Chapter 173: The Balance of Three Powers
The castle fell silent.
Gyokko opened his mouth and closed it again, Hantengu shrank even further, and Kokushibo remained expressionless.
What could they say? They didn’t dare make a peep!
Because—who couldn’t guess what Muzan had in mind?
It was nothing other than the fear that Marcus would strip him of his abilities. But none of them dared say it aloud; not even think about it too much.
Only Doma remarked, smiling, "If Muzan-sama isn’t going... then a direct attack makes no sense at all."
Muzan looked at him coldly. "Do you fear death?"
Doma shook his head without wiping away his smile.
"I fear the light."
He raised his fan and waved it gently.
"If only the four of us go, I’m afraid it’ll be very hard to achieve a quick victory. They’re demons too: they can flee and buy time. We, on the other hand, can’t afford to drag out the fight. The moment dawn breaks, we’re dead."
Kokushibo fell silent.
Gyokko’s expression changed.
Muzan stared fixedly at Doma for a long while. "Useless!"
Then he looked at Kokushibo.
"Don’t you have confidence either?"
Kokushibo was silent for a few seconds.
"What Doma says has its reason. Without Muzan-sama, it’ll be very hard to beat them head-on."
Muzan frowned.
"But that doesn’t mean there’s no alternative."
"Speak."
"When I speak of a direct attack, I mean choosing a battlefield where the sunlight doesn’t reach. For example..."
Kokushibo looked at Nakime.
Muzan narrowed his eyes.
"You want to drag them into the Infinity Castle."
Kokushibo nodded.
"When the time comes, this subordinate is confident he can exterminate the entire vampire lineage."
Muzan mulled it over for a moment, then shook his head. "I’d already considered that plan, but it’s very hard to carry out."
"Why?"
"Because of Akaza’s betrayal, Nakime and the Infinity Castle... have been exposed."
Muzan’s voice turned chilling.
"Now that they’re on guard, it’ll be terribly hard for Nakime’s eyes to even get near this Marcus, let alone drag him here."
The candlelight burned in silence, and the Infinity Castle sank back into stillness.
Until... a barely audible little laugh rang out...
"Fufu~ Don’t all get so discouraged~ The truth is, I have another idea."
All eyes settled on Doma.
"Let’s capture a vampire for Muzan-sama to devour. Wouldn’t he obtain the ability to not fear sunlight that way?"
Hearing this, Kokushibo’s gaze snapped up.
"Is that possible?"
"I don’t know." Doma spread his hands. "But it’s worth a try."
"If Muzan-sama manages to stop fearing the sun..." Gyokko’s eyes lit up too.
"...then we’ll be able to as well," Doma picked up. "He’d only have to share that ability with us and we’d no longer fear the sun. When the time comes, we won’t fear anything, not even a direct attack."
The atmosphere shifted.
Muzan’s gaze sharpened.
This, without a doubt, was the safest method. He wouldn’t have to go out or expose himself. Just by obtaining the coveted ability to withstand sunlight, he could afford to wear Marcus down at his leisure.
"It’s feasible."
"I’ll go arrange it right away!" Gyokko was brimming with enthusiasm.
Muzan raised his hand.
"Marcus is on maximum alert right now. Wait for the right moment before acting."
"Besides, we’re going to need weapons to face them."
"W-Weapons?" Hantengu asked.
Kokushibo spoke. "Nichirin swords. Swordsmith Village."
Only then did they realize.
Marcus’s group was also made up, in its entirety, of demons.
...
At the same time.
At the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Kagaya sat beneath the outer corridor, a blanket covering his legs. In the morning sunlight, the ulcers on his face were all the more harrowing.
Tengen remained kneeling at his side, his expression grave.
"Speak."
Tengen drew a deep breath.
"Marcus has become a demon."
Kagaya let out a faint, distant sigh; he was somewhat surprised, and at the same time... as if he weren’t so surprised at all.
"And then...?"
"He faced Muzan in Yoshiwara. Hakuji and the Upper Rank Six siblings have already fallen under his command."
"And what was the outcome?"
"Muzan was repelled."
Kagaya frowned slightly.
"Repelled?"
"That’s right." Tengen’s voice came out somewhat dry. "Marcus... cut off Muzan’s head. Muzan called Nakime and Gyokko, and fled."
"He cut off his head!?"
At last Kagaya’s face showed an obvious change, and he suddenly grabbed Tengen’s sleeve.
"Not even cutting off his head could kill Muzan?"
’Killing demons is never simple...’ Tengen sighed. ’Being unable to finish one off even by cutting off its head is nothing out of the ordinary.’
Hearing that sigh, Kagaya fell silent for a moment and released his sleeve.
"It seems Hakuji’s information was accurate. When a demon reaches a certain level, it can indeed stop fearing decapitation..."
His voice regained its calm.
"Tell me. I want to hear all of it, down to the last detail."
"Understood!"
And Tengen’s account began to resonate through the courtyard, without omitting the slightest particular.
The wind ran through the treetops, drawing a whisper from them.
Kagaya listened in silence for a long while.
Then he smiled.
"Interesting..." he said. "This is far too interesting."
"Master..." Tengen looked at him, his eyes laden with worry.
"A Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps transformed into a demon..." Kagaya’s voice was measured, but it carried a hint of self-mockery. "He repels Muzan, subdues Upper Ranks, and on top of that, carves out his own territory in Yoshiwara."
"And this he calls... a ’balance of three powers’?"
"Yes." Tengen nodded.
"A balance of three powers... It seems he’d been scheming this plan for a long time." Kagaya sighed.
"Notify the other Hashiras. There will be a meeting tomorrow."
"Understood."
Once Tengen had left, Kagaya lifted his head toward the morning sun, there on the horizon.
The light bathed his ulcerated face, and it was impossible to decipher his expression.
"Vampires... Marcus... what exactly is it that you’re hoping I’ll do?"
...
In comparison with the commotion unfolding elsewhere...
At that moment, inside the second-floor bedroom of the Asakusa mansion, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.
The theoretical progenitor of the vampire lineage and its true progenitor had, ever since they woke up, spent the entire time in bed...
Counting money.
"I’ve got 5.3 million here. And you?"
"Including the sale of the equipment, it comes to 3.2 million in total."
Marcus and Tamayo looked at each other, and both could see the helplessness reflected in the other’s eyes.
8.5 million.
It sounded like a fortune, but it wasn’t remotely enough to buy the most prosperous district in Tokyo... Asakusa.
And that’s without counting Yoshiwara, or the land stretching between Yoshiwara and Asakusa.
Lying atop the bills that covered the entire bed, Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"It seems I’ll have to resort to certain measures!"
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