"Knock, knock, knock."
A faint knocking sound woke Lexon from his sleep.
"Lord Lexon..."
A faint call accompanied the knocking, entering the house.
The door opened.
Lexon walked out, rubbing his eyes, and asked with a yawn, "Did Muzan attack?"
The Kakushi member outside the door, upon hearing Lexon's question, suddenly trembled for some reason. A cold sweat seemed to break out on his forehead, and a clearly trembling voice came from under his mask, "N-No... The Master has ordered Lord Lexon to the main hall for an audience."
'It seems the other Hashira aren't very friendly to their subordinates... causing them to be so afraid of the Hashira.'
Lexon grumbled inwardly while responding, "Alright."
After tidying up a bit, Lexon, as was his custom, went with the waiting subordinate to Kagaya Ubuyashiki's estate without wearing his Demon Slayer uniform.
"Is there something you need, Master?" Lexon asked as he walked in.
Inside the estate, Kagaya Ubuyashiki was sitting with his head lowered on a cushion, his wife beside him reading a letter for him.
Hearing Lexon's voice, Kagaya slightly raised his hand to stop his wife from reading and turned his head towards Lexon.
Although he was blind, he still believed that when talking to others, he should face them to show his basic respect.
"Lexon... the situation on the Mugen Train is not right. I want you to make a trip there."
After Lexon sat down in front of him, Kagaya proposed his idea.
"The Mugen Train?" Lexon repeated to himself.
'Is this the part of the story where Kyojuro Rengoku dies?'
'The plot where he encounters Upper Rank Three, Akaza, and dies in a fierce battle?'
"Yes," a worried expression appeared on Kagaya Ubuyashiki's face. "A demon has appeared on the Mugen Train, so I sent Kyojuro over. I even sent Tanjiro and his two friends to assist him, but I have a bad feeling..."
The moment he said this, a faint image suddenly appeared in Kagaya's mind.
In that image, there was a figure. It was Kyojuro Rengoku...
The color of death was on his face as he knelt on the ground, having lost all signs of life.
'Kyojuro will die...'
Kagaya's heart tightened. "Lexon, I need you to go and help Kyojuro."
"No problem," Lexon agreed to Kagaya's request.
'It's purely to save Kyojuro. There are absolutely no other messy thoughts, like coveting Akaza's abilities.'
He thought to himself.
"Shinobu Kocho is near the tracks of the Mugen Train. I have already sent an order for her to go as well."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki spoke again.
'Hmm?'
Lexon looked at him with some confusion.
'The Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku; the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho; and the Mist Hashira, Lexon.'
'That's three Hashira.'
'A few passengers have disappeared on the Mugen Train, and several Demon Slayer swordsmen have died... but for just that, at most one Hashira would be dispatched.'
Looking at Kagaya's worried face, Lexon's mind suddenly became clear.
'Did he foresee it? The reality where Kyojuro was supposed to die.'
'In the original story, Kagaya clearly did not foresee this. But now he has...'
Lexon felt that it must have been caused by the butterfly effect he had brought about. Some things that were supposed to happen had changed, deviating from their original tracks.
'But it is indeed necessary for me to go.'
'After all, if Akaza appears as scheduled, it's unlikely that Kyojuro and Shinobu together would be his match.'
'The power of Upper Rank Three is far beyond that of the current Hashira.'
'But if I go...'
Lexon's hand couldn't help but rest on the Nichirin Sword at his waist.
'My current strength is also far beyond that of the current Hashira.'
"I'm counting on you," the worried look on Kagaya Ubuyashiki's face softened slightly, his light voice containing a power that could soothe one's mood.
"You don't have to be so polite, Master," Lexon's indifferent eyes under his bangs looked at the rugged scars on Kagaya's face as he spoke calmly.
"It is what I should do," Kagaya said with a gentle smile.
Lexon was silent and did not respond.
"Making you the 'Mist Hashira' of the Demon Slayer Corps could be said to have tied you to this ship that could capsize at any moment.
"The Demon Slayer Corps cannot complete its mission without you, but you do not necessarily need the Demon Slayer Corps...
"You are not driven by the will for revenge, you have no hatred for demons, no conviction to slay them, no greed for money or power. The Demon Slayer Corps is, in reality, dispensable to you...
"So I have been feeling very sorry for forcing you."
Kagaya slightly bowed his head to Lexon. At his side, Amane Ubuyashiki did the same.
'It is useful, you just can't see what I'm taking.'
Lexon thought to himself.
He brushed his bangs aside. For the first time, his expression changed, becoming somewhat gentle.
"Raise your heads, Master and Lady Amane."
Lexon looked at the two of them gently and spoke to the bowing couple.
After the Ubuyashiki couple raised their heads, Lexon lowered his head slightly and said, "I'm departing now."
Then he slowly stood up and walked outside.
"Be careful on your way."
Kagaya's exhortation came from behind him.
"I will," Lexon said without turning his head.
A speeding train, toppled and unconscious passengers.
The walls of the train were covered in flesh, and from time to time, fleshy tentacles attacked the unconscious passengers.
Kyojuro Rengoku held his Nichirin Sword, circulating his Flame Breathing technique.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire."
His figure suddenly vanished. He moved rapidly through the entire train, flames accompanying his figure, burning and severing every attacking fleshy tentacle with his slashes, turning them all to ash.
"It's no use."
Rengoku quickly realized that his actions were not having much effect.
The speed, strength, and defensive power of the fleshy tentacles were not high. A single swing of his sword could easily cut them.
But the problem was that there were a great number of these tentacles, and their regenerative ability was strong. Even if they were cut, they could quickly regenerate.
To a Hashira, these tentacles were nothing. But to the unconscious passengers, every attacking tentacle was potentially fatal.
"How can I slay the evil demon that is releasing this flesh, while also protecting the passengers..."
Kyojuro's face was extremely solemn, his mind racing, searching for a way to solve this predicament.
"Mr. Rengoku!"
While Rengoku was still thinking, a young boy's voice came.
Following it were three figures running over.
The newcomers were none other than the three little powerhouses of Demon Slayer: Kamado Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibiera.
'The boy Lexon was looking after at the Hashira meeting?'
Rengoku was a little surprised to see them.
"Why are you here?" Rengoku asked.
"The Kasugai Crow gave us a mission directive, telling us to come to this train. But not long after the train started moving, it became covered in flesh, and then we saw you, Mr. Rengoku," Tanjiro explained.
In the original story of the Mugen Train arc, the Lower Rank One, Enmu, had used the train tickets as a medium to make Tanjiro and the others fall into a dream, and then manipulated the train passengers to stab their spiritual cores while they were defenseless, causing their deaths.
But now, the plot had clearly changed significantly. Not long after the train started moving, Enmu had fused with it, covering it in flesh, knocking the passengers unconscious, and attacking them.
The plot had deviated from its original track. What would happen next was completely unknown.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]