Chapter 26: Chapter 26
"Another Upper Rank... has fallen?"
Giyu Tomioka’s body trembled, every pore on him seeming to shiver.
An evil demon who had rampaged through the world for over a century, a murderer responsible for the deaths of hundreds upon hundreds of Demon Slayer Corps members, an Upper Rank who represented absolute violence and sin itself, was dead.
And not just one.
Two had died in a single day.
For the Demon Slayer Corps, this was explosive news no less shocking than an earthquake.
"Master will be very happy when he finds out."
Giyu thought of that refined man, whose voice was always so gentle and warm, like a spring breeze.
"Sea Hashira, I’m leaving."
Kiriya suddenly said this, and Giyu’s joy instantly sank to the bottom, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him in the middle of summer.
"Are you all right...? I’ll contact Shinobu right now..."
Even Giyu’s voice trembled.
Kiriya was his comrade who had fought beside him, and he was also the great contributor who had personally killed two Upper Ranks.
Whether emotionally or practically, nothing could be allowed to happen to him.
"Uh..."
Several black lines seemed to drop over Kiriya’s forehead.
Giyu’s words left him completely speechless.
"Has anyone ever told you that you’re terrible at talking?"
"Hm?"
Giyu froze, then suddenly realized something.
He carefully examined Kiriya’s face and found that his skin was rosy and healthy. He looked nothing like someone on the verge of death.
Only then did Giyu realize he had made a huge misunderstanding.
"Sorry. That was rude."
Giyu coughed softly, then changed the topic.
"Then what do you mean by ’leaving’?"
"I mean it literally."
Kiriya rolled his eyes.
"I have my own things to do, so I can’t keep killing demons with you. From here on, you’ll have to rely on yourselves."
"After losing two powerful subordinates in a row, Muzan will probably go into hiding for a while. This is a rare window of opportunity. Use it well and improve your strength. When the time comes, hit that bastard Muzan hard."
"I understand."
Giyu took a deep breath.
In the end, Kiriya had his own matters to handle and Giyu had his own path to walk.
That’s right.
His revenge should be carried out by his own hands. What would it mean if he always relied on someone else’s strength?
"Well then, that’s that. Bye bye!"
As Kiriya spoke, he activated the system’s world-travel function and vanished right before Giyu’s eyes.
...
Kiriya felt his vision blur.
When everything returned to normal, he saw a familiar dungeon cave.
The dim light, the oppressive environment, and the walls going squelch, squelch as they birthed monsters all told Kiriya one thing.
This was the tenth floor of the Dungeon.
"I’m finally back."
Kiriya stretched lazily.
After being away for several days, seeing this place again actually felt a little nostalgic.
"Roaaar—!"
With a dense wave of roars, pairs of crimson eyes lit up.
Malicious gazes locked onto Kiriya, like starving wolves staring at the fattest feast.
"Oh? What a warm welcome the moment I get back."
Kiriya raised the Nichirin sword in his hand, the corner of his mouth curling into a delighted grin.
"Perfect. I can use you guys to earn some magic stones. After all, I’ve got a goddess at home waiting to be fed."
With that, he charged forward.
...
At the underground entrance of Babel, Kiriya walked out beneath the glow of the setting sun and looked over the scenery of Orario.
He had to admit, he kind of missed it.
"Kiriya?"
A small cry of surprise reached his ears, drawing his attention.
He turned his head and saw a delicate-looking adventurer staring at him with his mouth open, wearing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"That face looks kind of familiar... Oh, you’re from the Apollo Familia, right?"
Kiriya remembered and showed the man a "kind" smile, scaring the young man so badly he staggered backward and fell flat on the ground.
The adventurer instinctively tried to draw his weapon, only to see that Kiriya had no intention of paying attention to him at all.
He simply turned and left.
"I was... completely ignored?"
A wave of relief surged through the young adventurer’s heart, mixed with an indescribable bitterness.
In the end, the gap between him and that man was simply too large.
Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly got up, running toward his Familia’s base.
Captain Hyacinthus had sent him to stand watch here precisely to obtain that boy’s whereabouts.
Now that he had the information, he had to rush back and report it.
...
After exchanging the magic stones he had on him for money, Kiriya generously bought a large amount of delicious food before returning to the familiar old ruined church.
"Hestia, I’m back."
The moment Kiriya entered the hall and called out, he heard rapid footsteps going thud, thud, thud.
Then a white shadow rushed out of the basement, leapt through the air, and directly latched onto his body.
"Waaah, Kiriya, you’re finally back! I was worried to death! You’re not hurt, right? Those Apollo bastards didn’t do anything to you, did they?"
As she spoke, she started patting and checking him all over.
Feeling the goddess’s soft fullness shifting freely against him, Kiriya looked helpless.
"Didn’t I say not to just jump on me like that? I’m carrying a lot of things, you know."
"What does it matter? With your strength, catching me is easy, right?"
Hestia puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"And you should think about how I felt too! When I heard those Apollo bastards followed you into the Dungeon, I was worried all day! I even asked other people to go down and look for you, but no one could find you."
That’s right.
Although Kiriya had spent quite some time in the world of Demon Slayer, in this world, only one day had passed since he entered the Dungeon.
That was one of the useful features of his system
He could freely choose the entry point of a world to a certain extent, and the shortest interval could be reduced to twenty-four hours.
And why had he done that?
Of course, it was because he did not want this little goddess of his to worry.
Without realizing it, this goddess had already taken an extremely important place in Kiriya’s heart.
She had become an irreplaceable member of his family.
"All right, all right. I’m fine, aren’t I? I told you before, those small fries were never my opponents."
Kiriya patted Hestia’s butt, his tone relaxed.
"..."
Hestia’s face flushed red, but unlike before, she did not shyly run away. She simply buried her head against Kiriya’s chest.
Feeling the goddess’s warm breath, Kiriya smiled as well.
"I’m back, Hestia."
"Mm. Welcome home!"
The goddess’s muffled voice came from his chest, filled with shyness and joy.
"Then, to celebrate my return, let’s have a big meal."
Kiriya raised the bags in his hand and shouted loudly.
"Oh—!"
The two enjoyed a wonderful dinner together.
During the meal, Kiriya even enjoyed Hestia feeding him for the first time.
Seeing the goddess look as though she had made a massive profit, he found it very funny.
’This goddess is way too easy to please.’
Thinking that, Kiriya said to Hestia, "Hestia, update my ability values for me."
"Mm."
Hestia agreed.
Because of the War Game they had accepted earlier, she now cared about the growth of Kiriya’s ability values even more than he did.
The goddess did not waste words.
She sat on Kiriya’s back, pricked her finger with a silver needle, and let a drop of divine blood fall.
"Buzz—"
With a faint hum, the Falna information on Kiriya’s back refreshed again.
And once again, Hestia was left staring blankly.
Kiriya
Lv. 1
Strength: S(935) → SSS(1399)
Endurance: S(978) → SSS(1457)
Dexterity: S(988) → SSS(1578)
Agility: S(990) → SSS(1634)
Magic: SS(1002) → SSS(1498)
Magic: Forest of All Things, Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality, Blade Storm.
Skills: Wish of the Strong, Demon Slayer.
Blade Storm: Ultra-short chant magic. Can be released by saying [Blade Storm].
When activated, the user’s body bursts with speed far beyond normal and unleashes dense, razor-sharp sword energy, forming a violent sword storm within a radius of about ten feet and indiscriminately striking all targets within range.
Note: As the user’s basic abilities and techniques grow, the range and destructive power can continue to increase.
Demon Slayer: When fighting demon-type enemies, all ability values increase significantly, and the damage dealt is multiplied.
"Wh-Wh-What exactly is going on?"
Hestia’s entire body went numb.
Her Kiriya had only been out for one day, right?
Only one day!
How had his ability values increased more fiercely than they had over the entire previous week?
The higher ability values climbed, the harder they were to improve.
Otherwise, so many genius adventurers would not be stuck at A-rank.
But her Kiriya...
Not only had his basic abilities increased even faster, but there was also this achievement...
What exactly had this guy done in the Dungeon?
Had he gone and challenged a floor boss by himself?
"No, no, no. No matter how I think about it, that’s impossible."
Hestia felt like she was going crazy.
When she looked at the new skill and magic, even greater confusion rose in her heart.
"Blade Storm... I can understand that one. It’s probably because he often uses a sword and strongly desires powerful sword techniques, so the Falna drew that out as magic. But this Demon Slayer... does the Dungeon even have a monster like that?"
Even Goddess Hestia, who prided herself on being well-read and knowledgeable, now felt that her brain was not enough.
"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"
Kiriya turned his head and asked.
Hestia translated the sacred text into the common language and copied it onto parchment before handing it to Kiriya.
Her expression remained stiff the whole time.
After Kiriya looked at it, he was somewhat surprised, but after thinking carefully, it made sense.
After all, he had spent almost a week in the world of Demon Slayer.
During that week, he had repeatedly practiced Hinokami Kagura and fought many powerful demons.
It was not strange that his ability values had risen so much.
Especially Demon Slayer.
Thinking about it, it was probably related to him killing so many powerful demons.
As for Blade Storm...
Kiriya thought of the high-speed swordplay he had used while fighting the two Upper Ranks.
At that moment, his desire for extraordinary sword techniques had reached an unparalleled level.
He had not expected the Falna to respond to that and actually draw out a new magic.
According to this world’s theory, Falna did not directly promote a person’s growth.
It only "recorded" and "catalyzed," drawing out a person’s potential.
And the reason Kiriya could awaken magic so smoothly was largely connected to his own aptitude.
"Hehe. I’ve said this several times already, but... I really am a genius." Kiriya said this proudly.
"Hey, Kiriya. Your ability values have already reached the limit of Lv. 1, and you’ve completed the achievement too. Do you want to level up?"
Hestia’s flat voice rang out.
"Of course."
Kiriya immediately nodded.
Hestia only nodded woodenly, then pricked herself again and leveled Kiriya up.
Kiriya
Lv. 2
Strength: SSS(1399) → I(0)
Endurance: SSS(1457) → I(0)
Dexterity: SSS(1578) → I(0)
Agility: SSS(1634) → I(0)
Magic: SSS(1498) → I(0)
Magic: Forest of All Things, Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality, Blade Storm.
Skills: Wish of the Strong, Demon Slayer.
"All right, it’s done."
Hestia’s voice was still flat and emotionless.
"Huh? That’s it?"
Kiriya clenched his fist.
"It doesn’t feel that different."
"What did you think would happen? Something like this?"
Hestia curled her lips, then hunched her body, tightly gripping her right wrist with her right hand, making a pained expression.
"Power... Such overwhelming power is surging through me!"
"Hahaha, don’t make it sound like I’m some chuuni."
Kiriya laughed dryly.
For a moment there, he had indeed thought something like that.
"All right. You’ll soon feel what’s different compared to before."
By now, Hestia had already collected herself.
Who cared how he had done it?
The fact was, her Kiriya had reached Lv. 2 in just a little over a week, and he had awakened this many skills and magic.
This was her Kiriya!
Her pride!
"Hmph, hmph, hmph. Loki is always bragging about that Wallen-watshit, but my Kiriya-kun shines ten thousand times brighter than her child!"
Hestia looked smug.
If she had a tail behind her, it would probably be wagging so fast it left afterimages.
But the moment she thought of Apollo, she felt disgusted.
"Damn it. With a child this outstanding, he’ll definitely be targeted by other shameless gods. Aaaah, can’t those gods go find good children on their own? Why do they always stare at someone else’s child?"
"Relax, Hestia. I’m very happy here. I have no plans to switch Familias."
Kiriya wrapped an arm around Hestia’s slender waist and teased her.
"After all, my goddess is super cute."
"Hehehe. Even if you say that, I won’t be happy."
Hestia’s body twisted so much she almost turned into a noodle.
But soon, she seemed to remember something, and her face became serious.
"Kiriya, even if you’ve leveled up, don’t underestimate the enemy. This time, you have to go all out. Don’t give them any chance!"
"Mm. I will!"
Kiriya decided that next, he would head to the Dungeon to get used to his skills.
This time, if Hyacinthus still dared to play paparazzi, Kiriya would beat him into a dog in advance.
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