Chapter 219: 219, have a match with me.
At this time, there was about half a month left until the end of Reiger’s current Dimensional Travel.
Having left the Swordsmith Village and said farewell to all the Demon Slayer Corps and acquaintances, Reiger had completed all he could do.
There were no more demons for him to slay, and his ability level had reached the limit of Lv.5, the all-powerful SSS stage; it was difficult for him to grow any further.
Thus, for this half-month, Reiger only planned to properly tour this world, considering it a time to relax for himself.
After arriving in this world, he first endured three months refining the evolution of the Breath of the Sun and then spent another two months continuously training the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps; indeed, he had never really rested.
It was the same in the Earth Mistake World; for a hundred consecutive days, he had struggled in the underground city without much rest.
Even on the Akasha Continent, he was honing his swordsmanship and training himself, almost never stopping.
And once this Dimensional Travel was over and he returned to his original world, Reiger felt he would probably have to run around for some matters again.
In this case, the remaining half month’s time of Dimensional Travel was likely his rare chance to relax.
With such a rare opportunity, Reiger didn’t insist on doing anything more, but simply wanted to enjoy a good tour before bidding this world a final farewell after half a month.
However, as he made this plan, a sound rang by his ear at night.
"Ding-a-ling—"
This was the familiar sound of wind chimes.
When such a sound chimed, Reiger, who had already fallen asleep, found himself in a place he had visited once before.
It was the summit of a high mountain that faced the sun, soaring into the clouds and making the sun seem very close, as if within arm’s reach.
"Another dream?"
Reiger paused.
Until...
"This is the mountain closest to the sun that I saw during my lifetime, and my favorite place."
Accompanied by those words, a figure emerged as if walking out from the sun, approaching from the front.
He had black hair with red tips, tied in a high ponytail, red irises in his eyes, wore a yellow garment with a red haori, a flame pattern on his forehead, and carried a sword at his waist.
This image, this appearance, Reiger had seen it before.
"Tsukiguni Yoriichi..."
Yes.
This person was Tsukiguni Yoriichi.
"Hello," Tsukiguni Yoriichi greeted Reiger with a Samurai bow, a calm expression on his face. "This is our first time speaking face-to-face, isn’t it?"
Upon hearing this, Reiger lightly smiled.
"It can’t be helped," Reiger said. "Last time I was here, you simply demonstrated the Breath of the Sun to me unilaterally, then left, without any chance for conversation, right?"
Rather, it was strange that the two of them could converse like this.
After all, Yoriichi was a person from the Warring States period, a predecessor who had died hundreds of years ago.
Him appearing in someone’s dream, talking to them, or even teaching his created Breath of the Sun to someone else—if Reiger mentioned this, he would be considered insane without doubt.
But Reiger knew that the Yoriichi before him was neither a figment of his imagination nor a false character that appeared only in dreams, but truly the real Yoriichi himself.
Because in this world, Hell indeed existed; Heaven was suspected to exist too, and after people died, they could reincarnate, and their souls could remain in this world, not disappearing directly.
In the original story, Tanjirou was encouraged and awakened by his long-dead family members more than once in near-death crises, and many important characters, when they died, could see their deceased relatives and friends, joining them in going to either Heaven or Hell.
Knowing this, Reiger never doubted the Yoriichi he saw in his dreams was a character of fantasy.
Therefore, the Yoriichi before him was real, the spirit of the brilliant Sun Swordsman from the Warring States period that remained in this world after his death.
More than five months ago, this person had made use of the Blood Demon Art of Nightmare, the Lower Rank One, to make himself sleep and taught Reiger his Breath of the Sun during the dream.
Now, more than five months later, this person had once again entered Reiger’s dreams to meet him.
"I want to thank you," Yoriichi looked at Reiger, speaking earnestly. "I just wanted to try, and I didn’t expect you would really defeat Kibutsuji Muzan, filling the regret I left in my lifetime. I’m truly grateful."
This was indeed an unexpected event for Yoriichi.
Originally, he had never intended for Reiger to go and defeat Kibutsuji Muzan.
In life, Yoriichi was very laissez-faire, never deliberately striving for anything.
If it had not been for his elder brother’s love of swordsmanship and desire to become a great Swordsman, Yoriichi would never have picked up the sword.
If it had not been for his wife being killed by a demon, he would never have joined the Demon Slayer Corps and embarked on the path of demon hunting.
His patterns were natural from birth, and he had the ability of Dimensional Travel as a child. He instinctively understood the principles of breath techniques without having to deliberately create or pursue them. Yet, through a series of coincidences and errors, he became a Swordsman who was as powerful as a demon in the eyes of others, feared even by Kibutsuji Muzan.
Such was Tsukiguni Yoriichi, who never considered passing down the Sun Breathing before he died.
He believed that whether it was himself or anyone else, everyone was just a minor character in the long history of mankind, not so grand at all. He believed that even if he did not deliberately pass down his teachings, someone would eventually reach the same realm as he did.
"All roads lead to Rome,"
This was a phrase Tsukiguni Yoriichi often mentioned in his lifetime, meaning that all who reach the pinnacle of their pursuits will eventually arrive at the same endpoint.
Hence, in the view of Tsukiguni Yoriichi, no matter how much the future eras may change, or how varied the paths taken in the process, everyone will still arrive at the same endpoint eventually.
With this in mind, there was no need to worry too much; he believed in letting nature take its course, simply waiting for the day when life’s curtain would fall.
This was Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s philosophy of life.
Therefore, even if no one could learn his Sun Breathing technique, Tsukiguni Yoriichi was never worried that his breathing technique might be lost to history. To him, it didn’t matter if it were lost or not, as he didn’t consider his Sun Breathing technique that magnificent.
If it weren’t for the plea of the ancestor of the Kamado family who requested a demonstration of Sun Breathing, Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s technique could have been truly lost to time.
A man like Tsukiguni Yoriichi should not have appeared like this after hundreds of years, passing on his Sun Breathing to others and interfering with the world of the living.
However, when Tanjirou encountered Reiger on the Infinite Train, and Reiger demonstrated his terrifying talent and potential, nearly mastering the Breath of Flames technique after simply observing Rengoku Kyoujurou breathe, Tsukiguni Yoriichi eventually decided to act.
"I am a man who is good for nothing."
Tsukiguni Yoriichi, with his eyelids lowered, said this to Reiger.
"In my life, I failed to protect everything that I cherished and did not fulfill the roles I ought to have. Despite possibly being born strong for the sole purpose of defeating Kibutsuji Muzan, I messed up at the critical moment."
"Had I been able to slay Kibutsuji Muzan at that time, the tragedies of the following centuries would not have occurred. My elder brother would not have fallen into demonhood, and the Ubuyashiki head of that time wouldn’t have had to die, not to mention the people who knew about Sun Breathing. They were all targeted and killed by Kibutsuji Muzan out of vengeance against me."
"Everyone keeps saying that I am powerful, even treating me like a divine being, yet I couldn’t achieve this one thing that absolutely needed to be done. Someone like me, good for nothing, doesn’t deserve such concern from future generations."
Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s sole and greatest regret in life was his failure to kill Kibutsuji Muzan.
Therefore, upon seeing Reiger, he finally decided not to stand idly by, to not go with the flow, and not to let nature take its course but to take a gamble.
The reason he appeared to Reiger in a dream and taught him Sun Breathing was precisely because of this intention.
As it turned out, he bet correctly.
"You are someone more capable than me," Tsukiguni Yoriichi said to Reiger with a slight bow. "You have accomplished the mission I had abandoned and took a gamble on, you achieved what I could not."
"I am grateful that at that time, I could entrust everything to you."
"So, before I leave, I want to thank you no matter what."
Hearing Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s words, Reiger nodded.
"So you’re leaving, then?"
Reiger asked.
"Yes," a soft smile appeared on Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s calm face, "Having lingered in this world for hundreds of years due to a slight obsession, it’s now time for me to embark on my journey."
In this world, while souls can linger and not pass away, they are just observers of this world, and having conversations like this in dreams is the only thing they can do.
The dead should not continue to stay in this world but should enter the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn.
Tsukiguni Yoriichi’s reluctance to leave previously was due to his regrets and obsessions.
But now that his regrets and obsessions had vanished.
It was time for him to move on to the next stage of life.
If it weren’t for Reiger, Tsukiguni Yoriichi might have departed long ago.
Now, he had come to say goodbye.
"Is that so?" Reiger pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "Before you go, may I ask a favor of you?"
The question caught Tsukiguni Yoriichi off guard.
"A favor from me?" Tsukiguni Yoriichi replied somewhat puzzled, "Although I’d like to agree right away, I’m but a man who has been long dead, what help could I possibly offer you?"
Reiger smiled slightly.
"Don’t worry, it’s something simple, and it can be done right here."
As he said this, Reiger extended a hand.
On his hand, the Sun Wheel Blade named Hermit appeared without warning.
"Could I ask you to have a match with me?"
This was Reiger’s request.