Chapter 66: Return

"Buzzzzzz..." The roar of the machine gun echoed through the snowy field. Hikigaya Hachiman pulled the trigger, controlling the Gatling gun with both hands as he chased Muzan Kibutsuji, forcing him to scatter wildly. "Damn it, what the hell is that thing?!" Muzan glared with an ashen face at the Gatling gun in Hachiman's hands not far away. At first, he had taken the weapon lightly, but after just a few seconds of it spraying countless bullets and turning one of his hands into minced meat, he no longer wanted any part of his body to come near that line of fire. "Just as I thought..." In stark contrast to Muzan's grave demeanor, Hachiman, who was tasked with blocking Muzan's pursuit, appeared exceptionally relaxed. Though after shredding one of Muzan's arms, the bullets from the Gatling gun no longer touched Muzan. But it was clear that Muzan had been scared out of his wits by the weapon. If nothing unexpected happened, their stalemate would continue until sunrise, at which point Muzan would have no choice but to retreat... In fact, Muzan's withdrawal came earlier than Hachiman expected. Seeing the horizon beginning to brighten with a faint fish-white glow, Muzan understood it was impossible to break past Hachiman's blockade and continue pursuing Tanjiro Kamado's family, so he decisively chose to retreat. But before leaving, Muzan glared at Hachiman viciously — as if to deeply engrave in his memory the human who had brought him countless humiliations. Hachiman paid no mind to Muzan's hateful gaze. After all, once this mission was over, he would be returning to his own world. Was Muzan really going to cross worlds to chase him down? "Support mission complete. Reward: 10,000 spirit coins." Soon after Muzan disappeared into the snowy wilderness, the system's mechanical voice echoed in Hachiman's mind. "I'm rich!" Seeing the suddenly five-digit spirit coin count on his panel, that was Hachiman's first reaction. Then the next question popped up: "How am I supposed to spend this huge sum?" Staring at his status panel, Hachiman suddenly felt the troubles of having too much money. Name: Hikigaya Hachiman Age: 17 Profession: Special-Grade Exorcist Spirit Power: 11/110 (Basic cultivation method) Skills: Spirit Flow Technique (Beginner), Mother's Rosario (Intermediate), Breath of the Sun (Advanced), Guard (Intermediate) Equipment: Intermediate Demon-slayer Blade, Gatling Machine Gun (infinite bullets), Highly Concentrated Incendiary Bombs (4), High-Explosive Grenades (3) Spirit Coins: 10,000 "I should exchange some skills, and it's time to upgrade my Demon-slayer Blade..." Looking at his suddenly luxurious panel, Hachiman thought carefully and decided to upgrade his Demon-slayer Blade from intermediate to advanced. "Upgrade Intermediate Demon-slayer Blade to Advanced Demon-slayer Blade, cost: 5,000 spirit coins. Confirm?" "Confirm!" After Hachiman nodded, the blade that had been glowing blue suddenly emitted azure flames on its surface. "Next, it won't turn green, right?" Watching the blue flames flicker on the blade, Hachiman boldly guessed. But the thought of fighting evil spirits with a green-glowing weapon in hand... that image just felt off. "Hopefully that's just me overthinking." Shaking his head to dismiss the unreliable thought, Hachiman carefully examined the upgraded blade. After another upgrade, he could clearly feel the sharpness radiating from the blade. Holding it, Hachiman suddenly thought that in this world, there was nothing that couldn't be cut. Then... Whoosh! With a casual swing, the blade's surface condensed a blue light, which turned into an arc slicing into the distance. Is that sword energy? Intrigued by this attack from a simple swing, Hachiman grew interested. "Probably consumed about 1 point of spirit power?" Soon, through his own tests, Hachiman estimated the sword energy's exact cost. In his subjective understanding, he could expend one spirit point to channel into the blade and release sword energy to attack distant enemies. Of course, one spirit point was just the base cost. The more spirit power he used, the stronger the sword energy attack. "This makes up for my lack of ranged attacks." After testing, Hachiman was very satisfied with the new ability of his Demon-slayer Blade. "System, send me back now!" Looking at the remaining 5,000 spirit coins, Hachiman decided to save some for emergencies. He called out to the intelligent system in his mind, wanting to return to his own world. "...Host, I realize how foolish I've been..." Hearing Hachiman's call, the system's voice sounded a bit weary in his mind. "What's wrong?" It was the first time Hachiman heard the system sound so down. "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have totally forgotten I can use modern weapons!" The system lamented. Why hadn't it thought of using modern weapons against Muzan earlier? There was no need for super powerful weapons—just like Hachiman, if Tanjiro Kamado exchanged for a Gatling gun with infinite bullets, gun in left hand, sword in right, cigarette in mouth, sunglasses on face, he could just pick a sunny day and storm Muzan's lair! "You can use them now, it's not too late. Alright, send me back quickly..." Hachiman had no comforting words for this dumb system and urged it to send him back to his original world quickly. "Okay, got it..." The system, still somewhat skeptical, responded with low enthusiasm and summoned the spatial portal again. "Tell your current host I wish them luck!" Seeing the familiar black vortex, Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief. After reminding the system, he eagerly stepped into the portal. Passing through the dark, long spatial tunnel, Hachiman successfully returned to his original world. "Time really hasn't changed..." Taking out his phone and seeing the time was exactly the same as before, Hachiman was a bit amazed. Then his attention was drawn to his surroundings. "Well, I knew there would be some error in the teleport, but there was no need to send me directly into a girl's room, right?" Looking around the room filled with feminine items, Hachiman's face showed utter helplessness. After a thrilling battle against the demon king, was he now about to experience the ordeal of escaping alive?