Gotoh was visibly stunned.
He lowered his head, staring blankly at Roy, his first thought being whether he had misheard.
'Me... Netero... Heavens above, how did the young master even link those two names together?'
The young butler fell completely silent.
"What? Scared?"
Roy scooped a spoonful of bird's nest soup into his mouth, looking at him with a smile. "If you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes. When you're ready, I'll personally back you up."
Gotoh swallowed hard. Seeming to finally snap out of his daze and realizing Roy wasn't joking, he eventually replied, "Understood."
His feelings were complicated. He had never expected the day he would 'die for the young master' to arrive so quickly and suddenly.
"Don't look so gloomy." Noticing the butler's depressed state, Roy expressionlessly took a bite of a baguette, chewing it with a loud crunch. "Before you're ready, I'll set an example for you and force out all of his trump cards."
Including the 100-Type Guanyin, the Zero Hand, and perhaps even... whatever else he had.
"Huh?" Gotoh was taken aback again. "I thought..."
"You thought what?" Roy rolled his eyes, voicing the butler's inner thoughts. "You thought I was telling you to throw your life away?"
Gotoh lowered his head without a word. His silence said it all.
Roy ignored his reaction and continued, "I told you to take him on, which means surviving and defeating him fair and square. Do you understand?"
"You overestimate me, Young Master..."
"I'm not overestimating or underestimating anyone. I'm just stating a fact." The boy finished his porridge, pulled out a tissue, and slowly wiped his mouth. He looked up at Gotoh seriously. "You just need to remember this mission. As for whether it's possible or not... that's my job."
"Young Master, I—"
"Stop right there."
"Yes."
The young butler hesitated to speak further, then cleared the table and left.
The dining cart rumbled as it rolled down the stone corridor. It had been heavy when it arrived and light when it left, much like Gotoh's mood—light upon arrival, heavy upon departure. His retreating back was filled with hesitation.
Roy pushed back his chair, stood up, and strode over to the desk. Sitting down, he quietly watched Gotoh leave through the bright window. Even without using [En] or controlling his [Heart Bugs], he knew exactly what the young butler was thinking. He was simply worried that he wouldn't be able to defeat Netero and would end up disappointing him. As for his own life...
Perhaps, from the moment Gotoh established his [Vow and Limitation], willing to throw his life away just to buy Roy time to escape, he had already tied his life to a thread.
Such a person... such loyalty... could not be let down. With a few fading footsteps, Gotoh exited the corridor and disappeared from sight.
Roy retracted his gaze, opened a drawer, and took out his grandfather Zigg's notebook. He flipped to the very last page, where a single sentence was clearly written.
[I have always believed that the meaning of life does not lie in a single person, a family, a relationship, or a personal struggle... but in something far nobler. To fight desperately for the shared ideals of a group of people, an organization, or even a nation... only then is a life truly lived.]
He picked up a pen and added a few names beneath that sentence: Great-Grandfather Maha Zoldyck... Grandfather Zigg Zoldyck... Ging Freecss... the mysterious skeleton. Finally, he appended his own name: Roy Zoldyck.
They were all fellow travelers... companions in a certain sense.
A gentle breeze blew past. Roy stopped writing and fell into deep thought. He didn't know what his future held. Would he end up failing like the skeleton, his great-grandfather, or his grandfather Zigg, who was currently struggling somewhere in the Dark Continent? He glanced down at the curse on the back of his hand. With a thought, he released the Golden Crow, letting it dive onto the bed and roll around happily. Then, he opened Gotoh's believer panel and examined it closely.
That cheetah who had once been smashed to death by his father descending from the sky... Let alone comparing him to Netero, even his father, Silva, could probably finish him off with a single punch if he wanted to!
Therefore, to turn the impossible into the possible, setting aside combat experience, Gotoh needed to reach at least a B or even a B+ in his stats to have a chance.
But for Gotoh to reach B+, Roy opened his own panel and took a look. His only stat that had reached B-, his Potential Aura, was clearly far from enough.
"Weak... too weak. I'm weak... and my believers are weak too."
The path to godhood was fraught with difficulties, and the burden was heavy. Fortunately, the long road ahead was not entirely without direction.
Specks of fluorescent light bloomed in his hand. As Roy's Nen surged, several boxes of medicine slowly materialized in his palm. It was the medicine Gotoh had procured specifically to treat Tanjuro's tuberculosis. After a few days of experimentation, he had finally managed to successfully conjure it into his cognitive world through Reverse Conjuration.
Facing the vibrant greenery and the sounds of chirping birds outside the window, the boy narrowed his eyes and said, "It's about time I made a trip back to the Demon Slayer world."
It was to fulfill the promise he had made to Tanjuro, and also... to slay demons. To return a bright, peaceful world and quiet nights to the Demon Slayer universe!
Taking advantage of a short nap to relieve his early morning drowsiness, he drifted into a light sleep. In no time at all, Roy arrived in his cognitive world just like always, spotting the colorful dream channel that symbolized dreams not far ahead.
Two vortexes faintly swirled beside the dream channel. Through them, he could clearly see Vanessa's snake tail and Old Kohler's dog face... eagerly awaiting Roy's summons.
However, it was currently morning, and there was still one day left until their agreed-upon date.
Roy suppressed the urge to pull the two into the dream domain to gather intelligence on the Dark Continent. This time, he didn't linger. He plunged straight into the dream channel, instantly arriving at the azure sea of cognition, and reached out to push open the Demon Slayer Gate adorned with the demon head ornament!
Demon Slayer World.
Infinity Castle.
Muzan had not been doing well lately.
He was confused.
Perplexed.
Terrified. Ever since his encounter with that red-haired boy on the Mugen Train, he had stayed hidden in the Infinity Castle without taking a single step outside, delegating all matters entirely to Doma. He never expected that this Upper Rank Two—someone he had once relied on as his right hand and who, in some aspects, was not inferior to Kokushibo—would bring him nothing but an endless stream of bad news.
"Master, the Demon Slayer Corps has obtained Crimson Swords."
"Master, the Hashira have suddenly grown stronger for some unknown reason. Even without using Breathing Styles, their physical bodies alone can rival the Demonic Moons."
"Master, Gyutaro died in battle... The new Demonic Moons you nurtured were also slain by Gyomei Himejima and the other Hashira."
"I know, I've known all along! Damn it... stop talking!" One day, Muzan finally snapped. He severely scolded Doma and kicked him out!
Yet, what Muzan could never have imagined was that this parting with Doma would turn out to be... their final farewell!
He saw it. That woman with the butterfly hairpiece, wielding a blindingly red Nichirin Sword, sliced off Doma's head with a single strike. She destroyed his heart, dismembered his limbs, and stopped just short of eating his flesh raw... before finally being held back by the rational Giyu Tomioka. Her immense strength, blinding speed, and explosive growth in power... In a daze, it made him feel as if he had returned to that moonlit night, facing Yoriichi once again, trembling in fear!
"What is going on?"
"Michikatsu, how could a mere human woman kill Doma?"
Without awakening a Mark, without using the Transparent World, just her physical body combined with a Breathing Style... and she took out Doma. Muzan Kibutsuji bared his fangs, veins bulging on his forehead. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Kokushibo beside him—his only remaining subordinate, his final shield—waiting for an answer.
However, Kokushibo remained silent. He just stared blankly at the image transmitted by the Eye Demon, watching Shinobu Kocho's near-crazed slaughter of Doma. For the first time in his life, he fell into deep bewilderment.
Indeed, how could she do it? To rival a demon with a human body... wasn't Yoriichi the only one capable of that, with his innate Mark and Transparent World?
Why... why had she, the boy behind her, and the other Hashira who had appeared before—the Flame Hashira, the Serpent Hashira, the Sound Hashira... whatever Hashira they were—suddenly become so much stronger? Why?!
"I would also like to know the answer, Master." Kokushibo, the former Tsugikuni Michikatsu, couldn't help but grip his sword, Kyokokukamusari. He spoke in confusion, "If humans can become this strong relying solely on their flesh, then what was the point of me becoming a demon in the first place?"
Muzan was taken aback, freezing in place.
That was right. If a human's physical body could rival a demon's, then what was the point of the perfect form he had pursued for a thousand years?
Even if he truly found the Blue Spider Lily and successfully walked under the sun, if the result was... still being inferior to humans...
Muzan took a deep breath, feeling suffocated. So suffocated that just thinking about it filled him with despair and terror!
There is great terror in the unknown. The Infinity Castle instantly plunged into an eerie, deathly silence. Seeming to sense their moods, Nakime stopped playing her biwa, burying her face in her hair without a word. A moment later, Muzan suddenly spoke, "At the very least, we possess far longer lifespans than they do."
She plucked a string with a sharp twang, as if parting the clouds and confusion to reveal the bright moon behind them.
Muzan Kibutsuji seemed to have figured something out. He turned his head to Kokushibo and said, "Humans will eventually die of old age, just like Yoriichi did. No matter how strong they become, when the moment of death arrives, they will ultimately be nothing but a handful of dirt. But I, and you..."
"We will live forever... As long as we stay in this Infinity Castle and slowly wait for them to die of old age. Yes, die of old age... that's all we have to do!"
"Old age..." Kokushibo's six eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling. The image of Yoriichi Tsugikuni instantly surfaced in his mind—his fiery red hair, wearing wooden sandals, with a katana hanging at his waist. Unknowingly, that image overlapped with the child he had seen on the Mugen Train, the one named... Kamado Eiichiro. After a long while, he let out a faint sigh. "I hope so..."
With another twang of the biwa...
The Infinity Castle faded into the void and disappeared.
Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Corps' Ubuyashiki estate, in the secluded courtyard hidden within the wisteria forest, another Hashira Meeting was convened following their last parting with Roy.
There was only one topic on the agenda for this meeting—
Hunting Upper Rank One, and the Demon King protected behind him... Muzan Kibutsuji!
"I apologize, Master. I failed to extract any useful information from that guy's mouth." Doma was dead, the newly promoted Demonic Moons were dead, and nearly more than half of the demons had been wiped out. According to the intelligence gathered by the Kakushi, incidents of demons eating humans had become exceedingly rare lately. This was undoubtedly fantastic news for the Demon Slayer Corps, the world, and all the men, women, and children living in it.
For Shinobu Kocho... it was an immensely satisfying journey of revenge!
Unfortunately, Doma's lips were tighter than she had imagined. Or perhaps Muzan Kibutsuji had placed some sort of suggestion on him, directly controlling his life and death, forcing him to remain silent. In short... the path of using Upper Rank Two to find the exact whereabouts of Upper Rank One and Muzan Kibutsuji was completely cut off!
Shinobu Kocho and Giyu Tomioka knelt on one knee, bowing their heads in apology.
With the curse in his body completely eradicated, Ubuyashiki Kagaya had now opened his aura nodes. He was noticeably much healthier and more robust. Not only had his nearly blind eyes regained their sight, but his height and physique had visibly grown taller and sturdier. Consequently, his spirit had become much more gentle and optimistic.
He sat cross-legged on the wooden veranda, accompanied by his wife Amane. His gaze drifted past the Hashira to watch his daughters—Hinaki, Nichika, Kanata, and Kuina—along with his fully recovered son, Kiriya, practicing with wooden swords in the courtyard. They claimed they wanted to learn from the Hashira to repay Lord Eiichiro. Waving his hand, he said gently, "Shinobu, Giyu, please rise."
The current leader of the Demon Slayer Corps had a gentle smile hidden in his eyes. He swept his gaze over Kyojuro, Tengen Uzui, Obanai Iguro, and the other Hashira one by one, chuckling as he said, "I have always believed that Lord Eiichiro would have a way, because he..."
"...is the reason we have this excellent situation before us, and the reason all of you have improved so much... isn't that right?"
With their aura nodes opened and the blessing of divine power, there was now a clear distinction between mortals and gods. The Hashira all nodded in agreement, their eyes uniformly turning toward the empty cushion beside Ubuyashiki Kagaya on the veranda. The person was gone; since their last parting, there had been no trace or news of him. They didn't even know if the Master's Kasugai Crow could find him.
"Namu Amida Butsu. The Master speaks the truth. We should all be grateful to Lord Eiichiro." Striking his prayer beads, Gyomei Himejima chanted a Buddhist invocation from a corner of the veranda. His already towering figure had seemingly grown another inch taller after opening his aura nodes and undergoing body tempering through Nen. Even though he was kneeling, he looked like an iron tower planted under the eaves, filling up the entire wooden veranda.
It wasn't just him. Kyojuro Rengoku, who was the first to convert to the Sun God Cult; Giyu Tomioka, who shared a fellow disciple relationship with Roy; as well as Shinobu Kocho, Obanai Iguro, Tengen Uzui, and the others, had all undergone some degree of change. The moment Roy pushed open the Demon Slayer Gate and re-entered the Demon Slayer world, these changes surged toward him like a flood, transforming into a barrage of system notification sounds.
Instantly overwhelming him!
---------------
##Discount##
Want more chapters? 50+ extra chapters are available on my Patreon:
patreon.com/Hard_Worker