Chapter 292: Collision of the Demon Slayer and Claymore Worlds
No matter who you were, challenging a lord-tier boss triggered a public broadcast.
This was a rule of the Arad map.
All previously defeated lord-tier monsters had been shown the same way.
That was why the Konoha ninjas were furious when Orochimaru stole the first challenge opportunity.
Because public broadcasts alerted other factions to the presence of a lord-tier boss, prompting them to send their own players to compete for the kill.
Competition intensified immediately.
Missing that first chance meant Konoha would now have to contend with Cloud, Sand, Mist, and even Akatsuki forces just to earn a Sky Sea Key.
It wouldn't be nearly as easy as it had been.
And then, there was the worst-case scenario—
If Orochimaru directly cleared the dungeon, there would be nothing left for anyone. No one else could expect a reward.
"Hmph, Orochimaru really is arrogant."
Tsunade sneered.
Gatekeeper Lorian had explained clearly: a single key allowed up to five players to team up and challenge Sky City's lord.
But Orochimaru chose to fight alone.
Clearly, the recent experience had made him overconfident. With the power of the Reincarnation Game, he now believed himself above all others.
"Another lord-tier has appeared. Is it… Orochimaru again?"
Mei Terumi watched the plaza projection, where Orochimaru's figure stood shrouded in his necromancer robes.
She quickly ordered Mist Alliance players to rush toward the Belmar Principality and gather intel on Orochimaru and Konoha's recent movements.
They couldn't allow Orochimaru to keep hoarding Reward Points and monopolizing game resources.
The rapid rise of the Fire Empire—
Even she found it alarming. Orochimaru had mobilized all civilians in the Land of Fire, making ninjutsu a mandatory subject in education.
Was the madman not afraid that he'd end up eliminating ninjas altogether?
"Players from another world… That's an evil aura. Definitely not someone we should ally with."
In a corner of the plaza, the Revolutionary Army leader stood quietly, shrouded in a black cloak.
His eyes locked onto Orochimaru's projection—
And he instinctively felt discomfort.
There was a disregard for life in Orochimaru's gaze.
Not born of arrogance and ignorance, like the Celestial Dragons—
But something deeper. As if Orochimaru rejected the human species at a fundamental level.
It was the polar opposite of Dragon's ideals.
Even after exchanging for the [Wind Dragon Bloodline], Dragon held firmly to his beliefs.
He longed for revolution and freedom.
He wanted to liberate suffering civilians and slaves.
It was a clash of opposing wills, and the nausea was born of that collision.
"Sabo, I need to go to the Belmar Principality. I'll leave things here to you. Sorry."
After leaving town,
A roaring wind surged forth. The swirling magical gales vaguely formed the shape of a dragon, wrapping around the Revolutionary Army leader as he flew across the sky.
"A degenerate Blue-Winged Drake… with such weak dragon blood, how can this beast be so strong?"
"The Sea of Magic… If I can, I want to collect some of that water for research."
Orochimaru had entered a Blue-Winged Drake's nest.
Its wings jutted like bat bones, claws sharp, head twisted and malformed—nothing like a true dragon.
[Blue-Winged Drake – Lv. 23]
Individually weak, but each one was Tier-2, and there were hundreds in the lair.
"Sea of Skulls."
Orochimaru raised his necromancer's staff—
Summoning a sea of skeletons, the classic tactic of necromancers.
Skeleton warriors, mages, archers…
All elite undead he had cultivated. They mingled within the swarm, directing the battle.
In the blink of an eye, the Blue-Winged Drakes were slaughtered.
He collected the dropped materials and, after some research and spellcasting, reanimated them into undead drakes.
Above the skeleton army, these undead drakes flapped their wings and flew deeper into the Dragonkin Tower.
Every dragonkin nest along the way—
Was destroyed, picked clean of flesh and bone, then assimilated into the Skeleton Sea.
Rare, low-grade dragon souls from the fallen were bottled—used as fuel for pain-based enchantments.
"Even in death they find no peace. What a vile power."
Roger, wandering aimlessly, stood in a town square—
Watching as the Blue-Winged Drakes were turned into undead.
The projection didn't just show visuals—it transmitted aura as well.
With his Voice of All Things, Roger clearly sensed that many of the skeletons had once been human—killed and converted by Orochimaru.
Roger didn't shun killing—
It was a part of survival. Adventure always came with bloodshed.
His hands, too, were stained with it.
But meaningless slaughter? And desecration after death?
That, he could not accept. Let the dead rest.
"This guy… might be even scarier than Muzan Kibutsuji."
In the plaza at the Erwin Defense Line,
Yoriichi Tsugikuni stared at the projection with a mix of fear and disgust—along with a trace of relief.
Just half an hour of watching Orochimaru, and he had seen enough to understand his terror.
If Orochimaru were the Demon King of the Demon Slayer world—
The Demon Slayer Corps wouldn't have lasted a hundred years.
The entire country—perhaps the entire world—would've become a paradise for demons.
His relief?
That Muzan had been a foolish, short-sighted creature.
Despite a thousand years, he'd never grown, nor shown anything near Orochimaru's cruelty or cunning.
"Master."
The Stone Hashira, Gyomei, reported with visible unease.
"The Flame Hashira has also received a game invitation. He's awaiting your command."
Yoriichi's voice was soft but resolute.
"The Reincarnation Game is humanity's salvation. We are demon slayers. You don't need my permission—this is a divine blessing."
"And one more thing."
Gyomei continued,
"Tanjiro Kamado encountered someone from another world while handling a demon outbreak near the continent's edge."
"Another world?"
Yoriichi immediately thought of Konohamaru, and his heart tensed.
Though his encounter with Konohamaru had left him with a good impression of the ninja world,
Reason told him—
A world as weak as Demon Slayer's would be devoured if exposed to a stronger one like the ninja world.
Every world had its Muzans.
"Yes."
Gyomei explained,
"According to Tanjiro, he met a human named Raki."
"In that world, there are no demons—but there are monsters called yoma. They disguise themselves as humans, walk in sunlight, and feed on human entrails…"
Yoriichi's expression darkened.
They might not be demons, but they sounded even more terrifying.
Another world just as cursed.
But he didn't relax—he stiffened instead.
"Send Demon Slayer Corps members and two Pillars to the edge of the continent. Include Tanjiro, since he made contact."
"I'll go as well. I want to speak with this boy named Raki."
Yoriichi, though gentle, was never naïve.
When encountering the unknown,
One must first investigate and understand—
Then decide whether to resist or cooperate.
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