"Ugh... AAAAAAHHHHHH—!"
Muzan screamed in agony, abruptly severing his connection with Kokushibo and collapsing to his knees on the platform.
He instinctively reached up, frantically rubbing his neck.
Having fully shared Kokushibo's senses, he had experienced the searing pain of the blade cutting through flesh with visceral intensity.
He even felt the phantom sensation of being beheaded.
'Hide!'
'I must hide!'
Years ago, after his encounter with Yoriichi, he had survived by hiding for decades, patiently waiting for Yoriichi to die of old age.
'If I can't defeat Yoriichi, surely I can hide from him?'
Muzan began formulating a plan to evade Yoriichi:
Move the Infinity Castle to Hiroshima or Nagasaki in Japan.
Surely I'll be safe in either of those places...
But just as Muzan was planning his relocation, the words he had heard earlier—" Yoriichi"—surfaced in his mind again.
Damn it! Yoriichi said he could overcome death!
If anyone else had made such a claim, Muzan would have dismissed it with contempt.
But even Kokushibo, who knew Yoriichi better than anyone, had confirmed that the man was indeed Yoriichi himself.
No matter how much Muzan refused to believe it, he had to accept the truth:
Yoriichi has truly returned!
What's the point of hiding again?
Even if I manage to outlive Yoriichi once more, who knows when I might step out of the Infinity Castle only to encounter his resurrected form?
Cold sweat soaked through Muzan's clothes.
He desperately activated all five of his brains, straining to devise a countermeasure.
In the end, his brains reached a conclusion:
He must immediately find a way to obtain the Blue Spider Lily!
If he could transform himself into a perfect being, immune to sunlight and death, his power would inevitably become far greater!
At that point, he would no longer need to fear Yoriichi.
He needed to tell his subordinates to stop obsessing over attacking humans.
They must focus all their efforts on searching for the Blue Spider Lily.
Of course, he could allow them to occasionally search for the Demon Slayer Corps' supply bases, such as the village where they forged their swords, to create some trouble for Yoriichi.
Otherwise, Muzan truly feared that Yoriichi would do nothing but dedicate himself to finding the location of the Infinity Castle.
What if one day he suddenly saw Yoriichi open a passage directly into the Infinity Castle...?
The mere thought of this possibility drained all color from Muzan's face!
It took nearly half a day for his complexion to recover somewhat.
But the immense negative emotions that had accumulated within him demanded an outlet, and quickly!
The target of his rage was, of course—
Muzan roared:
"Nakime!"
Kokushibo's head hadn't completely fallen off.
But feeling the distorted, skewed vision before him, he knew that only a sliver of skin connected his head to his neck.
.....
That Lord's sudden connection to him, coupled with Yoriichi's abrupt declaration, had completely disrupted his focus.
As a result, Kokushibo was utterly unprepared for Yoriichi's sudden attack.
By the time Muzan's will faded, Kokushibo realized Yoriichi's blade had already severed most of his neck.
Though he immediately retreated, it was clearly too late.
After jealousy and rage, what feeling now surged through him?
Fear, of course!
This near decapitation instantly reminded Kokushibo of that red moon night when he had encountered the elderly Yoriichi.
But the situation now was entirely different!
Back then, Yoriichi had exhausted his lifespan with that single strike.
Though he remained standing, his life force had completely dissipated.
Now, however, Kokushibo faced a still-youthful Yoriichi!
Kokushibo instinctively reached up to touch the wound on his neck.
Beneath his fingers, the skin felt rough and charred, like burnt flesh.
Yet beneath that charred layer, Kokushibo could still sense countless flesh buds writhing frantically, attempting to repair the wound.
But without exception, each bud that extended outward instantly turned to ash.
The terror in Kokushibo's six eyes grew more pronounced.
The same location, the same familiar wound!
Though he was now certain that the man standing before him was the true Yoriichi, suffering the same injury again only intensified the terror he had felt all those years ago.
Against any other enemy, Kokushibo would have preferred to fight to his death rather than surrender.
But this was Yoriichi!
He feared death, but he feared even more dying without ever catching up to Yoriichi.
And perhaps after centuries of influence from That Lord, only one thought remained in Kokushibo's mind:
Run!
Before Yuki, a bizarre scene unfolded.
Kokushibo, his head connected to his neck by only a sliver of skin, turned and fled.
His Restoration Rate had reached 49%, enhanced by the Transparent World.
Even with Kokushibo's incredible speed, Yuki could clearly track his movements with his eyes.
In his vision, Kokushibo's body bobbed and weaved with the force of his high-speed flight.
The sliver of skin tugged at his head, causing it to repeatedly strike his shoulder.
Yuki, who considered himself well-versed in the original work and had witnessed countless extraordinary events since his transmigration, believed he had seen it all.
But this spectacle was truly unprecedented!
What is this?
Hogwarts has Nearly Headless Nick.
And here I am, facing Nearly Headless Kokushibo?
Banishing these absurd thoughts from his mind, Yuki refrained from pursuing Kokushibo.
Though only a sliver of skin now connected Kokushibo's head to his neck—as if one more strike could sever it completely—Yuki knew better than to underestimate his opponent.
Yuki knew that his earlier success had been largely due to Muzan's "remote login," which had created an opening for his sneak attack.
Moreover, at this point in time, Kokushibo had likely already overcome the demons' weakness of dying when beheaded.
To completely eliminate him, the only viable strategy was to stall until sunrise.
As for the idea of showing Kokushibo his reflection and letting him die of ugliness...
Let's not forget that in the original story, Kokushibo's death by his own ugliness was largely due to the painful memories of the deceased Yoriichi.
And now, Yuki, this " Yoriichi," stood right before Kokushibo.
Yuki suspected that upon seeing his own reflection, Kokushibo would merely think, "This is just a small price to pay for chasing after Yoriichi."
After that, he would either continue fighting or, like now, turn and flee.
But for Yuki, this was already enough.
He had successfully delivered a "surprise" to both Kokushibo and Muzan.
Now, it was time to tell what "surprise" truly meant...