Mitsuko returned to the town and went to the spot where the man had died.
Bloodstains remained on the ground.
Mitsuko pressed his palm to the ground, allowing his blood to seep into the earth.
As expected, Mitsuko made a discovery based on the information fed back from the blood.
There are many passages underground, the largest of which is as tall as several adults.
Mitsuko's blood explored the earth, searching for traces of the demon.
Suddenly.
Mitsuko's blood suddenly lost its connection.
Mitsuko rushed to the location where the blood had been lost.
When they arrived at their destination, Mitsuko had already left the town and arrived at the neighboring village.
Mitsuko squatted down and rubbed a little bit of soil on the ground between his thumb and forefinger.
The soil was very sticky, and the smell of blood was extremely strong.
And even when Mitsuko is standing on the ground, he can smell the terrifying demonic scent from underground.
If Mitsuko's guess is correct, the demon is right under the ground where Mitsuko is standing.
Mitsuko drew his Nichirin Blade, gripped it tightly with both hands, and aimed it at the ground beneath his feet.
"drink!"
Mitsuko used all his strength to slash at the ground.
Instantly, a very deep gash appeared in the ground.
Mitsuko swung his sword at the ground with all his might, but it was still far from enough.
At this rate, they might not be able to break through to the underground by dawn.
Mitsuko took a deep breath, placed his palms in front of his chest, and used the ability he had been reluctant to use.
A ball of blood, constantly surging, appeared between his palms.
"Blood Demon Art: Cross Blood Burst!"
The blood cell changed shape to a cross and imprinted itself on the ground.
In an instant, a violent explosion rang out, and dust flew everywhere.
When the smoke cleared, a bottomless cross-shaped gap appeared on the ground before Mitsuko's eyes.
Mitsuko poked his head out and looked down into the gap.
Suddenly.
A swarm of insects poured out of the gap, as if trying to devour the Mitsuko tree.
Mitsuko's figure retreated rapidly.
However, these insects somehow formed a giant hand and reached out to grab Mitsuko.
Mitsuko used his Nichirin Blade to cut a gap in the giant hand made of insects.
However, the gap that had been cut was immediately filled by other insects, which continued to attack Mitsuko.
Mitsuko used Blood Demon Art: Cross Blood Burst once again.
The giant hand made of insects was instantly blasted apart.
The remaining insects gathered together again, forming a humanoid shape.
The insect, with a sickeningly loud sound like sawing wood, warned Mitsuko: "You... have crossed the line!"
Mitsuko did not answer the insect man, but instead forcefully swung his Nichirin Blade to shake off the insect's bodily fluids that were stuck to the blade.
"I haven't crossed any lines, I'm looking for you!"
Mitsuko suddenly took a step forward and severed the insect's head.
Before the other insects could launch another attack, Mitsuko had already rushed to the gap he had created earlier with the Cross Blood Explosion.
Mitsuko stomped hard on the ground, and the already unstable gap instantly cracked and expanded, forming an opening large enough to accommodate Mitsuko's size.
Without hesitation, Mitsuko leaped into the cave entrance, heading straight down.
In the blink of an eye, Mitsuko landed in a very spacious cave.
Looking at the scene ahead, Mitsuko's pupils shrank.
An extremely large slug came into Mitsuko's view.
The bottom of this giant slug is covered with densely packed sharp teeth, and between the two tentacles on the top of the slug's head is half a man's body, integrated with the entire slug.
Moreover, the ground inside the cave was covered with human remains.
It seems we've found the real culprit. The monster in front of us must be the Ōku mushi that Yoshiko mentioned.
Ōku mushi looked Mitsuko up and down: "As a demon, to actually use a weapon from the Demon Slayer Corps, you are truly a disgrace to demons!"
Mitsuko ignored him and instead raised his Nichirin Blade, pointing the blade at the Ōku mushi in front of him.
"Oh? So you actually want to attack me? Then even if I devour you, that lord won't blame me. I've never devoured a demon before!"
Yuju looked at Mitsuko with the same eyes that he was eyeing a delicious meal.
Extremely greedy.
Mitsuko had already taken action, charging straight toward Ōku mushi.
Since the Ōku mushi is so large, it should move just as slowly.
Just as Mitsuko had guessed, Ōku mushi didn't make any move at all, and the Nichirin Blade successfully pierced Ōku mushi's body.
Immediately afterward, Mitsuko reversed the direction of the Nichirin Blade's blade, continuing to advance while widening the wound on Ōku mushi.
Green fluid flowed from the wounds of the Ōku mushi worms.
However, just as Mitsuko was about to press on and further enlarge the wound,
Sharp teeth suddenly grew from the wound of the Ōku mushi and abruptly bit at the Mitsuko.
Caught off guard, Mitsuko tried his best to dodge, but half of his hand was still bitten off.
"This tastes really good. I love eating human offal the most. I wonder what demon offal would taste like?"
The enormous body of the Ōku mushi splits into an extremely large number of small slugs, which cover the entire cave.
"Go, devour this brat completely, leave not even a bone fragment!"
Countless slugs approached Mitsuko.
Inside the cave, Mitsuko had nowhere to hide.
Mitsuko's severed hand had fully regenerated, and he swung his Nichirin Blade at the swarm of slugs.
While it can defend against attacks from directly in front, it cannot defend against attacks from the sides or behind.
Some slugs had already crawled onto Mitsuko's body and were gnawing at his flesh.
Mitsuko, being self-centered, unleashed the Blood Demon Art.
"Blood Demon Art: Cross Blood Burst!"
The Blood Demon Art destroyed everything around Mitsuko and the slugs that had climbed onto him.
However, a large number of slugs continued to split on the Ōku mushi's body and then approached the Mitsuko.
Mitsuko could only slow down the slugs' advance by continuously using Blood Demon Art: Cross Blood Burst.
Gradually, Mitsuko was cornered.
Looking at Yoshiko, who was laughing wildly in the distance as if victory was already in his grasp, Mitsuko forced himself to calm down and think of a countermeasure.
To solve the problem of the Ōku mushi, we must first solve the problem of the slugs that split off from them.
Otherwise, if it keeps splitting into slugs, it could eventually wear down Mitsuko.
However, with Mitsuko's current attack methods, he is simply unable to deal with these split slugs.
Without dealing with the slug in front of you, you can't get close to the Ōku mushi.
Mitsuko is in a dead end.
suddenly.
The images of Muzan Kibutsuji and Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared in Mitsuko's memory.
In my memory, nine whips extended from Muzan Kibutsuji's back, and in just an instant, they slaughtered dozens of swordsmen wielding Nichirin Blades in front of him.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, when facing the demon, simply swung his sword lightly, and the demon's head was instantly severed, and then the demon turned into ashes.
Mitsuko's body seemed to receive a revelation, and the muscles in his back began to twitch involuntarily.
It was as if something was about to burst out of its body.
Under the incredulous gaze of the Ōku mushi, a piece of bone protruded from the skin on Mitsuko's back, connected to a blood vessel, with a sharp bone spur growing from the end of the vessel.
It was exactly the same as the whip that Muzan Kibutsuji used in Mitsuko's memory.
However, the difference is that the Mitsuko only has one whip, and it is only one meter long.