Chapter 81: Muzan's Ascension |
"Be careful! Even though Muzan has lost control of his body, his movements have become completely unpredictable," Tamayo warned, instantly leaping back to create distance as she regained her freedom.
No sooner had the words left her lips...
The tentacles regenerated and lunged toward the Sword Hashira.
Makomo narrowed her eyes, her blade a blur as she parried the incoming strikes. But an instant later, a literal tide of those same writhing whips descended upon her. The Demon Slayer felt as if she were being sucked into a ruthless, merciless quagmire.
Whoosh!
Sensing her dire situation, the Stone Hashira charged from the flank to draw some of the heat. He hacked away at the tentacles, providing an opening for Tamayo to snare the Sword Hashira with her spatial threads and yank her from the thick of the onslaught.
Makomo's arrival was a turning point.
Before this, the maddened Muzan had completely dominated the battlefield. Had the Progenitor of Demons not lost control of his body—resulting in chaotic and uncoordinated attacks—Tamayo and Gyomei might not have survived until that moment. With the Sword Hashira's intervention, the scales finally balanced. The Demon Slayers' position remained precarious, but they were now able to hold the line.
Soon, the other Hashira began to converge on the battlefield.
"What a hideous monstrosity..." Obanai echoed from above.
"Muzan!" Tanjiro cried out, facing the beast from the front.
The Demon Slayers arrived one after another.
Then, with a unified roar, they all threw themselves at Muzan.
"Sun Breathing!"
"Flower Breathing!"
"Wind Breathing!"
"Water Breathing..."
Vibrant flashes of various breathing techniques flooded the open space, making the entire Infinity Castle tremble. The Progenitor's already unstable flesh finally shattered into a thousand pieces.
As the mass of flesh disintegrated, the individual fragments continued to writhe and lash out at everything in sight. For a brief moment, every single piece of gore erupted with surprising strength, speed, and agility.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Giyu and the weaker Hashira were quickly batted aside.
Only Shinobu, Makomo, and Tamayo held their ground, though even they were forced to retreat.
"Destroy them piece by piece!" Tamayo shouted urgently, lashing out with countless ephemeral spatial threads to snag the scattered chunks of flesh. "If even one escapes, it's all over!"
Gritting their teeth, the wounded Hashira threw themselves back into the fray, desperately hacking at the nearest fragments.
Yet their attacks only served to divide the Progenitor's flesh into even smaller pieces. Only the Stone Hashira and Sword Hashira managed to permanently obliterate a few chunks; the others' efforts proved futile.
"I am the strongest! THE STRONGEST!" a chorus of voices hissed from the numerous lumps of meat. They lunged with mindless, frenzied violence.
Although dividing himself had significantly weakened the Progenitor, he continued to overwhelm them through sheer numbers. He exploited the fact that the Hashira were operating at varying levels of exhaustion.
The Water, Wind, and Serpent Hashira failed to dodge the flurry of attacks and were gravely injured.
Tanjiro's arm was severed!
Gyomei's leg was nearly taken off!
Even Makomo took a chaotic hit, coughing up a mouthful of blood. She stayed on her feet only by leaning on her sword, her internal organs severely damaged.
Only Shinobu and Tamayo remained relatively unscathed. In fact, Muzan's haphazard strikes seemed completely ineffective against the Insect Hashira. Numerous branches sprouted from her petite frame, piercing the Progenitor's flesh and draining his vitality, causing the fragments to shrivel and dry up.
"It's working!" Tamayo exclaimed, her voice filled with hope.
Not only had the Hashira suffered, but Muzan had also lost nearly half his mass in the fragmentation. In this divided state, he posed little threat to Shinobu.
It was up to her and the Insect Hashira to finish him.
But the moment the thought crossed Tamayo's mind...
The chaotic strikes ceased. The bone tentacles wove themselves into a dense ball, as if the fragments had suddenly regained their collective intelligence.
The tentacles instantly pulled the scattered pieces of flesh together, and they fused back into a single entity in the blink of an eye.
The mass of meat writhed and pulsed, gradually stabilizing and taking on a human form.
"I have finally done it," Muzan whispered, slowly opening his eyes. The frenzied madness had been replaced by a chilling, somber calm. He swept his gaze over Tamayo, Shinobu, and the others. "How ironic that you were the one to help me..."
The Progenitor's cold eyes settled on the Flame Hashira.
Before, he hadn't been able to control himself; his mind had been shattered, with every scrap of flesh possessing its own reckless consciousness.
While nearly every piece of flesh had lunged toward Tamayo in an instinctive hunger, one piece had accidentally devoured the severed arm of the Flame Hashira.
Tanjiro Kamado.
After centuries, a new master of Sun Breathing had appeared.
A man possessing a unique constitution.
Someone capable of conquering the sun if turned into a demon.
And the Progenitor of Demons had accidentally consumed and assimilated his cells, thereby stabilizing his own state.
Muzan was certain that he had likely conquered the sun at last!
"Oh, how many troubles could have been avoided had I known this sooner..." Muzan whispered with total indifference. Like a god staring down at a world of toys, he looked at Shinobu and the others as if they were nothing more than dust.
Meanwhile, Tamayo stood frozen in place. The superiority of Muzan's blood was now so overwhelming that the other progenitor couldn't so much as twitch a finger. It felt as though he had truly ascended above mortals—above all living things.
"It looks like we're in trouble..." Shinobu sighed helplessly.