Holy Shit, a Ghost!

"Ma'am, you wouldn't want to wake the children, would you?"

Lin Yoriichi looked at Kie Kamado, whose face was filled with fear and wariness, and quietly edged a few steps back.

He knew perfectly well what Mrs. Kamado was capable of in a fight-

To protect her children, Kie Kamado had once knocked a wild boar unconscious with a headbutt!

His slight frame might not withstand a headbutt from her.

"Who are you? Why did you suddenly appear in my house?!"

Faced with Kie Kamado's hushed demand, Lin Yoriichi opened his mouth but had no idea how to answer.

He could hardly tell Mrs. Kamado the truth: he was actually a cosplayer.

While cosplaying Yoriichi Tsugikuni at a convention, he had suddenly transmigrated into the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Lin Yoriichi instinctively looked at the mirror behind Kie Kamado.

Although it was deep into the night outside, he could still clearly see what he looked like now.

Dark red hair and a red haori.

There was a dark red mark at the corner of his forehead, and hanafuda earrings bearing a sun design hung from his ears.

The wooden sword he used for cosplay was still at his waist.

That was right. He was still dressed as Yoriichi Tsugikuni, just as he had been at the convention.

And with the way he had suddenly appeared in the Kamado home...

No matter how he explained himself, Kie Kamado probably wouldn't believe he meant no harm.

Lin Yoriichi could only say helplessly, "Ma'am, although I can't explain why I appeared here, I really am not a bad person."

"Don't worry. I'll leave right now."

Noticing that Kie Kamado kept staring warily at the sword at his waist, Lin Yoriichi immediately explained:

"Look, this sword is actually made of wood..."

As he explained, Lin Yoriichi drew the sword at his waist.

But its weight in his hand and its sharp edge froze him on the spot.

"Wait, wasn't this thing a wooden cosplay sword? How did it turn into a real one?!"

Not only that, but as he drew the sword, a line of small text popped up before his eyes:

[Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Sword · Replica]

[Grants partial Bright Red Nichirin Sword effects while equipped]

[After fusion with Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Sword · Genuine, grants full Bright Red Nichirin Sword effects while equipped]

Lin Yoriichi's eyes instantly widened. Refusing to believe it, he tugged at his hair.

A few dark red strands came away in his hand, and he felt the pull on his scalp.

He raised his hand again and vigorously rubbed the mark at the corner of his forehead.

Yet not a trace of pigment came off on his fingers.

Lin Yoriichi was dumbfounded!

The sword, the mark, and the hair had clearly all been part of his costume and makeup. How had they become real after he transmigrated?!

As though sensing Lin Yoriichi's bewilderment, another line of small text popped up before his eyes:

[Current cosplay character: Yoriichi Tsugikuni]

[Current fidelity: 10%. Basic proficiency in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's various abilities acquired]

Well, damn. Was this a Cosplay-to-Reality System?!

If his fidelity reached 100%, wouldn't he truly be able to replicate Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the strongest fighter in the Demon Slayer world?!

Lin Yoriichi was still thinking when he heard Kie Kamado demand in a low voice:

"Please leave immediately!"

As she spoke, Kie Kamado had already taken a stance to charge at him headfirst.

Lin Yoriichi understood that his sudden act of drawing a sword had clearly signaled danger to Kie Kamado.

And his hair-pulling, forehead-rubbing, and bowed-head contemplation had signaled that he was unstable.

Put together, he was a dangerous lunatic in Mrs. Kamado's eyes!

He could only back slowly toward the door, keeping his movements as unlikely to cause misunderstanding as possible, and say quietly:

"I'm leaving right now."

But the moment Lin Yoriichi opened the door, he met the eyes of a man wearing a black suit and a white fedora!

At that moment, Lin Yoriichi had only one thought:

Holy shit, a ghost!

Muzan Kibutsuji walked along a path on Mount Kumotori.

The deep snow on the path would have made every step difficult for an ordinary person, but it had no effect whatsoever on him, the Demon King.

He looked at a small wooden cabin nearby and murmured to himself:

"An old person, and... a child."

"Tsk. Utterly boring."

For an ordinary demon, they would certainly have made good prey.

But as the Demon King, he had long since lost his enthusiasm for hunting humans. Instead, he was enthusiastic about "experiments."

In a thousand years, he had failed to find the Blue Spider Lily that would make him immune to sunlight.

So Muzan Kibutsuji had changed his approach.

He bestowed his blood upon humans to see whether they could evolve the ability to withstand sunlight.

If one did, he would devour that demon and become a truly perfect organism.

But humans were weak, fragile creatures.

Most humans who received the blood he bestowed merely turned into puddles of flesh.

Muzan Kibutsuji casually looked toward the mountaintop. The vigorous signs of life coming from there stirred a little interest in him:

"Five children, and one adult woman."

"I might as well conduct one last experiment."

As he drew closer, Muzan Kibutsuji suddenly stopped.

He could faintly sense that the house contained not just children and a woman, but someone who had mastered a Breathing Style.

"Tsk. A Demon Slayer Corps swordsman?"

Muzan Kibutsuji halted, his eyes full of mockery:

"Another of those fools who don't know their own limits. Still, he'll make an interesting experimental subject."

These Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen posed a threat to ordinary demons.

But in his eyes, they were merely a group of interesting experimental subjects.

After all, throughout all those centuries, there had only been...

His expression suddenly turned exceedingly dark, and veins even bulged at the corner of his forehead.

He had remembered that man again-

Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

A mere human had actually forced him to flee in disgrace!

Muzan Kibutsuji strode toward the house, still muttering to himself:

"I had intended to use you for an experiment."

"But since you've made me remember that man, I can only torture you to death."

"I nearly forgot. I can't let those children see you being tortured. That would frighten them."

"Why don't I kill the children first!"

At that thought, Muzan Kibutsuji's face filled with a delighted smile.

He could almost see the swordsman wailing in despair under his torture.

Yet just as he approached, he discovered that someone had opened the door.

Muzan Kibutsuji raised his head and immediately caught sight of long, dark red hair.

His gaze shifted downward, and he saw the dark red mark at the corner of the other man's forehead.

In that instant, Muzan Kibutsuji's breathing stopped.

Even his pupils trembled.

Long, dark red hair. A mark at the corner of his forehead...

The scene of his disgrace three hundred years ago came surging back like a flood!

Muzan Kibutsuji's gaze continued to move.

He clearly saw that pair of hanafuda earrings bearing a sun design!

Finally, Muzan Kibutsuji's gaze settled on the other man's entire face.

That face was utterly identical to the Yoriichi Tsugikuni in Muzan Kibutsuji's memories!

All seven hearts inside his body stopped beating at once.

And his five brains produced the same thought:

Holy shit, a ghost!