Chapter 77: I'm Telling You, Muzan is Just a Big...
Fudo Hino, the former Mountain Hashira, had died at the hands of an Upper Moon
who specialized in poison.
Natsuya truly wanted to figure out which one it was. It wasn't because he felt a
burning need for personal vengeance—they had never met, after all. He simply
wanted to settle a debt for Master Matsuyama.
That stern, steady middle-aged man's voice always dropped an octave whenever he
mentioned his fallen disciple. Having accepted Matsuyama's hospitality and
training, Natsuya felt it was only right to offer a "Return Gift."
As for whether I can take an Upper Moon? I'll mark down the name first. Once
I've ground my levels high enough, that poison-user is the first Raid Boss I'm
going for.
Natsuya knelt, lightly patting Mukago's cheek while staring into her terrified
eyes with a gaze as calm as a frozen pond.
"I ask. You answer."
"Tell me everything you know about the Upper Moons. Spill it."
The demon girl hesitated. But as the cold edge of the Nichirin blade slid
rhythmically between her throat and collarbone, her hesitation was quickly
suppressed by survival instinct.
"We Lower Moons rarely see the Upper Moons! I—I don't know much!"
"Tell me what you do know."
"There are six of them! Six Upper Moons!"
Natsuya flicked the tip of his blade. A second eyeball popped and went flying.
"Want to try another joke?"
The demon girl wailed in the dirt for a long time before whimpering piteously.
"I mean... in my experience, the Upper Moon seats are never empty! There are
always six! Unlike us..."
She stole a glance at Igarashi. Seeing that the Hashira didn't look like he was
going to join the stabbing session, she continued.
"Aside from a few powerful ones, the Lower Moon ranks are always changing. Some
are killed by the Slayers' garbage—I mean, the Pillars—and others just have
their positions left vacant for years."
Apparently, there was even a useless drum-player who got fired from the Twelve
Kizuki just because he "couldn't eat enough."
"What about their abilities?" Natsuya pressed.
Mukago looked guilty. "I only had the chance to see one of the Lords in action
during a Blood Battle ten years ago... but I don't think he used poison."
So, basically, you don't know, Natsuya summarized.
"What's a Blood Battle?" Natsuya asked. "And what were that Lord's abilities?
What did he look like?"
"It's a rank-swap duel. A lower-ranked Moon challenges a higher-ranked Moon. The
winner takes the rank and the loser's blood," she explained. "As for that
Lord... he summoned a massive storm of shimmering, beautiful ice sculptures. He
froze the previous Upper Moon into splinters. He was... a very handsome man who
never stopped smiling. Hehe."
Natsuya nodded. Though the description was vague, he got the gist.
Demon Ranked Matches and an Ice Mage Boss.
"And the other Lower Moons? You must know them."
Mukago offered an awkward, trembling smile.
Demons rarely operated in squads. They were suspicious of each other and
territorial. Combined with the high turnover rate of the lower ranks, she
actually... didn't know anyone.
Natsuya saw her dilemma. He dialed back the pressure and asked a different
question.
"Fine. Then what do you know about the Demon King?"
This time, Mukago's entire body went into a violent spasm. Even though she was
just a torso now, she shook so hard her teeth rattled.
"I—I can't say! If I speak, he'll—!"
"If you don't speak, you die right now," Natsuya reminded her.
But this time, the demon girl shook her head frantically, her eyes wide with a
terror far greater than the threat of his blade. She refused to utter a single
syllable.
Natsuya prepared to continue the "enhanced interrogation," but Igarashi spoke up
from the side.
"It's no use, Natsuya," the Hashira said, shaking his head. "These demons are
bound. They will never reveal information about Muzan. Countless Slayers have
tried over the years. We can't crack them. It's as if speaking his name triggers
something far worse than death."
Natsuya didn't give up.
"Senior, I have a bold idea—"
Igarashi: "?" Mukago: "???"
Wait, what are you doing?!
They watched as Natsuya stood up, reached into his travel pack, and pulled out a
heavy, somewhat crude iron hammer.
It was the souvenir Matsuyama Daimon had given him. A hammer forged from Scarlet
Crimson Iron Sand and Ore.
It was, for all intents and purposes, a Nichirin Bludgeon.
Natsuya raised the hammer high. He triggered his Breathing Style.
[Stone Breathing] [First Form: Clear Sky Gale Hammering!]
He didn't bother with fancy footwork. He relied entirely on the raw stat-buff of
the Breathing Style, focusing on pure, crushing weight.
The hammer came down like a meteor on Mukago's face.
DONG!
Her features collapsed instantly. A mixture of blood, tears, and fluids sprayed
across the dirt. Her skull was tougher than the iron ingots Natsuya had forged
in the dojo, but "Blacksmithing" was all about persistence.
The second strike fell.
The ground beneath her head cracked and cratered under the invisible pressure.
Mukago let out a jagged shriek, trying to squirm away.
Then came the third strike. The fourth.
Screams, hammering, regeneration, hammering—
Cold, precise, and repetitive. This wasn't Natsuya venting rage; he looked like
a craftsman at a forge, trying to beat a stubborn piece of iron into the desired
shape.
Under the relentless assault, Mukago's voice grew weak. Her skull was in
splinters. Natsuya paused for a moment, letting her head partially
regenerate—like quenching steel—before resuming the tempering.
Within minutes, the demon girl's consciousness was on the brink of total
collapse.
Natsuya held the hammer poised. "One last chance."
What chance? Oh, right... the Lord's intel... It hurts... I don't care
anymore...
In her shattered state, the fear of Muzan and the fear of this "Human
Blacksmith" collided. She began to mumble incoherently, trying to force out a
few syllables.
"Lord Muzan... he's actually... just a big..."
The moment the sound left her lips, Mukago's eyes bulged until they nearly
popped from her head. Bloodshot veins crawled across her skin like parasitic
worms. Something was trying to tear its way out of her from the inside.
Natsuya leaped back.
The next second, a twisted, deformed giant hand erupted from her severed torso,
instantly crushing her own skull in its grip.
Igarashi sighed. "I told you. Even if they want to talk, they are silenced."
The demon's blood was being revoked. Her cells were being liquidated. Along with
it, Mukago's regeneration and Blood Demon Art were being stripped away.
In Natsuya's eyes, her physical pain was secondary. He was watching the Power
Level: 327 indicator above her head. It was dropping like a
stone—310... 305... 298...
CRAP! It's a self-destruct sequence!
Natsuya didn't hesitate. Thunder Breathing roared to life.
In the blink of an eye, a flash of lightning decapitated the demon girl before
her stats could drop any further.
The last expression frozen on Mukago's face wasn't terror. It was a twisted,
hollow sense of relief.
Her head rolled into the dirt. The giant hand spasmed and dissolved into black
smoke.
[Lower Moon Five: Mukago — Subjugated]
The hunt was over.
Natsuya flicked the blood off his blade and sheathed it.
[Proficiency +1217]
The majority of the XP flooded into Thunder Breathing, with a decent spill-over
into Stone Breathing.
[Stone Breathing] LV.3 (1024/2000) [Thunder Breathing] LV.4 (2402/4000)
Mukago's head rolled to Natsuya's feet. She opened her mouth one last time, her
voice a dying rasp. "I can't believe... it ends like this... I really didn't
want to die..."
"If it wasn't for you Slayers... I could have just kept being a doctor here..."
She began to roar with a final burst of spite. "So what if I poisoned a few
people?! I was a NOBLE—"
She stopped. It felt like someone had gently patted her shoulder.
"Rin."
The girl turned her head. A blurry, hazy silhouette stood behind her. Her eyes
widened. The memories she had buried for centuries finally unlocked.
She remembered.
The horns on her head began to dissolve. The blood-red tint in her eyes and the
[LOWER FIVE] kanji faded into a soft gray. The short-haired human girl began to
weep, reaching out to hug the ghost behind her.
I'm going to hell... But please... just let me stay with him for a few more
seconds... Just a few seconds...
The floating tag [Mukago] slowly transformed into [Ueda Rin].
Her head lay sideways in the dirt, whispering a micro-sound that no one could
hear.
"Thank you... for the end..."
She struggled to open her eyelids one last time, wanting to see the swordsman
who had defeated her and liberated her from Muzan's curse.
Then she saw him.
Natsuya was staring at a completely empty corner of the courtyard. His eyes were
totally glazed over. He was clearly spacing out, focused on a menu only he could
see.
HEY! Don't space out now! Accept my heartfelt gratitude, you bastard Slayer!
☆☆☆
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