Chapter 252: Earth-Shattering x Demon Slayer Finale (Part 1)
Gotoh was visibly stunned.
He lowered his head and stared blankly at Roy, his first thought being whether he had misheard.
Me... Netero... Heavens, how did the Young Master connect these two names together?
The young butler completely lost his voice.
"What? Are you scared?"
Roy scooped a spoonful of bird's nest soup into his mouth and looked at him with a smile: "If you don't say anything, I will take it as an agreement. When you are ready for that day, I will personally support you."
Gotoh gulped down a mouthful of saliva. Seemingly having finally recovered from his bewilderment, and seeing that Roy was not joking, he finally said, "Alright." With a complex state of mind, he never thought the day of "dying for the Young Master" would come so fast, so suddenly.
"Don't be so gloomy." Noticing the butler's depressed will, Roy expressionlessly took a bite of the baguette, chewing with a crunch, crunch sound: "Before you are ready, I will set an example for you and force out all his trump cards."
Including the "100-Type Guanyin", including the "Zero Hand", and even... whatever else there might be...
"Ah?" Gotoh was stunned again. "I thought..."
"What did you think?" Roy rolled his eyes at him, voicing his inner thoughts: "Thought I was asking you to throw your life away?"
Gotoh lowered his head and remained silent... Silence explained everything...
Roy ignored him and said to himself, "I told you to fight him, I want you to live and defeat him fair and square, you..." "Do you understand?"
"Young Master thinks too highly of me..."
"I am not thinking highly of anyone, nor am I looking down on anyone. I am stating a fact." The boy finished his porridge, pulled out a tissue, and slowly wiped his mouth. He looked up seriously at Gotoh and said, "You only need to remember this mission. As for whether it is possible, that is... my mission."
"Young Master, I..."
"Stop."
The young butler hesitated to speak, cleared the dining table, and went downstairs.
Rumble, rumble... The dining cart's wheels rolled noisily on the stone corridor. Coming was heavy, going was light, just like Gotoh's mood. Coming was light, going was heavy, his back filled with hesitation.
Roy pulled back his chair and stood up. He walked to the desk and sat down. Through the bright window, he quietly watched him walk away. Even without using [En] or driving the [Heart Worm], he could figure out what the young butler was thinking at this moment... Nothing more than worrying that he wouldn't be able to beat Netero and would disappoint him. As for his own life...
Perhaps, from the moment Gotoh set the [Vow and Limitation], willing to discard his life just to buy time for him to escape, it had been constantly tied to his waistband.
Such a person... such loyalty... must not be let down...
Tap... tap... Gotoh exited the corridor and disappeared in the blink of an eye...
Roy withdrew his gaze, opened the drawer, and pulled out his Grandpa Zzigg's notebook. He turned to the last page... where a sentence was clearly written...
[I have always believed that the meaning of life never lies in one person, one family, one relationship, or one struggle... but in a more noble... shared ideal of a group of people, an organization, or even a nation, and fighting desperately for it... only then is a life not lived in vain...]
He took his pen and added a few names below this sentence... Great-Grandfather Maha Zoldyck... Grandpa Zzigg Zoldyck... Ging Freecss... the mysterious skeleton. Finally, he added his own name... Roy Zoldyck.
All fellow travelers. Companions in a certain sense...
A leisurely breeze blew. The pen stopped. Roy fell into deep thought. He didn't know what would happen to him in the future. Would he, like the skeleton, his Great-Grandfather, or his Grandpa Zzigg, who was currently struggling somewhere in the Dark Continent, ultimately end up failing... He looked down at the curse on the back of his hand. With a thought, he released the Golden Crow, letting it dive onto the bed and roll around happily. He then opened Gotoh's believer panel and looked closely...
[Gotoh]
[Loyalty: Overflowing Loyalty]
[Physique: 387 (Note: Ordinary person is 1)]
[Manifested Aura Volume: C- (37,415 / 100,000)]
[Potential Aura Volume: C- (8,649 / 100,000)]
[Evaluation: C- (Ordinary Chimera Ant Squadron Leader level, reference...)]
That leopard that was once smashed to death by his father dropping from the sky with a single punch... Let alone comparing with Netero, even his own father Silva, if he wanted to, could probably... end him with a single punch!
So, to turn the impossible into the possible, excluding combat experience, Gotoh needed to reach at least a B, or even a B+, in "stats" to have a chance... But for Gotoh to reach a B+, Roy opened his own panel and took a glance. His only stat that reached a B-, "Potential Aura Volume", was clearly not enough to look at.
"Weak... too weak... I am weak... my believers are also weak..."
The path of a God is difficult, with heavy responsibilities and a long road ahead... Fortunately, the road ahead is long, but it is not without direction...
Specks of fluorescent light bloomed in his hand. Several boxes of medicine slowly appeared in his palm along with Roy's surging Nen... Those were the medicines Gotoh had found specifically to treat Tanjuro's tuberculosis. After several days of exploration, he could finally use the "De-Conjuration" method to successfully materialize them into his cognitive world. The boy faced the window, looking at the birds singing, flowers blooming, and lush greenery. He narrowed his eyes and said, "It is also time to return to the Demon Slayer world."
Also to fulfill the promise he once made to Tanjuro, and to... kill demons... returning a clear sky and peaceful nights to the Demon Slayer world!
Taking advantage of a short nap to relieve the sleepiness of waking up early, he fell into a deep sleep. In less than a moment, Roy arrived at his cognitive world as usual and saw the colorful dream channel symbolizing "dreams" not far ahead...
[Prompt... Your believer Vanessa Siren has received your "message" and is ready for an audience at any time...]
[Prompt... Your believer Kohler Spencer has received your "message" and is ready for an audience at any time...]
Two vortexes vaguely rotated beside the dream channel. Through the vortexes, one could clearly see Vanessa's snake tail and old Kohler's dog face... urgently waiting for Roy's summons.
However, it was morning now, and there was still one day left until the agreed date.
Roy suppressed the urge to pull the two into the dream domain to gather intelligence on the Dark Continent. This time... he made no stop. He plunged headfirst into the dream channel, instantly arriving at the azure Sea of Cognition. He reached out and pushed open the Demon Slayer Gate with the demon head ornament hanging on it!
Demon Slayer World, Infinity Castle
Muzan had been having a very bad time lately.
He was confused,
Puzzled,
Terrified...
Since parting ways with that red-haired boy on the Infinity Train, he had resided in the Infinity Castle without taking a single step outside, fully entrusting all matters to Doma to handle. Little did he expect... this Upper Rank Two, whom he had once relied upon as his right arm and who was in some aspects no less than Kokushibo, would bring him one piece of bad news after another, without any pause...
"Master, the Demon Slayer Corps has obtained the Crimson Red Nichirin Blade."
"Master, for some unknown reason, the Hashira have suddenly grown stronger. Without even using Breathing Styles, their physical bodies alone can rival the Moons."
"Master, Gyutaro died in battle... The few new Moons you cultivated were also slain by Gyomei Himejima and the other Hashira."
"I know, I have always known! Damn it... stop talking!" One day, Muzan grew furious. He scolded Doma severely and kicked him out!
Yet, what Muzan would never have expected was that this parting with Doma would turn out to be... eternal!
He saw it. That woman with the butterfly hairpin, wielding a blindingly red Nichirin Blade, sliced off Doma's head with a single strike, destroyed his heart, and dismembered his limbs. She was only short of eating his flesh raw... She was finally held back by the rational Giyu Tomioka... Her immense strength, incredible speed, and the leaps and bounds in her capabilities... In a trance, it dragged him back to that moonlit night when he saw Yoriichi, leaving him terrified and trembling!
"What is going on?"
"Michikatsu, why could a woman kill Doma?"
Without activating a Mark, without using the Transparent World, relying solely on her physical body coordinated with Breathing Styles... she finished off Doma. Muzan Kibutsuji bared his fangs, veins popping on his forehead. With red eyes, he glared at Kokushibo beside him, his only subordinate and final barrier, waiting for his answer.
However, Kokushibo remained silent. He just stared blankly at the scene transmitted by the demon's eye, showing Shinobu Kocho's near-madness as she brutally killed Doma. For the first time in his life, he fell into deep confusion...
Yes, why could she do it? With a human body, matching a demon. Wasn't it only Yoriichi... born with a Mark and the Transparent World, who possessed such ability? Why... did she, the boy behind her, and the other Hashira who had appeared before—the Flame Hashira, the Serpent Hashira, the Sound Hashira... whatever Hashira they were—suddenly become so much stronger? Why?!
"I would also like to know the answer, Master." Kokushibo, the former Michikatsu Tsugikuni, involuntarily gripped his sword, Kyokoku Kamusari, and said in confusion, "If humans can become this strong relying on their physical bodies alone, then what was the point of me becoming a demon back then?"
Muzan was stunned, frozen.
Yes, human bodies could already rival demons. Then what was the point of the perfect form he had pursued for a millennium?
Even if he truly found the Blue Spider Lily and successfully walked under the sun, the result... he still wouldn't be able to match humans.
Muzan took a deep breath, feeling suffocated... suffocated to the point that just thinking about it made him feel despair and terror!
There is great terror in the unknown... The Infinity Castle instantly fell into an eerie, deathly silence... Seeming to sense the emotions of the two, Nakime stopped playing her biwa. She buried her face in her hair, remaining completely silent. After a moment, Muzan's voice suddenly broke the silence: "At the very least, we possess far longer lifespans than they do."
A pluck of the biwa string resonated, like brushing away the clouds and confusion to reveal the bright moon behind them...
Muzan Kibutsuji seemed to have figured something out. He turned to Kokushibo and said, "Humans will eventually die of old age, just like Yoriichi back then. No matter how strong they become, when the moment of death arrives, they will ultimately be nothing but a pile of yellow earth. But I, and you,"
"Will live forever... As long as we stay in this Infinity Castle and wait for them to die of old age. Yes, die of old age... that will do!"
"Die of old age..." Kokushibo's six eyes looked upward, staring blankly at the ceiling in a daze. The image of Yoriichi Tsugikuni with his fiery red hair, wearing wooden clogs, and a katana hanging at his waist immediately surfaced in his mind. Unknowingly... it overlapped with the child named... Eiichiro Kamado he saw on the Infinity Train. After a long while, he sighed faintly: "I hope so..."
Twang— another pluck of the biwa...
The Infinity Castle faded into the void and disappeared...
The Demon Slayer Corps
Meanwhile, at the Ubuyashiki clan estate. In that secluded courtyard hidden within the wisteria forest, since parting with Roy last time, another Hashira meeting was convened.
There was only one topic for this meeting:
Hunting down Upper Rank One, and the Demon King he protected in the rear... Muzan Kibutsuji!
"I apologize, Master. I was unable to extract any useful information from that guy's mouth." Doma was dead, the newly promoted Moons were also dead, and the demons had been almost mostly wiped out. According to the intelligence gathered by the Kakushi, incidents of demons eating humans rarely occurred recently. This was undoubtedly great news for the Demon Slayer Corps, for the world, and for all the men, women, and children living in this world.
For Shinobu Kocho... it was an even more deeply satisfying journey of revenge!
Unfortunately, Doma's mouth was tighter than she had imagined. Or perhaps Muzan Kibutsuji had placed some kind of hypnotic suggestion on him, directly controlling his life and death, forcing him to be unable to say anything. In short... the path of using Upper Rank Two to get the exact whereabouts of Upper Rank One and Muzan Kibutsuji was completely cut off!
Shinobu Kocho and Giyu Tomioka knelt on one knee, lowering their heads to ask for forgiveness.
The curse within Kagaya Ubuyashiki's body was completely gone. Now... having opened his aura nodes, he was visibly much sharper and healthier. Not only did his nearly blind eyes regain their sight, but his height and physique had visibly grown a bit taller and stronger. His spirit had also become much gentler and more optimistic... He sat cross-legged in the wooden corridor, accompanied by his wife Amane. His gaze passed over the Hashira, watching his daughters Hinaki, Nichika, Kanata, and Kuina, along with his son Kiriya, who had recovered his health, swinging wooden swords in the courtyard with proper form, saying they wanted to learn from the Hashira to repay Lord Eiichiro. He waved his hand and said warmly, "Shinobu, Giyu, please rise."
This current leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, his eyes hiding a gentle smile, swept over Kyojuro Rengoku, Tengen Uzui, Obanai Iguro, and the other Hashira one by one. He smiled and said, "I have always believed that Lord Eiichiro will have a way, because of him..."
"We have the excellent situation we are in today, and we have the great progress all of you have made... isn't that right?"
With aura nodes opened and "divine power" boosting them, the difference between mortals and gods was drawn... The Hashira nodded in agreement, their eyes uniformly turning to the empty futon beside Kagaya Ubuyashiki under the corridor... The person was gone. Since their last parting, there had been no trace of him, no news... They wondered if the Master's Kasugai Crows could find him...
"Namu Amida Butsu. The Master speaks the truth. We should all thank Lord Eiichiro." With a tap of his alms bowl, in a corner of the corridor, Gyomei Himejima chanted a Buddhist invocation. His already massive figure, since opening his aura nodes and undergoing body tempering with "Nen Aura", seemed to have grown another inch taller... Although kneeling, he looked like an iron tower planted under the eaves, filling the entire wooden corridor...
Not just him, Kyojuro Rengoku who was the first to convert to the "Sun God Cult", Giyu Tomioka who shared a master-disciple relationship with Roy, as well as... Shinobu Kocho, Obanai Iguro, Tengen Uzui, and the others, had all undergone some changes to varying degrees... These changes, the moment Roy pushed open the Demon Slayer Gate and re-entered the Demon Slayer World, surged forth like a torrent in the form of panel prompt sounds...
Instantly drowning him!
☆☆☆
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