Maha's Warning × Jager's Mutation

"Knew."

Roy showed no expression, neither sad nor happy.

After leisurely finishing his breakfast, he left Gotoh behind and began clearing the table, saying, "Don't forget to oil the Cane Sword."

With Snow Walk in hand, one cannot forget the Cane Sword. The Sun-Earring Boy stepped out the door. Gotoh hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted her teeth and advised, "Young Master, it would be best if you followed the Master's lead a bit more lately."

"Okay, I'll try to get him to go along with me." Roy continued walking without stopping.

Gotoh: "..."

What a mess... After clearing away the dishes, I pushed the food cart out the door.

In summer, the sky is already bright at five in the morning. The Sun-Earring Boy strolls through the long corridor of the Ancient Castle, passes a small room, stops and looks for a while. The television is playing cartoons, and the old man is fast asleep in a recliner.

He bowed respectfully as always and stepped away...

Maha watched him leave with his eyes half-open, then rolled over and continued to lie there...

Fortunately, Zeno was out on a mission, so without him disturbing him, the old man was able to take a rare nap.

Roy smiled, and you could faintly hear him snoring as he pushed open the door to the training room, bathed in the morning glow.

With a clang, it pulled Snow Walk.

First, he adjusted his breathing and posture, then completely calmed his mind. At a certain moment, the Sun-Earring Boy held the knife with both hands and slashed diagonally to the ground, beginning his daily practice of "Sun Breathing".

"Waltz..."

concentrated,

"Clear Blue Sky..."

Not concentrated,

"Burning Sun Mirror..."

concentrated,

"Fake Sun Rainbow..."

Not concentrated,

Before he knew it, it was noon. "Whoosh!" A streak of intense heat flashed through the air as Roy sheathed his sword. As expected, he received a notification from the control panel.

[Hint: "Constitution +0.3" (Note: Your concentration time has increased by twenty minutes compared to before)]

This is because his hand is steadyer... Roy recalled what Urokodaki Sakonji had said that day, "The steadyer your hand, the more ruthless your sword," and seemed to understand something...

"Sizzle~"

A red light flashed from the camera in the corner...

Master bedroom on the second floor.

The man sipped his tea, which contained several medicinal herbs, and quietly watched the television. On the screen, Sun-Earring Boy was sweating profusely, his swordsmanship becoming increasingly sharp.

"I maintain your knife every day, sir. You can call me anytime you wish, and I'll come to fetch it." Silva hadn't left the house for several days. Having just fed Kikyo, he couldn't wait to call Tsubone over to choose the task that Holl had presented.

"Need not."

To grasp only the form but not the meaning is ultimately futile.

He won't say it, he won't.

The tea was finished, leaving only half a cup of medicinal herbs. Silva handed the cup to Tsubone: "No need for maintenance anymore, I have my own knife."

Both hands are knives!

"Yes." Tsubone took the teacup, refilled it with water, and handed it back. "There's another message,"

"Explain."

"The ancestor has lifted the restrictions, allowing the Young Master to pay homage to Lord Jager."

"Did your father tell you that?"

"No," Tsubone said, looking intently at Silva. "It's Lord Maha."

The old steward reported truthfully, "He told me to inform you that if you're not satisfied, go find him and receive three lashes from him!"

Silva: "..."

After a long silence, he said, "I understand."

Tsubone nodded, glanced at Kikyo, who was lying on the bed and seemed about to wake up again, bowed and took his leave...

The door creaked shut.

A voice came from inside saying, "Let's tally the time..."

Tsubone replied with a "Yes," her gaze fixed on the television screen through the glass window, on the image of Roy carefully wiping his knife. She remarked with emotion...

"The world is about to change."

Braised Pig-Head, steamed fish, braised chicken, freshly sliced sausage, vinaigrette salad, and a bottle of red wine—with the help of the kitchen staff, Roy finally managed to add the Pig-Head dish. He followed the chef's suggestion, stewing it with a spice packet, then letting it cool and soaking for two hours... He put everything on the food cart, had Gotoh push it, and waited for his great-grandfather to call him.

At 6:50 PM, as the sun set and the Shallow Moon rose above the horizon, Tsubone appeared, her pink ponytail swaying in the breeze...

She bowed and took over from Gotoh, pushing the food cart. "Young Master, please."

Roy, not seeing Maha, frowned and asked, "Isn't Great-Grandpa coming?"

"The master is afraid that Master Jager will be unhappy, so he won't come."

When someone is dead, what's the point of being happy or unhappy?

Roy followed Tsubone suspiciously, the master and servant walking down the long corridor towards the basement... The deeper they went, the darker it became, adding to the desolate and chilling atmosphere...

Soon, a security door made of fine iron came into view.

The two stewards guarding the gate were both elderly; one Scarface and a yellow beard, and the other One-Eye and a missing hand. When they saw Tsubone, they nodded to her, then looked past her and at Roy... The Sun-Earring Boy felt a chill run down his spine, keenly sensing a dangerous aura.

This wasn't hostility; it was simply an unintentional revelation by a powerful individual...

"Scarface."

"One-Eye."

"Greetings, Young Master."

The two men placed their right hands on their chests and bowed to Roy.

Roy looked at them intently and said, "How come I've never seen you before?"

"Young Master, just consider us dead." Scarface and One-Eye spoke succinctly, straightened up, opened the security door, and gestured for them to enter. "Please."

The movements were swift and decisive; without uttering a single word, they simply shut their mouths and waited quietly...

Seeing this, Roy stepped in, followed by Tsubone who brought in the cart.

"This is all I can do for you, Young Master. Please go inside."

Ahead lay a dark and deep passage, with two rows of Nether Lamp lit on the stone walls beside it, their eerie green glow lonely and desolate...

Roy felt as if he had entered the world of Demon Slayer again, with an endless Snow Country stretching out beneath his feet, and his hair suddenly stood on end.

"Whoosh—" The security door behind him slammed shut.

He was left all alone, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and push the food cart forward.

One step, two steps... the soles of his shoes made a soft sound as they rubbed against the stone pavement. After passing through the passage, Roy looked up and saw a heavy, moisture-proof, airtight door... The airtight door was spotless, gleaming with a faint metallic luster, clearly someone was wiping it down every day.

Roy thought of Scar-Face One-Eye -Eyed, glanced back, and clicked his tongue.

Unexpectedly, the airtight door rattled and opened by itself. A huge tentacle reached out, grabbed the food cart, dragged it into the room, and then threw it out a second later. At a glance, all the meat was gone, leaving only some vegetable leaves; it seemed the cart had been rejected...

"Jager... Grandpa?"

Is this... definitely a memorial service?

Roy was horrified and instinctively reached for his knife, only to find he had missed.

Then he remembered that Snow Walk had told him to put it on the knife rack.

In his panic, he saw the tentacles reach out again, faster than the three lashes his father Silva, had given him, and they swept him backwards into the room.

"Such a powerful [entanglement], I can't fight back at all!"

As his consciousness faded, Roy felt dizzy and disoriented. With the last vestiges of his consciousness, he looked over... and saw a gigantic eyeball with countless tentacles growing out of it, looking at him with a benevolent gaze.

"It's my grandson, [re: The Game of the Dead] has started..."

Half-asleep, Roy vaguely heard a voice filled with the vicissitudes of life... When he opened his eyes again, the world had changed.

Before my eyes was a towering Sandworm, rising from the ground, stirring up the wind and clouds, and letting out a fierce roar!

"Roar--"