[Ding! Side mission updated: Eliminate the Twelve Demon Moons, earn 1200 Penalty Points, current progress 6/12].
[Ding! Legendary mission updated: Judge a thousand souls burdened with heavy sins across the multiverse, current progress 67/1000].
The chime of the system's notifications rang like a distant bell in the midst of chaos, a reminder of the grim task at hand.
Jon stood amidst the aftermath of his battle with Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, his mind racing with the implications of his foe's last words. He had not used Akaza's soul to exchange for Penalty Points. After all, Akaza was not just a demon but an outstanding combat expert. The destructive techniques he had honed over countless battles were a testament to his prowess. To squander such a resource would be folly.
"However, the words Akaza said are somewhat concerning. So... the other Upper Moon here is Doma." Jon's voice was a low murmur, barely audible over the sound of his own thoughts. He stood up, his gaze piercing through the darkness as he sensed the intense aura of sin that had not dissipated but instead seemed to be on the move.
Then such a dense aura of sin, undoubtedly, was emanating from Doma.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sudden, urgent beeping of a device snapped Jon out of his contemplation. He swiftly pulled out the device he had given to Kanae before their paths had diverged. His eyes narrowed as realization dawned upon him.
"So Doma is after Kanae, huh?" With a sense of urgency, Jon clasped his chains tighter and sprinted in the direction of the signal, his resolve as unyielding as the steel that bound him.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the grim tableau of battle was laid bare under the moon's pale light.
Cough~!
Kanae, her breath ragged, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Her hands, though trembling, gripped her Nichirin sword with a determination that belied her delicate appearance. Her face, once the epitome of gentleness, was now etched with the stern lines of a warrior pushed to the brink.
The ground around her was a macabre mosaic of young girls' limbs and severed arms, a testament to the horror that had unfolded. And standing amidst the carnage, the orchestrator of this nightmare, was the demon she faced.
Upper Moon Two, Doma.
Doma's smile was a grotesque parody of innocence, his eyes holding a chillingly serene light as he regarded Kanae. "My, my~! To think you could last so long," he cooed, his voice a sickeningly sweet melody that clashed with the scene of devastation he had wrought.
"You're not an ordinary swordsman, are you? Are you a Hashira~?" His question hung in the air, almost playful, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse that had caught his interest.
Clap~!
Doma's hands came together with a soft, chilling clap, and as they parted, a pair of iron fans unfurled with a flourish, their edges glinting ominously in the dim light. His lips, tainted with the crimson evidence of his recent atrocity, curled into a grotesque smile, mocking the very essence of life he had so callously snuffed out.
"Is this... the strength of an Upper Moon!" Kanae's voice was a mix of awe and despair, her body a canvas of wounds that spoke of her valiant struggle. Each breath was a battle, each movement a testament to her will. "I'm no match for him right now. I've already sent an alarm to Jon; he should be arriving soon. All I need to do is hold him off!"
Kanae, the Flower Hashira, was no stranger to the dance with death, but she was not one to step into its embrace without purpose. She knew that to die here, by Doma's hand, would serve no end. Her duty was clear: to endure, to delay the demon until Jon could arrive and bring about the reckoning this Upper Moon deserved.
"My, my~! It's all your fault, you were so eager to attack right from the start, that you didn't even give me a chance to introduce myself, how rude?!~" Doma's voice was a serenade of false innocence, his smile never faltering.
Kanae's eyes narrowed, her frown a silent rebuke. She had indeed launched her attack without hesitation, for the plea of the girl, desperate and fading, had demanded immediate action. But her attempt to save a life had been met with cruel derision, as Doma had extinguished it without a second thought, leaving nothing but a gruesome display of severed limbs as his calling card.
"My name is Doma, the leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith Cult. Making my followers happy is my duty. Rest assured, those girls around you, I will also consume them completely~" Doma's words flowed as smoothly as the blood from his victims, his fan moving with a deceptive grace.
"...Making your followers happy? Don't flatter yourself!" Kanae's voice rose, tinged with a rare anger. "She clearly despised you, she was just begging me for help!"
"So didn't I already come to the rescue~?!" Doma's gaze drifted to the dismembered body, his tone dripping with a vile satisfaction. "Now, whether it's sadness, pain, or fear, they have all left her~!"
"Everyone in this world fears death, so I eat them, so they can live forever with me~!" Doma proclaimed, his eyes closed in a perverse mimicry of reverence, one hand pressed against his chest as if to convey the depth of his twisted conviction. "And I, will accept everything from my followers—their thoughts, their feelings, their flesh. And in the eternal flow of time, I will lead them to the noblest salvation~! Hahahaha~~"
"Y…you are just a psychopath! Is there something wrong with your head?!" Kanae's voice was laced with disgust, her face contorted in anger. "You're making me sick!"
She could sense the profound difference between this demon and the others she had faced. Many demons had once been human, losing themselves to the darkness after their transformation. But Doma, he was a different breed of evil, one that she suspected was as old as his human past, his hands stained with blood long before he had forsaken his humanity.
"Ah~?" Doma's feigned innocence was almost comical, his large eyes widening as if he were genuinely puzzled by Kanae's harsh words. "We've just met, why speak so rudely ~?! Ah, I understand~! Poor child, you must also have painful memories that you can't let go of! Since that's the case, I will accept you just like I did the previous girl!"
"Is that so...."
The chilling voice that interrupted was like a cold wind sweeping through the battlefield, causing Kanae's heart to skip a beat before she recognized its source. She turned to see a figure emerging from the shadows, a skeleton in a leather jacket, his body wrapped in chains that seemed to writhe with a life of their own, his skull ablaze with the hellfire.
"Jon-san!" Kanae's relief was palpable. She had heard tales of his fearsome power, of how he transformed into a terrifying entity when pushed to his limits. A terror indeed, but a terror that fought on the side of justice.
"You... Step back for now, leave this to me!" Ghost Rider's voice was a low growl, commanding and absolute.
Kanae nodded, her trust in Jon unwavering, and began to retreat.
"Thinking of leaving~? That won't do! I've already decided to eat you, I won't let such a beautiful girl escape from my sight~!" Doma's voice was playful, but the malice behind it was clear as day.
"Blood Demon Art. Frozen Lotus!" With a flourish of his fan, Doma unleashed a barrage of ice shards and blooming lotuses, a beautiful yet deadly attack aimed at Kanae.
Snap!
But Ghost Rider was unfazed. With a snap of his fingers, a wall of hellfire erupted, devouring the icy assault with ravenous heat.
"Daring to lay a hand on her in my presence, it seems you're tired of living," Ghost Rider intoned, his voice a dark promise of retribution.
In the original tale, Kanae's fate was sealed by Doma's hand, but now, with Jon—Ghost Rider—here, the story was poised to take a different turn.
Doma, however, was unlike any demon he had encountered. Devoid of emotion even in his human life, he had never known fear. And so, even in the face of Ghost Rider's daunting presence, he remained eerily serene, his smile unbroken, his eyes betraying no hint of concern for the infernal justice that was about to be meted out.
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