"A genius plan—I was just thinking the same thing."
Gamora looked even more confused: "And then? You plan to fight for the Watchmaker's legacy? And then get chopped into human meat salad by that woman called Acheron?"
"Don't be hasty, we can set up tactics—"
"Tactics? Come on." Rocket Raccoon poked his head out from the cockpit. "If you ask me, we should first search for the location of the Duke Inferno's residence. That place was just wiped out by Acheron. There might still be quite a few treasures hidden in the ruins, right?"
"If nothing else, picking up a couple fragments of Duke Inferno wouldn't be bad either. Fetora's fire demon—I've never even heard of this species. Some collectors in the universe with special hobbies might be willing to pay a good price for it. What do you think, Groot?"
Groot: "I am Groot!"
"He says he completely agrees," Rocket Raccoon shrugged. "Besides, we need money… Without money, how are we supposed to go to Penacony? Stelle spent all of Firefly's savings in ten seconds. Who knows how expensive Penacony is? Anyway, the top priority right now is to go to the Duke Inferno's residence first and see if there's anything valuable left behind."
This sounded like a reliable plan, so Gamora nodded.
However… the Destroyer had been staring at the ship's navigation search device for half an hour, and the screen kept spinning in circles.
"Um, but the current problem is, we seem unable to locate the Duke Inferno's residence."
The Destroyer scratched his bald head: "…Does this place really exist?"
——
Jujutsu Kaisen.
"This guy really is stubborn…"
Kenjaku cracked his fingers. "If you can't win, just run. Come back when you can win. Why be so obsessed?"
Kenjaku, who had changed bodies countless times, rested his cheek on one hand and looked down at the oolong tea in his cup. The faint fragrance of the tea rose, adding a touch of warmth to his cold and narrow eyes.
With a "plop," something fell into the tea.
Kenjaku suddenly smelled a faint sweet and fishy scent. He lowered his head and saw that his hand holding the tea had somehow shattered into more than a dozen pieces, with one thumb segment quietly soaking in the tea.
"My hand slipped."
Beside him, Ryomen Sukuna said expressionlessly: "I was aiming for your neck just now."
Kenjaku belatedly touched his own neck and indeed felt a ring of bloodstains—the Sukuna had really tried to kill him just now.
"Umm…" He immediately sucked in a breath of cold air, while also forcing a trace of displeasure onto his face: "Hey hey, isn't it too ruthless to attack your own companion? Did I make you angry?"
"Yeah, what you just said made me very unhappy."
"What I just said?"
Kenjaku frowned, recalled for a moment, and quickly guessed it was his earlier comment about Duke Inferno that had inadvertently angered Sukuna.
In his impression, Sukuna was indifferent to everything and only slightly kinder to Uraume in daily life. Could it be that he actually cared about Duke Inferno? Enough to attack him over it?
Or was it because he hadn't killed anyone for too long and was holding back a ball of anger?
"Alright." Kenjaku shrugged. "Did that just now make your anger subside?"
The part around his wrist had completely shattered. Although it could be restored with Reverse Cursed Technique, the blood had stained his kasaya, and cleaning it would be quite troublesome.
Ryomen Sukuna's face completely darkened. Those scarlet eyes, like glass beads soaked in blood, pressed down with a heavy cursed energy.
"…That depends on whether you can control that unrestrained mouth of yours from now on."
——
["You cannot hide your identity. Draw that blade. We will indeed stay here. We are destined to fight to the death, because I 'chose' to do so."]
[Duke Inferno said solemnly: "[Destruction] is a magnificent moment. If one despicably seeks survival… this life would be too long."]
["Even if the answer… might be your own destruction?" Acheron countered.]
["The answer is not important. What matters is its existence, just as your existence. Everything exists to be destroyed—Emanators are no exception. Even in the void, beautiful dreams can be born. So-called impossible things are merely things that have not yet arrived."]
["..."]
[Acheron took a deep breath: "…Alright, I promise you."]
["You will witness the most brilliant and violent fire in this world. May this blaze illuminate your bottomless dream."]
["Bottomless dream… indeed, but you misunderstood one thing." Acheron said calmly, "This blade remains in its sheath not out of mercy or contempt. It is a secret I am unwilling to show others, but as reciprocity…"]
[Acheron's hand gently rested on the sword guard.]
["…I will be honest with you. [Hunt]… is not the Path I walk."]
[The blade slowly unsheathed—]
[All burning sounds in the Duke Inferno's residence disappeared, leaving only the rustling of falling ashes.]
["May death end your long dream… and lead you back to the waking world."]
——
Demon Slayer.
"Duke Inferno died just like that…"
Inside the Infinity Castle, the lights stretched Kibutsuji Muzan's shadow into distortion. He looked up at the scene of Acheron sheathing her blade, muttering and repeating the words she had just said.
["Hunt"… she is not a [Hunt] Pathstrider… meaning she has no connection to the Galaxy Rangers or the Xianzhou Alliance…]
"Then the source of her power would be—"
Muzan was pondering with his head down when he suddenly thought of something and looked toward Kokushibo, who had not left yet.
"Kokushibo, what do you think?"
Kokushibo's six eyes rotated slightly. He knelt on one knee in a respectful posture: "…Perhaps it is related to [Finality]. However, there is too little information about this Path currently, and it has only made a simple appearance during the Swarm Disaster…"
"Mm, as long as it's not [Hunt], it's fine."
Muzan's face changed to a more relaxed expression. Among all the Paths, what he feared most were the people of the Hunt.
Whether it was the Rangers in the universe or the Xianzhou forces that were very likely to label him as a "Abomination of Abundance," both posed significant threats to him. At first, he had sucked in a breath of cold air thinking Acheron was a Hunt Emanator, but now hearing her say this… that tension eased considerably.
——
[Returning to the depths of the Memokeep.]
[Acheron looked at SAM and said calmly: "…I will still dream."]
["Huh?" SAM was stunned for a moment, but seeing that she did not want to fight anymore, he simply deactivated his firepower as well.]
["Stand down. Your time has not come yet."]
[SAM's voice carried some confusion: "…'My time'?"]
[Acheron nodded: "I have seen many seemingly clever disguises that can cover the exterior but cannot hide the heart. You are no exception."]