novelraw Page 13
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The opponent's simple human-machine intelligence also made him lose interest in playing around.
Xia Yan casually dismantled the table in the living room into pieces, set up a bonfire, and threw the ghost's head into the flames.
The owners, whose homes are now completely cold, probably won't blame him.
After all, he had avenged them in this way.
"Waaaaaahh ...
The raging flames slowly devoured the demon's head, and its shrill screams echoed in the small room.
Moments later, the ghost's head turned to ashes under the burning flames, and its neatly arranged body also turned to ashes and scattered into the night sky.
The ghost, tormented for half the night, finally found release.
Having survived this ordeal, it's estimated that when they face judgment in hell, their sentences will be reduced by a month or two, which is truly cause for celebration.
"What? There is! A way to kill demons without a Nichirin Blade or sunlight!"
Xia Yan flicked his finger, and the flames seemed to come alive as they coiled around his palm before disappearing without a trace, as if absorbed.
After all, a wisp of smoke in the village means fifteen days in jail.
Although those police officers probably couldn't beat him, Xia Yan wouldn't go that far.
"But the demons in the Demon Slayer world aren't really that bad. Even if they're just ordinary people with strong bodies, they have a chance to defeat weaker demons. They're not even as good as the zombies in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."
"The gap between the upper and lower limits is so large that it makes one wonder if they are two completely different species."
"However, thanks to 'me' in the Harry Potter world, I've now figured out what blood magic is all about."
Just as magic and substitutes are ways of using spiritual power, so-called Blood Demon Art is also a way of using spiritual power. If he becomes a demon, both substitutes and magic will manifest as Blood Demon Art.
Moreover, this world has heaven and hell, and people's souls exist after they die.
The soul is a manifestation of spiritual power, so the spiritual energy hypothesis is entirely valid.
"So, ghosts actually rely on spiritual power to survive, so they only die when their heads are destroyed, and they can still talk even after their heads are cut off."
In that instant, Xia Yan seemed to have seen the truth of the world.
"Humans in this world are composed of two parts: the body and the spirit. Neither can be missing. The human spirit depends on the body, while the ghost's body depends on the spirit."
"Therefore, no matter how badly a ghost's body is injured, it will not die, because its soul, that is, its spiritual power, is still maintaining its physical body."
"That is precisely why, once a demon's spirit collapses, it will still die even if its physical body is intact!"
In the original work, Upper Moon One Kokushibo died because he realized that his ugly appearance was completely contrary to his lifelong pursuit, and he suffered a mental breakdown.
Upper Moon Three Akaza also severed the bond between his mind and body by severing his reason for continuing to fight, relying on his own will.
This connection is maintained through Muzan's blood, meaning that Muzan's blood acts like the alien virus on the Stand Arrow in the JoJo world.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Demon Slayer Corps Finally Appears
The virus on the Stand Arrow connects a person's spirit with the fundamental particles of the JOJO universe, combining with the spirit to form a Stand.
Muzan's blood links a person's spirit and body, transforming a person whose spirit depends on the body into a demon whose body depends on the spirit.
The sunlight and the Nichirin Blade are like a kind of vaccine specifically targeting this virus.
The body parts cut off by a Nichirin Blade will be severed and turn to ashes because of this connection. Since the spirit resides in the head, cutting off the head with a Nichirin Blade will sever the connection between the spirit and the body, thus killing the demon!
Xia Yan flicked his bangs, struck a pose as if there was only one truth, and smiled like a dragon king, pointing at the empty wall.
"That cunning frog keeps touching your belly—"
"--Muzan's strong will to survive made his mental strength stronger than others, and the doctor's medicine further enhanced his mental strength and caused changes in Muzan's body."
"This caused his spirit and body to become linked, which is why he became the original Ghost King!"
"With my current mental strength, if I become a demon, I might be able to break free from Muzan's control and become another demon king!"
Thinking of this, Xia Yan's emotions inexplicably rose.
Immortality, eternal youth, and the power of a Stand! Just thinking about it is incredibly exciting, making you want to burst into song right then and there.
But the next second, Xia Yan's mood plummeted again. The intensity and speed of his emotional fluctuations made people wonder if he had some serious illness.
"That being said..."
"But I dare not even try! After all, if I fail, wouldn't I become a pure vengeful spirit?! Damn it, where are all the Demon Slayer Corps members?!"
Since the end of the first Natsuhiko Mutual Aid Conference, he has been working hard to find traces of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Throughout the journey, he persevered in his daily training and continuously grew stronger by slaying evil spirits.
With his Byakugan's powerful observational abilities, he can easily find the whereabouts of demons, and even demons hiding among humans can be found and killed by him.
In just one month, he had transformed from a frail-looking bamboo pole into a muscular man standing 1.8 meters tall.
He has killed no fewer than a dozen ghosts.
To his surprise, he didn't see a single Demon Slayer, nor did he find any of the supposedly wisteria-patterned houses that had been helped by the Demon Slayer Corps.
"But thinking about it that way, it makes sense. If there were such obvious markings, the ghosts would have come knocking on our door long ago. After all, ghosts aren't blind; they can't miss such conspicuous marks."
As he spoke, Xia Yan unceremoniously plundered all the valuables in the house as his reward, using eye rolls as a form of blatant exploitation.
The most painful thing in the world is to die before you've spent all your money.
By doing this, Xia Yan was also helping to alleviate the regrets in the hearts of those deceased masters.
Consider it as them paying to avenge me.
As for whether the police would later treat it as a case of burglary and murder, that was none of Xia Yan's business. After all, he had gone through so much trouble killing ghosts, he couldn't go back empty-handed.
"So just how stupid is Muzan? He's lived for over a thousand years and he's still hiding like a rat in a gutter, never amounting to anything."
"If I were the Ghost King, I would have ruled the world by now!"
While they were talking, Xia Yan had already packed up all the valuables and was ready to leave.
I had just stepped outside when I noticed an old man standing there.
He was wearing an earth-yellow haori with white triangular scale patterns. He was short in stature, had a scar under his eye similar to that of Wang Luffy, and his right leg was a wooden prosthetic leg starting from his calf.
Despite having a full head of white hair and using a cane, his muscles remained full and strong, making him look nothing like the physical condition of a normal elderly person.
He is the previous Sound Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, and the current Thunder Breathing trainer—
——Kuwashima Jigoro.
While still serving as the Sound Pillar, he was known as the strongest swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps. Unfortunately, at the age of thirty-five, he lost a leg while hunting demons.
From then on, he retired from the front line and went into seclusion in Momoyama to become the next generation's "Breathing of Thunder".
Kuwashima Jigoro had a mysterious smile on his face, and it seemed that he had been waiting outside for some time.
However, Xia Yan had been using his white eyes the whole time while looting valuable items, so he didn't see the other person.
Moreover, the violently beating heart and the lungs that were constantly contracting and expanding due to rapid breathing were also clearly visible to Xia Yan.
It was obvious that the other party had rushed over just now and then stood outside the door pretending to have been waiting for a long time.
Is it to create an air of mystery...?
Xia Yan's lips curled up slightly as he thought to himself with amusement.
This little old man is quite cute.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Kuwashima Jigoro's Favorability Increases
It finally appeared...
Demon Slayer Corps.
Looking at Kuwajima Jigoro who appeared in front of him, Natsuhiko had a faint smile on his face.
"Grandpa, is something the matter? It's very dangerous to wander around at night. You might run into a man-eating demon!"
Despite being very excited, Xia Yan didn't show it directly in order to maintain his composure; instead, he pretended to be indifferent.
After all, you can't just rush into a sale.
Things that are too easily obtained are not valued.
"Hmm, young man, I have been observing you for some time now."
Kuwashima Jigoro cleared his throat, a mysterious smile on his face, which, combined with his white hair, gave him the air of a reclusive sage.
His statement that he had been paying attention to Xia Yan for a long time was not just empty talk.
In fact, the Demon Slayer Corps members had already been watching Natsuhiko since he killed the first demon.
However, because he would take away valuables from the house after each demon he killed, making the scene look like a robbery and murder, he caused a lot of trouble for the Demon Slayer Corps.
Moreover, he only needs a short rest to recover his energy, and his speed of movement is unmatched by ordinary people.
When the members of the Demon Slayer Corps' 'Kakuna' finish cleaning up and prepare to find him, they will find that all that is left for them is another crime scene waiting to be cleaned up.
This resulted in a situation where Xia Yan was constantly searching for the Demon Slayer Corps and killing demons, while the Demon Slayer Corps was chasing after him, busy cleaning up the mess and searching for him at the same time.
After realizing they couldn't catch up with Natsuhiko, the Demon Slayer Corps studied his route and deduced that he might appear in the vicinity today. Kuwajima Jigoro finally managed to intercept Natsuhiko before he left.
"You must be fighting evil spirits all by yourself because your family was killed by them! You are a natural-born strongman, even able to defeat evil spirits head-on, which is amazing!"
"But! You haven't actually mastered the correct techniques for fighting demons!"
"You've probably noticed by now that your sword can't kill a demon directly. If this continues, you'll eventually encounter a truly powerful demon that you can't defeat with just your sword. What will you do then?"
Upon hearing Kuwajima Jigoro's words, Natsuhiko deliberately frowned, feigning confusion.
"What do you mean? Old man, you're being very suspicious. Why are you suddenly saying such strange things to me? What are you trying to say?"
Feeling that he had laid the groundwork enough, Kuwashima Jigoro took two steps forward and stood in front of Natsuhiko.
His short stature contrasted sharply with Xia Yan's, making him look somewhat comical.
"Boy! My name is Kuwajima Jigoro, and I am the trainer of the Demon Slayer Corps. The Demon Slayer Corps has been hunting demons since the Heian period, secretly protecting this country for over a thousand years."
"They can be said to be the natural enemy of 'Oni', and also the organization that knows best how to kill Oni."
"You'll eventually run out of strength on your own. Why don't you join the Demon Slayer Corps, become my apprentice, and learn from me how to slay demons!"