[The Defiant Demon: Weak? Haha, you'll need a better method than provocation if you want to get information out of me ~]
Unlike many people from his past life, Doma didn't underestimate Sukuna's strategic mind.
The cursed spirit from the Heian era wasn't just pure arrogance, despite what he liked to project.
The ice demon assessed the mindset of the king of curses as similar to his own in several ways.
As a curse, Sukuna embodied one or more negative emotions. Yet, the king of curses had demonstrated exceptional control over his twisted nature.
A massive advantage against Sorcerers, who were used to facing cursed spirits driven solely by instinct.
This aspect of cursed spirits was, in fact, the reason for Mahito's defeat, despite being an undeniable genius among his kind in his time.
The ice demon even believed Mahito could have defeated Yuuji and Tôdô that night if he had taken a less aggressive approach during the fight.
'Mahito could have won if the thrill of his true form hadn't overtaken his tactical nature…' he thought.
All these reflections showed just how dangerous Sukuna was, according to the common sense of the world Doma came from.
Unfortunately, this truth was overshadowed by the sheer power and cruel reputation of the king of curses.
Sukuna was potentially the most troublesome opponent Doma could face.
[Ryōmen Sukuna: Oh, a newbie who thinks he's clever, haha.]
Even though it was just text messages, Doma could almost picture the king of curses sneering with a condescending tone.
The group chat's silence didn't last long before Sukuna's next message broke it.
[Ryōmen Sukuna: I'm really curious if you're just ignorant… or if you actually have the strength to back up your words.]
Many might mistake Sukuna's words for curiosity, but Doma read something else in them.
Translation: "I'll try to kill you the next time I see you."
[The Defiant Demon: Haha, you're truly an interesting one ~ I can't wait to taste Sukuna-san's power.]
Doma didn't back down from the challenge the king of curses had just thrown at him.
Was it arrogance? No.
Like Gojo Satoru before him, Doma had confidence in his strength and training.
So why would he back down?
'I don't know if Sukuna has already taken Megumi's body and Mahoraga, but no matter…' he thought, as the room around him grew colder.
He felt a rare emotion for this era: the desire to fight.
"Against my ice, even the world will eventually come to a halt," he muttered, as a name surfaced in his mind: Absolute Zero.
The temperature at which all things cease to move, where the world remains suspended under the weight of cold.
Doma didn't yet know how his ultimate technique would stack up against Sukuna's Dimensional Cleave, but both, in their own way, could affect the world itself.
"The fruit of nearly a century of training, against the experience of a millennium… hm. Still better than Gojo's measly two decades," he said with a smile, before turning his attention to a name in the group chat.
[Kirei Kotomine: Fights between characters in a story are forbidden… except during a quest themed around betrayal.]
'Interesting… so it's possible to kill a group chat member.'
Doma's multicolored eyes naturally drifted to one name: Kirei Kotomine.
The ice demon had always believed it was better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon.
Thus, if he joined a group, he would always aim to become its leader—or leave sooner or later.
As for his interest in Sukuna? It wasn't a priority.
Kirei Kotomine was deemed by Doma as more dangerous, not only because of the resources he had as an administrator but also because of his world.
Depending on the timeline, Doma might have to deal with Gilgamesh and Cú Chulainn.
A worse outcome than fighting Sukuna and Mahoraga.
'I have too little information and not enough allies in this place,' he concluded mentally.
[The Defiant Demon: "Themed"? Can you explain?]
[Balalaika: Don't waste your time with that fake priest. Just go to the Quest Board option, and you'll find all the essential information.]
Doma was slightly surprised by Balalaika's sudden response, but he decided to follow the criminal woman's advice.
In his life as Jay, he had watched the anime Black Lagoon online.
So, he knew exactly who this woman was: a soldier scarred by war, disillusioned after surviving the hell of Afghanistan.
'She seems to be trying to pull me to her side.' This hypothesis wasn't baseless.
She was the only person Doma could consider ordinary in the group chat.
Of course, Kenta might be in a similar situation depending on the Dandadan timeline, but Balalaika remained consistently in that state.
'I was just thinking about an army of advanced rifles infused with wisteria.' The idea of using the breathing technique "Democracy" was growing more and more appealing.
The ice demon decided to cooperate with Balalaika privately after analyzing the feasibility of his plan.
"So… the options outside the chat."
Doma opened the Quest Board option.
[Option: Quest Board]
[Description: You can select a scenario of your choice, ranging from Easy to Hard.
Beyond the difficulty level, you can also choose a theme related to the scenario to attract "patrons" on the Live Stream option and earn bonuses beyond system points.]
[Note: System Points can be used to trade items with other group chat members, travel to other worlds outside of missions, bring back people or artifacts, and much more.]
[Warning: Any item or knowledge brought back from another world without going through the System might not function if the laws of the original world are too different.]
'Interesting. This System is different from anything Jay knows about group chats,'he thought as he read the options.
The Quest Board was already innovative, but the Live Stream option intrigued him greatly due to its mention in another option.
[Option: Live Stream]
[Description: Allows the MEDIA company to obtain your "content" and broadcast it across the multiverse to alleviate the boredom of "beings" capable of perceiving causality.]
[Group chat members can also view your content unless you choose to censor it.]
[Warning: You cannot censor content for entities capable of seeing causality in the scenario.]
[Warning: Entities observing the scenario may choose to assign you a quest, provided it doesn't stray too far from your theme.]
[Warning: Some quests given by these entities are non-negotiable, as they have heavily invested in MEDIA.]
Beyond the Group Chat, Live Stream, and Quest Board options, the other options like Inventory, Map, System AI, and Trade were locked.
Doma needed System Points to access them.
[The Defiant Demon: Uh… why do I have zero System Points, and almost all the options are locked?]
[Kirei Kotomine (Storyteller): That's because you haven't completed any quests yet, like Kinta and Balalaika.]
Kirei's words stated the obvious, but Doma's question wasn't exactly about that.
[The Defiant Demon: No… haha, I meant, don't I get any starting points as a beginner ~?]
[Ryōmen Sukuna: And then what? You want us to hold your hand through a quest? Haha, pathetic. I thought you were different for a moment, but… forget it.]
[Ryōmen Sukuna has left the chat…]
[The Defiant Demon: Wait a minute… did he just get the last word? Damn it, now I really want to eat him.]
Doma wasn't joking.
Like Kokushibo, he had developed a habit of eating his opponents after winning a duel.
This habit stemmed from the reckless behavior of Muzan's demons.
Those creatures had noticed that Doma struggled to kill promising demons.
Why? Because it would be a waste.
After noticing this aspect of Doma's personality, the lower moons began challenging him frequently.
So Doma decided to be harsher.
"Honestly, I didn't plan on eating Sukuna, but things are different now."
Doma was a sore loser, and Sukuna had dared to win in a war of words.
He was determined to win the physical confrontation.
[Laios: If you're going to eat him… could I have a piece?]
[Doma: Me too ~]
[Kirei Kotomine (Storyteller): ….]
[Balalaika: …]
[The Void: This group is really… unique?]
[Kuvira: Unique? There are literally four man-eaters here and a pseudo-religious guy picking dangerous scenarios for our quest boards *sigh*]
[Kuvira: I'd almost suspect Mr. Kirei enjoys watching the group chat members suffer and despair.]
[Kirei Kotomine (Storyteller): Hm… your accusations are baseless, Miss Kuvira.]
The administrator lied without batting an eye, but the best lies always contain a grain of truth.
[Kirei Kotomine (Storyteller): I'm merely the storyteller of this group chat. The quest scenarios are based on the nature of this group chat.]
The storyteller's words were true, but Kirei didn't mention that he could file a complaint if a scenario was deemed too extreme for their theme.
The man of faith simply enjoyed watching people despair over earning System Points.
[The Defiant Demon: Oh… I understand now why there are so many apocalyptic story quests on the board.]
[Kenta: Y-you're looking at the quests? But you just got here!]
All the group chat members thought like Kenta, but Doma saw things differently.
He was strong and had time to spare right now. So… why not face unique enemies and try to gain some advantages?
As for Muzan? The demon ancestor would likely notice the break in their connection due to dimensional travel, but Doma wasn't worried.
He already knew the method to escape Muzan, and the latter wouldn't recklessly attack his home in his absence.
After all, Doma had been loyal for decades.
Muzan would likely assume he died at the hands of a demon slayer, so the idea of another Tamayo was unthinkable in his mind.
Especially since Doma had never shown any emotions tied to rebellion or a desire for freedom.
That's why the ice demon gathered plenty of medicinal herbs while scrolling through the available quests.
Finally, one quest caught his attention on the Quest Board.
[Quest: Ragnarok]
[Difficulty Level: B+ to ~S-]
[Description: The current situation in the Valkyrie Apocalypse scenario is deemed "uninteresting" by the beings observing causality.]
[Quest Objective: Make Ragnarok… interesting.]
[Failure: Humanity widens the gap against the gods too easily.]
[Reward: The number of System Points depends on your achievements, but the presence of patrons is guaranteed.]
"Okay, I'll need to leave a letter to reassure Rin since I'm taking the quest on Hard mode," Doma thought as he prepared Tamayo's remedy.
The Easy level of a quest allows the System to interfere with the world to balance things out.
In simple terms: if Doma can't see a cursed spirit due to his lack of cursed energy, it won't be an issue.
The System will use the supernatural energy (his blood) that the demon employs for his Blood Demon Art to make the impossible possible.
Of course, time remains frozen in his original world during the quest's execution.
In contrast, the Normal level removes this balancing logic, making the situation more realistic.
However, time still remains frozen in the group chat member's original world.
As for the Hard level? The time synchronization is disabled during its use.
Time flows normally, and the balancing of forces no longer applies.
The Hell level renders the System unusable, except for the Live Stream option, during the quest.
"It's time to drink and be free ~"
…
Somewhere in the Infinity Castle, a woman stared at her scientific tools without much motivation.
That person was none other than Muzan Kibutsuji.
Since Enmu had shown her his deepest dream, Muzan no longer worked as fervently on finding a way to conquer the sun.
Now, the goal of devouring a demon who had overcome the sun or finding the Blue Spider Lily no longer felt as urgent.
The demon king was questioning herself… and the death of her mother, after hearing Doma's words to Mori and Gyutaro.
The demon king's gaze seemed lost in thought… but it didn't last.
Suddenly, she stood up.
The aura around her became a mix of madness, murderous pressure, rage, disappointment, but also determination.
"Nakime! Bring me Kokushibo, Akaza, Hantengu, Enmu, and Gyutaro immediately!"
No one knew at that moment that the Demon Slayer Corps was about to enter one of the darkest periods in its history.
Why?
Because a certain ice demon had decided he had too much time to waste.
…
Author's Note: The chapters will be longer due to my desire to keep developing the Demon Slayer side of the story after Doma's temporary departure.
After all, there have to be some deaths… cough… I mean, some character development.