Chapter 116: Who Said You Could Leave?
[Ding! Side mission updated: Eliminate the Twelve Demon Moons, receive 1200 Penalty Points, current progress 7/12.]
[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange performed, received 500 Penalty Points.]
[Ding! Legendary mission updated: Judge a thousand souls burdened with heavy sins across the multiverse, current progress 68/1000].
The system's notifications chimed, a digital harbinger of fate, and Jon's ears were the altar at which they rang. Akaza had fallen, and now Doma, whose strength was a notch above, had succumbed. Yet, Doma's power, tainted by the devouring of innocent souls, was of no essence to Jon. It was a currency better traded with the system than absorbed.
Amidst this contemplation, a cacophony of violent tremors shattered the silence. Jon's gaze cut through the dim to the source—a box that thrummed with the fury of Muzan Kibutsuji's entrapment. The Demon King's rage was palpable, his desire for freedom a tempest too weak to break his prison.
"Stay put," Jon commanded with a dismissive kick to the box, his voice a cold decree. "Your reckoning will come in due time."
With those final words, Jon turned his back on the magical suitcase world.
He had chosen his entry point with care, a secluded nook away from prying eyes and unnecessary questions.
"Gegege…!"
Emerging from the suitcase, the alleyway embraced him with its shadows. A voice called out from the street, likely a scout from the Demon Slayer Corps' Intelligence Team. But before he could respond, an aura of sins attracted him, and the chains that bound his power fell away with a clatter.
"Someone's come to deliver a meal?" Jon's sneer was a silent challenge to the night.
"Heeheeheehee...!"
The laughter that answered was as eerie as the figure it heralded. Half-submerged in a pot, the ghostly apparition before Jon was a grotesque sight, its pallor stark against the darkness, gills flaring with each chuckle.
Upper Moon Five, Gyokko.
"To think you're the one who felled Akaza and Doma, you're quite vigilant~" Gyokko's voice was a serpentine hiss.
Jon faced him, a smile playing on his lips, "Indeed, and you're no exception to the fate they met."
Gyokko raised his hands, a gesture of peace, "Don't get excited, I'm not here to fight. I come bearing a message!"
"A message? From whom?" Jon's curiosity was piqued. With Muzan captured, who else could command such a missive?
"From the zenith of the Twelve Demon Moons, Upper Moon One, Kokushibo!" Gyokko's words were laced with a twisted reverence. "Kokushibo-san acknowledges your might, comparing you to the legendary Yoriichi Tsugikuni. He extends an invitation to a decisive battle~"
"A decisive battle?" Jon's interest was now fully ignited, "That aligns with my intentions perfectly. It saves me the effort of hunting down your kind."
Gyokko produced a paper with the location and tossed it to Jon. "With this, my role is fulfilled. I shall take my leave~"
But as Gyokko turned to depart, the air tensed, and Jon's presence loomed behind him, a shadow cast over the demon's form. Gyokko was ensnared by an invisible force, the pressure around him a silent but deadly threat.
"Hold on," Jon's voice was a whisper, yet it boomed in Gyokko's ears.
Gyokko's body was rigid with fear, his breaths shallow. "You... what do you intend?!" Panic laced his words, his body slick with the cold sweat of dread.
"You're a demon, I'm a demon hunter; the conclusion seems inevitable, doesn't it?" Jon's smile was a grim slash across his face, a harbinger of the end.
"But... I'm merely the messenger, not here to battle... Surely, there's a rule..." Gyokko's words were a desperate scramble, a plea for mercy in the merciless night.
"Rule?" Jon's voice was a low rumble, and as he spoke, his form erupted in an inferno of righteous fury, his body taking on the fearsome visage of the Ghost Rider. "The only rule I abide by is the eradication of your kind."
Aaaaaaaagh!
The Ghost Rider's skeletal grip was unyielding, and as his hand closed around Gyokko, hellfire surged forth, a pyre for the damned. Gyokko's screams tore through the night, a symphony of agony that ended in the silence of ashes.
[Ding! Side mission updated: Eliminate the Twelve Demon Moons, receive 1200 Penalty Points, current progress 8/12.]
[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange performed, received 300 Penalty Points.]
The system's notifications were like the tolling of a bell, marking the passing of another demon. Jon, returning to his human guise, surveyed his work with a sense of grim satisfaction. "A bountiful harvest indeed. The Moons will eclipse soon."
Unfurling the paper Gyokko had relinquished, Jon's eyes scanned the location: a promise of a final confrontation. "Kokushibo, your Moon Breathing technique will soon be mine. With your memories as my guide, Daki and Hantengu's hiding places will be revealed."
He had hoped Akaza's memories would be a map to the others, but it seemed the demon's disdain for human flesh had made him an outcast among his own kind.
"No matter," Jon murmured, with a sigh. "I'll head back to the Butterfly Mansion to rest up before anything else."
***
"So that's how it is..."
In the Butterfly Mansion, on a hospital bed, Kanae Kocho lay weakly, covered with a white blanket, her clothes changed into the mansion's hospital attire.
At this moment, Jon and Shinobu Kocho stood by her bedside.
"Jon-san, this could very well be a trap!" Kanae handed the white piece of paper to Jon, speaking softly.
"I don't think so," Jon said confidently, "I've heard that Kokushibo's brother was the one who passed on the Breathing Techniques to the Demon Slayer Corps, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. As a swordsman, he would naturally have the pride of a swordsman and wouldn't stoop to such low tricks. Besides, even if it is a trap, it would just mean a few more demons lying in wait for me, which would give me the chance to kill even more!"
Kanae smiled, "That sounds just like something Jon-san would sayy…..!"
Cough! Cough! Cough!
Kanae coughed violently, the injuries inflicted by Doma not so easily healed.
Shinobu immediately stepped forward with concern, "Onii-san, you don't need to worry about these things, don't force yourself to talk!"
"Ah, Shinobu, you're so beautiful when smiling~" Kanae said, patting Shinobu's head with a smile.
"Onii-san~!" Shinobu said, her face turning red with indignation.
Then, as if remembering something, Kanae continued to Jon, "By the way, although Kokushibo is the strongest of the Twelve Demon Moons, the real threat is still that man named Muzan Kibutsuji. The trouble is, Muzan won't show himself easily. Now that Jon-san has shown strength that Muzan would fear, he might continue to hide..."
"Don't worry, I already have a way to find Muzan. After killing Kokushibo and the other Twelve Demon Moons, it will be Muzan's turn." Jon said.
They didn't know that the real Muzan had already been captured alive by Jon.
Kanae then said with relief, "Is that so? Then we'll wait for Jon-san's good news. If you need anything, just ask."
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