Offer a savior to the infinite world!

Black air gushed out and dissipated in the flames. In just a blink of an eye, this thing completely dissipated, disappearing without even a trace of ash left.

"Even when you die, you will be like a ghost and leave no body behind?"

Tanjiro sighed softly, looking at the burning kerosene flame remaining on the ground where the thing disappeared, and for a moment he felt a little emotional.

Even if it was an evil ghost, at least we could know that it was transformed from a human being, a pathetic and hateful creature transformed from a normal human being. But for this monster, there was no way to know where it came from, and why it cruelly slaughtered the people in the town. All I could do was to get rid of it with my teammates without knowing anything, to prevent it from hurting others.

"rest in peace."

Looking at the black smoke that had completely dissipated, Tanjiro finally spoke softly.

"Don't rush into hospice care. It's not over yet."

Lin Yi's voice sounded from not far away at this time, causing Tanjiro to look up involuntarily, and then he saw Rest who had slowly stood up at some point.

Was he shot in the head but not dead?

Come to think of it, Mr. Lin Yi did say just now that he did not kill the other person.

Gripping the Nichirin Sword tightly in his hand, Tanjiro took a step forward, looking nervously at Rest who was slowly standing up not far away.

slam-la-

The surging rain seemed to become even more violent at this moment.

Rest's head was pierced through, leaving several big holes. It was hanging down, because his neck had been pierced by Lin Yi's gunshot before. At this moment, he could only lean to one side and fall on his shoulders, with no way to support himself and stand up again.

Rest's fat body stood steadily, standing very steadily in the rainstorm. At this moment, there seemed to be something wriggling faintly in that fat body, and something could be seen moving slowly under the pale skin.

「Ah…Ah…」

A murmuring, dreamy voice sounded.

[It's clearly... the final moment has come...]

[It’s the moment when all of us can finally experience eternal happiness…]

[Why did you, the dirty outsiders, come out to cause trouble at this very moment... and kill... kill our baptized people...]

Anger, hatred, resentment, malice.

In the twisted emotions, the head pierced by the bullet slowly stood up. One of Rest's bloodshot eyes stared at Lin Yi closely, and the other eye seemed to be rolled up because of the brain injury, with only the white of the eye left.

A mixture of white and red liquid flowed out of the hole in the head, and under the rain, half of Rest's face was dyed clean, making this man who originally had a very gentle smile become as scary as a ghost.

At this moment, Suzuran and Tanjiro showed cautious and alert attitudes, Lin Yi's expression remained calm, and as for old Bob who had been guarding the house, the old man's face was almost completely pale at this moment.

"Lester... what on earth are you?"

Gripping the shotgun tightly in his hand, the old hunter walked out of the house and asked the sheriff in front of him with a trembling voice.

[Me? Of course I am Sheriff Lester, the respected Mr. Bob, who should have been respectable, but chose to cooperate with outsiders, so he is no longer respectable...]

With a cold voice, Rest took a step forward slowly. His one intact eye just glanced at Old Bob and he was too lazy to look at him again.

"You... you've always known... No, you, you, and the mayor, all of you who hold leadership positions in the town, you all knew about this, you've always been participants, you've been the planners, you've killed so many people... you've done it..."

The old man, his voice trembling more and more, pointed the gun in his hand at the fat sheriff.

[What a malicious accusation. We have always loved everyone, and everyone in this town. Over the years, I have worked hard to maintain the law and order of this town and have done so many things. Can't you see it? Ungrateful old man Bob, I helped you nail the window in your bedroom.]

With a hint of disgust in his eyes, Rest stopped and looked helplessly at the old man in front of him whose emotions were getting more and more out of control.

Everything we do, everything we give, whether you understand it or not, Mr. Bob, is out of love.

[We will make everyone better, so that everyone can get true happiness, complete happiness that is truly free from the shackles of humanity]

[For this, it is just a trivial sacrifice, some sacrifices that are not worth mentioning and should be taken for granted, there is no need to care about it.]

In calm, even slightly joyful words.

The fat man opened his arms and a smile appeared on his lips.

He believed from the bottom of his heart that he loved the entire town and everyone in the town.

He also believes from the bottom of his heart that everything he does is for everyone's happiness and for the good of everyone.

"What a joke!"

This time, the angry rebuttal did not come from the old man who was out of control, but from Tanjiro who was holding the Nichirin Sword tightly.

"I heard from Mr. Lin Yi that the body at the crime scene was tortured to death in an inhumane way."

"You tortured and humiliated the townspeople to death, and you still call it 'love'? You call it a 'necessary sacrifice'. This is an evil act that has no justification at all! If you are really as kind as you say, why don't you do this to yourself? Stop talking nonsense here!"

With an angry roar, Tanjiro pointed the Nichirin Sword in his hand directly at Rest in front of him.

"...On that rainy night seventy years ago, I watched with my own eyes as my father and mother were dragged into the darkness. From their desperate screams to their painful breathing, until there was no sound at all, their voices continued for several hours...I still remember them until now..."

Old Bob lowered his head and breathed softly, and at this moment his voice slowed down, as if he had calmed down.

"My child... I asked him to stay away from the town, marry and have children outside the town. I didn't want him to stay in this nightmare place, but he and his wife died tragically after a rainy night, leaving only Lillian, who was still a baby..."

"You are the ones who did all this... Rest, I held you in my arms when you were a child, and you even hid in my house when you were being punished. I... have never done anything to let you down... Was it really you who did all this?"

Look up again.

The old man looked at the fat body not far away with his cloudy eyes, and the trembling voice made Suzuran and Tanjiro look at him with some pity.

[As a member of the town, we will always be a member of the town. This is our home. Why should we leave? ]

But after hearing such words and being stared at like this, Rest simply shook his head slightly. Apart from a little irritation and helplessness, there was no other emotion on his face, not even a trace.

[Leaving this small town, leaving behind the happiness we have prepared for so many years, what is this? ]

[The death of your son and his wife is natural. You should be thankful that we are willing to leave Lillian to you. After all, children cannot decide their own living environment. It takes a lot of determination for us to give this opportunity. We have also made a lot of efforts. Can't you understand us? It is also difficult for us to run such a long distance to kill people. Why do you only consider yourself selfishly? Why don't you consider us who are working hard? ]

Rest became more and more annoyed as he spoke. He reached out and dug into the side of his face, tearing the skin apart and letting the yellow oil mixed with blood flow out.

[Why do you always dwell on those who have died? Their sacrifices were made for the happiness of more people. We should look to the future and embrace it.]

[Can't the past just be the past? Why do you have to care about the dead? The dead are not considered as townspeople. Isn't it better to just treat the dead as if they no longer exist? ]

[You too, and so do many people in this town. All you do is reminisce about the past and miss the people around you. It really makes me sick just watching you. Can't you just be a little, a little considerate—]

boom!

Before he could finish his words of emotion, Lin Yi's bullet pierced through Rest's open mouth, smashing his tongue into pieces.

"No, this guy is no longer a human being. He is just a beast without any humanity. Do you have to continue listening to his rubbish that shatters your worldview? Don't you think it's disgusting? I'm about to vomit..."

With a look of disgust on his face, Lin Yi put down his gun, frowned, looked at the people around him and asked helplessly.

"I'm sorry, it's just... it's really rare to find an enemy that is so twisted. I feel like even professional psychologists can't cure this kind of person."

Lily of the Valley shook her head, expressing her deepest emotion at this moment.

"This kind of person... shouldn't receive any treatment. The only thing he can accept is death. This kind of person... shouldn't even be alive... He doesn't deserve to have a human appearance and voice..."

The expression on his face was completely stiff. Tanjiro took a deep breath and finally said this.

As for Old Bob, after hearing Rest's indescribable words, this old man followed Lin Yi and raised the shotgun in his hand without hesitation. With a distorted expression and trembling fingers, he aimed at the other party, directly expressing his thoughts at the moment with actions.

boom! ! !

Chapter 24: Hey~ mutation?

The sound of gunfire rang out and dissipated in the rain.

Rest's body retreated backwards, and the shot fired angrily by Old Bob hit his torso, making a hole in his originally shiny clothes, and blood foam and fat appeared in it.

However, Rest himself didn't seem to feel anything about this. He simply retreated into the darkness and then disappeared.

Linglan tried to throw a ball of foxfire in the direction where Rest disappeared, but in the area illuminated by the fire, there was no way to find Rest himself. It was as if the fat man had disappeared directly after being shrouded in complete darkness.

"Leaved?"

Tanjiro took a very cautious step forward and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that the other party seemed to have indeed left.

At that moment just now, after Rest was hit in the head by Lin Yi and stood up, the opponent's aura changed drastically.

It was difficult for Tanjiro to describe what kind of change it was, but what was certain was that it was an aura that the original Rest did not have, one that was dangerous, terrifying, and so scary that it even made him feel cold all over, to a level that exceeded the level he had when facing the demon of the Lower Moon Five.

Although he didn't understand why a seemingly ordinary fat man would suddenly have such a huge change in his aura, Tanjiro was sure that if Rest chose to fight them regardless, the situation would probably become quite difficult.

However, if this is the case, and if the opponent's power is indeed strong enough, they should be eliminated on the spot, right?

Why would you choose to escape?

"Oh no! Damn it! How dare you learn this from me?"

Before Tanjiro could figure out the reason, Lin Yi suddenly turned around, cursed, and ran into the house.

"Eh? Could it be——"

Turning around and looking at Lin Yi's actions, Tanjiro was slightly stunned, then he immediately realized something, his face changed, and he quickly followed him into the house.

Bang!

Lin Yi, who returned to the house first, opened the bedroom door and saw an empty bed and wide-open windows.

Lillian was gone.

That innocent and lovely child disappeared silently when they were all outside the house and when Rest was talking to them and then disappeared. He was abducted by the enemy hiding in the dark.

"In other words, this child is one of the chosen sacrifices?"

Lin Yi had a very ugly expression on his face, and there was a hint of coldness in his voice.

"How could it be...Lillian..."

Tanjiro, who ran in afterwards, widened his eyes and clenched his knife-holding hand instantly.

"What happened to Lillian? Um, how could this happen... Hey, Mr. Bob, wait a minute--"

Lily of the Valley, who ran in from behind, murmured to herself in disbelief, but was pushed by Old Bob who rushed in from behind. With a scream, the old man stumbled into the bedroom, looked at the empty bed, and almost lost his strength in an instant, and fell to his knees.

"How could...how could..."

Obviously, I have cooperated with these outsiders, I have faced the dark things that I feared in my memories, I have had the opportunity to resist, and I have used these outsiders to achieve my resistance, but why...

My own father and mother, my own children, now even my last flesh and blood relatives are going to be taken away from me?

The collapsed old man fell to his knees, trembling and unable to make a sound.

"Mr. Lin Yi, you said Lillian was the chosen sacrifice?"

Taking a deep breath, Linglan quickly calmed down at this moment, looked at Lin Yi and asked.

"Well, I suspected it a long time ago. After all, the first family we met after being thrown in was here. I thought before that since the rescuer system is a system with the purpose of 'rescue', it should try its best to assist the rescuer. In this case, the place where we were thrown in and the people we first encountered may have some deep meaning."

"That's why I've long wondered if the family we met was somehow 'special'. As strangers, we were targeted and had to face the enemy the day after we arrived. Maybe that's the reason. Now it seems to be proven. Tsk, but that's not important. What's important is that we have to find out where the child was taken. We have to act immediately."

As he spoke, Lin Yi strode to the window, intending to jump out to see what was happening outside.

However, before he could do so, a little head popped out from behind the window, forcing Lin Yi to stop his actions.

"This is……"

A very petite girl with long black hair and pink eyes, biting a bamboo tube and looking a little dazed, suddenly popped her head out from behind the window, blinking and looking at Lin Yi.

Where did this little guy come from?

The unexpected situation made Lin Yi dazed for a moment.

"Nezuko!"

But soon after, Tanjiro ran over from behind and called out the other person's name, and the girl easily climbed in from the window, letting herself be dragged to the ground, her clothes, which seemed to be somewhat inconvenient to move, covered with water stains and mud, and just stood there looking up at Tanjiro walking towards her.

"Nezuko? Is that someone you know?"

Lin Yi looked down at Tanjiro.

"Isn't this the name of Tanjiro's brother's sister?"

Linglan, who followed him into the room, also spoke with some surprise.

"Well, she is my sister Nezuko. Because... because of some things that happened, she couldn't see the sun and slept most of the time. Um, Nezuko, did you see Lillian being taken away and wanted to chase her but failed?"

Tanjiro briefly explained his sister's situation to Lin Yi and Suzuran, then looked at Nezuko and asked seriously.

"Hmm~hmm~"

The girl biting the bamboo tube nodded slightly, humming in a somewhat coquettish manner.