PLU-T!
"Burial!"
THUD!!
Moryomaru shook his head violently, whipping his armored form around in a desperate attempt to throw her off. He clutched his head, where a jagged hole now sat between his eyes, his expression one of pure, unadulterated fury.
This... this was nothing! A single stab couldn't harm him!
He was a creature of absolute regression and regeneration--a mere sword strike couldn't possibly kill him!
That was what he told himself, but as he stood there, his vision began to narrow, the edges of the world turning gray and frayed.
"Ngh...!"
"The blade... it's poisoned...!"
Consciousness began to drain from his body like water from a broken glass. Only in his final, dying moments did Moryomaru realize what he had been so instinctively afraid of.
The factor his base biology had been fighting to avoid...
It was a "Poison" that carried the concept of absolute death.
WHOOSH!
Drip...
Akame stood up and flicked the edge of her blade, sending a spray of dark, tainted blood onto the grass. She looked down at the rapidly cooling corpse of Moryomaru with a look of cold neutrality.
Even against an opponent with an "immortal body," the poison of `[Murasame]` remained absolute. As long as the target didn't immediately amputate the affected area, the `[咒毒]` (Cursed Poison) would scour their life force from their body in a matter of seconds.
"What a pity..."
As she wiped the blade clean, Akame felt a faint surge of regret for the monster's capabilities.
If that `[Kiryuga]` (Demon Dragon Armor) had been capable of covering his entire body, she might truly have been left without a way to win. The sheer hardness of those scales had been enough to deflect `[Murasame]`'s edge under normal circumstances; she would have had to unleash her final Noble Phantasm just to stand a chance.
But the cost of such a move would have been far too high.
Using her trump card this early in the war would have been a waste. Besides, the more "lost souls" `[Murasame]` claimed, the stronger she would ultimately become.
"Truly impressive insight."
"To realize in such a short window of time that Moryomaru couldn't protect his entire body... you have a terrifying gift for combat."
As Sesshomaru and the others approached, Kagura spoke with a mix of awe and wariness. The battle she had just witnessed was nothing short of a masterclass in lethal efficiency. From vanishing into the forest to using the dust as a visual shroud, every step had been a calculated move to draw Moryomaru into a trap.
Through the shroud of dust and the disappearance of her aura, Moryomaru had been left with no way to defend himself. Or rather, he had only one real option: to turtle up and cover his entire body in scales.
It would have been a shameful tactic for a "High-Level Demon," but it would have worked.
"I just thought..."
"If he could have covered his whole body, he wouldn't have left so much of his flesh exposed in the first place."
Akame wiped a smudge of dust from her cheek, her voice quiet and matter-of-fact.
"I suppose that's true..." Kagura mused.
Looking back at their first encounter, it was clear that if Moryomaru truly had an impenetrable defense, he would have armed himself to the teeth from the start. The fact that he hadn't suggested that his coverage was limited.
"How is this possible?"
"Dead?! He's actually dead?!"
In his hideout, Muzan's features twisted into a grotesque mask of rage. The moment Moryomaru's life force vanished, he truly couldn't sit still anymore.
'(The blade was poisoned!)'
"Did that fool actually ignore my warnings and go after Sesshomaru anyway?"
Having gained access to Moryomaru's final thoughts through their shared blood, Muzan's brow furrowed.
Poisoned?
He had never heard of Sesshomaru using a poisoned blade.
"If it wasn't Sesshomaru, then it was that Servant..."
Muzan wasn't a fool. He knew that the little girl accompanying Sesshomaru was a Master, and the red-eyed assassin was her Servant.
"What kind of poison could possibly kill a creature like Moryomaru...?"
The question filled him with a cold, nagging curiosity. With the `[Kiryuga]` enhancement, Moryomaru should have been a fortress. Most yokai wouldn't even be able to scratch him.
And yet...
He remembered the Lancer from before. That Spearman had needed his Noble Phantasm just to pierce the shell of the `[Meiousei]`. The reinforced `[Kiryuga]` was supposed to be leagues beyond that, with the added benefit of draining the attacker's energy. Under any logical analysis, Moryomaru should have had a massive advantage against both yokai and Servants.
"Kinka! Ginka!"
"What are your orders, Lord Muzan?"
"The others will proceed as planned. I want the nearest Demon-Yokai to investigate that site immediately. Find out exactly what killed Moryomaru."
"Understood!"
Muzan called out to the shadows, his voice sharp with command. As the two figures--their bodies fused together in a grotesque union--vanished, Muzan turned and walked toward a locked room at the back of the hideout.
CLANG! CLANG!
The air in the room was thick with heat and the smell of molten iron. Muzan approached a man who was frantically hammering away at a glowing piece of steel--Tokishu, a demon smith who had traded his humanity for the chance to forge the ultimate weapon.
"How is it coming along?"
"Lord Muzan, please... just a moment longer."
"The weapon I am preparing for you is... temperamental. For now, it is merely a shape. It lacks the true essence it needs to be complete."
Hearing this, Muzan showed a rare sign of approval. For a smith who had willingly become a Demon to serve his craft, he held Tokishu in high regard.
"What else do you need?"
"I have already infused it with the flesh and blood of Kinka and Ginka, and the scales of the Dragon-Men. I have even hammered in fragments of the `[Meiousei]` shell, the bark of the `[Hokusen-O]`, and the branches of the `[Gomeitsu]` (Life-Dissolving Tree)."
Tokishu listed off the exotic and lethal ingredients with a manic sort of glee.
"But unfortunately, Moryomaru's attempt to capture Death Shingaki and the Medicine Master failed. The simplest solution now is to find a catalyst of even greater power."
"Something like... a fragment of the `[Shikon Jewel]`."
At that, Muzan fell silent.
If he remembered correctly, the majority of the Shikon fragments had already fallen into Naraku's hands. The remaining few were carried by their enemies.
To ask Naraku for a fragment?
That was out of the question. If he could help it, Muzan never wanted to deal with that man again for as long as he lived.
"?"
"Oh, pardon the intrusion..."
The sudden, unwelcome presence in the room caused Muzan's expression to darken into a look of absolute displeasure.
"So this is your workshop? Rather impressive."
"To think you've been forging something like this in secret..."
Byakuya of the Illusions strolled into the room with unearned familiarity, his eyes scanning the forge with a look of idle curiosity.
"Don't look at me like that."
"I'm just here on Naraku's orders. I have something to deliver."
'(Man, this guy is hard to get along with...)'
Byakuya waved a hand, sensing the palpable coldness radiating from Muzan. He decided not to push his luck and got straight to the point.
He tossed a small, glowing shard toward Muzan, who caught it with a look of genuine surprise. It was a fragment of the `[Shikon Jewel]`, pulsing with a dark, corrupt light.
"There. My delivery is complete. I'll be going now."
"I feel like if I stay any longer, you might actually try to kill me."
Without waiting for a response, Byakuya shrugged and vanished as quickly as he'd arrived.
"Lord Muzan, should we relocate?"
"No... it seems that man has been watching me the entire time."
The feeling of being under constant surveillance was grating, but Muzan knew he was in no position to change his circumstances--yet.
"But he did send the very thing you needed. This is a fortunate development," Tokishu said, his eyes fixed on the black-lit fragment in Muzan's hand.
"Is it a trap?"
This was Muzan's first time handling a piece of the Shikon Jewel, and his skepticism was at an all-time high. He didn't believe for a second that Naraku would simply hand over such a "precious" item out of the goodness of his heart.
"I will have to check if Naraku's energy is lurking within it first," Tokishu said. "If the fragment is 'clean,' then it should be safe to use."
"Fine. See to it immediately."
"I'll get right on it."