Muzan Kibutsuji's arm was severed in an instant, and flames crawled up along the limb like hungry serpents.
Even after losing an arm, Muzan forced himself to fight back.
But he was already at his absolute limit. His arms felt as if they were filled with molten lead, so heavy he could barely lift them.
His speed had slowed too.
Against their encirclement, Muzan could only defend, forced into a miserable rhythm of blocking and retreating, waiting for the tiniest opening to land a killing blow.
But they would never give him that chance.
Strike after strike carved him up, leaving his body riddled with wounds.
Zenitsu Agatsuma clenched his teeth through the agony of a fractured leg and flashed forward again.
Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form!
Flaming Thunder God!
Lightning condensed into a massive golden dragon that ripped past Muzan's front like a divine strike.
Splurt!
Muzan's body was pierced through again. A savage gash tore from his shoulder straight down to his lower abdomen, his organs exposed, trembling like they might spill out with the slightest shake.
Yet Muzan's regeneration far surpassed any other demon. In the blink of an eye, he restored himself as if nothing had happened.
Beast Breathing, Fifth Fang!
Crazy Cutting!
Inosuke Hashibira appeared in a burst of motion, swinging his jagged blades like twin saws.
"Beads Brother had his leg cut off by you. Vest Brother lost an arm. And all those comrades sprawled on the ground, they were people I ate with!"
Inosuke's voice turned hoarse, thicker with rage by the second.
"If you still haven't made peace with what you've done, then I'll help you pay it back slowly…"
"I'll kill you a million times before I'm satisfied!"
His twin blades tore into Muzan's arms, carving grotesque wounds into the flesh.
Third Fang!
Devour and Tear!
One of Muzan's feet was cut clean off, blood erupting.
Then Muzan's body suddenly locked up.
Crackling lightning burst from inside him.
Boom!
Pale white thunder lit up the battlefield like daylight. Inosuke was hit head on.
His body was sliced open with countless wounds, and he was sent flying.
Serious Punch!
Vincent Fox flashed in, smashing the closing whip like tendrils into fragments with one punch.
Another punch followed immediately, launching Muzan backward through the air.
Tanjiro's breathing was like fire at his lips. He stood directly in Muzan's flight path.
Sun Breathing, Scorching Bones, Blazing Sun!
A blade like the midday sun cleaved Muzan's body open.
Muzan reformed instantly, snapping back together.
Tanjiro had already anticipated it. He never stopped.
Blazing Sun, Brilliant Sky!
Flame Train!
Brilliant Grace!
Muzan's speed was clearly slower now.
And that paralyzing shockwave earlier was not something he could unleash whenever he wanted.
Sun Halo, Dragon Head Dance!
Flames gathered into a roaring dragon and wrapped around Muzan's body, binding him in burning coils.
After releasing so many forms, Tanjiro's body finally hit its limit.
He spat a mouthful of blood. His movements stalled for a heartbeat.
Boom!
Vincent appeared and shattered the danger, pulling Tanjiro out of the kill zone.
Then he dove right back into the fight with Muzan.
Tanjiro took the brief breath he was given and tightened his grip on his Nichirin blade.
Sun Breathing, Flame Dance!
Twelfth Form!
Fire surged, and he carved a massive gash across Muzan's waist.
Tanjiro did not stop.
That tiny hesitation had taught him the harshest truth.
In a fight against Muzan Kibutsuji, you could not pause.
Not even for a blink.
His speed rose, faster and faster, his transitions smoother, more instinctive, more lethal.
Flames wrapped around his whole body until he looked like a fire spirit dancing through hell.
Thunder Breathing!
Godspeed, Thunderclap and Flash!
Zenitsu wrung out his last shred of strength and streaked across the battlefield.
His golden Nichirin blade left a deep mark across Muzan's face, slicing through both eyes until they burst apart.
Sun Breathing, Sun Halo, Dragon Head Dance!
Blazing Sun, Brilliant Sky!
Tanjiro fused the two forms into one.
A crimson arc swept the air in a flawless circle and struck Muzan dead center.
Solar Brilliance Thrust!
Tanjiro stabbed forward and pinned Muzan to the wall.
Muzan's body trembled.
He had no power left to fight.
Tanjiro's only job now was to nail him there.
To hold him.
To never let go.
Feeling his body skewered, Muzan tried to summon his whip like tendrils to shred Tanjiro.
But the tendrils, severed earlier, still refused to regrow.
Muzan swung both hands, attempting a final killing blow.
A blade of green wind flashed across his vision and cut both hands clean off.
"That's enough, you bastard!" Sanemi Shinazugawa cursed, voice raw. "At this point, can't you admit it? You're dying!"
He dragged his body forward, a body that felt like it was splitting in half, and still forced himself to intercept the strike.
Then Muzan's eyes rolled white.
A裂痕 tore open across his face, spreading rapidly until it swallowed half his body.
Jagged teeth pushed out from within, forming a bloody, grotesque mouth.
Tanjiro's scalp went cold.
That mouth was large enough to swallow him whole.
But even fear could not move him.
If he hesitated for even a fraction, his Nichirin blade could slip free.
The stench hit him like rot.
The disgusting mouth crept closer, inch by inch, about to devour him.
Bang!
A massive fist slammed into Muzan's side.
"Die already, you piece of trash!"
Vincent's punch smashed the mouth sideways.
But it sprang back up, as if it would not stop until Tanjiro was swallowed.
Above them, crows circled.
The first strands of sunlight touched their black feathers.
The sun rose slowly, and its light began to expose this human hellscape.
Muzan reacted.
He had not seen sunlight in a thousand years.
That faint golden glow was blinding.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted again, cracking the wall behind him into collapsing fragments.
Sanemi was flung away like a broken sandbag, collapsing hard onto the ground.
Even Vincent was forced a step back, then he drove a punch forward to cancel the force.
Tanjiro's arm exploded into a mist of blood.
With the one arm he had left, he clung to the Nichirin blade with everything in him.
"Hold on! The sun is almost up!"
"As soon as sunlight touches Muzan Kibutsuji, he dies! Then none of this was for nothing!"
He squeezed the hilt with that last arm, praying he could turn the blade into a Crimson Blade that would truly kill Muzan.
"Please… turn red!"
He screamed until his throat tore.
And the sword did turn red.
But Tanjiro instantly realized something.
It was not because of him.
He opened his eyes and saw Vincent standing in front of him.
Vincent's left hand slammed down on Muzan's head, pinning him in place.
His right hand gripped the hilt alongside Tanjiro's, crushing it with terrifying strength.
Under Vincent's grip, the Nichirin blade burst with a brilliance it had never shown before.
The two of them drove it forward together, forcing the crimson blade deeper and deeper into Muzan's flesh…
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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