从鬼灭开始,成就最强魔刀! 第8章

Kazumi's eyes welled with tears as he took the cloth bag with trembling hands, opening it to reveal the butterfly hairpin, so familiar it ached.

At that moment, he understood what Tanjiro's words implied, yet because the truth was never spoken aloud, a sliver of hope still lingered in his heart.

His vision blurred by tears, he could only watch Tanjiro's retreating back and shout through his sobs.

"Thank you... Thank you so much... I believe that day will come too..."

Hearing this, Tanjiro simply turned, smiled, and waved.

"I leave that woman in your care."

With that, he turned and walked down the street, though the thoroughfare lay completely deserted.

Tanjiro's brow furrowed tightly as a nameless fire burned in his chest, born from witnessing these endless tragedies.

It was a deep hatred for the root of all this suffering, Muzan Kibutsuji!

Inside the blade, Lin Fan immediately heard the system prompt ring in his mind.

[Ding! Detected negative emotions from Tanjiro, obtained 20 emotion points!]

Lin Fan looked at his remaining clarity points, realizing that with just a bit more accumulation he could unlock a new ability, and immediately began pondering which one offered the best value.

As for the outside world.

The morning sun rose, and a Kasugai Crow circled in the air before finally landing on Tanjiro's shoulder, steadying itself and opening its beak wide.

"Your next location is Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture. There are rumors of demons lurking there, proceed immediately!"

This left Tanjiro sweating profusely.

"Eh, a new mission is starting already?"

The timeline was so tight that it caught him off guard.

Yet he still resolutely hurried toward Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture.

Upon arriving at the destination.

Night had fallen once again. Tanjiro stood amidst the bustling, prosperous streets with a drowsy Nezuko by his side, his eyes wide and somewhat bewildered.

Had towns developed this much nowadays?

Inside the blade, Lin Fan gazed at the town and couldn't help a mental sigh of emotion.

If he remembered correctly, this era was the Taisho period, roughly around the time of the First World War, and considerable technology had already emerged.

As for this town, it gave off a distinct feeling of transition between the old and the new.

However, since they had arrived here, they would soon cross paths with Muzan, and he wondered what he should say when that time came.

Walking down the bustling street, Tanjiro looked like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time, finding everything remarkably fascinating.

Perhaps unaccustomed to the crowds, he pulled up his hood, and soon led his sister away from the town center and toward the outskirts, where a street lamp glowed along a dark lane.

A rice-vendor's pushcart stood parked beneath the lamp, and a bald proprietor sat behind it, holding a pipe and taking occasional puffs.

Seeing this, Tanjiro hurriedly pulled his sister over and spoke in a weary voice, "Boss, please give me a bowl of tororo udon."

The bald proprietor quickly replied.

"Coming right up."

Before long.

Tanjiro sat on a wooden stool outside the cart, took the bowl of noodles handed over by the boss, and immediately took a sip of the broth.

Then he let out a long breath of hot air, but right at that moment.

A scent he could never forget suddenly drifted into his nostrils, instantly altering Tanjiro's expression as he leaped to his feet.

Even the bowl of noodles slipped from his hands, shattering to pieces on the ground as he began to pant heavily.

He hurried off in the direction from which the scent was coming.

This scent... why would it suddenly appear in a place like this?

It was the smell from that night at his home.

He hurried through deep alleys, emerged onto bustling streets, and wove through the crowd.

The scent grew stronger and stronger.

Muzan Kibutsuji...

Amidst the throngs of people, he spotted a man with his back turned, wearing a black suit and a black-and-white hat.

The source of the scent was him...

There was no time to think as a hand shot out and pressed down on the man's shoulder.

Having waited a long time for this moment, Lin Fan immediately activated body control, briefly seizing command of Tanjiro's physical form.

Tanjiro hadn't lost consciousness; rather, he was in a state akin to a bystander.

In this state, he could still communicate.

Lin Fan heard him ask anxiously.

"Ashura Maru, what is happening to me?"

Lin Fan had already stepped fully into character.

"Deal with this fellow even slightly carelessly and you'll die. Leave the rest to me!"

Back in the outside world.

The man had already turned his head sideways, revealing his signature, jewel-like cherry-red eyes beneath a heavily furrowed brow.

There was no doubt—this was Muzan Kibutsuji himself!

Unhurriedly, Lin Fan withdrew his hand and expressionlessly removed his hood.

The two locked eyes for a fraction of a second.

Yet at that exact moment.

A childish voice suddenly rang out.

"Daddy, who is he?"

When Muzan turned around, a little girl with twin tails came into view, and Muzan gently soothed the child in his arms.

Then he turned back, offering a warm smile.

"Is there something you need from me?"

Having prepared to face this moment for a long time, Lin Fan instantly fell into character, wearing an icy, unapproachable expression as he spoke in a low voice tinged with anger.

"Toying with human emotions, what is possibly entertaining about that? Where is the fun in it...?"

Hearing those words, which were branded deep into his soul, combined with Tanjiro's scar and the hanafuda earrings, an image flashed into Muzan's mind.

It was like a nightmare—the man who had haunted him his entire life!

Right at that moment.

Lin Fan delivered a cold challenge.

"What do you consider human lives?! Why don't you remember..."

Hearing this, Muzan Kibutsuji's very soul trembled, and his body shook uncontrollably.

The terror of that man was magnified infinitely within his heart.

Chapter 11: Muzan Runs Away

Coupled with those familiar earrings, hallucinations even bloomed before his eyes, as that inescapable figure seemed to merge with the person standing right in front of him!

The nightmare that had long since died—Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

His pupils contracted, and terror made his chest heave violently as the present Muzan wanted nothing more than to abandon everything and flee this place immediately.

Yet at that very moment.

A somewhat gentle voice suddenly came from behind, briefly shattering the deathly silence!

"Oh my, what is the matter?"

Following the voice, a woman dressed in a white longdress walked over.

Seeing this, Muzan immediately set the child in his arms down on the ground, forced back his inner terror, managed a stiff smile, and said, "I'm sorry, I suddenly remembered some urgent business and must leave." With that, he turned and plunged into the crowd without looking back.

He ignored whatever the woman called out to him.

He used the woman and child as human shields, staying close to the pair the entire time to prevent Tanjiro from drawing his blade.

Lin Fan simply watched quietly as Muzan performed this little act, wearing a satisfied smile.

All because the system prompt had finally rung out in his mind just then.

[Ding! Detected negative emotions from Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, obtained 5,000 emotion points!]

[Ding! Detected fear emotion from Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji, obtained...]

In just this brief moment, Lin Fan had reaped over ten thousand emotion points, rivaling what Tanjiro had gathered by hacking away on Mount Fujikasane for seven days and seven nights.

However, seeing that Muzan had already run off.

Lin Fan released his control, returning the body to Tanjiro while specifically reminding him, "The fellow who just ran away is the source of all demons, Muzan Kibutsuji. He is the culprit who slaughtered your entire family. Don't you want to exact your revenge...?"

Yet Tanjiro seemed utterly unable to hear him at that moment, breathing heavily with earthquakes in his pupils as one hand tremblingly covered his mouth.

Feelings of agony, rage, and shock surged through him continuously.

Inside the blade, Lin Fan could clearly sense Tanjiro's current state; he was truly shocked and deeply in pain.

Shocked that a monster like Muzan Kibutsuji was hiding and living amongst humans, and in agony because his enemy was right before his eyes yet he was entirely powerless to do anything!

All of these negative emotions transformed directly into emotion points for Lin Fan.

For a time.

The system prompts in his head simply refused to stop!

Meanwhile, the fleeing Muzan was also continuing to provide emotion points.

Though the volume wasn't quite as high as at the very beginning.

It still vastly surpassed what ordinary demons could provide. Amidst these chaotic system prompts, however, Lin Fan sensitively detected something unusual.

[Ding! Detected excitement from the man-eating demon Tamayo, rewarded 10 emotion points.]

[Ding! Detected... from the man-eating demon Yushiro.]

Two consecutive prompts brought back memories of these two individuals.

The stunned Tanjiro gradually came back to his senses, but through this ordeal, his conviction to slay Muzan Kibutsuji grew even stronger.

He murmured aloud.

"Even to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down and kill you..."

Amidst the crowd.

Two hazy figures appeared, breaking into a quick jog toward them. The newcomers were none other than Tamayo and Yushiro.

Tamayo walked swiftly right up to Tanjiro, an undisguisable excitement filling her eyes as she asked in a soft voice.

"Might I ask what your relationship is to Yoriichi Tsugikuni? Or perhaps..."

She scarcely dared to entertain the thought, but those words just now were known to only three people in this entire world, coupled with that exact demeanor.

It was as though Yoriichi Tsugikuni had appeared before her eyes once again!

She even wondered if this might be that person's ghost, or perhaps a reincarnation...

Yet Tanjiro seemed to pay her no heed, instead sniffing the air before his brow furrowed. "That scent... you are..."