Time passed by quietly.
With nothing urgent to do, Kevin Cross found himself idly traveling between the world of Naruto and the realm of Highschool of the Dead, indulging in some battles, occasionally letting off steam, and taking down the undead. Life, for the most part, remained uneventful and steady.
A portion of the antique collection had already been sold off, exchanged for a considerable sum of money. With those funds, Dr. Stern's laboratory was finally constructed. Crates of research equipment and materials were delivered, and soon, Dr. Stern immersed himself in his long-anticipated study of the zombie virus.
Once the research began, Dr. Stern's enthusiasm burned hotter than ever. If not for the restraints Kevin had set in place, the man might've already veered toward some Umbrella Corporation-level biohazard experiment, à la Resident Evil.
Suddenly
Ding! A Valkyrie Ready to Sacrifice Herself has joined the chat group!
Ding! A Demon Slayer Ready to Sacrifice Herself has joined the chat group!
Two system notifications rang out in rapid succession. New members had joined the chat group.
"Welcome to the palace!"
"Welcome to the palace!"
"Welcome to the palace!"
"Welcome to the palace!"
Before Kevin could even chime in, the group was already flooded with four identical welcome messages.
"What is this?" asked The Valkyrie Ready to Sacrifice Herself.
"Blood Demon Art? How bold. You dare to tamper with a Hashira's mind like this?" said The Demon Slayer Ready to Sacrifice Herself.
"Check the announcement. The top pinned message in the group. Once you've read it, everything will make sense." Kevin replied calmly.
"Announcement?"
A tall, sharp-eyed woman her features exuding a commanding warrior's elegance glanced around, then tapped on the message link as prompted. Her eyes scanned the words: A cross-world chat group? A harem group? Join the harem to grow stronger?
The Valkyrie's gaze flickered. She wasn't sure if any of this was real. Could this be some kind of divine prank? Was it possible that the gods had somehow discovered her intentions? And what was with that title Ready to Sacrifice Herself? Did they already know what she planned to do?
Her thoughts were a storm of uncertainty. If this group was real, and not just some divine joke, perhaps it truly could change her fate. But if it was the gods' game...
"Is this the work of that demon? Blood Demon Art? Speak now. I can already sense your presence near the Butterfly Mansion. If you don't come clean, I'll be forced to act." said the Demon Slayer.
The Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at the message. Demon Slayer? Was that a divine title? There were so many gods that she couldn't immediately recall which deity might go by such a name. A slayer of demons could this be someone who serves a god of justice? Or vengeance?
Kevin studied the two newcomers' usernames, trying to piece together who they might be. He set the Valkyrie aside for now and focused on the other one. Butterfly Mansion, Blood Demon Art he had a pretty good idea of which world she came from. If he was right, it was Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Or perhaps more aptly, Hashira Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, given how things ended for most of the Hashira in that story.
But as for this Demon Slayer Ready to Sacrifice Herself, who was she exactly? Technically, any member of the Demon Slayer Corps had already accepted the possibility of death from the moment they joined.
Based on his personal favorite among the female characters in Demon Slayer, Kevin decided to take a direct approach.
@Demon Slayer Ready to Sacrifice Herself. Are you the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho? he asked.
"So, you've already used Blood Demon Art on me and still don't know who I am? Demon, really now?" she responded.
"I'm not a demon. Did you read the announcement? Everything in it is real. The members here come from different worlds. There are no demons here, and no one's using Blood Demon Arts."
"Very well. Let's say I believe you're not a demon. In that case, can we meet? I'd like to see you in person. Don't worry I definitely won't try to cut you down."
"I said, I'm not a demon. As for meeting you if you agree to become my woman, then I'll be able to travel to your world."
"Oh my, is this a proposal? I'm afraid I can't accept such a marriage offer. After all, we haven't even met yet, let alone gotten to know each other. How about this instead? You come out and meet me first. We can talk, spend some time together, and see how things go. And don't worry I won't kill you."
"I get the feeling your mind is entirely focused on finding a way to kill me." Kevin sighed. "I already told you, unless you agree to become my woman, I can't send anything or travel across worlds. That's how the group works. Without your consent, I'm stuck."
"Marriage is a serious matter, you know. Two people need to understand and trust each other first. If you're uncomfortable, then how about you suggest a time and place, and I'll come to you?"
"I'm not a demon! And to prove it listen carefully. In your world, demons can't say the name Muzan Kibutsuji, or they die instantly. Well, here I am, saying it just fine. Muzan Kibutsuji. There. Happy now?"
"Muzan Kibutsuji? That's the Demon King's name?"
"Of course. Don't believe me? Grab a demon, make it say his name, and see what happens."
"I'll try that, Demon."
"I told you, I'm not a demon. Ugh, whatever. Call me what you want. You still haven't said whether you're Shinobu Kocho."
"I'm not Shinobu, you know."
"You're not that tiny little thing?"
"Tiny? Excuse me, but that's very rude!"
"So you are the Insect Hashira, huh? What's going on in your world right now? How far along is the story?"
"Story?"
"Oh, right. I haven't uploaded the anime yet. Give me a second, I'll share Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba with the group." Kevin said, as he began uploading everything he remembered about the series into the group archive. Since the anime hadn't been completed before he crossed over he'd only seen Season 1 he supplemented the rest with what he'd read in the manga and pieced together from various fanfics.
Demon Slayer? Shinobu narrowed her eyes at the title. She was still unsure whether this was some trick possibly a Blood Demon Art but curiosity got the better of her, and after a moment's hesitation, she clicked on it.