Chapter Twenty-Two: Burn Your Soul!
『RYON』
Enjoy~~
The air roared with the sound of explosions and shattering ice.
In the midst of this frozen hell, an orange blur moved with the speed of flame. Rengoku Kyojuro was carrying Ren's exhausted body with extreme care, as if holding a fragile jewel that could shatter at any moment.
Rengoku leapt away from the center of the battlefield, where shards of ice were flying like deadly projectiles, and placed Ren behind a massive wooden pillar that had not yet been destroyed. It was a position that offered a clear view of the battle and allowed the Hashira to intervene immediately if danger approached.
"Ren-shōnen (boy)!" Rengoku shouted loudly despite being close, his eyes scanning the strange burns covering the boy's body.
"You're safe here! Don't move no matter what happens! You've done more than enough… leave the rest to the adults now!"
Ren couldn't respond. Pain was crushing every cell in his body. His lungs burned, and his muscles screamed from exhaustion. All he could do was nod weakly as Rengoku shot back like a blazing arrow to join Sanemi, Gyomei, and Tengen against the icy nightmare—Doma.
At the center of the hall, Doma stood amid a storm of attacks.
His severed arm, which had been eroded by "Sun Breathing," had begun to regenerate. At first, the regeneration was slow and painful, making Doma frown in irritation, but within seconds, thanks to his inexhaustible power as an Upper Moon, the flesh reconnected.
"My goodness, that really hurt," Doma sighed as he shook his newly formed arm, scattering droplets of frozen blood. "That boy… left a fire inside me that won't go out easily. But…"
Doma smiled, and an aura of absolute cold spread, freezing the ground beneath his feet.
"…you are not like him. Your attacks are ordinary. Boring."
"Boring? I'll show you boring, you filthy bastard!" Shinazugawa Sanemi roared as he charged forward like a madman, his green blade carving deadly spirals through the air.
"Wind Breathing, First Form—!"
Sanemi surged like a human typhoon, cutting through everything in his path. Doma tried to block with his fans, but Himejima Gyomei was already lying in wait.
"Stone Breathing, Second Form…"
Gyomei's massive spiked ball crashed down from above, accompanied by the sound of bones shattering. Doma was forced to leap high to avoid being crushed, only to find Tengen Uzui waiting for him in midair, hurling dozens of small bombs.
"This is all thanks to Ren! Take these fireworks!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of explosions shook the tower, black smoke engulfing Doma's position.
Tengen pierced through the smoke alone, and in an instant, the flashes of his twin blades appeared more than twenty times.
Doma screamed in pain, but then kicked Tengen away with tremendous force, sending him flying. However, this only made Tengen grin, because the moment he escaped, the black smoke exploded—and at the center of the blast was Doma.
But when the haze cleared, Doma appeared unharmed, protected by a massive ice statue.
.
.
A short distance away, Ren watched the scene with half-open, unfocused eyes.
His body was numb, but his mind was in utter chaos. Tears began to stream down his face—not only because of the unbearable physical pain, but because of an overwhelming sense of weakness and regret.
Ren curled into himself as dark thoughts consumed him.
"Why?" he asked himself in a trembling inner voice.
"Why did I have to play the hero? I'm not Tanjiro Kamado… my heart isn't as pure as his. And I'm not Yoriichi Tsugikuni… I don't have that overwhelming, invincible strength. I'm just an ordinary kid from another world who got a 'cheat system' by chance."
Bitterness rose in his throat.
"My goal was just to protect my new family. My mother, Sakura—my little sister… to live peacefully. So why am I here? Why am I risking my life to save strangers? Why am I standing in front of a monster that can kill me in an instant? I'm an idiot… just a child pretending to be great."
Ren squeezed his eyes shut, trying to escape the reality of pain and the stench of blood.
Suddenly, the scene changed.
He no longer felt the wooden floor of the tower beneath him.
Instead, he felt a warm breeze… and the scent of fresh grass.
Ren opened his "eyes" within his mind.
He was standing in an open field, the sun shining brighter than he had ever seen. In front of him stood a tall man wearing a red kimono, a black sword resting at his waist.
The man did not turn toward him. Instead, he was looking at a small child who was laughing and trying to catch a butterfly.
Ren recognized him instantly.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
But who was that black-haired child? Ren was confused.
Moreover, weren't the memories of Yoriichi that he experienced usually during combat or when using a technique?
But this wasn't a memory of battle.
It was a memory… of a "feeling."
Just looking at Yoriichi's back made Ren feel his emotions. He felt that he truly resembled Yoriichi—at least in that painful feeling crushing his heart.
Ren heard Yoriichi's voice, calm and deep, as if speaking directly to his soul.
"We are not born strong in order to control others…"
Yoriichi spoke as if talking to himself, yet Ren felt the words were meant for him.
"We are given this power for only one reason: to carry the dreams of those who cannot defend themselves. Power is not a privilege… it is a responsibility. In this cruel world, protecting the smile of a single child… may be greater than defeating an entire army."
Yoriichi looked toward the sun and smiled—a sad smile, yet full of hope. "Do not grieve because you are not perfect. Humans are weak creatures, and that is what makes their struggle beautiful."
The scene slowly faded, and Ren returned to reality, back in the dark, freezing tower.
But something inside him had changed.
Ren opened his eyes fully. The tears that had fallen from pain and self-pity stopped.
Memories flooded his mind—not Yoriichi's this time, but his own. His memories as "Haruto," as an "otaku."
He remembered Rengoku Kyojuro, smiling with blood covering his face, dying alone on that cursed train while Akaza escaped. He remembered the pain in Tanjiro's heart and his helpless scream.
He remembered how angry and sad he had been back then over his favorite character dying so easily, how frustrated and heartbroken he felt.
He remembered Kocho Shinobu, how she sacrificed her body and allowed Doma to eat her just to kill him with poison. He remembered her broken smile as she spoke about her sister, Kanae.
He remembered Gyomei and his death after the battle with Muzan… remembered Sanemi, who lost everyone he loved.
He remembered Tanjiro, who lost his family and sacrificed everything to defeat Muzan, and how he ended up at the end of the story.
He remembered his loving family—his little sister Sakura and his mother, who made him promise that he would return home one day.
Then… these people… the ones fighting in front of him right now…
"They're not just characters made of ink on paper… not anymore," Ren whispered as he clenched his trembling fist until his knuckles turned white. "They're alive. They breathe, laugh, and grieve. And right now, they're risking their lives to protect me—and to protect others from the evil of demons."
A wave of shame washed over him for his earlier thoughts.
"I'm not Yoriichi… and I don't need to be a perfect hero. I'm here because I have the power to change this cursed scenario. If I have the power to save Rengoku from death… and save Shinobu from being eaten… then I'll burn my soul a thousand times to do it!"
Flames reignited in his heart. The pain didn't disappear, but it became "fuel."
He remembered Rengoku's words—the words that made his resolve burn even hotter.
"Burn your soul! Then burn your enemy!"
Ren repeated those words in his head as he gathered every bit of energy he could draw from his ruined body.
"When you know death is near… fight to the very end… then either you survive and win with honor… or you die with honor!"
Muttering this, Ren gritted his teeth and stood up, using Water Breathing to stabilize his body so it wouldn't collapse again.
. .
At the center of the battlefield, the situation was getting worse.
Despite the continuous and coordinated attacks of the four Hashira, Doma was still smiling.
"You're all very annoying," Doma said boredly as he waved his fans. "Demonic Blood Art: Frozen Frost Clouds."
A dense mist spread, freezing the air in an instant. The Hashira felt as if their lungs were tearing apart from the inside.
"Don't breathe the air!" Tengen shouted, covering his nose as he leapt back.
But Doma was faster. He appeared directly in front of Rengoku. "You… you have a burning soul. But fire needs air, and here… there is nothing but ice."
Doma unleashed a fatal strike with his fans toward Rengoku's neck.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form!"
Rengoku barely blocked the blow, sparks flying everywhere. But Doma's physical strength pushed Rengoku back several meters, leaving a deep wound across his chest.
"Kyojuro!" Sanemi shouted as he rushed to attack Doma from the side. "Wind Breathing, Seventh Form!"
Doma gracefully leapt over Sanemi's blade and delivered a kick that shattered the Wind Hashira's ribs, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Namu Amida Butsu…" Gyomei cried as he swung his massive axe and iron prayer beads, smashing the floor around Doma to restrict his movement.
Tengen seized the opportunity and unleashed a barrage of rapid, consecutive slashes at terrifying speed. "All this… and he still won't die?!"
Despite the damage Doma had taken—despite having his head partially cut off by Sanemi moments ago, despite his bones being crushed by Gyomei—he kept regenerating.
The burns that Ren had inflicted earlier had almost completely vanished.
Tengen stood panting, sweat covering his jewel-adorned face. "We've cut off his arms three times… shattered his rib cage… blown away half his face… and yet…"
He looked at Doma emerging from the smoke, his face completely intact, his clothes the only thing torn. Doma casually brushed dust off his shoulder with an infuriating calm.
"Are you done?" Doma asked with an innocent smile. "Because I'm starting to feel really hungry."
Tengen tightened his grip on his twin blades so hard they nearly broke. Despair began to creep in. What was the point of fighting if the enemy simply returned as if nothing had happened?
Doma's ability to control ice was troublesome enough, but he was also turning the air itself into frozen air. Even though they were Hashira, they would eventually be forced to breathe it.
They would weaken, while Doma grew stronger. If this continued, they wouldn't be able to kill him or even contain him until sunrise.
Tengen prepared himself, planning to take an even greater risk. They hadn't been using their full strength since they were four Hashira.
He activated his breathing technique, ready to charge with the intent to cut Doma into pieces, even though there was a high chance he would be injured—or killed—in the process.
But suddenly, Tengen froze.
His eyes widened beneath his jeweled headband.
He looked at Doma… then at something behind Doma… there, near the wooden pillar where they had left Ren.
The aura emanating from that corner was not the aura of an injured child.
It was an aura… terrifying.
"What the hell?!" Tengen shouted in shock as he witnessed a sight that made his blood freeze even more than Doma's ice.
The boy who was supposed to be unable to move… was standing.
And not just standing.
The mark on his forehead was glowing with a pulsing red light, and his eyes… his eyes were no longer human.
End of Chapter Twenty-Two
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Today's chapter—I didn't revise it much, so there will be many mistakes. Please point them out to me!
I hope to receive more comments on the novel.