章節 20: Chapter 20

"I'm not dead!"

Doma, who thought he would be killed by the beam of light falling from the sky, looked at the red torii gate on Big Thunder Mountain in the distance with fear.

As the founder of the Eternal Bliss Sect, Doma understood what the torii meant.

A torii gate is erected in front of every shrine, representing the entrance to the divine realm inside the torii.

It is used to distinguish the divine realm, where gods reside, from the secular world of humans.

The existence of the torii gate is to remind visitors that stepping into it means entering the divine realm.

One must not disrespect the gods, or punishment would follow.

"God? Impossible. How can there be a god in this world? Only Master Muzan is the true god of this world!" Doma's colorful pupils gazed fearfully at the huge torii shadow, as if he was facing a natural enemy.

He was well aware of the tricks played by humans at shrines, but he knew that this was something beyond human capabilities.

Was this really a miracle?

Was there truly a god in this world?

---

All the scenes that Doma witnessed appeared in the mind of Muzan Kibutsuji, who was far away in the Infinity Castle, wearing a waiter's suit, playing with glass test tubes and conducting some experiment.

*Click!*

Muzan's previously calm face suddenly had bulging blood vessels. His blood-red aura exploded instantly, his eyes trembling, and the test tube containing his own blood shattered.

"What did Doma see?"

Through the blood connection, all of Doma's memories appeared in Muzan's mind.

A huge beam of light falling from the sky.

The supposedly immortal demon body destroyed by mysterious lightning when exposed to the light, even a demon of the Upper Rank.

After the huge beam of light disappeared, the phantom of the red torii gate lingered for over ten seconds.

"The beam of light from the sky, the lightning that kills demons, and the torii that appears afterward! What's happening?!"

Muzan's bloody pupils trembled, and an unknown fear arose from deep within.

"What is this thing, something that can kill demons besides those demon slayers' Nichirin blades?!"

"Could it be a god? Impossible, absolutely impossible! Otherwise, why hasn't there been a trace of them in over a thousand years?!"

*Click, click, click—*

The blood-colored aura around Muzan trembled, shattering all the glass containers holding his blood samples on the experimental table.

He had lived from the Heian era, 1,200 years ago, to the present.

He had traveled to every corner of this country for over a thousand years, finding no trace of the so-called gods.

Even the so-called Onmyoji clans, who had been around for 1,600 years, were nothing more than tricksters fooling ordinary people.

If gods did exist, he should have been punished a thousand years ago, but he wasn't.

He had lived well up until now.

"We need to find out what this is! I don't care if a few of the Twelve Kizuki die!"

Terrified by the unknown power, Muzan Kibutsuji passed orders to Doma and the surviving demons near Big Thunder Mountain.

---

In less than a minute, the miracle of Big Thunder Mountain disappeared.

At the top of the mountain, in the open space of the abandoned Thunder God Shrine, stood a torii gate emitting an aura of lightning.

Anyone who saw this torii would know that it wasn't something meant to exist in the human world. It seemed like a divine object that had descended from Takamagahara.

"It looks exactly like that huge torii gate, sister!"

The two demon slayer sisters who were originally at the foot of the mountain cautiously went up the mountain, awestruck by the gods' miracle.

They were the first people in the world to see this divine object that seemed to have fallen from Takamagahara to the earth.

"Shinobu, you must not be disrespectful in the gods' divine realm," Butterfly Kanae hurriedly pulled her reckless sister, who was trying to step forward to observe, and quickly held her down as she knelt on the ground, bowing in reverence.

"I apologize, Lord God. My sister and I did not mean to offend your divine power; we only wished to go to the shrine to worship."

After passing through the torii gate, they would have entered the divine realm, but they dared not proceed.

Kanae respectfully pulled her sister to kneel before quickly leaving, her heart pounding rapidly.

She had to hurry and report the news of the gods' miracle to the Master.

If the Demon Slayer Corps could receive the gods' blessing, the disadvantage they faced against demons for a thousand years could be reversed. Perhaps the curse on the Master could be lifted by begging for the gods' mercy.

Soon, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, received the news.

Listening to his wife Amane's account, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's hands trembled with excitement.

"Is it true? Thunder falling from the sky illuminated Big Thunder Mountain, and both sisters saw it? The torii gate in front of the Thunder God Shrine appeared on Big Thunder Mountain?!"

He didn't believe it based on just one letter, but not only did the sisters witness it, so did Kyojuro Rengoku, who was hunting demons nearby.

At the same time, numerous letters arrived from members of the "hidden."

This caused his body to tremble with excitement.

"It's wonderful. After over a thousand years, the gods of the heavens have finally turned their gaze upon this land. It's wonderful!"

Kagaya stood up, and his wife quickly supported him.

"Amane, hurry! We must go to Big Thunder Mountain to build a shrine for the God of Thunder."

"According to Kanae's letter, the portal of the gods has descended there.

There must be a god coming from the divine realm.

The shrine for the God of Thunder was abandoned a hundred years ago.

We must hurry to repair it before the god steps upon this land. Notify the priest family—the rituals for welcoming the gods must be prepared without fail."

"Yes, I understand. The god will surely bless us," Amane nodded.

Her family was a priest family, responsible for the rituals dedicated to Takamagahara's gods.

They knew the arrival of the gods of Takamagahara was no trivial matter.

Their family knew that gods existed.

Otherwise, where did the prophetic dreams of their priest clan come from?

Every generation of the Demon Slayer Ubuyashiki family married a daughter from the priest family, relying on prophetic dreams to help the Demon Slayer Corps seize opportunities for survival in critical moments.

On the night of the miracle, there was an unprecedented commotion throughout the land.

Besides the demon slayers and demons, prominent families from all walks of life, the national shogunate, and ordinary people sought to climb the mountain to kneel and worship the gods.

The priest family supporting the shogunate quickly acted at Big Thunder Mountain, blocking the roads to prevent ordinary people from approaching the mountain.

The God of Thunder was not a wandering deity worshiped by the people but a high god of Takamagahara.

To worship such a god rashly could incur divine wrath.

---

**Teyvat**

**Mt. Yougou**

After the World Gate was established, Raiden Ei had brought the Kamisato siblings to the Narukami Shrine.

"Brothers and sisters of the Kamisato family, I now have a very important task for you," Raiden Ei said, looking at Kamisato Ayato and Kamisato Ayaka.