped this point, and he held a grudge against it.

"If we're always together, Ningning will eventually get tired of me."

Hiiragi's tone also carried a hint of pity.

Muzan's response was a straightforward and brutal kiss.

It wasn't a tender, gentle kiss.

It is an invasion and plunder by one party against the other.

A section of her arm was pressed against the man's cheek.

Muzan murmured to himself.

Her bloodless lips were soaked and turned crimson, which made her pale skin look even more striking.

Seeing that Muzan didn't understand him at all, Shugo had no choice but to add a sentence.

"I will be your support, your pillar. Don't see me as your whole world." Shugo's voice was soft, with a murmured ending, carrying a tender and affectionate feeling.

The foolish beauty Muzan didn't understand at all, and tightly gripped Shugo's wrist, as if afraid he would run away.

"What do you mean? You don't want me anymore?"

"No."

Shugo denied it, and then asked a completely unrelated question.

"Muzan, have all demons always been like this?"

Muzan was even more confused.

"Demons kill and eat people, then attract the Demon Slayer Corps to hunt them down? Survivors become followers of the Demon Slayer Corps? And so on and so forth?" Shugo recalled what he had heard tonight and the information that Jinko had given him.

Muzan nodded.

After Shugo hugged Muzan close, he continued, "Initially, the Demon Slayer Corps could only wait until the sun rose to eliminate demons, resulting in heavy casualties. Demons with Blood Demon Arts were never wiped out by the Demon Slayer Corps."

"Later, they forged the Nichirin Blade to behead demons at night and kill them. However, they still suffered heavy casualties when dealing with demons with Blood Demon Arts. But they had the record of killing demons with special abilities. Now, the Demon Slayer Corps uses Breathing Techniques to kill demons and can easily kill demons with special abilities."

"Then what about demons? Where has the progress of demons been?" Shugo's question left Muzan speechless.

Muzan's expression grew increasingly grim as he recalled the group of scoundrels under his command.

"Those demons are too useless! They have my blood, yet they can't defeat the Demon Slayer Corps." Muzan's face was sour as he skillfully shifted all the blame onto others.

"Demon Slayers have a specialized training process (Fujikasayama selection), a complete logistical support system (Demon Slayer Corps uniforms, Nichirin Blade forging and maintenance), and the Crows and the Hidden Army as intelligence agencies."

"In comparison, Ningning, what can you offer your subordinates?"

Critical hit damage!

Muzan was momentarily speechless.

It seems like... nothing at all!

Ubuyashiki completely outshone it!

"Even so, the Demon Slayer Corps still gets eaten by demons all the time," Muzan retorted stubbornly.

Shugo looked at his unreasonable wife in his arms with a deep, melancholy gaze, and a headache began to throb.

Did the original owner like this type of woman?

...A drama queen?

After a long while, this word popped into Shugo's mind.

"You won't even let the demons gather together, only letting them fight one-on-one. The Demon Slayer Corps will send out teams to hunt down powerful demons with special abilities. Two fists can't fight four hands." Shuugo genuinely felt that Muzan's leadership was not very good.

There was no systematic structure among his subordinates; they were completely left to grow wildly and freely.

"The gathering of demons threatens me!" Muzan retorted.

"That's certainly possible, but it's more likely that those ghosts are terrified of you," Shugo remarked.

Just by looking at the demons around him, one can see that Muzan's power and influence are immense.

"Wasn't Ubuyashiki also threatened? They're physically weak; killing them would be much easier than killing you. As for you being stronger than them, aren't you?"

"Be braver."

"What exactly do you want to say?" Muzan's patience was wearing thin, and his gaze toward Shugo turned dangerous.

"I'm worried about you, thinking about your future," Shugo said in a muffled voice, leaning on Muzan's shoulder.

"Worried? You're worried the Demon Slayer Corps will kill me?" Muzan belatedly realized this and looked at Shugo with disbelief.

Muzan couldn't understand why Shugo would have such thoughts.

Muzan: "I'm not that weak. I'm stronger than the Demon Slayer Corps."

Shugo said half-jokingly, "Yes, Nene is very strong, but I am too weak. Who knows, I might be captured by the Demon Slayer Corps and taken hostage one day."

"No. I won't let Shugo get arrested, and I won't allow you to say such things."

Muzan retorted with a furrowed brow, his desire to annihilate the Demon Slayer Corps growing stronger.

Shugo grabbed Muzan's hand as he tried to cover his mouth.

A steady stream of heat flowed into the cold corpse through the skin where they were touching.

"The Demon Slayer Corps' methods of killing demons are improving little by little, while Muzan, you have been standing still. One day, the Demon Slayer Corps will threaten you."

"Change is deterioration; remaining unchanged is the best."

Muzan was extremely resistant to Shugo's words.

His past life perfectly illustrates that nothing good ever comes from change.

Temperature changes inevitably lead to catching a cold.

As he grew older, he was sent home by Shugo.

If the condition changes, it will inevitably worsen.

His short life was filled with these terrible changes, no wonder Muzan felt that staying the same was the best thing.

“Perhaps one day humans will be able to create a sun at night. Don’t be so quick to dismiss it.” Shugo played with the end of his hair. “Just like the flintlock musket from the West, humans have been making progress, and the demons who live by eating people are destined to stand on the opposite side of humans. We need power.”

Muzan was very unwilling, and it was obvious that he was unconvinced.

Shugo temporarily stopped the conversation and went to take a bath with his wife.

After washing up, the room was extremely quiet, with only the soft sound of breathing. The two inhuman creatures were sleeping soundly under the pure cotton blankets.

Just then, Shugo, who should have been immersed in a dream, suddenly opened his eyes. As if he had thought of something, he turned to look at Muzan beside him, who was also pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed, and asked softly, "Nene, I want to ask you, what were you like before?"

Upon hearing this, Muzan's body stiffened slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

He muttered to himself: Why would this guy suddenly think of asking this question?

It's worth noting that Shugo has always avoided talking about his past and has never brought it up.

Muzan was happy to do so, since the more lies he told, the easier it was to expose his flaws.

Could it be that Shugo has begun to gradually regain his memories?

Thinking of this, Muzan couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

However, Shugo seemed oblivious to Muzan's inner turmoil, and continued, "Actually, there's no particular reason. I just want to understand you more deeply."

As he spoke, Shugo's eyes flickered uncertainly, as if he were plotting something in his mind.

It turns out that Shugo had been thinking about how to persuade Muzan to agree to establish a force belonging to demons.

He knew that to do this, he first had to understand Muzan's personality traits and the reasons for his personality, and then he could take targeted measures and prescribe the right medicine.

In addition, there was another very important factor that prompted Shugo to raise this question.

That is, a long time has passed since he woke up, but he knows almost nothing about the original owner.

Because he didn't understand the original owner's personality, habits, and hobbies, Shugo was unable to truly play the role well.

Strangely enough, after so many days, Muzan has not noticed anything unusual at all.

Could it be that... the original owner was actually himself?

As the thought kept popping into his mind, Shugo felt that the possibility of this guess was extremely high.

Although the person described by Muzan seems to have no connection with his current self, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so there might be another story behind it!

At this moment, Muzan, who was secretly eavesdropping on Shugo's thoughts, was speechless upon hearing Shugo's words.

It's been so long, haven't you given up on this guess yet?

Demons have excellent memories. Muzan recalled and recounted the story, and everything that had happened was still vivid in his mind.

Hiiragi's expression grew increasingly strange.

[Was I, no, was the original owner of this body really not a pervert?]

[They snatched someone else's child and raised it!]

This definitely isn't me!

Muzan: ...