...
It was night.
A bright moon hung in the sky, with dim clouds shyly veering around it. A night breeze swept by, carrying a faint fragrance, and the bamboo grove rustled like a wonderful melody.
If Li Bai had come here, wouldn't he have written a few more fine poems?
But...
Can someone tell me why, the moment I open my eyes, someone is holding a blade to my throat?!
Mobai... No, should I say,
Kibutsuji Muzan.
He gazed at the crimson-haired man standing tall before him, feeling his brain and body completely disconnected. Only the blade stuck in his neck kept sending waves of pain to remind him he wasn't dreaming.
This matter had to be traced back a few minutes:
Our model youth, Mobai, had recently gotten hooked on the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Staying up late every night to binge it caused him to often sleep during classes in the day and get scolded by his teachers. Yet even so, he kept at it day and night—not for any other reason, but simply because he felt the show was too damn good. Especially the villain faction, which truly stood out.
"This Kibutsuji Muzan is genuinely handsome."
Mobai hugged his mobile phone and chuckled foolishly, simply feeling that Muzan's face gave off the surreal vibe of [values following facial features].
"Ah, if I had Muzan's face, I'd definitely eat, drink, and make merry every day to live a lying-flat life."
Mobai smiled and made a joke, then turned off his phone screen, plugged it into the charger, and hastily burrowed under the covers to sleep.
But the moment Mobai closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland—
He only felt his body spinning wildly, a powerful attractive force as if sucking his soul into another world. Following right behind was a pain so intense it couldn't possibly be stronger, sweeping in from all directions of his body—a pain that absolutely should not exist in a dream.
[Ah, what the hell!!]
Mobai cursed internally, then abruptly opened his eyes.
Thus, the opening scene appeared:
...
The crimson-haired man wore a cold expression, his scarlet eyes looking down on Muzan from above as if viewing trash. The Nichirin Blade he held was embedded in the other's neck, and with just a single thought, he could chop Muzan's head off.
To be honest, when Mobai saw what was in front of him, his system crashed.
No, bro, what is this?!
But immediately after, intense pain and a burning heat like fire began to devour Mobai's body and mind, forcing him to snap out of it and reboot his brain.
And as consciousness returned, a flood of memories he had never known suddenly rushed into Mobai's brain—
[Born and judged a stillborn, not living past twenty... killing the doctor who treated him, becoming the Demon King............... the War Era, Tsugikuni, demons.... Blue Spider Lily, Wisteria, Nichirin Blade, Breathing Style........]
[And, Yoriichi Tsugikuni]
Only after absorbing these chaotic memories did Mobai finally realize he wasn't dreaming.
He had truly time-traveled, transforming directly into Kibutsuji Muzan!!
And what's more! He had time-traveled right into the storyline where Muzan was almost farmed as a mob by Yoriichi!!!
No, bro!! This is bad!
...
From Yoriichi's perspective, the progenitor of demons before him suddenly shifted from a dazed expression to a painful, twisted look like a dead fish. But none of that mattered, because his purpose was to completely kill this Demon King, an innate mission.
Yoriichi exerted force on his blade, cutting deeper.
Yet Mobai—no, Muzan—who had just time-traveled,
was taking the full, solid pain of having his neck slashed.
He let out a low, agonizing roar, his brows furrowed tightly. But right after came a frenzy of terror and a numbing sensation throughout his body.
"What do you regard life as?"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni said thus.
[What do you regard life as?]
[Regard life as?]
[As what?]
[What?]
[...?]
[............]
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's voice was like a broken cassette tape; Muzan couldn't process a single word he was saying at the moment. He only felt as if his nerves were about to explode. Having lived in a peaceful era, where had he ever endured such pain? Not passing out on the spot was a testament to his willpower.
Muzan did not answer Yoriichi Tsugikuni. He merely lowered his head, panting heavily like a fish stranded ashore. Sweat mixed with blood slid down, and his distinct knuckles gripped the ground desperately. Muzan felt as though several different personalities existed in his brain. Clearly, his own conscious thought was to simply surrender and get it over with quickly, but... from who knows where, a powerful desire to survive was stopping him, raging wildly and roaring in frustration.
Several different wills, combined with the pain in his body, felt as though they were going to tear Muzan completely apart.
"......"
"My Lord, don't listen to his nonsense, kill him quickly!!!"
It was a woman's voice, and the owner of that voice was none of other than Tamayo. A betrayer who had harbored deep resentment toward the Demon King for a long time, she had dreamed day and night of the moment Kibutsuji Muzan would die at someone else's hands. And today, she had caught right hold of this opportunity.
"........"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni looked at the silent Muzan, said no more, and prepared to give the other a quick end directly.
[No, I can't!]
Muzan gritted his teeth hard.
He wanted to live.
No matter the reason,
at any rate, he couldn't die yet!
...
At the very instant Yoriichi's Nichirin Blade swung down,
Muzan suddenly let out a furious roar:
"Kill me, and your brother will die too!!!"