Chapter 76: Who Fell Into the Trap?
I hope nobody curses me after this chapter… the interaction went negative, but I guess I deserve it for disappearing for so long.
Enjoy~~~
In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, specifically inside the halls of Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High School, the morning had only just begun, yet the atmosphere inside one of the dorm rooms felt heavy.
"Zenin Ren" woke up with half-open eyes that looked exhausted, as if he had fought a mental war all night long.
He had messy black hair falling over his forehead, and emerald-green eyes shining with a strange coldness this morning. His body was like a masterpiece of athletic sculpture; defined yet lean muscles, and a handsome face with sharp features. He had slept without a shirt, wearing only loose black pants.
He slowly got out of bed and approached the mirror hanging in the room. He stared at his reflection for a while, brushing his hand across his face, before turning to look at "Rina," the intelligent system copy floating nearby, watching him in her usual silence.
He asked in a lazy and irritated voice for some unknown reason, his tone completely different from Ren's usual tone:
"So… what's my current mission?"
Rina looked at him for a moment, her digital eyes narrowing slightly before she answered coldly:
[Didn't the original 'Ren' explain that clearly before handing this body over to you? Don't tell me you forgot, 'Ron'?]
Yes, this was not the original Ren, but "Ron," who had been summoned to temporarily take control of this body.
Ron did not answer Rina's question. He merely clicked his tongue quietly, grabbed a white towel and threw it over his shoulder, then left his room with slow steps and his hands buried inside his pockets.
As he walked through the academy's wooden hallways toward the indoor hot spring bath—which had a weak but soothing healing effect—he passed by two girls standing in the corridor talking: Maki Zenin, his older sister in this world, and Nobara Kugisaki.
Ron did not even greet them. He did not look at them at all. He slowly walked past them as if they were merely air, his emerald eyes fixed forward with icy indifference.
After he left, a vein twitched on Maki's forehead uncontrollably. She smiled with trembling anger while clenching her fist so hard her knuckles nearly turned white, muttering:
"That damned little brother… one day I'm seriously going to beat him up. Tch."
When Maki turned back to continue the conversation, she found Nobara standing frozen, her mouth slightly open and her eyes completely blank as she stared in the direction Ren had left.
Maki raised an eyebrow and waved her hand in front of Nobara's face several times.
"Nobara? Oi! Are you even here?"
Nobara only answered after Maki smacked her shoulder hard. She jumped and stammered:
"W-What's wrong?!"
"That's my question," Maki complained. "What were you thinking about?"
Nobara hesitated for a bit, her face turning visibly red with embarrassment before she whispered awkwardly:
"I… I always called him princess, or girl, or half-man or— ahem… anyway, I never expected him to have… that kind of body. That really muscular, manly body. I mean, since when did he become like that?!"
Maki stared at Nobara expressionlessly and seriously considered punching her.
"So this girl has been calling my brother half-man and transgender this whole time, and now she's drooling over his muscles?"
Maki thought for a moment before sighing deeply.
"Whatever… let's go train. Looks like 'Ren' will be late this time, and he's in a bad mood… after what happened."
. . .
Inside the hot spring…
Ron lay inside the warm water, resting his head against the edge of a rock while staring at the rising steam without focus.
He thought to himself:
"The original Ren asked me to handle this world and this body for a while, until Rai's mental condition stabilizes… but honestly, I don't think his mental state is going to stabilize after everything that happened."
Memories from Zenin Ren's body over the past few days passed through his mind. Memories involving "Rai," the third soul.
Ron could see the scene clearly:
A dark school hallway, the floor covered in water, blood, and mutilated corpses.
The corpses of curses were evaporating into the air, and in the middle stood Rai, his gaze trembling violently as he struggled to breathe. He stared at the body of the boy before him… "Junpei Yoshino." The boy Rai had been trying to save. The boy Mahito manipulated in order to deceive Yuji Itadori.
Junpei was wounded, disfigured, and covered in blood… and Rai did not even know whether he was dead or alive, but the feeling of helplessness was devouring his soul.
At that moment, Rai heard footsteps.
When he lifted his head, he saw someone descending the stairs slowly with a twisted, malicious smile…
Mahito.
The moment he saw that smile, Rai felt as if his consciousness shattered completely. Every trace of human emotion disappeared, and all reason faded from his mind.
His eyes darkened and became covered in terrifying crimson. His pupils transformed into glowing amber-yellow, while the whites of his eyes darkened like a starless night.
Inside his head, only one thought echoed like madness:
"Kill!"
At that moment, Rai screamed so viciously it felt like his throat would explode:
"Maaaahiiitooooo!"
Ron opened his eyes inside the hot spring, then closed them again with a sigh.
"These things… to the original Ren, and even to me, Ron, are merely obstacles."
"We can maintain our awareness and focus easily in emotional situations like this. We know how to plan our response calmly. But Rai… Rai is far too emotional. He gets affected quickly and loses control."
"Tsk… defective copy," Ron said coldly as he rose from the warm water. He dried himself, wrapped a towel around his waist, and put his pants back on before returning to his room.
Meanwhile, Rina observed him from behind, analyzing the situation as usual.
[The original Ren didn't seem annoyed by Rai's actions. He sympathized with him… but Ron completely lost faith in Rai. Perhaps Rai's naivety and emotional weakness crossed Ron's limits.]
[But… is Ron really angry because of that? Or is there something else?]
[Did Ron think that if Rai hadn't lost focus and his mind in that moment, and had instead used his power calmly, he could have captured that person and prevented him from escaping?]
Rina remained puzzled for a while, analyzing the complicated psychology of the three souls, but eventually shook her head.
[This does not concern me. Let Ren do whatever he thinks is best to solve the problems of his copies…]
Then she paused briefly, and a faint mocking smile appeared on her lips.
[But… is Ren really confident leaving the mentally broken 'Rai' with that woman, 'Kyoka,' in the samurai era? Perhaps Tsugikuni Ren will die soon… not by demons, but by his savage wife!]
. . .
In the world of Demon Slayer (the original timeline)…
Midnight had arrived, and the beautiful silver moonlight shone upon the faces of a boy and a girl walking quietly.
Yukihara Ren, the Sun Hashira, was taking a nighttime walk with his little sister, Eri, near the forests surrounding the Butterfly Mansion.
Originally, Ren planned to use this time to visit Tamayo and obtain the poisons that would play the decisive role in killing Muzan.
Although the original plan of the Corps leader, Kagaya, was to use himself as bait to lure Muzan, then blow up the mansion while Tamayo injected him with poisons amid the chaos… things had changed.
Since Ren had become one of Muzan's primary targets, and Muzan was obsessed with killing him, Kagaya ordered Ren to carry a backup sample of the poison. If Tamayo failed, or if Ren was forced to confront Muzan directly, he would use the poison himself as a finishing strike.
Remembering his last meeting with the Corps leader, Ren sighed.
"But instead… here I am taking a night walk."
Because his little sister stubbornly insisted on fighting beside him in the final battle, Ren had been forced to take her out for this walk so he could slowly convince her to abandon this suicidal idea.
(And let's not forget this outing was not entirely voluntary. It happened because of strict orders from his mother, Yomi, whose glare made his spine tremble. Of course, Ren completely denied being afraid of his mother… he merely "respected her greatly.")
They walked together beneath the trees until Ren finally broke the silence.
"Eri… stop being stubborn. You are not participating in this battle."
Eri frowned and stopped walking, glaring at him angrily.
"Why, brother?! I trained hard! I can use Breathing techniques, and I can cut demon heads off! I want to protect you and fight beside you! I don't want to stay behind waiting for bad news!"
Ren sighed and looked into her wide eyes, which resembled their mother's.
"It's not that simple. This isn't an ordinary demon hunt. We're talking about the Upper Moons… and Muzan himself. The demons there possess power capable of tearing your body apart just by looking at you. You'll be in mortal danger every second."
Eri shouted while tears gathered in her eyes:
"I don't care if I die! If it means helping all of you, then I don't care about my life!"
At that moment, Ren's expression changed.
The calmness disappeared, replaced by the true aura of the Sun Hashira.
He grabbed her shoulders firmly and spoke in a serious voice:
"Never say that again. Do you think your death would help us? Listen carefully, Eri… me, all the Hashira, and every member of the Demon Slayer Corps… we sacrifice our lives and burn away our lifespans for one reason only: to protect children like you! We fight so you can live in a world without demons."
[Physically and technically speaking, aren't you also just a child?] Rina wondered curiously nearby.
Eri was shocked by his tone and stopped crying as she listened.
Ren continued, his voice trembling slightly with sincerity:
"If you enter the battlefield, no Hashira will allow you to die. They'll sacrifice themselves and take fatal attacks in your place."
"Do you understand what that means? It means you won't be helping… you'll become our greatest burden. Your presence would weaken us because we'd worry about you more than focusing on the enemy."
Eri's eyes widened as she realized the painful but truthful meaning behind his words. She cried silently and lowered her head.
She wanted to become a hero beside her brother… but now she understood she would become his only weakness.
She wiped her tears with her kimono sleeve and spoke in a choked voice:
"I understand… I'm sorry. I won't become an obstacle for all of you. Then I'll stay with Nezuko-chan and help from headquarters however I can… with medicine or anything else."
Seeing his sister finally understand, Ren sighed in relief and smiled warmly. He raised his hand and gently patted her head.
"That's my smart little sister. Alright, it's getting cold… let's go home."
Eri nodded lightly.
"Yeah, let's go ho—"
Biiiiing!
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp and unmistakable sound echoed through the silent forest.
The sound of a biwa.
The words froze in Eri's throat.
Ren's smile disappeared instantly.
His emerald eyes widened in shock as he immediately realized what that sound meant.
Nakime!
Without hesitation, Ren tried to shove Eri away from him and throw her outside the attack's range, but out of instinctive fear, Eri clung tightly to his waist.
Beneath their feet, space itself began to distort. A gateway made of sliding shoji doors opened beneath them, leading into the darkness of the Infinity Castle. Gravity dragged them downward.
Ren did not even have time to draw his sword.
He immediately resorted to his other power.
Using the cursed energy he had left and combining it with his Breathing technique—
[Storm Breathing — Seventh Form: Hurricane!]
The air around him exploded violently. Instead of attacking, Ren used the propulsion and cursed-energy manipulation to kick the air itself repeatedly, like air-walking.
He managed to stop the fall and push himself and Eri away from the open gate, landing atop a nearby tree branch.
Ren felt slight relief after escaping the castle's initial pull, but his thoughts raced rapidly.
"Did Muzan decide to start the final plan this quickly?! Did he drag everyone into the Infinity Castle suddenly? Or is he targeting only me?"
Ren frowned deeply.
He placed the trembling Eri on his back and spoke sternly:
"Hold onto me tightly and don't let go no matter what happens, understood?!"
Eri nodded forcefully and buried her face into his back.
Ren looked at the Infinity Castle gate still open beneath them like the mouth of a monster waiting to devour them.
He had two choices.
The first: flee and return to the Butterfly Mansion.
But the mansion was completely empty.
Following Ren's prior orders to evacuate all headquarters in case of a surprise attack, Shinobu and Tamayo were near the Corps headquarters, while all the Hashira were stationed in separate locations ready to move immediately if an emergency occurred.
If he fled now, Nakime would never wait for him or allow him back inside later. That would isolate him from the final battle entirely… exactly what Muzan wanted.
The second choice: enter immediately with Eri and risk everything.
The possibility of finding another entrance to the Infinity Castle was nearly zero. The Corps had been searching for it for a long time without success.
And Eri, despite her courage, was just a child.
She was not like Tanjiro, who trained for years and grew stronger through battle. Her body was weak, and if he left her alone in the wilderness, she had no chance of surviving if a demon—or even a wild beast—appeared nearby.
And beyond monsters, there were still evil humans and bandits.
Ren was not foolish enough to abandon a little girl alone in a forest at midnight.
So he decided to trust himself and his own power to break through the castle.
Ren gritted his teeth, thought for only a few seconds, then leapt from the tree directly into the darkness inside the open gate.
The moment he crossed through, it closed behind him.
Gravity instantly shifted.
"This feeling…" Ren thought anxiously as he fell through a void filled with inverted stairs and upside-down rooms.
He quickly opened the "System Map" in the corner of his vision.
The moment he looked at the complex map, his blood nearly froze.
The screen was filled entirely with hundreds of glowing red dots.
He had fallen into a trap.
The castle was swarming with demons.
"Eri! Close your eyes!" Ren shouted.
The sound of rushing wind pierced his ears while he fell. He drew his Nichirin sword and began using [Storm Breathing] to maneuver through the chaotic physics of the castle, avoiding collisions with flying wooden structures while cutting down any foolish demon that leapt toward him midair.
"Brother! Where are we?!" Eri screamed in terror while clinging tightly to him.
"In the belly of the beast!" Ren answered while kicking off a wall to change direction. "Don't be afraid. I promised I'd protect you… and I never break my promises!"
After a long period of falling and jumping, Ren eventually found himself running through a seemingly endless hallway.
Lower-ranked demons poured from the doors like locusts.
"Annoying pests!" Ren shouted.
When he reached the dead end of the corridor, he did not hesitate.
He instantly switched his Breathing style.
[Moon Breathing — First Form!]
He drew a gigantic crescent slash with his sword, shattering the wooden floor and surrounding walls in a massive explosion of energy.
Ren fell deeper alongside the debris, descending at terrifying speed before crashing into the tatami floor of an enormous, eerily silent hall, creating a crater amidst an explosion of dust.
Through the drifting clouds of dust, Ren could see countless eyes glowing in the darkness, staring at him from balconies and elevated platforms across the massive hall.
He was completely surrounded by the elite demons.
But one particular pair of eyes…
A pair colored blood-red with slit-like pupils…
Watched him from a high throne-like seat at the far end of the hall.
The moment Ren saw those eyes, he frowned heavily, gripping his sword so tightly it nearly cracked.
The dust slowly cleared.
Ren stood there with Eri behind him, face-to-face with humanity's greatest nightmare.
"Kibutsuji Muzan…" Ren whispered, his voice carrying a promise of death.
Did Muzan think Ren had fallen into the trap?
He failed to realize that he himself was now trapped inside the dragon's claws.
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If you enjoyed the chapter, please tell me your thoughts in the comments. That's my only motivation to keep going 😇❤️