Muzan's thorn whips were indeed powerful, but they were also forcibly shattered by Hakuji's punch, delivered with abandonment of life and death.
His posture was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain. Enduring the erosion of Muzan's cells on his body, he absolutely would not retreat, fighting fiercely with the terrifying Demon King!
Seeing this, Gyomei and Muichiro, who had been in a difficult battle, exchanged a glance.
Though surprised in their hearts, they did not hesitate in their actions.
Even if this guy was full of demonic aura, no matter how wrong he seemed,
at this life-or-death moment, even if he was a former sworn enemy, as long as his blade pointed at Muzan, he was a comrade.
The two instantly adjusted their breathing and coordinated with this mysterious man's rhythm, joining the fray.
The flail, with its heavy roar, crashed towards Muzan's head. Muichiro, taking advantage of Muzan's attention being drawn by his two tall teammates, moved like a phantom, tracing several afterimages.
Shing! Clang! Boom!!
The three fought more and more fiercely. Muzan's back burst open again, and several more thorn whips, covered in teeth and of astonishing length, grew out!
His power was simply too overwhelming.
With a casual wave, the shockwave carrying corrosive demon blood could forcibly disperse the techniques of the two Hashira.
Seizing this opportunity, Muzan's thorn whip swept towards Muichiro. But a blue streak of light suddenly cut in!
Shriek—!
"Hey, don't space out now, kid."
Hakuji's voice came with heavy panting. He had used his own body to forcibly take this blow.
That sharp thorn whip directly pierced through his ribs, bringing out a gush of dark red blood.
Muzan's devastating cellular toxins instantly began to take effect, devouring the vitality within Hakuji's body.
"You... you guy!" Muichiro stared in astonishment at the man before him.
Though born a demon, though possessing nearly unlimited lifespan and the chance to regenerate, the look in Hakuji's eyes beneath his tiger mask at this moment revealed a kind of determination only humans possessed, that facing death without fear.
His always chaotic memories suddenly began to clear, remembering someone clearly important, whom he had forgotten.
That day, his elder brother had also desperately protected him like that, allowing him to survive.
"You despicable, treacherous scum." Muzan sneered coldly, trying to disintegrate Hakuji from within through the resonance of his demon blood. "You think finding your name allows you to oppose my will? Your life, every second of it, was given by me!"
"Cough... precisely because this body was given by you, I find it utterly disgusting!"
Hakuji suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. But instead of retreating, he used both hands to tightly grip the thorn whip embedded in his body.
"Swordsman! Attack!!"
Hakuji let out the roar of a dying tiger.
He knew very well that his body was being madly devoured by Muzan's cells. This pain far exceeded lingchi.
But he was determined to use this sinful shell today as the hardest shield, to gain even a second's chance to slay Muzan!
"You bastard...."
Just as Muzan was becoming endlessly annoyed by Hakuji's suicide-like restraint, the Hashira had also one after another arrived!
It was Sanemi's violent wind pressure, Giyu's calm water waves, and Obanai's sharp snake fangs!
Kyojuro's Nichirin Sword burned fiercely. Mitsuri's winding long sword danced into a blur of sword shadows!
The Hashira, originally trapped in various places, had finally successively arrived at the core battlefield, aided by the collapse of space!
Muzan went from fighting three alone at the start, to facing attacks from all sides, enemies in every direction.
As the battle intensified, his movements grew faster and faster, and also stronger and stronger.
This fight continued for over ten minutes. The Demon Slayer Corps side kept having people injured, but Muzan's stamina seemed endless.
He indeed was not afraid that these swordsmen could kill him. Even if Obanai directly slashed open his neck, it would heal instantly.
But this feeling of being incessantly pestered like flies was simply annoying beyond measure.
In this constant struggle, Muzan finally saw the two he least wanted to see—
Kamado Tanjiro, breathing that unpleasant aura, and the black-haired swordsman Taka, who had killed Kokushibo!
Taka had no unnecessary words. His figure continuously flickered within the violently trembling Infinity Castle.
Though he had come from the deepest, most dangerous dojo of Kokushibo, he was currently in the best condition of everyone present.
The long sword in his hand brought a streak of dark red light, enough to tear the soul, viciously slashing towards Muzan's neck.
'No good. I can't let that sword touch me!'
Even as arrogant as Muzan was, he sensed the threat in this slash. He hastily tore off the thorn whips entangled with the swordsmen and rapidly retreated!
But Taka's sword aura was not so easy to escape.
The long sword swung down. Several hunting dogs, condensed from spiritual pressure, barked as they rushed from the blade, relentlessly pursuing Muzan's figure and viciously biting into his thorn whips covered in teeth!
"Ughhh—!! This feeling! This power suppresses my regeneration!"
Muzan sensed trouble. In a panic, he continuously severed his own injured parts, fearing that this kind of troublesome power would spread.
This fear had once been felt from that man wearing earrings.
And now, it descended in another, more eerie, more greedy form.
"Almost there! Almost there! Inosuke, hold on!"
Yushiro was also madly roaring. His eyeballs were nearly bursting from the overload of his Blood Demon Art.
"I know! I won't take a single step back! I'll definitely protect you, demon kid!" Inosuke's eyes, through his mask, stared fixedly upward. His serrated dual blades danced like the wind, continuously killing the charging demons, doing his utmost to protect Yushiro.
The entire Infinity Castle had now become a massive, upwardly erupting fireball.
With an earth-shattering roar, the crust was violently shattered. Earth, rocks, grass, and trees were torn away in large areas by the violent force.
Rumble—!!!
On a village street on the outskirts of Tokyo, a massive wooden city, with smoke and flames, violently burst forth from the ground!
The moonlight was dismal. Dawn was approaching.
On this devastated surface, the remains of the Infinity Castle were scattered everywhere.
Muzan stood on the high ground of the ruins. His body grew increasingly ferocious in the moonlight.
And directly opposite him stood the elite of the Demon Slayer Corps—
Taka, Gyomei, Rengoku, Giyu, Sanemi, Muichiro, Obanai, Mitsuri, Tanjiro, and Hakuji, covered in bloody wounds yet still proudly standing tall.
A full ten warriors, standing at the peak of the Demon Slayer Corps, would face the source of a millennium of evil.
"Sunrise is still an hour and a half away." The steady Giyu reminded everyone.
'Just hold on! Just hold on for another hour and a half!'
"You think just because we're on the surface, you have a chance to win?"
"Not to mention whether your stamina can last until sunrise, those Hashira I wounded… the toxins in your bodies have already begun to take effect, haven't they!"
"In less than ten minutes, you'll all drop dead!"
"That's... not necessarily true!"
Muzan's blustering victory declaration was not yet finished when a weak yet familiar female voice sounded.
Taka was greatly startled and hurriedly turned to look.
It was indeed Shinobu and Kanao!
Shinobu's complexion was even worse than before. She could barely stand and needed Kanao's support to speak.
'Her injury! It was never cured!' Taka suddenly understood.
The so-called miracle cure for the Blood Demon Art was merely a lie Shinobu told to prevent Taka from worrying.
Now, for her to even be standing here and speaking was already doing her utmost!
Shinobu's eyes avoided Taka's gaze. She smiled coldly and had Kanao bring out a row of vials—
The anti-venom serum she had developed together with Tamayo, enduring the unpleasantness of cooperating with a demon!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Under Kanao's rapid throwing, these serums were thrown to the assembled Hashira and immediately injected into their bodies.
The Stone Hashira, injured first and corroded most severely, almost immediately felt the serum's effect.
Muzan's cells were receding.
His swollen, ulcerated cheeks actually healed at a visible speed!