And... a few pending believers, Ubuyashiki's children, Kyojuro's younger brother, Kanao of the Butterfly Mansion... all urgently waiting to become official members...
Roy stepped into the [Demon Slayer World]. Looking up, the weather was perfect. Spring was transitioning into summer, presenting a vibrant scene of singing birds and fragrant flowers. He smiled faintly. Revisiting this old place, his state of mind was completely different now. There was nostalgia and reminiscence, but mostly... a sense of profound peace and relaxation.
At one point, the young man reached out a hand and beckoned to the sky. "Caw!" A Kasugai Crow flew over, dropping a black feather as it landed on the back of his hand with a letter in its beak. It was from Ubuyashiki.
"It has been a long time since we last parted. I hope Lord Eiichiro is doing well."
"Grateful for Lord Eiichiro's grace in imparting wisdom and teachings, Kagaya, along with his wife, daughters, and son, pays his respects to you once again."
"I humbly inform you that Upper Rank Two is dead. Under the bright sun, the demons are nearly extinct. Now, only Upper Rank One and the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, remain at large. Therefore,"
"I have discussed with the Hashira and decided to hold a Hashira Meeting this month during the Qingming Festival to discuss the crucial matter of eradicating the demons. If Lord Eiichiro has the time, we earnestly hope you will grace us with your presence. The Hashira and I will welcome you with the utmost hospitality and boundless joy."
"Written in haste, with much left unsaid. Respectfully yours, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, along with his family and the Hashira."
*Poof!* A cluster of flames sprouted from Roy's fingertips, reducing the letter to ashes. The young man lowered his eyes and smiled softly at the Kasugai Crow. "Go back and tell your master that I have received his message."
"I will not be attending the meeting this time. We will meet again after I kill the Demon King."
He opened his hand, letting the Kasugai Crow soar high into the clouds. Looking up at the sky, he watched it disappear into the distance. Then, he stepped forward, resting a hand on his sword as he walked slowly. His thoughts drifted with the wind, vast and boundless, as he murmured softly, "So it is already Qingming."
During the Qingming Festival, a drizzling rain usually falls, and pedestrians on the road look heartbroken... But in the Demon Slayer world, there was no rain. There was only a clear sky and a blazing sun, leaving the evil demons with no path to the heavens and no door to the earth. Their only path was... death!
The young man narrowed his eyes. His body instantly underwent [Light Transformation], merging into the light. With a few flashes, he vanished into the distance. Along the way, he recklessly searched for demons, attempting to use the demon blood within them to locate the Infinity Castle via the [Targeted Tracking Technique]. However, to his surprise...
He was already approaching Kyoto.
Just as Ubuyashiki Kagaya had stated in the letter, the demons had suffered a ruthless sweep by the newly strengthened Demon Slayer Corps and were nearly extinct!
He hadn't encountered a single one along the way. Whether it was just his bad luck or the Demon Slayer Corps being exceptionally thorough recently, in short... for ordinary people yearning for a peaceful life, this was undoubtedly a good thing.
*Step, step...* The sound of footsteps echoed as Roy found a deserted, secluded alley to reveal his figure. Stepping out of the alley, he was greeted by a bustling street. With weaving crowds of pedestrians and lively shouts from vendors, it was a scene of sheer prosperity. He walked at a leisurely pace, letting his fiery red hair sway gently in the wind. Looking up, he spotted a stall with a hanging curtain and a few low tables and stools set up on either side. It was selling udon noodles.
He fell into a slight daze for a moment, instantly recognizing the man. It was the very same udon stall owner from the original story—the one where Tanjiro first arrived in Kyoto, encountered Muzan, was toyed with by him, and ended up angrily eating two large bowls of noodles.
"Care for some noodles, young man?" The curtain swayed in the wind, revealing a corner. The young udon owner saw Roy and called out with a cheerful smile, "Just opened! Freshly brewed broth, smells amazing!"
Roy broke into a smile. "Since you put it that way, I definitely have to try it."
"Alright, please take a seat."
Roy nodded and casually sat at a low table. "Boss, ten bowls."
"Ten... h-how many?" The owner popped his head out in shock.
Roy held up ten fingers and repeated, "Ten bowls."
He then pulled out some silver coins from his pocket and slapped them onto the table. "You can give me more, but no less."
The owner was stunned for barely two seconds. The moment he saw the money, his eyes went wide. He tossed his towel over his shoulder and beamed. "Coming right up!"
He immediately got busy at his stall.
Roy sat by the low table, quietly watching him boil the noodles, blanch the vegetables, add a slice of char siu, garnish with half a soft-boiled egg, and finally drizzle a little soy sauce. His movements were smooth and fluid, completed in one breath. The owner called out loudly, "Noodles are ready!"
Roy picked up his chopsticks and took a small bite. The flavor was a bit light, but it retained the original taste of the ingredients, and the seasoning was just right. He didn't hold back his praise. "Boss, this pork bone broth is excellent."
The owner paused, surprised that Roy, despite his young age, was quite the food connoisseur. He brought out another bowl of noodles, casually pulled up a stool, and sat opposite Roy, chuckling. "Simmered it on low heat for four hours to get this pot of broth. If it were in the past, I wouldn't have dared to do this."
"How so?"
"It's safer now." The owner pinched the corner of his towel and wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, speaking casually. "The security in Kyoto has improved a lot recently. Before, missing person cases would pop up all the time. It was terrifying just hearing about it, so I never dared to stay open too late at night. It's only recently... since I haven't heard of anyone going missing, that I've gotten a bit bolder."
By then, after traveling from morning till night, the sun had set, and the bright moon was rising. A beam of moonlight spilled down, adding a hazy touch to the bustling city.
Roy slurped his noodles, listening to the stall owner chatter on. As his thoughts drifted, he couldn't help but think of a saying: 'Behind all prosperity and stability, there is always a group of people silently sacrificing.'
Under the stall owner's dumbfounded gaze, he swiftly polished off eleven bowls of noodles in a row before standing up tall, resting his hand on his sword, and taking his leave.
"Young man, you paid too much!" The stall owner picked up the silver coins from the table, weighed them in his hand, and hurriedly called out to Roy.
Roy didn't stop walking. He waved his hand with his back to the stall. "It's not too much. One portion is for you, and the other is for... peace."
A portion for the peace that the Demon Slayer Corps silently fought for behind the scenes... and of course, his own share of the effort was in there too.
"This..." A gentle evening breeze cooled the early summer heat. The stall owner stood stunned. On the low table in front of him sat eleven empty bowls, filled with moonlight, and filled with this prosperous era.
After a long while, he scratched his head and muttered, "What a strange guy..."
The man then gathered the bowls and chopsticks and returned to his stall, just as Roy merged into the crowd and found a dark alley to slip into.
Now that he had arrived in Kyoto and seen the noodle stall owner, Roy stopped at the end of the alley. Looking at the thick brick wall blocking the intersection ahead, he smiled and said, "Yushiro, since you've already noticed me, why not show yourself?"
The night deepened, far from the noise of the streets, leaving the surroundings in complete silence.
Draped in a cloak woven from moonlight, Roy stood with his hand on his sword, maintaining his smile as he waited quietly.
Separated by a single wall, a certain young man with swaying teal bangs and slanted eyebrows—exuding both a youthful aura and a cynical, rebellious vibe—wore wooden geta sandals and a loose robe over a meticulously neat collared shirt. He looked up gloomily at Roy outside the wall, his hands involuntarily clasping together. His eyes were filled with vigilance, and he remained completely silent, just waiting...
Roy feigned suspicion. "Could I have been mistaken?"
He shifted his feet and turned to leave.
Yushiro's expression finally relaxed, and he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. But just as he was about to turn around, his body suddenly stiffened. Without him noticing, an arm had abruptly clamped onto his shoulder, firmly locking him in place!
"[Blindfold] is indeed a good Blood Demon Art, but,"
Roy's body turned into fluorescent light as he took a step out of the moonlight, appearing right behind Yushiro. Resting his head near Yushiro's shoulder, he drawled, "Sometimes, what you see isn't necessarily real."
"Don't you agree?"
"Eiichiro Kamado!" Yushiro's entire body went rigid, his limbs turning ice-cold. He stiffly turned his neck, staring at him in horror. "How... how did you get in?!"
"It's not that I got in; it's that you trust your eyes too much!" A tinge of blood-red surfaced in Roy's pupils, from which three ink-black tomoe slowly emerged. The moment Yushiro met those tomoe, he felt as if he were being sucked in. Along with it, the [Blindfold] he relied on was pierced by Roy's cleanly drawn sword, turning into a piece of paper talisman fluttering in the wind at the tip of the blade.
[Blindfold]: A Blood Demon Art linked to the limits of sight. When activated, it can easily obscure the vision of others, confuse their senses, and mislead them into seeing things they normally wouldn't.
The key to its activation lies first in the paper talisman, and second in creating visual illusions. Some of its characteristics are similar to Genjutsu, making it highly practical.
In the original story, it was precisely by relying on Yushiro's Blood Demon Art that Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, the Hashira, and others were able to delve deep into the Infinity Castle under the command of Kagaya's successor, Kiriya, and successfully kill Doma, Kokushibo, and... Muzan.
However, when it came to "Genjutsu," the Sharingan was undoubtedly an insurmountable mountain!
Setting aside bug-level illusions like Infinite Tsukuyomi, Kotoamatsukami, and Izanagi, even ordinary illusions cast with the Sharingan were beyond the capabilities of a Genjutsu Jonin like Kurenai Yuhi to handle. Let alone... [Blindfold], and let alone... Yushiro!
Yushiro fell silent. Roy was right; he did trust his eyes too much. But before this... no one had ever seen through the [Visual Barrier] he set up so easily!
In other words... if he had encountered anyone other than Roy, even a Hashira, he was confident they wouldn't have noticed him in a short amount of time!
"What do you want?" After a long while, Yushiro took a deep breath and calmed down.
Lady Tamayo was in the mansion behind him. He absolutely... had to stall this man to buy Tamayo time and an opportunity to escape. Now, he could only hope that once Lady Tamayo realized the [Visual Barrier] was broken, she would quickly... leave!
However, pure, obsessive love often blinds one's own eyes. Before Roy could answer, the mansion doors behind them creaked open. A woman dressed in a dark purple kimono stepped out. She had a gentle, beautiful face and soft eyes.
The moment she appeared, she offered Roy a deep, sincere bow. "Lord Eiichiro, I apologize for offending you. Please quell your anger and come inside to talk."
"Lady Tamayo!" Yushiro's shoulders jolted violently. Baring his fangs, he instantly underwent demonification. He forcefully tore his own arm right off his shoulder. Ignoring the pain... ignoring the dripping blood... ignoring his own muffled groans, he roared, "I'll hold him off! Hurry and run!"
He swung his remaining arm, clenching his fist, and threw a punch straight at Roy's head!
This split-second absolute resolve... made Roy freeze in surprise for a moment before he dodged out of the way!
*Smack!* The severed arm hit the ground. Yushiro's punch missed, and he immediately spun around to block Tamayo, glaring ferociously at Roy!
Roy fell silent. Without a word, he reached out and picked up Yushiro's severed arm from the ground. He looked at the man and woman in front of the mansion with a complex expression, feeling both admiration and helplessness. Finally, he tossed Yushiro's severed arm back, returning it to them.
"Since you know who I am, you must also know that my blade has never lacked the blood of demons..."
In other words, Roy gently stroked [Solar Eclipse]. With a backhand flick of his blade, he shattered the talisman on its tip and sheathed his sword. Looking up at the master and servant, he said flatly, "If I wanted to kill you, right now you would probably be... lying down, not... standing."
"Who knows if you..."
"Yushiro!" Tamayo's gentle voice stopped the teal-haired youth.
She stepped out from behind Yushiro and bowed to Roy once more. "Lord Eiichiro, please forgive the display. Yushiro means no harm; he is merely protecting me."
"I can tell." Roy dropped his indifferent facade, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Love often makes people lose their minds. It's understandable."
"You... I..." Yushiro's small face instantly flushed bright red. He clearly wanted to retort, but for some inexplicable reason, he felt a strange sense of comfort in his heart. He simply stiffened his neck awkwardly and glared at Roy.
Seeing his awkward demeanor, Tamayo breathed a slight sigh of relief, her heart finally settling down.
She wasn't afraid of recklessness, but rather recklessness directed at the wrong person. Tamayo straightened her back, looking deeply at Roy's fiery red hair swaying in the wind. She extended a hand, stepping aside from the doorway. "Lord Eiichiro, please."
Roy didn't object. His body turned into moonlight. Flash, flash, and another flash—in the blink of an eye, he appeared right beside Tamayo. Then... under the dumbfounded and bewildered gazes of the master and servant, he casually found a seat and sat down.
Tamayo and Yushiro quietly exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of... shock in each other's eyes!
Eiichiro Kamado was right. If... he had any killing intent, based on the methods he had just displayed... Tamayo and Yushiro knew that even if they wanted to run, they couldn't escape his grasp. After all—
What kind of transcendent close-combat technique was that?!
Did he think he was... light itself?
Yushiro felt his heart beating uncontrollably!
*Thump... thump... thump!*
It was a twisted mix of excitement and awe... as well as an irrepressible sense of guilt and fear. Fortunately,
Tamayo seemed to sense his state of mind. She gently stroked his back to comfort him. "Go inside and reattach your arm first."
She then walked in gracefully ahead of him, bowing as she served Roy a cup of hot tea.
"Lord Eiichiro, please have some tea, and please... enlighten us."
If not to kill them, Tamayo couldn't think of any other reason why this man would come knocking on their door.
"You're too polite, Lady Tamayo."
"It's simple!" Roy took a sip of tea and cut straight to the chase. "I came here to do two things!"
The young man held up two fingers, smiling at Tamayo and Yushiro. "I will do what you cannot do, and I will kill the person you cannot kill... On one condition."
"Please lend me the demon blood of Muzan within your bodies!"
The evil demons were extinct, but fortunately, there were still two good demons left... and they were rare variants who had independently broken free from Muzan's control!
He opened his status panel... [Targeted Tracking Technique] lay quietly in his skill slot... eager to be used.