Chapter Forty-Nine: A Monster Aboard the Train… And I Don't Mean a Demon!
Enjoy~~~
Today's chapter… I'm trying to speed up the events, by the way!
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A few days after the noisy Hashira meeting, Ren was standing on the station platform, watching the smoke rising from a massive iron beast.
The Mugen Train (the Infinite Train).
"Ren-kun! We must focus completely. This case is critical!" Rengoku Kyojuro said in an extremely serious tone while holding a bento lunch box as if it were a lost treasure map.
Rengoku was wearing his usual Flame haori, his eyes burning with such excessive seriousness that anyone would think he was planning how to defeat Muzan right now.
Ren nodded with equal seriousness, placing his hand on his chin thoughtfully.
"I completely agree, Rengoku-san. A mistake here could lead to a disastrous outcome."
Rengoku leaned closer and whispered sharply.
"So… are you certain about your decision?"
Ren replied in a bone-chilling tone.
"Yes. Grilled salmon bento with radish is the optimal choice. Its flavor balance represents absolute justice."
Rengoku staggered back in shock.
"What?! Ren-kun, I thought you were wiser! Beef simmered in soy sauce is the king! Power, warmth, passion… all of it gathers in that single piece of meat!"
"Rengoku-san, salmon is light. It helps with focus during combat. Beef will make you sleepy. Do you want to fall asleep in the middle of the mission?"
"Umai! (Delicious!)" Rengoku suddenly shouted as he started eating without hesitation. "Even if it makes me sleep, the taste is worth the risk! Umai! Umai! Umai!"
Ren sighed as he looked at him.
"My god… is this really the Hashira I'm supposed to go on my first mission with? People will die while he's shouting 'delicious.'"
Despite saying that, Ren was smiling. He felt foolish, unable to control his smile whenever Rengoku was nearby.
The two boarded the train and sat in their luxurious compartment. While Rengoku continued devouring his meals, Ren leaned back, resting his head against the window, watching the scenery begin to rush past.
"Rina… isn't this strange? Two years ago, I killed Doma (Upper Moon Two) and almost wiped out all the Lower Moons with the help of the Hashira. The future should have changed completely."
[Destiny is a complex entity, Ren. It seems some key events in this world possess 'temporal gravity.' Even if the original demons disappear, replacements will appear, or incidents will repeat at the same time and place.]
"So, we're on the Mugen Train. The demon being targeted is still the same Lower Moon One, Enmu. The scenario insists on moving forward."
Suddenly, the train car shook, and Ren heard a very familiar voice shouting from the corridor.
"Rengoku-saaaaaan! Ren-saaaaaan!"
Ren turned to see the famous trio rushing toward them.
Tanjiro, with the wooden box on his back where Nezuko slept.
Inosuke, trying to ram the train walls with his boar-covered head.
And Zenitsu, who froze in place the moment he saw Ren.
"Oh, Tanjiro!" Rengoku greeted loudly. "You really came! Sit down, there's plenty of bento!"
"Ren-san!" Tanjiro said with a wide, relieved smile. "I'm really glad to see you healthy. When I heard you returned as the Sun Hashira, I couldn't believe my ears!"
Ren smiled arrogantly.
"Believe it, Tanjiro. Miracles happen when I'm around."
While Tanjiro and Inosuke sat down excitedly, Zenitsu remained standing, glaring at Ren with eyes sparking with jealousy.
"Rina… why is this blond kid looking at me like I killed his family?" Ren spoke to Rina telepathically, annoyed.
[Actually, he sees you as an 'enemy of humanity.' Since you woke up at the Butterfly Mansion, girls haven't stopped gathering around you. Even Kochou Shinobu spends hours with you, the three little girls treat you like a prince, and even Aoi smiles at you. To Zenitsu, you're the 'woman thief' who stole all the attention.]
"Huh? Is it my fault for being handsome and charismatic? Damn, life is hard for people like me."
"Oi! You!" Inosuke shouted, jumping onto the seat and pointing his chipped sword at Ren. "Shorty! I still remember how you slammed me into the ground at the Butterfly Mansion! I won't lose this time! Fight me!"
Ren replied coldly.
"Inosuke, if you don't sit down right now, I'll turn that boar skin you're wearing into a rug for my new room."
Inosuke immediately sat down, trembling.
"I-I'm only postponing the fight because I'm hungry!"
Ren turned to Tanjiro and asked with interest.
"By the way, Tanjiro, how is my sister Eiri? Is she still trying to train after I forbade her?"
Tanjiro scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Actually… yes. She used to sneak out at midnight, swinging a tree branch and imagining it was a sword. But after Shinobu-san seriously told her that you would 'hate her' and stop talking to her if you found out she hadn't given it up, she stopped completely."
Ren sighed in relief.
"Good. Shinobu knows how to handle her."
Tanjiro continued.
"Now she spends all her time with her mother, Yumi-san, learning medicine from Shinobu-san and her mother as well. They say she has an incredible memory and can understand herbs very quickly."
Ren smiled with pride.
"A genius doctor, huh? That suits her far better than demon slaying."
After some time of talking and laughing, boredom began to creep in.
"How about some games?" Ren suggested with a mischievous smile. "I have a deck of cards."
Ren slipped his hand into his pocket and, in a movement no one noticed, used the [System Storage] to pull out a modern, high-quality deck of playing cards.
Inosuke refused to play and stuck his head out the window, shouting and enjoying the view, while Tanjiro, Rengoku, and Zenitsu (who intended to crush Ren in the game) gathered around a small table.
As Ren dealt the cards and laughed with them, his eyes weren't fully focused on the game.
In the corner of his vision, a translucent [Mini Map] displayed the entire structure of the train. Green dots represented them, but at the front of the train, a dark purple pulse was slowly expanding.
"So the demon has finally started moving," Ren smiled while playing calmly, completely ignoring Enmu.
After half an hour of playing, Ren suddenly stood up.
"I'll go to the restroom for a moment," Ren said calmly.
"Don't take too long! The game is at its peak!" Rengoku shouted, clutching his cards with childlike enthusiasm.
The moment Ren exited the compartment, his smile vanished. He used [Lightning Steps], a speed technique he had merged from Thunder Breathing techniques and his cursed energy, moving at extreme speed.
He passed through the cars and spotted four pale children carrying strange ropes, heading toward the Hashira's compartment. Leading them was a boy who looked severely ill, coughing constantly, with sunken eyes (tuberculosis).
"Stop right there," Ren said as he suddenly appeared in front of them.
The children panicked and tried to attack with their ropes to bind Ren's dreams.
"You poor things… a demon tempts you with happy dreams in exchange for the souls of others," Ren murmured with pity.
With light, swift strikes using the back of his hand against their necks, Ren knocked three of them unconscious in seconds. Only the sick boy remained, collapsing to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Ren remembered his story from the anime; this boy had been so desperate that he wanted to kill the Hashira just to live a dream where he was healthy.
"You…" Ren said, kneeling in front of him. "You want to be healed, right?"
Ren opened the [System Shop] and quickly searched:
[Low-Level Healing Potion – Cost: 50 Soul Points]
"Purchase."
A small bottle containing glowing golden liquid appeared in Ren's hand. He held the boy's jaw and poured the liquid into his mouth before he lost consciousness.
Within seconds, a warm aura surrounded the boy's body. The dark circles under his eyes vanished, his coughing stopped completely, and his face looked full of life for the first time in years.
Ren stared in disbelief.
"Damn, these system potions are real cheats! I should buy a full stock later."
Ren left the children safely, then leapt with astonishing agility out of the window, landing on top of the speeding train.
The wind whipped against his long black hair as it flowed in the air, making Ren smile with his usual narcissism.
There, at the front of the train, stood a being with feminine features, wearing strange clothing, with eyes bearing the rank of [Lower Moon One].
Enmu.
Enmu laughed hysterically, waving his hands in the air.
"Ah… humans… their dreams are as fragile as glass! Soon I'll drown the Hashira in endless nightmares, then I'll devour—"
Enmu suddenly stopped. A deadly chill ran down his spine.
He turned slowly, his eyes widening in shock.
"You… you're not the Hashira I was expecting," Enmu said, his voice trembling. "Wait… that face… those emerald eyes… the black clothes… you're Yukihara Ren?! The Hashira who killed Lord Doma?!"
Ren raised an eyebrow mockingly.
"Oh? Looks like I've become famous among demons. Does Muzan hand out my pictures on the walls of the Infinity Castle?"
Enmu retreated as fleshy hands burst from the surface of the train to attack.
"It doesn't matter! Even if it's you, my technique is unbeatable! Sleep! Drown in—"
Ching!
Enmu never saw the movement. He didn't even feel the sword pass.
Ren had already crossed past him, standing calmly behind him as he sheathed his crimson-red Nichirin blade back into its black scabbard.
Click.
"Yoriichi's power… is truly absolute in this world," Ren muttered to himself.
Behind him, Enmu's body was sliced into countless pieces, disintegrating before he even realized he had been cut. The crimson flames left by the blade burned the demon's cells completely, preventing him from merging with the train or even screaming.
Ren vanished from the roof as quickly as he had appeared.
He returned to the compartment and sat in his seat as if he had never left.
"Oh, Ren! You took too long in the restroom! I thought you fell in!" Rengoku laughed, slamming down a winning card.
"I was fighting the hardest battle of my life…" Ren said with absolute seriousness, causing everyone to stare at him strangely.
"What are those looks for? I was joking," Ren laughed as he sat down and drew a card. "Whose turn is it?"
Everyone laughed and returned to playing. But Rengoku, who was laughing loudly, glanced at Ren from the corner of his eye and smiled knowingly.
Rengoku had felt the terrifying aura that erupted from the train roof for a single second, and he had sensed the disappearance of the demon's pressure that had been hiding.
"What a terrifying boy… he killed a Lower Moon in the time it takes ordinary people to wash their hands. It seems our worry about him was a ridiculous joke. He really did become stronger while he was asleep…"
"I wonder if we'll meet Akaza… hmm," Ren thought, excited for an enjoyable fight with Upper Moon Three.
Everything felt boring to him now, after his battle with Sukuna.
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End of Chapter 49.
(Note: Ren literally finished the arc in 5 minutes, killed the Lower Moon, and saved everyone 😂)
Next chapter… maybe, Akaza 😉