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Chapter 186: Marikawa Shizuka Is a Woman Who Could Be My Mother
Suyan stared blankly. He gazed at Akaza, who was kneeling before him, and carefully evaluated the demon. Faced with Akaza's sincere, desperate plea, Suyan couldn't help but wonder. Did he recall his memories from when he was human?
No. In the blink of an eye, Suyan discarded the thought. He shouldn't have. Otherwise, Akaza wouldn't have appeared before him in the first place. Instead, just like in the original story, he would have forcibly suppressed his own regeneration after losing his head and committed suicide. But if he hadn't remembered, why would a warrior seeking the ultimate martial path go to such lengths? It definitely couldn't be for Muzan.
Therefore, Suyan quickly reached a conclusion. Akaza must have fallen into a psychological state known as the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. He knew there were people and events that were incredibly important to him, but he just couldn't picture them clearly. He was lingering on the edge of his memories.
Just one final push away.
"Fine."
Suyan gave a slight nod. A materialized piece of Contract Parchment outlining the trade conditions appeared in his hand, and he tossed it in front of Akaza.
Akaza didn't hesitate. He picked up the parchment and looked it over earnestly. It was hard to say whether he actually knew how to read the words written on it. After all, literacy rates in ancient times were low to begin with. Furthermore, when Akaza was human, he had grown up in poverty and had to resort to stealing to buy medicine for his sick father. Coupled with the fact that he lost his past memories after Muzan turned him into a demon, he didn't exactly look like the studious type.
Fortunately, Nen was an idealism-leaning power. So, even someone completely illiterate could instinctively comprehend the meaning of the contents written on the parchment just by looking at it.
While Akaza was reading the trade conditions, Suyan turned his head to glance at the immobilized Muzan. Inwardly, he secretly felt a surge of relief regarding Akaza's earlier intervention. Thank goodness the demon had charged out when he did. Otherwise, if Suyan had smashed his full-strength punch directly into Muzan's head, there was a high probability Muzan would have died right then and there.
If that had happened, he would have suffered a massive loss. Under the effects of Muzan's blood being used to turn people into demons, killing Muzan was tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Only by keeping Muzan alive could he continuously draw his blood. At the very least, he needed to bleed Muzan dry before he died. Even though Tamayo had died before fulfilling her trade conditions, there was still the Contract he made with Yoriichi Tsugikuni—and that one also required him to kill Muzan.
"I accept. I agree..."
Suddenly, Akaza's voice rang in Suyan's ears, snapping him out of his thoughts. Suyan shifted his gaze back to Akaza. A ping-pong-ball-sized sphere of light rose from Akaza's body, floated over, and merged directly into Suyan. It was the Blood Demon Art that Akaza possessed.
Akaza had agreed to their trade conditions.
"Then, as you wish."
Seeing this, Suyan confirmed his hypothesis regarding Akaza's condition. Without hesitation, he focused his gaze on the demon in front of him. He found the right angle and direction and tried his best to replicate the exact punch that had blown Akaza's head off during their previous confrontation.
Then, he threw the punch. Akaza's head exploded like a watermelon. Blood splattered in all directions, scattering across the ground.
Instantly.
Ommmm!!!!
In Akaza's perception, the entire world lost all its color, leaving only an intense, ringing drone echoing in his ears.
The next second, the revolving lantern of his memories flashed before his eyes, and scenes from his past began to drift through his mind. His past memories surfaced in his heart, bit by bit. His father, who hung himself because he refused to become a burden; his master, Keizo, who guided him back to the right path when he was lost in despair; and his fiancée, Koyuki, who never despised his criminal past.
Everything. Akaza remembered it all.
No, that was wrong. He wasn't Akaza. His name was Hakuji! Hakuji of the Soryu Dojo!!
"Hakuji!"
Just then, a booming, energetic voice suddenly exploded in his mind. Hakuji jerked his head up. Ahead of him, the figure of a middle-aged man with a sparse beard faintly appeared. The man looked at him with gentle eyes.
"Master Keizo?" Hakuji stood frozen in place, suddenly feeling entirely at a loss for what to do.
"Hakuji." Another beautiful figure wearing a kimono appeared beside Master Keizo and called out to him.
"Koyuki?" Hakuji was completely stunned. The second figure was none other than his former fiancée.
Keizo's figure barked with robust energy, urging him on. "You brat, what are you standing around for? It's time to go."
Immediately after, Koyuki smiled gently. "Hakuji, let's go together. We've been waiting for you for a long time."
"O-Oh, wait for me, I'm coming." Hakuji scratched his head and, discarding all other thoughts, hurriedly ran after them.
At this moment, the demonic visage of Upper Rank 3, Akaza, completely faded away. He reverted back to the young man he once was—the human boy named Hakuji, wearing a white dojo uniform. Soon, Hakuji caught up with the figures of Keizo and Koyuki, and the three of them vanished together into the light.
And all of this transpired entirely within Hakuji's mental world.
In reality.
Suyan stared slightly dumbfounded at the headless corpse that had collapsed and never got back up. Logically speaking, the punch he threw shouldn't have been enough to kill Akaza. Yet, Akaza's body had indeed slowly lost its life force right in front of him.
Fortunately, Suyan could feel that the power he had extracted from Akaza slowly shed its restrictive locks within his body. This meant that his punch had indeed forced the demon to recall his past memories. Otherwise, if Akaza had simply died outright, the Blood Demon Art he just extracted would have vanished along with him.
Somewhat regrettably, from the moment Suyan threw that punch, he had been constantly maintaining the advanced Nen technique, Gyo, in his eyes. He had been trying to catch a glimpse of this world's so-called Heaven and Hell. Unfortunately, he didn't see the souls of Master Keizo and Koyuki waiting for Hakuji. He didn't even see Hakuji's soul emerge from Akaza's corpse.
Suyan shook his head and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He didn't dwell on it too much; as long as the outcome was good, that was enough.
He then turned to glance at Muzan. He discovered that following Akaza's death, the Demon King had fallen into a deep state of existential doubt. However, Suyan didn't hear Muzan emotionally scream Akaza's name the way he did during the Infinity Castle arc in the original story when he sensed his sudden demise. Suyan felt like something was missing, a bit anticlimactic.
After thinking for a moment, he conjured a massive glass cylindrical tank and shoved the doubting Muzan straight inside. Anyone who frequently watched sci-fi movies would probably notice right away. The glass tank Suyan conjured to imprison Muzan looked exactly like the containers typically filled with nutrient fluid to sustain experimental test subjects.
Thud!
The beat of a drum echoed. Marikawa Shizuka stood atop the head of a massive wooden dragon. As the Raijin Drums behind her resounded, the wooden dragon beneath her feet slowly approached Suyan.
Letting out a cute "Heave-ho!", Shizuka hopped down from the dragon's head. Then, the Raijin Drums and the wooden dragon vanished together. Shizuka first glanced at Tamayo's corpse on the ground. She then walked up to Suyan and asked softly, "Little Suyan, what about Miss Tamayo?"
Despite having only known each other for a little over a month, Shizuka had forged a deep friendship with Tamayo. In Shizuka's eyes, even though Suyan didn't seem as interested in Tamayo as she had imagined, Tamayo was undoubtedly a good person. She always tolerated Shizuka's laziness, greeted her warmly every day, and spoke with an incredibly gentle voice. Regarding Tamayo's death, Shizuka also felt a trace of sorrow.
"Yeah," Suyan nodded and replied softly. "She's dead."
His tone was flat, as if the person who died was completely inconsequential. But Shizuka knew very well that Suyan was not a heartless person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown such a furious expression earlier, nearly killing Muzan in a fit of rage. Shizuka was Suyan's first contracted partner, and she had spent more time with him than anyone else. Yet, this was the first time she had ever seen him so angry. Usually, Suyan always wore a calm, unhurried, and exceedingly gentle expression.
A docile lamb?
At the thought of this, Shizuka suddenly couldn't hold it in. She let out a pfft and giggled out loud.
Suyan: "???"
Though he didn't say anything, Suyan looked at Shizuka—who had just been wearing a sorrowful expression a second ago but was now suddenly giggling—with immense confusion, while a strong intuition surged in his heart.
She was definitely talking smack about him in her head.
Suyan poked Shizuka on the cheek and asked, "What's so funny, Shizuka? Mind sharing the joke with me?"
"Huh?" Shizuka nodded instinctively, before quickly realizing her mistake and hurriedly shaking her head.
Suyan: "?"
So, was that a yes or a no? Shizuka quickly explained, "I wasn't thinking about anything."
"Really?" Suyan reached out, gently pinching the soft flesh of her cheek. "I don't believe you. You were definitely talking smack about me in your head just now, weren't you?"
"I was not," Shizuka retorted righteously. If her gaze hadn't been darting around so erratically, refusing to meet his eyes, Suyan might have actually believed her.
Suyan countered, "Take a guess. Do I believe you?"
"I think you should maintain a basic level of trust in me," Shizuka blinked. Then, she reached out, wrapped her arms around his head, and pressed his face into her vast, soft embrace.
Suyan knew. Since Shizuka said it like that, she definitely had a strong argument. Not only did she have an argument, but her argument was also extremely massive. Now Suyan had no choice but to believe her.
Shizuka smiled. This was her fan service, her Anti-Suyan Noble Phantasm. Seeing Suyan immersed in her embrace, Shizuka gently stroked his head, doting on him like a gentle mother comforting her child. She whispered consolingly in his ear, "Miss Tamayo died so suddenly. Little Suyan must be very sad, but it's okay. Because all these days, I've been carefully observing all of Miss Tamayo's research. Whether it's the Humanizing Drug or the Immortality Elixir, as long as you give me time, I can make them all for you. So, it's okay. Little Suyan doesn't need to be sad."
Although Shizuka always acted lazy and was equally saddened by Tamayo's death, when facing Suyan, she tried her best to comfort him and alleviate the sorrow in his heart.
Suyan froze for a moment, then moved his mouth and whispered, "Thank you, Shizuka."
Tamayo's death was certainly worth grieving over, but it was even more important to cherish the people right in front of him. Just as Shizuka said, the Humanizing Drug, the Immortality Elixir, or whatever else... Given enough time, they could always figure it out or find a similar alternative. The Demon Slayer world was only the second world he had traveled to.
The future belonged to them!
Shizuka continued, "So, cheer up, Little Suyan. We still need you."
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