"Akaza... what exactly are you doing right now?"
Muzan's furious roar exploded inside Akaza's mind.
This overwhelming pressure from Muzan's cells was enough to make any demon he had created burst apart and die instantly.
But the problem was that Akaza did not react the way Muzan expected.
"I'm not doing anything. Just enjoying the scenery. And by the way, my name is Hakuji."
His voice was stiff and cold.
Muzan trembled with rage. Inside the mansion, the wooden floor cracked under the pressure of his aura, veins bulging across his forehead as if they were about to burst.
"What did you say?"
"I said my name is Hakuji. I've remembered everything, Muzan."
"Have you gone insane? Or did centuries of training finally let your muscles replace your brain, Akaza?"
"You took my memories. You stole my name and turned me into a coward who only knew how to kill. But that trick doesn't work anymore, Muzan."
"You bastard!"
Muzan shredded the book in his hand and roared furiously.
"Your blood was given by me! Your life belongs to me!"
"I'll show you what happens to those who defy me. Rot into pus in agony, you traitor!"
But in the next moment, Muzan's pupils froze.
He had indeed activated the curse, yet nothing happened.
Not exactly nothing. He could clearly sense that Akaza had initially tensed up, his nerves tightening and muscles twitching as Muzan's cells took effect.
But immediately after, the black-haired swordsman beside him stepped forward and plunged the blade in his hand into Akaza's palm.
A strange sensation of something being stripped away surged through Muzan. It felt as if a piece of his soul had been torn out, sending a chilling cold through his heart.
Thousands of miles away, inside a shrine atop Mount Myoko.
Asuka noticed something wrong with Hakuji and immediately used Nugata to devour the strange spiritual pressure surging within his body.
Powerful demonic energy poured into him in waves, dark and malicious.
So this was the taste of Muzan Kibutsuji.
Disgusting.
"Sorry. I can't control my strength very well. If I end up hurting you because of it, you'll just have to endure."
"Heh... do whatever you want."
Hakuji forced himself to stay conscious as Asuka stripped away Muzan's cells from his body. At the same time, his own strength rapidly declined.
Muzan's blood was the foundation of his power as a member of the Twelve Kizuki. Once it was taken away, weakening was inevitable.
Only after the presence of that aura weakened enough for Hakuji to regain full control over his mind did he signal for Asuka to pull the blade out.
Then he sneered coldly at the remaining trace of Muzan within his body.
"You won't be able to hide much longer, sewer rat."
Bang.
The spiritual link that had bound Muzan and Akaza for centuries snapped completely.
Inside the Tokyo mansion, Muzan groaned and staggered, nearly collapsing.
Blood seeped from the corner of his eyes. His fury had reached such extremes that the blood vessels around his eyes had burst.
"Betrayal... you dare betray me! You and that wretched woman Tamayo!"
"Have you forgotten who granted you eternal life?!"
He lowered his head, black hair hanging down to cover his twisted expression.
His fingernails dug deeply into the wall, carving several deep grooves into the expensive marble surface.
At this moment, Muzan Kibutsuji felt a crisis unlike anything before.
The deaths of Doma and Daki. Akaza's betrayal.
This was not merely the loss of strength. It meant that a rule he had maintained for a thousand years had been completely shattered.
And that boy named Asuka possessed a power capable of interfering with his Blood Demon Curse.
"Oh my, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
Two women appeared behind Muzan as he raged.
They were the mother of Toshikuni and her maid.
The noise coming from the study late at night had naturally alarmed the mistress of the house, who hurried over to check on the situation.
"Get out."
"... Toshikuni? What's wrong? Talk to your mother—"
"I SAID GET OUT!"
With a furious swing of his demonic hand, Muzan instantly severed both of their heads. Blood sprayed across the floor.
The two bodies collapsed in confusion, never understanding what had happened until their final moment.
Meanwhile, Muzan slowly reverted from the form of the child Toshikuni back into the body of an adult man.
"I can't wait any longer..."
"Nakime!"
Muzan suddenly raised his head, murderous intent filling his eyes.
The sound of a biwa exploded through the mansion.
Space warped like rippling water, and Muzan's figure vanished instantly.
In the next moment, he appeared within that otherworldly space.
The Infinity Castle.
Standing atop a massive floating pavilion, he looked down at the labyrinthine structures twisting endlessly below.
"Master..."
Nakime, the kimono-clad woman holding the biwa, knelt behind him.
"Go. Summon all the Upper Moons scattered across the land," Muzan said coldly. "Whether it's Kokushibo, Hantengu, or Gyokko. Deliver the order."
"Stop all searches for the Blue Spider Lily. Stop all unnecessary killing."
"If you find any suitable candidates, bring them back to the Infinity Castle immediately. I will personally grant them demon blood."
"They want to play hero?"
Muzan raised his hand and clenched it as if he intended to crush the entire world in his palm.
"Then let them play to their heart's content."
"Lure every single rat from the Demon Slayer Corps here."
"I will grind them, along with that traitor, into dust."
At the summit of Mount Myoko, Hakuji slowly stood up, feeling an unfamiliar sense of clarity flowing through his body.
"The connection is gone..."
He turned toward Asuka.
"Muzan is probably furious right now."
"It doesn't matter. He won't be furious for much longer."
Asuka sheathed his Zanpakuto again and asked curiously,
"Can you still fight?"
"I'm weakened a little, but I'm not useless trash like Doma who only grows stronger by devouring humans."
Hakuji clenched his fists, feeling that his strength was roughly sixty percent of what it once was. His expression turned serious.
"I am a Soryu martial artist who trained for a hundred years. I won't lose..."
Giyu Tomioka silently stepped forward, looking first at Hakuji, then at Asuka.
Even though he still couldn't completely trust this so-called "Fist Hashira," the scene he had just witnessed allowed him to feel the demon's resolve.
"Dawn is coming."
Giyu sheathed his blade and gave him a quiet reminder.
Caw—! Caw—!
The Demon Slayer Corps crows were unusually busy tonight.
From the Entertainment District to Shinetsu, then to Hayama, Momoyama, and Mount Sagiri.
The crows flew at the fastest speeds of their lives, exchanging information with the nearest contact points and loudly announcing this shocking news to every member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Nanajūhachi Asuka, Shinobu Kocho, Giyu Tomioka! Upper Rank Two has been slain!"
"Tengen Uzui, Obanai Iguro, Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma! Upper Rank Six has been slain!"
"Repeat! Repeat!"
"Two Upper Rank demons have been killed!"
"The Upper Rank two and six have been slain by the Demon Slayer Corps!"
At the foot of the mountain, Shinobu Kocho was so gravely injured that even breathing was difficult.
Yet she stubbornly refused to lose consciousness.
She even rejected the use of anesthetics, clutching the clothing of a Kakushi member as she hoarsely gave instructions.
If the worst happened, throw her corpse to Upper Rank Two.
For this day, she had long been ingesting wisteria poison.
If the Upper Rank demon devoured her, it would surely poison him to death.
But when the crow's announcement exploded above her head, she finally released the fist she had been clenching.
Unable to hold back any longer, she burst into tears.
Doma was dead.
That hateful demon had finally—
Trembling, she raised her pinky finger toward the night sky, sobbing uncontrollably. Her damaged lungs coughed up pink foam with every breath.
"Big sister... we did it..."
"Our promise..."
"We fulfilled it!"
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##Discount##
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