The battlefield was chaos incarnate.
The eight warriors bled, gasped, and fought—yet Muzan Kibutsuji stood towering, monstrous, and smug.
His regeneration kept pace with every wound, every broken piece of flesh and bone rebuilt before it hit the floor.
"Is this it?" Muzan sneered, voice like oil and fire.
"You cannot kill a god."
He extended his arms.
Twelve black tendrils erupted from his back, splitting through the ground like spears, cracking the foundation beneath their feet.
The slayers leapt—parried—dodged—some barely.
Tanjiro was nearly caught—until Giyu intercepted with a vertical slash.
Mitsuri and Obanai worked in tandem, flowing like silk.
Sanemi's ferocity tore through two tendrils—only for another to send him crashing back.
Inosuke shrieked and slashed but was flung to the wall.
"STAY STILL!" Muzan roared.
SLICE!
A tendril fell.
Another.
"Breathing—Flower Style, Final Form: Equinoctial Vermilion Eye!"
Kanao stood, calm and burning bright.
Beside her, Shinobu appeared in a flash, blades coated in poison, smile as soft as silk.
"Ara~ Did you forget about us?" she teased.
Muzan growled, genuinely annoyed now.
He moved to crush them—
BOOM.
A single sound. A crushing force.
"Stone Breathing, Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock – Rapid Conquest!"
Gyomei Himejima, larger than life, swung his spiked flail with holy fury, crashing into Muzan's ribs and sending shockwaves through the battlefield.
11 versus 1.
Muzan screamed, releasing twelve tendrils, each faster than lightning.
Each one aimed to kill.
And yet—
FLASH. SLASH.
Every single tendril—cut.
Time froze. Muzan's eyes widened.
A yellow bolt zipped across the battlefield, too fast to follow.
In his wake, the tendrils fell apart in clean, perfect slices.
"Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form: Honoikazuchi no Kami!"
Zenitsu Agatsuma stood, his eyes calm, filled with lightning and death.
His yellow hair flickered in the wind like fire.
"You talk too much," Zenitsu said coldly.
"Your time's up."
Now they stood, shoulder to shoulder.
The Twelve.
Tanjiro – The Sun.
Giyu – The Calm Current.
Sanemi – The Storm.
Obanai – The Fang.
Mitsuri – The Passion.
Genya – The Survivor.
Muichiro – The Mist.
Inosuke – The Beast.
Shinobu – The Venom.
Kanao – The Flower.
Gyomei – The Shield.
Zenitsu – The Thunder.
Twelve blades.
Twelve hearts.
One mission.
End the Demon King.
The final war had truly begun.