Gusion held the Mazuko Blade, its tip lowered. He paused slightly at Gyutaro's words, then shook his head.
"You really are strong. Even though you're a man-eating demon, you still have the belief to protect. The blade you've honed for that purpose—I acknowledge it."
Gyutaro wasn't imagining things; Gusion really had been holding back during their fight. Otherwise, with his current level, empowered by Thunder Breathing and combined with Shunpo, his speed would have completely outclassed Gyutaro.
After all, Thunder Breathing could instantly boost his stats. In his burst state, his attributes weren't much inferior to Gyutaro's, and his combat skills surpassed Gyutaro's. With his speed advantage, if he got serious, he could probably kill Gyutaro within ten moves.
Yet, he still fought Gyutaro for several minutes, brawling from one end of the street to the other, as if it were a fierce battle between equals.
It wasn't that Gusion wanted to insult Gyutaro or that he was being manipulated by some perverse desire to play with his prey longer. Rather, he wanted to see if any more explorers from Muzan's faction would show up.
Today's battle was fought on an information gap. Once the enemy explorers learned of his strength, it would be much harder to find them later.
So, it was best to lure out as many as possible now and kill them in one go to lighten his burden in the future.
After all, he was just one person, and the world was huge. If Muzan's explorers split up to hunt down the Hashira all over the place, he wouldn't have many options.
He fought Gyutaro for a long time, but no new explorers appeared. Gusion felt a bit disappointed.
"Then use your full strength, you bastard who killed my sister!"
Gyutaro roared, charging at Gusion. A spiderweb of cracks appeared on his chest—he was going to self-destruct.
Seeing this, LGusion gave up the idea of fishing for more enemies. He sheathed his sword, lowered his stance, and took a deep breath. Steam burst from between his teeth like a white dragon.
The muscles in his calves swelled suddenly. Amid the thunder's echo and lightning's flash, he became a streak of light piercing the night.
Lightning flashed down the long street, scorching a black trail on the ground. Gusion and Gyutaro passed by each other. In the sky, an ugly head rolled under the moonlight, its eyes full of complex emotion.
Gyutaro was filled with regret. He had failed to protect his sister again. He hated Gusion for killing her but was also grateful for being given a clean end—to be sent to where his sister was.
No, he didn't want to go where his sister went.
He was going to hell, and he hoped his sister could go to heaven.
Thud—
Gyutaro's head hit the ground, landing not far from Gusion. As an Upper Moon, his strength lingered for a moment, allowing him to lock eyes with Gusion.
"Go to hell together with your sister…"
Gusion swung his blade, shaking off the blood.
"…Then, after you've atoned, reincarnate together."
With that, he sheathed his sword and rummaged in his storage space for items he'd bought earlier.
As for whether heaven or hell truly existed in this world, Gusion was almost certain they did. Not just because the original story often showed scenes of the afterlife or spiritual events, but because he himself wielded the power of a Shinigami. When he killed with his Zanpakuto, he had a faint sense of it.
In the Shinigami's world, if a Hollow hadn't done terrible things and was slain by a Zanpakuto, its sins were purified and its soul was sent to the Soul Society to start a new life.
But truly evil ones would have the Gates of Hell open for them, sending them straight to hell.
Gusion felt that, after being brought out into this world, his Zanpakuto was no longer bound by Ōetsu Nimaiya's limitations and retained some of its original properties, functioning in certain worlds.
As for whether Gyutaro or Daki would go to heaven or hell, Gusion wasn't sure. Judging by the feel, Daki would probably go to heaven, while Gyutaro was likely destined for hell.
Daki had no memories from before she became a demon; her sins as a demon should be blamed on Muzan. But Gyutaro had already done bad things before he became a demon, so he was basically bound for hell.
Gusion told Gyutaro those words because, based on the original story, if there really was a place where souls lingered, Daki—Gyutaro's sister, Ume—would surely choose to go with her brother.
"Can…we reincarnate together?"
Gyutaro looked at Gusion, his voice hoarse, feeling as though his soul was about to vanish.
"You will," Gusion lied. He had no idea how reincarnation worked in this world—after all, this wasn't the Shinigami's world, and he was just an amateur Soul Reaper.
"Thank you…"
Gyutaro seemed greatly redeemed, murmured his thanks, and closed his eyes.
After Gyutaro died, Gusion took out a box filled with empty syringes—items he had exchanged for in his room before entering the Demon Slayer world.
The first time you furnish your personal room, it's free. Later changes or additions cost varying amounts of End Coins, but most furniture is cheap—just a few dozen points for a lot.
Besides furniture, food, clothing, and daily necessities can be exchanged for End Coins, all at low prices. Ordinary medical supplies like syringes could also be bought for just 10 End Coins a box, which he stored away.
Knowing he'd be coming to the Demon Slayer world, he had made some preparations. Syringes could be used to collect demon blood, which might help his future plans.
Because he killed demons with his Zanpakuto, their souls would pass on, but their bodies wouldn't disintegrate like being slain with a Nichirin Blade. So he had plenty of time to collect blood afterward.
"He… he won! He beat an Upper Moon!"
"This is the first time in hundreds of years anyone has done that, right?"
"Fighting eight demons alone and wiping them all out—probably even the Stone Hashira couldn't do that!"
On a nearby rooftop, Hinatsuru and the others, having witnessed the battle's end, were full of admiration.
Hinatsuru reacted the fastest, jumping down to Gusion's side to check if the powerful Hashira was injured.
"Lord Gusion, what are you doing?"
Her tone was respectful, but mixed with doubt, because she saw Gusion using syringes on the demon corpses.
She wasn't too surprised the demons' bodies didn't disappear—after all, the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho, used poison to kill demons, who also didn't vanish immediately.
"Don't mind me. Go calm the citizens. Leave the cleanup here to you all."
Gusion had no intention of chatting with Uzui Tengen's wives. Explaining why he was collecting blood would be too troublesome, and besides, his mind was on other things.
After this battle, his side quests had clearly reaped huge rewards. The entire team of explorers seemed to have become Kizuki demons, so the End Space judged them as guaranteed to drop treasure chests.
He'd just made a round, collecting blood and picking up treasure chests.
Since Daki and Gyutaro were counted as two people as Upper Moon Six, only one purple chest dropped after Gyutaro died. But Gusion was satisfied—there were still six Deadman's Chests from the explorers.
Now, he couldn't wait to open the chests. This was the first time since arriving in the End Space, and he was excited.
In addition, when he collected demon blood with the syringes, he triggered a hidden quest.
[Hidden Quest: Tamayo's Research]
Quest: Provide blood samples from the Twelve Kizuki to Tamayo. This will greatly enhance the Demon Slayer Corps' chances of victory. For every new blood sample provided, the quest evaluation increases, affecting the final reward.
Time limit: While in this world
Difficulty: Easy ~ Nightmare
Reward: 5000 End Coins ~ ???
Failure penalty: None