"Oh my, oh my..."
Her right eye was instantly corroded to blindness, and the mandala formation beneath her feet became difficult to maintain, collapsing and retracting inch by inch.
Mitsuba knelt on one knee, lowering her head to look at her body that was rapidly dissolving. Upon that face that was likewise melting, she revealed an expression of confusion.
What was... this situation?
Wisteria poison? She had been poisoned?
Strange, when had this happened?
When had she been poisoned? Why hadn't she detected it at all before?
Wait...
Suddenly, Mitsuba remembered the two Demon Slayers she had casually killed at the manor entrance when she entered this estate.
These two Demon Slayers were the only humans she had devoured from a month ago until now...
Could it be them?
Was wisteria poison hidden within their bodies?
But such a massive amount of poison—why hadn't she detected it at all before? How exactly had it hidden and spread within her body?
Could it be Tamayo?
Had she developed some special medicine that could temporarily suppress wisteria poison?
Incredible... something like this could actually be developed?
Should she use Fate Overwrite to rewind?
No, that wouldn't work...
Her overwrite could only be used within the mandala formation. This wisteria poison had already existed within her body before she activated the formation.
Attempting to overwrite now would not only fail to change the result, but would further consume her stamina, making her even less able to resist the erosion of the wisteria poison...
"Quick! Now! Trap her!"
Even as Mitsuba rapidly considered her countermeasures, the Demon Slayers who had long been lying in ambush near the manor finally arrived at this moment.
The first to arrive were four squads of swordsmen, each squad carrying a specially designed heavy crossbow.
These four squads positioned themselves in the four directions around Mitsuba—front, back, left, and right—standing opposite one another.
According to the results of countless previous drills, these four squads took advantage of this instant when Mitsuba was poisoned and kneeling, difficult to move, and simultaneously fired the chains from their crossbows toward the opposite positions.
Four chains crossed past Mitsuba's sides simultaneously. The sixteen men, two per chain, each grasped one end and ran clockwise at maximum distance with Mitsuba at the center.
With their movements, the four chains rapidly tightened, layer upon layer binding Mitsuba tightly in place at the very center.
In the very next instant after the first group restricted Mitsuba's movements, the Demon Slayer Corps' second wave arrived at precisely this moment.
This group all held firearms—thirty men total—arranged in a crescent moon formation in an arc dozens of meters in front of Mitsuba.
This was a subtle distance.
Because they were positioned just outside the range of Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art.
"Fire!"
With a furious shout, these thirty men simultaneously raised their firearms, aiming at Mitsuba before them.
Unable to use her Blood Demon Art to stop these Demon Slayers from firing, Mitsuba forcibly suppressed the wisteria poison erupting and spreading within her body, instinctively wanting to break free of the chains and evade.
But she immediately discovered that she could not destroy these chains?!
[These chains were forged from scarlet crimson iron?]
The slight burning sensation transmitted from her body made Mitsuba instantly realize the material used to forge these chains.
Scarlet crimson iron—this was the special material the Demon Slayer Corps used to forge Nichirin blades.
Filled with solar energy, it was the natural bane of demons.
Bang!
Bang bang bang bang!
In the next instant, triggers were pulled. With the explosive consecutive gunshots, blue smoke from burning gunpowder gradually rose.
Dozens of metal pellets, likewise cast from molten scarlet crimson iron, simultaneously shot forth, all pouring onto Mitsuba in the courtyard who was firmly trapped by chains and unable to move.
The mandala formation completely collapsed and dissipated at this moment.
Under the successive consumption by wisteria poison and firearms, Mitsuba seemed to have reached her limit, unable to even maintain her Blood Demon Art.
Finally, the Demon Slayer Corps' third wave tonight—the strongest among them—also made their move at this moment.
"Quick! Now! Cut off her head!"
The Flame Hashira, Water Hashira, Wind Hashira, Sound Hashira, Stone Hashira, and the youngest Mist Hashira—the six Hashira-level swordsmen of the current Demon Slayer Corps simultaneously charged out from all around.
Together they drew their blades, rushing at the fastest speed toward Tsugikuni Mitsuba who was kneeling in the center of the courtyard, bound firmly by chains, her body full of bullet holes, nearly half of her body already melted!
This was Tamayo's decapitation plan for Tsugikuni Mitsuba.
First, use the specially developed wisteria poison to weaken Mitsuba for the first time, greatly consuming and reducing her combat power.
Then, taking advantage of the instant when she was poisoned and difficult to move, use chains forged from scarlet crimson iron to trap her body—both to prevent her escape and to restrict her resistance.
Then, utilizing the power of firearms, further reduce her combat power and consume her stamina through ranged attacks.
Finally, dispatch the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest Hashira-level swordsmen, seizing this moment of her greatest weakness to swiftly and thoroughly decapitate her!
On a hillside somewhere outside the manor, Tamayo stood alone.
She held a monocular telescope, observing the situation in the manor from afar, her clenched fingertips already white.
Months of planning, decades of waiting—for tonight, to create this decapitation opportunity that would likely come only once.
She had exerted her full strength, using all the means she believed could be used.
She had done everything she could do. At this moment, she could only pray silently here that those Demon Slayers could smoothly achieve their ultimate goal.
[Miss Tamayo, it would be better for you to put down those past events soon and move toward a new beginning...]
Mitsuba's final suggestion to her when they parted decades ago suddenly echoed in Tamayo's mind.
Her hands trembling slightly, Tamayo slowly closed her eyes.
[I'm sorry, Mitsuba...]
[I truly cannot be as free and easy as you. I truly cannot let go of my hatred for that beast...]
[I must kill Muzan. I must use his blood to avenge my dead husband and child...]
[And you are precisely the greatest obstacle I must eliminate on the path toward this goal...]
[So, I'm sorry...]
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