Chapter 9: Stone Breathing - First Form - Rock Spike!
First Form: Stone Thrust!
"Come in, I'll take all the goods."
The guard's tone softened. After speaking to Ryuji, he turned and walked toward the heavy wooden door of the church.
Footsteps echoed in the empty porch. Seeing that Ryuji hadn't followed, he stopped, turned his head, and a look of pure confusion appeared on his face. "Hmm? Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and follow me."
His gaze swept over the wooden box on Ryuji's shoulder, his tone even carrying a hint of well-meaning urgency. "Your goods look decent. Sell them and head home quickly. Don't stay out too late at night."
"Ah, I'm just a peddler who roams the streets. Entering such a beautiful church... it doesn't seem quite right, does it?"
Ryuji quickly lowered his eyes and rubbed his hands together, putting on an act of someone who hadn't seen much of the world.
While he stammered, his heart was in a state of turmoil.
Eternal Paradise Cult.
It was founded a hundred years ago by the parents of Doma, the upper rank two.
After Momo-to became a demon, he took over the Eternal Paradise Cult. Firstly, to gather girls for him to eat, and secondly, to provide research funds for Muzan... However, as far as he knew, Doma acted with extreme secrecy, and the size of the cult was strictly controlled at around two hundred people, making their activities very covert.
How could it appear in such a remote city?
He didn't know if his luck was extremely good or extremely bad; he had just left the beginner village and bumped straight into the monster ranked second among the Twelve Kizuki... This matchmaking was simply ridiculous.
"Oh, it's fine, don't worry."
Hearing Ryuji's words, the guard shook his head dismissively. Instead, his expression became even gentler, even taking on a nearly pious calm.
He whispered, "Our Lady Saintess possesses supreme compassion and won't mind such things. In her eyes, all living beings suffer and need to reach paradise."
He paused, his gaze drifting toward the magnificent stained glass of the church window, murmuring like a pilgrim, "Suffering in this world is manifold; only paradise is eternal and indestructible."
Ryuji silently watched the guard's profile. An undisguised fanatical light flickered in the man's eyes; it seemed he was a believer who had been completely bewitched... However... a Saintess?
Could Doma be a woman?
No, he was clearly male in the manga.
Could it be that the people here mistakenly worshipped Doma as a woman? Or perhaps he got bored and decided to don the skin of a Saintess just to enjoy the novel pleasure of the identity?
Well, given Doma's twisted and capricious nature, this was definitely something he would do.
Of course, this was all just speculation.
There was too little information. Perhaps it was just some capable demon under Doma's command operating under the cult's name.
Ryuji analyzed the situation before him.
His gaze fell on the back of the talkative guard leading the way. Perhaps he could pry some unexpected information out of him.
"Oh, this is truly a huge help! Thank you, Eternal Paradise Cult!"
Ryuji put on a grateful smile. "The Lady Saintess is truly a compassionate and good person."
As he spoke, he leaned in closer and asked in a lowered voice, "I heard there's a murderer roaming around this area at night... is that true?"
The guard glanced at Ryuji and nodded slightly. "Ah, has the rumor spread that much? It's just a few missing songstresses; they might be dead..."
He shook his head slightly and said with some pity, "How pitiful... May the Saintess of Paradise bless you all, granting eternal transcendence and early entry into paradise."
A look of solemnity flashed in Ryuji's eyes. Songstresses? Little Red didn't say they were all women... This is bad; it really might be that guy Doma.
"How terrifying. Luckily, I'm just a peddler—neither good-looking nor able to sing."
Ryuji patted his chest and spoke softly.
"Good-looking?"
The guard shook his head, taking a key from the belt at his waist while casually responding, "I knew one of those missing songstresses, and she wasn't even that good-looking..."
With a click, the door was unlocked.
"Just leave the goods here."
He pushed open the slightly heavy wooden door and stepped aside to make room, his gaze not lingering on Ryuji. At the same time, his other hand pulled out a few banknotes from his coat and handed them over. "Here's your money."
"Ah! Thank you, thank you!"
Ryuji's face broke into a satisfied smile. He took the banknotes, counted them carefully by the light coming through the doorway, and even rubbed the edges with his fingers before nodding contentedly.
He efficiently unloaded the goods from the two wooden boxes, picked up Little Purple wrapped in cloth, nodded politely to the guard again, and turned to walk back the way he came.
As soon as he turned around, the smile on his face vanished instantly. From the conversation with the guard, he had gathered several pieces of information.
First, all the missing persons were women, and their profession was Songstress.
Second, at least one of them was not particularly good-looking in the eyes of locals like the guard.
This greatly relieved Ryuji because Doma was picky about looks.
If it were really him or a demon directly under him operating here, the selection of targets should be more refined; they wouldn't include songstresses who were "not particularly good-looking" in their hunting range.
Most likely... it wasn't Doma himself.
It was very likely just some demon associated with the Eternal Paradise Cult who was active.
Or it could be a simple coincidence—the demon's hunting grounds just happened to overlap with this town where the cult had infiltrated.
Even if he had an idea of the demon's identity, he had no clue how to find it.
"Whew..."
A low sigh blended into the cool evening air.
Ryuji stopped, his gaze sweeping over the streets that were beginning to be tinged with twilight.
"I should go investigate the homes of the missing people."
Ryuji shook his head, a helpless curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. Investigation and tracking... these were really not his strong suits.
If only he knew Observation Haki... or at the very least, had an absurdly sensitive nose like Tanjiro's.
Unfortunately, he had neither.
Having to rely solely on questioning and his brain for analysis was indeed a bit difficult.
Thinking about it, he reviewed the training manual. He couldn't handle the principles of Observation Haki practice on his own; he'd have to ask Teacher Mochizuki for help when he got back.
He had to Practice Observation Haki, not just for combat, but also for finding demons.
"Ah!"
Just as Ryuji was about to move, he heard a shrill scream!
He looked up, trying to determine the direction.
Where was it? Where did the sound come from?! The echoes in the town were loud... Damn it, if only I had Observation Haki!
"Ah! Help!"
A second scream followed immediately! Clearer and even more desperate!
This time, Ryuji heard it clearly.
To the east!
Deeper in the alley!
Without a moment's hesitation, his shoulder twitched, and he violently threw the cumbersome empty wooden box to the side of the road. At the same instant, his right hand tightened around Little Purple, which was wrapped in cloth.
His chest expanded rapidly as he took a deep breath, the sound as heavy as a bellows. A low voice erupted from his throat:
"Stone Breathing, First Form: Stone Strike!"
All his condensed power, like a flash flood bursting a dam, poured into his legs!
The muscles in Ryuji's legs visibly bulged and tightened, veins popping out like coiled dragons, sprawling menacingly beneath his skin.
Beneath his feet, the stone slabs of the solid road let out a scream of being overwhelmed. Centered on his feet, spiderweb-like cracks spread out!
Shua!
It wasn't running, but a near-explosive catapulting!
Where he had originally stood, only a circle of spreading dust and shattered stone chips remained. He had already turned into a blurred afterimage, tearing through the air and shooting toward the direction of the scream!