Chương 28: A New World, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Akaza

After dinner, they said good night and turned off the magic-stone lamp. Before long, Hestia's even breathing filled the room. Cael, who had been lying on his side on the old sofa, suddenly opened his eyes. He quietly put on his equipment and glanced at Lady Hestia, whose sleeping posture was terrible enough that she had kicked off her blanket.

"Rest well, Lady Hestia." Cael left the basement without making a sound, carefully closed the stone door, and looked up at the moonlight shining through the ruined roof. His heartbeat suddenly quickened. A new world. What kind of world would it be? He was excited. He activated World Gate Key. A sacred golden door that only he could see appeared before him. With a thought, the gap between the doors slowly widened. Under Cael's gaze, it opened completely, revealing a thin golden film of light.

Passing through that light would bring him to another world. Cael took a deep breath and touched the light with his finger. He felt no discomfort. Then he lifted his foot and stepped through. His vision spun for an instant. After a brief wave of dizziness, the place around him changed. He looked around. Night. Stars and a bright moon in the sky. Not far away stood a derailed train. The locomotive had been violently separated from the cars. A disaster?

Through Transparent World, Cael sensed malice and a strange kind of presence spreading through the area. The sound of blades clashing came from that direction.

"A coal-burning train in this style. Is this a modern era? Is there a fight over there? I should take a look." Cael moved, turning into an afterimage that vanished from where he stood. His Dexterity was above eight hundred, and his Agility above six hundred. Under the doubling effect of Bravery, those became over sixteen hundred and twelve hundred. He had long surpassed the range of Lv. 1 adventurers. Surpassing Lv. 1 meant surpassing ordinary human limits and reaching a new level.

Although he had not Leveled Up yet, his strength was undoubtedly already at Lv. 2. In less than ten seconds, he crossed nearly five hundred meters and reached his destination. The sounds of battle had already stopped, but when Cael saw the scene, his eyes widened slightly. The sight quickly overlapped with an image in his memory. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Broken stone and drifting dust showed that the fight had only just paused.

A purple-haired man stood shirtless, his body carved with dark-blue criminal tattoos. His nails were blood-red, his eyes were gold, and numbers were engraved in his pupils. Opposite him stood a man in a flame-patterned haori, his hair burning like fire as he held a long blade. The man in the flame haori was clearly in worse condition than the tattoo-covered man. Blood ran from his forehead and the corner of his mouth. One eye was already blind. His uneven breathing showed that his body had reached its limit.

"No matter how much you fight, it is useless, Kyojuro. The wounds left by your exquisite slashes have already healed completely. But look at you. Your left eye is ruined, your ribs are broken, and your organs are damaged. For a demon, those are nothing more than scratches. They heal in an instant. No matter how humans struggle, they cannot defeat demons."

"So become a demon. Fight me forever, Rengoku." The purple-haired man covered in curved markings spread his arms and shouted with arrogant invitation.

"Hah. I refuse." Just as Rengoku prepared to burn away the last of his life, a calm voice cut through the tension.

"Oh? Humans cannot defeat demons? Who decided that? A god?"

"Who is there?" Everyone turned instantly toward the source of the voice. They saw a strangely dressed young man standing on top of the derailed train, looking down at them. He wore light white chest armor and carried two longswords at his waist. He looked only seventeen or eighteen, just two or three years older than Tanjiro.

"I did not notice someone approaching!" Akaza, who had been smug only moments earlier, suddenly narrowed his eyes. He had not sensed him. Even while fighting, Akaza had kept everything around him within his perception. If someone approached, he should have noticed.

"Who... who is he?" Tanjiro, who had collapsed helplessly, had been about to shout for him not to come closer. But when he saw how the young man was dressed, he froze. He was not an ordinary person. Who was he? A Hashira? But Tanjiro had not seen him at the Hashira meeting.

"D-don't know." Inosuke Hashibira, wearing his boar-head mask, sounded lost.

"He saw all this and didn't get scared, so he ain't normal." Inosuke could not move at all in the current situation. His instincts told him that if he entered that fight, he would die. His hands and feet refused to obey him. Damn it.

"Who are you? Young man, do not come closer." Rengoku froze for a moment, then shouted hurriedly. He gripped his long blade with both hands and raised it to his shoulder, preparing to continue fighting.

"You are already injured this badly. If you keep fighting, you will die. And one Hashira cannot defeat an Upper Rank demon. Killing an Upper Rank without losses requires three Hashira working together." Cael slowly drew the twin swords at his waist and spoke with half-lidded eyes. His gaze fell on Akaza, whose body was covered in criminal tattoos. The malice and strange aura filling the air were coming from him. Was that so-called demon aura? And under Transparent World, Cael could tell. Strong. Very strong.

No monster he had encountered so far could compare to him. He was at the limit of Lv. 2, almost reaching Lv. 3. Demon Slayer. He had not expected the gate to open into this world. For the current him, this was perfect.

"Heh. Hahahahaha! Another strong one. Visibly strong. Stronger than Rengoku. Wonderful. Wonderful!" Akaza's golden eyes fixed on the human who had suddenly appeared. After the shock, he instantly saw many things and laughed in excited madness.

"That flawless body, with no openings anywhere. That feeling, as if you can see directly through my muscles, bones, blood, and nerves!"

"The Supreme Territory? You have reached the Supreme Territory. Wonderful. Wonderful! Truly wonderful. A human has actually reached the Supreme Territory!" That human appeared to have no fighting spirit at all. Yet Akaza felt that if he attacked, his opponent would dodge easily and deliver a fatal counterblow. He had only felt that from Upper Rank One before. The ability to hide every trace of one's presence, leave no openings, perfectly perceive an opponent's body, and see through their weak points.

The Supreme Territory. Transparent World.

"My name is Akaza. What is yours?" Akaza instantly lost most of his interest in Rengoku and shifted his target to the newly arrived fighter.

"A dying demon has no right to know my name." Cael leapt down from the roof of the train car and landed on the ground. He looked coldly at Akaza, his body entering a battle-ready state. Both hands tightened around his swords, and blue magical light appeared, reinforcing the blades.

"Heh. You carry yourself like a true fighter. Excellent." Akaza was not angry at all. If anything, he looked even happier.