~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
<><><><><><><><>
Kaido's Estate
A vision flashed through Kagaya Ubuyashiki's consciousness—a premonition of something he desperately wanted to deny.
"Kagaya, what's wrong?" Amane noticed her husband's expression darken with alarm.
"Kaido... my swordsman child..."
Hearing those words, the crow Kuroha launched from his perch and shot through the doorway.
"Kuroha, where are you going?? Come back!" Retsuki called from the courtyard, watching the crow escape. But Kuroha ignored her completely—flying through the barrier toward the distant battlefield.
━━━━━━━━
'What's wrong with these Hashira?? They should be dead by now! Why can they still fight??'
Muzan's gaze swept across the charging clones and the Hashira behind them, confusion mixing with mounting dread.
'My blood toxins have been suppressed—that demon Tamayo created must be treating them. That's why they're still alive! She wants them to fight until death! Insufferable interference!'
As the battle dragged on, dawn crept closer. And with each passing moment, Muzan's fear intensified. No matter how many times he struck them down, the clones and Hashira kept rising—fighting through critical injuries that should have been fatal.
When clones fell, originals took their place. When originals collapsed, clones surged forward to replace them.
For the first time, Muzan truly understood the Demon Slayer Corps' will—they would not stop until he was destroyed.
'Monsters. The Corps are the real monsters. No—more accurately, the entire organization operates like a single living organism...'
'I can't keep this up. There's no point in continuing this gamble. I have to escape—NOW.'
Understanding stalemate meant death, Muzan hammered every whip against the ground simultaneously.
Violent shockwaves fractured the earth, radiating outward. Every charging warrior—Hashira, clones, Tanjiro—was hurled backward by the concussive force.
GURGLE!!
Muzan's body began swelling. While the hunters were still recovering, he would split himself and scatter.
Once divided, even double their numbers couldn't stop him. As long as a single fragment survived, his unparalleled regeneration would restore him completely.
'He's splitting to escape—I have to stop him!'
Kaido raised the Longsword to intervene—
Then Muzan's swelling body deflated back to normal.
"I can't divide?? That woman Tamayo injected three drugs—humanization, aging, and division suppression..."
But the situation was far worse than Muzan realized. Blood erupted from his mouth. "Ptui... not three drugs—FOUR! That witch... analysis requires time... damn it...!"
'An opening!' Seeing Muzan momentarily incapacitated, Kaido understood—Tamayo's compounds were reaching critical effect. He attacked immediately.
"Dragon Breathing, Ninth Form: Whirlwind Pierce!"
Dragging his shattered body forward, Kaido spun into his drilling charge. Just as the strike was about to connect—
BOOM!!
Muzan's final counteroffensive erupted. Devastating shockwaves obliterated everything nearby—even surveillance crows were blown from the sky.
As the attack descended on Kaido, his clone materialized before him—raising the greatsword, using his own body as a shield.
The shockwave devastated them both—launching them dozens of meters backward. Tanjiro and the others were caught in the blast radius, thrown to the ground and stripped of mobility.
"Original... my... time's up. From here... you're on your own..."
The words barely escaped before Kaido's clone dissolved into mist. He'd been the first summoned—therefore the first to vanish.
Watching his duplicate disappear, Kaido's heart screamed in anguish. He tried standing, tried continuing the fight—but his mangled body refused to obey.
The shockwave had torn his abdominal wound open again. Blood poured freely.
'Stand up... Muzan... he's escaping!' Tanjiro's gaze locked onto the Demon King. He willed his body to rise—but couldn't move. Even breathing was agony. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably.
━━━━━━━━
"Ptui..." Kiriya Ubuyashiki vomited blood in his command room. Kanata and Kuina's noses began bleeding simultaneously.
"Master!" Shinjuro exclaimed.
"What's happening?" Kaido's clone demanded.
'Did Muzan's attack reach us here? Impossible! Our location can't have been exposed!' Shinjuro's mind raced.
"I'm... fine. Don't worry about me. How are Kaido and the others?" Kiriya asked the twins.
"The crows' positions... shifted... can't see clearly! Fifteen minutes... until dawn..."
"The Dragon Hashira's clone... has vanished. The other clones... will disappear soon too..."
"Just... hold on a little longer. Don't let Muzan escape. I'm begging you... anyone who can still fight... stall him..."
━━━━━━━━
Muzan's appearance had transformed again. A massive fanged maw gaped across his chest—seemingly capable of devouring the world itself.
His gaze swept the fallen warriors. Without hesitation, he turned and ran. If the hunters recovered, he would die.
After only a few steps—
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Four gunshots. Bullets pierced both hands and both legs—pinning Muzan in place.
Sensing killing intent approaching from the side, he whipped his tube whips defensively—
SLASH!!
Inosuke and Genya materialized before him. Inosuke's strike had already severed a section of whip.
Blood soaked through Inosuke's bandages—wounds too severe to contain.
"Hah... hah... look what you've done! Unforgivable!"
"Don't think you're escaping... we'll never... let you go!"
Muzan tried deploying Blood Demon Art to eliminate them and flee—but nothing happened. His body felt sluggish, unresponsive. Sweat poured down his face.
'I can't use Blood Demon Art... is it exhaustion?'
"You bastard... Beads Uncle, Goggle-Eyes, Flashy Uncle, Hedgehog Scar Guy... you hurt all of them! And you put a hole through White-Hair's stomach!"
"And these corpses everywhere—they were all comrades I lived with!"
"GIVE THEM BACK! Return their lives! If you can't—then DIE A MILLION TIMES TO ATONE!"
The final words tore from Inosuke's throat, tears streaming beneath his boar mask.
"OUT OF MY WAY!"
Tube whips lashed out. Both warriors dodged backward—
Muzan drove both arms into the ground. They erupted from a different angle, transformed into fanged abominations that clamped onto Inosuke and Genya.
Ignoring his own pain, Genya fired repeatedly into Muzan's body. He would hold the demon here—protect his brother, protect everyone—even if it cost his life.
'Inosuke, Genya... run...' Tanjiro lay paralyzed, unable to even shout. Panic consumed him. Everyone was critically wounded, still recovering. The clones were vanishing one by one. His own body was locked in convulsions, completely immobile.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Zenitsu arrived at the critical moment. Lightning-enhanced strikes severed the grotesque limbs, saving both warriors.
"Tanjiro, can you hear me?? You're not dying—absolutely not! You still have to go home with Nezuko after she becomes human again..."
Before he could finish...
Muzan's thorned whip struck him. Zenitsu was hammered into a wall, suffering catastrophic injuries.
Inosuke immediately rushed forward, dual blades severing the whip to save Zenitsu—but the earlier bite wound caused him to vomit blood.
'These insects...' Muzan's patience evaporated. He needed to leave NOW. But Genya's bullets suppressed his body, and Tamayo's drugs were accelerating—he could feel his form aging at devastating speed.
Then the worst possible scenario unfolded.
In the distance, all eleven Hashira forced themselves upright. Gripping their weapons, they advanced step by agonizing step. Critical wounds couldn't stop them.
"No matter how many times we fall, we'll stand again! Until dawn breaks, we WILL destroy Muzan! This is our duty as the Pillars!"
<><><><><><><><>
~# 30 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~# Every 200 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!
~# Add to Library!