Chapter 383: The System Returns
High above Tokyo.
The Middle-Rank and Low-Rank Ghost God that followed the Nine-Tailed Fox had fallen completely into a disadvantage.
"Damn it, how can this be?"
The Middle-Rank Ghost God had just shattered an incoming spiritual flow and tried to charge at Hikigaya Hachiman, only for another spiritual flow to manifest out of thin air right in front of its face. Left with no choice, it had to strike again to block.
Yet the moment it struck, several more spiritual flows rose from all directions, slamming toward it! The Middle-Rank Ghost God was flustered by Hachiman's attacks, and the Low-Rank Ghost God, being even weaker, looked even more pathetic.
"Compared to that other guy, these two Ghost God are much easier to handle."
Floating in mid-air, Hachiman watched the two spirits below, whose defeat was already certain, and unconsciously compared them to the High-Rank Ghost God from before. The result was obvious: they weren't even in the same league.
Against the High-Rank Ghost God, Hachiman had fought until the otherworld collapsed before finally eliminating him. Now, facing two at once, he was driving them into a corner using nothing but spiritual flows.
A black pillar of light shot from a distance, shattering all the spiritual flows surrounding the two Ghost God in a single strike.
"Lord Nine-Tails!"
Seeing the floating figure in the distance, the two Ghost God let out a sigh of relief and flew to her sides, greeting her respectfully.
"Go and destroy the formation hub in the city center."
The Nine-Tailed Fox merely glanced at the two useless subordinates. After assigning the task, she flew straight past them toward Hachiman. The two Ghost God looked at each other, nodded, and flew off toward the city center.
"Coming for me voluntarily this time?"
Hachiman narrowed his eyes and mocked the Fox, which was hovering a hundred meters away. However, if one listened closely, they could detect a trace of anxiety in his voice.
"Because there's no longer any need to hide."
The Fox answered with absolute confidence. Previously, it had only clashed with Hachiman because he happened to be in the way while it was collecting items. Now, its core was fully
repaired, its strength had returned to its peak, and it was about to take that final step. What was there left to fear?
"No need, huh?"
Hachiman repeated the words and shook his head helplessly. True to her confidence, the aura the Fox radiated was stronger than ever. But by the same token, after killing the High-Rank Ghost God, Hachiman's strength had also promoted!
The Fox didn't intend to waste words. With a flick of her finger, a massive spatial rift appeared between them. The moment Hachiman saw the rift, he understood the Fox's intent. Fighting the High-Rank Ghost God alone had destroyed the otherworld; if he and the Fox fought above Tokyo, it was questionable whether Japan would even exist by the time a winner was decided.
Bang!
Just as Hachiman followed the Fox into the spatial turbulence, the rift behind him healed instantly. Immediately after, a cunning sneak attack from the Fox flew at his right rear.
Since this was a life-and-death struggle, Hachiman maintained constant vigilance. Sensing the attack, he fired a spiritual ball to cancel out the Fox's offensive.
"Your alertness is quite high."
The Fox's voice echoed from the space in all directions. Hearing this, Hachiman realized that ever since they entered the spatial turbulence, he could no longer see her figure!
"Where did she go?"
Frowning slightly, Hachiman pushed his consciousness to scan the surroundings along with the System. However, within the spatial turbulence, storms were constantly forming and collapsing. His consciousness was shattered by the violent spatial forces the moment it spread out!
'This is troublesome...'
Unable to use his consciousness to scout, Hachiman could only rely on his eyes and physical senses to find the Fox. Although she was likely in the same boat, the Fox was clearly not a novice at fighting within spatial turbulence!
"Is there any way to see the enemy, System?"
While staying alert for attacks, Hachiman delved into his mind to open the System Shop.
[Simply master Spatial Power.]
The System's answer was simple. The reason spatial turbulence was called "turbulence" was that it was composed of countless violent spatial forces. The reason the Fox could easily detect his position was naturally because she had mastered spatial power long ago.
[Spatial Origin Seed] [Price: 700,000 Spirit Coins] [Effect: Directly skip the process of comprehending spatial power and obtain a sliver of the Origin Power of Space.]
Good stuff! Ignoring the price, Hachiman felt a surge of excitement at the effect. He was already in combat; he couldn't exactly stop to "meditate" on space. This seed was exactly what he needed for this emergency!
Without hesitation, Hachiman chose to exchange. In the next second, he felt something melt into his lower abdomen. The fierce spatial storms before his eyes suddenly seemed dissected; he could clearly understand their paths, where a certain rift led, and the complex information mixed within the power.
"Found you!"
Suddenly, Hachiman spotted a trace of recent movement within an inconspicuous spatial storm. Given they were the only two in the vicinity, he gave chase.
"Hmm?"
The Fox, who was currently using the local turbulence to construct a giant storm, suddenly sensed a ripple in the space beside her. She immediately activated the unfinished storm, pulled a spatial fragment to modify the jump coordinates, and redirected them into the heart of the storm. Then, she stepped across the void to another location in the turbulence.
Having just learned spatial control, Hachiman was caught off guard. The moment he teleported to the space next to where the Fox had been, he triggered the trap and was instantly sent into the heart of the spatial storm.
Feeling the violent spatial forces threatening to tear his body to powder, Hachiman immediately channeled his newly acquired spatial power to jump again. However, the Fox had locked all the exit coordinates. No matter how he drove his internal spatial power, he remained trapped inside the storm, struggling to resist the onslaught.
[Recommendation: Host should coat the surface of your body with your own spatial power.]
Just as Hachiman felt his spiritual barrier was about to collapse, the System proactively issued a reminder. Deciding to give it a try, he carefully coated the barrier with spatial power. Instantly, the pressure decreased by several folds.
"Thanks, System."
Relieved of the immediate crisis, Hachiman felt a surge of gratitude toward the System in his mind.
[Problem solved. 50,000 Spirit Coins deducted.]
The System's cold voice echoed, stating that it was not helping for free. Hachiman's gratitude instantly withered. He sighed and shrugged. Fine, take the coins. Compared to his life, 50,000 was nothing.
"Wait...?"
As he calmed down, Hachiman felt a change in his internal spatial power. The "Seed" he had just exchanged for had expanded several times and was continuing to grow.
"What's going on?"
He scanned his body and eventually focused on the layer of spatial power coating his barrier.
[Host, do you require an explanation?]
Perhaps having tasted the "profit," the usually rigid System once again proactively piped up.
"Does it cost money?"
[Of course. Is there such a thing as a free lunch in this world?]
"......... Wait, Intelligent System? You're back?"
Hearing that, Hachiman fell silent for a moment before realizing that his usual "dummy" system only spoke when he initiated contact. How could it proactively engage him several times in a row?
[As expected of my former host, truly clever!]
Seeing the disguise was blown, the Intelligent System stopped pretending and returned to its usual lively voice.
"I thought you left?"
Hachiman still remembered Kamado Tanjuro, to whom he had passed the Sun Breathing. He wasn't in that demon-filled world anymore, so how did the Intelligent System get back into his head?
[The mission ended.]
Even without a face, Hachiman could visualize the System's lazy, satisfied expression.
[Under my guidance, Kamado Tanjuro successfully subjugated the Demon King and developed the medicine to turn all demons back into humans. That world has been downgraded from a low-danger level to a safe level~]
"Is that so? Then congratulations."
Hachiman chatted idly with the Intelligent System while feeling the violent spatial forces outside being tamed by his barrier and subsequently absorbed into his body.
[Yup! Because the mission was completed excellently, this system is now on vacation for a hundred years.]
"A hundred-year vacation?"
Hachiman's face twitched. A system going on vacation was weird enough, but for a hundred years?! This completely broke his common sense.
[Correct! For a hundred years, I don't have to worry about the troubles of you hosts.]
"You didn't exactly do much for me anyway, did you?" Hachiman complained internally with his trademark dead-fish eyes. By his count, the system had only been with him for about three months, and they'd only spent about a week actually talking before it took off! "So, if you're on vacation, what are you doing here?"
[I was on my way to visit a friend, ran into you, and just stopped by to say hi.]
The Intelligent System claimed it was a coincidence, but Hachiman didn't believe it. The odds of it finishing a mission in the Demon Slayer world and happening to find him fighting in spatial turbulence...
"You have friends?"
Though he doubted its words, its return wasn't a bad thing, so he didn't press for the real reason. Instead, he was curious about a system having friends.
[Of course! But that fellow isn't as easy to talk to as I am. They won't open their mouth unless it's something important. They're cold as ice!]
"........"
Hachiman rubbed his forehead, signaling he didn't want to hear the system badmouth its "cold" friend. Sensing his internal spatial power had grown several times over during the chat, he began looking for a way out of the storm.
[Just use brute force to tear it open. Host, you're such an idiot.]
After rambling for ages only to find Hachiman wasn't listening, the Intelligent System watched his clumsy attempts to find an exit and shouted in frustration.
"This is a spatial storm, not paper! You think I can just tear it?" Hachiman rolled his eyes. Easy for it to say. If he could use brute force, would he be wandering around looking for an exit?
[Spatial Power Application Techniques] [Price: 150,000 Spirit Coins] [Effect: Teaches the host how to flexibly use spatial power, such as tearing apart spatial storms with your hands.]
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Looking at his balance and the price, Hachiman was increasingly certain the Intelligent System was just here for his Spirit Coins.
[Thank you for your business~]
"You are absolutely doing this on purpose!"
Regardless, Hachiman eventually gritted his teeth and bought the item. A massive amount of knowledge regarding spatial power flooded his mind. With his current mental strength, he only felt a brief second of dizziness before recovering.
Looking at the barrier of the spatial storm, Hachiman tried extending a finger and circulating his spatial power. In that moment, he felt as if he saw a "perforated line" appear on the storm's wall. Instinctively, he followed the line and swiped down.
Rip...
A silent tearing sound echoed in his ears. The once violent storm instantly collapsed, annihilating into the spatial turbulence!
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