What he had pursued for a thousand years—
was now right before his eyes.
Even with Muzan Kibutsuji's nature, the excitement in his heart was almost impossible to suppress at this moment.
He nearly wanted to act personally at once.
But his caution, cultivated over many years, forced him to hold back.
Watch a little longer. Just a little longer.
Muzan Kibutsuji clenched his fists and repeated those words to himself again and again, constantly suppressing the impulse in his heart.
He did not want the incident with Kagaya Ubuyashiki to repeat itself.
One lesson like that was enough.
...
A swordsman swung his Nichirin Sword and cut off a demon's head, then pressed a hand against his chest as he panted heavily.
Just as he was about to catch his breath and return to the battle, a hand suddenly gripped his neck from behind.
Crack!
With the sound of breaking bone, the young swordsman's bright eyes quickly dimmed.
A broad, muscular demon with six drums embedded in his body emerged behind the young swordsman. In his eyes were the characters for Lower Six.
It was Kyogai, the Drum Demon, former Lower Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki.
After becoming a demon, Kyogai had lacked sufficient talent and soon reached the limit of his strength. In the end, Muzan Kibutsuji stripped him of his position among the Twelve Kizuki. Ever since, Kyogai had worked tirelessly, hoping to earn Muzan's recognition and return to the ranks of the Twelve Kizuki.
Recently, with members of the Twelve Kizuki dying one after another, Kyogai had once again received Muzan Kibutsuji's blood, and his strength had returned to the level of a Twelve Kizuki demon.
Just as Kyogai was about to continue hunting swordsmen, his lord's voice sounded beside his ear.
Following his lord's guidance, Kyogai suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance. A sharp blade was cutting through the dark night, beheading demon after demon beneath its edge.
"Blood Demon Art: Rapid Drumming."
Almost immediately, he struck the demon drum on his chest.
Soma had just cut off a demon's head when he suddenly raised his head and realized he was standing inside a room.
Or rather, he was inside the Drum House.
"Kyogai?"
The moment he sensed the room around him, Soma immediately thought of that demon.
When Kyogai had still been human, he was a writer. Because his literary talent had been lacking, he accepted Muzan Kibutsuji's blood and became a demon, hoping to gain inspiration through it.
Yet even after becoming a demon, the works Kyogai labored over still failed to earn recognition from his senior peers. They were even criticized as worthless. Even his drumming was mocked. Worse still, someone had deliberately trampled on his manuscripts to humiliate him. Enraged, Kyogai completely abandoned the morals he had held as a human and killed those who had ridiculed him. From then on, he began to struggle forward as a demon.
Swish, swish, swish!
Cold light surged in an instant as three claw-shaped attacks came slashing toward him.
"Hah!"
Soma drew his Nichirin Sword, and its light flashed through the air, shattering the three claw-like attacks in an instant.
He looked around. The room kept shifting, sometimes even flipping upside down, throwing the space into such disorder that it was almost impossible to find Kyogai's figure.
Clearly, he was inside Kyogai's Blood Demon Art, the Drum House.
This Blood Demon Art was somewhat similar to Nakime's Infinity Castle.
Perhaps when Kyogai first became one of the Twelve Kizuki, Muzan Kibutsuji had valued the Drum House created by his Blood Demon Art. But after Nakime's Infinity Castle appeared, Kyogai was eventually discarded.
And now, Soma was trapped inside this nearly disorienting space.
Perhaps knowing that he was no match for Soma, Kyogai did not show himself. He remained somewhere far away, constantly striking the demon drums as wave after wave of claw-shaped attacks came at Soma from every direction within the room.
Compared with the time when he had been stripped of his rank among the Twelve Kizuki and his Blood Demon Art still had major flaws, the current Kyogai had clearly become far more complete after receiving Muzan Kibutsuji's blood.
"Hah!"
Soma cut down another incoming claw-shaped attack. Just as he caught sight of Kyogai's figure, the space around him flipped once more, transferring him into another room.
Realizing this, Soma stopped trying to chase Kyogai's figure. Instead, he closed his eyes briefly, then drew his blade once more.
"Hah!"
His sharp blade slashed downward with tremendous force—targeting the entire "Demon House."
The fierce blade light tore through the rooms of the Demon House, slicing through and shattering the structure entirely, completely destroying Kyogai's Blood Demon Art.
Kyogai had barely managed to strike the drum on his body before a dull, muffled sound rang out.
Clearly, having his Blood Demon Art broken brought Kyogai no small backlash.
"Die."
Before Kyogai could even react, a man's low voice sounded right beside his ear. Soma's figure had already appeared before him.
Kyogai instinctively tried to flee, but pain tore through his throat.
The sharp blade easily pierced through Kyogai's neck and sent his head falling to the ground.
As his head was severed, Kyogai's muscular body crashed down as well, and several drafts he had always treasured scattered across the floor.
With his head fallen, Kyogai's eyes stared fixedly at those scattered drafts. Very soon, he saw a bloodstained footstep trample over his precious manuscripts.
His eyes widened, filled with anger.
It seemed he was furious that the fruits of his labor had been trampled so carelessly, just as the things he had poured his heart into writing as a human had once been trampled upon.
If it had been Tanjiro, perhaps he would have done his best to avoid stepping on those scattered papers.
But unfortunately…
Soma was not Tanjiro. He merely glanced at Kyogai indifferently before his figure shot toward the distant horde of demons. His blade showed no mercy as it cleaved through demon necks.
Every time he severed a demon's head, the hand gripping his sword grew stronger.
Every demon he killed caused the power surging within his body to grow even greater. His speed became swifter. His spirit grew more vigorous.
Occasionally, Soma would glance at the panel deep within his mind. He could clearly see his own power steadily increasing, along with suddenly acquired, unknown "Blood Demon Arts."
Under the effects of his "Devouring" Blood Demon Art, Soma's strength continued to grow.
Meanwhile, unlike Soma—who fought tirelessly and slaughtered without pause—many swordsmen were gradually reaching their limits. Even Hashira like Gyomei Himejima, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Sanemi Shinazugawa were beginning to feel their stamina drain away.
If this continued, these swordsmen would have only one path left: death.
In the past, Soma would not have cared much about this. He would not have concerned himself with the lives of these swordsmen. Their deaths would have had nothing to do with him.
But at this moment…
Soma still found himself walking over with blade in hand, rescuing the exhausted swordsmen and shielding them behind him.
He could feel the gazes directed at him from behind—some filled with admiration, others with reverence…
It was truly…
A very special feeling.
--------
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]