Boom!
With a roar,
The surrounding air rippled with visible waves spreading in all directions.
A figure flew out horizontally, directly shattering a distant courtyard wall into pieces.
Silence!
Dead silence.
Every Hashira present was stunned, their eyes seemingly about to pop out.
"Stone Hashira, are you alright?"
Kanae sheathed her sword, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
If she had known,
She wouldn't have used her magic power.
"I'm... fine...."
After a moment, Gyomei finally staggered up from the rubble.
He looked at his Nichirin Blade, now broken in two, and his eyelids twitched.
"Flower Hashira, did you use your full strength?"
Kanae shook her head and said sincerely, "No."
"This is truly too incredible."
Gyomei smiled bitterly. "Are legendary Devils really this strong?"
And the others also felt as if they're in a dream.
After all, all of this was too absurd.
Before, while the Flower Hashira was not the weakest among them, Flower Breathing was definitely not known for its power.
Yet now, in a direct contest of strength, she had defeated the Stone Hashira.
This increase in power was simply dreamlike.
Just then, Ayato looked toward the direction of the estate and spoke. "You've watched enough of the show. Shouldn't you come out now?"
"I'm sorry, Ayato-sama. I meant no harm."
A gentle voice rang out. "I just wanted to see what the legendary Devil was like."
"After all, like them, I was very curious about Devils."
As the voice fell, a figure walked out from the estate.
This was a young man with half his face disfigured, looking sickly.
He was the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Master!"
Seeing Kagaya appear, aside from Ayato and Kanae, everyone knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.
This was their respect for the newcomer.
"I'm sorry, Ubuyashiki-san."
Kanae said apologetically. "This body is now Master's possession. From now on, I will not bow to you."
She was a gentle and kind person.
She still greatly admired Kagaya.
But her current identity was Ayato's servant, wife, and follower, so naturally she put her Master first.
"That's fine."
Kagaya smiled gently, then looked at Ayato. "Ayato-sama, may I make a wish to you?"
"No."
Ayato shook his head. "As I said before, I'm only interested in beautiful girls."
"..." xN
Everyone fell silent.
'This Devil's head was truly filled with nothing but perverted thoughts.'
"That is... truly a pity."
Kagaya smiled bitterly. "I was hoping to exchange this life for Muzan's death. It seems that was my wishful thinking."
"If that's the case, we can make a deal."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Ayato smiled. "I'm interested in your Demon Slayer Corps' Breathing Techniques."
Kagaya was stunned for a moment, then asked instinctively, "Just that?"
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Nothing. It's just that the price is too small."
Kagaya sat upright and said seriously, "Then, I leave everything to Ayato-sama."
"But how do you plan to do it?"
"Very simply."
Ayato spoke. "Just locate Muzan and destroy him together with the city he's in."
Although his target was Muzan,
That guy could indeed run far in the Infinity Castle.
So this statement was not false.
After all, pure magic power probably couldn't kill that guy's immortality.
Then, while he was recovering, he could use a barrier to trap him and take him away.
"..."
Hearing this, everyone's lips twitched.
They instinctively looked at Ayato.
'He seemed... really not joking.'
'But destroying an entire city... wasn't that a bit too much?'
'However, this Mr. Devil didn't seem to be lying.'
"Master, could you choose a different method?"
Kanae said weakly. "That way, too many innocent people would die."
Kagaya also requested, "Ayato-sama, is there another way? If it comes to that, the innocent people would be too pitiful."
All the Hashira knelt again, bowing their heads to Ayato.
"If that's the case, it'll be a bit more troublesome."
Ayato raised an eyebrow. "We still need to locate Muzan first. Then I'll just deal with him."
"Although it's embarrassing to say, even that is very difficult."
Kagaya smiled bitterly. "We haven't found any trace of Muzan in a hundred years."
His words were filled with deep reluctance.
In the Ubuyashiki Family, due to Muzan, everyone had short lifespans.
They might go their entire lives without even a chance to meet him.
"Don't worry, I wasn't counting on you anyway."
Ayato snapped his fingers. A teleportation magic circle flashed briefly.
The next moment,
A figure materialized out of thin air.
"Is this another different world?"
Gabriel looked around and muttered, "But nothing seems special."
Ayato clapped his hands, drawing Gabriel's attention.
He casually waved his hand, and an image of Muzan appeared. "Gabriel, I'll trouble you to search the cities of this country and find an isolated space. This guy should be inside."
"Okay."
Gabriel nodded.
Ayato continued. "Once you find it, set up a barrier to lock down that space. And remember, don't..."
The reason he chose Gabriel was simply because she was strong enough and skilled in barriers.
Otherwise,
Muzan was just too much of a coward.
He would hide for hundreds of years at the slightest sign of trouble.
He had no interest in playing hide-and-seek with this guy across the entire world.
"No problem, Master."
After listening to Ayato's instructions, Gabriel shot straight into the sky.
Soon,
She had disappeared from everyone's sight.