Chapter 4 — Reward for Repelling
"You only have the strength for one strike! Use Jōkaku Enjō. I'll try my best to control Ryūjin Jakka's power so it won't put too much strain on your body." An aged voice sounded beside Ken's ear.
"Thank you," Ken replied softly.
"No need for thanks. Slaying demons is my duty."
As the voice faded, Ken's gaze sharpened as he stared straight at Kibutsuji Muzan.
"You…"
"This time, I'll destroy all eighteen hundred pieces of flesh you split into!" Ken's face, illuminated by the flames, held nothing but endless killing intent.
At that moment, in Kibutsuji Muzan's eyes, Ken's figure almost overlapped with that of Yoriichi Tsugikuni!
"That man has returned?!!" Muzan questioned himself again and again in his mind.
"What should I do? Fight?! Or run?!!"
He's only a reincarnation, not a rebirth! He must still be weak right now!! That's right—I can kill him. I can kill Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!!
"I will kill you, Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!!"
With a roar, Kibutsuji Muzan's arms swelled, transforming into two barbed whips several meters long, shredding his well-tailored black suit into strips.
Not only that—his back bulged grotesquely, and nine tubular whips shot out, each around four meters long, with razor-sharp bone blades attached to their ends.
Finally, eight more tubular whips extended from his legs, each tipped with a sharp bone blade as well—and these exceeded seven meters in length!
Watching Kibutsuji Muzan transform from a human form into a true monster, revealing his demonic body, Ken laughed.
All flash and no substance!!!
With a simple, unadorned slash, the blazing flames coiled around Ryūjin Jakka instantly surged. The fire swelled violently, nearly filling Ken's entire field of vision, as if it sought to illuminate the entire darkened world!
[Jōkaku Enjō!!!]
Raging flames surged forth like a massive hand, descending upon Kibutsuji Muzan, seeking to suppress him!
Even before being struck, Muzan could feel the terrifying, extreme heat!
Where the flames passed, snow melted instantly. Steam billowed. The ground cracked, blackened, and boiled—melting into flowing magma!
Muzan's arm-whips, the nine whips from his back, and the eight from his legs lashed out wildly at the gigantic flaming palm!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The air shrieked with sonic booms. The earth split and caved in. Stones flew everywhere as enormous lash marks scarred the ground.
Yet no matter how Muzan attacked—no matter how he tried to shatter or extinguish the flames—the flaming palm remained utterly unaffected, continuing its advance toward him!
BOOM!!!
In an instant, the terrifying flames engulfed Kibutsuji Muzan. The fire erupted into a blazing sea, towering flames lighting the dark mountain forest as bright as day.
A shrill, agonized scream echoed from within the inferno:
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni! I will kill you!! I swear it!!!"
Immediately after, Ken saw a charred, barely recognizable mass—still engulfed in flames—burst from the sea of fire and flee into the pitch-black forest.
"Kibutsuji Muzan, don't even think about escaping!" Ken roared!
At the sound of his shout, the scorched figure accelerated further, disappearing deeper into the mountains.
Ken looked at Muzan's fleeing silhouette, then at Ryūjin Jakka, which had already returned from its Shikai state. Sheathing the blade, his body nearly collapsed forward.
That single strike of Jōkaku Enjō had almost drained all of Ken's stamina. If he hadn't continued using Water Breathing to squeeze every last bit of strength from his body, he would have collapsed long ago—perhaps unable even to shout that final sentence.
But he still couldn't fall. Not yet. Just in case that bastard Muzan came back for a sneak attack.
Using his sword as support, Ken stood motionless, staring in the direction Muzan had fled.
If that slash had been delivered by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, then when Muzan forcibly broke out from within Jōkaku Enjō earlier, he would have been pursued and incinerated by 6,000-degree flames—likely leaving not even ashes behind.
But it was Ken who had swung the blade. How could he possibly compare to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni?
Of course, even if the flames Ken produced could not reach 6,000 degrees, temperatures nearing a thousand degrees were still achievable.
Even for the being known as infinitely close to perfection, possessing endless regenerative ability, that strike would leave Kibutsuji Muzan with a painful memory for quite some time…
As he was thinking this, a system notification suddenly sounded in Ken's mind.
[Repelled the Demon King: Kibutsuji Muzan. Reward: Advanced Draw Opportunity ×1]
"The stingy system actually gave me a reward?" Ken froze.
The system that shamelessly skimmed off even the rewards the host drew… actually being generous for once?
System: Say that again!
"System, can you explain how this repelling reward works?"
[Ding! The host receives system rewards for slaying any demon. Slaying one ordinary demon grants: Basic Draw Opportunity ×1. Slaying one special demon grants: Intermediate Draw Opportunity ×1.]
[3 Basic Draw Opportunities can be exchanged for 1 Intermediate Draw Opportunity. 3 Intermediate Draw Opportunities can be exchanged for 1 Advanced Draw Opportunity.]
[If the host slays any Lower Rank of the Twelve Kizuki, they may randomly draw a Captain-class Zanpakutō. If the host slays any Upper Rank of the Twelve Kizuki, they may randomly unlock the Bankai of a Zanpakutō they already possess.]
[The Demon King is the most special! Each time the host repels the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan, they will receive: Advanced Draw Opportunity ×1.]
"So let me get this straight…"
"System, you actually split up the Zanpakutō mechanics? I have to draw for Bankai too?!"
"…Don't tell me you split up Shikai as well?!"
[…Special reminder: Every Zanpakutō has its own soul, thoughts, and personality. As long as the host gains the Zanpakutō's recognition, they may use Shikai and Bankai even without drawing them.]
"So you really did split both Shikai and Bankai into the draw pool, didn't you?!"
[...]
"System, you may not be human, but you're definitely a scum!"
"Confess—who's the shady game designer behind you?"
After cursing for quite a while and seeing no trace of Muzan returning, Ken finally plopped down onto the ground.
The moment he stopped using his breathing technique, waves of pain surged through his body like a tidal sea. He broke out in cold sweat, his entire body convulsing uncontrollably. He opened his mouth, but couldn't even utter a single word.
Then he fainted on the spot…
Passing out twice in one day—truly unmatched.
......
A black-haired young man wearing a haori patterned differently on each side stood atop the roof of an inn, gazing at the towering flames in the snow-covered mountains that had nearly illuminated the entire forest. His brows were tightly furrowed, though his expression remained cool and aloof.
Outwardly silent, his inner thoughts were unusually active.
"Is that Flame Breathing? Is a Demon Slayer Corps member fighting a demon in the mountains?!"
"With swordsmanship of this level, aside from a Hashira-tier member, no one in the Corps could achieve it. But the Corps currently has no Flame Hashira stationed here…"
"No matter. I'll go check the situation first! They might need assistance!"
With that thought concluded, the black-haired youth lightly leapt down from the rooftop and began sprinting through the streets toward the snowy mountain…