Chapter 145: The Iron Knees of a Zoldyck x First Meeting with Kagaya Ubuyashiki
Knock... knock... knock...
"Young Master, it's me."
"Enter."
The door opened, and Gotoh walked in with a serious expression. He closed the door behind him and looked nervously at Roy, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed. "Young Master, someone is spying on us!"
While packing just now, the young butler had felt as if he'd momentarily become "transparent." He immediately realized something was wrong and rushed to check on Roy's safety.
"It was me," Roy said, not intending to hide it from Gotoh.
He smiled at the visibly stunned butler. "Let me guess, your next question is 'How did you do that?'"
Gotoh: "..."
Roy: "Don't be surprised."
He used En solely on Gotoh this time. The familiar sensation of "being watched" instantly descended.
The young butler experienced it again—the feeling of his inner voice being plucked from his heart and exposed to the sun. He gave a wry smile. "Young Master, please have mercy."
"Heh heh..." Roy waved his hand. "Now you know. Go back to sleep."
"Yes, sir." Gotoh pushed up his glasses and turned to leave, closing the door behind him.
Creeak~ As the door shut, Roy's smile vanished instantly. He glared coldly out the window. "You too! get back to sleep!"
Illumi hung upside down outside the window like an eight-legged spider, staring straight at Roy through the glass. "You care about me."
Roy: "..."
Illumi: "If you didn't care about me, why would you spy on me? So, you definitely care about me!"
"I knew it. You..."
BANG!
A figure flashed. In the next instant... my foolish, dear little brother became a star twinkling in the distance, vanishing in a blink.
Roy lowered his fist and spat, "Bad luck!"
Swish—! He yanked the curtains shut, blocking out Illumi and the night view of Zaban City.
He climbed into bed and turned off the lamp.
The night deepened.
After the battle with Botobai and a stealthy level-up... physical exhaustion and mental fatigue washed over him like a tide. Soon, Roy instructed Goldie to wake him if needed and drifted into dreamland.
The familiar sensation of falling...
Beneath his feet lay the multicolored dream tunnel. Through it was the azure "Sea of Cognition."
Roy rolled up his pant legs and waded into the shallows as usual, letting the waves wash over him. He slowly approached the "Gate to the Demon Slayer World." Before entering, he glanced at the "Gate to the Dark Continent" standing nearby.
The pitch-black door, engraved with complex, ancient patterns, was locked tight, sealing the world behind it—just as the "curse" sealed his lifespan, waiting for Roy to "break the game"!
The boy stood silently before the door for a long time. Finally, he turned and pushed open the gate to the Demon Slayer world.
Two days had passed here. When Roy opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by wisteria flowers...
Demons fear only two things: the sun and wisteria flowers.
Mount Fujikasane served as the Final Selection site for the Demon Slayer Corps precisely because these flowers bloomed all over the mountain, trapping demons large and small inside for the candidates to "hunt" or "be hunted"!
Roy plucked a cluster of wisteria and held it to his nose. The fragrance was fresh, and the flowers emitted a soft purple glow. He rubbed them between his hands, the petals falling away, carried by the wind towards the path ahead...
Stone steps led straight up to the shrine at the summit.
Training blade in hand, sun-and-mountain earrings swaying, Roy walked up unhurriedly. With each step, he changed... His thoughts drifted, faces flashing through his mind: Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu...
In a state of detached consciousness, he activated [Deception]. Within a few breaths, he stood at the summit. He looked up and saw two "Hashira" flanking a frail man with pale eyes, all looking his way...
The boy paused, his face expressionless. He started walking again. One step, he became Watanabe. Two steps, Shimizu. Three steps, Fukuda. Four steps, Shinsuke...
Step by step, change by change, carrying the hopes of his senior brothers and sisters, along with their "last wishes," he walked towards Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Amidst gasps of surprise... under terrified gazes... in the rising night wind...
He became Yagiku... became Makomo... became Sabito... became Sakonji Urokodaki... Finally, stopping three meters from Kagaya Ubuyashiki, he reverted to his original appearance. He smiled and greeted Giyu Tomioka. "Good evening, Giyu-senpai."
Giyu Tomioka stared at the boy deeply. In just two days, he had done something this shocking... Giyu opened and closed his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. Finally, he lifted his chin slightly and nodded to Roy.
"Namu Amida Butsu." Gyomei Himejima chanted the Buddha's name, his large hands working his prayer beads. Just a moment ago... he had nearly raised his massive fist to strike Roy... Step-by-step transformation—other than a Blood Demon Art, Gyomei couldn't think of another explanation...
Only when Roy got close did he smell the absence of a "demon" scent on the boy. Combined with the wisteria surrounding Mount Fujikasane, he stopped himself just in time.
"Eiichiro. Good child. You are even more outstanding than your master and brother described."
"Eiichiro, this is the Master."
"Pleased to meet you. Eiichiro Kamado."
Roy was neither humble nor arrogant. Guided by a recovered Giyu, he extended his right hand towards Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Giyu fell silent. Gyomei frowned, "observing" the boy seriously... The giant monk's mastery of Breathing Styles was exquisite; through "sensing" alone, he caught that Roy's words and actions held only... equal respect, without a trace of worship or awe for the Ubuyashiki family.
"You did not come to join the Demon Slayer Corps..." Gyomei's deep voice rumbled.
Roy glanced at him and said frankly, "Correct. I came solely to avenge my senior brothers."
"And after that?" Gyomei stopped his prayer beads, direct and blunt. "You will not obey the Master's orders."
Roy noticed Kagaya Ubuyashiki staring thoughtfully at his extended hand. He replied truthfully, "I have never been anyone's subordinate. Not in the past, not now, and certainly not in the future."
Having said this, the boy ignored Gyomei completely, quietly watching Kagaya Ubuyashiki...
This man, worthy of respect for using his own family as bait to lure Muzan, might be admirable, but to expect Roy to bow and scrape, to kneel and obey... Sorry, Zoldyck knees are plated with iron. They don't bend.
"Master." Gyomei turned his head toward Kagaya.
Giyu Tomioka watched silently...
The gathered candidates, confused but awed, also looked to Kagaya...
The man snapped out of his contemplation. He looked at the boy gently. "You will keep killing demons, won't you?"
"I will. But not forever," Roy said calmly. "Evil must be eradicated completely. I have only one goal: to kill every demon in this world, including..."
"Muzan Kibutsuji."
Once he's dead, there won't be any demons left to kill.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's eyes flickered. He reached out and shook Roy's hand, smiling. "Good."
He wasted no words.
Turning to Amane, he signaled for her to bring a scroll forward. "This is what you asked for... all the intelligence on demons the Demon Slayer Corps has gathered in recent years. I hope it will be useful to you."
"No rush." Roy drew his sword. He didn't take the scroll. He turned towards the "demon-filled forest" corralled by the wisteria. "It won't be too late to accept it after I return from killing demons."
The long sword left its sheath. One second, it became a "Crimson Blade." Two seconds, raging flames erupted. With a flourish of the boy's wrist, it illuminated the pitch-black night...
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