From Demon Slayer to the Multiverse: The Ultimate Exploiter

"Hey, you guys from the Tokyo team! Dragging me into this mess—I won't let you off easily."

Oka Hachiro was a powerful yet solitary member of Gantz. He had no intention of helping the weaklings in his own team. His plan had been simple: stay hidden until Nurarihyon and the Tokyo team fought to mutual destruction, and then swoop in to finish off Nurarihyon in one decisive strike.

It was just like when he allowed the Great Tengu to beat a young member of the Tokyo team to the brink of death before stepping in to steal the kill.

From a distance, Tong Gu watched as Oka Hachiro, using the enhanced defensive capabilities of his Combat Suit, engaged Nurarihyon head-on. With a wry smile, he said,

"Okabahiro, you might not realize it, but I just saved your life."

As one of the strongest Gantz players in Osaka's team—possibly all of Japan—Oka Hachiro had earned the 100-point reward seven times. But he couldn't comprehend that this Nurarihyon seemed almost as if it were custom-designed to be his personal grim reaper.

The stronger Oka Hachiro was and the more he fought alone, the more Nurarihyon would tear him apart, piece by piece—until it finally ripped off his head.

---

At the center of the battlefield, Nurarihyon's twin bladed arms slashed wildly, its movements becoming faster and faster. Despite the blade-equipped Combat Suit's resistance, Oka Hachiro began to falter under the relentless assault. A sense of unease crept over him.

From his vantage point earlier, he had thought Nurarihyon's close combat abilities were nothing special. But now, face-to-face, he realized just how formidable it truly was.

Each time he managed to wound the monster, it would quickly regenerate. Worse, Oka Hachiro could feel that Nurarihyon was learning—rapidly.

Its twin-arm slashes now mirrored the techniques he had once adapted from table tennis.

It's getting stronger!

This chilling realization struck him, but his focus slipped for just a moment. In the next instant, Nurarihyon disappeared from his suit's display.

Tong Gu, watching from afar, caught everything clearly. Nurarihyon stomped the ground with its right foot, the force shattering the concrete. In a flash, it flanked Oka Hachiro, crouching slightly, its right arm drawn back at its left hip.

Tong Gu's eyes narrowed. That stance—

Sword Stance: Iai Slash!

"Fire!"

Tong Gu's urgent shout echoed distantly in Oka Hachiro's ears. But all he could feel was the cold, blade-like air slicing toward his back.

Pfft!

The Combat Suit exploded in a cloud of smoke, thick fumes billowing outward. Nurarihyon's blade-like arm halted mid-slash, just short of striking.

The rare Combat Suit split apart at the waist, falling away in fragments.

Nurarihyon trembled slightly, its body pausing for a moment. The bone wings on its back swelled, then burst apart. It turned, scanning for its enemy, but the faint crack of a rifle shot sounded again. This time, a triangular energy tether spiraled toward it from a distance. Annoyed, Nurarihyon slashed the tether apart with ease.

Thwack!

A blade pierced through the smoke, embedding itself squarely in Nurarihyon's chest.

The monster froze.

It was the human from inside the Combat Suit—still alive?

Oka Hachiro, wielding his nano-blade, drove it upward, skewering Nurarihyon through its torso.

From afar, the ground thundered as heavy footsteps approached. Oka Hachiro turned his head, horrified, to see the Tokyo team's swordsman racing toward them, his long blade trailing at his side. Each step covered dozens of meters, closing the distance in moments.

Whoosh!

The slender Nichirin blade arced through the air like a crescent moon.

Nurarihyon's arms were severed in an instant.

Oka Hachiro prepared to strike again, but a firm hand clamped onto his shoulder. With a single pull, he was lifted clean off the ground.

Tong Gu assessed the scene. Oka Hachiro had guts—despite losing the Combat Suit, he still dared to confront Nurarihyon. But the true showdown was just beginning.

His preparations were about to culminate in an all-out assault.

The earlier distraction shots from the X-Guns and teleport rifles had only been a feint. The real weapon was the Gravity Cannon.

---

From a partially-collapsed building, Hara Tetsuo planted his arm into the hefty Gravity Cannon, aiming it at the monstrous figure below.

Meanwhile, Kato Masaru held another Gravity Cannon, taking aim from a different vantage point.

Tong Gu, still clutching Oka Hachiro, sprinted up the side of a luxurious riverside hotel like a parkour athlete, using the walls as his path.

Behind them, Nurarihyon roared in fury. Twin beams of searing laser light erupted from its eyes, slicing through the hotel with ease. The destructive beams swept across the Osaka skyline, wreaking havoc on anyone caught in their path.

There was no telling how many civilians were being killed in the chaos. But this wasn't a battle Tong Gu could stop. He had only one goal: to hunt Nurarihyon.

A deep hum resonated as the Gravity Cannons fired.

Nurarihyon, just about to tear away another energy tether, was slammed back to the ground by an overwhelming force.

Boom!

The pavement shattered, forming a crater nearly eight meters wide.

The Gravity Cannons fired in relentless succession, pinning Nurarihyon down each time it tried to rise. Blood seeped from its body, pooling into a dark crimson puddle.

"Die, monster!"

"Just die already!"

Any philosophical debates—whether Nurarihyon had once been revered as a guest deity, or why humans and these creatures were locked in such brutal conflict—were meaningless now.

The only thing left was survival. Kill or be killed.

Even the battle-hardened Tetsuo and the beautiful Reika Shimohira joined in, their screams filled with fury as they pulled their triggers.

---

From a nearby rooftop, Tong Gu watched as the so-called "god" was crushed repeatedly by the Gravity Cannons, its body breaking apart under the relentless assault. The scene was oddly reminiscent of humanity itself—trapped in the merciless grind of Gantz or the Game of Fate, fighting hopeless battles to survive.

What a twisted world.

As the firing ceased, the battlefield fell silent, save for the blood pooling in the crater.

"Is it over?"

Oka Hachiro stepped cautiously toward the remains. From another direction, Tong Gu moved forward as well.

Suddenly, the ground quaked. A horrifying sensation seized Tong Gu. His face darkened as he shouted,

"Get back!"

But it was too late.

From the pool of blood, a transformed Nurarihyon—now stripped of its flesh, wielding a bone blade—emerged in an explosion of gore. It struck like lightning.

Slash!

Oka Hachiro staggered, blood gushing from his mouth and nose. Nearly half his body had been cleaved open.

Tong Gu's mind raced. In that instant, a long-elusive feeling surged through him—a revelation.

The moment to slay the demon was now.

Tong Gu dashed forward, planting his Nichirin blade, "Masamune," deep into the ground.

As Nurarihyon raised its bone blade for a final strike, Tong Gu swung upward with all his might.

Scarlet flames erupted from the ground, engulfing both the sword and the battlefield.

"Crimson Lotus!"

Blood poured from Tong Gu's mouth and nose from the strain, but Nurarihyon could only lower its head in disbelief. The bone blade in its hand shattered, and the all-consuming fire swallowed it whole.

[You have killed Nurarihyon. 100 points awarded.]

[Mission complete. Commencing teleportation.]

As Tong Gu's surroundings began to blur, he caught the sight of Oka Hachiro's injured form being teleported away.

At the last moment, Tong Gu reached out, catching a black card falling from the air.

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