100 Power Stones and release another chapter...
Chapter Sixty-Five: Brothers vs. the Demon King!
Enjoy~~~
The silence in the "accounting room" was heavier than mountains. Ren (Tsugikuni Ren) sat on the tatami with his head slightly lowered, while his mother, Aki, sat directly in front of him. Her paper fan was closed in her hand, and her eyes stared at him coldly, making the blood in the veins of the new Demon King run cold.
She was not shouting, nor was she visibly angry, but the aura radiating from her clearly said: "You are in serious trouble, my son."
Ren shifted his gaze slightly toward the corner, where Yoriichi and Michikatsu stood at a distance, silently watching. He noticed Michikatsu's shoulders trembling as if suppressing laughter, while Yoriichi had his eyes closed as though praying for his younger brother's soul.
"Those traitors…" Ren thought irritably, a vein bulging on his forehead. "I swear I'll beat them senseless before I leave this world. I'll break Michikatsu's bones, and Yoriichi… well, I'll at least ruin his hairstyle."
Ren sighed and decided it was time to end this farce. He looked back at his mother and met her dark eyes directly.
"Mother…" Ren began calmly and seriously as he slowly stood up. "I know you arranged everything, and I know how much you care about this marriage. But… I'm sorry."
He paused to give his words dramatic weight, then continued in a tragic tone, "I cannot do any of this. I cannot marry, and I cannot stay here. After all… my fate is to die soon."
Ren waited for the expected reaction: shock, tears, perhaps a sorrowful embrace. He was prepared to play the tragic hero to the end.
But—
Aki showed no shock. No tears formed in her eyes. Instead, angry veins surfaced on her smooth forehead.
"Die?" she repeated in a low, dangerous voice.
Before Ren could process what was happening, Aki moved. It was not the movement of a swordsman, but the movement of an enraged mother who had surpassed human limits.
"BOOM!"
A swift punch landed squarely in the middle of Ren's handsome face.
The "Demon King's" body flew through the air, crashing into the back wall before sliding slowly to the floor.
"You idiot!" Aki shouted, pointing at him with her fan, her aristocratic calm completely gone. "You can die whenever you want! But not before you marry and give me grandchildren! Do you understand?!"
Ren lifted his head, rubbing his swollen cheek, his eyes wide with genuine shock. "G-Grandchildren?"
He stared at her in disbelief. "Are you saying seeing grandchildren is more important than your son's life?! Mother, I'm talking about death here! The end! Eternal farewell!"
"And so what?" Aki replied coldly, adjusting her kimono. "Death is part of life. But ending the Tsugikuni bloodline because of your stubbornness is the real crime! If you are going to die, at least leave me something cute to care for instead of your annoying face!"
"The Tsugikuni bloodline? What about Yoriichi and Michikatsu?! And how is this handsome face annoying?! Damn my life."
Ren crawled backward across the floor and looked in horror at his brothers. Michikatsu had turned away with a hand over his mouth to stop himself from bursting into laughter, while Yoriichi was staring at the ceiling, muttering quick prayers: "Dear God, have mercy on his soul, he truly angered her."
"Damn…" Ren thought in panic. "I didn't die fighting the Upper Moons, I didn't die against Muzan… am I going to die now at my mother's hands?!"
Aki approached him, a dark aura surrounding her. "It seems I spoiled you too much, Ren… perhaps I should raise you again from scratch, starting now."
Ren trembled. "You're not going to kill me… right? I'm your favorite son… aren't I?"
She gave him a look that made his "Six Eyes" send deadly danger warnings.
Ren thought, "Alright… Plan A failed. Time for Plan B."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. The comedic tension vanished, replaced by a heavy pressure that made the air turn cold.
Ren slowly stood up. The fear and confusion faded from his face, replaced by an icy, emotionless mask.
"Mother…" Ren said, his voice deeper and hoarser.
His body began to change. His long black hair turned pure white with crimson-red edges. His skin became pale like a corpse. Sharp fangs appeared in his mouth, and his emerald eyes turned pale crimson, with terrifying vertical slits in their centers.
Aki gasped and stepped back, covering her mouth. "Ren…?"
Ren looked at his pale hands with sharp nails and said coldly, "I am no longer the Ren you knew, Mother. That boy died when he left this house."
He raised his head and looked at her, his eyes reflecting frightening emptiness. "I am the Demon King now. My blood is tainted, and my soul is cursed. There is no marriage, no grandchildren, no future."
He paused, then added the sentence he knew would shatter her heart, but it was necessary: "The only way to end the demon curse in this world… is to kill me."
Ren slowly turned toward his brothers. Michikatsu immediately placed his hand on his sword hilt, his face stern and ready to fight. Yoriichi leaned against the wall, opened his eyes, looked at his younger brother with a sad expression, then sighed and nodded.
"Follow me…" Ren said as he walked toward the open door, his black cloak fluttering behind him like raven wings. "We have only two choices."
At the threshold, without turning back, he said in a voice that echoed through the mansion:
"Either you kill the Demon King and save the world… or he kills you and ends this world."
Ren stepped out and disappeared into the dark corridors. Yoriichi followed immediately, his expression terrifying—not anger toward Ren, but absolute hatred toward fate and Muzan, who had tainted his brother even after death.
Aki remained standing, trembling. She did not understand the magical details or the curses, but she understood one thing: her son was in pain, and he was asking for death as salvation.
Michikatsu approached her, his eyes shadowed with sorrow. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently embraced her.
"Don't worry, Mother…" Michikatsu whispered steadily, trying to reassure her. "I promise… we'll find a solution. It won't end like this. Go to sleep, it's late."
He left to follow his brothers, leaving Aki staring into emptiness, praying silently that this would not be the final farewell.
"Ren…" Aki said with a pained, sorrowful expression. In the next moment, it vanished, replaced by cold anger.
"I'll beat you senseless when you return…" she said firmly as she headed toward the guest room where Tamayo was. …
In the vast rear training yard of the Tsugikuni clan estate, the full moon cast its silver light over the sandy ground.
The Demon King, Ren, stood in the center of the yard, staring at the moon with narrowed eyes. He felt emptiness. No fear, no excitement—only a desire to end this long play.
"This world…" Ren muttered. "It's beautiful, but it's not my place."
Behind him, the legendary twins arrived. Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Michikatsu Tsugikuni. Sun and Moon.
They stood at a distance, hands resting on their swords.
"Ren…" Michikatsu called, his voice carrying a final warning. "I don't know what exactly you're planning… but we must find another solution during this fight. I won't simply kill you."
Michikatsu drew his sword, and a distorted violet aura like warped moonlight burst around him. His spiritual pressure was heavy, befitting the title of the strongest samurai in Japan (after Yoriichi).
Ren slowly turned toward them, a faint, emotionless smile forming on his pale face.
"Hmm… another solution?" he laughed lightly. "Don't be naive, brother. Tonight… we dance the dance of death."
"So this is what it comes to…" Yoriichi said calmly as he drew his black Nichirin blade, which instantly turned glowing crimson red. His aura flared like a scorching sun, dispelling the night's chill.
"Don't worry, little brother…" Yoriichi said, his eyes shining with painful sincerity. "I will free you from this suffering. I will tear that evil out of you."
There were no ordinary humans to witness this, but if there had been, they would have died merely standing in the presence of these three colliding auras.
Ren observed them. Through the "Transparent World," he could see the flow of their energy. These two were at the peak of their strength.
"As long as I don't use the system abilities or 'Domain Expansion,' and as long as I don't use the player's body for instant regeneration… they have a real chance to kill me," Ren thought coldly.
He remembered the vial in his storage. "The Perfect Demon King Potion."
"Tsk… I won't drink it," Ren thought. "Immortality in this world means living forever while everyone else dies. That would be boring and meaningless. My goal was achieved—I gained power. Now it's time to leave."
But for them to defeat him, they needed to fight a true monster. They must not hesitate.
Ren closed his eyes.
He reached out to that entity lurking in the corner of his mind—the remnants of Kibutsuji Muzan's consciousness that had been suppressed and fused.
"You want control, don't you?" Ren whispered internally. "Go ahead. The stage is yours."
Ren released his mental barriers.
Suddenly, his eyelids snapped open.
The eyes changed. They were no longer Ren's cold eyes. They were mad, ravenous, filled with pure hatred.
Black, bloody energy exploded from his body, and bone whips formed from his back, slamming violently against the ground.
"Yoriichi!!! Michikatsu!!!"
The entity screamed in a double, horrifying voice—a fusion of Ren's tone and Muzan's hateful shriek.
"Come to me!! I will tear you to pieces!!"
This was not Ren. This was Muzan in the body of the new Demon King, empowered by the "Kibutsuji" template Ren had purchased from the system days ago.
A rampaging beast without restraints, ready to destroy everything.
Yoriichi and Michikatsu raised their swords and realized in that moment that words were over.
The final battle began.
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Yes… I will increase the chapter output soon… very soon.