Chapter 87: Chapter 76.3: The End of the Demon Slayer! A New Arrival!
Enveloped in flames, Muzan charged at him.
But all the Hashira stood between him and Kagaya, forming an impenetrable barrier.
In the past, Muzan would have considered them mere ants. How could they possibly stand in his way now?
"I'm not content!!! If I had found the Blue Spider Lily, I would've killed you all long ago!!!"
At that moment, Chu Yang quietly approached Muzan, completely unfazed by the flames surrounding him. He placed a hand on Muzan's head and whispered softly in his ear.
"Do you know why you couldn't find the Blue Spider Lily?"
"Because it only blooms during the day, and demons can't see it, haha."
Muzan's pupils shrank as rage surged in his eyes. His trembling finger pointed at Chu Yang. "You… you…"
In the end, all he could leave behind was a venomous glare before the fire consumed him, his ashes scattering with the wind.
...
The thousand-year war between humans and demons had finally ended. The next day, Kagaya began dismissing the swordsmen one by one.
Before leaving, each received a generous severance package.
It was enough to ensure they would never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of their lives.
For the wealthy Ubuyashiki family, this was nothing. If it were possible, Kagaya would have preferred for all the swordsmen to survive to receive this compensation.
Living a peaceful life was the hope of most of the swordsmen, including Kanae. She had always hoped that Kanao would live as a normal girl, rather than becoming a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Now, the two sisters could finally live such a life, carefree, no longer fearing for their lives during missions.
As a gesture of gratitude for Kanae's years of healing the wounded, Kagaya even gifted the Butterfly Mansion to them, allowing the sisters to continue practicing medicine.
Makomo had a long conversation with her master, Sakonji Urokodaki, and decided to stay at the Butterfly Mansion, living with Kanae and the others.
Urokodaki returned to the mountains to live in seclusion once more, while Giyu Tomioka chose to stay by his master's side, though he would occasionally visit Makomo at the Butterfly Mansion.
There seemed to be a budding connection between the two.
Sanemi Shinazugawa, after some persuasion from Kagaya, finally let go of his past grudges and set out to reconcile with his younger brother, Genya. His plan was to live together again after earning Genya's forgiveness.
What Sanemi didn't know was that Genya already knew the truth—that their siblings were killed by their demonized mother, and that Sanemi had held her off until sunrise, when she was burned by the sun.
After clearing the air, the brothers would support each other as they moved forward.
Gyomei Himejima returned to his temple to continue his spiritual practice, but the temple was now filled with orphaned children who had lost their families. With Kagaya's help, the temple had been transformed into an orphanage.
The children's playful noise often interrupted Gyomei's chanting, but he showed no sign of annoyance.
His eyes no longer held tears, only a faint smile.
Rengoku Kyojuro returned home to find a father who was no longer despondent and a younger brother who had laid down his sword and could now live peacefully.
"You've done well, Kyojuro." Shinjuro Rengoku gently stroked his son's fiery red hair, the same brilliant color as his own, making him swell with pride.
Tears welled up in Kyojuro's eyes.
On the night of the battle's end, Obanai Iguro confessed his feelings to Mitsuri Kanroji.
After a brief moment of shock, Mitsuri Kanroji accepted Obanai Iguro's feelings. The two of them opened a ramen shop near the Butterfly Mansion, where tourists and patients often lined up, making business flourish.
Kanae would also bring the people from the Butterfly Mansion to show their support.
Apart from them, others also refused to leave. Tengen Uzui didn't want to return to the life of a ninja, so he stayed close to Kagaya Ubuyashiki, freeloading meals with his three beautiful wives.
As for Chu Yang...
Before he could even enjoy the rest of his life, he found himself once again inside the Soul Palace.
This time, however, there were two new figures on the once-empty throne.
"Didn't I just come here not too long ago? Why am I back again?"
"The frequency of entering the Soul Palace is getting a bit high lately."
"So, may I ask, which one of you fine gentlemen is causing trouble this time?"
Pirate Chu Yang, Naruto Chu Yang, and Magic Chu Yang all appeared in the Soul Palace with faces full of complaints. They each had their own matters to attend to, especially Magic Chu Yang, who had been spending his days buried in potion research.
"I beat the game!" Demon Slayer Chu Yang raised his hand, saying proudly, "I just defeated Muzan Kibutsuji, and all the main characters survived. How about that?"
"Not bad, congrats, congrats," Pirate Chu Yang said with a grin. "Didn't expect you, the last to join, to be the first to finish!"
Naruto Chu Yang clicked his tongue, clearly jealous. "What's with all this talk about beating the game? There's no mandatory task anyway, so why rush? What's wrong with taking it slow?"
Demon Slayer Chu Yang grinned. "Heh, I'd love to take my time, but the enemies wouldn't let me."
Pirate Chu Yang chimed in, "True. Compared to us, the power levels in the Demon Slayer world are indeed lower. It probably didn't take much effort to take down Muzan Kibutsuji."
Naruto Chu Yang noticed that Magic Chu Yang was chatting with the two newcomers and asked curiously, "Which world are the newbies from?"
Magic Chu Yang shook his head. "Not sure. It seems like an ordinary world, nothing unusual. After sharing memories, I couldn't figure it out."
Naruto Chu Yang's eyes widened. "How could it be an ordinary world? Let me take a look!"
Pirate Chu Yang and Demon Slayer Chu Yang overheard their conversation and joined in out of curiosity.
After sharing memories, they found out that the two newcomers were both students living in small towns, with one from modern-day Japan and the other from the United States.
Interestingly, both of them were about to enter high school.
"That's not very scientific." Magic Chu Yang rubbed his chin, frowning. "Based on past patterns, the chances of crossing over into a normal world are quite low. How can both of them come from ordinary worlds?"
"Oh come on, you're dabbling in magic, and you're still talking about science?" Pirate Chu Yang couldn't help but tease. "Low probability doesn't mean zero probability."
Japanese high school student Chu Yang said enviously, "I really envy you guys. The worlds you go to are all so exciting. My daily life is basically the same as before I crossed over, it's driving me nuts."
American high school student Chu Yang sighed as well. "You don't know how bad the infrastructure in a small American town can be. The signal here is awful, and whenever it rains, both the TV and the internet go down. Ever since I crossed over, it's been raining almost every day. I haven't even watched a proper TV show."
Demon Slayer Chu Yang laughed, "No TV? Sounds like your era and mine aren't too different."
Magic Chu Yang had an epiphany. "No wonder there wasn't much information in your memories. If I remember correctly, the time in your world is around 2008, right?"
The American high school student Chu Yang nodded.
Demon Slayer Chu Yang's eyes lit up. "Then buy yourself a ticket and go home to watch the Olympics!"
His random idea left everyone momentarily stunned.
Pirate Chu Yang couldn't help but quip, "It's just a modern-day parallel world, there's no such thing as an Olympics there."
After they teased Demon Slayer Chu Yang for a while, they continued discussing the two high school student Chu Yangs.
In the end, they agreed that it didn't really matter whether their worlds were ordinary. Even if there were no special abilities to learn, the two high schoolers could join Magic Chu Yang in handling logistics and research, helping to ease the workload.
All in all, everyone was happy to have new members. After all, each person who joined was "another version of themselves," making unity easy.
However, Pirate Chu Yang and the others had no idea that once the two high school students returned to their worlds, their lives would undergo drastic changes.
...
In Japan, in a rural town.
Chu Yang lived on a small island where his relatives had all perished in a tsunami a few years ago, leaving him to attend school alone.
Due to a long-standing lack of students, the island's school decided to close, and Chu Yang's class became the last cohort. Those who wished to continue their studies had to go to high school in the city.
Many chose to drop out and take over their family's fishing businesses. Chu Yang had planned to do the same.
But!
After being summoned to the Soul Palace and gaining his long-awaited cheat, Chu Yang immediately decided to leave the island—this place was no longer for him.
He sold off his family's property and everything valuable, preparing to attend high school in the big city.
A week later, Chu Yang rented an apartment near the school and began his new high school life.
As he entered the campus, Chu Yang glanced at the school plaque near the gate.
It read "Karakura High School."
For some reason, the name felt familiar to Chu Yang, but he didn't dwell on it and entered the school with the other students.
Moments later, during introductions in class, Chu Yang suddenly felt something was off.
"Hello everyone, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki. Please take care of me."
The boy with spiky orange hair said this with a cold expression. People like him usually had a solitary personality, but there was always the possibility he was cold on the outside, warm on the inside.
"Haha, no way. Maybe the name and appearance are just a coincidence," Chu Yang thought, feeling parched. He had just accepted that this world was an ordinary one and was planning to focus on his college entrance exams.
"Hello everyone, I'm Orihime Inoue..."
Alright!
It seemed his high school life wouldn't be as peaceful as he had expected...
...
Meanwhile, in the United States...
Perhaps because his cheat had arrived, Chu Yang's luck started improving, and the endless rainy days in the small town finally stopped.
Looking at the clear, blue sky, Chu Yang hummed a little tune as he turned on the old, boxy TV in his house.
This was the second time he'd watched TV since crossing over.
He had been hoping to find some entertainment, but every channel was broadcasting urgent news.
"It's not like the president died, what's with the panic?" Chu Yang complained as he took a sip of water.
Just as he did, the news anchor began speaking.
"According to military sources, earlier this morning, Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, was attacked by terrorists in Afghanistan. His whereabouts are currently unknown..."
Pffft!
Chu Yang spat his water everywhere.