Chapter 52: Fighting Fate
The Professor wasn't exaggerating. He truly possessed a special talent—one that went far beyond just being one of [The Chosen]. From the very beginning, [Azure Sky] had recognized his sharp and intuitive understanding of plots across all forms of media. He had a natural gift for it.
The [Blue Spider Lily] was the greatest hidden treasure for any Reincarnator entering this world. If used properly, it could be exchanged for considerable benefits and conveniences from Muzan Kibutsuji. Of course, given Muzan's pathetic nature, using it improperly could also lead to being tortured.
But now, that convenient path had clearly been taken by the two Reincarnators who had joined Muzan's faction. The Professor understood this and immediately initiated his counter-plan.
The unique characteristic of the Blue Spider Lily—that it only blooms during the day—meant that it was impossible for demons to harvest it themselves. Excluding the demons from the equation, Muzan's faction was actually far weaker than the Demon Slayer Corps.
By revealing this information now, the Professor was not only pulling the rug out from under the enemy faction—using the power of the Demon Slayer Corps and the Ubuyashiki Clan to cut off their chance to empower Muzan and gain reputation—but he was also gaining a massive amount of faction reputation for himself.
More importantly, the Professor desperately needed an event to keep the immense combat power of Gyomei Himejima by his side, while also finding a new enemy to divert "Mercenary Tao's" attention. Regardless of whether Kaito's earlier words were a twisted joke or not, the Professor no longer dared to be alone in his vicinity. Since there was such a terrifying monster in his own camp, his only choice was to find an equally tempting target to throw at him.
Kaito Shirogane walked within the group as they marched. It seemed the Demon Slayer Corps had a deep understanding of the local mountains and villages. After a detailed discussion with the Professor, they had already determined a general region. Kaito knew that based on information from the original story, one could estimate the distance between Tanjiro's house and Mt. Sagiri. With the Ubuyashiki family's resources and the Corps' network in the wilderness, it wasn't impossible to pinpoint the location.
By that same logic, if their side could find it, then Muzan Kibutsuji, now backed by the government, could certainly find it too.
This was a race.
And then, Kaito suddenly remembered something. The Nexus's explanation for a [Singularity] was that it was a "special node of destiny, marking a special change that will lead the world down a new branch." When he killed Mercenary Tao, he had triggered a butterfly effect, changing everything that would have happened related to him and thus generating a massive amount of new information for the world. That was why the [Singularity] was so valuable.
But sometimes, the people who have a huge impact on the world aren't necessarily powerful themselves. For example... Tanjiro's family, right now.
"Speaking of which," Kaito said, his voice casual, as if making small talk, "Tanjiro's family is still alive and well right now, aren't they?"
His words seemed to come from nowhere. Kanae Kocho and Gyomei Himejima had no reaction.
But the other Reincarnators in the group were all masters of the game. They instantly understood what Kaito was implying.
Yanagi frowned but said nothing. Elizabeth and Vincent, however, looked incredibly tempted. Elizabeth was already quite satisfied with this mission's rewards; Singularities were rare, and getting one just for killing a corrupt mortal like the Minister of the Left was a huge windfall. Now, hearing this killer suggest another path, she, too, was intrigued. She had often wondered: if you killed a world's protagonist, the Singularity reward must be massive.
Kaito took in all their expressions, though in truth, he had little intention of actually doing it. He knew that if farming [Singularities] were that simple, the item wouldn't be nearly so precious.
He glanced at the Professor. Sure enough, the man's pace had slowed, and his voice once again appeared in their minds—a skill Kaito now assumed was a Spirit-based ability like [Telepathy] or [Mental Scan]. This would also explain why a "reserve member" valued by the powerful [Azure Sky] faction had such weak combat abilities. A Reincarnator specialized in Spirit would be incredibly weak in the early stages when their abilities were still undeveloped.
"I would advise all of you not to entertain that idea," the Professor's voice was cold. "Even you, Mr. Tao, cannot necessarily bear the backlash that such a massive divergence would cause."
"To try and kill the Child of the World is to declare war on the will of the world itself. I can guarantee you that the instant you move to harm Tanjiro, an unimaginable catastrophe will occur."
"Whether it's a master swordsman randomly passing by to save him, or a certain Sun Breathing user who shouldn't even exist in this era suddenly appearing, or even a meteor falling from the sky—none of it would surprise me."
"The weaker a protagonist is in their story, the more powerfully they are protected by the destiny that says they must survive. To fight against fate itself… are you prepared for that, Mr. Tao?"
The Professor's words plunged the group into silence.
Kaito smiled, satisfied. He had gotten the information he wanted. He never planned on doing it anyway. He had killed many people, but it wasn't because he loved killing. He loved the thrill that made his heart pound, the joy of a life-or-death struggle. Slaughtering weak, helpless people offered him nothing. That was just bullying, an act for the weak.
Kaito himself didn't realize it, but at his core, he possessed a terrible, fundamental arrogance. Whether it was choosing to fight Evans the Clown one-on-one instead of calling Inspector Sato, or his thoughts right now... he had an arrogance that looked down on all others from a spiritual height.
The Professor looked back, his eyes under their black frames scanning Kaito with a new meaning. "Mr. Tao. One last piece of information, as a gift."
"In the Infinite Space... we humans from the real world are not the only Reincarnators."
"Legend says there is an organization known as the [Black King's Assembly]. It is a special faction of Reincarnators formed by kings who had their entire worlds stolen from them. Their one and only goal… is to hunt down and kill every Reincarnator who has committed great evil."
Kaito just "tsked" again. His peripheral vision noted that the others hadn't seemed to hear this. It was a private warning meant only for him.
The Black King's Assembly… from his description, it sounds like a team made of powerful plot characters? Interesting…
[Hunter] was pale and trembling, his chest heaving, but he could barely draw any air into his lungs. He stared at the figures in front of him, an overwhelming fear rising in his heart.
"Are you afraid?" a soft, pleasant voice asked. "Don't worry. I won't eat you."
The man had hair as pure and white as platinum blond, and in his rainbow-colored irises, the kanji for [Upper Rank] and [Two] were clearly visible.
Why does a [Paper]-tier Reincarnator like me have to be in this situation?! Damn it!
But if he wanted to live, he had to…
(End of provided text)