For any normal person, witnessing monsters slaughtering humans without rhyme or reason would stir anger. Naturally, Ryuji felt the same.
But while angered, he didn't let his emotions override his reason. What surprised him, though, was that Tengen —who had looked on the verge of losing it—managed to remain calm.
"This could be a trap," Tengen said through gritted teeth.
He wasn't saying that out of paranoia—it was precisely his suspicion that made him so furious. Because if this was all orchestrated, it would mean something far worse:
The message they read earlier had been a lie.
The Demon Slayer members hadn't merely fallen. They'd betrayed them. Maybe not by choice—but regardless, their honor and will had been defiled.
From their current behavior, the likelihood of betrayal seemed even stronger.
"Even so, we need to go," Ryuji said, turning the hilt of his greatsword in his hand.
A forest that had transformed so drastically in just a few days couldn't be explained by mere monsters. There had to be a core—some powerful artifact or a source, just like in stories or manga. That "Black Mother" mentioned earlier? She definitely sounded like a final boss.
So why hesitate?
"You don't walk into a tiger's den and expect to come out without the cub," he added, smirking.
As he finished speaking, flames surged around both him and Tengen. The burning sensation was intense, but Tengen, ever the trained ninja, gritted his teeth and bore it. Ryuji, on the other hand, was simply used to it by now.
Together, the two surged forward in the direction the mutated Demon Slayers had gone.
And this time, Ryuji didn't hold back. No more hesitation. No more mercy.
Since these people had already transformed, there was no turning back for them. The most merciful thing he could do now was burn it all down—less ground for the monsters to crawl on.
His dragonfire, mixed with normal flames, rained down across the forest. Wherever it touched, fire spread like a wave. Even the grotesque and otherworldly horrors hiding in the darkness couldn't escape the cleansing blaze.
From above, it looked like flaming wings were cutting across the land. And whether by luck or divine will, the wind stirred—fanning the fires outward but sparing Ryuji and Tengen from suffocating.
"You don't mess around, huh…"
Tengen muttered in awe. While Breathing Techniques could be flashy and powerful, what Ryuji was doing was on another level entirely.
"Can't afford to play nice in enemy territory,"
Ryuji replied, his blade glowing with embers, his senses heightened and sharp.
If he had his way, he'd just call in artillery and flatten the entire area with aerial bombs. These monsters weren't unbeatable—they just hadn't been wiped clean enough.
Of course, this level of destruction would never fly in the modern world. Arson, especially on this scale, would land someone in prison for life.
But this wasn't the modern world. And in this one, as long as he could kill the monsters, he could do no wrong. That was the unspoken truth.
Ryuji felt zero guilt.
"Besides, the less pressure we face, the better."
As golden motes of light gathered from all directions—fragments of World Power released from the monsters he'd burned—Ryuji's expression eased. His eyes scanned the backs of the mutated Demon Slayer members with a hint of calm, almost pity.
Thanks to the firestorm sweeping through the forest, he hardly needed to lift a finger.Each monster that burned away fed his strength. His stamina, nearly drained moments ago, was being steadily restored.
It was clear now—he held the upper hand. And if the final boss wanted to drag this into a battle of attrition? Fine by him. He could fight for days.
But as the flames spread, and the deeper they went the behavior of the mutated demon slayers changed. They moved faster. Far faster. So fast, in fact, that his horse couldn't keep up anymore.
Luckily, their destination revealed itself.
Or more accurately, something so massive and so grotesquely radiant that it was impossible to miss.
A golden chalice.
Nestled at the heart of the corrupted territory, where the Demon Slayers had gathered, it shimmered with pulsing green light—an eerie energy that reeked of rot.
From its form, it looked like a goblet.
Next to it was something Ryuji struggled to define.
The creature bore the lower half of a beautiful woman's face—elegant jaw, luscious lips.But from the upper half of her head, countless arms erupted and twisted into thick, tangled tentacles, forming an almost regal—yet grotesque—hairstyle.
Her lips were inviting. Seductive. That is, until one noticed the rows of needle-thin razor teeth inside.
Her body was that of a voluptuous woman, and he had to admit: if not for everything else, she was almost top-tier—even by the standards of women he'd seen.
But from her chest to her stomach... were more breasts. Dozens, neatly aligned, grotesquely out of place.
Her arms were slender, ending in sharp, wicked claws. But her legs—though shapely—ended in hooves, betraying any illusion of grace.
Surrounding her were ritual tables carved with twisted runes.
On one such table lay a man with flaming hair—naked, his body flayed open, skin peeled back, chest and abdomen torn apart—but he was still alive.
The moment Tengen saw the man's fiery red hair, his eyes widened in horror.
"RENGOKU!!!"
He roared, twin blades drawn, lunging toward the creature to save his comrade—his friend.
But the moment he screamed—
Dozens of violet lasers fired from the creature's hair.
They were so fast that even Ryuji barely had time to react. The thin flame membrane he'd wrapped around Tengen was pierced instantly—and before Tengen could dodge, the beam sliced through his torso.
Blood sprayed into the air. His lower half gone, only his upper body remained, flailing helplessly in the air.
He couldn't even scream.
The lasers didn't stop there. Ryuji was next.
He dove from his horse, just as a beam pierced through its body. Mid-roll, his blade he swung his great sword in retaliation.
With a roar, he unleashed a fire-infused strike.
A wave of dragonfire slashed across the air, slamming into the abomination and setting her aflame. She staggered, tentacles writhing. But she didn't go down.
Without hesitation, Ryuji surged forward, his Observation Haki expanding, tracking every twitch of her body.
But then, the ground erupted.
The mutated Demon Slayers that had vanished earlier suddenly burst from below, lunging toward him.
He didn't dare take them lightly.
One came at him in a blur. Ryuji moved out of the way just in time. The attacker exploded midair.
BOOM!
Its transparent body bursting into a flood of green mucus.
A flood of glowing green mucus surged outward, swallowing the ground where Ryuji had just been.
Without hesitation, Ryuji unleashed his full power.
He called upon everything he had.
A cyclone of dragonfire erupted from his body, spiraling outward in a burning shockwave.
The burst of heat incinerated the mutants that had emerged from below and sent the woman-like monster reeling, nearly knocking her off her feet.
More golden motes of World Power swirled toward him, rapidly restoring his stamina. He moved like a blur, a phantom wreathed in flame, his greatsword blazing with fire.
With his blood energy surging at full capacity, he shot forward and brought his greatsword down on the reeling creature's head.
Her tentacle-hair twisted wildly to block him, but his blade—wreathed in dragonflame—cut through them, drawing a shriek that was both agonizing and… strangely seductive.
Suddenly, Ryuji's vision twisted.
Illusions assaulted him.
The monster disappeared.
In her place stood Shinobu, Rias, and Mai —naked, drenched in flames.
Their bodies were flawless. All flushed in pleasure. Their mouths parted with moans.
They stared at him, eyes hazy with lust. Their moans—soft and rising—matched the wail that had just left the monster's throat.
Even the scream from earlier now sounded unmistakably like—
A woman climaxing.
Ryuji's mind wavered.
A haze fell over his thoughts.
But the constant burning torment of his own flames—his very method of survival—never ceased.It tore him back to reality.
His eyes snapped open.
The illusions shattered like glass.
And in that instant, the monster-woman leapt, her razor-sharp claws aiming straight for Ryuji's skull—through the heart of the firestorm.
If he hesitated for even one second, her claws would've skewered his head clean through.
But he didn't.
Ryuji thrust his greatsword forward, pouring every last ounce of his power into that one desperate strike.
Flames surged. Blood surged. Magic surged.
Even the forbidden lightning technique from Azula's—one he had never dared to use—exploded to life.
The blazing fire turned white-hot. Crackling electricity danced within it.
The blade—supercharged with brutal strength—pierced straight through the monster's chest, right between those pale, massive breasts.
The moment they were shredded apart, a wave of deep sorrow and pain slammed into Ryuji's heart. It was so raw, so visceral, it nearly crushed his will to fight.
Her body…Though soft and supple like a young girls, it was tougher than steel. If it weren't for his dragonfire, he doubted the swords of the Demon Slayers could have pierced her at all.
But even so—the dragonfire won.
He twisted his blade, dragging it sideways and tearing through half her body with sheer force.
"Don't underestimate me!!"
Dragonfire erupted from his body in constant jets—a walking furnace, an erupting volcano. Nothing alive could approach. Nothing… except her.
Only this aberration, protected by a perverse World Power, could survive in the furnace that was Ryuji's wrath.
Her skin could resist his flames. But her insides couldn't.
As the sword split her open, it was like slicing into a tank of jet fuel—she exploded.
Ryuji saw it all: her intestines, her organs—disintegrated instantly in the roaring heat.
But then…
From the charred cavity that should've meant death, something burst forth.
The place where life should've formed—it detonated, vomiting forth thousands of wriggling worms.
Each one had a miniature version of her face and a set of razor-sharp mandibles. Their mass far outstripped the monster's original body.
They screeched.
They swarmed.
But they never reached him.
The dragonfire, whose heat bypassed mere conduction, was the ultimate weapon.Each worm that flew from the corpse ignited midair and burned to gold-flecked ash.
The swarms disintegrated in the inferno, the sky filled with molten motes of World Power.And finally—the monster collapsed, her seductive body sprawled across the scorched earth.
Her beauty remained even in death.
Her hips, in particular, were so enticing that Ryuji's first instinct… was to wonder if he could "have a go."
But then—
She vanished, dissolving into a blizzard of golden light.
The swelling desire, the haze clouding his mind, that insane instinct to ravage a monster—all of it faded.
And with her death…
The strange fungal carpets that refused to burn, the alien pressure pervading the land—vanished.
The golden motes streamed into his body, healing his overtaxed body, restoring the strength he had spent in his desperate assault.
Some of the golden motes drifted toward the bisected Tengen, and the mangled, sacrificial body of Rengoku.
Bathed in golden radiance, their bodies began to regenerate—bit by bit.
Tengen's condition was better—his face pale, his movements weak, but he could still barely stand.
Rengoku, however...
Even after his body was fully restored, he simply collapsed flat onto the earth, unconscious.
The golden lights came quickly… and vanished just as fast.
Ryuji barely had time to savor the sensation before it faded. What remained—was a massive enhancement.
This boost… it's almost as powerful as the buff I got from the 7 Days to Die world!
He clenched his fist.
A surge of overflowing energy coursed through his limbs. His stamina, strength, and clarity were at their peak.
But that wasn't all.
Just one glance at Tengen—and instinctively, Ryuji could instantly analyze his breathing technique: the rhythm, the rationale, the structure. Not only that, but he instantly conceived of two alternate versions: one customized for Tengen, and another optimized for himself.
And that lightning technique he'd used earlier on impulse? Now, he could remember it clearly—every motion, every flaw, every ounce of wasted energy.
Now he knew exactly how to refine it and how to correctly release that destructive energy.
Ryuji squeezed his hand again.
Even English vocabulary—those frustrating words he could never memorize—now came to him with ease.
Not just memorized—comprehended. As if English were his native tongue.
Even memories from when he was a toddler, fragments of textbooks, faded ink lines, and forgotten scribbles—all came flooding back, sharp and vivid.
"So this… is what it feels like to be a Child of the World?"
He didn't doubt it for a second.
This was the result of concentrated World Power being granted to him—either as a reward for purging a corrupted nest, or as a blessing from the world itself.
Whatever the reason, it was clear: This was a massive cheat buff for someone like him—someone of only average talent.
A training cheat.
Because now… as long as he reviewed or recalled what he'd learned, he could master it with ease.Read something once? It stuck. Understood. Internalized.
"This… this is protagonist-level treatment."
Ryuji couldn't help but smile.
With this, the gap between him and Rias…Between him and the true chosen ones of the world…Would shrink.
But he also realized—it wasn't permanent.
He could feel it.
There was a limit to this boost. And it became apparent when he tried to recall deeper knowledge from the Blood Qi Secret Arts.
The path to becoming a Blood Demon God… or the speculative level of Emperor Blood: Heaven Slayer—
He couldn't comprehend them instantly.
Either the technique itself had a ceiling—only going up to Berserker level unless one possessed the 'Ghost Hand'…
Or this world simply didn't support higher-level blood techniques.
At that moment, Ryuji noticed— that the surrounding scenery had changed.
Dramatically.
The bizarre altar tables and the golden chalice had all vanished— Leaving behind only a single sheet of "paper."
He walked over and picked it up.
But the instant his fingers touched its surface—his senses screamed in alarm.
"This... isn't paper."
It was human skin, or something very close.
Upon it was drawn a six-pointed star—a ritual magic circle.
As he held it, one of the three glowing points on the star dimmed suddenly.The mark above that node? It depicted the image of the monster he had just fought.
The other five nodes each bore a different entity.
—A giant dressed in golden robes, its skin shimmering like starlight.—A massive, pulsing mass of tentacles, twitching grotesquely.—A creature nearly identical to Cthulhu.—A tall three-legged pillar, topped with a giant, warped, grinning mouth.—And finally… a cluster of glowing orbs, suspended like bubbles of light.
Fortunately, only two of the nodes still glowed: the golden giant and the tentacle swarm.
Lines of violet-blue energy extended from each point, stretching toward one another—But none had yet connected.
The line from the creature Ryuji had slain had extended the furthest, almost touching the others—But now, it had gone dark.
"Is this… a map of the monsters? So there are still two of them left in this world…"
He spoke lightly, but deep down, Ryuji knew—He'd gotten lucky.
If not for the unique properties of his Dragonfire, his fate would've been the same as Uzui's:Instantly sliced apart. No resistance, no second chance.
But then again—
"Is Dragon Fire really that powerful…? No…"
He frowned.
"These monsters… they're just fragments. Avatars. Echoes of the real threats that destroyed the 7 Days to Die world."
After all, Dragonfire, no matter how potent, wasn't more destructive than missiles or nuclear weapons. And yet those things had failed to stop the fall of that world.
So either these monsters had entered a weakened state…Or they were weakened echoes.Avatars, not true forms.
"No way my body is just that special and somehow mutated the Dragonfire, right? Hahahaha…"
He laughed.
"Yeah. No way."
Shaking off the absurd thought, Ryuji turned his gaze toward Tengen, who had fallen at the start of the battle—And was only now recovering thanks to the world's mysterious golden light.
Tengen clutched his chest, staggering upright, and slowly made his way toward Ryuji.
"Ryuji… you… took down that monster alone?"
He stared in disbelief.
His eyes wandered across the now-purified battlefield—The once-corrupted terrain now clean, the air no longer thick with malice.
He fell silent.
Because deep down… he knew. He could've dodged that laser. Physically, he was capable.
But he didn't.
The moment he saw the monster… something inside him broke. His desires surged uncontrollably.It wasn't just fear—it was lust, longing, weakness. He saw his wives in her. His mother. His darkest, buried fantasies. It overwhelmed him. Paralyzed him.
And all he could do—was stand there, Frozen—waiting for death to come.
But Ryuji…He withstood all of it.
He resisted, fought back—And destroyed that abomination.
Tengen lowered his gaze.
A storm of shame churned within him.
Then, slowly, he looked up at Ryuji again.
The man who now stood before him, smiling. Unscathed. Serene.
There was something unsettling in that smile. Not arrogance. Not pride.
Just… calm. Peace.
As if the nightmare hadn't even touched him.
And that was what disturbed Tengen the most.
Ryuji… How is he so strong?
How can someone like you even exist?
No. More importantly…
Is he even human?
~~~~~~~~~~
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