A new fighting Style, Beast and Thunder Breathing, and a Chance Encounter

AN: This chapter contained over half a dozen GIFs. But becuase of the size constraint by Discord, as I don't have Nitro, I couldn't upload them all there. Those that I could, I had. There is no such constraint at Patre0n, so they will remain available there. For the rest, like moves and techniques mentioned in the chapter, you can do a basic google search for reference if you haven't seen the anime. However, I must say, with GIFs, the chapter would've been a lot more enganging to read. Thank you and Enjoy!!!

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Kai did not leave the cave till the next day.

With his experience, he knew he could easily spend at least a week hiding in the cave without getting discovered, eventually. But this would have gone against the plans that were riling up in his mind. There were two reasons for Kai to not leave immediately after jumping to the different Timeline.

First, he needed to figure out a way to bridge the discrepancy between his Strength and Agility. Otherwise, he would be forced to run away like a chicken upon meeting a Demon Slayer or Demon next time as well.

Now, Kai was shameless enough to not mind being a chicken or running away, but if he were to gain something out of this Random World, then he couldn't afford to be so narrow-minded. Not to mention, even though his Luck had been boosted by Novice Collector to 6 points, it was still horrible. When he would encounter something funny and unavoidable, Kai didn't know.

So, Kai spent an entire half-day creating a new fighting style for himself. Given his intelligence and the help of the Mana Realm inside his mind that let him give substance to his imagination, this was already saying too much, showing how serious Kai was about this new method.

Second, he needed to digest the story told to him by Aphrodite. This digestion wasn't like making superfluous plans like a simpleton, thinking of wishful milestones. No. This digestion was like absorbing the crux of the matter, gaining the hidden meanings of the contents he had heard.

Without the story, Kai had no particular direction to face and had only one goal. Survive. But if that alone could have sufficed for those who had grand ambitions like him, then they wouldn't be worthy to glance at by the likes of Kings and other Contestants of the 18th floor.

'Even a cockroach survives,' Kai had thought. 'Only those who survive attaining power and benefits along the way are worthy of stepping towards the peak of absolute power.'

So, an entire evening and half a night had gone before Kai finalized a basic outline of his plans.

This plan wasn't fullproof, as it was restricted by two things.

The first was that he couldn't use D-Mail again. No matter what. It wasn't a Stats restriction, but a self-imposed one. After a calculated conversation with Item-M, who knew the events of Steins;Gate Random World, and Rintaro Okabe, they concluded that using D-Mail in a single Random World more than once could cause severe Divergence.

As long as he was fine, Kai cared little about these Divergences. But he wasn't, and this made him nod at their suggestion. Before upgrading the ACT, D-Mail, and having more mastery over it, Kai couldn't afford a high Divergence, bringing unknown and uncontrolled factors into his life.

The only reason Kai had used it so early in the 2nd Stage was because of the opportunity to learn everything about this Random World. This thing was of paramount importance to him.

Moreover, in the 1st Stage, he couldn't get a response from the high-floor Contestants who were watching him. Yet, just before arriving here, the moment he had seen the 18th floor written against the Sponsors' Code Names in the White Hall, he had decided to show one Sponsor the runic scripts within the Book, in which case he would have to use D-Mail, anyway. And sure enough, the very first Sponsor gave him the answer Kai had been searching for so long.

Ancient Magical Script!

Kai did not know what it meant, and he had never heard of it. But now he knew what to look for at least, and that was a boon in itself. If he hadn't gotten a reaction from Aphrodite, he would have not used D-Mail, and had rather moved onto another Sponsor before using D-Mail in the end, despite the results.

The second thing restricting the plan was that Kai could not afford to kill the Demon Slayers, or, as a matter of fact, any human whatsoever. Killing without benefits had always gone against Kai's principles. But in this case, killing would not only give him zero benefits, but it would also cause him irreversible harm.

Sponsor Aphrodite had clearly told him that learning a Breathing Style was an impossibility for him in this mission. However, Kai still wanted to try it. If he could, then he wanted to at least learn the principles behind it from the Demon Slayers themselves. But if he were to kill one of them or an innocent human, then that chance was as good as lost for him.

Another way was to reincarnate into the world of Demon Slayers, Kai knew. But Kai's future reincarnations had already been set by a combined effort of Item-M, Petyr, Cersei, and him himself with a meticulous precision suited to his future progression. Yes, Breathing Styles were like sweet wine, and it became sweeter the more Kai learned about it. Yet, to change the Reincarnations Random Worlds just for it wasn't a possibility.

With these thoughts burdening his shoulders, and the headache pounding his head, Kai walked out of the cave about half an hour before dawn of the 2nd day.

Kai did not know where he was, other than that he was in the thick of the wilderness. With the wooden case on his back, he chose a random direction and started running as though someone was chasing him.

Kai had not gone even a mile in the forest when he suddenly felt an odd prickly feeling passing by him. It felt as though the wind itself had gained hands and was touching him all over.

Kai had been waiting for something like this to happen. There was no way that he was out in the open and no Demon Slayer would find him. If it was before, then Kai would have no way of knowing what this feeling was or from where it had come. But after knowing the story, and the extensive details that Aphrodite had shared with him, he knew its origin.

Beast Breathing - Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness!

The Demon Slayer, Inosuke Hashibira, had finally found him. And if he was here, then surely there were others with him as well. The only thing Kai was worried about was whether they had a Hashira with them. The moment he thought that, his Luck surfaced in his mind, and Kai cursed.

Suddenly, the cry of birds echoed in the wilderness. Kai looked over his shoulder and saw the black silhouettes taking to the air, and he knew they had come.

The shouts reached him before he could even see them.

"AHHHH!"

"Nezuko-Chan!"

Kai sighed. He had reached the bank of a shallow stream, running through the jungle. His webbed feet hit the water, and Kai instantly felt that he was in his element.

First came the boy with a boar-headed mask over his head, shouting out of his lungs. Like Kai, he was also a dual-sword wielder. The moment he saw Kai, Inosuke jumped from the stream's bank towards him.

It was a mistake.

Kai felt the boy entering the limit of 10 meters, getting surrounded by the Spiritual Currents. With one thought, he flung the Demon Slayer away, his figure splashing into the shallow waters.

The second person was wearing a white-triangle patterned, yellow and orange gradient haori and had short yellow hair. Kai recognized him. He was also a Demon Slayer, named Zenitsu Agatsuma.

After one mean look from Kai, Zenitsu fell to his knees. "Nezuko-Chan!!!" he said, shivering. "Save Nezuko-Chan, please, Inosuke!"

"SHUT UP YOU CRYBABY!!! AHHH!" Inosuke shouted angrily. [GIF 1]

Zenitsu passed out after being so disgustingly rebuked, and Inosuke threw himself up to his feet and rushed towards Kai in a zig-zag motion. [GIF 2]

Kai narrowed his eyes, unsheathing his swords. Every use of Telekinesis was making his head bombarded with bouts of pain, making him lose focus. He must depend on his new fighting style, Kai knew.

Inosuke snarled like a beast and jumped again, taking a crossed-arm stance in mid-air.

Beast Breathing - Second Fang: Slice!

A hissing sound originated from the mouth hidden behind the mask. Kai's eyes glinted as he heard that breathing noise. Suddenly, he let go of the swords in his hands, making them hover by his side.

And then he snapped his fingers.

Two distinct clicking noises reverberated, drowned by the hissing breath of the Demon Slayer.

It all happened in a blink of an eye, then.

Inosuke was still breathing in, when he suddenly choked, falling like a lifeless log in the stream as a setback.

Tongue-Tying Curse - Mimblewimble!

Kai grinned. 10 MP vanished from his store as he broke the breathing motion of the Demon Slayer midway.

This was his new fighting style to compensate for his lack of Strength in this Random World. Infuse Magic in his Sword-Style.

Kai had been practicing Magic in his normal form for a long time. But till now, he had not faced a situation where he would have to use it, instead of his Skills and Abilities. The story he had learned from his Sponsor, Aphrodite, let him adjust this new fighting style quite a bit.

Not giving him another chance to get up, Kai dashed towards the fallen Demon Slayer.

Suddenly, his instincts roared.

'What is this?!' The question passed by his mind, but Kai had already taken a defensive stance. Something incredibly fast had locked onto his neck.

Kai spun, and his eyes landed on the boy who was crying just moments before. Now, the demon slayer had taken a crouched stance, his eyes closed, and his breathing almost complete.

Lightning thundered around Zenitsu like a blanket.

Thunder Breathing - First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!

The hair on Kai's neck stood up. He had felt this before, when the Hashira had come at him, eying him with his dead gaze.

Zenitsu fired himself towards Kai like a lightning bolt, dead-set on beheading him.

The gears of Advance Slither Steps screeched, water kissed Golduck's feet, and the Advance Twin Saber-Style used his boosted Agility. Thunder crackled, and steel rang against steel. Kai got thrown to one side of the stream, but it seemed he had survived. He huffed and puffed and realized his hands were numb.

'This is troublesome,' Kai thought, seeing both Inosuke and sleeping-Zenitsu getting up to face him.

BOOM!

'Huh?' Kai looked over his shoulder. A massive dust cloud was rising in the distance. 'What was that?'

"Orahhh!" Inosuke shouted, and lunged at Kai again. To his left, Zenitsu took his stance as well.

Kai's eyes narrowed. Instead of running, he dashed towards them. The moment he heard the hissing noises again, he let go of the sabers. Kai gritted his teeth and focused. His numb hands trembled as he snapped his fingers again.

50 MP disappeared instantly.

The upper half of Inosuke's swords softened as though they were two pieces of clothes, and a jet of red light hit Zenitsu's chest, forcing him to awaken.

Softening Charm - Spongify! + Reviving Spell - Rennervate!

Surprised, Inosuke stupidly eyed the swords, and Zenitsu flung his arms, hiding behind his fellow Demon Slayer.

This was the perfect time to nick them both with Murasame. Kai could do it, he knew. But he didn't. Plans had changed since his last meeting with these Demon Slayers.

He put a few scores of MP in his Skill, Iron Tail, and slammed it into Inosuke's chest, sending both of the boys flying farther up the stream.

BOOM-BOOM!!!

'This?!' Kai looked back again. These booming sounds were coming from the same direction as the last. It seemed to Kai that a major fight was going on there. A fight between immensely strong beings.

Kai's curiosity was at its peak. He kicked the water and ran down the stream, keeping his feet in contact with the water.

15 minutes of running brought Kai to a cliff's edge, the stream disappearing beyond it, becoming a waterfall.

On the edge, Kai saw brilliant blue and purple flashes. He hid behind a tree and spied on the two people. One was a very muscular young man of above average height with skin so fair that it appeared bright green-tinged white, decorated by a pattern of thick blue lines. He had short, pink hair, and he seemed to have the upper hand.

The other person was so bloodied that Kai even failed to discern his face. Kai only saw long hair, a sword, and a black kimono.

This was a fight between a Demon and a Demon Slayer, Kai observed.

"Haha!" the Demon laughed suddenly. "So strong! So, so, strong! Please become Demon, Hashira, and fight me for eternity! Haha! It would be so much fun!"

'Hashira?!' Kai's head snapped towards the Demon's opponent. Fuck!

If this person was Hashira, and even then he was so blooded, then didn't it mean that the Demon was one of the Six Upper Moon, an elite force of Demons just under the King of Demons.

Aphrodite had only described the appearance of the major Demon Slayers to him, not of the Demons. Even with his new fighting style, Kai's magic could only qualify to be called mere tricks in front of these monsters. It was too soon for him to let himself mingle with them.

With stealthy steps, Kai backed away, turning around slowly.

It was then the Demon said something that stunned Kai.

"Hashira!" he laughed. "Don't die on me. It's been decades since I killed a woman-Hashira, you know!"

Kai's eyes widened. 'Woman… Hashira… Weakened… Bloodied… About to die…'

Words after words echoed in his mind, the corner of his lips arching up, becoming a hideous demonic grin.