Chapter 27 What is the value of astronomy? A sudden change occurs!
Inside Infinity Castle, all demons were under Muzan Kibutsuji's control.
Therefore, the news of Kokushibo's death, and the vision he saw in his dying moments—that swordsman's figure, as dazzling as the glorious sun—Muzan knew it all immediately.
"No!"
"There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Muzan Kibutsuji slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and stood up abruptly.
His face was ashen, and he paced anxiously back and forth in the hall, frantically weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
"The blue spider lily is within reach; this might be my only chance in this life!"
"No need to be wary! That guy is definitely not a monster like Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
"The Upper Ranks will soon eliminate those ants in the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"At that time, I will order Nakime to summon all demons here; how can a mere human contend with me!"
"Then let's try the strength of 'a mere human' as you say."
Thunder Style: Light Fang!
Heavenly light burst forth, thunderous power struck!
Arthur, like a flash of lightning, severed Muzan Kibutsuji's neck with a single strike!
While his head was regenerating, he transformed his left hand into a blade, swiftly piercing into the opponent's chest and abdomen, crushing the medicine bottle, and then rapidly retreated.
Muzan Kibutsuji, who had just finished regenerating, immediately felt an abnormality within his body, and a sinister, cold smile spread across his lips.
"An utterly foolish idiot! You dare to try and poison me?"
He confidently began to decompose the toxins that had invaded his body, but to his horror, he found that the toxins had already spread throughout his body like maggots clinging to bone, and the speed of their spread was so fast that he had no time to react!
"This is!?"
Arthur's lips curved slightly, and he explained with a smile.
"You should still remember Tamayo, right? This is a 'surprise gift package' that she and I carefully prepared for you."
"Once you're poisoned with this, you can forget about splitting into pieces of flesh and escaping."
Muzan Kibutsuji tried disbelievingly, and sure enough, his splitting ability was indeed firmly restrained!
Being repeatedly outwitted by lower beings he considered ants, the already tyrannical and bloodthirsty Demon King became even more frenzied.
He suddenly raised his head, his crimson eyes glaring fiercely at Arthur.
"It's so disgusting it makes me sick! Do you think you can defeat me with these despicable little tricks?"
"A natural disaster, an earthquake, can easily take countless lives. Have you ever hated the sky? Hated the earth?"
"Why don't you just see me as a natural disaster!"
"Why do you always use the banner of revenge, constantly talking about your parents and relatives being killed, endlessly bothering me!!!"
Arthur calmly watched the completely out-of-control Muzan Kibutsuji, toying with an intricately constructed metal ball between his fingers, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain.
...
Caw!
Not long after, the unique screech of a Kasugai Crow sounded in Arthur's ears.
This meant that the Demon Slayer Corps members had begun to sense his encounter with Muzan Kibutsuji.
It also signified that the time had come.
"Natural disaster? Are you worthy?"
Arthur's smile grew wider, and he casually tossed the metal ball in his hand.
Accompanied by a series of crisp, precise mechanical clicking sounds, a radiance truly comparable to the glorious sun suddenly bloomed!
This was the natural enemy of demons, the sunlight that purifies all filth and evil!
When the light of that artificial sun poured onto Muzan Kibutsuji, his skin immediately sizzled, emitting green smoke.
The intense burning pain made him let out a shrill scream, and he turned to flee.
Lightning flashed again!
Arthur charged wildly with thunderous force, his platinum longsword thrusting furiously, pinning Muzan Kibutsuji firmly against the wall!
"Let go of me! Let go of me now!"
"I don't want the blue spider lily anymore! I don't want it! Please, let go!!!"
Muzan Kibutsuji, his entire face deeply embedded in the wall, now cried out incessantly, his voice almost pleading.
When the shadow of death truly enveloped his entire body, all thoughts of being the ultimate being, of eternal life, were completely cast aside!
However, at this moment, screams no less shrill than his own began to echo madly in his mind.
Those were the desperate wails of his subordinate demons, dying under the sunlight.
The development of the situation had completely exceeded Muzan Kibutsuji's comprehension; his severely insufficient brain capacity was simply unable to process this Cognition-subversioning scene.
Arthur, who had been holding him back with the hilt of his sword, deduced from Muzan Kibutsuji's terrified and bewildered expression that the plan was proceeding smoothly, and he couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The vitality of demons was indeed terrifyingly tenacious; even if they were cut in half or dismembered, they could regenerate quickly, but—
When he learned that 'demons would turn to ash if exposed to sunlight,' he almost laughed his head off.
Not to mention that scientists in this era were already trying to simulate sunlight.
For him, with his background in astrophysics, he only needed a few ordinary materials to refine a more convenient and efficient "artificial sun."
Afterward, to verify whether only real sunlight was effective against demons, or if any light with similar properties would suffice, Arthur specifically teamed up with Tamayo to conduct two experiments.
The first was a simple blood sample exposure test.
The second was a unlucky demon casually captured during the day.
If Muzan Kibutsuji had a habit of regularly checking the memories of his subordinates.
If Muzan Kibutsuji had been a little more cautious in his daily life.
If Muzan Kibutsuji...
Unfortunately, there are no 'ifs' in this world.
That demon who died in daylight did not trigger any alarm in Muzan Kibutsuji—after all, it was occasionally possible for an idiot to accidentally get killed by the sun.
Muzan Kibutsuji's deeply ingrained arrogance was undoubtedly his most fatal weakness.
But it was precisely because of this that Arthur was able to truly grasp a trump card sufficient to secure victory.
"Fatal mistakes made in the early stages of war are impossible to compensate for, no matter what."
"Checkmate, Muzan."
Arthur slightly turned his body so that the "sunlight" released by the metal ball could more evenly "coat" every inch of Muzan Kibutsuji's skin.
"Ah ah ah!!!"
The once invincible progenitor of demons was now rapidly decaying and dissipating, with clumps of ash-like embers fluttering down.
Finally, only Arthur remained, along with a pile of dust.
...
Arthur's gaze swept over the ashes on the ground, and he let out a long sigh, then looked down at Fu Fu, who was obediently curled up on his collar.
"Although the process of luring him was a bit tedious, the mission was finally completed successfully."
"It's been over two months since I updated my ability value, and now I suddenly want to see how Loki reacts."
"Fu wu!"
!!!
The pure white beast and his own intuition simultaneously issued a piercing warning!
Arthur, who had just relaxed, did not hesitate for a moment, his figure suddenly retreating rapidly into the distance!
Bang—!
A long, thorny whip made of flesh tore through the air, producing a thunderous boom.
It carried a strange suction force, violently smashing the ground where he had just stood!
Arthur lowered his arm, which had been blocking the flying debris, and gazed sharply at the opposite side—that resurrected, or rather, re-emerged "Muzan Kibutsuji."
No!
This guy was definitely not the previous Muzan Kibutsuji!
Despite having an identical appearance, Arthur, who had activated the Transparent World, couldn't sense the opponent's presence at all!
'Unable to sense, can only observe with the naked eye?'
'The artificial sun is still operating, so it seems this guy only inherited Muzan Kibutsuji's abilities, but not his weakness to sunlight?'
'I really hope the person who assigned the mission can be clearer next time; I almost capsized in the gutter because of it.'
At this moment, Arthur still had many unanswered questions, but this did not affect his ability to make the most correct judgment.
Without a doubt, this "Muzan Kibutsuji" in front of him was his true mission objective for this trip!
Zheng—!
The platinum longsword reappeared amidst the swirling light particles.
Since leaving the Dungeon, a long-lost smile of keen interest appeared on Arthur's face.
"I hope you can be a little more durable than that good-for-nothing Muzan Kibutsuji!"