"Aah... Cough, cough..."
Rolling on the ground in a wretched state, Muzan panted heavily, daring not to stop for even a moment.
Even though he sensed frail human auras ahead, he chose to avoid them.
'That woman... what exactly is going on?!'
Clutching his shoulder, Muzan could still recall the pain from earlier, which far exceeded being slashed by the swordsman with the marks.
That woman wearing red and white miko robes drawing her bow... She terrified him.
In the past, the only one who could give Muzan this kind of trauma was Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the user of the Sun Breathing.
But the difference between that woman and Yoriichi Tsugikuni was that the arrow she shot could eliminate his flesh over a large area in an instant.
It wasn't like being cut by a blade; rather, the place hit and the surrounding area would be "evaporated" out of thin air.
That arrow was filled with so-called spiritual power, simply the nemesis of Demons. Evil creatures could hardly resist it... Let alone blocking with the physical body, just grazing a sliver of it was dangerous.
"That woman... can easily kill an Upper Moon level Demon. No... even if I didn't split up and escape, it would be hard to escape the fate of being eliminated."
That was power surpassing the Demon Slayer Corps...
Making such a judgment, Muzan even felt breathing was a difficult task. He was truly afraid...
An anomaly like Yoriichi Tsugikuni who might appear once in ten thousand years... Why could he encounter them everywhere in this world?
A powerful youkai who could shatter his body just with sword pressure...
A guy holding a giant machete who could wipe out a large number of Demons with one swing...
A miko who could send him to "hell" with just an ordinary arrow...
"This world... what exactly is going on!!"
Gritting his teeth, he was very angry; this was also why Muzan began to feel timid.
There were people capable of threatening him everywhere; how was he supposed to play this game?
Muzan really hadn't encountered such a situation before.
Or perhaps he could consider finding a place to hide and outlive the opponents using his lifespan? Just like avoiding Yoriichi Tsugikuni back then... Never appearing again until the other party died of old age.
"If I do that, this war will have nothing to do with me! Moreover, that guy still holds my control rights!"
But this time, Muzan couldn't hide...
As long as he still existed as a Servant, he inevitably couldn't detach himself from the entanglement of Naraku and the Dragon Ball struggle.
What's more, he still delusionally hoped to reach the sky in a single bound here; how could he easily quit and give up?
...
"Mn? Did you have fun? Caster..."
Looking at Muzan standing before him, Naraku smiled as if he had anticipated this long ago.
"!"
Knowing this Master had been monitoring him, Muzan's pupils trembled.
In the past, he was always the one controlling others; he didn't expect that at this moment, he would be forced to bow beneath someone else.
"I have roughly understood your capabilities. Although your own strength isn't worth mentioning, utilizing the power of that blood properly also has great use. No need to belittle yourself."
Completely disregarding the other party's extremely poor complexion, Naraku spoke without emotion.
'Ah... it's starting again.'
Standing aside, Byakuya could already foresee the fate of the person before him.
That would definitely be being utilized until completely worthless, squeezed dry of the last drop of blood by Naraku before being released.
THUD!
"Naraku! You bastard!!"
Before Muzan could reply, he saw Naraku throw out a boy in white clothes bound by tentacles. Cursing words came from his mouth, his eyes filled with anger and hatred.
"Consider this a symbol of our Master-Servant friendship... I'll give this guy to you as a bodyguard. Use your blood..."
Not caring about the boy's attitude, Naraku spoke with the corners of his mouth raised in an arc.
Hakudoshi, this guy who attempted to rebel with The Infant, was already useless.
He might as well give him to Muzan to test his hand and see what kind of Demon could be created.
"Then I shall respectfully accept."
Glancing at the bound boy, Muzan also began to try learning to tolerate.
He strolled up to Hakudoshi, squatted down, and then inserted his thumb into the other party's forehead.
...
"Koga, hand over your Shikon Jewel shards!!"
"Hmph, although I don't have much time to deal with you outsider, finishing off Naraku is also a convenient part of independent action."
Moryomaru looked down at Koga from above and said coldly, but what greeted him was the other party's dismissive response.
"Oh, this big guy looks very strong. But he doesn't look like a Servant... pure youkai? That armor looks incredible at a glance..."
Cu Chulainn looked with great interest, as if he had discovered some new toy.
But the opponent wasn't polite; instead, he extended his arm, transforming it into a sharp blade stabbing towards Koga beside him.
"Hey, hey, hey... Ignoring me to attack the Master is a bit unreasonable."
Swinging the long spear, utilizing the spear tip to cut off that rough arm with a single strike, Cu Chulainn spun his long spear and blocked in front.
"What? This guy..."
Looking at this Lancer in blue tights, Moryomaru still had a strange look on his face. Why didn't he know that Koga had a spear-wielding guy by his side?
'Ignore this guy; snatching the Shikon Jewel shards from Koga's legs is the key to our confrontation against Naraku. Hakudoshi was captured back by Naraku; we don't have much time!'
Hiding inside his body, The Infant held the Fuyoheki while communicating.
'You're in the way! Get lost!'
The severed arm instantly swelled and expanded, subsequently transforming into multiple tiny hands rushing out.
"Aah!! Run!"
The two lackeys behind Koga were already very familiar with such emergencies; they twisted their bodies and found a place to hide directly.
"Hmph! Guys who weren't selected shouldn't come to stir up trouble."
"[Goraishi]!!"
Waving his hand, the Wolf Demon Tribe artifact he wore erupted with astonishing lightning.
BOOM!!
CRACK!!
Shattering the tentacles extending like vines, Koga was disdainful.
"Yo!"
Before Moryomaru could continue attacking, Cu Chulainn had already jumped up to him and thrust the long spear in his hand.
But...
CLANG!
The red long spear didn't pierce the opponent's body as usual; instead, the spear tip directly ground out sparks and was then bounced off.
"Hoh, such strong defense?"
That dark green armor having such hardness was something Cu Chulainn didn't expect.
"This is Meioju's Armor; how could a guy like you pierce it!"
Sneering, finding the other party's overestimation of his abilities ridiculous, Moryomaru waved his tentacles again attempting to catch this human of unknown background.
"You really dare to say that..."
But those tentacles enveloping him were all cut off by the opponent swinging the long spear in mid-air.
'Such fast speed and fluid spear technique...'
Sensing the opponent's abnormality, Moryomaru was thinking, but Koga's strike, leaping over Cu Chulainn and rushing into his face, forced him to retreat.
"Your armor doesn't protect your head..."
"Idiot!!"
"[Goraishi]!!"