At this moment, Muzan's body was wrapped within a massive fleshy sac.
Using this form, he was rapidly breaking down the toxins within him.
Each acceleration of his metabolism caused a tumor filled with pus and blood to bulge on the sac's surface, which would quickly shrivel after oozing out poisoned blood.
And Tamayo's body was already tottering. Her slender arms could no longer control him.
Muzan's demon claws were still deeply embedded in Tamayo's brain, the force growing heavier and heavier:
"Didn't I save your life? Didn't you yourself kill your husband and child? How ungrateful!"
"Haven't you also killed many people, eaten many people, relishing it with great enjoyment? What are you doing now? Becoming a partner of justice?"
Tamayo's tears mixed with blood as she cursed with all her might: "That's right! To atone for this sin, I will die here with you today!"
"You are far too persistent, Tamayo."
At that moment, the Kasugai Crow's voice sounded again, completely plunging Muzan's mood into the abyss—
"Nanajuhachi Taka! Upper Rank One, defeated!!"
"Rengoku Kyojuro, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Tomioka Giyu! Upper Rank Two, defeated!!"
"Iguro Obanai, Kanroji Mitsuri, Tanjiro Kamado! Upper Rank Three, defeated!!"
"Caw—! Caw—! Repeat! Repeat!"
All the Kasugai Crows cried out in unison. The sound converged into a torrent that chilled demons to the bone and moved mortals to tears:
"At this point! All Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki have been wiped out!!"
'What nonsense! My Nakime isn't dead yet!'
With a bang, the fleshy sac burst. Muzan's body leaped out!
At this moment, his entire musculature had mutated. His momentum grew increasingly terrifying.
His body was covered in sharp-toothed maws, looking as if one touch would shred anyone. Blood covered his body, forming a tough defensive layer.
Listening to the constant reports of crushing defeats coming in, Muzan could have bitten his gums until they bled. He glared furiously at the Kasugai Crows flying in the air.
He naturally did not know that Hakuji had guessed he would promote Nakime to an Upper Rank to strengthen his control and manipulation of the Infinity Castle.
Therefore, in their correspondence with Kagaya, they simply did not regard her as a combatant, merely considering her a tool demon built for Muzan as a sanctuary.
Tamayo spat blood. Looking at the enraged Muzan, she let out a bloodcurdling laugh tinged with satisfaction:
"Ha... Muzan, you didn't expect this, did you? You've been cornered! Today, you will definitely come to hell with me!"
"Hundreds and thousands of people have said that to me already. Unfortunately, it hasn't come true even once."
Bang!!
Tamayo's head, along with the last of her unwillingness and curses in her eyes, instantly turned into a blurry mass of flesh and crushed bone under Muzan's palm.
"Go to hell yourself. Go back to the family you killed."
He flicked the bits of flesh from his hand and completely kicked away Tamayo's dissipating body.
Thud!!
The instant he committed this atrocity, in a corner of the Infinity Castle, a young man hiding in the shadows heavily knelt on the ground.
"Tamayo-sama... is dead?"
He trembled. His voice was filled with shattered emotion.
The young man had short, light green hair and wore the Demon Slayer Corps' uniform, but the aura he exuded was completely unlike that of a corps member.
His purple pupils were cat-like vertical slits.
He was Yushiro, the boy saved by Tamayo, turned into a demon due to a terminal illness.
"Aaaaahhh!! Muzan—!!"
"How dare you take Tamayo-sama from me!!"
"I will make you kneel and regret what you've done! I will definitely kill you!!"
Yushiro's demon claws bulged with veins. His fingertips scraped deeply into the ground.
He raised his head and looked towards the direction in the boundless depths of the Infinity Castle where her aura had disappeared. His eyes blazing with fury as he roared.
"Hey! Stop complaining! This master has locked onto the direction! Hurry up and follow me!" Another voice sounded, forcefully interrupting Yushiro's lament.
Yushiro suppressed his anger, composed himself, and spread his Blood Demon Art of concealing his form once more, running towards the darkness.
As a demon created by Tamayo, there was no subordination relationship between Yushiro and Muzan.
But such a bloodcurdling demonic howl still made the distant Muzan sense something. He was momentarily startled.
At the same time, the voice of that half-dead man seemed to ring in his heart:
[See, you have committed another unpardonable sin, Muzan.]
[Those dragons and tigers who would have slept for a lifetime have all been awakened by your atrocities.]
[They will keep their eyes on you and never let you go....]
'What voice? Haunted?'
Muzan irritably shook his head, forcibly dispelling this sudden discomfort.
'Just the resentment of some losers before they die! I am a perfect existence beyond life and death!'
He viciously leaped down from the heights of the Infinity Castle, rapidly falling towards an area with many people.
"None of you are any use. In the end, I have to do it myself!"
Boom—!!
The dozens of ordinary Demon Slayer Corps' members, who had barely managed to assemble with the help of the Kasugai Crows, suddenly felt an immense sense of oppression.
Shing! Shing!
Before the dust had even settled, Muzan's demon claws were already reaping lives!
Most of the members didn't even realize what was happening before they were killed by Muzan.
In an instant, limbs flew, flesh and blood were obscured. Members fell in droves!
"Enemy attack! Highest alert!! It's... it's Kibutsuji Muzan!" A member let out a heart-wrenching warning.
Muzan's figure was as fast as a phantom, impossible to make out.
Severed limbs mixed with organ fragments scattered and splattered everywhere like withered leaves swept up by a gale.
"Ughhh—!"
"No—!"
"Ca... captain...."
Screams rose one after another, then stopped abruptly.
"Everyone! Stay away from Muzan! Don't act rashly until the Hashira arrive!!"
Kiriya, inside the command post, loudly issued orders through the Kasugai Crows' voices, but this could not slow Muzan's slaughter!
"Seriously, I am truly sick of you Demon Slayers from the bottom of my heart." Muzan tore out a member's heart with one claw, looking expressionlessly at the Kasugai Crow in the air:
"Why are you so persistent? Wouldn't it be better to live without being killed by me? Why do you insist on coming to die?"
Pffft—!!
Right before the crow's gaze, right before Kiriya's eyes, he severed a female member's legs:
"Can't you just treat me like a natural disaster, like a volcano or an earthquake? How many people die from natural disasters every year? I've never heard of anyone pestering a volcano or seeking revenge on the sea!"
"You bastard... what are you saying...." Kiriya was shocked by his twisted logic, his gaze staring blankly at the map of the Infinity Castle before him.
"I get it now. You Demon Slayers are all a bit messed up in the head. Today, I absolutely must exterminate you all."
He casually struck down with his palm again.
Clang—!!
But this time, he hit a tough blade and failed to kill the screaming female member.
'Hmm? This blood's smell.....'
Looking closely, under his demon claw, a small boy was using all his strength to resist his attack.
"You are Kokushibo's descendant?"
The person before him was Tokito Muichiro.
Ever since killing Upper Rank Five, he had sensed the intense malice of Muzan within the fleshy sac and raced all the way here.
Although he was still a bit late, he could save whoever he could!
"Are you alright...." He wanted to tell the member to evacuate immediately, but seeing she had lost both legs, he swallowed the rest of his words.
Anger burned in his eyes. Cloud-like marks had already begun to spread.
Muzan sneered coldly: "I'll give you a chance to become a demon. Just in time, I'm in need of people now."
"Mist Breathing: Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds!" Muichiro had no intention of accepting this invitation and directly used his strongest sword form.
"....No one listens."
Seeing his recruitment fail, Muzan didn't hold back. He swung his fist to strike!
Clank Clank Clank!!
A chain clattered. His fist's momentum was slowed.
"Muzan—!!"
A powerful voice came from behind. The tall blind swordsman, the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei, had finally found the core battlefield.
He had been sent flying everywhere by Nakime's Blood Demon Art. Being blind, he had been helplessly anxious in this chaotic space.
At this moment, his arms were already covered in black, ferocious marks. His clouded blind eyes also shone with a strange light.
Though blind, he now felt his vision was incredibly clear. He could see a monster with five brains and seven hearts before him!
No mistake, this guy was Kibutsuji Muzan!!