Coreal
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[Crossover] Ch 98: It Wasn't Me
🕑 Added 2025-06-16 17:04:46 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
The Front Courtyard of the Imperial Palace.
Ryo didn't follow the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps inside to confront Muzan Kibutsuji. Instead, he stood silently in the corridor, expressionless as he gazed out over the moat.
Just then, Kanae Kocho, who had temporarily suppressed the demons outside, arrived. She paused for a moment upon seeing Ryo standing alone at the bridge, then slowly walked over to his side.
"Is something wrong?" Her voice was soft and gentle.
"Did the operation fail? Did someone discover our identity?"
Kanae already knew that the Muzan inside the Imperial Palace was actually the "Mother Spider Demon" from Mount Natagumo, whom Ryo had used on his Demon Authority. The plan was for Ryo and the Hashira to hunt down and eliminate Muzan together.
He even told the demons that his name was back to Muzan now.
But right now, Ryo, who should've been leading the charge on the front lines, was just… standing here. Nowhere near the battlefield.
His strange behavior made Kanae sense something was off.
Ryo let out a long sigh, staring wistfully at the sky.
"No, the identity wasn't exposed. In fact, things went pretty smoothly. How about the people on that noble list I gave you—are they taken care of?"
Kanae nodded. "All dealt with. I sent Hantengu, and by now, he should've been killed by the real Muzan."
"He really believed us to the end... fool!"
Ryo narrowed his eyes, his voice low and cold.
Kanae hesitated, then asked with a hint of confusion, "Ryo, if you held a grudge against those nobles, why didn't you deal with them yourself?"
Ryo blinked, then gave a faint smile and shook his head.
"If I did it myself, the risk would've been too high."
That answer surprised her. "They're just regular humans, even if they do hold political power in our country. There's no way they could threaten you, right?"
Just how strong was Ryo? Even Kanae didn't know exactly. But he'd casually created a demon even stronger than Muzan himself—that much she had seen.
In her mind, no one in the entire country could possibly stand a chance against him.
He could probably start a war worse than a world war all on his own… and win.
So why would someone like him go to such lengths to eliminate a few nobles behind the scenes?
Ryo fell quiet for a moment, then asked:
"Kanae, do you believe history can be changed?"
She thought about it. "Not really? History is history. Once it's happened, it can't be changed."
Ryo's voice grew heavy. "In the Little Garden, theoretically... it can be changed."
"In the upper tiers of Little Garden, among the triple-digit domains, there are games that revolve around rewriting history."
"And to play those games, you first have to challenge history itself."
"To change history… you must challenge the creators of that history. That's the rule of Little Garden. No matter how strong you are, you must follow the rules."
Kanae didn't understand all of it, but she was starting to get the picture.
"You mean… you're trying to change history?"
"Exactly."
Ryo nodded, expression darkening.
"In less than ten years, a war will erupt across the world—a global conflict of unimaginable scale."
"And my actions right now... will cause part of that war to derail."
"It won't completely break off the rails, but it'll open up a new possibility in those infinite parallel timelines."
He stopped there. Any more and the gods might sense something strange and come knocking.
After all, he wasn't playing by the official rules of history-changing games. He was interfering directly—an act strictly forbidden by the divine.
And that upcoming war would be a key chapter in the human history of Little Garden. It involved every divine pantheon. According to the records in Arcadia, it would even lead to the fall of Takamagahara's gods.
That kind of history was guarded fiercely by divine will.
But still, Ryo chose to try.
Even if he only nudged things a tiny bit, he had to try.
One Demon Slayer universe wasn't enough for him.
He needed to grow stronger—fast.
The rewards for meddling in history were worth the risk. And since the Demon Slayer world hadn't been "observed" yet, it gave him the perfect opportunity to experiment.
He thought it through—and took the leap.
And now, the end was near. But the closer he got to the finish line, the more cautious he became. Things usually went wrong at the end.
His mission now was to fade into the background, to guide humanity toward the desired outcome without using overwhelming force.
This was a test of finesse.
Seeing Ryo so tense, Kanae grew concerned.
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Ryo chuckled.
"Kanae, that's where you're overthinking it."
"The one who ordered the invasion of Edo… was Muzan Kibutsuji. The one who killed those nobles... was Muzan Kibutsuji. What's that got to do with me?"
"No matter what— It wasn't me."
Kanae blinked—then burst out laughing once it clicked. Her worries vanished completely.
"Of course," she thought. "Ryo never makes a move unless he's confident in the outcome."
Ryo smiled as he watched her laugh.
But what he didn't say was this: The one who would eventually kill Muzan wasn't him. It'd be the Hashira. Humans.
People.
So even if the gods came asking, he could say it was humanity's own doing—had nothing to do with him.
Just then—BOOM!
The Imperial Palace suddenly exploded in a deafening blast. Kyojuro Rengoku's furious voice echoed out:
"Don't let Muzan escape!"
"She's heading east! After her!"
"This time, we finish it!"
Ryo and Kanae both saw a flash of white shoot past them.
Before disappearing into the night, the figure seemed to nod at them briefly.
At the bridge, Giyu Tomioka had been fighting Daki. Upon hearing the commotion, he took a brutal hit but gritted his teeth and bolted after the white blur, face grim with determination.
Up on the palace rooftops, Gyomei Himejima and Kyojuro leapt into action.
The rest of the Hashira, however, were too injured from their earlier fight with Muzan to give chase.
The palace went from chaos to eerie silence in an instant.
Ryo glanced at Daki, who was still trying to flee—but didn't make a move. He watched as Muichiro Tokito and several Demon Slayer troops surrounded her.
Right then, Shinobu and Kanao arrived with a squad of medics and support staff.
Seeing them, Kanae immediately called out: "Come with me—let's assist the wounded!"
Ryo's eyes scanned the group, then suddenly reached out and stopped one person—Tanjiro Kamado.
Everyone froze.
"Lord Yagami?" someone asked, confused.
Ryo smiled. "The Kamado family… has a sharp nose, right?"
"Eh?" Tanjiro blinked, not quite following.
Nezuko smacked him on the head. "Idiot! Follow Ryo and help him already!"
Tanjiro's father, Tanjuro, finally caught on. He coughed and said:
"Tanjiro, use your nose to track Muzan. Remember your breathing—move!"
Tanjiro immediately understood, straightened up, and bowed deeply to Ryo.
"I'm ready to assist!"
Ryo chuckled. "Good. Come with me."
"Time to end this."
.
.
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Comments
Coreal
Still early to judge
Abs 07
Tftc. So he can't change the history of the worlds he visits, even though they're not even connected to the Little Garden? What kind of bullshit is that?
