Chapter 45: On the journey to the hegemony

Chapter 45: On the journey to the hegemony

"Demon Slayer Mark?!"

After they left Isao's room, Kagaya brought all of them to another room and explained why they had to invite Isao.

Naturally, all of them were dumbfounded by Kagaya's answer.

"So... that isn't a tattoo?"

The stigma that came from tattoos was still so bad since those who had them were either those who were at the bottom of society or criminals.

While they had to admit that Isao's tattoo was so handsome, especially when it appeared on his neck, they still looked down on him for modifying the body that was given by his parents.

Yet, unexpectedly, the red spider lily on his neck, which they thought was a tattoo, wasn't a tattoo but a Demon Slayer Mark!

However, even if they were all Hashira, those who stood above all the Demon Slayer Corps, they didn't know what the Demon Slayer Mark was, but when they heard Kagaya's explanation, they were dumbfounded.

"During the Sengoku era, there were some swordsmen of the first breath who were one step away from ending Kibutsuji Muzan. They all had marks that resembled the demon crests."

"—?!"

"Then, that red spider lily's mark on his neck is...?"

"Yes." Kagaya nodded. "Even if my vision might have deteriorated, I am not sure that Iinuma-kun possesses the Demon Slayer Mark." He even confirmed when, according to Kanae, the red spider lily mark on his neck appeared after he mastered Flower Breathing. "This knowledge has passed down thought, so some people should know about this."

"But why haven't we heard it? So why are we hiding this information?"

All the Hashira were confused since instead of them, a stranger they didn't know mastered such a mark, which made them speechless and also annoyed by their powerlessness.

"Because a lot of people brooding over the marks never appear, and that's why a lot of information about marks becomes hazy with time. Maybe because it was never laid out on the stone back then, the Demon Slayer Corps was also on the verge of annihilation countless times, so perhaps the succession died out at some point.

"But we do have one piece of consistent knowledge about them: "Once one person has a mark on them, it starts to spread to others, as if they are resonating." That was how one of the swordsmen of the first breath put it. As of now, the first person who had that mark wasn't any Hashiras here, but Isao Iinuma-kun."

When Kagaya finished his story, everyone fell into silence.

"Why...? Why did he refuse to join the Demon Slayer Corps when he had so much power?!"

All of them had a sad background, and most of them also had their future ruined due to the demons, so the flame of hatred in their hearts toward the demons would never be extinguished.

However, if not, then it would be good news for everyone since if they could defeat Isao, then that meant the demon was weak, and they had a chance to defeat the demon!

"Amane."

Still, Kagaya thought he should prepare a backup plan in case he failed.

"Yes."

Amane Ubuyashiki, who had been staying by her husband's side, talked for the first time.

"Try to invite him no matter what the method is."

"Yes."

To defeat Muzan and eradicate all the demons in this world.

This was the obsession of the Ubuyashiki family and the Demon Slayer Corps, and to do that, they were ready to do anything.

Meanwhile, Isao wasn't sure what everyone was planning to do, and he didn't even plan to eavesdrop on them since it was a waste of their time. However, even if he knew nothing, he could tell that tomorrow, when he was going to leave, he would encounter a troublesome situation. Yet, it didn't matter since this was what he wished for.

Conflict has always been the fastest way for one to grow.

Isao didn't hate conflict and loved it much since it gave him a chance to give those brainless idiots a chance to grow their brains.

As a kind and gentle person, it was his duty to teach them so that next time, they wouldn't die.

Still, he had to say, living during the Taisho period gave him a unique feeling, and while the thought of getting stronger by replicating and absorbing the DNA of Demon Slayer Corps and demons excited him, the thought of dominating this world was even more interesting.

Isao felt like he was playing a game, building something small, then becoming a hegemony that controlled the entire universe, but before that, he was going to sleep, resting like a baby, so it would give him the power to work for his ambition.

Only when he was about to rest, ready to prepare for his first steps on his journey to dominance, was the door of his room knocked.

"Who?"

The sliding door was opened slowly, and Kanae poked her head inside with a shy smile.

"Have you fallen asleep yet, Isao-kun?"

A wild Kanae appeared in front of his room tonight.