Chapter 198: Night 198, coming soon
Time flew by swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, another month had passed.
During this month, the entire Demon Slayer Corps had immersed themselves in an intense and lively training environment, filling the training grounds with a massive crowd every day.
Reiger continued to spar with the Hashira as if nothing had happened, both taking them on as sparring partners and serving as one for them, engaging in fervent battles daily.
In such circumstances, among the Hashira, someone finally succeeded in accessing the Transparent World.
That person was Himejima Gyoumei.
He unlocked the Transparent World on the third day of that month.
As the pinnacle and strongest member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Himejima Gyoumei proved through his actions that his reputation was well-deserved, causing a great stir among the other Hashira who had not yet succeeded.
Thus, amidst doubled efforts and training, the Hashira successively unlocked the Transparent World.
Approximately on the seventh day, Iguro Obanai successfully unlocked the Transparent World.
Approximately on the tenth day, Tokitou Muichirou successfully unlocked the Transparent World.
These two, along with Himejima Gyoumei, were the pillars who had managed to unlock the Transparent World at the end of the original story. Now, under Reiger’s guidance, they were the first to achieve it.
Of course, the other Hashira were not to be outdone.
Approximately on the thirteenth day, Shinazugawa Sanemi successfully unlocked the Transparent World.
Approximately on the sixteenth day, Tomioka Giyuu successfully unlocked the Transparent World.
Approximately on the twenty-second day, Rengoku Kyoujurou successfully unlocked the Transparent World.
By then, six of the nine Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps had stepped into the Supreme Domain, fully awakening the triad of abilities.
Only Kochou Shinobu, Kanroji Mitsuri, and Uzui Tengen remained, seemingly not cut out for this, as they continued to fail at unlocking the Transparent World.
This seemed to greatly discourage the three, even the usually smiling Kochou Shinobu occasionally showed a hint of gloom in her eyes.
Kanroji Mitsuri often appeared teary-eyed, which even the Snake Hashira couldn’t bear to watch, forcing him to secretly start training her intensively, coaching her personally on the principles of the Transparent World.
Uzui Tengen was constantly muttering, sitting on a tree with his sturdy arms crossed, eyes closed, lost in thought.
Clearly, the consecutive successes of their peers had made these remaining three somewhat impatient.
Despite witnessing this, Reiger watched but could do little to help.
"I’ve said it before, the Transparent World is different from the other two abilities; it’s not something you can unlock just because you want to."
No matter how you see it, this is the culmination of martial arts and swordsmanship, a state of being known as the Supreme Domain. If it really doesn’t work, then it doesn’t, and there’s no shortcut.
Akaza had pursued this realm for over a hundred years without success, proving that it’s truly not something that can be forced.
At least, from Reiger’s perspective, if Kochou Shinobu and the others still hadn’t unlocked the Transparent World despite reaching this point, then their hopes were probably slim.
"It’s all up to them now."
That’s what Reiger silently thought.
In the meantime, Ubuyashiki Kagaya had summoned Reiger to meet with him.
Upon seeing Ubuyashiki Kagaya again, the state of the Demon Slayer Corps leader had become quite dire.
He was completely bedridden, spending all day in bed and struggling to speak, it seemed his time was truly running out.
That’s what he said himself.
"I probably don’t have much time left, so I should say everything I need to say while I can..."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya spoke as if he could pass away at any moment.
Reiger frowned deeply upon seeing this, yet he was powerless to change the situation.
He had already treated Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
[Diya Flatel] was the highest tier of healing Magic, capable of not only healing injuries but also expelling Curses.
With this magic spell, at first, Reiger thought he could cure the disease afflicting Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
Because the disease on Ubuyashiki Kagaya was a Curse, a Curse that originated from Kibutsuji Muzan.
During the Heian era a thousand years ago, Kibutsuji Muzan, who had not yet become a demon, was actually from the Ubuyashiki family.
In other words, the Ubuyashiki family was blood-related to Kibutsuji Muzan.
After Kibutsuji Muzan became a demon a thousand years ago, it was as if the Ubuyashiki family had been collectively cursed; every child born was frail and died young.
Especially the boys, who had an extremely high rate of early death, bringing the Ubuyashiki family to the brink of extinction.
Later on, generation after generation of the Ubuyashiki family married women from families of shrine priests to mitigate the effects of the Curse, thus prolonging the lives of their descendants.
Even so, there was no one in the Ubuyashiki family who could live past the age of 30.
Therefore, members of the Ubuyashiki family were all sickly and met early deaths without exception.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya was just 23 years old this year, but he was already seriously ill and was soon to pass away from this illness.
Reiger had believed that with [Diya Flatel], which could expel Curses, he should have been able to remove this Curse from Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
But he failed.
The Curse wasn’t cast on an individual but on the entire bloodline of the family.
In other words, if Reiger wanted to remove this Curse, he would have to eradicate the Curse afflicting the entire Ubuyashiki family all at once.
But Kibutsuji Muzan was also of the Ubuyashiki family, and even the source of the Curse.
Without him, even if Reiger removed the Curse from everyone else, the power of the Curse would regenerate from the bloodline of the Ubuyashiki family like an intractable disease.
This resulted in Ubuyashiki Kagaya being ultimately unable to rid himself of the Curse, his body growing weaker and weaker, and his figure more and more emaciated.
This time, Ubuyashiki Kagaya had summoned Reiger with the intent of leaving behind his final words.
He first shared a piece of intelligence with Reiger.
"Recently, there have been frequent cases of human disappearances in various towns..."
The majority of the missing were either individuals prone to violence or martial artists skilled in combat, and even criminals who had committed capital offenses and were about to be executed.
Without exception, they all disappeared suddenly without any warning, some from their homes and others after stepping out and never returning, causing quite a stir in society.
And according to the intelligence network of the Demon Slayer Corps, most of these people had had brief encounters with demons before they vanished.
At first, the Demon Slayer Corps thought they had been eaten by demons, but then they discovered something was amiss.
After all, these people all shared one common characteristic: they either possessed martial strength or some degree of violent tendencies.
This drew the serious attention of the Demon Slayer Corps, and eventually, the intelligence reached Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Furthermore, not long ago, all the people in a small town to the east disappeared—men, women, the elderly, and children alike. Thousands of people vanished without a trace overnight..."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya shared such intel, causing Reiger to frown.
"Is it possible for so many people to disappear?"
This was definitely not a good sign.
You see, humans are a precious resource to demons in all respects.
They can serve as food, replenishing the demons’ nutrients, enhancing their strength.
They can also become demons, for as soon as Kibutsuji Muzan bestows his blood upon them, they can immediately shed their human identity and join the ranks of demons.
Now, a large number of humans had disappeared en masse, and Reiger absolutely did not believe there was no demon involvement.
Whether they had become food for demons, used to boost the demons’ strength, or turned into new demons as a fighting force, it was all a terribly bad situation for the Demon Slayer Corps.
That’s what Ubuyashiki Kagaya said.
"I can feel that Kibutsuji Muzan’s power is rapidly increasing..."
And it was for this reason that Ubuyashiki Kagaya’s physical condition had deteriorated so gravely.
This was a sign that the Curse in their bloodline was intensifying.
The intensification of the Curse indicated that Kibutsuji Muzan himself, the source of the Curse, was becoming increasingly powerful.
"Be careful..."
Lying in bed with a towel covering his face, Ubuyashiki Kagaya’s nearly decayed visage was completely obscured.
"We’re preparing for war, and so are the demons..."
"The great decisive battle that will determine the future between humans and demons is drawing ever closer..."
"And you, you are the key to this decisive battle..."
Like squeezing out his last bit of strength, Ubuyashiki Kagaya left his final words with a smile to Reiger.
"I do not know if I will live to see that day; if not, I leave the Demon Slayer Corps and all else in your hands..."
Having said this, Ubuyashiki Kagaya lost consciousness.
"Lord Kagaya!"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya’s wife immediately rushed in with her daughter.
Reiger also stepped forward, took a glance at Ubuyashiki Kagaya, and found that he had only lost consciousness, not passed away.
But his breath was like a flickering candle in the wind, extremely feeble, likely to go out at any moment.
Even when Reiger activated the Transparent World and took a glimpse inside Ubuyashiki Kagaya’s body, what he saw was an exceedingly grim scene.
"His time is running out... isn’t it?"
Recognizing this reality, Reiger looked at the people bustling nervously for Ubuyashiki Kagaya and silently left the room.
That day, the pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps unusually did not appear on the training ground; they all came here, standing vigil for Ubuyashiki Kagaya the entire day until they left the next.
Reiger sat in his own hall, gazing through the courtyard and watching the bright moon in the night sky.
The moon hung high, yet unbeknownst to when, it seemed to have taken on a layer of blood color.
......
Meanwhile, in an inverse space with a deceptive castle layout, the blood-stained Demon King quietly emerged.
He too was observing the night sky, looking at the bright moon, a noticeable trail of blood lingering on his lips.
"The time is almost upon us..."
The Demon King revealed a cruel smile.
"It’s time to fulfill a thousand-year-old long-cherished wish."