Kōbe Hikaru received no answer. The creature only wailed — either unwilling or unable to respond — its face twisted in agony and rage.
He stared at the monster pinned to the ground by bone spikes, drenched in blood yet refusing to die, and found his thoughts drifting in an unexpected direction.
Terrifying regenerative power.
Not a demon. Not a ghost in any conventional sense.
He carefully combed through the memories he carried from before his transmigration.
This thing… deathly pale skin, sunken eye sockets, crimson pupils.
Near-limitless regeneration — it wouldn't die even with its heart run clean through. Spiritual attacks caused it pain, but couldn't kill it. Bloodthirsty, savage, self-aware — and yet clearly, unmistakably, ruled by bestial instinct.
On top of all that, it was simply not a demon or a ghost in the way this world defined those things.
An undying body.
If his guess was right —
Then this world was not only home to Inuyasha and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan.
It had merged with another work entirely.
"Interesting," Kōbe Hikaru murmured.
He suddenly understood. This world was far more complex than he had imagined.
Far more dangerous than he had imagined.
And far richer in opportunity.
…
Tsubaki stood at a careful distance — close enough to watch, far enough to avoid the blast radius. She observed the scene before her.
The monster had been nailed to the ground by Kōbe Hikaru's countless bone spikes, completely immobile. But it wasn't dead. Those crimson eyes were still moving, brimming with hatred and fear.
"What in the world is that thing?" she murmured.
Not a demon, not a ghost.
And yet it possessed a regenerative power that most demons could never dream of.
This was not right. This was not normal at all.
While she was still turning it over in her mind, Kikyō had already appeared at her side. Silent, unannounced — as if she had simply materialized from nowhere.
The shrine maiden in white and red, black hair floating loose and gathered into a tail at the end, long bow in hand, her immeasurable spiritual power radiating outward like a quiet, invisible radiance.
Her expression was the same as always — cool, distant, unreadable.
"Are you all right?" Kikyō asked.
Tsubaki bit down on her lip.
"…Thank you," she said.
The words came out stiff and reluctant.
She had no desire to owe Kikyō a debt. But the truth was undeniable — if not for Kikyō's arrow and that ghost warrior's intervention, she would almost certainly be dead right now.
Kikyō didn't hold her tone against her.
She simply looked toward the monster pinned to the earth.
"That thing…" She furrowed her brow. "I have never seen anything like it."
"It is not a demon," Tsubaki said. "My barrier is effective against demons — against that thing, it was completely useless."
"And it is not an ordinary spirit, either," Kikyō added. "My Sacred Arrows could wound it, but not kill it. The purifying force of spiritual power had no effect whatsoever."
All you could do was hit it harder.
The two of them exchanged a glance, and each saw the same bafflement in the other's eyes.
Kōbe Hikaru paid no attention to the two bewildered shrine maidens at his back. His focus was entirely on the creature before him.
He had already pieced it together, more or less.
These creatures — they most likely came from a work he had seen in his previous life.
Its name was Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
A world where slaying demons was the central thread running through everything.
Only unlike Inuyasha and Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, the demons of that work were not yōkai at all. They originated from a single Progenitor — a being born when a human was transformed by a peculiar drug.
That Progenitor could infect humans with his own blood, manufacturing demons.
Demons made this way possessed undying bodies. Their only weaknesses were sunlight — and blades forged from a steel imbued with the energy of the sun: the Sun-Breathing blades, the Nichirin swords.
If that was what this creature was, then it made perfect sense that the shrine maidens' spiritual power had barely scratched it.
Because, as far as Kōbe Hikaru knew, the existence of Kibutsuji Muzan was, in all likelihood, bound up with something divine.
Neither human nor demon — something in between, perhaps. Something that stood outside the polarity of pure and impure, unchecked by either.
Of course.
For Kikyō, dealing with something like this — sealing it — would still be within her reach. She had, after all, sealed even Magatsuhi.
And besides, Kōbe Hikaru was only guessing. He hadn't confirmed anything yet.
He still needed to verify it further.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" he asked.
The creature's eyes shifted. It fixed its gaze on him.
"Kill…" it rasped.
"I know you want to kill me. But before that —"
Kōbe Hikaru crouched down, bringing himself level with its eyes.
"Answer me one question."
The creature said nothing.
But its gaze said everything.
It was listening.
Kōbe Hikaru knew exactly what to ask.
If this thing truly was a demon from that world —
Then it would surely know one name.
The name of the Progenitor who had created all demons.
The existence that countless people had trembled before in terror.
"You." Kōbe Hikaru spoke.
His voice wasn't loud, but it reached the creature's ears with perfect clarity.
"Do you know the name — Kibutsuji Muzan?"
...
In an instant, the creature's body went rigid.
Not from the bone spikes this time — but from fear. Pure, instinctive, bone-deep fear.
Those crimson eyes snapped wide open.
The hatred that had filled them a moment before vanished entirely — leaving only shock.
It stared at Kōbe Hikaru as if it were staring at a death god sent to collect its soul.
But it was the one who was supposed to be the monster here.
"You… how do you know that name…!?" Its voice was shaking. "How could you possibly know — Lord Muzan's name!"
Lord Muzan.
Kōbe Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
So he had guessed correctly.
This thing genuinely knew Kibutsuji Muzan.
And from the way it referred to him — it was almost certainly one of the demons Muzan had personally created.
"Just as I thought," Kōbe Hikaru murmured.
He rose to his feet, looking down at the monster pinned beneath him.
The creature had stopped struggling entirely.
It simply stared up at Kōbe Hikaru, its eyes full of disbelief.
"What… what are you…?" it asked. "Why would you know Lord Muzan's name… Could you possibly be…"
"What I am doesn't matter," Kōbe Hikaru cut it off.
He looked into those terrified eyes, and smiled.
In the moonlight, that smile looked distinctly strange — like a hunter looking down at prey that had walked right into the trap.
"What matters is —"
he said.
I have my confirmation.
The creature trembled harder than ever.
In the distance.
Both Kikyō and Tsubaki had heard that name.
Kibutsuji Muzan — a name utterly foreign to them.
But judging from the creature's reaction, it was no ordinary name.
"Who is that?" Tsubaki asked, frowning.
Kikyō shook her head. "I don't know."
Her gaze settled on the figure standing at the center of it all.
That silhouette of red and white stood in the moonlight like a god of war descended from the underworld.
He knew that name.
He knew where this creature had come from.
Just how many more secrets was he hiding?
Kikyō still asked nothing.
But somewhere in her heart, a new feeling had taken root.
Curiosity.
And anticipation.
That ghost warrior who called himself Kōbe Hikaru.
He always seemed to have one more surprise waiting.
[Shikon Jewel — Naohi: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 52 (Trust)]
[It conveys a message to you: "The smell coming off that monster is deeply unpleasant."]
["But you handled it well."]
Kōbe Hikaru looked at the notification panel.
Quite satisfying.
Tonight's gains were even greater than he had expected.
Not just new abilities.
But new information.
The world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba existed here too.
Which meant Kibutsuji Muzan might exist here as well.
Those immensely powerful demons might exist here as well.
And the Nichirin swords — blades capable of killing demons — might exist here too.
Danger and opportunity, walking hand in hand.
"Interesting," he murmured.
"This world just keeps getting more interesting."
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