91: Missing

As Eriri and Shiyu unconsciously stepped across the boundary of the block shrouded by the barrier, it felt as if they had crossed an invisible dividing line. The subtle, almost imperceptible stagnation in the air vanished instantly, replaced by the hustle and bustle of an ordinary street.

Eriri blinked, her long eyelashes trembling slightly. A brief moment of confusion flickered through her deep blue eyes before they regained their usual liveliness. She looked around in bewilderment, then turned to Shiyu, who had also come to a stop beside her.

“Huh? Kasumigaoka, how did we end up here?” She tilted her head, her long blonde hair sliding down her shoulder. “Didn't we agree to go... to go...” She tried hard to remember, but her plans for after school were now just a blur, leaving only a hazy impression that there had been “some kind of arrangement.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha rested her slender fingers lightly against her chin, a rare look of confusion flashing in her sharp burgundy eyes. She was always meticulous in her thinking, but right now, her memory of why she was with Eriri at a location so far off their usual route felt as if a segment had been precisely cut out, the connection point so smooth it was unsettling. She tried to catch any suspicious fragments, but felt only a subtle sense of calm, as if everything was exactly as it should be.

“Strange...” Shiyu murmured under her breath, her brow furrowing slightly. “It seems... there was nothing special.” This memory gap was unusual in itself, but some power made her subconscious accept this “blank space,” preventing even the thought of investigating further.

The young man's snap of his fingers, that corner, that mysterious wealthy district, their two-week-long tailing of Aki Tomoya, and that moment of intense frustration and curiosity... everything was like mist scattered by the wind, completely erased from their minds without leaving a trace.

“Ah! Forget it, forget it, I probably just remembered wrong!” Eriri quickly gave up on overthinking it, habitually tossing her twin tails. “Well, I'm heading this way then! See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Shiyu nodded, watching Eriri turn and walk away.

The two parted at the intersection, just like any other ordinary afternoon after school. Their figures blended into the crowd, as if everything had returned to its proper track.

Meanwhile, deep within the Eternal Paradise Faith.

Aki Tomoya stood at the front of the believers, his emotions still slightly swaying from the close encounter with the cult leader. Even with his usual pickiness toward anything outside of 2D characters, he had to admit—this leader who called himself Doma radiated an indescribable, almost demonic charm.

His words were like lukewarm spring water, always flowing precisely into the softest or most tired corners of one's heart. He never spoke of abstract doctrines; instead, he smiled and perceived every worry and pain. With a transcendent yet compassionate posture, he bestowed the most direct and thorough “solace”—just let go, no need to force yourself, paradise is right before your eyes. The wariness in Aki Tomoya's heart quietly dissolved without him noticing, and he even began to feel a faint sense of belonging.

At this moment, he felt the special honor of being “chosen.” He and three other believers had been personally named by Doma and summoned to the front of that magnificently decorated high platform. At such a close distance, he could clearly see the shimmering light in the leader's rainbow-colored, crystalline eyes, and feel the reassuring yet addictive aura radiating from beneath that compassionate smile.

Below the stage, nearly a hundred believers who had not received this “honor” focused their gazes squarely on the four of them. In those eyes was a mix of blatant envy, sincere blessings, and a trace of... hard-to-capture longing. It was as if being able to approach the leader and listen to his more private teachings was the ultimate blessing in itself.

Doma’s gaze slowly swept over the four people in front of him, finally lingering on Aki Tomoya for an imperceptible moment longer. Deep within those rainbow-colored eyes, a flash of playfulness, as if looking at a novel toy, flickered by. But on the surface, he remained that flawless, compassionate guide.

“To be chosen is due to the karmic bond between you and paradise.” His voice was gentle yet extremely penetrating, echoing in the silent hall. “Then, let us begin... the true ‘purification’ and ‘sublimation’.”

Doma stared playfully at the four of them. The spiritual light they emitted, so different from ordinary people, was as clear as fireflies in the night. With a wave of his hand, a colorless and odorless gas quietly filled the entire hall. The ordinary believers who inhaled it soon became glazed-eyed, falling into a collective hallucination. Although Aki Tomoya inhaled a small amount, the spiritual energy in his body automatically surged, dispelling the haze and making him suddenly realize something was wrong!

Almost simultaneously, those bizarre eyes locked onto him with precision.

“The four of you are all exceptionally gifted. Please follow me. True paradise is not to be found here.” Doma’s words carried an air of unquestionable authority.

The four of them felt a chill in their hearts, inwardly wary of what this leader intended to do. They followed closely behind. Aki Tomoya suppressed his surging doubts—he still couldn't see through the true nature of the person before him.

They were led to another, more secluded hall. The furnishings were no different from before, but because the space was slightly smaller, it felt even more luxurious. A thicker, strange fragrance filled the air, as if deliberately trying to cover something up. Aki Tomoya instinctively looked around, but still couldn't see anything out of place.

When he met those rainbow eyes again, his heart jolted—this time, he clearly saw that on the irises of the left and right eyes, the words “Upper Rank” and “Two” were engraved!

“You are lucky; you are not on my menu.” Doma’s voice still carried a smile, yet it betrayed a non-human coldness. “However, Lord Muzan is quite interested in extraordinary people like you. Welcome... to our family.”

The playful smile on the corner of Doma's mouth didn't fade in the slightest. In his eyes, the “scent” radiating from these four was far too distinct. Infiltration? What a laughable method. However, this way, the “materials” Lord Muzan needed had delivered themselves to the door.

Alarm bells rang in Aki Tomoya's heart. Suppressing his unease, he asked, “Lord Doma, what do you mean by that?”

Doma tilted his head slightly, his smile carrying a playfulness as if looking down at ants. “Ara? What a foolish question.”

Before he could finish his sentence, the faces of the other three had already darkened. One of them barked, “Idiot, we’re exposed. This guy is completely wrong!”

Aki Tomoya looked at them in shock. “You guys... are also from the Department Headquarters?”

The three of them furrowed their brows and ignored his question. Their muscles tensed as they entered a combat-ready state.

Doma’s rainbow eyes immediately lit up with interested light, as if he had discovered a new toy. “Oh? What a pleasant surprise. You're actually from the official organization.”

“Since you already know our identity,” the lead investigator said in a cold, hard voice, “then let us leave.”

Doma acted as if he had heard a joke, covering the corner of his mouth with a golden folding fan. “You are also a foolish person. Since I already know your identity, how could I... possibly let you go?”

“Move!”

Before the lead investigator’s voice had even faded, his figure moved like a ghost. His fists, wrapped in spiritual energy, struck out directly.

Doma simply tilted his head. As his golden folding fan opened and closed, a blast of bone-chilling cold accurately struck the joints of the four men—the speed was faster than the eye could track.

A crisp crack of misaligned bones came from the lead investigator’s wrist. Another person had only finished half of his hand seal when a sudden pain hit his ribs, causing his condensed spiritual energy to instantly dissipate. The third person tried to retreat, but the cold had already invaded his knee, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees.

Aki Tomoya only had time to turn sideways before a bone-chilling force penetrated his shoulder blade. His entire arm instantly lost sensation, and the spiritual energy flowing through his body came to a screeching halt as if it had hit an ice wall.

In the blink of an eye, all four had been subdued, collapsing to the ground. Doma looked down at them, his rainbow eyes showing no emotion.

“Nice look in your eyes,” he chuckled. “Unfortunately, your strength isn't enough to support your mission.”

He did not strike to kill. Just then, the desolate sound of a biwa string rang out without warning in the empty hall.

Zheng—!

The wooden floor beneath their feet vanished like a phantom, and the structure of the space was completely overturned in an instant. A sudden sense of weightlessness hit them. Doma, Aki Tomoya, and the other four fell together toward the abruptly appearing, infinitely extending maze of Japanese-style pavilions below.

The Infinity Castle had swallowed them all.

At this time, the companions waiting outside the wealthy district to provide backup did not know that the four investigators they had sent had been completely exposed from the moment they stepped into the target area.

The gap in strength between the two sides was like a difference in dimensions, such that they were all subdued in an instant before they could put up any effective resistance. An investigation that had been meticulously planned had quietly ended at the same time it began.

Three days of silence were like a bucket of ice water gradually chilling to the bone, finally waking the Special Affairs Department, which had still harbored a sliver of hope. No intelligence, no traces. The four investigators who had entered the restricted area, along with Aki Tomoya, seemed to have been completely swallowed by that region. An alarm suddenly blared internally—they had lost all contact!

The Special Affairs Department's reaction was swift and blunt. In an instant, the Rapid Response Force, the Demon Slayer Corps, and all available forces flooded into the area, launching a high-intensity investigation. But all efforts were like a stone sinking into the ocean; Aki Tomoya and the other three had seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a group of ignorant ordinary believers. Just as the investigation hit a stalemate, a cleverly hidden corner was breached, and the scene before them made their spines go cold: over a dozen young female corpses were piled up, their bodies gnawed into fragments—they were the girls who had gone missing one after another recently.

“It’s the scent of a Demon!”

A member of the Special Action Group Against Demons (Demon Slayer Corps) was the first to shout out sternly. They were exceptionally sensitive to this unique scent originating from evil demons, a mixture of blood and decay.

Even though the scene had been deliberately cleaned, the faint, lingering residue in the air still couldn't escape their perception—like a drop of ink dripped into clear water; although it had diffused and faded, its cold and filthy nature had nowhere to hide from their sharp senses.

The high-ranking officials of the Special Affairs Department understood the unconventional nature of the situation the moment they received the field report. Without any hesitation, an order was issued directly from the command center:

“Upon assessment, this incident is classified as a ‘Demon Hazard.’ The ‘Special Action Group Against Demons’ is authorized with full command. All other groups within the Department are to follow their orders effective immediately.”