Chapter 20 Akaza

As if he had seen something incredible, Yan Sheng hurried to the dojo. The building in front of him was almost exactly the same as the one depicted in the original story in his memory, even the position of the signboard was the same.

How could this be? If I remember correctly, apart from Nakime, whose exact time is uncertain, I was the only Upper Moon to appear during the Warring States period.

Iwakatsu felt his thoughts starting to become muddled. In fact, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong when Nakime appeared. Even if it was during the same period, Nakime appeared far too early, less than a month after Iwakatsu became a demon.

Is this reasonable?

Only then did Yan Sheng remember his almost invisible system, frantically calling out to it in his mind while simultaneously opening the task panel.

Looking at the unchanged prerequisite quest on the transparent blue screen, Yan Sheng felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Honey, I'm here!"

The moment 1008's voice rang out, Yan Sheng relaxed considerably and eagerly asked 1008.

"Sixth Brother, what's going on? Why is Upper Moon Three appearing at this time? Isn't he from the Edo period? That's a long time ago."

"Wait a minute, honey, let me take a look!"

1008 noticed Yan Sheng's panicked state and hurriedly contacted the main system to verify the situation.

After a long while, 1008's guilty voice finally rang in Yan Sheng's mind.

"Hey, I have some news to tell you."

"?"

Seeing Yan Sheng's somewhat bewildered expression, 1008 sighed and explained the situation directly.

"It seems that due to the previous bug, the timeline of the story is somewhat chaotic. In other words, you are not necessarily in the Warring States period now, but rather in a period that is being integrated with the accelerated timeline of the story."

"ah?"

"In other words, before the modern storyline officially begins, the pre-story will be chaotically integrated into a certain period of time, which requires your help to maintain those necessary story points."

Are you kidding me?

Kokushi was utterly incredulous. Maintaining the plot? What if Yoriichi Tsugikuni was going to kill the Upper Moon demons that were originally supposed to be in the story? I can't just stop them from leaving the house.

Yan Sheng irritably scratched his overly long sideburns, his obsessive-compulsive disorder forcing him not to touch his meticulously combed ponytail.

"Honey, are you alright?"

1008's hesitant voice rang out, and it was quite helpless. If Yan Sheng hadn't noticed something was wrong, the damage to their system would have been even greater if things had really gone wrong.

"Never mind, I'll try my best."

Yan Sheng had no choice; he could only live here now. Completing the mission would benefit him, and the system could also help him survive.

Looking at the dilapidated dojo before him, Yan Sheng turned and walked towards the next room, which reeked of blood. He hadn't been wrong; that must be the kendo dojo from the original story, and with such a strong smell of blood, everyone must be dead by now.

Yan Sheng stepped inside. The quiet courtyard looked desolate in the evening breeze. Yan Sheng climbed the wooden steps, and the moment he opened the door, the smell of rusty iron hit him.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Iwakatsu's wooden clogs trod on the wooden floor, the blood staining his snow-white tabi socks. Looking at the carcass fragments spreading inwards, Iwakatsu frowned in distress.

He wasn't some kind of saint who believed in equality for all; rules and order needed a suitable environment. But he still disliked such large-scale bloodshed. Dismembered limbs were everywhere, and blood covered every visible surface like paint on a wooden floor.

The blood was fresh; the feel of it underfoot and the color of it indicated that the massacre had occurred not long ago.

Yan Sheng quickened his pace, bypassing the corpses and walking rapidly forward until he reached the innermost part of the path. Yan Sheng saw that the badly damaged wooden door and paper windows remained completely dark, with only one figure standing there in the pitch black.

Blood stained his entire body, turning his white Taoist robe completely red. He stood there, enveloped in darkness, the wind billowing his sleeves, the six tattoos on his arms, representing sinners, revealing his identity.

"Komaji".

Yan Sheng blurted out, and the figure moved, as if time itself had been turned upside down. The surrounding air also moved, and the moon, which had been covered by dark clouds, slowly revealed itself, its light shining through the broken window.

Iwakatsu saw that Komaji's robes were stained with blood, the two characters "Soryu" on them, just like his master and wife, irretrievably lost.

"Do you... want to become a ghost?"

Komaji turned around and saw a tall man. He was wearing a purple kimono, a symbol of nobility, and the samurai sword he carried indicated that he was no weak young master. The man seemed completely unconcerned about the surroundings filled with corpses and blood, and stared straight at Komaji.

The wind lifted the thin veil that obscured the other person's face, and through the moonlight, Komaji saw the red flames winding along the other person's neck and jaw. Glancing past the thin lips and high nose, six bloodstained eyes appeared before Komaji.

Seeing such a horrifying sight, Komaji felt no panic. He only felt empty; he could no longer find meaning in life, and at this moment, he was like a walking corpse.

Can I become stronger?

Komaji stared blankly at Iwakatsu, his pink eyelashes trembling slightly, like a heartless doll.

"Can."

Iwakatsu paused, thinking of how Kibutsuji Muzan modified Komaji in the original work. Currently, his blood was not enough to make the other party a powerful demon, which would cause the plot to deviate from the story. Iwakatsu had no choice but to take him to see the scumbag boss. From then on, Komaji would be completely changed.

"You will become unlike yourself, and forget everything."

After much deliberation, Iwakatsu decided to leave the choice to Komaji, even though he knew that Komaji would eventually take that path, especially given the current situation.

"It doesn't matter anymore, it doesn't matter what happens, my life has no meaning at all."

Komaji numbly stepped forward, carefully pulling on Iwakatsu's white veil. He looked up at Iwakatsu's slightly pursed thin lips and pale, bloodless skin, as if he were seeing his own familiar, sickly body.

"Waaah—".

Iwakatsu watched as Komaji's blood-soaked hand gripped the thin gauze tightly, his lips trembling as he whimpered, tears clinging to his pink eyelashes.

"..."

Why are you crying, Third Brother?

Yan Sheng was very flustered. He felt that he was also a baby of more than 250 months old and didn't know how to comfort people.

"Let's go, I'll take you to...that person."

Iwakatsu didn't stop Komaji's actions, but instead walked stiffly outside. He remembered that his third brother had encountered Muzan Kibutsuji when he wandered to the riverbank in a daze, so he decided to take him there to see him.

Iwakatsu walked ahead, stepping over the mutilated corpses, but Komaji, following behind, relied entirely on luck, occasionally tripping over the bodies, causing Iwakatsu's straw hat to tilt and his meticulously styled hair to gradually become disheveled.

"..."

Iwakatsu hesitated, then stopped, then spoke again, but ultimately said nothing more. Once they left the kendo dojo, where no one had survived, Iwakatsu led Komaji through sparsely populated alleyways. Even in the middle of the night, he didn't want to walk openly on the street with someone covered in blood.

As Komaji passed the entrance to the Soryu Dojo, he sensed footsteps stopping behind him. Moonlight shone on the dojo, adding to its ancient and historical feel, but Komaji lingered for a long time without any intention of going in. Instead, he turned around and continued forward in a daze.

"well."

Iwakatsu didn't want to change the plot, but seeing Komaji like this made him feel bad too. He should hurry to the river to see if Komaji was there; if not, he'd just go straight to the Infinity Castle.