Chapter Forty-Seven: The Storm Hashira Has Returned!
Note: Damn it, you really did it! We reached 100 Power Stones, and as promised, I will publish an extra chapter… yes, this chapter and the next one.
Question: Do you suggest that I start another novel, especially since this novel was chaotic at the beginning and improved more with each chapter?
Enjoy~~~
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The first golden rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks of the wooden window in the Butterfly Mansion, drawing thin lines of light across the quiet room's floor. The scent of wisteria herbs and medical disinfectants filled the air as usual, but this morning, there was something different… something that made it feel as if the air itself had grown lighter and gentler.
Eiri slowly opened her eyes, feeling the warmth of the bed around her. She looked up at the familiar wooden ceiling, then quickly turned toward the adjacent bed belonging to her mother, Yumi. The bed was neatly made, which meant her mother had already woken up to begin her work at the clinic.
Eiri's eyes shone with sudden hope, and she jumped out of bed, looking around the room, searching for the tall shadow she had seen last night.
"Onii-chan?" (Big brother?) she whispered in a trembling, sorrowful voice.
Silence answered her. The air brought only the distant chirping of birds. Eiri's small shoulders slumped, and the excitement drained from her face, replaced by bitter disappointment.
"Of course… it was just a dream," she murmured, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her nightshirt. "A beautiful and painful dream, as always. How could someone who's been asleep for two years wake up and joke like that?"
She sighed deeply and forced herself to steady her emotions. There was no more time for crying; over the past two years, she had learned that weakness neither brings back the dead nor protects the living. She turned toward the wall, where a Nichirin sword hung in its elegant black scabbard, the sword Ren had left behind.
She reached out and grasped the hilt. She expected the familiar heaviness that once forced her to use both hands just to lift it a year ago, but…
"Huh?"
The sword rose with surprising ease. It felt as if its weight had been cut in half, but Eiri knew the truth.
"I… I've really grown physically stronger."
She smiled with a mix of bitterness and pride. The harsh training she had endured under Shinobu-sensei had not been in vain. She nodded to herself with determination, quickly put on her Demon Slayer training clothes, then left the room and quietly closed the door behind her.
As she walked through the long corridors, her thoughts turned to her mother. "Okāsan works herself too hard. She wakes up at dawn to tend to strangers' wounds and forgets her own." To Eiri, Yumi had always been a symbol of kindness and sacrifice, which only made Eiri feel an even greater responsibility to protect her.
"I'll go to the training hall. Maybe I'll find Kamado-san there," Eiri thought as she began to run lightly. "He said he was Ren's friend. Maybe if I train with him, I'll feel my brother's presence more."
But as she neared the main training hall, she suddenly stopped. There were strange sounds… crashing noises, cries of distress, and the sound of something heavy slamming into the walls.
She approached slowly and slid the door open just a little, her eyes widening in shock.
"Waaaaaaaaaah!" Zenitsu screamed as he flew through the air like a human projectile, landing face-first in the middle of the hall.
"Booooom!" In the next moment, Inosuke went flying and landed right on top of Zenitsu, causing the latter to let out a muffled scream of pain and rage.
"You damn boar! Get off me! I'll kill you!" Zenitsu shouted as he tried to push Inosuke away, while Inosuke growled beneath his boar mask, "Who did this?! I'll tear them apart!"
As for Kamado Tanjiro, he was sitting on the floor, rubbing his shoulder with an expression that mixed pain, irritation, and disbelief, staring straight ahead.
Eiri thought in confusion, "What's going on here? Is this training? Is it Kanao-san? But she's not this violent… Is it Shinobu-sensei? Impossible, she doesn't make people fly."
She opened the door fully and stepped inside. The moment she entered, the trio's gazes turned toward her. Zenitsu was crying as usual, Inosuke was boiling with anger, but Tanjiro…
His eyes were not filled with pity or sorrow as they usually were whenever he saw her.
Instead, Tanjiro smiled widely and excitedly, pointing toward the other side of the hall.
Eiri slowly turned… and her heart stopped beating for a full second.
There, in the center of the hall, stood a tall boy wearing white patient clothes that looked almost like royal robes on him. His long black hair fell over his shoulders in a wild, attractive mess, and his emerald-green eyes shone with an extremely confident, narcissistic gleam.
It was him. Yukihara Ren, now twelve years old, yet carrying the presence of a man who had fought a thousand battles.
"Ohayou… Eiri," (Good morning… Eiri).
He said it in a tone that held gentle teasing and deep affection at the same time.
Tears burst from Eiri's eyes against her will. Her lips trembled as she dropped the sword from her hand and ran toward him. It wasn't a dream… reality was far more beautiful.
"Haaai… ohayou, onii-chan," (Yes… good morning, big brother).
After a few minutes, the noise settled down a bit. Eiri was sitting in Ren's lap like a five-year-old child, clinging tightly to his shirt, while Ren sat in a relaxed posture, watching the "rehabilitation training" that had just resumed.
The trio (Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke) were suffering under the supervision of the little girls: Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo. Aoi was shouting strict instructions, while Kanao stood in the corner, watching with calm eyes and a barely visible smile.
Ren gently brushed his hand over the sheath of his sword that Eiri had brought him, as if reconnecting with an old friend.
"So, onii-chan…" Eiri said, lifting her head to look at him curiously. "Can you explain how you grew this tall in such an illogical way while sleeping? You're almost the same height as Kamado-san now, even though you're three years younger than him!"
Ren chuckled lightly and glanced to the empty space beside him, where Rina was floating in her usual modern outfit, wearing her irritating grin and winking at him.
"Let's just say it's growth magic, Eiri," Ren replied playfully.
In truth, the system "Rina" had been working tirelessly for two years. While his consciousness traveled through worlds, his physical body underwent a process of "molecular reconstruction."
Rina (in Ren's mind): [Don't thank me. Your body was far too fragile for the power that began flowing from 'Ron'. I expanded your blood vessels and reinforced your muscle fibers so you could withstand the 'Yoriichi Template' at 100%, not to mention the physical strength of 'Ren Zenin'.]
Ren (telepathically): "Oh, so I'm a monster stronger than demons now?"
[Almost. But you idiot put all your stat points into 'Agility', 'Strength', and 'Spirit' this whole time. Maybe you should start using points to enhance your 'Endurance' instead of completely neglecting it. Your power is immense, but with low endurance, you won't be able to draw out your full strength.]
"Wait, it was that simple? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ren complained irritably.
[I told you more than a hundred times! But you always interrupted me and said, 'Offense is the best defense,' then laughed like an anime villain!]
A metaphorical sweat drop appeared on Ren's forehead. "Damn it… I really need to stop blaming Rina, or she'll actually kill me one day…"
"Onii-chan?" Eiri called again, noticing his distracted look.
"Ah, sorry Eiri. What were you saying?"
"I was asking… does Okāsan (mom) know that you plan to return to fighting?"
Ren's expression shifted into a slightly bitter, mocking smile. "Of course she knows… and she's so angry that she's avoiding me. I think she's afraid she might hit me and kill me, sending me back to the grave again."
Ren recalled last night, when he tried to explain his intentions to his mother. Yumi had been frighteningly calm, before bursting into tears and then erupting like a raging volcano. If not for Shinobu's timely intervention, cleverly dragging him away for a "medical checkup," Ren would now be suffering from a genuine concussion courtesy of his mother's hand.
"Why is Okāsan so angry?" Eiri asked sadly.
"Because I told her the truth," Ren said, glancing at Tanjiro and the others. "I told her I won't stop being a Demon Slayer, and that I'll return as the 'Storm Hashira' as soon as possible."
"Eh?! Hah?!" Eiri and Tanjiro shouted at the same time.
"Ren-senpai! You just woke up!" Tanjiro yelled, stopping his training. "You need rest! Your body hasn't moved in two years!"
Ren laughed confidently and slowly stood up, revealing a well-balanced, powerful physique despite the patient clothes. "Rest is for the weak, Tanjiro. Demons don't take breaks, and we have a lot of points… I mean, a lot of souls to save."
Eiri looked at him with eyes overflowing with tears once more. "Why… onii-chan? You're not the only one who has to carry this burden. There are many others…"
Ren bent down and gently patted her head, his gaze turning extremely serious.
"Listen, Eiri… great power comes with great responsibility. Since I have the power to eradicate these nightmares, it is my duty to do so. Yukihara Ren either exterminates the demons and wins with pride, or dies trying with pride."
(Inside his mind, Ren was dancing with joy: Yes! Perfect speech! Now if I kill Muzan here and Ron kills him in the simulation, I'll get enough points to push the Sukuna and Gojo Templates to 100%! I'll become a true king!)
…
Let's rewind a little, to the moments before Yukihara Ren awakened from the limbo of death.
Inside Ren's mental void, Haruto's room was no longer the chaotic mess we once knew. Ron had taken it upon himself to clean and organize it with surprising precision and elegance. Ron wore a white apron and held a broom seriously as he swept the floor, while Rina floated silently in the air, and Ren lounged lazily on the couch, absorbed in reading the manga Attack on Titan.
Rina's irritated voice broke the silence:
[Ron, we came here to discuss the dilemma of returning to the original body in the Demon Slayer world! And tell me, why are you cleaning manually when you can simply imagine the place clean?]
Ron ignored her and continued working with focus, while Ren merely smiled cryptically as he turned the manga pages. After a while, Ren sighed in satisfaction. "Good grief… Captain Levi is as magnificent as ever!"
Ren set the manga aside and looked at Ron, who finally put down the broom and sat across from him in a relaxed posture. Ron spoke firmly: "You need to take things more seriously… and by the way, I refuse to take control of the original body no matter what. Forget it!"
Ren rubbed his chin thoughtfully and sighed in annoyance. "Hmm… I agree with you. It would be truly terrifying to try convincing Okā-san about returning to Demon Slayer work after everything that happened."
Rina intervened to steer the discussion back on track: [Think about that later. What matters now is using the ability 'Reincarnated Souls' to create a copy that will handle the body of 'Ren Zenin' in the Jujutsu world.]
Ren's eyes sparkled as he smiled. "You're right. So… shall we do it?"
Ren clapped his hands together loudly and shouted, "Special Ability: Reincarnated Souls!"
A brilliant golden light burst forth from between his palms, so intense that it blinded everyone for a moment. When the light faded, a third copy of Ren appeared, but with features that radiated an unusual gentleness and kindness.
Ron frowned as he examined the new copy. "He looks like an easy target for bullying…"
Ren laughed and asked Rina curiously, "I agree… Rina, what's the driving motive of this personality? Ron's motive was the pursuit of power, right?"
Ron replied, his eyes burning with determination, as if the memory of their near-defeat by Doma was still vivid: "Yes… and I still pursue absolute power."
Then the new copy spoke with overflowing enthusiasm and a smile bright as the sun: "My motive? Hmmmm… I want to achieve justice!"
Ron raised his hands to shield his eyes. "Damn it! That light is too strong… Did you accidentally create a shounen protagonist?"
Rina explained calmly as she observed the copy: [In short, this copy's motive is protecting the innocent and establishing justice. He is the embodiment of the 'good' buried deep within you.]
Ron shouted in shock: "What?! Am I that good of a person?! This is really like a manga hero!"
Ren patted the copy on the shoulder with a smile, despite the doubt in his tone. "Whatever… even though I doubt someone this kind can survive the dark Jujutsu world, this will do! And since you're part of me despite this flood of justice… we'll call you Ray!"
Ray looked Ren in the eyes and sighed in boredom. "You're really terrible at naming things… how unfortunate."
Only then did Ren begin to suspect that Ray might not be completely "good" after all.
"Anyway… I'm leaving," Ron said before his body faded from the void. Ray followed, placing his fist over Ren's chest and saying seriously, "Do your best!" before disappearing as well.
Ren was left alone with Rina.
He said expressionlessly, "They left me with the hardest task."
Rina reassured him: [Muzan won't be much of a problem with your current power.]
Ren replied in despair, "I'm not talking about Muzan… I'm talking about my mom!"
A heavy silence filled the space.
"….."
"….."
Indeed, this would be the hardest battle Ren would ever fight.
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End of Chapter 47.