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Muzan stared at the four warriors with undisguised contempt. "You people are insufferable. One after another—endless interference. Everyone who obstructs me dies."
"MUZAN!" Tanjiro's voice cracked with fury, memories of his slaughtered family flooding back.
"Calm down, Tanjiro!" Giyu warned.
"You humans are relentlessly annoying—irritating beyond measure! I'm exhausted by your repetitive grievances. Always whining about dead parents, dead children, dead siblings. You survived—isn't that enough??"
The four warriors' grips tightened on their weapons. Rage coursed through their veins.
"Muzan—say that again. I DARE you." Kaido barely contained his fury.
"Why not? Family members die—so what? Be grateful you survived and move on with your lives. Treat those deaths like natural disasters. Hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes—they kill thousands, yet no one seeks revenge against natural forces, do they?"
(PS: This guy has the audacity to compare himself to natural disasters...)
Tanjiro lunged forward—
Kaido's hand on his shoulder stopped him. His eyes never left Muzan.
"I fundamentally disagree with you, Muzan. Nature provides everything to humanity—when has it ever demanded payment in return? The disasters you mentioned are natural phenomena, not deliberate acts. Even when human actions cause catastrophes, those responsible face consequences."
"But you? Have you ever benefited humanity? No. You use people as tools, as shields for your own twisted agenda. What grudge did your victims hold against you? They were living ordinary lives—until you destroyed their families through your reckless demon creation. Don't project your warped philosophy onto others!"
Muzan showed no reaction. "And? The dead don't come back. Stop fixating on things that can't be changed. Most people accept reality—why can't you?"
"There's only one reason: the Demon Slayer Corps is an organization of abnormal individuals. I'm tired of fighting lunatics. I'm the one who wants closure!"
Tanjiro's expression went hollow, his voice dropping to a flat monotone. "Muzan—you're the least qualified creature to exist in this world."
"Unqualified? Then I suppose you think—"
"Dragon Breathing, Fifth Form Modified: Dragon Cleave!"
Before Muzan could finish, Kaido exploded forward—unleashing nearly a thousand wide-range blade projections.
Facing the overwhelming barrage, Muzan's whips and brambles created a defensive cocoon.
As the assault ended, Kaido charged through the dissipating energy. The other three followed immediately.
Muzan stood motionless, casually flicking his whips—each strike nearly killing all three. His speed was incomprehensible, movements invisible.
Even Tanjiro with Transparent World active barely evaded.
Every time Kaido approached striking distance, Muzan concentrated his black brambles into devastating counterattacks. The whips had doubled in length and thickness under his control.
The enlarged thorned weapons generated sonic booms with each swing, carving fissures into the surrounding architecture.
Giyu, Kyojuro, and Tanjiro couldn't deploy techniques—they could only dodge desperately. Only Kaido managed to evade and maneuver behind Muzan for counterstrikes.
But Muzan seemed to have eyes in his back. Black brambles intercepted instantly.
Kaido abandoned the attack, using his blade against the brambles to generate recoil—launching himself clear.
The four-on-one battle had become a desperate struggle. They were losing ground.
'These four are stalling for time... pointless. In this lightless Infinity Castle, three Hashira and one unranked brat can't accomplish anything.'
Reality defied Muzan's expectations.
CRASH—
The ceiling exploded. Mitsuri and Obanai descended through the breach.
"WHAT?? That woman and man—Nakime killed them! Why are they alive??"
"Love Breathing, Sixth Form: Cat-Legged Winds of Love!"
Mitsuri materialized above Muzan, her whip-like blade coiling around him in a spiral slash—
Muzan's whip deflected it effortlessly.
"Huh?? Waaah! It didn't work! But I felt the blade connect!"
Obanai positioned himself before Kaido. "Kaido, are you all right?"
"We're managing. But seeing you two alive—that's a relief."
"Yeah."
Two more Hashira. Muzan's simmering rage ignited.
"What's happening?? Nakime, what are you doing?? NAKIME!"
But Nakime was no longer his to command.
Yushiro had seized control. The "deaths" of Mitsuri and Obanai had been illusions—fabrications created through his Blood Demon Art.
"What am I doing? Controlling this woman's perspective!" Yushiro's face twisted with savage fury, eyes blood-red. His fingers penetrated Nakime's skull, using her as a conduit to transmit his words directly to Muzan.
"MUZAN! You committed the most unforgivable sin imaginable—you hurt Lady Tamayo! That alone damns you eternally! If not for Kaido's intervention, you would have stolen her from me completely!"
His rage intensified with every syllable. His grip on Nakime tightened brutally.
He wrested control of the Infinity Castle from her—and began transporting everyone to the surface.
"KNEEL IN REGRET, MUZAN! I'M THROWING YOU ONTO THE GROUND!"
RUMBLE—
The entire Castle trembled. Architecture warped around them. Everyone—including Muzan—felt the structure ascending at terrifying speed.
As the Castle twisted during its ascent, pressure mounted exponentially—as though their bodies would be crushed from all sides.
"Waaaah! The movement pressure is too intense—I'm gonna get squished!" Mitsuri wailed.
"Everyone hold on! No matter what, we keep Muzan pinned—don't let him escape!" Kaido commanded.
"RIGHT!"
The others responded as one, forming an encirclement around Muzan despite the crushing pressure.
'The space is shaking violently!' Kaido glanced at his comrades, then at Muzan. One thought dominated his mind: everyone survives.
Yushiro's control became increasingly strained. His hands trembled, veins bulging across his forearms.
"Damn it! That bastard Muzan is trying to reclaim the Castle! He's absorbing my cells through Nakime's blood!"
Muzan attempted to consume Yushiro entirely through his cellular connection to Nakime—reclaiming his domain.
"Pest—DISAPPEAR!"
"MUZAN! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DISAPPEARS! AAAHHH!"
The struggle for control reached stalemate—but the Hashira gave Muzan no opportunity to concentrate. They attacked relentlessly.
"Dragon Breathing, Second Form: Dragon Claw!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
"Serpent Breathing, First Form: Winding Serpent Slash!"
Kaido, Giyu, and Obanai converged from three vectors simultaneously.
Muzan's whips formed a defensive sphere, deflecting all three strikes—
CRACK—
CRASH—
The platform beneath them disintegrated. Everyone plummeted—including Muzan.
During the fall, Muzan detonated the cells he'd embedded in Nakime.
Her head exploded. The Castle lost cohesion. Architecture shattered in every direction.
"No—the Castle's collapsing!"
Yushiro's mind went blank—then Tamayo's image surfaced. Her smile. Her gentle encouragement.
"I can't give up! There's still a chance! Before the cells die completely, I can expel both Muzan and the Corps from the Castle!"
The ascent accelerated—but so did the collapse.
Muzan abandoned strategy entirely, his whips clashing with Kaido and the others in pure aggression.
BOOM—
A deafening explosion. The Infinity Castle erupted through the earth's surface—materializing in the middle of an urban district.
"YOU INTERFERING HUNTERS—ALL OF YOU DIE!"
SQUELCH—
Nine rope-like appendages emerged from Muzan's back—tube whips, each tipped with razor-sharp bone spurs.
Like the thorned whips, they extended and contracted at will. But these carried a worse threat—upon piercing flesh, they injected Muzan's blood directly, poisoning victims instantly.
He'd stopped holding back. Without the Castle as refuge, he'd lost his safety net.
He needed to slaughter everyone here and flee into hiding.
"Hunters—your execution begins now."
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"CAW! THREE HOURS FIFTEEN MINUTES UNTIL DAWN!" The crow's announcement echoed across the battlefield.
Kaido's heart stopped. 'What?? Over three hours still?? The butterfly effect must have altered the timeline!'
His jaw set with renewed determination.
'Even so—I won't let anyone die.'
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