NOVEL WEB Chapter 25: Upper Moon 6, II
It was Nameless...
Naraka's breath caught in his throat, and his eyes widened in disbelief. He stood frozen, unable to comprehend what he was seeing...
A young man with pale skin and a unique uneven eye color— his left eye is turquoise, while his right eye is yellow. He has straight-edged raven-black hair. He has bandages completely wrapped around his lower face, like how Obanai did. He looks almost identical, but he is way taller and more muscular than Obanai.
Rinka stirred, her eyelids fluttering as she regained consciousness. Slowly, her vision focused, and the world around her began to sharpen. The first thing she saw was Nameless, his face inches from hers, his strong arms cradling her securely.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Her breath hitched, and she felt a warmth spread across her cheeks. Her face flushed an unmistakable shade of red, heat flooding her as the reality of the moment set in.
"N-Nameless-kun..."
With careful, deliberate movements, Nameless lowered her to the ground, his touch gentle but sure. Even as her feet touched the earth, she could still feel the lingering warmth of his embrace.
Rinka's eyes stayed on him, her heart pounding in her chest, her breath quickening as she watched him rise to his full height.
His back was to her now, his focus shifting entirely to Naraka.
Naraka is standing completely stunned, unable to think straight.
"... Am I hallucinating..? Is it Jigen's trick?.. Is fate playing a game with me?.."
Naraka stays silent, still staring at Nameless, but he can't say anything. "Why..? Why is it happening? Why!!!? It's been over decades... I am now grown up man... No, A DEMON!!! But I feel like I want to cry... If you were with me, I wouldn't become a demon... IGURO OBANAI!!!"
...
Rinka wraps Nameless's right arm and says in a concerned tone, "W-Where is everyone?"
"I don't think they will arrive and help us. Something strange happened with Yamamoto... I can't tell you here..."
He takes a few steps toward Naraka, his voice serious and calm, "Upper Moon 6, huh? Why didn't you attack me and kill me instantly?"
Rinka shouts, "Please, be careful!"
Naraka asks calmly, "What's beneath your mask?". He thinks, "I am the only one who knows what was inside Iguro's mask. If I'm not wrong, his mouth must also be slit-like Iguro's."
"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSI—"
But before Nameless could even finish his sentence, Naraka lunged forward with lightning speed, his scythe flashing through the air. In one swift motion, his scythe sliced cleanly through the bandages covering Nameless's lower face, the cloth fluttering to the ground in tatters.
Rinka gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.
Beneath the mask, Nameless's face was marred by a grotesque, jagged wound-a mouth that had been horribly slit from ear to ear, much like Obanai Iguro's.
Rinka's body is trembling in horror, her eyes widened. "W-What... What's that..?!"
"I-I'm sorry... Kumagami-San... I didn't want you to know this truth. I didn't want to scare you... to disappoint you... to make you hate me... Please, try to understand me... I can't explain you right now... This isn't a good time..."
Without waiting for her response, Nameless lunges at Naraka in a swift motion.
Naraka immediately swings his scythe in a horizontal arc at him, splitting him in two.
It was just an afterimage.
"Huh?!"
...
SERPENT BREATHING, 2ND FORM: VENOM FANGS OF THE NARROW HEAD
In the blink of an eye, Nameless instantly appears behind him, his body floating upward down in the air. He is just a few inches from beheading Naraka.
...
">———SERPENT BREATHING, 1ST FORM: WINDING SERPENT SLASH———<"
In a blur of motion, Naraka turns back and attacks him in a horizontal slash. His serpent breathing resembled a dragon.
"SERPENT BREATHING?!!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.
The clash between the giant serpent and the dragon destroys the entire alleyway. The walls and wooden houses collapsed, debris raining down and dust filled the entire surroundings.
"If I'm not wrong, his skills have already reached the hashira level. His speed is matching mine, and his reflexes are on par with me. But compared to me and that girl, his strength is way inferior."
The air around them crackled with tension as Nameless and Naraka clashed again, their weapons colliding in a flurry of strikes too fast for the eye to follow. Each blow was more powerful than the last, the sound of their blades meeting and ringing out like thunder.
The sheer speed of their movements tore through the fabric of the night, creating shockwaves that shattered windows and ripped through the narrow alleys, reducing them to rubble.
The sonic boom of their strikes breaking the sound barrier—Mach 512... Mach 1024... Mach 2048... Mach 16,384...
From the sidelines, Rinka watched in horror, her heart pounding in her chest. But what terrified her more was the sight of Nameless—his body covered in fresh wounds, blood seeping through the fabric of his clothes, yet he never faltered.
Without thinking, Rinka's feet moved. She sprinted toward the battlefield.
In an instant, Rinka manages to catch their speed.
She is barely able to dodge attacks coming from Naraka, but Nameless shields her from every attack.
"Tch... They're overpowering me! I am clearly stronger than both of them even together, but their teamwork... It's amazing!" thinks Naraka.
Rinka's movements become more elegant and flexible with each passing moment.
"At this point, her movements are inhuman. A good combination of strength and speed..." he thinks again.
"LOVE BREATHING, 1ST FORM: SHIVERS OF FIRST LOVE"
SERPENT BREATHING, 4TH FORM: TWIN-HEADED REPTILE
...
">———SERPENT BREATHING, 3RD FORM: COIL CHOKE———<"
A giant serpent combined with a love aura strikes a serpent-like dragon.
...
Naraka, while still in mid-air, his arm gets sliced in the clash. His severed arm falls to the ground as blood sprays through the air.
"Now's our chance," says Nameless.
They both lunge simultaneously at Naraka from either side. They're just a few inches from slicing his head.
"Finally!!!" Rinka sighs.
...
But then... Naraka's lips curled into a chilling grin.
In a blur, his severed arm regenerated with sickening speed, the flesh twisting and forming before their very eyes. With an almost casual motion, he caught Nameless's blade with his bare hand, the force of the strike halted as if it were nothing.
On the other side, Rinka's blade met Naraka's scythe, the sharp clang of metal-on-metal ringing out as her attack was effortlessly blocked.
"WHAT?!! HOW?!!" they both shouted.
He throws them both back with an overwhelming force, sending them flying through the air like ragdolls.
Nameless slammed into the ground with a sickening thud, the impact sending tremors through the earth beneath him. Rinka crashed into a nearby house.
As they staggered to their feet, their eyes were drawn to Naraka.
His black-red kimono hung in tatters, ripped apart by the force of their previous attacks, revealing his bare torso. He stood there, his body exuding a terrifying aura of strength.
Naraka looks more monstrous than ever.
———————————————————————
One year after Obanai Iguro's death.
The battlefield was littered with the bodies of demon slayers. Blood soaked the earth, a sea of the fallen. Akaza, Upper Moon 1, stood among the carnage, his hands dripping with blood.
A 14-year-old Naraka, trembling, faced him. His eyes filled with fury and revenge.
"Why did you kill him?!" Naraka screamed, punching Akaza with all his might. But Akaza didn't even flinch. The strike meant nothing.
"WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?!! WHY?!!" he screams.
He tries to pluck Akaza's eyes with his katana but his katana breaks, unable to pierce Akaza's durable eyes.
Desperation turned to madness as he bit into Akaza's neck, only for his teeth to break.
"I don't know what you're saying... What's your name?" asks Akaza calmly.
Naraka gasps loudly, "WHY DID YOU KILL THE HASHIRAS IN THE INFINITY CASTLE?!!"
He falls to his knees, unable to move anymore.
"I see... I know what you're saying. And you're pretty weak..." Akaza says calmly, "But despite that, I wanna turn you into a demon. You'll become a strong demon, possibly an upper-rank demon. We will train for eternity and get stronger, what do you think about it?"
Akaza remembers how he underestimated Tanjiro for being weak, but it was his biggest mistake.
He extends his hand towards Naraka.
"Become a demon. Escape this suffering."
Naraka looks at Akaza's eyes. After staring for some time, he gives his hand to him, seeking to end his pain.
…
Since that moment, Naraka was lost.
———————————————————————
Now, in the present.
Nameless and Rinka lunged at Naraka, but he slipped between their strikes with inhuman agility. In a blink, he flipped mid-air, driving his foot into Nameless's face and sending him staggering back. His scythe clashed violently with Rinka's whip-katana, sparks flying.
"He's stronger with martial arts and swordsmanship..." Nameless thought, blood dripping from his nose.
Naraka's movements became a blur of defense, blocking every strike with ease. Neither could land a single blow. His attacks were relentless.
Rinka is unable to match their skills. She falls to his knees and watches as Nameless is still fighting with Naraka, heavily injured while fighting him.
She holds her hands, closes her eyes, and starts praying, "Oh, God... Please... save Nameless-kun..!"
...
"I can't keep up anymore... He's stronger... I am not sure how much I can take it anymore..." Nameless thought, blood seeping from his wounds, "But that's all I want..."
"I am done now... I want nothing... Because..." thinks Naraka.
They both surged forward, a final, desperate clash.
"THIS IS MY LAST BATTLE AFTERALL!!!" they both thought.
Naraka's giant scythe began to glow with a terrifying radiance, crackling with raw energy. The air around it distorted, humming with the sheer power it held.
Nameless's eyes widened, frozen in place.
And then...
Everything exploded.
A deafening roar echoed through the district as Naraka unleashed his attack. The ground beneath them cracked, splitting in half as an overwhelming wave of energy ripped through the landscape. Buildings were cleaved apart like paper. The entire district fell into chaos, engulfed in dust and debris.
Rinka, barely alive, scrambled for cover, her heart pounding. The world around her was destroyed and ruined. She held her breath, waiting for the dust to settle.
As the thick cloud of dust began to fade, her vision slowly cleared. Her heart skipped a beat.
Through the haze, she saw Nameless and Naraka— standing in front of each other. Silent, unmoving.
For a moment, the world stood still.
Naraka, staggering, had lost both arms. Blood is dripping from his mangled body.
But then...
Nameless collapsed. His torso was torn apart by Naraka's final strike, the life draining from him. Blood poured from his mouth and chest. His breathing faltered.
His eyes slowly closed.
His heartbeat stopped.
Rinka's breath caught in her throat. "NAMELESS-KUN!!!"
A surge of despair and fury overwhelmed her. In an instant, she appeared behind Naraka, who was caught off-guard, his strength faltering.
Without hesitation, she wrapped her whip-katana around his neck, pulling with everything she had. With a chilling snap, his head fell to the ground, the whip cutting through his once-impenetrable neck.
But as Naraka's headless body stood there, motionless, blood pooling at his feet, a wave of hollow emptiness swept over her.
As Naraka's head hit the ground with a dull thud, his body remained standing, frozen in place, a grim monument to the battle that had just ended. The silence was suffocating.
Rinka dropped her whip-katana, her hands trembling as exhaustion and shock set in.
Her gaze shifted to Nameless.
He lay there, lifeless, his body torn and broken, his face pale and still. The sight sent a sharp, unbearable pain through her heart. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed beside him, her breath ragged as she shook him gently.
"Please..." she whispered, her voice cracking. "Wake up..."
But he didn't move.
Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it as if somehow that could bring him back. His skin was cold. His chest didn't rise or fall.