Chapter 98 Chapter 98 Chapter 98
The elegant food box was open, and the dishes inside were almost untouched.
Azhi poked at the snow-white rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. The grains of rice gleamed warmly in the candlelight, but she had no appetite.
The air was filled with the aroma of food, but it couldn't mask the omnipresent...
Kokushibo sat in the shadows opposite Aori, his tall figure like a solid rock, his six demonic eyes flickering eerily in the dim light, fixed on her without blinking.
This gaze was no longer simply imprisoning; it also carried a tense sense of oppression.
Azhi managed to swallow a few grains of rice before finally putting down her chopsticks; the faint clinking sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent room.
"I'm done eating."
Her words were as soft as a breeze, and the ghostly figure in the shadows stirred.
Kokushibo slowly stood up, his dark, straight hem hanging down without a single wrinkle.
He took a few steps closer and stopped in front of Azhi, his tall figure almost completely enveloping her.
Azhi shrank back and closed her eyes, lowering them like a frightened little animal, her thick eyelashes trembling uneasily.
This subtle movement made Kokushibo pause for a moment. He narrowed his six demonic eyes, as if scrutinizing a bird.
He continued to approach.
The towering evil spirit always does this, taking her breath regardless of time or place.
Sometimes it's early morning, before she's even properly dressed; sometimes it's when she's tossing and turning, unable to sleep, like right now, as she's just finished eating and feeling restless.
Cold fingers touched her cheek. Azhi raised her head and met Kokushibo's eyes, which were filled with complex desire.
Then, Kokushibo leaned down and seized Aori's kiss.
This kiss was different from the ones before; it carried an indescribable intensity, as if drawing some kind of power to calm him down, or as if confirming something.
"Kuroshibo, you didn't eat anyone, did you?"
Kibutsuji Muzan's tone was cold; his words were not only a question but also a form of oppression.
Since becoming a demon, Kokushibo has never eaten a human. In fact, after abducting Ori, he chose to lie low.
Just now, Muzan Kibutsuji expressed his dissatisfaction with him and issued an order in his mind for the first time.
Bring me the head of the successor of the 'Breathing of the Sun'.
This was a bloody and brutal order.
Kokushibo accepted Muzan Kibutsuji's blood and became a demon. His relationship with Muzan was one of cooperation, but also one of being controlled by him. This means that Kokushibo was still unable to defy Muzan Kibutsuji's will.
He had to leave Azhi and go to the battlefield.
“…”
Azhi was caught off guard by this unprecedented enthusiasm and depth, her mind went blank, and she could only passively endure it.
The oxygen seemed to have been completely depleted, the faint sobs were swallowed up, and the cheeks were flushed with an abnormal redness from the inexplicable stimulation.
She struggled, her slender fingers unconsciously gripping the long hair behind Kokushibo's back, as if she were clinging to the only piece of driftwood in a raging tide.
Kokushibo's arms tightened around Aori, so tightly that he almost crushed her and absorbed her into his very bones.
It is a terrifying intimacy, filled with twisted possessiveness and unfathomable dark emotions.
After a long while, Kokushibo slowly withdrew, a trail of ambiguous moisture appearing between his lips.
Aori was breathing heavily, her eyes glistening with moisture from the kiss, and she was still not fully conscious. This state drew Kokushibo closer.
“…”
A hand, noticeably smaller and trembling, suddenly reached out and gently tugged at the corner of Heishibo's deep purple sleeve.
Azhi felt uneasy from the unusually intense kiss. This unease made her fingertips feel cold, and she reached out her hand in a gesture as if trying to hold on.
She tilted her head back, her face still flushed, her eyes still moist with lingering emotions, but more so with a bewildered worry.
Azhi felt that something terrible was about to happen.
"Yan Sheng..." Azhi's voice was filled with urgency and panic that she herself was unaware of. She even unconsciously used that long-forgotten form of address, "What's wrong with you?"
Kokushibo stopped following Aori's pull. A hint of surprise flashed through his mind. He hadn't expected that after such intimacy, Aori's first reaction would be to pull him back, and even say such words of implicit concern.
This sudden connection still stirred something in his eyes. He gazed at Azhi, his golden pupils swirling with emotions before finally settling into silence.
Kokushibo couldn't possibly reveal what he was going to do to Ari, as that would only push them further apart. The current situation was just right.
He remained silent for a moment, offering no further explanation, but simply raised a hand and, with a somewhat stiff motion, gently patted A-Zhi's hand, which was tightly gripping her sleeve.
Although the temperature of his palm was icy cold, with an inhuman texture, it also seemed to contain a strange, soothing meaning.
He will finish the mission as quickly as possible.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Kokushibo has been "away" for a while now, and this magnificent prison has never felt so empty and desolate.
Aori doesn't know where Kokushibo went, or even whether he has really left. This could very well be another test.
As she tries to push open the door, a large hand will suddenly appear, gripping her wrist tightly and rendering her unable to move.
Kokushibo had previously threatened to follow her into the sunlight, and he was capable of anything, so Aori dared not take the risk again.
But this time it's a little different.
An ominous premonition weighed heavily on her heart, and she paced back and forth in the room, trying to dispel the chill that enveloped her.
Until an indescribable malice swept through the room without warning, and the air seemed to become viscous.
Azhi felt her blood run cold, every pore screaming danger, and she turned around abruptly.
Suddenly, a figure appeared silently in the center of the room.
He wore a dark kimono, had a slender figure, and pale, bloodless skin. Beneath his jet-black curly hair were a pair of blood-red eyes.
At this moment, those eyes were fixed on her, as if assessing an inanimate object, without a trace of extra emotion.
Aori was horrified by his gaze. She had never seen this face before, but she could tell that it was a being more terrifying and incomprehensible than Kokushibo—Muzan Kibutsuji.
Terrified, she collapsed to the ground, the name flashing through her mind.
The source of all evil spirits in this world stood before her.
The scream turned into a short, sharp gasp.
Without any opening remarks or unnecessary embellishments, an irresistible and terrifying force struck, locking Azhi's waist and instantly lifting her body into the air.
Kibutsuji Muzan didn't waste a single second. His hand precisely gripped Aori's jaw, forcing her to open her mouth, and a drop of filthy blood fell directly into the depths of her oral cavity.
Muzan Kibutsuji had no interest in the woman who was being kept by Kokushibo, because Ori was just a weak human.
However, he originally thought that Kokushibo would eat Aori on the night he became a demon, since demons eat humans and even the most powerful demons cannot overcome their instincts.
As it turns out, Ah Zhi is alive and well. Not only that, she is doing very well. Now she has a rosy and healthy complexion and wears silk that is rare even among nobles.
As he had predicted, Kokushibo grew rapidly. Although he did not eat people, he could engage in a bloody battle with other demons, and the victor could deal with the loser.
Kokushibo absorbed the defeated demons and has risen to become the first Upper Moon.
Muzan Kibutsuji originally had no objection to this. He didn't feel sorry for the demons being absorbed; in fact, he was happy that Kokushibo had become even stronger.
But after he encountered Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the situation changed.
Kibutsuji Muzan was severely injured by Yoriichi Tsugikuni. This was the first time he had reached the edge of death since becoming a demon. Even now, the wounds left on him by Yoriichi Tsugikuni continue to burn, causing him excruciating pain.
That wasn't a battle at all, but a one-sided execution. Kibutsuji Muzan's arrogance and sense of superiority, accumulated over a thousand years, were completely crushed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
His suspicion and fear had reached their peak.
Aori, the woman caught between Kokushibo and Yoriichi Tsugikuni, seems to have a way of tugging at their hearts and influencing their actions.
This woman is still human, and who knows when Kokushibo might be seduced into betraying him? This inexplicable thought surfaced in Muzan Kibutsuji's mind.
Ah Zhi either becomes a ghost or dies, otherwise she will eventually become a hidden danger.
This is why he came here.
The bitter and highly toxic liquid entered the throat, with a sticky, lifelike sensation that was so terrifying that it almost immediately made one want to vomit.
But no matter how hard Aori struggled, it was all in vain. Kibutsuji Muzan's hand remained motionless, and she couldn't help but shed tears.
And it was already too late; an unfamiliar stinging pain had already begun to spread throughout the body.
"Give it your all." Muzan Kibutsuji looked on indifferently, his blood-red eyes devoid of any emotion. "Become a demon, or die."
If Ori eventually becomes a demon, Muzan Kibutsuji will save her, and Ori will become the best bargaining chip to control the struggle between Kokushibo and Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
In the end, Kokushibo should also be grateful to him, for he allowed the two of them to truly be together forever.
If this woman cannot withstand the poison of the demon blood, then her death will become the perfect reason for Kokushibo to hate the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, lured here by the bait, are rushing towards this side.
Both outcomes are what Muzan Kibutsuji would like to see.
Confirming that the power of that drop of blood had begun to violently transform the girl's fragile body, he coldly released his grip and wiped away the remaining traces.
The body became blurry extremely quickly until it disappeared into the room.
Throughout the entire story, Aori remained in a state of confusion. She didn't know why she was being targeted by Muzan Kibutsuji, nor did she know if she would be saved.
Her body crashed heavily to the ground, her vision blurred, and the blood that had been forcibly injected burned inside her. The intense pain made her curl up uncontrollably.
Consciousness floated in the darkness, and the whole person felt as if they were being pulled by an invisible force and falling into a bottomless abyss.
Azhi felt she might really be going to die. She coughed twice, and blood spilled from the corner of her lips. Tears soaked the hair on both sides of her face.
Before she completely succumbed, a faint light appeared before her eyes.
The light was warm and gentle, and at the same time, a familiar, pure, and powerful force flowed into my limbs and bones, and in an instant, the pain that was eroding my body began to recede.
—000 is back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
