Chapter 01

 I… Again… Transmigrated?!

“Crack… crack!”

Inside the dim cave, a bonfire burned brightly, occasionally releasing soft popping sounds. The flickering flames illuminated the entire cave.

In one corner of the cave, a boy who looked around twelve or thirteen years old was curled up beside the fire. His body was wrapped in a huge black animal hide. Under the glow of the flames, one could see that the hide still contained traces of unprocessed animal fat.

It was a fur blanket, crudely made, and it even carried a faint stench of blood and animal odor.

The boy had a face as smooth as jade, delicate features, and a handsome appearance. His long red hair was fluffy and soft. However, despite his striking looks, there was a large flame-shaped mark on his left forehead, spreading toward the corner of his eye and down onto his cheek.

The existence of this red flame-like pattern made the boy appear even more mysterious.

At this moment, the boy’s eyes were tightly shut. His body was curled up, trembling slightly, as if he was enduring unbearable pain.

After an unknown amount of time, the boy finally opened his eyes.

He looked around the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion. The faint darkness in his bright eyes quickly disappeared, replaced by shock, disbelief, and… complete astonishment.

“How… is this possible?!”

His whisper broke the silence of the cave. His voice was filled with disbelief.

It seemed that he refused to believe what was happening before him. He stretched his hands out from beneath the fur blanket and rubbed his eyes.

He closed them again.

Then opened them.

He rubbed them harder.

After that, he slapped himself.

Feeling the pain on his cheek, the boy finally accepted the reality of his current situation.

Before long, the shock and confusion in his eyes disappeared, replaced by intense curiosity.

A quiet murmur echoed through the cave.

“I… guess… I’ve… transmigrated again.”

……

“My name is Taiyi.”

“This name was given to me by a blind fortune teller in my village. According to him, my destiny was extraordinary, so I needed a name worthy of my status.”

“When I was young and foolish, I truly believed him.”

“I thought I was a child chosen by fate, and that one day, Digimon from another world would need my help.”

“But as I grew older, I realized…”

“I was actually a child toyed with by fate.”

“At only twenty-four years old, my life came to an end.”

“Just when I had finally passed the civil service examination and secured a government job!”

“I suspect… my own name brought me bad luck.”

“I thought my life was destined to be a tragedy.”

“Until…”

“I lived a second life.”

“My second name was…”

“Kamado Yoriichi.”

“That was a world where humans and demons coexisted.”

“From the moment I was born, I knew my mission.”

“In just a few decades, I crossed from one end of the coast to the other, cutting down every demon in my path.”

“Finally, after completing my mission, I secluded myself in the mountains and lived the peaceful life I had always dreamed of.”

“Many years later, my aging body finally closed its eyes.”

“But when I opened them again…”

“I discovered that I had come back to life once more.”

“I think…”

“I really might be someone chosen by fate.”

“Although…”

“I still don’t have a Digimon beside me.”

……

Inside the dark cave, Kamado Yoriichi wore a thick animal hide and slowly stood up.

He carefully examined his surroundings.

Yoriichi had always been alone. Having already lived a life without regrets, he quickly accepted his current situation.

Clearly, the most important thing now was figuring out where he was.

The cave was about seven square meters in size.

It should currently be winter. The temperature was extremely low. Even with a roaring bonfire in front of him and a thick fur covering his body, the cold still seeped through, causing him to shiver.

“Is this… a primitive society?”

Yoriichi scanned the cave.

There were no modern tools anywhere.

Beside the bonfire was a wooden knife and fork. They were crudely made, obviously not produced by machines. Next to them was a poor-quality wooden bowl containing half a bowl of yellow paste-like food.

“Food, perhaps?”

“Is it curry?”

Yoriichi wondered silently before shifting his attention elsewhere.

In one corner of the cave was a pile of dry firewood, nearly two meters long and half a meter high.

Aside from the strong smell of burning wood, there was also a faint scent of the sea in the air.

“This is… the smell of the ocean?”

Yoriichi sniffed lightly.

Soon, his attention was drawn to a black long sword lying beside his feet.

“A sword?!”

Yoriichi immediately crouched down and picked it up, carefully examining it.

It was a two-handed sword approximately two meters long. Judging by its design, it appeared to be a straight blade.

The black scabbard was decorated with beautiful wave-like patterns. The handle was about forty centimeters long. Even with Yoriichi’s hand gripping it, he could not completely wrap his fingers around it.

He pulled the sword out.

However, there was no flash of cold steel as he expected.

Instead…

A completely black blade appeared before his eyes.

“A black blade?”

“Even the edge is black?”

“Matte finish?”

Yoriichi slowly drew out more of the sword and discovered that not only were the scabbard and handle black, but even the blade and cutting edge were completely black.

It gave off an indescribably solemn feeling.

The width of the blade was about five centimeters, and the thickness of the back exceeded one centimeter.

Normally, considering the length and structure of the sword, it should have been extremely heavy.

But strangely…

When Yoriichi held it, he felt almost no weight at all.

Near the base of the blade was a single engraved character:

“Destroy.”

Judging from the sword’s appearance, it looked very similar to the weapons produced by the Swordsmith Village in his previous world.

Holding the sword with one hand, Yoriichi drew it completely from its sheath.

For some reason, his body instinctively switched to a two-handed grip.

He lightly performed a simple slash.

The tip of the blade silently passed across the ceiling of the cave.

A deep cut appeared.

“Rumble…”

As the sword passed, tiny pieces of stone began falling from the ceiling, smashing apart when they hit the ground.

“Hm?”

Yoriichi instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.

After waiting for a while, when no more stones fell, he looked upward.

A long sword mark had been carved into the ceiling of the cave.

“Not bad.”

“This craftsmanship…”

“A world capable of creating such a sword should have a fairly advanced civilization.”

“Or…”

“Could this sword have come with me?”

“And my strength…”

Yoriichi withdrew his gaze and carefully examined the sword in his hand.

He gently touched the blade.

After sitting silently for a long time, he carried the sword and walked toward the entrance of the cave.

Standing inside, he looked outside.

Darkness.

So dark that he could not see his hand in front of his face.

The freezing wind howled outside, forcing him to retreat back into the cave.

“Too cold.”

“It’s already nighttime. I should rest first.”

“I’ll investigate the surroundings tomorrow.”

Yoriichi returned to the fire and quickly added more firewood.

Then he curled up beside the flames for warmth.

After an unknown amount of time, exhaustion overwhelmed him.

His eyes slowly closed.

He fell into a deep sleep.

……

That night, Yoriichi had a dream.

The ocean.

The sunlight.

The beach.

And a small seaside town.

The people of the town were simple and kind. They lived peaceful lives, self-sufficient and content.

They were not wealthy.

But they were happy.

And Yoriichi became one of them.

Peaceful…

Quiet…

The world inside his dream was paradise.

……

When the sky began to brighten and the first rays of dawn spread across the land, Yoriichi woke from his sleep.

“Really…”

“I transmigrated again…”

Yoriichi slowly sat up from the stone bed.

Looking at the dying bonfire and the thin smoke drifting upward, his expression became slightly blank.

He stared for a long time.

……………………………………………………