Aoki gasped, his breath forming white clouds that radiated heat.
He didn't know if they were chasing him. He just ran, as far as he could.
Then, the wild power faded. Weakness crashed over him, draining all his strength.
Aoki's legs gave out. He fell hard. He rolled, stopped when he hit a rock.
It took two seconds for his numb brain to work.
"Huff... How come Blood Boiling's aftereffects are worse now than when I was human?
Huff... Huff... Can't stay here. If they find me, they'll finish me."
Aoki pushed himself up, barely lifted his head. He saw a river in front of him.
Not wide, but the water was deep and fast.
"That's... a gift from the gods!"
He smiled weakly. He couldn't even jump. He crawled, fell headfirst into the river.
Splash!
The current swept him away, faster and faster.
Ding.
["Escape from Death" Complete. Rewards Issued.]
[Congratulations! Leveled Up!]
The System message faded. Aoki was too weak to check. He closed his eyes, drifted into sleep.
...
Back at the battlefield, the ogre-like demon saw something strange.
Mukago was hurting herself!
He snarled. "He got away! What are you doing?"
Mukago was angrier. "You think I want this? That demon's attacks have a weird power. It stops healing! I almost died, you know?"
She tore a piece of flesh from her shoulder. The wound healed slowly. Her face grew paler.
"Stops healing?"
The ogre-like demon blinked. He looked at Mukago's torn body. He believed her. His voice softened.
"What do we tell that man?"
"We did our best. He won't blame us, right?"
Mukago's face was grim.
"Next time I see him, I'll kill him!" The ogre-like demon roared, angry.
Mukago worked on her body. She didn't speak.
She didn't want to see that demon again.
The power to stop healing was too scary. When he pinned her, she'd felt death close.
Her life was what mattered.
"You... let the target escape?"
A low voice spoke.
Mukago and the ogre-like demon froze.
The voice was right next to them. But they hadn't sensed it.
They turned slowly.
A figure stood behind them. He wore a purple snake-patterned kimono with black patches. His long red sideburns were tied back in a high ponytail. Red marks covered his left forehead and right neck. A long sword hung at his waist. He looked like a human swordsman.
Except for his face.
Six eyes were set in his face. The irises of the two in the center read "Upper Moon" and "One." Heavy power radiated from him.
Mukago and the ogre-like demon trembled. Fear choked them.
"Upper Moon One!"
...
Muzan Kibutsuji stood on a high platform in the Infinity Castle. He looked down at the ogre-like demon and Mukago. His pale eyes were empty.
The demons knelt, sweating, shaking.
"You didn't capture the target?" Muzan's voice was flat, without emotion.
The ogre-like demon looked up, spoke quickly. "It wasn't my fault! It was Mukago! She didn't stop him! That's how he got away!"
Mukago's face twisted in shock, then rage.
"That man, he can stop healing!"
She pointed at the ogre-like demon. "He didn't stop the target when I was hurt! That's how he escaped!"
The ogre-like demon roared, low. "It was your job to stop him!"
"Silence! Did I tell you to speak?"
Muzan's voice cut through them. Power radiated from him.
It was like a shock wave. Mukago and the ogre-like demon coughed blood. Their skin cracked. Wounds opened on their bodies.
Muzan reached out. His arm turned into a thick limb of flesh. A gaping mouth formed in his hand. It bit the ogre-like demon.
I have to blame Mukago! I finally became a Twelve Kizuki! I can't die here!
"How did he know?" The ogre-like demon blinked. His heart froze. That was his thought.
Muzan's voice was cold. "How did he know?"
"Damn! He can read my thoughts!"
The ogre-like demon realized. Then, he felt cold.
"Damn? You will die!"
Muzan spoke.
Crunch, crunch!
The mouth on the fleshy arm chewed.
The ogre-like demon screamed. His prized regeneration seemed to vanish.
"No! Please! Have mercy, that man!"
Muzan didn't react. He watched, cold.
The ogre-like demon's screams faded. Then, he was gone, swallowed by the mouth on the fleshy arm.
Mukago knelt, terrified.
Muzan turned to her. "You said the target can stop healing?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Mukago spoke quickly. "Wherever he hurts you, you can't heal. You have to cut away the flesh around the wound. Then you can heal. But it takes more energy!"
Muzan asked, "Is it a Blood Demon Art?"
Mukago trembled. "I don't know. But he used another power. It made him much stronger. That's why I was caught off guard. That's why he hurt me."
"I see."
A shadow crossed Muzan's face.
He felt it more than ever. His mistake might be a huge problem.
That human had a secret!
Mukago looked up, a little. She felt relief.
She wasn't dead. She'd survived.
Then, darkness fell.
A gaping mouth came down, swallowed Mukago whole.
Mukago didn't scream. Only a few drops of blood marked her end.
Muzan turned, walked away.
He didn't need a Lower Moon who ran from Pillars, who didn't obey his orders.
---
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