"Hey, hey, don't look so scary…"
In Doma's teasing voice, Tong Gu caught a glimpse of his terrifying reflection on his blade.
She's just a character in the story, just an NPC.
She has no combat power and can't help me defeat Muzan.
She doesn't even appear in the anime. Her death doesn't matter to the plot.
Tong Gu kept repeating these thoughts to himself, trying to convince himself that he shouldn't care about her death. But—
"Are you a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Are you... a Hashira?"
"Swordsman, can you promise me one thing?"
The image of the girl, smiling through tears as she jumped from the tree, flashed vividly before his eyes.
A rage unlike anything he'd ever felt before ignited within him, as though his heart and lungs were engulfed in flames.
---
[Hidden Quest: A Girl's Request (Incomplete)]
[Quest Objective: Notify the Demon Slayer Corps and rescue Shinkawa Nanae before Doma devours her.]
---
The quest wasn't marked as failed. From the beginning, Minai hadn't included herself in the objective.
On Doma's chest, the image of the girl's head grew clearer. Her tear-streaked face looked at Tong Gu, lips trembling as if speaking.
"Swordsman... save me..."
Her tears turned to blood, and the once gentle face of the girl became grotesque, covered in gore.
Even knowing this was a manipulation of Doma's Blood Demon Art, the scene stabbed deep into Tong Gu's heart.
With a furious roar, he unleashed his attack.
"Earth Breathing, First Form: Gate of Hell!"
Black blade light swept through the air, accompanied by a surge of white energy.
BOOM!
Tong Gu's grip tore open, his hands dripping blood.
"Ugh..."
Lowering his gaze, he saw Doma's fan embedded in his left shoulder and the massive notch carved into his Nichirin blade. The gap in power between them was painfully evident.
Doma withdrew his fan, clapping lightly in admiration.
"To shatter my ice—what an angry and fiery sword technique."
"Are you the one bullying my sister?"
Tong Gu closed his eyes. The situation couldn't be worse.
Not only had he encountered Doma, but Gyutaro had also appeared at the edge of the pit.
Even the strongest Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, would struggle to survive against these two Upper Rank demons.
Yet, as Tong Gu gazed at the girl's tear-streaked face, an unexpected calm washed over him.
Yes, he had calculated and schemed to survive this "Game of Fate."
But now it seemed as though the game itself was mocking him.
The more he wanted to live, the harsher the challenges it threw his way.
Doma looked at Tong Gu's sudden change in demeanor, now eerily calm. He noticed the swordsman pulling out an object resembling a hilt.
"What's this?"
Tong Gu gripped the detonator tightly, uncertain if even he could survive the explosion at this range.
He glanced at the Upper Rank demons—Gyutaro poised at the edge, Doma's smug expression—and smiled.
"Let's gamble."
"Oh? Gamble on what?" Doma asked, intrigued.
"Whose luck is better."
Tong Gu pressed the button.
Beep… beep…
Shrill alarms blared as Gyutaro's senses screamed danger. He barely turned toward his recovering sister at the pit's base when the explosion erupted.
A deafening roar consumed the pit, fire and heat surging outward.
The confined space amplified the inferno, resulting in secondary explosions and even higher temperatures.
Tong Gu barely managed to shield himself, the intense heat searing his back despite his specialized protective vest.
Farther away, Doma summoned a massive ice construct to shield himself. But the intense heat melted it in moments, sending him flying.
Tong Gu staggered to his feet, his burned hands gripping his battered Nichirin blade. Ignoring the shocked expressions of the demons, he lunged toward the pit.
Gyutaro stood, carbonized, at the edge.
The flames had incinerated his body, leaving him charred, yet still clinging to life—a testament to a demon's tenacity.
Suppressing his own agony, Tong Gu gripped his blade and swung.
Slash!
The cut was effortless, like slicing through brittle wood.
Gyutaro's blackened head tumbled to the ground, his lifeless eyes still wide with disbelief.
Without pause, Tong Gu leaped into the fiery pit.
Even in her weakened state, Daki remained motionless, her regeneration far slower than her brother's. She didn't even notice as the flame-scarred swordsman descended upon her.
With a final strike, Tong Gu decapitated her.
[You have slain Upper Rank Six: Gyutaro & Daki.]
[Trial Mission 1 Completion Progress Significantly Increased!]
[Reputation with the Demon Slayer Corps Greatly Increased: Current Status – Renowned Hero.]
[Legends of Your Deeds Begin to Spread Among Demons: 1 Legendary Point.]
[World Progress Increased by 7%. Trial Evaluation Significantly Boosted!]
Collapsing to the ground, Tong Gu smelled the acrid stench of his burned flesh. As system notifications flooded his vision, he barely noticed the drop in temperature.
Amid the swirling snow, Doma descended into the pit, his injuries already healing.
Cold seeped into the air as Tong Gu struggled to breathe, frost forming with every exhale.
Doma glanced at the dissolving remains of Gyutaro and Daki, his expression unreadable.
"What kind of weapon could cause such destruction?"
Tong Gu's fading vision shifted to the moon above, its glow reminding him of the night he first arrived in this world.
As Doma approached, curiosity replacing malice, Tong Gu pulled something from his coat—a small golden bracelet.
[Item: Agony of Paradise (Cursed) Quality: Green]
[Description: A young girl's unending agony, etched into this bracelet. Her pain and despair are sealed within, awaiting release.]
[Effect 1: Absorbs all pain from the wearer for five minutes, usable once per day.]
[Effect 2: Transfers accumulated pain to a target, inflicting immense suffering.]
[Effect 3 (Curse): Guides the wearer to an inevitable confrontation with Doma.]
Tong Gu smirked. So, this was her gift.
By dying, she had passed this item to him. She had led him to this moment.
Sliding the bracelet onto his finger like a crude ring, Tong Gu raised it toward Doma.
"Pain."
Doma's ever-present smile twisted into a grimace as unbearable agony engulfed him, driving him to the ground in a fit of screams.
Watching the demon writhe, Tong Gu felt no satisfaction.
The greater Doma's pain, the more Minai must have suffered.
[Trial Mission 1: Survive for Three Months.]
[Completed.]
[All Trial Objectives Met. Would you like to leave this world?]
Tong Gu stared at the fallen demon, his voice barely audible but resolute.
"Your head stays with you for now."
"But wait for me, Doma. Yours... and Muzan's... will be mine."
[Leave.]
*******************************************
Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my Patreon.
patreon(.)com/GodDragcell