Among the numerous abilities of Kibutsuji Muzan, the progenitor demon, was the ability to sense his progenies. He could sense their presence no matter where they were, he could even communicate telepathically if he wanted.

A few days after he had turned Heito a demon, Muzan observed a presence of another demon close to Heito. The other demon was many times weaker than Heito, so Kibutsuji concluded that Upper Moon Unknown had made a henchman for himself.

Strong demons sometimes do that, they offer the lesser demons a bit of their blood making them powerful in exchange for their loyalty.

Whatever the Upper Unknown did, however he lived, it wasn't worth Muzan's, the progenitor demon, interest. The Upper Unknown had extremely good compatibility with the Demon dna, and Muzan just hoped that he could one day conquer the sun...Until Heito did something.

The curse on that demon broke, he no longer felt a connection with that demon, instead, he sensed his authority and control on the henchman demon getting snatched away by Heito. And after his authority on that demon vanished, he couldn't even sense him anymore.

The upper unknown had dared to usurp his authority on a demon!

Fortunately for Muzan, he could still sense Heito. Right then and there, Muzan tried to kill Heito remotely by ordering his blood inside Heito to explode and disintegrate, but it didn't work!

Even though Muzan could feel the connection with Heito... Even though he could sense the active curse inside Heito... he couldn't kill him!

There was something in Heito that was making it seem like he was in control of Muzan, yet in actuality he wasn't. It was just a facade! Was it a blood art? Just for how long was Heito fooling him? Was it from the beginning?  

It enraged the red-eyed progenitor. The Upper Moon Unknown had turned traitor. He had managed to figure out a way to remove Muzan's authority from the demons' souls...

It was something ruinous, if this Heito could do that for one demon, then he could do the same with many. Greed is something that's present in humans and demons alike. It wouldn't take long until his hunger for power clouds his mind and the thought to usurp Muzan's position comes to his mind... if he forms an army of demons of his own... then it really might become too troublesome.

That was it, the disadvantages of keeping him alive had outgrown the meager chances the upper unknown had of conquering the sun.

Muzan needed to eliminate the Upper Unknown.

And for that purpose, Kibutsuji sent the nearest upper moon to eliminate the 'traitor'.

Akaza.

And yet...

And yet!!

"And yet! You ran away with your tail between your legs! You make excuses that the sun was coming up and that the traitor was almost successful at corrupting you, attempting to free you from my authority. But had you gone all out from the beginning, had you not let your pleasure for the battle cloud your mind, you could have won! You had one job, Akaza!" Muzan crushed the fragile flask containing a dark red mixture with his hands as he berated the upper moon; while the other's head was hung as low as it could, ashamed greatly at his act of cowardice.

The pressure emitted from Muzan's voice lightly disintegrated the flesh of the red-haired demon, causing cracks to appear on his skin, agonizing pain assaulting his whole body.

"Akaza...", Muzan called out the demon's name, and another wave of pain agonized the upper moon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    "Akaza..." Another wave.

"Akaza..." Blood came gurgling out of the stripped face demon's mouth.

"You have disappointed me...", Muzan sighed as he turned to grab another flask from the drawer, "And to think a demon who's not even a moon managed to get a bite of your flesh..." Muzan said, pointing out the moment at which Akaza's hand was scratched by Ryoma's teeth. That was the moment where Akaza truly lost and he knew. Both Akaza and Muzan knew. The secret of how Heito frees the demon from his authority is hidden behind the bite...

Still, that doesn't give an excuse to the upper three who had trained for centuries only to get tricked like that and fall for such obvious traps. "How far have you fallen, Upper Three..."  

Muzan now couldn't sense Upper Unknown, he couldn't feel his 'fake authority' on the traitorous demon anymore. He won't be able to send any other moons toward him unless some demon spots him or he himself shows himself. Kibutsuji sighed.

Having said his piece Kibutsuji resumed his research, "Dismissed."
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[ Several hours earlier... ]

It was noon currently, and the sun was blessing the land with its warm rays. The winter had already passed, the sun's not-so-gentle rays nourished the flora of the earth, and farmers felt delighted at the coming of spring.

In a traditional Japanese house, with a broken wall, inside the hall, a demon with green hair was practicing martial arts moves in the center of the hall. His hands and legs moved with inhumane ferocity as his form switched from one technique to another.  

The hall had all the windows closed, and only a lamp was enlightening the room, that too barely, not that the occupant needed lights to see. All the furniture including the wooden table and couch was shifted to the corner of the room for the hindrance-free practice of the demon.

A while later done with his practice and resting up a bit, the green-haired demon, Ryoma, freshened up himself and then walked to the kitchen.

He turned on the stove, heating some milk in a small pot. He created another set of arms on his sides, using them to stir and beat the instant coffee, sugar, and water in a cup. He beat the mixture till its color lightened and a frothy layer formed on the top. While he did so the milk was already beginning to boil.

He poured the milk into a jar and gave it a good shake until a good creamy froth came on top of the milk, while simultaneously beating the coffee mixture with his new hands,

Finally, he poured the milk into the cup with coffee and stirred it as he poured. As a final touch, he sprinkled some cocoa powder on the top.

Cafe Style Hot Coffee!

Ryoma felt delighted to see the image of coffee in his mind perfectly overlapping with the one he had made. This coffee was one of the beverages his lord had thought him to make. His lord, had directly implanted the memory of the recipe into his mind, which meant he was as proficient at making it as his master.

He was proud to serve his lord to the best of his abilities. Today, after the battle with that Upper Moon, his lord even granted him knowledge of various forms of martial arts, so he wouldn't be as useless as he was this time in the battle next time.

Ryoma walked upstairs and opened the sliding door. His lord's vibrant crystalline blue eyes were shut close right now, but his tensed brows told the demon that he was awake and probably concentrating or thinking about something.

"My lord, in my humble opinion, I don't think you should keep lamenting about the failure of last night. Also, we should move from this place once the sun sets. Kibutsuji Muzan might send more of his subordinates for us.", The green-haired demon came near Arthur, holding a tray of coffee and cookies in his hands.

Arthur wasn't 'lamenting' about the battle with Akaza though, he had already done it. Right now he was configuring the Mental and Astral shield to break all the connection his body and soul had with Muzan.

Listening to Ryoma's voice, Arthur came back to the present. He has to say it, Ryoma has changed... When he was a pure demon, though his tongue had turned polite after a week of torture, his eyes gave a defiant glare, ready to stab him at any chance. His behavior contained a beastly tint.

But now, he looks and acts as if he is the most obedient and loyal butler, serving him for generations.

Wait...

Ryoma's tone and words really do seem that come from a trained servant, even his manners. There is no way the skill changed his personality and instilled polite manners in him. And rather than change in personality it seems more like he was freed from the frantic evil lust that clouded a demon's mind. And is finally... Liberated.

This was too complicated, too many unknowns. To know what actually happened with Ryoma, to know how this undead virus actually affected the demon, to know what kind of effects his Undead Manipulation skill had on Ryoma's mind he needs to start with the most important question.

What's Ryoma's story?

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