Emmanuel_Capricorn
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DS : Chapter 155
🕑 Added 2025-03-03 17:38:16 +0000 UTC[Seiji's POV]
We left for the Butterfly Mansion the moment the sun set on the horizon. At first Lady Tamayo was going to bring a whole lot of unnecessary things to the journey but I stopped her.
For every piece of equipment she might need, we could get it for her. After I told her that our luggage was cut down by ninety per cent. Turns out, demons did not need clothes, or other utensils like toothbrushes and the like. I knew that, just never thought about it.
In the end, our luggage was a bunch of books and important notes along with the samples Lady Tamayo had collected over the years. They secured other important materials in the hidden mansion.
The journey was much slower than when I was travelling alone but it was still decently fast since demons could not get tired.
We spent most of the journey talking to each other. I was curious about what it was like to be a demon to prepare myself in case Rengoku had to be woken up as a demon.
I learned many interesting things. But still, there were no personal things spoken in the conversation. It was boringly professional.
We walked on foot along the trail, walking at the same speed as normal carts would. We encountered a pack of wolves and one demon while we were on our way.
It was around 2 am in the morning when I stopped for the first time in our travel.
"What's wrong? Why are we stopping?" Lady Tamayo asked.
"I can't continue with you from here onwards. Follow Raven, my Kasugai crow will lead you to the Butterfly Mansion," I said.
The place where we stopped was the exact location where we had to go off the trail and separate from the main road. The Butterly Mansion was still very much a hidden location even though it was kept as secret as the Ubuyashiki Mansion or Swordsmith Village.
"Why can't you lead us?" Yushiro asked with narrowed eyes.
"Because we are being followed," I said and their eyes widened.
"...since when?" Lady Tamayo asked in a hushed voice, caution all over her tone.
"I don't know. I checked not long ago and noticed it," I said. I was checking if we had anyone following us right as we were about to part from the main road.
"I understand. We will leave this to your hands while we go on ahead," she said and nudged at the reluctant boy, "Let's go Yushiro,"
Maybe he had not trusted me yet and thought I was leading them into a trap. Honestly, they had no reason to be suspicious of me, we were not equal, and if I wanted to I could kill them anytime anywhere, why would I bother with traps?
Raven flew right above the tree lines and led them to the Butterfly Mansion. Meanwhile, I remained in my place, my eyes glued on my half-pulled-out katana. I looked at the shiny reflection so that I could see behind me.
"So it's me you are after," I mumbled with amusement. The one following us did not go after Lady Tamayo even when she disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
I thought the demons might be after her but I guess it was me all along.
"Interesting," I said.
In the very next second, a wind blew upon me, tousling my long hair and making my haori flutter. And then I disappeared with the next gust of wind.
I used Mist Breathing to move at incredible speed while also hiding my presence. I turned around and all but flew towards the one following us.
Finally, I could see who was following us and it was not a who but what.
A single eyeball.
I recognize that.
It was Nakime's blood demon art.
Did I change the canon that much? Nakime only sneaked upon the Demons Slayers before the final battle. But here she was, already doing everything to uncover our hidden hideouts.
The eyeball was almost a kilometre away from us and I reached it before the count of ten.
My hand moved in a blur and I caught the eyeball in my hand. I stared at it with my purple eyes, gazing at the connection on it. If I followed the trail of connection it would lead me to Nakime, I think.
Or maybe not.
I crushed the eyeball right after that.
"....."
.....
"I have to warn the others about this," I said after a long silence of contemplation. I was mid-motion into turning around and going after Lady Tamayo before I froze from a sound.
It was more like a ruffle of vibration on my skin before something inside me screamed. I did not know what it was saying but it screamed so loudly that I trembled.
A strumming of a string.
At the corner of my eyes, I saw a door opening from the trunk of the tree. I craned my neck and I felt cold sweat on my face when I saw who walked out.
His presence was a silent storm. An unseen weight pressed against my chest like a thousand invisible hands. I could tell at a glance that the Upper Moon One was in a league of his own, even superior to Muzan if my instinct was to be trusted.
Kokushibo.
The Upper Moon One did not speak at first, he didn’t need to. His towering frame seemed to blur at the edges, like a figure not fully tethered to this world. His six eyes, arranged in a pattern too unnatural to be anything but a mockery of humanity.
Each eye bore the kanji for "Upper-Rank One," and they glowed in a sickly blend of crimson and gold. I could feel those eyes stare at me, unblinking.
They analyzed me from head to toe, seeing through me for all that I was. I thought I was the perfect warrior but I found new flaws in myself when I followed his gaze.
Such terrifying eyes, they made me feel naked. Is this what others feel when I observe them in a similar way? It was a horrible feeling.
The sclera of his eyes, black as the void, only magnified the unsettling intensity of his gaze. His long, dark hair flowed past his shoulders, moving ever so slightly despite the stillness of the night, as though it had a life of its own. Maybe it did.
Fear gnawed at my heart and what a feeling that was.
When was the last time a demon truly terrified me?
When I fought against Muzan, I feared the chance of death. I did not fear the Demon King. But this time, I was afraid of the demon in front of me, it went beyond the fear of death.
"I've wanted to meet you ever since your fight with my Master. But I didn't expect to see you quiver."
The forest seemed to shrink around me, the towering trees now mere whispers against the overwhelming presence of the strongest demon.
Without a doubt, he was about the most incredible thing I had laid my eyes on.
And at that point, I finally realized what the screaming was. It was a scream to fucking run.
I should run, shouldn't I?
I couldn't fight this perfect abomination. It was unlike the situation with Muzanm where I had a solid plan and backup and was not recovering from an injury.
I had almost zero chance of winning in this situation. It was laughable how fucked I was.
But strangely, my legs did not move even when I told them to. I found myself deeply intrigued by my own fear and the entity that stood in front of me that caused me to tremble.
"Heh..." I released a rush of air from my mouth, halting a Breathing Style that almost came instinctively.
"Sorry for that, it's been a long time since I felt fear from an entity," I said and after my words, I stilled. There was no longer a quivering bone in my body.
"And I think I know why I am afraid of you," I said, "You are a warrior, aren't you? Unlike that coward called Muzan,"
If Muzan was like looking at the vast ocean that could drown you or wash you away with a tsunami, Kokushibo was a blade at your neck, already digging into your skin.
The ocean was logically far more powerful with greater potential for destruction but if you find yourself in both situations, you would always fear a blade at your neck more.
I think the difference was in precision, Muzan could kill you but Kokushibo will kill you.
Or maybe it was just my warrior instinct being biased. Normal people would fear Muzan more.
"You claim to fear me but you no longer tremble. Tell me, have you despaired already?" he asked me with unblinking eyes.
But this time, my eyes shone purple and stared unblinking at him too. I pierced him with my gaze, striping him down piece by piece just as he did me.
"Never," I answered.
"Good. If you did, then this encounter would've been disappointing," he said and then continued speaking.
He talked but with his body this time. There was no killing intent, but the sword he swung had every intention to cut me.
Forget about his perfect form and perfect cut. His intention and will itself were so precise they were like swords themselves.
It was one thing to swing a sword with the intent to kill, but to swing a sword with no other intention but to cut...that was nothing short of a miracle. There was no personal feeling or desire.
It was a step above Selfless State.
I really should run. The risk of me escaping was low since he seemed much faster than me and he had Nakime. But I would still have a better chance of escaping than winning this fight.
But instead, I stayed and replied.
..
..
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Comments
Martin Lervoll
Gawd damnit, is there another chapter today? I love Kokushibo and really want to see more. But amazing chapter nonetheless 👍
