foreigner's journey

Interlude 1701 - The Final Round
Clang!
The sound of steel clashing echoed across the battlefield of Infinite City, followed by the sickening sound of iron filings twisting and grinding.

A strong man with six arms stood amidst the city walls littered with blood, flesh, and shards of iron swords, gripping a samurai sword that was slashing towards him with one hand. The blade, covered in eyeballs, emitted a pitiful creaking sound as his five fingers slowly closed.

Hundreds of crescent-shaped blades struck the man's bare, muscular upper body, yet they couldn't even scratch his skin, like a handful of lukewarm water splashed on a steel wall—completely ineffective.

"What's wrong, Kokushibo? Is this the [Breath of the Moon] that you're so proud of? Your strength is quite inconsistent with your usual arrogant attitude."

This person is none other than Rahu, the "God of War," a general under the command of the Spiral Pillar "Singer of Destiny"!
At this moment, Rahu gripped Kokushibo's treasured sword 'Hyakushin-go' with one hand, his tone as relaxed as a tiger teasing a newborn mouse.

"You bastard! How dare you... how dare you mock me like this!"

Kokushibo, with six eyes on his face, had veins bulging all over his face. He gripped his katana tightly with both hands and tried desperately to press it forward, but the blade couldn't move forward even an inch.

How could this be! How could this happen!
Kokushibo caught a glimpse of the corpses lying around him out of the corner of his eye; they were the remains of those detestable Demon Slayer Corps members.

This should have been a great victory to celebrate and be proud of, it should have been like this... Why!
It's all this man's fault—he suddenly joined us and then just as suddenly betrayed us! Kill him!!
The blade that Rahu was gripping suddenly snapped in two. Kokushibo tightened his grip on the broken Hollow Cry and slashed fiercely at Rahu. Incredibly, the blade regenerated itself during the slash, becoming even longer and sharper, with three intersecting blades extending from it. This blade was forged from Kokushibo's own blood and bones, capable of instantly regenerating even after being broken.

"No human being can stand against me except that person! Die!"

【Sixteen Forms - Moonbow - Lonely Moon】!

Kokushibo's blade was wrapped in countless crescent-shaped blades, forming a massive storm descending from above—a merciless attack capable of instantly destroying any living being.

boom! !

Kokushibo's six eyes reflected a blank stare, and countless blade fragments scattered and swirled in the air.

A strong hand cleaved into a blade, shattering the endless moon blade energy of 'Lone Moon', breaking the supposedly unbreakable evil sword Xu Ku Shen Qu, and piercing straight through Hei Shi Mou's chest, smashing his internal organs into mangled flesh, which then burst out from the huge hole blasted through his back.

Heishimu coughed up a mouthful of blood, staring incredulously at the demon-like man before him. Six arms, ferocious, like a demon—who was the real demon?

"Borrowed glory is ultimately an illusion. Are you and Yoriichi Tsugikuni really brothers? There's a huge difference."

Rahu coldly and mercilessly judged Kokushibo, the strongest demon under the command of the Upper Moon One and the Demon King Muzan. With a slight upward lift of his arm, Kokushibo was immediately torn apart from his chest to his left shoulder, looking like a tattered rag doll.

Thump! Kokushibo collapsed to the ground, his upper body, almost torn in two, was riddled with tiny blades that seemed to be interlocking and trying to reassemble his body.

Rahu simply watched calmly, making no attempt to stop them.

What would normally be a simple matter of body repair for Kokushibo was now proving incredibly difficult. Kokushibo felt as if some unfamiliar force was covering his wounds, preventing regeneration. Was it the Crimson Blade? No, this guy wasn't even using a blade; how could he achieve the effect of a Crimson Blade with just his bare hands?
No, we must retreat for now and deal with this guy after we've rested and regrouped...

"Nakime! Take me away!"

Kokushibo shouted, and the surrounding scenery immediately began to change, and his figure disappeared.

Luo Hou looked up at the rapidly reversing lights and candlelight around him, and the endless layers of houses and staircases, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

I've finally waited for you.

Boom! In an instant, Luo Hou accelerated from a standstill to a speed invisible to the naked eye, transforming into a streak of light and rushing toward the far reaches of the Infinite City.

At that moment, Kokushibo landed on a huge tatami mat. Not far away sat a woman with long black hair, holding a biwa (a type of Chinese lute). She was none other than Upper Moon Four, the core controller of the Infinity Castle, Nakime.

"Lord Kokushibo, you..." Nakime was about to speak when she suddenly turned her head to look into the distance with a sense of alertness. She plucked the strings of her biwa with a pick, and the surrounding scenery immediately changed.

"What's wrong?" Kokushibo sat up, clutching his still-healing shoulder, and asked curiously.

"Lord Rahu has discovered my location and is heading this way. Should I drive him away from the Infinite Castle?" As she spoke, Nakime plucked the strings of her koto twice more.

"No, keep him alive. I will personally execute this traitor once I recover."

As he spoke, Kokushibo tore off all the flesh and bones around the wound that had been eroded by Rahu.

Rahu, this man, suddenly appeared two weeks ago and claimed that he wanted to join the ranks of the Twelve Ghost Months.

For reasons unknown, Muzan, the Demon King, recruited this strangely-looking man into his ranks, making him the Upper Moon Three. Meanwhile, the original Upper Moon Three, Akaza, disappeared without a trace.

This person is taciturn, but whenever he speaks, it is always important information that deserves attention. Relying on Rahu's intelligence, the Twelve Demon Moons have successfully eroded the Demon Slayer Corps' fighting strength and successfully lured the Demon Slayer Corps into a trap an hour ago, causing them to fall into the Infinity Castle.

The Infinity Castle is an alternate dimension castle where Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of demons, resided, and it is managed by Nakime.

Aside from Muzan, everyone else can only enter and exit the Infinity Castle through Nakime's abilities. The entire Infinity Castle is distorted, with Nakime at its center, and its structure is indistinguishable in terms of up, down, left, and right.

The Demon Slayer Corps was defeated one by one by the Twelve Demon Moons, and its last remaining force was killed by Rahu himself.

Before the ghosts could celebrate their victory, Rahu suddenly attacked, each move deadly. The Twelve Ghost Moons were wiped out in an instant, and Rahu tore off and smashed the heads of all these powerful, tyrannical, cruel, and ruthless evil spirits.

Only Kokushibo managed to block the fatal blow with his sword, and then the scene at the beginning occurred.

But it's alright. To guard against this newcomer, Kokushibo has never allowed Nakime, the most important of the Twelve Demon Moons, to appear before Rahu. As long as Nakime is still around, she can continuously transfer Rahu to various locations within the Infinity Castle. Soon, that guy will be completely disoriented, waiting for my arrival in the darkness with dread.

Just as Kokushibo was recovering, he suddenly heard Nakime exclaim, "This...this is impossible!"

What happened? As soon as Kokushibo got up, he saw the inverted building in the distance suddenly explode and a figure was rushing towards him at high speed!
Rahu!

"I can't move Lord Rahu away! He's immune to the spatial control of the Infinite Castle! Lord Kokushibo, please leave quickly!" Seeing that Kokushibo's body had not yet recovered and that Rahu was already close at hand, Nakime immediately plucked the strings of her harp to send Kokushibo away without hesitation.

The last thing Kokushibo saw before he was transferred was Nakime being pierced through the chest by Rahu's palm, her biwa shattering into pieces of wood, which, along with the broken strings, merged into the exploding flesh and blood.

Thump! Kokushibo landed again. The scenery here was no different from other parts of the Infinity Castle. Endless anger and humiliation surged and burned in Kokushibo's chest.

Damn Rahu, are you planning to completely wipe out Nakime and force me out?
Kokushibo knew very well that as soon as Nakime died, the Infinity Castle would collapse immediately, and then he would have to go out and face the rising sun.

Ghosts cannot resist sunlight; this is Rahu's conspiracy!
But after waiting for quite a while, Kokushibo still saw no sign of the Infinity Castle collapsing. Could it be that Nakime wasn't dead? Or had Lord Muzan arrived in time and executed that damned traitor, Rahu?

Suddenly, the scenery around him changed, and Kokushibo's feet slipped from his feet before landing again. When he looked up, a chill ran down his spine.

The six-armed man standing in front was none other than Rahu. He had his hands clasped in front of him, his other two hands waving slowly in the air, one hand on his hip, and his last hand gently stroking the head of the kneeling Nakime beside him.

Nakime's body was unharmed, and she knelt obediently on the ground, enjoying Rahu's caresses like a kitten.

"Nakime, you—"

Boom!! Before Kokushibo could even open his mouth, Rahu punched him in mid-air, smashing his head into dust along with his entire body and the building behind him.

"I don't have the leisure to explain the ins and outs of a story to a weakling like you."

Rahu lowered his fist and patted Nakime's head, causing her to instantly transform into countless streams of light and disappear. The Infinity Castle, however, remained intact, quietly awaiting the command of its true master.

【Infinite City】, a territorial artifact, rank 'Abyss'.

This is Rahu's greatest gain from coming to the world of Demon Slayer.

Then, lines of text formed by countless candlelight appeared before his eyes.

['The Age of Demons'—directly led to the destruction of the Demon Slayer Corps; participation must exceed 50%. Difficulty rating—A. Mission status—Completed.]

【'Demon Slayer' – Directly responsible for the destruction of the Twelve Demon Moons; participation rate must exceed 50%. Difficulty rating – S. Mission status – Completed.】

[You have completed at least one Rank A mission and are ready to leave this world and travel to the next random world at any time.]

Please note that you must remain relatively still for 10 seconds before leaving the world. If you interrupt the process, there will be a 3600-second cooldown period.

Luo Hou did not leave immediately, but instead snapped his fingers, and a figure appeared on the platform not far in front of him.

This person was tall with a full head of black hair, pale skin, and a pair of plum-red eyes. He was wearing a white suit, which was popular during the Taisho era.

The first demon to survive for over a thousand years, the absolute ruler of demons, Muzan Kibutsuji.

"As expected, you always manage to bring me the biggest surprises, Rahu-kun." Demon King Muzan smiled, his hands in his pockets.

"Muzan, the deal is done, why are you still staying in my room?" Rahu tilted his head.

"Your house? The Infinity Castle is an alternate dimension created by me, Muzan! It's just that Nakime has a more outstanding talent for controlling the Infinity Castle, so I bestowed it upon her."

"What a pity, it seems Nakime's loyalty to me was nothing but empty words. But it's alright, a deal is a deal. I agreed to give you the Infinity Castle, and you will end the Demon Slayer Corps for me. We've both completed our respective transactions reasonably and gracefully."

The Demon King Wucan laughed, his form transforming into a woman dressed in a kimono with an extremely alluring and beautiful appearance, who reached out her hand to Rahu:
"Come with me, Rahu. As long as you are with me, there will never be another spark of rebellion in this world."

"I'm willing to share this world with you—resources, power, women…you can have whatever you want, as long as you agree to join me in ruling the world."

It's clear that Muzan, the Demon King, is very fond of Rahu.

But Rahu merely sneered at this:

"Muzan, your so-called strength is nothing more than the frog in the well."

You haven't witnessed an endless tide of blood that blots out the sky and is powerful enough to destroy a planet.
I've never seen alchemy that can alter the most basic instincts and constitution of living beings, make ghosts no longer afraid of sunlight, or make humans no longer need to breathe.
It's even more unimaginable that a single punch could shatter space, extinguish stars, and plunge the universe into dormancy!

I'm sparing your life because we had a pleasant transaction. But please note, if you continue to harass me with your foolish remarks, I'll show you what 'power' truly means.

Muzan didn't speak, but unconsciously took a few steps back.

As the most powerful being in the world, he could sense the terrifying aura emanating from Rahu. It was a vast power capable of extinguishing stars and destroying heaven and earth.

If he could possess such power, perhaps even the sunlight wouldn't be able to harm him! And what about the 'alchemy' that Rahu mentioned... Muzan couldn't help but lick his lips, his mind racing as he considered how to seduce Rahu.

Seeing this, Rahu didn't bother to say anything more. He had thought Muzan was a perceptive fellow, but it seemed he couldn't escape the shackles of 'native wisdom' either. Fine, he'd already gotten what he wanted most; it was time to leave… Hmm?

What it is?
Rahu suddenly looked into the distance in surprise. The Infinite Castle vanished instantly, and he and Muzan appeared in a quiet forest.

It was late at night, and the full moon hung high in the night sky. Along with the moon and the dark clouds, there was also a huge, exaggerated black shadow that rivaled a mountain!

The dark figure blocked out most of the moonlight, walking step by step in the darkness, each step causing the ground to tremble violently, while the distant village had already turned into a sea of ​​fire.

"Red King? Aren't I in Demon Slayer? How did I end up in a tokusatsu show?"

Luo Hou had amazing eyesight and immediately saw the true appearance of the huge black shadow, recognizing the origin of the monster.

Before he could figure it out, another huge black shadow rose from the distant hills; this time it was Bemstein.

Then came Tyrant, Gomora... one famous monster after another rose up in the darkness, wreaking havoc on everything.

Muzan felt his limbs go numb; the size difference was beyond what a demon king's power could compensate for. But what they were destroying was the world he was about to rule! What they were killing were his future prey! Unacceptable!

Rahu ignored the Demon King Muzan who rushed out; he only felt an extremely strong malice rapidly approaching him... no, it was approaching this Demon Slayer world!
A swirling ball of sparks appeared before him, from which came Cheryl's weak voice in the red cloak:

"Rahu! Immediately halt the mission and leave this world!"

"Cheryl? What happened? Are you hurt?" Luo Hou asked with concern.

"Damn it, forget about what's going on here, did you hear me? Get out of here right now! Get out of this world right now!" Cheryl screamed.

Although he didn't know what had happened, Rahu immediately began to detach himself from the current world as Cheryl had instructed.

10 seconds, 9 seconds... Thud! A heavy object suddenly slammed into Luo Hou not far in front of him, and half of Muzan's body twitched slightly in the center of the deep pit.

Luo Hou then realized that the monsters had surrounded him, and more monsters were approaching from afar.

"Are you underestimating me?" Luo Hou clenched his fists, ready to let these monsters experience his fighting concept.

But Cheryl's voice immediately rang out: "Is there something wrong on your end? Has a monster appeared?"

6 seconds.

“That’s right, suddenly a lot of monsters appeared. They…” Rahu’s voice trailed off, and he just stared blankly at the night sky.

The full moon vanished, replaced by an enormous eye, large enough to cover the night sky and gleaming with an orange-yellow light! This eye was looking down, meeting Rahu's gaze!

5 seconds.

Luo Hou felt an unprecedented sense of crisis approaching. Following his martial arts intuition, he immediately interrupted the escape procedure and lunged into the distance.

Almost at the same time, a huge, deep pit appeared where he had been standing, as if it had been dug out by an unseen claw.

The world is disconnected, and a 3600-second cooldown period begins.

Without a second thought, Luo Hou swiftly swung his six arms the moment he lunged forward, his fists transforming into violent air cannons that shattered the surrounding monsters. But before he could catch his breath, a new version of the monster, even larger, stronger, and more ferocious and malevolent, appeared where the annihilated monsters had been.

"What...what are these things?" Luo Hou swallowed hard. He knew from his many battles that this was not a regeneration ability, but a phenomenon that was close to the replacement of timelines or parallel universes.

This is beyond the scope of what one's own fighting spirit can handle.

The voice in the sparkle was already choked with emotion: "Luo Hou, you..."

"It's alright, Cheryl. It seems Spiral has encountered a formidable foe. I will do my best to inflict some damage on them, and if I can get a way to send a message, I will pass the information on to you as well."

Luo Hou slowly exhaled a breath of intense white heat, his entire body enveloped in silvery-white battle aura, his power surging steadily. He knew he couldn't escape. The attacking enemy was at the pillar level, or even stronger. He knew his own strength; since escape was impossible, he might as well make one last contribution for his beloved comrades.
"Please say a word to Lady Alice for me."

"I'm sorry, I have to go now."

As they spoke, the monsters in the distance had all transformed into cosmic monsters large enough to blot out the stars. Their figures crowded between galaxies, and they all stretched out their claws and teeth toward Rahu on the surface of the planet.

Luo Hou also let out a ferocious roar, his eyes turned into white light without pupils, and his silver-white battle aura transformed into complex patterns flowing on his body surface.

Just then, another swirling flame rose in front of Rahu, and suddenly split open, transforming into a spatial tunnel that was forcibly torn open.

Immediately afterwards, Alice, the Singer of Destiny, reached out with her slender hand, grabbed Rahu, and forcibly pulled him into the spatial tunnel.

As soon as Luo Hou entered the space tunnel, the crack immediately closed rapidly.

But it was too late.

An unimaginable, seemingly colossal entity far exceeding the infinite universe violently crushed the world of Demon Slayer, shattering the spatial rift that was about to close, forcing the other side of the rift to be exposed before that behemoth.

In the depths of that infinite universe, a spiral staircase extends infinitely upwards.

(End of this chapter)