Kibutsuji Muzan's eyes turned cold, his collapsed chest healing in an instant. Then he reappeared directly in front of Lucien Graves, his right foot twisted into three grotesque, fang-filled mouths whistling through the air.
Lucien radiated high-temperature steam, blood trickling from his mouth as he maintained Thunder Breathing. He bent to dodge, preparing to counterattack — but Muzan unleashed a follow-up strike.
He pivoted and launched a second kick. Sensing the power, Lucien didn't try to block head-on. Instead, he somersaulted twice backward, narrowly evading.
A deep boom echoed as the street cracked open. Muzan materialized before him, an oppressive aura swirling violently. Lucien's face flashed with alarm — there was no easy way out.
He reacted quickly, his hands hardening with Armament Haki to protect his abdomen. There was a crack, and he spat blood, rocketing into the sky like a cannonball. The wind roared in his ears, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Suddenly, the ground erupted. Muzan descended from above, pressing down with that monstrous foot, summoning a storm of power.
Golden lightning struck and shattered the dilapidated street. Stones exploded like shrapnel, dust filled the air, and gusts ripped apart the ground, forming a spiderweb of cracks.
Among the fleeing civilians, Mitsuri looked back, her face pale with worry. She had to shepherd them to safety — then rush to help Lucien.
Unbeknownst to her, many of the Pillars, alerted by their Kasugai Crows, were already racing toward the battle at full speed.
Muzan landed, his expression twisted with cruelty and mockery as the dust cleared. He watched Lucien rise from the crater, coughing violently, blood escaping his throat.
He pushed aside rubble, legs unsteady, steam still emanating from his wounds.
"This is not the strength of a mere human," Muzan muttered with slight uncertainty. Lucien's regeneration was not as fast as his own, but it was still beyond human capability.
Lucien lifted his head, voice strained: "Enough talk. I'm not done yet."
His lips curled into a fierce grin, stained with crimson. He beckoned Muzan forward.
The war BGM still echoed — about a minute remained. Only with its boost could Lucien match Muzan, and even then he felt slightly outmatched. Without it, Muzan would overwhelm him.
Muzan's grin turned horrific. "I will make you a demon," he declared.
Lucien vanished in an instant, launching his first furious assault. His hardened right fist smashed into Muzan, but Muzan's left hand sprouted razor-sharp claws, slashing at Lucien's head with blinding speed.
A lethal threat — Lucien yanked back, narrowly dodging, though not without sustaining an injury.
Muzan's right hand flickered, and flying bits of torn flesh trailed behind it. Five deep claw marks raked across Lucien's left chest, bone visible beneath the wounds. Even with it being hardened, his defense had been breached.
Lucien's expression hardened. He drove his momentum into a powerful kick with his right foot. Muzan staggered under the force, regaining his footing quickly, his face contorted into a grim, malevolent mask.
In a blink, Lucien crossed his arms over his chest, and moments later Muzan's kick struck him.
He was flung away, crashing through buildings. Under debris and chaos, he lay battered and bleeding. Before he could catch his breath, Muzan reappeared above him, ready to stomp down.
Lucien barely twisted to evade. The crushing impact instead shattered the rubble, revealing a pit ten meters deep under Muzan's foot.
Lucien rolled back onto the street, chest heaving violently, his forehead streaming with blood that had flowed into his right eye. There was no time to wipe it — Muzan had already vanished from the rubble.
Wind pressure picked up. Muzan reappeared with his left hand, claws spinning like a deadly whirlwind.
Lucien's breathing was ragged, but he was ready. He used his own vanish — reappearing in a flash, Muzan's attack missing him entirely. Then Lucien remade himself into a zigzagging lightning bolt, his hardened right hand sharpened into a prong ready to pierce.
At the last moment, Lucien abandoned the strike and vanished again.
Suddenly, from Muzan's back erupted a black thorn whip, laced with bone spikes. It lashed toward Lucien's last known position. If he had stayed committed to the attack, Muzan might have cut him in half.
Muzan's eyes widened in surprise. "He actually dodged that."
Lucien's face remained grim as he watched the thorny tendrils writhing behind his opponent.
A kukri materialized in Lucien's hand, appearing out of nowhere. Though the blade was no match for what might harm Muzan permanently, it was still useful — even if not lethal, since sunlight remained his only true weakness.
Muzan raised an eyebrow, noticing the kukri. This constantly surprising opponent was more tenacious than he'd expected.
"Thunder Breathing," Lucien said, leaning forward. He gripped the kukri in a reverse grip with both hands. Electricity crackled over his body, golden lightning and steam surging.
He combined his breathing style with his blade technique.
The ground cracked in concentric circles. Sand and dirt swirled in a violent storm. Lucien's hair stood on end, and his amethyst eyes glowed like lightning.
"Black Blood Bramble."
He launched eight bone-like spikes into the air. They became afterimages, launching toward Muzan and carving trenches wherever they flew.
"Instant Kill."
Time seemed to slow. Lucien blinked and in a blink traversed ten meters behind Muzan, his speed blindingly fast — like real lightning.
There was a dull puff. Blood erupted from Muzan's neck in a geyser. The bone spikes shattered. Muzan's hands grabbed his severed head and pressed it back into place, his flesh wriggling as it reattached.
Lucien didn't pause.
"Thunder Breathing: Eight-Span Mirror."
He morphed into pure lightning again, circling Muzan from below to above. Eight vicious strikes carved diagonally through Muzan's body. Blood sprayed in every direction.
"Meteor."
Lucien transformed into a blazing golden meteor, arcing through the sky with devastating force. He crashed down, sending the earth into a thirty-meter-wide rupture. Lightning surged through the ground, dust and debris exploded, and destruction spread in every direction.
Just then, the war BGM ended.
In the distance, Mitsuri rushed forward, her eyes filled with panic beneath rising dust. As it cleared, she saw a lone figure standing with his back to her.
It was Lucien.
He was glowing with residual steam; his golden armor and kukri were gone. He turned slowly, breathing heavily.
"Mitsuri, I'm alright," he said, voice rough.
He spat clotted blood from his throat, every inch of his body aching as though thousands of needles pricked him. His organs churned painfully, and his legs trembled from exhaustion.
He had poured everything into this fight — Thunder Breathing, his blade, his speed.
Even with the BGM boost, he could not overpower Muzan. He had come close, nearly using his ultimate techniques — Instant Kill, Eight-Span Mirror, Meteor — but they had taken half his stamina. If Muzan had stayed, he might have had to retreat.
He understood why Muzan had fled: powerful presences were closing in, and dawn would break in two hours.
As Lucien steadied himself, Mitsuri hurried to his side, relief and worry in her eyes.