Chapter 13: Muzan! |
Boom!
Thin, razor-sharp shockwaves surged out in all directions from Akaza, the vast majority of them homing in on Makomo.
At the same time, the girl's lapis lazuli blade conjured a myriad of snow-white images, swirling like delicate snowflakes in the dead of winter.
Then, those countless ephemeral snowflakes lunged forward to meet the attack of the Upper Rank Three.
Boom!
A deafening roar erupted, and the earth itself trembled as if foretelling an impending cataclysm.
Each collision between the myriad snowflakes and the sharp shockwaves triggered an explosion that bloomed like a magnificent lotus.
As a result...
Makomo's snowflakes, proving slightly superior, crushed the demon's shockwaves before their remnants instantly engulfed the area where Akaza stood.
Then the Flower Hashira, who had been patiently waiting for the perfect opening, lunged into the fray without hesitation!
Hacked into small pieces, Akaza could only struggle to force his recovery. At that exact moment, Kanae appeared before him, surrounded by dancing petals.
'Dammit, Disorder...'
'I'm not going to make it...'
Akaza frantically pulled his severed flesh back together and threw a savage punch, but that was exactly what Kanae had been waiting for.
Whoosh!
She deftly evaded the sluggish strike and, like an ethereal fairy, swept past the Upper Rank Three amidst a flurry of dancing plum blossoms.
A thin red line appeared across the throat of the frozen Akaza.
A strike from her Nichirin Sword.
'Phew, it's over...' Kanae sighed with relief, looking back as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
However...
What she saw next made her heart sink.
Out of nowhere, Akaza's hands caught his falling head and shoved it back into place. The cells around the cut began to writhe, restarting the process of flesh regeneration.
'No... it's not over yet!'
'I haven't lost!'
'I will become even stronger!'
The demon roared with all his might.
Was this truly the end of his centuries-long, blood-soaked path of martial arts? No way! He refused to accept it! He would grow stronger! He would not fall here...
Aside from sunlight, a demon's only weakness was the neck.
A demon would die if its head were severed by a Nichirin Sword—this had always been the rule, a limitation thought impossible for any demon to overcome.
But.
Right now.
Akaza's will to grow stronger, which had remained largely unchanged for centuries, erupted with unprecedented power and shattered his demonic limits!
'Flower Breathing, Second Form...'
'Honorable Shadow Plum!'
Kanae attacked with her Nichirin Sword without a moment's hesitation.
The Flower Hashira couldn't understand why beheading him hadn't killed him, but she instinctively sensed a radical change within the creature.
The already terrifying Akaza was transforming—undergoing a radical evolution into a being of a completely different order!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Petals drifted through the air.
Akaza's head was torn to shreds by the Nichirin Sword, along with the hands that had been holding it in place.
'I will not fall here!'
'I will become the strongest—the strongest in the world!'
'I will surpass everyone!'
Driven by the unbreakable will of the Upper Rank Three, the demonic body continued to mutate even though its head had been completely destroyed.
The stump of his neck no longer bled; instead, the flesh writhed with even greater intensity. It wasn't just healing a wound anymore—it was sprouting an entirely new head!
This moment...
Marked Akaza's breakthrough beyond the limit!
Akaza had transcended his demonic constraints and reached a pinnacle, much like how Demon Slayers surpassed human limits to enter the Transparent World!
Until now, Akaza had been weaker than the Upper Rank Two, but by overcoming the weakness of his neck, he had reached Doma's level of power and was even closing in on the Upper Rank One—Kokushibo!
Just how strong was Kokushibo?
In the end, he fought against the strongest Hashira, who had unlocked the Transparent World—Gyomei Himejima. He faced the Mist Hashira, who had stained his blade crimson-red and unlocked the Transparent World on the brink of life and death—Muichiro Tokito. He battled the Wind Hashira with intoxicating blood—Sanemi Shinazugawa. And he even contended with a Demon Slayer who possessed demonic power—Genya Shinazugawa. Yet even their combined efforts could not crush Kokushibo!
And how strong was Doma?
A single ice clone created by the Upper Rank Two's Blood Demon Art was enough to hold back a Hashira, and Doma could create more than five such clones simultaneously!
And now...
Akaza had reached their level.
If a single Hashira with the Transparent World could somewhat hold their own against the Upper Rank Three before, now... it would take three of them!
Those with the Transparent World were no longer his match; the only thing that could deal real damage now was a crimson-red Nichirin Sword.
...
Meanwhile, in a luxurious villa somewhere in Kyoto.
A man with wavy black hair, who had been leisurely flipping through a book, suddenly stopped and turned his gaze toward the night sky.
Surprise flashed deep within his crimson eyes.
His public persona was that of a young master from a noble family, but his true identity was Muzan Kibutsuji!
'Akaza, my favorite subordinate...'
'You have lived up to my expectations.'
A faint smile curled the lips of the Progenitor of Demons.
Muzan had always given Akaza special consideration, allowing him certain liberties, such as his steadfast refusal to kill or devour women.
The Progenitor was well-disposed toward Akaza because he had sensed the potential within him to transcend his demonic limits.
And those expectations had been met.
Soon, Muzan closed his eyes.
Becoming a demon meant absorbing the blood of the Progenitor, which allowed him to track their locations and read their thoughts from a distance.
He had simply grown curious about what could have happened to push Akaza to overcome his neck's weakness and break through his demonic limits.
The telepathic link was established without effort.
But...
As he read the memories, the smile quickly vanished from Muzan's face.
When his eyelids lifted, his gaze was chillingly cold.
'Why is there always someone standing in my way!'
To his surprise, Akaza's opponent was a lone swordsman... a simple master of the blade with no Breathing Technique, yet possessing immense power!
In his experience, it was difficult for a pure swordsman without a Breathing Technique to even rival the Lower Ranks, even at their peak.
The Demon Slayers had only been able to oppose him because of the emergence and spread of Breathing Techniques.
And the one responsible for their birth was the man he feared to this very day—Yoriichi Tsugikuni!
And now...
Out of nowhere, a new sword master had appeared, demonstrating that one could challenge an Upper Rank without a Breathing Technique, relying solely on pure swordsmanship!
The sight stirred Muzan's memories of Yoriichi, and he was instantly consumed by rage.
'I cannot allow another lineage to emerge! We already have enough of these damn Breathing Techniques...' Muzan whispered coldly.
He looked out the window and commanded, "Summon the Moons!"
"Understood!" a voice echoed from the hallway.