The Hashira charging in all realized the same thing.
Gyomei attacked again. If they wanted to restrain Kibutsuji Muzan, they had to keep dealing catastrophic damage, over and over, without giving him a single breath to stabilize.
Suddenly, Muzan thrust his left hand toward the incoming Gyomei.
In the next second, countless black thorns shot from his fingertips, spreading instantly as they swallowed Gyomei's position!
"Stone Breathing, Third Form!"
"Stone Skin!"
Gyomei swung his chained flail, the spiked iron ball roaring as he wrapped his defense around himself!
Any black thorn that tried to close in was pulverized on contact.
"Is it you, Kibutsuji Muzan?! What did you do to our Master?!"
Sanemi finally reached the scene, shouting as if he could tear the night apart.
Almost instantly, everyone converged here.
"So perfectly synchronized?" Muzan murmured, impressed despite himself. "Looks like Ubuyashiki arranged this well."
At the same time, every blade locked onto Muzan, each Hashira ready to unleash their strongest finishing move.
"Mist Breathing, Fourth Form!"
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Butterfly!"
"Serpent Breathing, First Form!"
"Love Breathing, Fifth Form!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form!"
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form!"
Tanjiro lunged to the very front, his Nichirin Blade wreathed in flame.
"Hinokami Kagura! Sun Halo Thrust!"
Everyone was brimming with confidence. This strike would definitely tear Muzan apart.
Just as their attacks were about to land, Muzan suddenly smiled.
A sharp biwa note rang out, and everyone froze for the briefest instant.
Then came an inexplicable sensation of weightlessness, and the world snapped into a completely different place.
The ground vanished.
Everyone plunged.
Even Vincent Fox was swept up in it.
"You think you've driven me into a corner?"
Muzan's grin turned feral as he roared, "All of you bastards are going straight to hell!"
"The one going to hell is you!"
Vincent snorted and snapped his right hand forward, firing a condensed blast of flame.
Boom!
Muzan's body exploded again, half an arm blown clean off.
And still, he didn't panic.
"You damned nuisances, you demon hunters! Tonight I'll slaughter every last one of you!"
The biwa rang faster and faster. The floors beneath them kept folding and shifting, and everyone was dropped deeper, scattered apart.
"So this is the Infinity Castle…"
Vincent muttered, carving marks into the walls with his Nichirin Blade as he fell.
Then he noticed another falling figure nearby.
He kicked off the wall and shot across the gap, arriving right in front of her.
"Kocho. Didn't expect to see you here."
Shinobu Kocho blinked, her expression grim as she stared down into the seemingly bottomless dark.
"Vincent Fox… this looks bad."
"Yeah. Let's deal with landing first."
As he spoke, black Armament Haki wrapped around Vincent's feet.
Boom!
He stomped.
The wooden floor exploded like it had taken a direct blast, cracks spiderwebbing across the entire room.
Compared to him, Shinobu landed with barely a sound.
She tapped the floor with her toe, flipped lightly, and bled away all the force in a single smooth motion.
"There's a demon's presence!"
Shinobu's expression sharpened, her gaze snapping to one direction.
"Then we end it quickly," Vincent said. "And go help the others. They're all going to be in rough fights."
They sprinted through crooked, twisting corridors, weaving through the warped architecture until they reached the door of an opulent room.
"It's here," Shinobu whispered.
"Then we go in. No need to sneak."
Vincent waved it off and kicked the door.
The panel shattered with a deafening crash.
The sound immediately drew the demon's attention.
Inside was a lotus pond. On the only stretch of floor, human corpses were piled haphazardly.
Every one of them was a young girl.
Doma turned around, an unfinished arm still in his hand.
His attention locked onto Shinobu first, and delight lit his face.
"Ah, I really should thank little Nakime. A young, beautiful girl like this… how delicious."
He removed his hat with a polite flourish, like a host welcoming guests.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Doma. What an exciting night."
"Sa… save me…"
On the wooden platform, a girl stretched out her arm, pleading toward them.
"Hm? Still alive?" Doma tilted his head, mildly puzzled.
Then he spun his iron fan hard.
Slash!
A flash of cutting wind tore through the air, but Doma's eyes widened when the half-dead girl vanished from his sight.
"Oh? Fast. A Hashira?"
Shinobu ignored him. She set the girl down gently and spoke in a soft, steady voice.
"It's alright. You're safe for now."
"Th… thank you… th…"
Before she could finish, the girl suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, her body slackening as life fled.
Vincent crouched and checked her condition.
"Her abdomen was torn open. That demon did something during the attack. Be careful."
He murmured the warning close to Shinobu's ear.
Shinobu nodded, her attention fixed on the golden twin fans in Doma's hands.
Her sister's final words still rang in her ears.
The demon who killed her… wielded razor-sharp twin fans.
Doma shook his head, putting on a gentle, almost compassionate tone.
"Just leave her there. I'll eat her clean later."
Then he stood and lightly fanned the air, continuing his introduction like a preacher.
"I'm the leader of the Eternal Paradise Cult. Leading my followers to true happiness is my duty."
"I'll make sure I finish eating her."
Shinobu frowned, her voice turning cold.
"What kind of stupid 'happiness' is that? She was begging for help. Couldn't you hear her?"
"So I saved her," Doma said calmly, spreading his hands as if it were obvious.
He continued, explaining his warped "happiness" with serene certainty.
"From now on, that girl will never suffer again, right? No fear. No pain. Isn't that the happiness she wanted?"
"They were all afraid, so I ate them and ended their suffering."
"From now on, they'll live inside my body with me, forever!"
"My followers' emotions, their flesh, their spirit, I accept it all."
"And I guide them to a higher spiritual realm. That is my duty as their leader!"
Doma looked intoxicated by his own words, a blissful smile even blooming across his face.
"What is that smile?" Shinobu snapped, her gentleness completely gone. "Are you insane?!"
Her eyes were vicious. Veins bulged at her temple, her rage on the verge of boiling over.
"You're revolting. Are you doing this on purpose, just to disgust people? Do you ever think before you talk, you damned bastard?"
Doma still looked innocent, almost hurt.
"Huh? We just met and you're already saying such cruel things."
"Oh, right. Why are you here?"
"Do you have some unspeakable pain you want me to save you from?"
He opened his arms toward Shinobu as if welcoming a devotee.
"The Eternal Paradise welcomes you. No matter what pain you carry, I can help you find release."
"Your mind and body will exist with me forever, all the way to paradise!"
"Stop spewing that garbage!"
Shinobu's voice sharpened like a blade.
"What pain? What salvation?"
"Do you recognize this uniform?"
"You killed my sister, didn't you?!"
----------------------------------------------------
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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