With their recovery complete, it was time for Inosuke and the others to leave. A new mission awaited them.
Butterfly Mansion · Early Morning
The entrance to the Butterfly Mansion was as noisy as a marketplace.
"Hurry up! You two sluggish snails!"
Inosuke stood at the gate, flicking his iron fan, tapping the marble steps impatiently with the tip of his sandal.
He had already changed back into his signature blue-and-white brocade haori. The freshly polished serrated twin blades hung at his waist, and he looked radiant.
Mostly because he'd extorted a huge sum of money yesterday—from Iguro, from Tomioka Giyu…
"Coming right now, Inosuke-kun!"
Tanjiro came running out, panting. He had the freshly repaired large wooden box on his back and was still carrying a pile of rice balls that Kanzaki Aoi had forcibly stuffed into his hands.
Behind him, Zenitsu was clinging desperately to the doorframe, crying his heart out.
"I don't want to go! That crow said it's a train! Just hearing the name sounds ominous! That's a train to hell, right?! It has to be!"
"Shut up, Wenyi!"
Inosuke strode over and mercilessly peeled Zenitsu off the doorframe.
"Cry again and I'll deduct your wages."
"It's Zenitsu!" Zenitsu retorted through thick streams of tears. "Boss, how many times have you gotten my name wrong?!"
"So noisy."
Inosuke eyed Zenitsu with disgust, especially that messy blond hair. The more he looked, the more irritated he got.
"You sleeping pig!"
"Who are you calling a sleeping pig?! That's a pet name!"
As the three bickered, a silent figure emerged from the corner.
Tomioka Giyu.
He seemed to have come specifically to see them off, but not knowing what to say, he stood there like a wooden post, trying to convey safe travels with his eyes.
Inosuke spotted him instantly.
"Oh!"
He snapped his fan shut and pointed it at Giyu's mismatched haori.
"You're here to see us off too, huh, Half-and-Half Haori."
Giyu: "..."
Tanjiro: "Pfft… Half-and-half haori?"
Zenitsu: "It's rude, but… weirdly accurate."
Giyu looked down at his clothes, then at Inosuke. A trace of confusion passed through his deep blue eyes.
Half-and-half haori?
Is that… praise for its design?
Yes. That must be it.
"…Be careful on the road."
After holding it in for a long time, Giyu finally managed four words.
Then he took three oil-paper-wrapped items from his robe and handed them over—salmon-and-daikon rice balls.
"Oh?"
Inosuke raised an eyebrow, accepted them without ceremony, and took a bite.
"Not bad. Looks like you finally learned how to be human, Half-and-Half Haori."
He stood on tiptoe and patted Giyu's shoulder.
"This meal's on you. As for your previous debt… I'll waive the small change."
"!"
Giyu's eyes brightened slightly.
He didn't know how much had been waived, but the feeling of being accepted… wasn't bad at all.
"Let's go! Gonpachiro! Wenyi!"
With a grand wave of his hand, Inosuke turned and strode toward the road leading to the station.
Manjiro Paradise Cult · Same Time
At the same moment, the atmosphere in the Paradise Cult was… strangely warm and unsettling.
"Kanaho-chan, look at this!"
Doma burst into the room excitedly, holding something extremely twisted—borderline horrifying.
The object was translucent, carved from ice, and vaguely resembled… a pig.
"This is…?"
Kanaho paused her sewing, asking hesitantly.
"A talisman!"
Doma proudly placed the ice pig on the table, smiling like a child asking for praise.
"I thought Inosuke always charges around like a little wild boar, so I carved him a guardian deity!"
"And I infused it with tons of cold energy! As long as he carries this, he won't need to buy popsicles in summer! Am I a genius or what?"
Kanaho stared at the pig—its facial features misaligned, looking like a horror-movie prop.
She wanted to complain, but when she saw the sparkle in Doma's rainbow-colored eyes, she smiled gently instead.
"You're very thoughtful, Lord Doma. But… I think Inosuke is more like a little kitten."
"Eh? A kitten?"
Doma looked crestfallen, even the tall hat on his head drooping.
"But for some reason, I always think he's like a little wild boar… He really was like a little beast when he was young. His bites hurt a lot."
He touched his cheek, as if he could still feel the bite marks left by baby Inosuke.
That feeling—being needed, being depended on, even being bitten—for a demon who had lived hundreds of empty years, was the only thing that ever felt real.
"It's alright."
Kanaho set aside her sewing and held Doma's icy hand.
"As long as it's from you, Inosuke will accept it… yes, he'll accept it—even if he sells it later."
"Really?"
Doma squeezed her hand back. In his eyes, which lacked warmth, the candlelight flickered warmly.
"Kanaho… when that child comes back this time… shall we take a photo together?"
"A human-style family portrait. I want to keep this moment forever."
Kanaho froze for a moment, then nodded firmly, eyes reddening.
"Yes. Let's do it together."
In the Paradise Cult, two of the most abnormal parents in the world were loving a distant child in the clumsiest, most twisted way possible.
Train Station · Night
Night fell. The massive steam-powered station was packed with people.
When the Infinite Train—like a black iron beast—rolled into the platform, belching white steam—
"Waaah! What is that?! A monster?! A land god?!"
A completely uncultured scream rang out.
This time, it wasn't Inosuke.
It was Tanjiro.
"Is that the guardian deity of this land? Should we go pay respects?" Tanjiro asked solemnly.
"Stop embarrassing yourself!" Zenitsu covered his face.
"That's just a steam locomotive! You country bumpkin!"
"Tch."
Standing between them, Inosuke flicked his fan, eyes gleaming as he looked at the enormous engine.
"So big."
He licked his lips—not from fear, but greed.
Walking up to the engine, he knocked on the thick iron shell with the hilt of his serrated blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Solid. All iron."
He turned back to the other two with a devilish grin.
"Hey, do you know how much scrap metal this whole car would sell for? If we dismantled it and shipped it back to the Paradise Cult… could we trade it for a golden Buddha?"
"Don't think about illegal things!" the conductor ran over, blowing his whistle.
"You there! Don't damage public property! Tickets?!"
"Tickets?"
Inosuke pulled three crumpled tickets from his robe and waved them in the conductor's face.
"Open your dog eyes and look carefully. This young master is a VIP on this train."
Despite his bravado, Inosuke felt anything but relaxed.
The moment he stepped onto the platform, his superhuman senses had gone wild.
This train… was alive.
Beneath the floors, inside the walls, even in the air—there was a nauseating, cold, sticky demonic presence.
"Another Lower Rank?"
Inosuke touched the concealment charm in his robe, his eyes turning icy.
"Hiding something this disgusting inside something this valuable… what a waste."
Inside the Carriage
"So good! So good! So good!"
A loud, energetic shout—so loud it rattled the windows—came from the front carriage.
The three went in to look.
A young man with flame-colored hair—yellow and red intertwined—wearing a flame-patterned cloak, was devouring bento boxes piled high on the table.
With every bite, he widened his owl-like eyes and shouted delicious.
Flame Hashira—Rengoku Kyojuro.
"Um…"
Tanjiro cautiously stepped forward.
"Excuse me—"
"Delicious!!!"
Rengoku didn't hear him at all, fully immersed in eating.
"This guy…"
Zenitsu shrank back.
"He feels like a weirdo."
Only Inosuke's usual arrogance softened slightly.
As a transmigrator, he knew exactly what would happen next—this man, shining like the sun, would burn out completely on this very night.
"Hey, Owl-Eyes Uncle."
Inosuke strode over and plopped down across from Rengoku. For once, he didn't steal food. Instead, he slammed his twin blades onto the table.
"You've eaten eleven bento boxes."
He stared straight into Rengoku's eyes, his tone provocatively calm.
"Are you full?"
Rengoku paused and looked at this beautifully dressed but ferocious-eyed boy.
"Um! Not full yet! But they're sold out!"
He laughed heartily, not offended in the least.
"Young man! Want some? Too bad—none left!"
"I'm not here to eat."
Inosuke took a deep breath.
He knew the plot.
He knew Akaza would come.
He knew this man would die.
But—
He touched the iron fan at his chest, then the spider-silk-wrapped serrated blade at his waist.
He was the young master of the Paradise Cult.
A villain's second generation meant to defy fate.
If he couldn't even save one Hashira, how was he supposed to save his deranged father?
"Listen, Uncle."
Inosuke leaned in close, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear.
"There's a stench I really hate on this train. Tonight—"
He bared his small, sharp fangs in a wildly arrogant grin.
"This young master will cover you. So your life is temporarily under my protection. If you dare die before me, I'll strip that nice cloak off you and sell it for money."
Rengoku froze.
He looked at this boy—clearly a child—who spoke of protecting a Hashira without fear or bluster.
In those eyes, there was no terror, no bravado.
Only an obsession called I will win.
"Hahahahaha!"
Rengoku burst into laughter and slapped Inosuke hard on the shoulder.
"Interesting! What an interesting young man!"
"Very well! If you're going to protect me, then show me what you can do!"
"But before that—"
He pushed his last bento box toward Inosuke.
"Eat first! This one's on me!"
Inosuke twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Tch. Who needs your treat."
He grabbed the bento and took a savage bite.
"…Damn, it's good."
At that moment, the train let out a long whistle.
Clack—clack—
The Infinite Train officially departed.
And in the shadow between the carriages, a pair of eyes marked with the character "Dream" gazed greedily at everything.
"Sleep… sleep…
To die in sweet dreams is mercy…"
The whistle pierced the night once more.
And in the darkness, eyes marked with One gleamed.
"Sleep… all of you…
To die in dreams… is a blessing…"
⭐ Want to read the full book (all chapters)?
Visit Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/CanonBreaker ⭐
✅ The book is now COMPLETE.All chapters are finished—what remains is unlocking bonus content.
🎁 BONUS CHAPTER SYSTEM
10 reviews → Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones → Bonus Chapter
🔥 Your support still matters—the stronger it is, the more extra content and bonuses I can release. Thank you for being part of the journey!