After passing the Final Selection, Kurosaki Rei's main quest updated—and the jump in scope made him frown.
[Main Quest (Final Phase): Demon Slayer]
Objective: Within three natural months, kill the leader of the demon faction, Kibutsuji Muzan.
Difficulty: Hard ~ Certain Death
Reward: Return Eligibility, World Core
Failure Penalty: All attributes −1
The objective was simple and brutal. It wasn't a "fail and you die" kind of task, and for someone like Kurosaki Rei—whose stats grew quickly—the penalty of losing one point across all attributes was acceptable.
But Kurosaki Rei knew one thing very well: the lighter the punishment, the harder the task usually was.
And in truth, he didn't have much of a choice. Even if he chose not to go after Muzan, Explorers in Muzan's faction wouldn't let him off.
If he couldn't complete the task, the Space might not even need to punish him—he'd probably be killed first.
Judging by the world's difficulty ceiling, it was very possible that second-tier Explorers had entered this world. After being strengthened by Muzan's faction buffs, even if Kurosaki Rei had an advantage among first-tier Explorers, that edge might vanish against second-tier opponents.
If the enemy side really did have second-tier Explorers, with base attributes over 30, plus demon bloodline enhancement and high-speed regeneration, they could easily surpass some of the Upper Ranks from the original story.
He couldn't complain about it. This was the difficulty he had chosen—and he welcomed challenges from the strong.
Besides, killing Explorers in this world had a chance to drop Fallen One's Chests. He was confident he'd make a tidy profit.
Setting aside enemy strength, the most troublesome part of this mission was the time limit.
If Muzan—an absolute coward—decided to hide in the Infinity Castle forever, and Kurosaki Rei couldn't find him, then even with all his power he might not be able to do anything.
So he needed to do some "world planning." He couldn't let Muzan get scared into permanently hiding in the Infinity Castle.
"Senior Brother Rei, what did you just say?!"
Zenitsu's voice shot up several octaves when he heard Kurosaki Rei mention the Twelve Kizuki.
"What are the Twelve Kizuki?" Tanjiro asked innocently.
Only then did Kurosaki Rei remember—at this point in time, Tanjiro still didn't know what the Twelve Kizuki were. Come to think of it, the former Water Hashira really hadn't explained much to him.
"They're the twelve strongest demons!" Zenitsu explained hurriedly, then looked at Kurosaki Rei with worry.
"Senior Brother Rei, you just passed the selection! How can you go looking for monsters like that right away? Even if you're strong, it's too dangerous! Those are demons only the Hashira can deal with!"
He had heard about the Twelve Kizuki from Grandpa. They were terrifying beings who had devoured countless people.
The Lower Ranks were manageable—Hashira could still handle them. But the Upper Ranks had not changed for centuries. Even a Hashira encountering one alone would face almost certain death.
Zenitsu believed his senior brother was strong, but he didn't know how Kurosaki Rei compared to the current Hashira. To him, both Grandpa and Senior Brother Rei were family, and he didn't want either of them risking their lives against such monsters.
"The strongest twelve demons…"
Tanjiro murmured. He wondered if those demons might know a way to turn demons back into humans. His sister Nezuko had been turned into a demon—everything he did now was for the sake of turning her human again.
"Brother Rei, can I come with you?" Tanjiro asked earnestly.
"No."
Kurosaki Rei refused flatly.
"You're all too weak."
With that, he turned and walked down the mountain alone.
"Zenitsu—remember what I said. Stabilize your foundation first."
He didn't want his kind-hearted junior brother to get hurt, but he also couldn't stay by Zenitsu's side forever as a bodyguard.
The best way to protect allies was to eliminate all enemies.
"Senior Brother Rei…"
Zenitsu watched Kurosaki Rei's retreating back. Hearing how decisively his senior brother had rejected Tanjiro, he knew that refusal wasn't just for Tanjiro—it was for him as well.
He had joined the Demon Slayer path after being scammed by a woman, falling into debt, and nearly getting beaten to death before Grandpa saved him.
But he also knew that most people here had suffered far worse—families destroyed, happiness stolen by demons.
Zenitsu had known Senior Brother Rei for a long time, yet he had never known what Kurosaki Rei had gone through to be so desperate to join the Demon Slayer Corps.
Seeing how firmly his senior brother was determined to hunt the Twelve Kizuki today, Zenitsu believed Kurosaki Rei must also have a painful, unbearable past—one deeply scarred by demons.
"I'll train hard… until I can actually help."
Zenitsu whispered to himself, resolve forming in his heart.
After descending the mountain, Kurosaki Rei had no intention of reporting to the Demon Slayer Corps.
Under the puzzled gazes of the twin girls, he directly took the ore he had selected. He didn't need a Nichirin Blade—Imprisoned Demon was more than enough to deal with demons in this world.
Joining the Demon Slayer Corps was merely a faction alignment task. In practice, he wasn't bound by their rules at all—how he acted afterward was entirely up to him.
And right now, every second counted.
The Explorers who had been turned by Muzan would have had a few days to adapt by now. Their strength should already be stabilized—and they were likely already in motion.
As fellow Space veterans, Kurosaki Rei could easily guess their thought process.
To win this faction war, weaker Explorers would likely hunt the still-growing protagonist group, while the stronger ones would target the Hashira.
On the surface, this was a 3 vs. 33 faction conflict. The enemy Explorers' first priority wouldn't be killing other Explorers—those were hard to find, small targets, and their strength was unknown.
Hashira were different. They were known quantities—powerful and visible. Compared to potential seedlings like Tanjiro, they were mature trees on the verge of blooming. Killing them would drastically reduce the Demon Slayer faction's combat power.
Moreover, judging by Kurosaki Rei's side quest, the Muzan faction Explorers' own side quests were very likely related to killing the Hashira for rewards. They would definitely take action.
Beyond eliminating Demon Slayer manpower, the enemy would also try to preserve Muzan's high-end forces. The Upper Ranks might be warned or fed intelligence about particularly threatening Hashira. Some might even be relocated from their usual territories.
In the original story, most Upper Rank territories were unknown. The one clear exception was Upper Rank Six—the twin demons Gyutaro and Daki, whose location was confirmed to be Yoshiwara.
Kurosaki Rei currently lacked any effective way to track enemy Explorers, so his best option was to rush straight to Yoshiwara and check it out.
He doubted he'd come up empty-handed.
Even if Gyutaro and Daki had already moved, he would likely run into Explorers there. After all, the enemy side also knew that Yoshiwara was the only Upper Rank territory explicitly revealed in the original story.
They would assume Demon Slayer faction Explorers would investigate it—making it a perfect place to set up an ambush and wipe out powerful enemies.
While Kurosaki Rei was traveling at full speed, news of his feat—clearing Mount Fujikasane entirely and passing the selection—was already being spread across the Demon Slayer Corps by Kasugai Crows.
The arrival of a newcomer with overwhelming strength made ordinary Demon Slayers sigh in amazement at how unreasonable true geniuses were.
The Nine Hashira, meanwhile, eagerly anticipated the rise of a new powerhouse.
On Mount Sagiri, after reading the letter, Kuwajima Jigoro smiled with satisfaction.
"That child went a bit too far," he muttered. "He's probably given the current Hashira quite a headache. Catching demons is troublesome work, after all."
He had never doubted that Kurosaki Rei would pass the selection—but slaughtering all of Mount Fujikasane still surprised him.
Seeing the strength Kurosaki Rei displayed, Kuwajima felt truly delighted.
Perhaps before long… the Nine Hashira would become Ten.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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