By the time Gyomei Himejima rushed over, he met with emptiness; nothing was left.
He felt neither Tsugikuni Yoriichi nor anything else.
Only the barely visible black ashes on the ground were slowly dissipating with the wind.
In Yoriichi's eyes, the deaths of a few demons were not a big deal.
He might remember Kaigaku for a few seconds, only because he was the one who actively chose to become a demon.
However, he would quickly forget about it under the impact of news about Kibutsuji Muzan.
At this moment, faint roars came from all directions, and Gyomei Himejima quietly chanted a Buddhist prayer.
He tightly gripped his flail, his gaze like a torch, watching the malevolent demons that had silently surrounded him.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
The flail spun, leaving afterimages, and the whistling wind followed.
A resolute mindset slowly fermented.
…
At the same time.
Inside the Infinite Castle, Muzan, having already made up his mind, was restless.
He decisively summoned the other Upper Moons, thinking that even if he couldn't find the blue spider lily, he absolutely couldn't sit idly by and wait for death.
Douma was dead, and next it might be another Upper Moon, or even himself.
He couldn't place his hope for survival on Tsugikuni Yoriichi's mercy.
Muzan exhaled heavily.
Looking at Daki, Hantengu, and Gyokko, who had arrived at the Infinite Castle one after another, he was about to speak when suddenly, his expression drastically changed.
The connection from his bloodline told him that the demons outside the Eternal Paradise Faith had been completely annihilated.
In less than three short minutes, his plan was utterly shattered!
How was this possible!!
Those were hundreds of demons! Dispersed throughout the vast mountains, even if he killed them one by one, the speed couldn't be this fast!
Not to mention that there were more than a dozen demons close to Upper Moon strength hidden among them, all of whom Muzan had promoted as cannon fodder in just a few months.
But even if they were cannon fodder, they were still existences difficult for humans to resist!
Could Tsugikuni Yoriichi fly?!
Muzan's face turned pale then green, his forehead veins bulging like writhing earthworms, and the aura he emitted made the surrounding air exceptionally heavy, as thick as glue.
In front of him, the few Upper Moons remained silent.
Hantengu nervously observed his surroundings; the sight that entered his eyes instantly transformed into boundless terror, engulfing him, and his aged body trembled incessantly…
Douma was gone, Akaza was gone… Were they dead??
Terrifying! Too terrifying!
Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Two had perished at the same time.
Just how powerful was the opponent they encountered?
Hantengu couldn't imagine, muttering to himself that he hoped he would never encounter such a foe in this life, for he was merely a pitiful weakling.
Facing such a heavy atmosphere now, even the inherently optimistic Gyokko couldn't smile.
His clear yellow eye blinked, and he was about to ask what Muzan-sama had summoned them for.
The next second, boom!
A surging wave of air exploded all around, kicking up dust.
Muzan gnashed his teeth, his crimson eyes so dark they seemed to drip blood.
He roared indignantly, "Damn you! Three hundred years, why can't you just obediently die?!"
"Hantengu, Gyokko, Daki!"
He ordered sharply, "The three of you, go capture the humans around me, regardless of gender, age, or youth! I will turn them all into demons!"
This command was truly unexpected for the three Upper Moons.
In their eyes, Muzan had never been such an impulsive person.
Turn them all into demons?!
Was this to start a decisive battle with humanity?
Too fast!
Daki raised her head, her pretty face filled with confusion: "Muzan-sama, are you going to turn those ugly people into demons too?"
"What happened to Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Two?"
"Why…"
"Shut up!" Muzan interrupted her, no matter how much he had admired Gyuutarou within Daki before, he had no such mood now.
His voice was sharp, his crimson eyes like sharp swords, staring intently at Daki, "Do not question my decisions!"
"I have all the decision-making power, and what I say is absolute!"
His voice, like heavy shackles, enveloped Daki; her body suddenly sank, and with a "bang," she fell to the ground, even creating a large pit in the floor.
Daki dared not speak again, trembling all over.
Having lived for so many years, she had never seen Muzan-sama in this state.
Or rather, the Muzan-sama she had seen before was always a carefully disguised version of him.
Afraid of death, cowardly, cautious, easily enraged by small things… this was his true nature.
Because he feared death.
Daki slowly held her breath, listening to Muzan's next words, then, with a blur before her eyes, she vanished from her spot.
…
Yoshiwara Entertainment District.
Daki sat trembling before her dressing table, her face pale, breathing heavily, constantly recalling Muzan's words in her mind.
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in her expression.
She slowly stood up, called for her "kamuro," or maid, who served her, and was about to make a move.
The next moment, Kibutsuji Muzan's gnashing, shrill voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
"Daki!"
The moment the voice fell, she was back in the Infinite Castle.
The continuous change of environment, even with Daki fully prepared, still caused her to be momentarily stunned.
—What happened?
She instinctively looked forward.
She saw a hollow darkness appearing in a corner of the Infinite Castle, a mark of something being shattered.
Before the darkness, a person stood quietly.
Dark red hair tied high in a ponytail, a white haori fluttering in the wind.
Under the warm light, the surrounding air was still, and Daki could clearly feel the unimaginable terror rising in Muzan's heart at that moment.
Muzan-sama was terrified, afraid of that human who suddenly appeared.
—Who is he?
Since Muzan had not told the Upper Moons about Tsugikuni Yoriichi's existence, fearing a loss of deterrence, in Daki's eyes, with Touhou Sekigan activated, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was just a pure ordinary person.
Why would an ordinary person make Muzan-sama so afraid?
Daki bared her teeth, her slender finger pointing towards Tsugikuni Yoriichi, and her shrill voice rang out:
"Hey! You demon slayer, how did you get in?!"
This was the Infinite Castle! Even they, the Upper Moons, found it difficult to locate, yet a human managed to find it.
And not only found it, but also managed to destroy it…
Now, Muzan-sama had urgently summoned them.
Was he saying…
That they, the Upper Moons, couldn't even stand against one human?
Unforgivable!
Daki, who regarded Muzan-sama as the supreme being, felt an unbearable surge of anger at this moment.
She yelled, "Brother!"
"Teach him a lesson for me!"
…
The moment Daki's words fell, Gyuutarou's body rapidly peeled away from her, like shedding a layer of viscous substance.
His slender and disproportionate body was hunched, as if enduring endless suffering.
His clear yellow eyes slowly opened, like two dim, flickering lamps in the darkness.
His gray skin was like that of a beast, rough and wild.
His black and green hair resembled withered wild grass, exuding a strong sickly aura.
"Thud!" His gaunt feet stepped on the ground, making a dull sound.
Gyuutarou looked at Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who stood quietly not far away, first sizing him up, then slowly turning around.
One of his hands gently stroked Daki's head, his movements extremely gentle, as if caressing the most precious treasure in the world.
"There, there, my cute little sister, it's just a human."
His voice was low and hoarse, yet full of comforting power.
"Just watch your brother, how I will kill him."
Only at times like this would Gyuutarou speak so softly.
Because in his world, the only person he cared about was Daki.
He was certainly surprised that the Infinite Castle was shattered.
But no matter how surprised, the opponent was still just a human.
Muzan-sama's fear, perhaps it was just an illusion.
Thinking this, Gyuutarou's lips curved slightly upward, revealing a barely perceptible smile.
Not far away, Muzan seemed to sense this emotion rising in Gyuutarou's heart.
Because of that swelling confidence, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned.
Soon after, he felt very relieved, and even some of his fear was dispersed.
—As expected of you!
Since you are so confident, then…
I'll leave it to you!
"Gyuutarou!" Muzan commanded.
"You, go, kill him!"
Having said that, Muzan feigned composure and quickly retreated.
Using the intricate terrain of the Infinite Castle, he rapidly changed his position.
Gyuutarou softly accepted the order: "Yes."
Immediately after.
"Blood Demon Art: Flying Blood Sickles!"
Two blood-colored fleshy tumor scythes, accompanied by the squirming of flesh, were tightly gripped in his hands.
He swung them fiercely forward.
The high-speed flying blood immediately transformed into blood-colored slashes, flying towards Tsugikuni Yoriichi like raging beasts.
He had expected this move to cause great trouble for the opponent.
But unexpectedly, with a whoosh, Yoriichi merely lightly raised his sword.
Everything in front of him was completely dissolved, evaporating along with the blood.
This scene fell into Gyuutarou's eyes, and he completely failed to comprehend it.
So much so that his pupils unexpectedly widened.
He swiftly swung another slash.
However, in the next instant.
"A demon abandoned by Kibutsuji Muzan?"
Yoriichi's voice suddenly rang out beside him, as if he had teleported.
Even Gyuutarou's superhuman dynamic vision failed to see how Yoriichi had disappeared.
As his pupils constricted, he frantically swung his scythes.
Daki on the side was also helping.
Her ribbons, fluttering all over her body, wrapped around Tsugikuni Yoriichi, trying to bind him in place.
It was a pity that those ribbons, as hard as steel, were as fragile as paper scraps at this moment.
They were easily torn to shreds, and along with her head, she was directly cut off.
Gyuutarou's expression tightened.
"Damn it!"
His entire body's muscles contracted sharply.
He put all his strength into one strike, determined to cut Tsugikuni Yoriichi in half.
But clearly, he overestimated the hardness of his scythes, and he also overestimated his own strength.
In an instant, two heads, along with the shattered scythes, thudded to the ground.
Yoriichi pursued deeper into the Infinite Castle, his gaze not lingering on them.
…
…
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"I knew it, Gyuutarou wouldn't even last ten seconds!"
Deep within the Infinite Castle, Muzan gritted his teeth, his expression incredibly sinister.
He clenched his fists, feeling the severing of his bloodline connection, knowing that the battle there had ended.
He spoke so loudly.
So full of confidence.
In the end, he was still cannon fodder.
Of course, Muzan didn't think they could defeat Tsugikuni Yoriichi anyway.
Ten seconds was far from enough.
Boom!
A loud bang from behind suddenly startled Muzan from his thoughts.
Even without turning around, he knew that Tsugikuni Yoriichi was brutally breaking through the spatial structure of the Infinite Castle.
The Infinite Castle was named "Infinite," yet it was finite.
Nakime's Blood Demon Art could indeed infinitely create space, but the number of spaces created depended entirely on her stamina.
And a demon's stamina was not infinite.
Therefore, over time, the Infinite Castle would become a narrow space.
By then, no matter what he did, he would be unable to escape.
He had to make the other demons delay for a while during the period when Nakime's stamina was depleted, so he could recover to his full strength…
Thinking this, Muzan called upon the remaining demons one by one… This was his last chance.
To fight until only he, the last demon, remained, was something he would not hesitate to do.
…
At the same time, the Demon Slayer Corps, having obtained the location of the Infinite Castle, swiftly rushed towards it.
Although they knew that due to the great distance, the battle might already be over even if they arrived.
But they could not abandon the mission for this reason.
The Demon Slayer Corps' thousand-year struggle with Kibutsuji Muzan should end today.
Just as Tsugikuni Yoriichi had said.
…
At the headquarters, Yashiki Kagaya coughed up blood repeatedly due to emotional agitation.
Although as the Head, he had to remain calm at all times.
But the thought of Kibutsuji Muzan's impending death…
Even with his usual composure, he could not suppress the excitement in his heart at this moment.
Over a thousand years, nearly fifty Heads of the Ubuyashiki family had come and gone.
Every Head could not escape the curse of fate, living no longer than thirty years.
He was no exception.
Today was his twenty-third birthday.
If nothing unexpected happened, he was going to die.
His eyes were already blind, his muscles completely atrophied, and his internal organs were in an extremely poor state, like a tangled mess.
Even with the best care, he would not live past this spring.
However, to hear such good news before his death, his efforts of the past decade were not in vain.
He tried to get up, and Amane Ubuyashiki quickly reached out, carefully helping him.
He was covered in bandages, almost his entire body, and faint, mottled bloodstains were visible on them.
Yashiki Kagaya said softly:
"Amane, after I die, if the demons disappear, disband the Demon Slayer Corps. The Ubuyashiki family should also welcome its own spring…"
Amane Ubuyashiki showed hesitation, she gently held Yashiki Kagaya's hands, her voice filled with sorrow:
"Kagaya, will Kibutsuji Muzan truly die today?"
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just…"
She felt it was somewhat unreal.
It was supposed to be the day to split into two groups and slay the Twelve Demon Moons.
But how did it suddenly fast-forward to the point of slaying Muzan?
It was too sudden.
Yashiki Kagaya coughed softly, his tone gentle:
"Don't worry, I believe him."
"According to our ancestors' records, everything he possesses was born for the purpose of slaying Kibutsuji Muzan."
"This is punishment from the gods and Buddhas."
Gods and Buddhas…
At these words, Amane Ubuyashiki fell silent.
As someone from a family of shrine maidens, she held deep reverence for all this.
Considering Tsugikuni Yoriichi's appearance, perhaps it truly was so.
Considering the other party's uniqueness.
Amane hesitated for a while, then softly and tentatively said:
"Kagaya, you say… if I were to ask him to grant you another life…"
"Do you think he would agree?"