"He-he-he—he got eaten by Muzan!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Zenitsu screamed as he witnessed the moment Kairo Retsu was swallowed by Muzan.
"T-that Hunter gentleman…" Kanroji's expression twisted with sorrow on the other side.
These people had never witnessed a Felyne cart before and thus naturally had no idea that Kairo Retsu wouldn't truly die inside Muzan.
But those who did know about the concept of a "cart" — like Tanjiro and the others — all widened their eyes as they saw the rainbow-glowing Felyne appear silently behind Muzan.
Muzan, still unaware of the Felyne's silent arrival, began quickly recovering his stamina upon seeing the Hunter and Demon Slayer forces suddenly pause, and began to boast:
"Finally! I've killed that wretch who dared defy me!"
"You damned Demon Slayers—despite barely clinging to life, you still dare stand before me…"
Muzan roared furiously, "I've had enough of you all! I'll personally slaughter each and every one of you! Devour you all! Then I'll create new demons to serve me!!!"
"You—"
As Muzan felt his stamina rapidly returning, the energy gained from digesting Kairo Retsu's body was unexpectedly immense—as though Muzan had consumed a powerful creature far beyond a normal human.
This only made Muzan's arrogance and brutality swell to unprecedented levels.
And just at that moment—his heart nearly stopped.
A soft, paw-like sensation—complete with what felt like squishy pads—lightly pressed against his back.
"Found the Guildmaster, nyah. Got eaten by the monster, nyah."
An unexpectedly cute voice sounded behind Muzan.
The next moment, Muzan felt his flesh being torn apart by an extraordinary force.
Despite having just recovered most of his stamina, it was all wiped out in an instant by that single blow from behind—leaving him even more weakened than before.
That overwhelming power made Muzan suddenly recall the feeling he experienced when he first faced Yoriichi.
Muzan could only watch as his body was torn apart by a rainbow-colored Felyne wielding a shovel, and as Kairo Retsu—still undigested—was plucked from within and thrown onto the cart.
Then, without even sparing him a glance, the rainbow Felyne turned and left.
"Impossible!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Muzan desperately began pulling his body back together, trying to reconstitute his combat form—but before he could fully gather himself, Joseph Joestar had already appeared before one of his chunks of flesh, slamming his energy-infused strike down while that part of Muzan was still disassembled.
Ripple energy like the sun instantly vaporized that portion of Muzan's body.
Now left with less than half his body, Muzan forcibly inflated the remaining parts, but the fear of solar energy kept him from approaching Joseph Joestar.
"What… just happened?"
Several of the Hashira were stunned by the sight of Muzan getting obliterated by a rainbow-colored cat dragging a cart.
But those who already knew Kairo Retsu could revive wasted no time.
"Muzan's been weakened! Keep attacking with Scarlet Blades!!"
Tanjiro and the others launched a follow-up assault on Muzan's remaining body.
Having just lost a massive chunk of himself, Muzan's resistance weakened drastically.
The medicines Tamayo had administered earlier also began to take effect.
The extreme aging effect, still undetected by Muzan, further chipped away at his power.
Now, faced with nearly a dozen Demon Slayers of Hashira-level strength wielding Scarlet Nichirin Blades, Muzan's momentary arrogance from consuming Kairo Retsu was utterly shattered.
His desperation to survive flared—and he immediately attempted to flee.
"Focus your attacks! Don't let Muzan escape!"
Seeing Muzan's panic, the morale of the Demon Slayer Corps soared. The battle had completely turned around.
Muzan threw everything into his escape efforts, while the Demon Slayers fought tooth and nail to stop him.
Seeing Muzan's pathetic attempt to flee, the Shield Hero clicked his tongue in frustration.
This despicable monster reminded him of that backstabbing royal wench.
"All together now! Don't let Muzan get away!" he shouted vengefully, unleashing all his pent-up rage upon Muzan.
"Damn it aaaaaaaaagh!" Muzan shrieked in impotent fury as he dodged and flailed.
His current foes were charging in through his attacks just to land blows with Scarlet Blades.
These wretches—none individually on par with Yoriichi—but their sheer number…
Over ten swordsmen, each at Hashira strength, armed with weapons that counter his body…
Muzan cursed the Demon Slayer Corps for reducing him to this state.
And that Hunter Guildmaster! That guy deliberately let himself be eaten! That lowly wretch dared to sacrifice himself to kill him, Muzan?!
Raging and scheming, Muzan considered how to escape.
He'd blow himself up—yes, as long as one flesh fragment escaped, he could be reborn.
Let the Demon Slayers think he's dead—then he'd return once they were gone…
Just as Muzan attempted to initiate self-detonation, his expanding flesh was suppressed by the medicine's effects.
"!" Frantic now, Muzan couldn't afford to understand the cause. When self-detonation failed, he forcefully bloated his flesh again.
All he needed was to protect the critical part of his body. The rest was just excess biomass!
The remaining half of Muzan's body rapidly swelled into a massive grotesque entity—completely inhuman, like a gigantic squirming flesh blob—continuing to expand wildly.
Though Nichirin Blades could damage the outer flesh, they couldn't reach Muzan's core.
"How scared of death is this guy?!" Joseph Joestar cursed as he saw the monstrosity barreling toward a group of Demon Slayer artillery operators.
"Damn it!"
Noticing the approaching threat, Naofumi Iwatani used his grappling claw to zip over and deployed his Four Saint Shield to protect the team from being crushed.
"What a monster… existing just to survive!" he swore bitterly. "Guildmaster! Where the hell are you?! Muzan's gone berserk!"
"I can see it from the wyvern!" Kairo Retsu's confident voice rang out in the comms. "This is the moment I prepared my Secret Weapon for!"
"Wyvern! Fly me higher!"
Kairo urged the wyvern to climb further upward, then pulled out his Insect Glaive and dove straight down toward Muzan.
"Falling Star of Ruin! Tremble before me, Muzan!"
Kairo roared, clutching a glowing Wirebug in his hand.
At this moment, the frenzied Muzan—utterly distracted—failed to notice Kairo descending from the skies and took the full brunt of his aerial assault.
The massive impact made Muzan's hulking body stagger, and before he could recover, he was bound by glowing blue wire silk.
Standing atop Muzan's back, Kairo pulled hard—Iron Silk reins steering Muzan's movement directly.
"This is the secret technique of the Flamefire Village… Wyvern Riding Ultimate Art!"