Chapter 57: You Have No Emotions At All!

【Wan Shi Lele Sect: Originally founded by Tong Mo’s parents, who believed him special at birth due to the seven-colored rainbow membrane and pure, snow-white hair like white oak.】

His parents thought he could hear the voices of gods.

But Tong Mo considered his parents hopelessly foolish, and viewed the Wan Shi Lele Sect they founded as a boring religion.

He felt the so-called followers were pitiful, so he always humored them—yet he had never heard any divine voice.

Over time, Tong Mo began to believe he was born into this world to bring happiness to those pitiful souls.

One day, his mother discovered he had slept with many female followers, and hacked him to death; then, in near-madness, she poisoned herself.

At that time, the young Tong Mo felt not a single ripple in his heart at this massive upheaval.

Until age twenty, he met Kibutsuji Muzan and was turned into a demon. Having spent his childhood as a constant confidant for adults pouring out their pain, he ultimately formed the twisted belief that “death is redemption for humans.”】

“…”

Looking at the information from the 【Analytical Glasses】 and recalling Tong Mo’s personality, Zero grew increasingly repulsed by his existence.

“Death is redemption for humans? Then I wonder… is death also a redemption for you, Tong Mo? Hehe…”

Zero resolved to act at dawn the next day.

Why act during the day?

Naturally, it was part of the plan.

His plan had two parts: A and B.

Plan A: Go to Tong Mo’s Lele Sect, fight him, and see if he can once again draw Kibutsuji Muzan’s attention.

If he can, that would be perfect!

If he can’t, it doesn’t matter—then he’ll simply torture Tong Mo until this emotionless man finally understands despair.

Plus, during daylight, Tong Mo will surely hesitate; the Lele Sect is his hiding place, so he won’t dare cause massive destruction!

Otherwise, if he unleashes his full power—say, his Blood Demon Art: Lotus Bodhisattva?!

The buildings would be destroyed, and he’d be burned to death by sunlight!

With those constraints, he could properly torture Tong Mo!

Plan B was a contingency.

For example: Meiyu!

Years ago, when Zero fought Tong Mo, Meiyu rescued him, preventing Zero from killing him!

If Tong Mo isn’t rescued by Meiyu this time, Zero can kill another Upper Moon demon and weaken Kibutsuji Muzan’s forces.

If he is rescued… hehe, then Zero can simply re-enter the Infinite Castle and give Kibutsuji Muzan a “surprise!”

A “surprise” controlled by mecha!

As Zero pondered these thoughts, his hands never stopped, scanning every frame transmitted by the small drones.

“Hm? This is…”

One drone’s feed startled Zero—not because of anything else, but because a sign above a door clearly read “Wan Shi Lele Sect.”

“Didn’t expect to find it so quickly… hehe…”

He immediately directed all other small drones toward the location of the Wan Shi Lele Sect.

They scattered, filming from above, forming a structural map sent to the 【Analytical Glasses】.

According to the thermal scanners inside the drones, roughly 250 people—followers—were present inside and outside the massive sect compound.

At the compound’s center, a human-shaped heat signature was detected—but its temperature was terrifyingly low.

It could only be Tong Mo.

Only a demon’s body temperature drops this low.

“The central area is surrounded by trees—clearly planted to shield from sunlight during the day.”

“Hm? Wait! Is that… a basement?”

The drone scan revealed a basement beneath the center, at least one-third the size of the entire sect compound.

Moreover, thermal readings confirmed life signs within the basement.

“All answers will be revealed tomorrow morning.”

After careful observation, he recalled all drones and stored them in the 【Nanospace】.

But Zero had no intention of sleeping—someone was watching him from a corner above his guest room ceiling.

He didn’t need to guess—it was surely the hotel owner’s underling. Fortunately, his 【Analytical Glasses】 drones were in stealth mode.

Otherwise, if the man saw them, he’d report it; if Tong Mo noticed, the plan could fail.

So Zero continued pretending ignorance, sitting by the window, gazing outside.

As if merely admiring the view.

As Zero suspected, the hotel owner had indeed sent a man to secretly watch him.

It was his usual tactic for profit.

He targeted wealthy tourists: if female, sold to the Flower Street; if male, same fate.

The night passed.

Early the next morning, Zero rose promptly, ate his own rations, and prepared to visit the Wan Shi Lele Sect to greet Tong Mo properly.

At the lobby, as he prepared to check out, the hotel owner asked: “Sir, didn’t you say you’d stay a few more days?”

“No. Last night, a voice kept echoing in my mind, telling me something.”

This piqued the owner’s curiosity. “What was it?”

“The voice told me to go to the Wan Shi Lele Sect. Oh, and it also told me its name—Tong Mo.”

“You… you mean the Master?!” At the name, the hotel owner grew visibly agitated.

“My, you’re truly fortunate! To hear the Master’s call!”

“Yes~ It’s so 【fortunate】~ So I’ve decided to tell him about you sending someone to spy on me last night, trying to kill me. I wonder… how he’ll deal with you?”

The hotel owner instantly tensed, a cold sweat trickling down his back.

Of course, Zero had fabricated it—just because he disliked the owner, and it worked surprisingly well.

“Th-this… sir, you misunderstand! I only… only… only worried for your safety! How could I ever do such a thing? Yes! That’s right—I sent men to protect you!”

Zero sneered inwardly, forced to admire the owner’s “ingenuity.”

“Hmph~ So I should thank you? Should I go tell the Master right now? He hears the voices of gods—he’ll know if you’re lying! !!”

The hotel owner immediately dropped to his knees before Zero, banging his head repeatedly, terrified.

No wonder—he’d been brainwashed so thoroughly.

Zero felt no sympathy for such a man, nor any mercy.

He’d likely done this many times before. Killing him would be too kind.

He gave a cold snort and turned away decisively.

But before leaving, he left a “gift” in the room where he’d slept the night before—hope the owner liked it.

Then, following the address recorded by the 【Analytical Glasses】 the previous night, he arrived at the Wan Shi Lele Sect.

As he stepped forward, the gate guards blocked him.

“Stop. What do you want here?”

“Tong Mo invited me to the Wan Shi Lele Sect to see him.”

“What?! The Master summoned you?!”

The guards knew the Master’s name—anyone personally summoned by him couldn’t be ordinary.

Instantly, their demeanor softened.

“Ah! Since the Master summoned you, you’re clearly no ordinary man! Please, come in, come in! Please speak well of me to the Master!”

“I will,” Zero said aloud, but inwardly thought: “As long as the Wan Shi Lele Sect still stands.”

Inside the sect, he walked straight ahead; whenever blocked, he repeated the same words—or described Tong Mo’s features.

He passed through unimpeded, soon reaching the door of the central hall.

He pulled open several wooden doors, finally entering the inner chamber, where voices could be heard.

Male and female.

The male was clearly Tong Mo; the females, likely his followers.

Without hesitation, he yanked open the final door and saw Tong Mo laughing merrily with the female followers.

Tong Mo’s smile remained as false and hollow as ever.

Seeing another visitor, Tong Mo grinned: “Ah~ Another one of my lovely followers…”

But as he saw Zero’s face, he recalled the incident over half a month ago.

“Hehe… Long time no see, Tong Mo!”

Zero and Tong Mo stared at each other across the distance.

The female followers felt the air crackle with tension—Zero’s icy killing intent made them shiver.

While Tong Mo and Zero locked gazes, they quickly rose and fled the room.

“Ah~ My lovely followers have all fled because of you~ Why so hostile? Why not sit down and talk properly?”

Tong Mo grinned.

Zero said nothing. Quietly, he retrieved a 【Dark Alloy Cross Drone Cannon】 from his 【Nanospace】 and placed it beside him, then affixed a 【Quantum Shield】 to his chest.

He held up two fingers to Tong Mo. “You have two minutes to think of your final words.”

Tong Mo laughed. “How can you say that? We’ve met several times—we’re practically old acquaintances. Let’s sit and chat?”

“Oh, by the way, Lord Inosuke seems eager to see you again. He must really like you!”

"How about this—you become a ghost too, so I can take you to meet Lord Akaza. He’d be delighted, and besides, Lord Muzan seems to like you quite a bit~…"

Zero found Tōma increasingly repulsive and detestable, and cut him off: "Tōma, don’t you have any self-awareness? Hasn’t anyone—no, hasn’t any ghost told you that you talk too much?"

"Oh dear, what are you saying? How could anyone dislike me? Everyone adores me~ Lord Akaza even often converses with me~ Though, to be fair, I’m the one who initiates the talks."

"By the way, since Lord Akaza became a ghost, he’s never eaten or killed a single woman! No wonder he lost his blood battle against me—don’t you think? Ah, right, right—I haven’t even asked your name yet…"

"You’re becoming more and more detestable, Tōma, you bastard!" Zero raised the [Dark Alloy Cross Floating Cannon], aimed its rear at Tōma, and rotated the connection point of the floating cannon.

Click!

The Cross Floating Cannon activated its second form, its rear splitting open to the left and right, revealing the machine gun barrels within.

"Tōma, let me be clear—everything you say with your mouth is pure fabrication! Humans experience many emotions: anger, joy, laughter, sorrow…"

"But you? Your smile is fake, genuinely repulsive! You know it deep down, don’t you? Because… you have no emotions at all!"

Hearing this, Tōma’s expression slowly darkened—as if this were his true face.

"How dare you speak such venomous words? Until now… no one has ever dared speak to me this way!"

"Hrr~? Really? Lucky for you, I’m the first—and the last—to say it to you. Let me tell you the truth: I came to your Wan Shi Ji Le Jiao today to avenge my beloved! Years ago, you hurt Kanae, nearly killing her! Today, I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

"Is that so? Blood Demon Art…"

Click!

Taptaptaptap…

The machine gun muzzle of the Cross Floating Cannon fired a continuous stream of high-temperature bullets.

Long tongues of flame seemed ready to devour everything before them.

Tōma, still unable to activate his Blood Demon Art, had to leap away instantly.

The moment he left, the spot he’d occupied exploded and burst into flames.

But this was only the beginning.

Zero immediately rotated the machine gun muzzle and kept firing.

Tōma tried to close in, but had no opening.

In the dim room, Zero’s face, lit by the flames, looked sinister and mad!

Tōma wanted to unleash his strongest Blood Demon Art—a frozen Bodhisattva—but it was daytime outside.

If the frozen Bodhisattva broke through the ceiling, he’d die too!

His only option now was to lure this Pillar into the basement, trap him there, then freeze him and present him to Muzan.

But plans are beautiful, reality is cruel.

Zero seemed to anticipate his move, rotating the machine gun muzzle to unleash a furious barrage toward his advance.

"Hahaha… Tōma, aren’t you supposed to be powerful? Fight back, then! Hahaha!"