The flash of a nichirin blade streaked across the neck of Douma, who had transformed into a grotesque monster.
Under the combined effects of magic and hundreds of times the normal dosage of wisteria poison, his neck, which had been tempered to be three times harder than a nichirin blade, became more fragile than an ordinary demon's neck.
Douma's distorted eyes trembled, his pupils contracting to pinpricks.
He was cut, he was cut! His neck was cut!
Before his thoughts could even process, Shinobu Kocho's next strike continued to descend.
Merely cutting off his neck was not enough to satisfy Shinobu Kocho, whose hatred was so intense it was almost congealed.
Shinobu Kocho gripped the nichirin blade with both hands, swinging it at a speed so fast that only blurry afterimages of her arms could be seen.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—
She swung her nichirin blade over five hundred times within a second, the flashes of the blade forming a curtain of light.
Douma's body was finely minced into a pulp at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The moment Shinobu Kocho stopped swinging her nichirin blade, this indescribable pulp exploded and then vanished into a gray mist.
"Hoo…" Shinobu Kocho slowly exhaled, the oppressive feeling on her body gradually fading, and the hatred in her purple eyes also disappeared.
She turned around and slowly walked out of the house, which was so damaged it was on the verge of collapsing, and looked up at the moon, like a silver plate, in the sky.
A cool but gentle breeze brushed her face, as if God was caressing her cheek.
"Sister… I finally avenged you." Shinobu Kocho pursed her lips, a little choked up, but quickly suppressed it.
"Lord Xia Wei said that we will meet again soon."
"I hope that after I kill Kibutsuji Muzan, you will appear before me, Sister."
After speaking, she lightly stepped on the ground, like a flying Butterfly, and ran towards the agreed-upon gathering place.
According to the information given by Lord Xia Wei, Kibutsuji Muzan would appear in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, and the decisive battle would take place in the Infinity Castle.
This meant that both Kibutsuji Muzan and the Infinity Castle were currently in the Asakusa district of Tokyo.
…
Tokyo Prefecture, Asakusa District.
This was the most prosperous region in the entire country, as Tokyo Bay handled trade with European nations.
A significant portion of the architectural style here adopted the architectural aesthetics of European countries.
At the same time, this was also where the wealthiest and most influential people in the entire country resided.
Big merchants engaged in foreign trade, newspaper presidents controlling domestic and international public opinion, politicians who decided the country's policies, and even the Emperor, who symbolized the nation's eternal lineage, all had residences here.
At night, the area was brightly lit, one of the few sleepless cities in the country at that time.
As a sleepless city, it naturally had a unique national characteristic: geisha houses. In this brightly lit place, there were several doors that appeared out of thin air, leading to unknown destinations.
Humans who entered these doors never came out again, and the occasional 'clang-clang' of biwa strings could be heard from within the doors.
This was one of the entrances to the demons' city, the Infinity Castle.
These entrances would shift locations throughout the country; even the Upper Moon demons didn't know where they would appear.
Inside the Infinity Castle.
In one corner, it didn't look like a demon's lair at all, but rather a medical scientist's laboratory.
Numerous test tubes, beakers, and a large amount of medical equipment were piled up here.
A man in a suit, resembling a gentleman, was conducting an experiment with his own blood. Apparently not getting the desired result, he crushed the test tube in his hand.
"Failed again!" Kibutsuji Muzan's patience completely ran out, a row of tic-tac-toe marks appeared on his forehead, and the veins on his originally slender arms bulged, wriggling like earthworms.
Slam!
He slammed his hands on the laboratory table, revealing sharp demon fangs. A terrifying aura emanated from him, and his scarlet eyes trembled slightly.
Crack! Crack, crack, crack, crack—Bang! Bang!
All the glass products shattered under his aura.
"blue spider lily! blue spider lily! Is there really no way to overcome sunlight without this thing?!" Kibutsuji Muzan squeezed out each word.
As time passed, he regretted more and more having directly killed the doctor who had made him immortal.
He didn't regret killing that doctor, but he regretted not figuring out what the blue spider lily was, and the doctor's notes didn't record it!
The more Kibutsuji Muzan thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Hundreds of years! To find the blue spider lily! I continuously created my kind! Even choosing the twelve strongest demons!"
"But! Hundreds of years! Still no clue of the blue spider lily has been found!"
"I truly, truly don't understand! What is the meaning of me creating so many of my kind?!"
Kibutsuji Muzan recalled these hundreds of years of creating his kind to search for the blue spider lily; besides adding countless troubles, he had gained nothing.
The Demon Slayer Corps that opposed him! The Ubuyashiki clan that could not be completely eradicated!
Even… even four hundred years ago, that man was born!
Recalling that time four hundred years ago, Kibutsuji Muzan's body involuntarily began to tremble, his scarlet eyes became even more ferocious, and his teeth began to clatter.
That was the closest he had ever come to death!
However, fortunately, that man was just a human; he hid for a hundred years and outlived him.
But, even if that man died, the Breathing Technique he left behind was still opposing him!
Damn the Ubuyashiki clan, damn the Demon Slayers.
Those Demon Slayers even made slaying a Lower Moon a test for becoming a Hashira.
This was simply mocking him, as if the Twelve Demon Moons he promoted were specifically prepared for Demon Slayers to advance to Hashira.
Damn it! Indeed, the Lower Moon demons have no reason to exist; only the Upper Moon should remain to continue searching for the blue spider lily.
Just then, Kibutsuji Muzan's expression froze as vivid memories of death flooded his brain.
When a demon dies, their memories are transmitted to him. This is not only for his absolute control over demons but also to guard against the re-emergence of humans like Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
"Upper Moon Two was killed?"
Kibutsuji Muzan's face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but cover his face with his hand, his scarlet eyeballs trembling.
What made his face change drastically was not that an Upper Moon was killed; an Upper Moon being killed was just being killed, at most making him think they were useless trash.
But what was this memory of death?
A human used a power similar to a Blood Demon Art!
And… the flash of the nichirin blade that struck in that instant! It was somewhat similar to Tsugikuni Yoriichi! Both were so fast! Delivering thousands of strikes in an instant!
Could it be that after more than four hundred years, a human like Tsugikuni Yoriichi has appeared again?!
Kibutsuji Muzan's mind conjured the image of that man from four hundred years ago, and the flash of the nichirin blade he wielded, the scene where he was almost instantly killed!
"Wait! What did that Demon Slayer say? 'Bringing the mercy of God'?" Kibutsuji Muzan's pupils contracted and dilated, as if stimulated by something, and he let out 'ho ho ho' sounds from his mouth.