Chapter Forty-Three: The Death Sentence… and the Fate of the New Vessel (1)
Enjoy~~
One of the longest chapters I've written. Thoughts?
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Within that endless, dark void—where neither time nor space existed—there was a single exception to the rule.
Amid the pitch-black darkness, a small room floated, chaotic in a nostalgic way. It was an exact replica of the "Otaku Den" Haruto had owned in his previous life: shelves filled with anime figures, posters of favorite characters covering the walls, and a comfortable sofa that looked like it embraced whoever sat on it.
On that sofa lay Yukihara Ren, wearing comfortable home clothes, holding a volume of Attack on Titan manga. He flipped through the pages with obvious boredom, sighing every few seconds.
In front of the turned-off TV sat a small girl with short black hair and emerald-green eyes. She resembled Ren greatly, as if she were his female twin. She was "Rina," the embodiment of the system, staring at him with a look full of disdain.
"Ah…" Ren sighed for the tenth time and closed the manga. "This mental void is comfortable, but it lacks excitement. Rina, tell me—am I dead? Or am I just on a break?"
Rina replied in a monotone voice, "You are unconscious in the real world, Ren. Your body is recovering from the catastrophic strain you caused yourself… It seems you enjoy dying in battles quite a lot. This is the second time we've been here."
"I don't love death. I just enjoy fighting…"
Ren sat up straight and set the manga aside. "Alright, let's get to the point. What happened to Sukuna after I suppressed him before losing consciousness? Is he here? Is he watching us now?"
Rina shook her head. "After you lost consciousness, Sukuna's consciousness attempted to take control, but I intervened. I isolated his consciousness in a special 'cell' within your subconscious… And no, he cannot see me or sense the existence of the 'system.' To him, you are nothing more than a mysterious human with a will of steel."
"A cell? What is he, a Bijuu or something?" Ren raised an eyebrow in admiration. "That's good. And what can he do there?"
"Nothing but observe." Rina smiled faintly. "I have suppressed the extent of his connection to you. He can only access the memories of 'Ren Zenin'—the memories of this body. He will not see Haruto's memories, nor Tsugikuni Ren (Ron)'s memories, nor anything related to the system."
"Oh, I see…" Ren relaxed back onto the sofa. "You're really competent, Rina. That means he'll remain in the dark, thinking I'm just some eccentric genius."
He fell silent for a moment, then asked seriously, "Rina… can I control him? I mean, like Yuji did? Can I use him as a guard dog?"
(Sukuna: Hah?)
Rina sighed. "You possess immense willpower, Ren—perhaps stronger than most humans. But Yuji… is a special case. He was 'designed' to be a cage for Sukuna. You are not. You are a prison, yes—but a prison that requires constant maintenance. Any weakness in your will, or any disturbance in your soul, and he will break free."
"That's boring…" Ren frowned. "I was expecting something more… dramatic. By the way, hasn't Gojo Satoru's template become available in the shop yet? I'm tired of waiting."
Rina looked at him coldly. "Do you think my job is merely to fulfill your consumer demands? …Fine. Don't look at me like that. I'll explain the situation."
Ren looked at her with mild irritation, then his gaze shifted to curiosity.
Rina waved her hand, and a massive holographic screen appeared in front of Ren, divided into three sections:
[Shop] | [Status] | [Inventory]
"As you know, Ren…" Rina began explaining in the tone of a teacher tired of her lazy student. "Soul Points are your currency. You can exchange them for skills, techniques, and even 'Character Templates' to obtain the essence of their power. After completing Yoriichi's template to 100%… you gained permission to purchase template percentages in exchange for Soul Points."
"Really, that's great…" Ren interrupted. "The question is: how much?"
"1,000 Soul Points for 0.5% completion of a template," Rina said flatly.
Ren froze. "One thousand points… for half a percent?!"
"Yes."
Ren nodded with feigned indifference, though his eyes screamed with pain, desire, and regret. "Alright… maybe I should rely on 'Ron' to live through that damn simulation and raise the percentage manually."
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Elsewhere, far away in another world.
In a dense forest, under the light of a blood-red moon, stood a boy with long black hair tied in a ponytail and eyes burning red like embers. He wore a simple crimson kimono and carried a black Nichirin sword.
Before him stood a massive demon the size of a house, snarling and drooling.
"You… Tsugikuni… Ren!" the demon shouted as it lunged forward.
Ron did not move. He looked at the demon coldly and smiled faintly. He raised his sword toward the sky.
[Curse Technique – Sun Breathing: Void Sever!]
He swung the sword, and a crimson blade of flame erupted, slicing through the demon, the trees behind it, and even the distant hill in a single strike.
The demon turned to ash before it even realized it had died.
Ron, now fifteen years old, calmly wiped his sword blade. Suddenly, faint black lines appeared on his face—he was sharing memories with Ren, and hearing his conversation with Rina had made him angry.
Ron frowned and replied through the mental link, "You bastard, I'm not living through another damn simulation! Do you think spending fifteen years training and killing demons is fun?"
Ren: "What? Tired of acting like Yoriichi's cute little younger brother?"
Ron: "If you understand how hard that is, then get those simulation ideas out of your empty head!"
Ren: "Man, you need to work on your social skills… You only care about strength, training, and fighting. You're boring."
Ron clenched his teeth. "That's exactly why I exist, Ren! I am your obsession with power! Did you forget how helpless we felt when we fought Upper Moon Two, Doma? I never want to feel that again!"
Ren: "Sigh… then shut up and accept living the simulation. I'm giving you a chance to get stronger… no, for us to get stronger!"
Suddenly, a third voice overlapped in their minds.
Rina: "As you know, you can create another spiritual copy for the next simulation… Also, wipe those idiotic expressions off your faces and let me finish my explanation!"
She said this while looking at Ren in the mental void and Ron in the simulation at the same time.
Ren and Ron: "We're sorry. Please continue."
Ron said this as he leapt gracefully to perch on a high tree branch, leaning against the trunk and gazing at the moon.
Rina continued, "Alright… After you became Sukuna's vessel, the 'Sukuna Template' was unlocked in the shop. As for Gojo Satoru… the only reason it wasn't available before was because you didn't possess a Domain. But now, thanks to your innovative Domain, you can purchase his template as well."
Ren: "Isn't that great, Ron?"
Ron: "Don't get too excited… I've been exchanging Soul Points for physical stats instead of buying techniques, for one reason…"
Rina: "The price for both the Gojo Satoru template and the Sukuna template is 500,000 Soul Points."
A long silence followed.
Ron: "Sigh… because of those insane prices."
Ren: "Damn it! Isn't that an absurd amount?! Half a million points?!"
Rina: "What did you expect from the templates of 'the strongest' and the 'King of Curses'?"
Ren: "But Yoriichi's invincible template was only ten thousand points!"
Rina: "Did you forget? That was a special beginner's offer! If it hadn't appeared in the 'Featured Deals,' you wouldn't have been able to buy it at all."
Ren, trying to hide the fact that he hadn't even noticed Yoriichi's template was in the featured deals list: "What the… This is like a greedy game store!"
Ron: "Yeah… why do you act like an advanced system when you're just a shop extorting us?"
Rina: "Then I'll double the template prices."
Ren and Ron screamed in unison, shaking the chaotic room, "Nooooooooo! That's exploitation! That's administrative corruption!"
Rina looked at them coldly, swinging her small leg. "Stop whining. You're asking for templates of the strongest beings in existence. Did you expect to find them in the discount section next to 'Energy Biscuits'?"
Ron sighed and rubbed his forehead, while Ren collapsed onto the sofa as if he'd lost the will to live.
Rina opened the system logs. "By the way, Ron, since Ren has now become the official vessel of the King of Curses, the 'Ryomen Sukuna' template has automatically unlocked in the shop. As for Gojo Satoru's template… I thought you'd given up trying because of the price."
Ron jumped up on his tree branch in the simulation world and shouted into the void, "Given up?! Are you joking? Do you think I've been going on suicidal missions since I was seven years old for fun? I fought curses ten times smaller than me and a hundred times uglier!"
Ren sat up in the room and wagged his finger reproachfully. "Ron, man… you're seriously insane. Remember when you were seven? While kids were playing with balls, you were chasing a Grade Two curse in the sewers because Rina promised you 'bonus points' if you did it without using your sword. You came home with a smell no one could forget!"
Ron gritted his teeth. "You lazy bastard! At least thank me! Thanks to those 'weird' missions Rina forced on me, you now have this monstrous body that didn't completely shatter when Sukuna kicked you!"
Ren replied calmly as he flipped a manga page, "Monstrous what? That cursed seal Kenjaku placed suppresses all that power. I can currently extract only 5% of my full cursed energy. It feels like trying to run a jet engine on lighter fuel!"
Ron froze in the simulation world, his eyes widening in shock. "What? Only 5%?! Are you joking? When I was nine and fought that Grade One curse that nearly tore my head off, I could only extract 3%! And you're complaining about 5% while sitting on a sofa?!"
Rina intervened in her flat voice, carrying a hint of hidden sarcasm. "If Sukuna heard this conversation now, he might commit suicide in his mental cell. The King of Curses who terrorized the world for a thousand years is now being discussed like a mere 'shop update' between two versions of a teenage boy with heroic dissociative identity disorder."
Ron suddenly laughed—a laugh full of schadenfreude. "Oh, right! Congratulations, Ren! You've officially become the vessel of an old demon who lived for over a thousand years. Enjoy listening to his snoring in your head!"
Ren shot the void a sharp glare. "Why are you laughing, idiot? We're the same person! If I get a headache because of him, you'll feel it too in the simulation! And besides…" Ren paused, placing a hand on his chin dramatically. "I just remembered something… Didn't I say something similar to Yuji when he became Sukuna's vessel? I mocked him exactly the way you're doing now!"
"…" (An awkward silence filled both the room and the forest.)
"…" (Rina looked at them as if they were a hopeless case.)
Rina suddenly shouted, waving her small hands irritably, "Damn you both! Shut up! I never expected the 'savior' and the 'embodiment of power' to be this talkative! You're wasting my processing energy on pointless arguments!"
Ren and Ron (simultaneously, in genuine fear): "We're sorry! Please continue your explanation, Your Majesty!"
Ron sat back down on the tree, watching the moon with feigned dignity, while Ren lay back on his sofa, pretending to read the manga seriously. Rina puffed her cheeks in childish anger.
.
.
After some time, in an underground cave.
A group of demons trembled in fear in the corner of the cave, clinging to each other like frightened children, staring at the "true demon" standing at the entrance.
"Where is Kibutsuji Muzan?" Ron asked coldly, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his sword still sheathed. To him, these creatures weren't even worth the effort of drawing his blade.
"I—I told you!" one of the demons cried. "I swear I don't know! Don't force us… He'll kill us if we talk!"
Ron smiled coldly. "You'll die by my hand before that… especially since I'm broke right now."
He muttered as he placed his hand on his sword hilt, "All the Soul Points I collected went into buying damn templates… Damn you, Muzan, where are you hiding? Let me kill you quickly. I want more points."
Shing!
In less than a second, with a single motion, the three demons were reduced to thousands of tiny pieces, then scattered like dust.
Rina (in his mind): "You're truly obsessed with power… By the way, what about Michikatsu and Yoriichi?"
Ron: "Michikatsu took over leadership of the clan. I visit him from time to time to beat him up during training. As for Yoriichi… it seems fate is unavoidable. He met that girl, 'Uta,' and married her. I don't even know how."
Rina: "So your only remaining goal is killing Muzan… right?"
Ron: "Of course… not."
Ron smiled a monstrous smile as he exited the cave, welcoming the sunlight that relaxed his muscles.
Ron: "In our pursuit of power… the immortality of demons would be very useful."
Rina: "You really are a power-obsessed idiot, just as Ren said."
Ron: "What did you say? I am Ren's manifested desire! As the one who wants to become the strongest, I must become stronger. All I need to do is kill Muzan and obtain the 'Muzan Template.' Immortality, absolute regeneration, and none of those stupid weaknesses like burning in sunlight or bloodlust."
Rina: "That's true… but only if you can find him."
Ron: "Damn Yoriichi… Because of him, Muzan fled like a rat and went into hiding. I didn't believe him when he said he met the 'Demon King' and let him escape because he used a girl as a hostage. Such foolishness."
Rina: "That was expected of him."
Ron sighed and began walking back toward the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
Ron: "Either way… for now, we still need to train with the Sukuna and Gojo Satoru templates."
Rina: "Wouldn't that be easier for Ren in the real world?"
Ron: "Yes… Ren has combat instincts and innate talent far beyond mine. I train hard to master a technique, and he masters it just by seeing it."
Ron remembered Ren's crazed smile during his fight against Sukuna.
Ron: "That bastard… he only evolves during battle. As for me… I'm the one exhausting myself to improve our power."
End of Chapter 43
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End of Chapter 43!
To be continued in the next chapter… The Death Sentence!
(What do you think of the chapter? I reviewed it several times, which is why I was late posting it.)