Isekai Adventure in the Dimensional Cube

The red glow of the lotus fire bloomed in the darkness, indeed giving off the feeling that it dispelled not only the darkness but also the evil, purifying everything.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya's eyes, watching the red lotus fire, were particularly eager, undistracted even by his own residence being shattered to pieces.

Of course, Ubuyashiki Kagaya had also noticed the blade that Reiger had drawn at some point.

"A black blade?"

Looking at the black blade emitting heat that twisted the air around it, Ubuyashiki Kagaya pondered thoughtfully.

"Is that the Sun Wheel Blade forged from a vast collection of crimson iron sand and crimson ore that Tsukiguni Yoriichi had Kyoujurou gather?"

Indeed, there was an indescribable force emanating from the blade.

Although he didn't know how such a blade had been forged by Reiger, this did not hinder Ubuyashiki Kagaya's joy.

Reiger, already powerful, now possessed a Sun Wheel Blade of extraordinary might, so a transformation in strength was only natural.

Now, Ubuyashiki Kagaya only hoped that Reiger would become even more formidable, possibly even surpassing that great Swordsman of the warring states era, the true Tsukiguni Yoriichi.

Only then could Ubuyashiki's long-held wish have a greater chance of fulfillment.

As for Reiger, he stepped through the flames and landed back in the yard, holding his Sun Wheel Blade, with a slight frown on his face.

"What is it?"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya asked, seeing this scene.

"No, it's nothing," Reiger shook his head and said, "It looks like things are far from over."

His words left Ubuyashiki Kagaya briefly stunned.

Until the next second...

"Bang!"

A figure suddenly fell from the sky into the half-ruined estate with a dull thud.

"Cough cough..."

The Swordsman, holding a red-bladed Sun Wheel Blade and clad in a flaming kimono, coughed up blood while struggling to rise.

Seeing this, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's expression changed immediately.

"Kyoujurou!"

The person was none other than Rengoku Kyoujurou.

"My lord..."

Rengoku Kyoujurou was covered in scars, with wounds all over from sharp weapons and claws, his body emitting smoke as if burnt, looking extremely wretched.

"I'm glad you're alright..."

Even with his body riddled with injuries and seeming to be on the brink of collapse any moment, Rengoku Kyoujurou still showed a relieved expression upon seeing Ubuyashiki Kagaya, obviously concerned for Kagaya's safety all along.

Reiger naturally saw Rengoku Kyoujurou in such a dire state.

Yet, he continued to stare into the sky, his gaze so fixed that even Ubuyashiki Kagaya realized something and forcefully looked up as well.

And so, Ubuyashiki Kagaya saw it.

He saw the figures.

"What a lucky guy, still not dead after that, it's infuriating."

This was a demon wearing a kimono, with "Wrath" inscribed on his tongue, horns on his head, an extremely irritable tone, and a face that seemed to be perpetually angry, holding a shakujo staff.

The shakujo staff-wielding demon descended from mid-air and landed on the ruined wall, looking down at Rengoku Kyoujurou with a vicious gaze.

"Ah, blowing someone to a place like this, how amusing."

A demon identical to the shakujo staff-wielding one but dressed like a half-naked mountain priest, with "Joy" inscribed on his tongue and holding a fan, also appeared in the yard.

The fan-wielding demon, unlike the perpetually angry shakujo staff-wielding one, had a smiling demeanor, giving off the impression of a foolish idiot who was always laughing, making one doubt whether he had wandered onto a battlefield by mistake.

"Hahaha, it seems we have new toys to play with, huh."

This was another demon identical to the staff and fan wielders, with wings on his back, the lower body of a bird, claws for arms, and "Delight" inscribed on his tongue.

The half-bird demon was fluttering in the air, laughing heartily, displaying a frivolous, carefree attitude, appearing quite flippant.

"Is this the time to play? With our target right before us, you still fail to take this seriously, how sad."

The fourth demon, identical to the others, trailed a crossed spear and landed in the yard with the garb of a warrior and "Sorrow" inscribed on his tongue. He did not stand with the shakujo staff or fan-wielding demons but stood alone in a corner.

The cross spear-wielding demon was frowning with a gloomy look in his eyes, his face carrying an air of sadness. Rather than lamenting for the world, he seemed self-pitying, creating a stark contrast to the other demons.

These four distinctly individual demons had all appeared here at the same time, entering the grounds and coming before Reiger and Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya's face changed once again.

There was no choice.

The four distinctive demons, aside from their identical appearances and different garbs, shared another obvious feature.

Aside from the inscriptions on their tongues, their eyes bore characters too.

One eye had "Upper Rank" inscribed.

The other eye had "Four."

"They're all Upper Rank Four...?"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya couldn't help but be astounded.

It was then that Rengoku Kyoujurou, coughing up blood, spoke out.

"Be careful!"

Rengoku Kyoujurou yelled at the top of his lungs.

"These demons are the avatars of Upper Rank Four!"

...

Time rewound to several minutes earlier.

When Rengoku Kyoujurou hurriedly headed to the Ubuyashiki family residence and encountered the Half-Heavenly Dog on the way, he launched a surprise attack without hesitation, decapitating the demon with a single slash.

At that moment, Rengoku Kyoujurou was somewhat surprised.

"Could it be this easy?"

Rengoku Kyoujurou truly had not expected that he could behead the demon so effortlessly.

Although he didn't know who the demon was, the demon's eyes did not bear any numbers, and it seemed like a mere weakling, something quite normal for a demon at the hands of a Pillar-level swordsman to be beheaded in one stroke. However, Rengoku Kyoujurou was eighty percent sure that the demon was an Upper Moon.

Otherwise, how could it possibly have approached him silently and unnoticed?

If it were not for the fact that Rengoku Kyoujurou was in high-speed movement, and the demon, in trying to keep up with Rengoku Kyoujurou, accidentally made a bit of noise, it was possible that Rengoku Kyoujurou might not have detected the demon, not to mention any abnormalities.

Such ability was definitely not something an ordinary demon could possess.

Whether it was approaching a Pillar silently and undetected or keeping pace with him, both told Rengoku Kyoujurou that this demon was not simple.

That's why Rengoku Kyoujurou didn't hesitate to launch an attack on the Half-Heavenly Dog, because he was clear that if the opponent was an Upper Moon, there was a high chance he would die if he did not take the initiative to attack.

The brief clash with Upper Moon Three, Akaza, had left a profound impression in Rengoku Kyoujurou's heart, raising his vigilance and defensive mindset to their peak against the Upper Moon demons.

But now, he had easily decapitated the demon's head.

"Could I have guessed wrong?"

That's what Rengoku Kyoujurou thought.

However, the very next moment, Rengoku Kyoujurou completely dismissed that idea.

Half-Heavenly Dog, this demon indeed was an Upper Moon.

"Gurgle..."

Amid a ghastly sound, the decapitated body of the Half-Heavenly Dog didn't fall but instead, its entire body writhed and began to transform.

Not only the headless torso was writhing and changing, but even the severed head that Rengoku Kyoujurou chopped off and that was still flying in mid-air swelled and regenerated.

"...…!?"

Rengoku Kyoujurou's expression changed, and he swung his Sun Wheel Blade, now wrapped in flames, at the swelling head.

"Bang!"

The flames swept through, causing an explosion in mid-air.

But Rengoku Kyoujurou's strike not only failed to hit the swelling head, but it was also blocked by a folding fan.

"That was close, that was close, I almost got chopped again."

With this light and teasing laugh, the swelling flesh and blood finally took human form.

The Folding Fan Ghost, with "Pleasure" inscribed on its tongue, was born.

"Upper Moon Four...!"

Only then did Rengoku Kyoujurou finally see the number in the demon's eyes.

Upper Moon Four, ranked fourth among the Twelve Demon Moons, just one rank below Akaza, the Upper Moon Three whom he encountered during the Infinite Train incident.

Realizing he was facing a demon of this caliber, Rengoku Kyoujurou didn't think twice, gripped his Sun Wheel Blade, and prepared to slash at the Folding Fan Ghost's head once more.

But this time, Rengoku Kyoujurou failed.

"... How dare you turn your back on me? That really makes me angry!"

A voice brimming with rage and malevolence rose from behind Rengoku Kyoujurou.

"Clang!"

The next moment, a staff tapped on the ground, emitting a crisp sound and also stirring up a violent thunderstorm.

Thunder burst forth strikingly, hitting Rengoku Kyoujurou who was only an arm's length away.

"Ugh... aaahhh...!"

Rengoku Kyoujurou was suddenly subjected to an all-around thunder strike, his body scorched by the electricity, emitting smoke.

It was then that he realized the headless body of the Half-Heavenly Dog had finished its transformation, becoming a Staff Ghost that looked identical to the Folding Fan Ghost, dressed in the same kimono as the Half-Heavenly Dog.

This Staff Ghost, with "Wrath" inscribed on its tongue, also bore the numbers signifying Upper Moon Four in its eyes.

"Upper Moon Four... has two?"

No, it wasn't that there were two Upper Moon Fours, but that Upper Moon Four had become two.

The timid old demon, after being beheaded, had split into two distinct demons.

"Doppelgangers...!?"

Rengoku Kyoujurou realized this, and while enduring the severe pain of the lightning strike all over his body, he swung his blade as if discarding life and death.

"Flame Breathing・Second Form・Ascending Sky Weaving Flame!"

The Sun Wheel Blade, wrapped in flames, slashed upward from below, cutting both the Staff Ghost and the Folding Fan Ghost in half.

But, undoubtedly, this was a bad thing.

The bisected demons' flesh and blood once again inflated and expanded.

Before long, the Half-Bird Demon and the Cross Gun Ghost were born.

"This is really..."

Rengoku Kyoujurou tightened his grip on the sword handle.

The situation had undoubtedly become more severe.