One slash could be an utterly ordinary slash—
or a slash of pure slaughter.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni held his sword and faced the boy from afar. His old eyes narrowed slightly, gleaming as if he intended to see straight through Roy, inside and out.
Those dozens of exchanged blows had all happened in the blink of an eye.
And yet, to Yamamoto, it had felt as long as ten full years.
Not the boy's ten years—
his own.
Ten years of hard-won sword experience, accumulated through life-and-death combat, had been compressed by the boy into a single blink and absorbed almost in full.
That kind of monstrous growth rate… that terrifying talent, enough to gradually keep pace with his attack rhythm…
It was far beyond anything that brute of a Kenpachi, who liked coming at him with his sword whenever he had free time, could ever compare to.
"Almost…"
"Just one more slash. Only one!"
[Eclipse] in hand, Roy rapidly repaired the damage to his body through [Blooddrop Rebirth], then took a deep breath. He shifted from a one-handed grip to a two-handed grip, angled the blade downward, and took up an iaijutsu stance.
Like an arrow of light, he used the moonlight as a foothold and charged Yamamoto once more—
followed by a low shout from the boy, deep and resonant like a temple bell at dawn:
"Slash!"
The edge of his swordsmanship revealed itself in full—
a fusion of [Scorching True Intent], [Magnetism], and all thirteen forms of [Sun Breathing].
A faint figure with flame-red hair seemed to appear behind Roy.
Born with the mark.
Born with the Transparent World.
Born a seed of the sword.
Now already in the underworld, yet entrusting all his swordsmanship to another.
As Roy's battle spirit surged and climbed to its peak, that figure slowly closed its hand over [Eclipse] together with him.
It was just an ordinary iaijutsu draw.
Roy unsheathed and slashed diagonally upward toward Yamamoto's chest.
The old man paused slightly, then narrowed his eyes.
"So this is your old sword teacher?"
That person was gone. Only the inheritance remained.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, with his keen senses, caught the faint scent of a lingering spirit on Roy. Calmly and without urgency, he moved Ryujin Jakka in a simple, ordinary deflection, angling it downward and brushing Roy's blade aside.
The boundless spiritual pressure and overwhelming sword force behind that motion instantly knocked aside the strike carrying the lingering rhythm of Yoriichi's swordsmanship—
and even sent [Eclipse] flying from Roy's hand, spraying blood in the process.
Pssht—
The web between Roy's thumb and forefinger tore open, exposing the bone in his right hand.
Then Yamamoto, almost face-to-face with Roy, freed his left hand and drove a fist straight into Roy's lower abdomen—
[Ikkotsu]!
The brutal Hakuda that had once shattered Wonderweiss made its violent appearance.
Roy felt as if an entire mountain had smashed into him head-on. His ribs cracked apart, and in the blink of an eye he was sent flying. Along the way he tore through who knew how much wind and cloud, until finally he crashed toward the ground and gouged a trench nearly a thousand meters long before slamming back-first into a rocky outcrop and barely stabilizing.
"Same as before."
"Your swordsmanship is excellent."
"Your spiritual pressure is too poor."
A gust of wind rose slowly, scattering the dust.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni flickered forward with [Shunpo], descending on moonlight until his feet touched the earth. One hand held a fist, the other a sword, and he looked ahead expressionlessly.
There, embedded in a cracked boulder in the shape of a human silhouette, was the boy.
His chest was visibly caved in.
If not for the fact that he was still breathing—his heartbeat still audible—anyone might have thought he had been turned into some kind of specimen or fossil, long since dead.
"It's over… is it finally over?"
The moonlight showed itself again in the sky.
With the flames gone, with the "sun" gone, it finally seemed to dare reveal itself once more, spreading its pale glow as if declaring that this was still a night ruled by the moon.
All across the Demon Slayer world, from north to south, east to west, those kneeling on the ground muttering prayers, and those standing frozen with their heads tilted up toward the heavens, all let out a collective breath.
Too many unbelievable things had happened tonight.
Enough to shatter who knew how many people's understanding of the world.
Even the Hashira, who vaguely knew some of the truth—people like Giyu Tomioka, Gyomei Himejima, and Kyojuro Rengoku—had been tense every second of this night.
All the more so for the ordinary people of this world, who had never learned Breathing Styles or opened their aura nodes.
"Is it over?"
That was Kagaya Ubuyashiki asking Kyojuro Rengoku.
"Is it over?"
That was Makomo asking Sabito.
"Is it over?"
That was the blind monk's whispered murmur near the old temple in western Kyoto.
In this unforgettable night, beneath a darkness that had been driven away more than once, those countless questions—along with more and more [Faith Power]—crossed rivers and mountains, swept over plains and grasslands, drifted through the human world, and quietly surged toward Roy.
Cough… cough…
A weak coughing sound came from the cracked boulder.
The boy, who had been knocked unconscious instantly by the sheer force of Yamamoto's punch, slowly came to and spat out a chunk of organs.
Then he fully regained awareness.
His body felt like it had fallen apart. Everything hurt.
His brows immediately drew together, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Too bad [Blooddrop Rebirth] can only heal injuries. It can't ease pain.
Hard to imagine just how terrified Muzan had to be, if in canon he chose to blow himself into over a thousand pieces the instant he faced Yoriichi.
Tap… tap…
A string of measured, steady footsteps slowly drifted over on the wind from the far end of the trench…
Feeling that terrifying pressure, and sensing the Zanpakuto in the other man's hand that concealed endless heat, Roy struggled to pry himself out of the boulder. Then, with a thud, he dropped awkwardly onto the ground and forced his head up to look.
The distance of a thousand meters had been compressed by the old man into a single step.
In another blink, the elder—white haori over black Shinigami robes—appeared before Roy and looked down at him.
"Anything left?"
In Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's old eyes, marked by age and weather, there was a rare flash of admiration.
With a turn of his wrist, he planted Ryujin Jakka before him like an old man leaning on a cane and quietly watched Roy.
Roy's flame-red hair swayed in the wind. Dust sifted from the strands as he smiled through the pain.
"Of course."
Just then, the system chime sounded.
[Notice: "Swordsmanship" +100]
[Current "Swordsmanship": Lv4 (99940/100000) → Lv5 (40/1000000)]
The boy's lips curved higher and higher.
At some point, the smile froze.
His whole body stiffened.
As the suns burning in his pupils slowly turned, his consciousness rose upward with the wind—
In one second, it passed Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.
In two seconds, it crossed the forest.
In three seconds, the moon…
In four seconds, it left the atmosphere and entered the boundless void, drawn ever deeper by a distant heat and brilliance.
In the haze, he didn't know how much time had passed before he finally saw it—
the sun, wrapped in nebulae, ringed by countless stellar bands, pouring light and heat recklessly into the universe.
"To learn [Ren], first observe your heart. If you don't even know what you truly want, you can't develop a Nen ability or become a Nen user."
His father Silva's earnest instruction surfaced in Roy's mind.
He opened his eyes and stared at the enormous sphere of light before him, surrounded by several planets.
Beyond its surface appearance, he saw flares, sunspots, and solar wind… then pierced past the photosphere and went deeper still.
For the first time in his life, he observed the sun from a negative distance.
So why did upgrading "Swordsmanship" have anything to do with the [Sun]?
That was it.
Because my heart is my sword.
And just as there are all kinds of swords—a gentle sword, a killing sword, a loyal sword, a righteous sword—then I…
The role of Kamado Eiichiro fell away from him in that instant, and Roy returned to his true appearance.
His beautiful silver hair unfurled as he spread his arms toward the sun in an embrace. Faintly, at the ends, the solar wind coated it in a dazzling gold.
…am the sun.
I am the sword of the sun.
I am the sword that shines upon the world and grants life to all things…
And at the same time, I am also the sword of catastrophic brilliance—the sword that explodes without restraint and pours out destruction!
Closer now.
Streams of particles collided and surged, swallowing Roy whole.
In that moment, countless nuclear fusions erupted inside him, played out inside him, and carved their marks into him again and again—
so deeply that he would never forget them, for all eternity.
[Notice: Host has directly entered the core of the sun and gained insight through observing the sun. Sword Intent Domain is condensing…]
[Notice: Sword Intent Domain successfully condensed]
[Custom sword art generating…]
[Notice: Custom sword art generated successfully…]
[[Atomic Fusion Slash]: Simulates the fusion reaction on the sun's surface. The slash is enchanted with [nuclear fusion]. Once unleashed, it can trigger a "nuclear blast," followed by "extreme heat" and "extreme pressure" to annihilate the enemy.]
[Note: The yield of the "nuclear blast" depends on the host's Nen quantity and understanding of Nen.]
Buzz—
His consciousness and body separated.
At the heart of the [Sun], Roy in his true form melted into the fusion reaction itself…
In the Demon Slayer world, Roy—in Kamado Eiichiro's body—struggled to his feet in a haze, facing Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni head-on.
Then he reached out and grabbed—
Whoosh!
[Eclipse] flew back to him!
Roy seized it in his open palm. Then, raising the blade, he gave it the lightest swing toward Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.
That slash of fusion, imprinted in his consciousness and repeated billions of times over, took shape in an instant.
A perfectly straight golden line, carrying immeasurable light and heat, slowly reflected in Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's old eyes, eyes carved through with weather and time.
And at once—
the old man's eyes narrowed.
Shock flashed through him, and his expression became graver than ever before.
For the first time since passing through the [Gate of Cognition] to arrive here, he used—
[Shikai]!
"Shikai…"
"Reduce all creation to ash. Ryujin Jakka!"
Riiiiing—
A piercing sword cry shot into the heavens!
Ryujin Jakka was released. Spiritual pressure exploded. His white beard danced wildly.
And the sword force that returned this time was many times denser than before.
Clang… clang… clang…
The Nichirin Blades of Giyu, Gyomei, Kyojuro, and all the Hashira—and even the former Hashira—began trembling violently again, despite having only just settled down!
Giyu Tomioka, Gyomei Himejima, and Kyojuro Rengoku all changed expression at once.
This time, they directly drew on [Nen] and used every ounce of [Ten] they could muster just to suppress their weapons.
"My sword!"
"What's going on?! Again?!"
On Mount Sagiri, Shinsuke and Fukuda cried out as their swords tore loose from their hands and shot into the sky in the blink of an eye.
Then Watanabe's.
Then Shimizu's.
Then all the swords belonging to Urokodaki's many disciples—
and countless blades from among the common people—
were summoned once again by the "king of swords," streaking upward into the deepening night.
"Don't chase them!"
"The battle isn't over yet!"
A sudden shout cut across the scene, stopping Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu, and the others just as they were about to run into the night after their blades.
With both hands wrapped in [Ten], Giyu frowned deeply. He could clearly feel that this third summons was even stronger than the first two.
Taking a breath, he stared into the farthest reaches of the sky and spoke.
Sabito and Makomo were struggling to hold down their own swords, using every bit of strength they had just to keep them from flying free.
"Giyu's right," Urokodaki said as he pinned his carving blade in his arms. "What wants to leave won't stay. Wait… and watch…"
The old man's temples were streaked with white as he tried to calm everyone. Then he, together with Giyu, looked toward the distant sky again and whispered:
"Eiichiro…"
At the edge of the horizon, before that cracked boulder,
the boy with the flame-red hair hanging down his back still had his consciousness immersed in the rhythm of sword intent. His hand rose and fell in an unconscious motion of understanding—
and the rock behind him began to melt away without a sound.
Buzz—
The golden line arrived.
The fusion slash struck Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and detonated instantly!
The old man's white beard was braided into thick cords, nearly brushing the ground.
At that moment, he answered with a reverse draw of his own—
[Shikai] — [Torch]!
Whoosh—
A vortex of flame shot into the heavens, colliding head-on with the explosion!
And then—
BOOM!
Immediately after that,
the earth shook and the mountains trembled!
The tremor was felt even in Kyoto… even at the old temple… even at the Ubuyashiki estate… even in Roy's own home, on that nameless mountain where Tanjuro and Kie now lived with Tanjiro and Nezuko.
"Waaah—!"
In the middle of the night, Hanako was startled by the explosion and burst into tears.
Grandma's old eyes snapped open. She instantly pulled the child into her arms and cried out in panic:
"Kie! Tanjuro…!"
Inside the house—
Nezuko,
Kie sewing clothes by lamplight,
Tanjuro drinking tea on the veranda,
and Tanjiro, Takeo, and Shigeru sleeping like the dead in the side room—
some pricked their fingers on needles, some rolled upright in bed, some rushed out without even properly dressing, some rose abruptly gripping the veranda post—
and all of them threw open the doors and stumbled into the moss-covered yard, gathering there together.
In shock. In horror. In stunned disbelief, they looked toward the horizon.
As if the earth dragon itself had turned over,
a tornado of flame wrapped around a mushroom-cloud mass and surged into the sky, staining the entire night blood-red!
Everyone—including the whole Kamado family—stood there with mouths wide open.
Some collapsed straight onto the ground, making hoarse, wordless sounds as if their souls had just been ripped out.
~~~
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