A terrifying wave of heat shot straight into the sky as the wooden estate was blown to pieces!
Splinters and shards of timber whirled through the air. The surrounding trees were snapped in half by the shockwave, and burning leaves danced on the rising gust before slowly losing what little life they had left.
Tanjiro clapped a hand over his nose, eyes wide as he stared at the flames that had dyed the night a furious red.
"An explosion this huge… and the smell of scorched blood and flesh… no, this is bad!"
He sprinted after Giyu at full speed.
At that moment, a figure appeared in front of him.
"Tanjiro, what happened?"
Tanjiro didn't slow down. He turned his head as he ran, and his pupils tightened.
"Vincent Fox!"
"The Master's estate exploded. It's very likely the Master already…" Tanjiro couldn't force himself to finish.
Vincent Fox nodded once. He understood instantly.
So Muzan was that fast.
In the end… they were still too late?
No.
This was the Master's plan.
With that much gunpowder, it had to be something prepared long ago.
Ubuyashiki, with little time left, intended to die together with Kibutsuji Muzan. Even if he failed, he would at least buy the Demon Slayer Corps time.
"Vincent Fox, please take me with you!"
Lady Tamayo pushed herself to keep up with his pace and called out.
"Alright."
The moment Vincent agreed, Tamayo sprang onto his back.
The next second, Vincent unleashed his full speed and shot forward.
Boom!
In an instant, their figures vanished from Tanjiro's sight.
Within the blaze, a ruined silhouette swayed unsteadily.
And yet it was regenerating at a horrifying rate.
"Ubuyashiki… I misjudged you. I shouldn't have measured you by human standards. So you really did… endure for a long time."
"To die together with your wife and children… to hide your killing intent that completely… and that smile like a god or Buddha."
Kibutsuji Muzan clenched his teeth and shook his head hard.
"Now's not the time to think about that. My body will recover soon…"
His mangled flesh knitted itself back together. In the blink of an eye, aside from torn skin and ripped meat, his limbs were already mostly restored.
Then Muzan noticed the blood-red lumps floating in the air.
"Floating flesh seeds? A Blood Demon Art?"
Before he could react, the countless "seeds" suddenly swelled!
The fist-sized clots expanded into enormous, meter-long hard spikes in an instant!
They skewered Muzan clean through.
It wasn't over.
The spikes continued to grow, locking him in place like a grotesque cage.
Muzan tried to struggle, but a tearing pain ripped through him. His expression twisted.
He looked inward, examining his own body, and only then did he realize this Blood Demon Art was far more sinister than it appeared.
"Thorns… even inside my body. You're trying to pin me down?"
Still, Muzan didn't panic.
In the end, this was a Blood Demon Art, the very kind of power born from him.
Given time, he could break down every thorn embedded in his flesh.
"Whose Blood Demon Art is this? I don't recognize it… There aren't many demons outside my control. Could it be…"
As Muzan thought, a sharp agony suddenly tore through his abdomen.
"You… Tamayo?"
Muzan's eyes narrowed.
"These thorns are from the demon you assimilated in Asakusa. I should've dealt with you two back then."
"But…"
He glanced at his abdomen, pierced straight through.
"You don't honestly think this kind of damage can kill me, do you? Tamayo, you're still as naive as ever."
"Of course not, Kibutsuji Muzan."
Tamayo's voice was steady.
"You already absorbed my arm, didn't you? Then didn't you feel what I was holding in my fist?"
Before Muzan could answer, Tamayo continued, each word like a blade.
"It's medicine. Medicine that can turn demons back into humans."
"Well? You should already feel it taking effect."
Tamayo laughed, the tension in her face loosening at last, as if a century of hatred had finally found its outlet.
Even with the Demon King standing right in front of her.
"How is that possible?" Muzan refused to believe it. "Something like that shouldn't exist."
"The times have changed, Kibutsuji Muzan," Tamayo said coolly. "The drug is finished."
Muzan's smile curled, cruel and delighted.
"Tamayo… you really are an annoying woman."
"You ate your own husband and child, and now you want to blame me for it?"
"Back then, you were enjoying it. Weren't you?"
The words stabbed at Tamayo's deepest scar again and again.
"I only said I didn't want to die from illness," Tamayo hissed. "If I'd known it would become that… I would've rather died human than become a demon!"
"And after that, didn't you kill plenty of people?" Muzan's tone was almost playful. "I remember you didn't hesitate at all."
Muzan's left hand rose, claws spreading as it reached for Tamayo's head.
Clang!
A sharp ring of steel froze his movement.
In the next instant, his left hand dropped to the ground.
Flames clung to it like a curse, and it turned to ash in a blink.
Vincent Fox stood with his Nichirin Blade in hand, facing Kibutsuji Muzan.
"You've really got a way with twisting logic. For a Demon King who's lived for a thousand years, that mouth of yours is impressive."
"But spending a thousand years training your tongue feels like a waste, doesn't it?"
"Who are you?" Muzan demanded.
Flesh bubbled and churned across his body as he forcefully smothered the flames still eating at his shoulder.
Staring at this man who felt both unfamiliar and strangely familiar, images suddenly surfaced in Muzan's mind.
Akaza.
Gyutaro.
The final moments they'd transmitted back before death.
"So it's you. You're the one who's been ruining my plans this whole time."
Muzan's voice sank, murderous.
"Finally. We meet."
"I'll make sure you die screaming."
Vincent didn't bother answering him.
He gave his blade a light shake, then spoke to Tamayo without looking away.
"Lady Tamayo, endure it for a moment."
A flash of steel.
Tamayo's arm, still buried deep inside Muzan's body, was cleanly severed.
Vincent grabbed her and retreated from the battlefield in an instant, then immediately turned back.
By then, the Hashira had arrived.
"Gyomei! Kill him in one strike!"
Sanemi's roar tore through the smoke.
Behind Muzan, Gyomei Himejima swung the spiked flail with terrifying force, and it smashed into Muzan's head.
Splat!
There was no contest.
The iron ball won.
Muzan's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, spraying fragments everywhere.
Blood and gore flooded the ground. It looked like a death no creature could survive.
Yet Gyomei's face remained grim.
Tears streamed from eyes that could not see, and his hands pressed together.
"Namu Amida Butsu…"
He chanted without stopping, forcing his mind into razor-focus.
"The Master was right. This man has already surpassed the limit."
"His head is no longer his fatal weakness."
"Even a single scrap of flesh is enough for him to regenerate…"
Gyomei lifted his head toward the sky.
It was still pitch-black.
"We have to restrain him in an open place."
"Only when the sun rises, only when sunlight hits his body… will we have hope."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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