Crossover: The Problematic Deity of Arcadia

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After finishing his orders, Ryo gently patted Kanae on the back, calming her unease.

Then, with a cold, detached expression, he said:

"In a bit, you all will report your abilities to Nakime. I'll be assigning tasks accordingly. In seven days, we'll take Edo."

Seven days. With Nakime's spatial manipulation and the strength of the Upper Kizuki, gathering all demons wouldn't be a problem.

As for the report on their powers? That was something Ryo had prepared for the Demon Slayer Corps.

After all, he was about to become their new master. So, naturally, collecting intel on the enemy was completely reasonable. Nothing suspicious about it.

Whether those demons ended up getting themselves killed by sharing that info? That had nothing to do with him. If anyone was to blame, it was Muzan. Ryo was just doing his part.

"And as for summoning the rest of the demons—figure that out among yourselves."

"Yes, sir!" x6

Hearing that, Ryo turned to Nakime and said:

"Nakime."

Kneeling quietly to the side, Nakime gave a small nod and plucked her biwa.

Dooong—

As the sound reverberated, the sliding doors of the Infinite Castle closed, and both Ryo and Kanae vanished from sight.

Now, only the Upper Kizuki and Nakime remained in the vast castle.

The fact that all the Upper Kizukis were gathered together was already enough to surprise Gyokko.

"Huh? Lord Muzan's just letting us discuss things amongst ourselves?"

What he was really thinking, though, was something else entirely: "Muzan's actually letting all of us Upper Kizuki meet face to face… without him around?"

That was way out of character.

Just today, Gyokko had finally met all the other Upper Kizuki in person. Normally, you just heard rumors about the others—rarely met them face to face.

Was Muzan finally letting his guard down?

At that moment, Hantengu—ever the sycophant—yelled out in annoyance:

"What do you mean 'Lord Muzan'?! Call him Lord Ryo!"

"Uh… Lord Ryo? That's a mouthful. Is that, like, a new name? Or is it Muzan's real name?" Gyokko's creepy face twitched with confusion.

Muzan had been alive for a thousand years. Who knew how many names he had gone by?

Maybe Ryo was his real name back in the day. Who could say?

Then Kokushibo, the First Upper Kizuki, spoke slowly: "Muzan... has changed."

Hearing Kokushibo still refer to him as Muzan, Hantengu pretended not to notice. Even he knew not to mess with the top dog. Kokushibo had held that position for centuries.

"Hmph~"

Beside him, Doma—the Second Upper Kizuki—let out a painful groan as he clutched his severed arm.

"My arm's not healing. What the hell is going on?"

Hantengu shot back with a mocking tone:

"That's Lord Ryo's power. Even someone like you, Upper Kizuki Two, can't go against him."

Doma didn't even have time to argue. He was too busy biting his nails and muttering bitterly:

"Damn it… I wonder how many beautiful women I'll need to eat to grow this thing back…"

Kokushibo glanced at him coldly and said, "Some things never change."

Meanwhile, Akaza—the Third Upper Kizuki—was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm... I wonder if I could challenge Lord Muzan."

CLANG—

Akaza looked at his now-severed arm, then at Kokushibo. His eyes narrowed.

Kokushibo replied coolly, "You challenged someone above your station. I cut off your arm."

But as he spoke, Akaza's arm grew back on its own.

He flexed it a bit, then grinned at Kokushibo.

"Not bad… that fighting aura of yours is sharp. Wanna spar?"

Before they could escalate further, Hantengu jumped in quickly:

"Gentlemen, please! Lord Ryo gave us a mission. We need to gather the demons and conquer Edo in seven days to build his empire of the night. Isn't an internal squabble a bit counterproductive right now?"

"But still, why Edo?" Daki—the youngest—tilted her head, confused.

"Didn't Lord Muzan always tell us to avoid clashing with the authorities? Why the sudden switch to an all-out attack?"

"It's Lord Ryo!" Hantengu barked again, but after a moment of thought, he added:

"His goals are beyond our comprehension. Who are we to question him?"

Then Kokushibo spoke again, calm and composed:

"A thousand years ago, during the Heian period, demons roamed the night freely. Humans ruled the day, but the night belonged to us."

That made Hantengu's eyes light up in realization:

"Of course! Most of us only came into existence a few hundred years ago. But Lord Ryo—he's from that era. He saw the age of demons rule the night!"

"Back then, demons thrived under the Kizuki, and Lord Ryo was one of them. But for some reason, that golden age ended, and he had to retreat into the shadows."

"But now…"

His eyes gleamed as he continued:

"Now, Lord Ryo has overcome the sun. He's a perfect being! There's no need to hide anymore!"

"He's going to rebuild the age of demons—create a night empire where we reign supreme!"

"No wonder he planned all this for a thousand years! What a terrifying mastermind!"

"Is that what this is about…?" Daki still looked lost.

"Conquering Edo means there'll be tons of fights, right?" Akaza said with a grin, rubbing his chin again.

"More people in Edo means more art supplies for me~" Gyokko chuckled darkly.

Meanwhile, Doma cradled his broken arm and chuckled, "Guess I'll head to Edo and find a few beautiful women to snack on."

Kokushibo looked around and, after a moment of silent thought, finally said:

"Summon the demons. Let's go."

He glanced at Nakime, who understood immediately and began warping them out of the Infinite Castle.

Hantengu turned to the few remaining demons and said:

"Okay, let's divvy up the regions. Who's summoning demons from where?"

He was already fantasizing about taking charge.

Kokushibo didn't care about logistics. Doma was injured. Akaza only cared about fighting. Which meant… he was in charge?

Just as that thought lit up his brain with excitement—

Akaza casually said, "Yeah, yeah. Gathering some demons? I'll leave that to you."

"I'm busy," Doma muttered grumpily.

Gyokko smirked. "I'm at a critical stage in creating a few new vases."

Then Daki glanced at Hantengu's stunned expression and said, clearly annoyed:

"I'll take care of the demons from the Pleasure District."

The Pleasure District? That's tiny! We're supposed to summon demons from all over Japan!

Hantengu stood there, frozen. Before he could react—

He realized… everyone was gone.

Only he and Nakime were left in the Infinite Castle.

Wait a minute… was he seriously stuck with all the work?

Was this some kind of scam?

Apparently... yes.

And just like that, Hantengu was left standing there in stunned silence, his entire world collapsing around him.

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