Episode 276: Until Sunrise... One Hour and Three Minutes Remaining...
『 For example, back then, using hands that could barely hold chopsticks, he was able to rely on a hairpin to break through a wooden fence and escape.
Or like Muichiro, proving to everyone with his own actions: no matter what color the blade is, as long as there is determination, it can turn red.
According to Kiriya's intelligence, at that time, Muichiro could only grip his Nichirin sword tightly. So…
Was it because of some tremendous impact that caused the blade to instantly heat up and change color?
Obanai's mind raced, constantly exploring methods to deal with Muzan.
Therefore…
The key to turning the Nichirin sword red might be the ability that can only be triggered when facing a desperate situation.
Give it a shot!
Obanai gripped his sword tightly, blood appearing between his fingers.
Next is…
A grip of absolute power!
In this instant, he didn't even notice the snake-like patterns quietly emerging on his arms.
The powerful Nichirin sword turned red just as he wished.
The Bright Red Sword again…
Now…
The time for a counterattack has come… 』
『 .....』
〜Demon Slayer World〜
Infinity Castle—
Muzan slammed his fist onto the armrest of his throne, emitting a loud noise.
Even on his tightly clenched fist, the color of blood slowly emerged.
"WHY! WHY! WHY!! Why can't you just obediently die? Scuttling around like monkeys, then struggling in death throes—it's truly disgusting. Tamayo! Even in death, you still want to hinder me?"
Muzan's words echoed repeatedly throughout the Infinity Castle. At this moment, he was not the version from the video; although it was the same character, he had anger but nowhere to vent it.
All his subordinates were dead… betrayed by Tamayo, and even…
It was so difficult to kill just a few ants.
At this moment, Muzan was truly furious to the extreme.
Meanwhile, Kokushibo watched the man before him. He hadn't seen him this angry in hundreds of years, yet he dared not say a word, even though his own strength might have already surpassed the man before him. But because his body was entirely made of Muzan's cells, the slightest rebellion would result in his death.
At the same time, he also knew—only he knew—that Muzan's subordinates were the least worth remembering.
Furthermore, his younger brother, whom he had killed with his own hands, would soon be coming.
He thought silently to himself.
"My little brother, it's been hundreds of years, hehehe."
—
『 On the other side
Obanai stared at the blade that had turned red, but the expression on his face looked somewhat disappointed.
Instead, a bad premonition could be felt from him.
At this moment, not only was Obanai not happy, but he felt he might have made a mistake. Because he was in a rush to eliminate Muzan, he had been too impatient in triggering the Bright Red Sword.
His vision began to blur. Although the sword had indeed turned into a Bright Red Sword, his body suddenly felt limp and powerless.
His heart was a jumble of mixed feelings. In this situation, he didn't even need Muzan to make a move; he would likely collapse on his own from exhaustion.
Feeling like he was about to faint from exhaustion, he saw Muzan's whip approaching. Even though his movements were sluggish, Obanai still tried his best to control his body, and he heard Sanemi's anxious calls not far away. He kept telling himself in his heart:
Must keep fighting, I have to carry Mitsuri's share as well! Absolutely cannot fall here!
However, no matter how he reminded himself, his body still gave no response.
When Muzan launched his attack, although Giyu tried to block it with the fastest speed, he was still a beat too slow.
SWISH—!
Muzan's strike smashed a huge hole in the ground. Strangely, Obanai's figure could not be seen on the ground.
"Disappeared?"
Just as everyone was stunned, a figure appeared in the air—it was the missing Obanai. No one understood how he had avoided the attack.
Even so, suspended in mid-air, Obanai had nowhere to leverage, and this time it would surely be hard to dodge.
Then Muzan swung his long whip again. This time, Obanai, who was in mid-air, had nowhere to retreat.
Who knew? Obanai seemed to have grown wings, and once again miraculously escaped this attack.
In the next instant, an unseen attack directly severed Muzan's arm. The peculiar thing was that this wound was very uneven, not at all like a mark made by a Nichirin sword.
Everyone present was stunned while simultaneously reacting quickly, taking the opportunity to launch an attack on Muzan together.
"Such wounds… were not caused by iron balls, nor could they be caused by this man with a scar on his face. That person just ran out to save his companion."
"And… it couldn't have been done by the person floating in mid-air right now, could it? His posture in the air is also very strange."
Muzan was momentarily confused; what on earth was going on…
Soon, that invisible attack severed Muzan's arm again, and the cut was still jagged.
Muzan's brain raced. Such a rough cross-section clearly indicated that the attacker was not holding any sharp weapon.
After cycling through countless possibilities, he suddenly realized one thing…
Besides the current opponents, others were hiding here.
By this time, although his eyes couldn't see them, Muzan clearly felt their existence.
Therefore…
This was very likely a concealment skill possessed by that demon under Tamayo. Realizing this, Muzan immediately regained his arrogant attitude.
Even if I can't see your figures, victory will still not belong to you. As long as there is any movement, you will expose your position.
Just after saying this, he began to listen carefully to all the changes around him.
From the rising dust to the subtle sounds in the wind, every tiny sign was used to accurately lock onto the enemy's location.
One… two… three…
There were three!
Suddenly, Muzan lashed out with a long whip, covering almost the entire battlefield.
WHOOSH—!
These three people suffered varying degrees of minor injuries, but fortunately, they could still continue to fight.
Seeing this, Muzan revealed a chilling smile. It was exactly as he had thought—exactly three guys.
Agatsuma Zenitsu, Hashibira Inosuke, and Tsuyuri Kanao.
Relying on the talismans given by Yushiro, several people successfully saved Obanai while also buying valuable time for the coming sunrise.
Seeing this, Gyomei shouted excitedly: "I didn't expect everyone to be safe and sound!"
"Hahahahahahahahahaha…"
Inosuke's loud laughter echoed over the entire battlefield, and even Muzan in the distance felt a shiver of fear upon hearing this momentum.
"Before this monster falls, I will never give up my life easily!"
The fighting spirit-filled voice resounded through the wilderness once again.
Immediately after, Inosuke was seen scattering a large pile of talismans. These were all things he had prepared in advance, collected specifically to deal with the current situation.
"I still have more things that can be detonated at any time waiting for you, don't think…"
Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, a sudden, long whip sent Inosuke flying far away.
At this moment, Obanai seized the opportunity, and the moment he regained his focus, he immediately used his sword to leave a jagged wound on Muzan's arm.
Suddenly, Muzan's arms were severed and fell to the ground; he had not expected this strike from Obanai to be so sudden.
Obanai, standing nearby, noticed that the regeneration speed of Muzan's severed arms seemed to be getting slower and slower.
Even Sanemi, who was standing a little further away, also noticed this phenomenon while dodging the enemy's attacks.
Sure enough! Even as strong as Muzan was, after being cut by the Bright Red Sword, his recovery rate was affected.
Sanemi shouted, as if to remind the other two companions that they could take the opportunity to launch an attack.
Immediately, Kanao and Zenitsu stuck the talismans onto their foreheads again, and their figures disappeared from everyone's eyes.
Zenitsu was weeping while operating, clearly terrified.
"FLOWER BREATHING, FOURTH FORM: CRIMSON HANAGOROMO—!"
"THUNDER BREATHING, FIRST FORM: THUNDERCLAP AND FLASH—!"
Kanao unleashed a circular arc attack downwards, while Zenitsu exerted his technique with all his might.
Although they launched what looked like a destructive offensive, it seemed they failed to cause any substantial damage to Muzan.
But this seemingly ineffective strike had actually fulfilled its mission.
"SERPENT BREATHING, THIRD FORM: COIL CHOKE—!"
Surrounding Muzan's position, Obanai drew complex, snake-like sword paths in the air.
Multiple intertwined trajectories looked like a giant python tightly constricting its target.
Facing the constant harassment from several opponents, plus the influence of the Bright Red Sword, Muzan was unable to escape at this moment.
The containment of several people, combined with the effect of the Bright Red Sword, made Muzan unable to act for the time being. Gyomei, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, immediately took action, throwing the meteor hammer and giant axe he was holding.
BOOM—!
Surprisingly, the two weapons collided in the air, emitting a deafening sound.
In the astonished eyes of everyone, the tools in Gyomei's hands burned once again, a scene that reminded people of the set of skills he used against Kokushibo.
Gyomei knew very well that this flame-like, scorching state could not last long. It was with this conviction that he entered the danger zone where Muzan was without hesitation.
The sweeping hammer smashed accurately towards the target.
BOOM—!
This heavy blow caused half of Muzan's body to directly turn into powder, and just like the other damage received from Obanai, he was unable to heal quickly because of it.
An angry expression appeared on Muzan's face, and his fierce gaze turned towards Gyomei, knowing in his heart that the scorching feeling…
Was it still because of the damn Bright Red Sword?
Sanemi, observing all these changes from afar, became interested after seeing the violent triggering scene of the Bright Red Sword.
"GIYU!!"
He roared at Giyu, who was in the middle of battle, and almost at the same time, swung his sword to slash at him.
"Ah!"
Giyu wanted to dodge, but found it was too late, so he had to barely lift his weapon to block.
The sound of the collision between the two weapons resounded through the sky instantly.
Next, under Giyu's puzzled gaze, the two originally ordinary-looking Nichirin swords gradually emitted a dazzling red light.
So that's how it was; so this is how to make the sword change color.
However…
In the distance, Zenitsu saw this scene and couldn't help but shiver, silently swearing in his heart that he must never provoke this ruthless character.
To be honest, Sanemi, you really wanted to cut Giyu just now, right?
At this moment, Kiriya flew over the battlefield on a crow, bringing a message.
One hour and three minutes left until sunrise…
Despite this, the Demon Slayer Corps members in the fierce battle didn't seem to pay much attention.
"Regardless of how long, just kill this guy!"
Sanemi's voice resounded through the streets again, and Muzan couldn't help but frown, muttering:
"What a noisy guy."
The battle continued, and this time, the swords in the hands of all the Hashira were enhanced by the Bright Red Sword.
The fierce battle continued.
On the other side, Yushiro was continuously injecting the antidote into Tanjiro's body.
Looking at Tanjiro lying on the ground, Yushiro knew very well that only one dose of this antidote was needed. But now, Tanjiro had been poisoned for too long, and the situation was critical.
Even so, Tanjiro still gripped the Nichirin sword in his hand tightly, which gave Yushiro a glimmer of hope.
If Tanjiro refused to let go, it meant he was still trying to fight, harboring an undying fighting spirit; Yushiro knew this very well in his heart.
Suddenly, Tanjiro's arm twitched slightly, and then his heartbeat finally began to slowly recover.
Seeing this scene, Murata was moved to tears, shouting Tanjiro's name repeatedly, offering encouragement.
"Tanjiro! Tanjiro! Wake up quickly, Tanjiro!"
Murata's tears couldn't stop dripping onto Tanjiro's face.
"We finally… finally forced Muzan to this point; we must unite to eliminate him!"
After hearing this, Yushiro was startled and looked at Tanjiro lying there, muttering to himself:
"The pulse is weakening, as expected… is it still not working…"
Although Yushiro's voice was extremely low and almost inaudible, Murata, standing next to him, heard it clearly.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Tanjiro!"
"If you don't get up… Muzan is going to run away!"
Just as Murata finished speaking, a strange sound suddenly came, accompanied by a vibration.
When everyone recovered, they realized it was the sound of Tanjiro's hand holding the sword.
At this moment, Tanjiro sat there with his eyes wide open, with scars still on one side of his cheek, looking somewhat terrifying.
More importantly, after waking up, Tanjiro didn't say a word, just sat up blankly as if his soul had been replaced.
Everyone stared at the person in front of them, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Was that really Tanjiro?
He gripped the blade in his hand tightly and walked slowly towards the battlefield.
Unlike his previous speed and agility, he walked towards Muzan slowly, like an ordinary person. 』
『 .....』
〜Dimensional livestream, Chat Room〜
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "What happened to him?" ]
[ Oyama Mahiro (Onimai): "No, didn't he just see that scene from the past? How did he come out?" ]
[ Umaru Doma (Himouto): "From a coma state, after waking up, logically speaking, he should have learned something." ]
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "Learned something? Could it be…" ]
[ Tsugikuni Yoriichi (Demon Slayer): "Haha, I didn't expect that the descendant of my good friend could also inherit what I had back then." ]
[ Tsugikuni Yoriichi (Demon Slayer): "Very good, that future is handed over to you." ]
[ Kamado Tanjiro (Demon Slayer): "No problem!" ]
[ .....]
『 Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, with the help of the Bright Red Sword, several people fought Muzan to a draw.
Muzan's attacks failed to take these people down instantly, and at this rate, they might really be able to hold out until dawn.
Gyomei seized the opportunity and swung his meteor hammer violently, smashing it into Muzan's chest.
At the moment, Muzan was surprised, and Sanemi quickly picked up a talisman from the ground and stuck it on his forehead.
Soon, when Muzan came to his senses, Sanemi had disappeared from his line of sight.
After turning invisible, Sanemi showed his white teeth. Indeed, not only could he be invisible this way, but he could also see other people who had stuck the same talisman.
At this time, the boar-headed boy Inosuke kept urging Zenitsu; he also wanted to try Sanemi's trick of turning the sword red. Kanao, standing aside, had her mouth wide open in surprise.
Kanao poured a bucket of cold water on Inosuke without mercy; how could it be that easy? Without the strength of a Hashira-level, it was impossible to achieve that effect.
After hearing this, Inosuke still didn't believe it and picked up his dual swords to slash at Zenitsu.
Zenitsu could only helplessly defend, so scared that tears almost flowed out.
The blade turned red instantly, but soon returned to its original state.
It seems he still had to find other ways. Inosuke started thinking about other plans in his heart.
After Sanemi turned invisible, his swordsmanship became even smoother and more fluid, making Muzan dizzy.
And at this time, Gyomei was also calculating that if he could perceive Muzan's position like clairvoyance, it would be more beneficial to the battle!
Without thinking any further, Gyomei immediately concentrated, seemingly entering another state, listening carefully to every sound on the battlefield… 』
『 .....』