Chapter 123: National Domination!
Enmu had no way of knowing the thousands of calculations spinning through
Natsuya's "Gamer Brain." At this moment, he only had one clear realization:
death was standing on his doorstep.
He could accept being unmade by Lord Muzan's hand, or falling beneath the blades
of the legendary Nine Hashira. But he could not accept being deleted by some
nameless mid-tier character.
Was Natsuya a "nameless character"?
Looking at the boy—so young, yet radiating a presence that felt like a localized
black hole—Enmu felt his lungs tighten. His Blood Demon Art was failing to pull
the boy under, his evasive frames were being predicted, and the gap between them
was closing.
"I really loathe you swordsmen," Enmu hissed.
He made a final, desperate play. He grabbed a fleeing civilian—one of his
"Yellow Name" collaborators—and shoved him into the path of Natsuya's blade.
"Hehe... let's see, swordsman." Enmu's effeminate face flushed with manic heat.
"Faced with an innocent hostage, will you compromise your 'Justice,' or will you
be the butcher who slaughters both of us?"
Natsuya: "What are you yapping about now?"
The swung Nichirin Sword didn't hitch for a single frame. With a micro-flick of
his wrist, Natsuya adjusted the trajectory. The blade bypassed the civilian's
vitals, sliding through the gap between his ribs to pierce directly into Enmu's
exposed collarbone.
If it were a "Green Name" NPC, Natsuya might have bothered with a parry. But
this was a brainwashed "Yellow Name" with questionable loyalty. The fact that
Natsuya didn't decapitate both of them was a testament to his high "Heroism"
stat.
The Scarlet Crimson Iron in the blade's tip seared Enmu's demonic flesh. Despite
the pain, the demon let out a sound of sickly pleasure.
"I knew it... Handbrake-kun... you have the soul... of a demon..."
Why are these Bosses so obsessed with recruitment? Natsuya wondered.
He didn't give the "femboy" another chance to talk. He slammed a high-impact
elbow strike directly into the center of the demon's face, the impact triggering
a Black Flash-style shockwave.
The demon dropped the hostage, his jaw hanging at a broken angle. Natsuya didn't
even pull his sword back. He simply clenched his right fist.
The Wind-Breaker gauntlet, forged from the same solar steel as his blade, let
out a metallic groan as Natsuya channeled the full output of his lungs.
It wasn't a standard martial art. It was a light from beyond the world. Like a
new star igniting, a blinding radiance converged on Natsuya's knuckles. It was
the absolute synthesis of force and Breathing.
Even the uncultured Enmu could "see" it now—the Spiritual Pressure and Sword
Intent the Slayers always talked about.
A brilliant golden glow. A pure, metallic intent of slaughter.
A fist of Scarlet Steel. An impact of absolute violence.
[Luminary Breathing] [Sixth Form: Metal Friday — BROKEN HALBERD IRON
DISSOLUTION]
It was as fast as static, as violent as a solar flare. The kinetic energy
punched straight through Enmu's organs.
A One-Inch Burst. The golden light dived into the earth.
BOOM—!!!
Enmu's neck and half of his chest cavity were instantly pulverized into a fine
mist of blood. The shockwave of the punch continued for another ten meters
through the tunnel, letting out a deep, echoing roar as it tore through the
rock.
The entire passage vibrated violently. Dust and pebbles rained from the ceiling
as the structural integrity of the basement hit the "Red Zone."
Silence slowly returned.
The mouth on Enmu's severed wrist let out a final, dying whisper: "Handbrake...
that punch..."
It felt just like an Upper Moon's... so strong... so heavy...
"What a shame... I won't be there... to see you... turn..."
The head dissolved into gray ash amidst a twisted, parting blessing.
[Proficiency +1327] [Luminary Breathing] LV.4 (3067/4000)
Sabito's eyes snapped open.
The boy clutched his fox mask, bolt upright. He was gasping for air like a
drowning man, his hand instinctively flying to the hilt of his sword.
But the dark tunnel was gone. They were in the courtyard of the tycoon's estate.
A few seconds passed before the images of Giyu's "death" and the distorted peace
of Mt. Sagiri receded like a low tide. As his senses returned to reality, he
looked toward the most reliable presence in his world.
"Senior..."
Natsuya was standing with his back to him. He was bent over a comatose civilian,
applying a bandage with clinical, rapid efficiency.
Senior is as dependable as ever, Sabito thought. Wait... why does that guy have
a puncture wound that looks exactly like a Nichirin Sword thrust?
Sabito shook his head, clearing the "Dream Logic" from his brain. "I... I was
under a spell, wasn't I? Giyu's death... the dojo... it was all just a
nightmare?"
Natsuya didn't look up from his bandage knot.
Sabito felt a wave of self-loathing. He had sworn not to be a burden, yet he had
fallen into a hard-CC before he even saw the enemy. I'm still too weak, he
thought bitterly.
Natsuya finally finished the last civilian. Including the two "Infiltrators" who
were still alive and the half-dozen people he'd dragged out of the tunnel,
everyone was laid out in a neat row.
For the "Yellow Names," Natsuya had been professional. For the "Red Name"
cultists? Let's just say they would wake up with some permanent "Stiffness"
debuffs as a reminder of their life choices.
Natsuya finally turned to Sabito. "Stop making that Giyu-face."
"It was a Moon-rank Mechanism Boss. You being useless is just standard game
balancing."
Then he shifted his gaze to Uzui Tengen, who had also woken up but remained
eerily silent. Even a High-stat teammate can have 0% contribution if they don't
have the right resistance items.
The flamboyant ninja's grin was gone. He looked drained, his expression weighed
down by an uncharacteristic gravity. The "Fratricide" dream had dealt him a
Critical Hit to his Sanity bar.
"What's wrong, Flashy Brother? Still in the nightmare?" Natsuya teased.
"I... I dreamed I had to kill my last brother," Uzui whispered. He looked at his
hands, as if the cold touch of his brother's body still lingered on his skin.
Eventually, his shinobi mental conditioning kicked in. He suppressed the trauma
and focused on Natsuya. He looked at the used gear, the blood on the ground, and
the lack of a demon.
He realized what had happened. While he and Sabito were stuck in a cutscene,
Natsuya had soloed a Lower Moon.
Failure, relief, and a strange surge of excitement warred in his chest. He let
out a long breath and forced a smirk, though it was much smaller than usual.
"A flashy solo-kill, Kokonoe."
"It seems Lord Uzui missed the main event while taking a flashy nap." He paused,
his tone turning sincere. "That makes... two favors I owe you now."
Sabito stood up and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Senior. Once again... I relied on
your strength."
He removed his fox mask, showing a face that was young but hardened with
resolve. "Next time... I won't lose to a dream."
While the trio processed the mission, a Kasugai Crow was already soaring across
the country.
Kokonoe Natsuya. Lower Moon Two: Subjugated.
The crow's cry pierced the night. This time, the news hit the Corps harder than
the report of Mukago's death.
There had been no Hashira oversight.
Both accompanying Slayers had testified: If not for Kokonoe, we would be dead.
Aside from the initial intel, the actual hunt had been a solo performance by
Kokonoe Natsuya.
The value of the "Natsuya Stock" was currently through the roof.
☆☆☆
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