[AAA City Ghost: Wait... grave-digging? You've finally reached this step?]
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: A grave... I actually have a grave?]
[Let Night City Burn: What's a grave?]
Watching the three group members respond in three completely different ways, Anthony felt a quiet wave of sentiment wash over him.
This was the chat group for you — you could throw out one message and get back three responses that had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: I'm actually rather surprised — someone actually took care of my body?]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Yeah — Kokushibo might have been the one who did it. By the way, speaking of which — if you were to meet Kokushibo again, what would you do?]
Anthony stepped out of the room, exchanging a brief greeting with the two Pillars standing in the doorway and Ubuyashiki Kagaya waiting between them, then followed them along the path toward the spot where the small earthen mound had been found.
It was dusk.
Better pick up the pace a little — linger too long, and the demons would start crawling out under the cover of night...
Though with Big Jo right beside him, whatever showed up wasn't really worth worrying about.
The thought flickered through Anthony's mind, and then he turned his attention back to the chat group panel.
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: If I were to... see my brother again?]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Yeah — running into him is basically a given. He's Upper Moon One now.]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: We'll be storming the Infinity Castle soon to go after Muzan.]
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: So that means we'll be facing essentially every Lower Moon, every Upper Moon, and Muzan himself?]
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Yeah, that's right.]
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: Then... we purge the entire Infinity Castle.]
[Strictest Father of the Demon King: As for my brother... he deserves pity. If at all possible, I would like to give him a death with some dignity — an end to the fallen life he has lived as a demon.]
Exactly as expected — and exactly the kind of answer Yoriichi Tsugikuni would give.
The thought passed through Anthony's mind, and then — following Jonathan, who had stopped beside him — he came to a halt as well.
"We're here. This is the spot," Ubuyashiki Kagaya said, gesturing toward the open ground ahead.
Anthony fixed his gaze on it — and sure enough, there at the center of the clearing was the same gentle, unmistakable mound he'd seen in the photograph.
And so, Anthony typed into the chat group.
[Lord of the White Holy Throne: Alright, no more small talk. @Strictest Father of the Demon King — get ready. Your resurrection is happening soon.]
"But, Mr. Anthony — I still have a question." Ubuyashiki Kagaya followed Anthony's gaze toward the mound, and the words slipped out before he'd quite decided to voice them. "After going through all this trouble to come here... what exactly is buried in this place?"
Faced with the question, Anthony only smiled. Then he stepped over to the small mound and spoke calmly:
"Just an unnamed swordsman."
"You may never have heard his story... but in a certain sense, he truly could be called a legend."
A legend? If anything, that was an understatement — he had the highest raw stats of any character in the entire Demon Slayer world. A textbook case of whoever balanced the power scaling just mashing numbers in with their toes.
"A legend?" Ubuyashiki Kagaya's expression shifted slightly, as if the words hadn't quite registered. "An unnamed swordsman's... legend?"
"That's right. For instance —" Anthony paused. "Have any of you heard of the Mark?"
"If you mean the legends surrounding the Mark, I've heard a few things."
Anthony gave a small nod and said:
"That swordsman was born with the Mark. Or rather — he was the very first swordsman to ever bear it."
"And he lived past twenty-five. He lived all the way past eighty."
The instant those words landed, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's eyes went wide with shock.
"Born with the Mark... and he even lived past eighty?!"
As the head of the Demon Slayer Corps, he knew exactly what the Mark was.
It was a phenomenon belonging to the distant Sengoku era — and every single person who had ever awakened it died before the age of twenty-five. That was the iron law embedded in the legend.
Or rather... Ubuyashiki Kagaya had always believed it was only a legend to begin with.
And now, both of those certainties had been overturned at once.
"And that's not all. Breathing Techniques were his creation too — well, 'creation' might be too generous a word. It was simply how he breathed naturally. The techniques just happened to be passed down."
Anthony clicked his tongue and continued, and this time, both Ubuyashiki Kagaya and the two Pillars who had come along shifted their gazes toward the mound before them — as if trying, and failing, to fully comprehend it.
Buried in this narrow, unremarkable patch of earth — there had truly lain a figure of such power?!
This...
Ubuyashiki Kagaya opened his mouth slightly, but seemed at a loss for words — until Anthony dropped the final piece of information:
"Oh, right — he nearly killed Muzan with a single stroke. After that, Kibutsuji Muzan didn't show his face again for the rest of that swordsman's life. Only after he died did Muzan dare to resurface and cause trouble again."
"That — that actually happened? But how could you possibly know that?"
"And — if this truly is his grave, then why exactly are we here?"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's mind seemed to seize up entirely. For a moment, it simply could not keep pace. He looked up at Anthony instinctively and asked with complete sincerity.
Anthony only smiled.
"Of course I know. I'm acquainted with him."
Those few words, spoken so lightly, made Anthony seem to recede somehow — as if an inexplicable distance had opened up between them. Ubuyashiki Kagaya turned to look at him.
He was acquainted with that swordsman? A figure from the Sengoku era — nearly a thousand years in the past?!
From the very first moment he'd met Anthony, he had sensed there was nothing ordinary about him.
But now... he found himself forced to revise that understanding entirely, and think it all over again.
"Oh, and — barring any surprises, you're about to meet him yourself."
Anthony added that as an offhand remark, then kicked the loose earth aside with his foot and used Soul Attachment to dig the grave open.
When Yoriichi Tsugikuni's grave had been fully opened, Anthony found a set of skeletal remains lying peacefully within.
About what he'd expected. He glanced at the chat group panel — and sure enough, just as he'd guessed, the conditions were viable.
His current Points balance: 53,000 exactly.
Points. A body. Every last condition for the resurrection had been met.
"Right — no surprises." He glanced over at Ubuyashiki Kagaya. "You're about to witness this legendary swordsman for yourself. And that brings us to the answer to your second question — why we came here."
Anthony stepped back half a pace and said calmly:
"We are here to resurrect this swordsman. He will stand with us against Kibutsuji Muzan."
Resurrect...?
When that strange, unfamiliar word reached Ubuyashiki Kagaya's ears, he fell silent — and in the end, simply raised his gaze to Anthony.
And at last, he asked the question he had wanted to voice for so long, but had only now found the moment.
"Mr. Anthony — if I may. Just who exactly are you?"
"Me?"
Anthony gently pressed the [Confirm Resurrection] button on the chat group panel, paused a moment, and said:
"Just an angler."
[Resurrection conditions detected as fulfilled.]
[50,000 Points deducted for the resurrection.]
[Vessel for resurrection selected — vessel assessment in progress. Yoriichi Tsugikuni's skeletal remains: conditions met!]
[Resurrection commencing!]
A sound like rolling thunder seemed to descend from above. Flickering sparks of soul-light kindled within the remains before him. Anthony watched, stepping back half a pace, and waited for the resurrection to complete.
And so — the soul began to return.
Slowly, flesh and muscle — the flesh of a man in his prime — began to grow back around the bones. Matter generated from converted Points attached itself layer by layer, and in what felt like barely an instant, a complete body had been rebuilt — even the partially weathered bones fully restored.
And finally, beneath the light of a sun sinking toward the horizon —
The swordsman born with the Mark opened his eyes.
Without missing a beat, Anthony took a Nichirin Blade from one of the people nearby and tossed it to the swordsman. The man caught it in a single motion — and from that grip alone, the blade blazed crimson.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya watched, and his eyes went wide almost involuntarily.
From grip alone — the blade had turned crimson?
What manner of strength was this?
And in that moment, he finally believed every word Anthony had told him.
Then — he heard the whisper of the young swordsman standing before him.
"Kibutsuji Muzan..."
He murmured softly:
"I've come to kill you."
——————————————
Fifth update of the day.
Bounty (18/?)
Five updates today for a grand total of 12,000 characters — delivering them all right here. Today might be on the lighter side — just five for now; let me rest up and recharge before going all out again tomorrow.
Also — paid release is almost here... and I've got revisions to tackle on top of everything else... Ugh. My annual leave. My precious annual leave!
Sigh — please follow for updates. I'm begging you all!
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Reborn as Naoya I Really Am Here for Revenge!
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!