"Thud..."
A faint sound of landing echoed as Reiger landed on the top of a building.
It was a palace.
Reiger had landed on the open-air rooftop of this palace, entering a place that resembled a ritual site.
The walls around the altar were carved with murals, especially two opposite walls that displayed completely contrasting content.
The mural on the left depicted a sun radiating light in all directions, under which were multitudes of people reaching out toward the sun with their hands, in a posture of worship as if revering a deity or a hero.
On the right, the mural featured a moon also casting its glow all around, but there were no people, no creatures beneath it, just a lonely nocturnal landscape that looked sowhat desolate.
Reiger was standing right in front of the sun mural, with the moon mural facing him.
"Throne... It doesn’t seem to be it," Reiger murmured to himself, then spoke up lightly.
"Upper Moon One?"
As he spoke, a figure slowly erged from the shadow of the moon mural opposite Reiger.
He held a sword in his hand.
He was draped in a kimono.
With black long sideburns tied into a high ponytail, clad in black montsuki hakama, with red streaks on his left forehead and from his right jaw to his neck, his face shockingly had six eyes.
The six-eyed Samurai had appeared beneath the mural of the moon.
It was Upper Moon One, Kokushibou.
"...Is it you?"
Kokushibou, with all six eyes, looked at Reiger with a cold, murderous gaze.
"Is it you... who claims to be Tsukiguni Yoriichi...?"
The strongest of the Upper Moons, upon making his appearance, asked such a question.
"Is there a problem?" Reiger also looked at him, his expression unflappable, "Or do you think I’m not worthy?"
"..."
Kokushibou did not answer the question, but slowly drew the sword from his waist.
It was a frightening sword with eyes on its hilt.
After drawing such a sword, Kokushibou said.
"Whether I’m worthy or not... let try and see..."
With those words, Kokushibou suddenly vanished from the spot.
"Breath of the Moon—"
Like the bright moon parting the dark clouds, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Reiger.
"First Form: Dark Moon, Palace of the Evening."
This was an Iai strike.
The speed was so fast that one couldn’t see the blade itself, but on the trajectory of the slash, crescent moon shapes were left behind.
The blade, like a moon contending with the sun for brilliance, carried a bone-chilling coldness as it slashed towards Reiger’s neck.
"Clink!"
The next mont, the sword’s blade that carried countless crescents was blocked by two fingers and pinched at the fingertips.
"Huh?"
Kokushibou slightly narrowed his six eyes.
"You blocked it so easily?"
Instead of answering, Reiger retorted with a question of his own, unmoved, "Is that supposed to be difficult?" Reiger spoke with undisturbed calm, "Such a probing attack can be easily blocked by so of the current Pillars too. If you really want to be unable to block, you’ll need to show so real skill."
Saying so, Reiger relaxed the fingers that pinched the blade.
Then, he suddenly exploded into action, kicking out fiercely at Kokushibou’s chest.
"Thud!"
In the dull thud, Reiger’s sudden powerful kick landed on Kokushibou’s tily raised sword, unleashing incredible force that sent the Upper Moon flying backward, his feet dragging violently over the ground as he retreated a considerable distance.
Reiger’s kick had sent Kokushibou flying back in front of the moon mural, returning him to his original place.
Kokushibou stared at his sword-holding hand, which was trembling slightly.
One could imagine just how much power Reiger had unleashed with that kick.
"Impressive strength," Kokushibou said gravely, "a re human... to have such formidable power... I see... no wonder the forr Upper Moon Five and forr Upper Moon Six died at your hands..."
As he spoke, Kokushibou’s six eyes conveyed not acceptance, but an even more indelible emotion.
It was as if the being standing before him wasn’t Reiger, but sothing else entirely.
"This monstrous, unhuman strength... indeed, it does sowhat resemble him..."
Kokushibou spoke coldly.
"But I must say... you are not worthy of using that na... even if you have learned the Breath of the Sun from sowhere..."
Upon hearing this, Reiger laughed.
"That’s pretty ironic coming from you," Reiger said to Kokushibou, "At least soone is using that na. Unlike you, you’ve abandoned your own na, completely succumbed to this hideous form."
Kokushibou narrowed his eyes again, releasing an even denser murderous aura.
"...You know about my affairs?"
Kokushibou asked in a deep voice.
And of course, the answer was yes.
"Many who understand the history of the Demon Slaying Corps during the Sengoku period know of Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s existence. What they don’t know is that Tsukiguni Yoriichi actually had an older brother."
Reiger’s voice rose slowly.
"He was once a Swordsman who was endowed with great expectations, longing to beco a strong Samurai."
"He was once more beloved than his own brother, seen by their father as the sole heir to the Family Head, the pride of heaven."
"Because his brother was born with strange markings on his forehead, and nearly shunned by their family, he received all the love and upbringing that should have belonged to his brother."
"But there was one thing he could never match his brother in, no matter what."
"That was the talent in swordsmanship."
Reiger’s words made Kokushibou’s grip on his sword slowly tighten.
Yet Reiger, seemingly oblivious to all this, continued speaking.
"Like his brother, he too joined the Demon Slaying Corps and beca a Ghost Hunter within it."
"In order to surpass his brother, he continuously honed his skills until he not only awakened his markings but also awakened to a transparent world, stepping into the Supre Domain that every martial artist dread of, becoming one of the strongest entities in the Demon Slaying Corps."
"However, he could never surpass his own brother, forever only able to gaze at his brother’s brilliant achievents and incomparable natural talent."
This was the story of Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s brother—a man who yearned for strength and tirelessly honed himself, yet felt intense jealousy due to never being able to equal his prodigiously talented brother.
"This is the man’s na—Tsugikuni Michikatsu," Reiger said to Kokushibou.
"How does it feel hearing your discarded na after such a long ti?"
Those words made Kokushibou close his eyes.
After a long while, he reopened them.
"If it is a na I’ve already discarded... what is there to cling to...?" Kokushibou spoke indifferently, "Tsugikuni Michikatsu has long died... The one that exists here is only Upper Moon One, Kokushibou... nothing more... nothing less..."
"You make it sound so easy," Reiger said without any sentint, "You’ve simply caused your brother a great deal of misery."
Back then, the reasons Tsukiguni Yoriichi was expelled from the Demon Slaying Corps and even asked to commit seppuku were threefold.
One was for letting Kibutsuji Muzan escape.
Another was for deliberately sparing the demon, Tamayo.
And the third was for aiding Kibutsuji Muzan, who belonged to the Demon Slaying Corps and murdered the then Family Head.
Any one of these three matters, if placed on anyone, would be an unforgivable sin.
Just like Zenitsu’s master, the forr Sound Pillar, who simply committed suicide because a disciple had beco a demon. Tanjirou was also nearly forced to commit seppuku for harboring his demon sister.
And when all three incidents were attributed to one person, even though this person was almost a myth, Tsukiguni Yoriichi, he was eventually expelled from the Demon Slaying Corps.
The betrayal of Tsugikuni Michikatsu can be said to be the final straw in this judgnt.
If it hadn’t been for this, for the murder of the Family Head, Tsukiguni Yoriichi, with his contributions and abilities, might not have been expelled from the Demon Slaying Corps.
Because even the respected lord was killed by Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s brother, the mbers of the Demon Slaying Corps fell into a grief they could not extricate themselves from, leaving no room for leniency.
When Reiger said that Kokushibou had brought misery upon Tsukiguni Yoriichi, he was not speaking carelessly.
However, the person himself obviously did not think so.
"You... what would you know...?"
Kokushibou spoke in a low voice.
"Can you understand the feeling of never being able to catch up with soone by your side no matter what...?"
"Can you understand the sensation of desperately training but never being able to match soone else’s casual attempt...?"
"Can you understand... when everything becos futile... and even the right to strive is taken away from you...?"
Kokushibou’s chest began to heave, and his eyes, staring at Reiger, reddened with bloodshot lines.
"You wouldn’t understand... because you and Tsukiguni Yoriichi are the sa... all favored by heaven..."
Kokushibou indeed envied Tsukiguni Yoriichi, his own brother.
Due to this envy, he even disliked Tsukiguni Yoriichi, to the extent of feeling an unbearable annoyance whenever he thought of him.
His dream was to beco a strong Swordsman, yet this dream was effortlessly achieved by his younger brother, who had been overlooked and scorned from childhood. How could others understand this disparity?
If it were just that, Kokushibou would not have fallen into the state of becoming a demon, betraying the Demon Slaying Corps, and killing the Family Head.
The fundantal reason Kokushibou decided to beco a demon was the markings.
He had awakened the markings.
The pattern on his forehead and neck was indicative of the markings.
When he learned that Swordsn with markings die before the age of 25, the first emotion Kokushibou felt was unwillingness.
Unwilling that he no longer had ti to train.
Unwilling that he no longer had the chance to surpass that person.
Thus, in order to gain eternal ti to refine his martial skills, Kokushibou accepted Kibutsuji Muzan’s invitation, beca a demon, and decapitated the head of the current Ubuyashiki Family Head.
Even more so, Kokushibou participated in and assisted with Kibutsuji Muzan’s subsequent extermination campaign against the users of the Breath of the Sun technique.
"Since you’ve used his na... used his breathing technique... then you’d better be prepared..."
Kokushibou released an ominous aura.
"I... must kill you here..."
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