Under the cloak of night, Jon treaded through the dense forest, the moonlight barely piercing the thick canopy above. The air was heavy with the scent of ancient pines and the distant sound of water cascading down the mountainside. He arrived at the designated location, a place shrouded in history, where the remnants of a once grand residence from the Warring States period lay in ruins, reclaimed by nature.
The silence was broken by the unmistakable sound of a blade being sharpened—a sound that sent shivers down the spine of any warrior. It was here that Kokushibo, the Upper Moon One, awaited him.
"You... are late..." The voice that greeted Jon was as cold as the grave, a whisper that seemed to echo from the depths of the abyss. Kokushibo's figure was a shadow against the moonlight, his back turned, an ominous presence that dominated the clearing.
Beside the formidable demon stood two others: Hantengu, the Upper Moon Four, with his swollen forehead and timid horns, and Daki, the Upper Moon Six, her face adorned with pink tattoos, her beauty marred by the malice in her eyes.
Jon's arrival was met with a mixture of disdain and fear. "You've earned yourself a little more time to live~" he declared with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. His gaze shifted to the two demons flanking Kokushibo. "However, it seems you've brought me some appetizers as well~"
Daki's response was immediate, her voice dripping with venom. "You're courting death!"
Hantengu's voice quivered, the fear palpable. "Kokushibo-san, are you really giving me away as a gift to someone else? Oh, how terrifying!"
Jon's smirk was a flash of lightning in the dark, his eyes glinting with the thrill of the hunt. "Well then, I'll gladly accept this generous gift!"
With a flourish, Jon unleashed his chain, now alight with the infernal blaze of hellfire. The chain split and snaked through the air with a life of their own, aiming for Daki and Hantengu with deadly precision.
The chains found their mark, piercing through the demons with a sound that was almost a sigh. Twin screams shattered the night as their bodies ignited, the hellfire consuming them with a hunger that was almost sentient.
But then,
Daki's body contorted, her muscles writhing as if alive. Her beauty melted away, replaced by bulging sinews and a grotesque transformation. Her hair shortened, and her delicate form was replaced by the monstrous physique of Gyutaro, her brother, who emerged from within her to protect her in times of peril.
Simultaneously, Hantengu's frail body split into four, each clone a twisted reflection of his psyche—Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Hatred. They stood ready, their cracked faces and horns a testament to their demonic nature.
Gyutaro's voice was a snarl, filled with protective fury. "Dare to bully my sister?! you will pay the price!"
Gyutaro, his eyes ablaze with a vengeful fire, unleashed his Blood Demon Art with a ferocious cry. "Rotating Circular Slashes: Flying Blood Sickles!" Blood, as dark as the night itself, spilled from his hands, swirling into a deadly spiral around his arms before solidifying into crimson blades that lashed out towards Jon with lethal intent.
But Jon was no ordinary foe. His body contorted in an impossible twist, bending reality around him. As Gyutaro's blood blades sliced through the space where Jon had been, they met nothing but air. Jon had vanished.
Using the Apparition technique, Jon reappeared behind Gyutaro, his hand now gripping a high-tech pistol, a relic from the Men in Black arsenal. The weapon, imbued with the same hellfire that danced along his chains, was aimed with deadly precision at Gyutaro's head.
"Pong! Pong ~!" Jon's voice was the epitome of indifference, the sound of his weapon discharging was almost casual. A red laser, a concentrated beam of infernal energy, shot forth and in a gruesome instant, Gyutaro and Daki's heads were obliterated, their demonic existence snuffed out.
[Ding! Side mission updated, eliminate the Twelve Kizuki, earn 1200 Penalty points, current progress 9/12]
[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange performed, 300 Penalty points obtained]
[Ding! Legendary mission updated: Judge a thousand souls burdened with heavy sins across the multiverse, current progress 69/1000].
The system's notifications chimed in Jon's mind, a testament to his relentless progress.
"Do you think you will hide forever, Kamanue~!" Jon's senses, sharpened beyond human limits, detected another presence. Without hesitation, he fired again, the laser finding its mark with unerring accuracy.
[Ding! Side mission updated, eliminate the Twelve Kizuki, earn 1200 Penalty points, current progress 10/12]
[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange performed, 150 Penalty points obtained]
[Ding! Legendary mission updated: Judge a thousand souls burdened with heavy sins across the multiverse, current progress 70/1000].
The system updated him once more, his tally of the Twelve Kizuki growing ever closer to completion.
Turning to face Hantengu's four clones, Jon was met with the embodiment of "Anger," its voice seething with contempt. "You shameless bully of the weak, don't you feel disgraceful?!"
Jon's smile was a sliver of moonlight, cold and sharp. "Weak? Are you referring to him?" His tone was mocking, a challenge to the demon's pride.
With a swift motion, Jon used the Elder Wand, "Carpe Retractum!" The incantation was spoken with authority, and a blue light erupted from the wand's tip. From the underbrush, a figure no larger than a rat was yanked into the open, ensnared by the spell and caught in Jon's unyielding grasp.
"You... let go of him!" The clone representing Anger demanded, its voice a mix of fury and desperation.
In the palm of his hand, Jon held the diminutive form of Hantengu, the true source of the Upper demon moon's power. The clones, mere extensions of his will, were nothing without this core. Hantengu's true form, now exposed, was vulnerable—a fatal weakness that Jon was all too ready to exploit.
"Alright~" Jon's voice was laced with a dark amusement as he released his grip. Hantengu's rat-sized body plummeted towards the earth, but Jon was not one to let gravity have the final say. His foot, wreathed in hellfire, met the falling demon with a brutal kick, incinerating Hantengu in a single, decisive blow.
"You... you monster...!" The clone of Anger cried out, its voice a mix of horror and disbelief. But its protest was short-lived; as Hantengu's true form was destroyed, the clones succumbed to the same fate, turning to ash that was carried away by the night wind.
[Ding! Side mission updated, eliminate the Twelve Kizuki, earn 1200 Penalty points, current progress 11/12]
[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange performed, 300 Penalty points obtained]
[Ding! Legendary mission updated: Judge a thousand souls burdened with heavy sins across the multiverse, current progress 71/1000].
The system's notifications chimed once more, a testament to Jon's relentless advance through the ranks of the Twelve Kizuki.
***
Throughout the carnage, Kokushibo had remained a silent observer, his blade singing the song of sharpened steel. The demise of his demonic brethren had not swayed him; his focus was singular, reserved for the battle to come.
"Now, it's your turn~" Jon's voice was a challenge, a call to the final act of this nocturnal symphony.
"I was thinking the same," Kokushibo responded, his tone devoid of emotion. As he turned, his six eyes were revealed, a visage of terror that would unnerve any other. But Jon, the Ghost Rider was no ordinary adversary.
"The blade... is now sharpened, the trash... has been taken out, now... you can fight me with all your best," Kokushibo declared, his indifference a stark contrast to the tension that filled the air.
Jon's response was to embrace his infernal transformation fully. Flames engulfed his form, and from the fire emerged the Ghost Rider, his voice a dark echo, "Yeah… show me your best~!"
Kokushibo, unfazed by the demonic visage before him, drew his sword with a grace that belied its deadly intent. "Let's begin!"
"Moon Breathing, Sixteenth Form: Lonely Moon!" Kokushibo's movement was a dance of death, his blade an extension of his will. He unleashed a maelstrom of crescent blades, each one a silent whisper of the moon's solitude, a net woven from the fabric of night itself.
The earth trembled under the onslaught, the ground cratered and scarred as if mourning the violence it had witnessed. Any other would have been annihilated by such a force, but Kokushibo knew better than to assume victory.
As the dust settled, the Ghost Rider stood, an unyielding specter amidst the devastation.
"Now, it's my turn!"
The Ghost Rider's voice was the tolling of a bell, signaling the turn of the tide. His chain, now attached with hellfire, lashed out with a life of their own. The fiery chain pierced through Kokushibo's chest, a strike as inevitable as time itself.
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