Following the Kasugai Crow's instructions, Shinobu Kocho arrived at the Yoshiwara Entertainment District in time.
Beneath the moonlit night, the once lively and prosperous Yoshiwara had become a scene from hell. A foul stench lingered in the air, and corpses covered the ground—some belonging to demons, others to swordsmen.
Bright red blood flowed across the earth, staining everything crimson.
The brutality of the battlefield made Shinobu clench her teeth unconsciously.
As a demon slayer, Shinobu had seen far too many cruel scenes. When she was young, she had even witnessed the terrifying sight of demons devouring her parents.
Even so, the sight before her still made her scalp go numb.
However, as a demon slayer, although Shinobu was shaken by the horror before her, it was not something she could not face.
Her hatred for demons was enough to support her through any terrifying scene.
When she noticed the swordsmen being protected by Gyomei Himejima, Kyojuro Rengoku, and Sanemi Shinazugawa, and saw their wounds, she was already thinking about how to treat them in the shortest possible time.
That was her duty as a healer of the Butterfly Mansion. Many swordsmen had ultimately died because they could not receive timely treatment during battle.
But very soon, Shinobu's gaze froze.
She noticed the two demons fighting in the center of the battlefield.
Although she had never seen Muzan Kibutsuji before, at almost the first glance, Shinobu roughly understood that the monster with white hair, whose limbs and lower body were wrapped in blood and fur, and whose body was covered in giant mouths filled with sharp teeth, was Muzan Kibutsuji.
But why was the other demon so familiar?
And yet…
so unfamiliar.
A truth she did not want to acknowledge suddenly exploded in Shinobu's mind. It felt so unreal that she could not believe the person she liked, the person she cared about…
was a demon.
Her hand began to tremble.
The wind rose at that moment, carrying the rotten stench left behind by dead demons across the battlefield. Mist suddenly gathered in the girl's beautiful purple eyes.
She stood there, almost dazed, staring at the figure being suppressed by Muzan Kibutsuji—or rather, the demon.
At this moment, Muzan Kibutsuji had already taken absolute advantage. His relentless attacks tore Soma's flesh apart every second. More importantly, he was constantly trying to restrain him.
Perhaps in just a little while, Soma would be completely bound.
"What a perfect body."
Muzan Kibutsuji cut off the last arm Soma was struggling with using one of his tube whips. Before Soma's new arm could grow, Muzan swiftly restrained it, then sighed in admiration.
By now, Soma's entire body was bound by some unknown flesh. He looked like a cocoon wrapped in layers of meat.
Soma seemed to have sunk into a swamp. No matter how he struggled, it was useless. He had become like a lamb waiting for slaughter.
Even so, Soma still had not given up resisting.
But he was like a moth trapped in a spiderweb, its wings tangled in silk. The more it struggled, the weaker it became, until it could no longer flap its wings at all.
No matter how it struggled, it could not change the outcome of becoming prey.
"Impressive. In all these years, you are the second demon to break free from my control, and the first demon able to oppose me for this long."
Or rather, the only demon who had defied his will.
Muzan Kibutsuji also had many wounds across his body, his flesh torn and bloody. But even the wounds caused by Bright Red Blades were healing rapidly at a visible speed.
For demons like Muzan Kibutsuji and Soma, wounds on the body were basically no longer worth caring about.
Looking at Soma, bound by him and unable to move, Muzan thought of how the thing he had pursued for more than a thousand years would soon be realized through him. At this moment, he could hardly hide the excitement in his heart.
Today, not only would he obtain from Soma what he had sought for more than a thousand years, but the Demon Slayer Corps, which had entangled and irritated him for over a millennium, would also be ended here.
"Look…"
Muzan Kibutsuji raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
Under his command, countless demons surged forward, rushing toward the swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps. Although Gyomei Himejima, Kyojuro Rengoku, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and the others were holding up the front and blocking most of the demons, the remaining swordsmen still could not withstand the onslaught. They were being slaughtered one after another.
And not only those swordsmen.
Even Gyomei Himejima and the others were already in grave danger. Perhaps before long, they too would be swallowed by the tide of demons.
"What a beautiful sight."
Muzan Kibutsuji's plum-red eyes fixed on Soma. "These are the humans you protected. Today, every last one of them will end here."
"Is it not beautiful?"
Soma raised his eyes and looked at Muzan Kibutsuji, then turned his gaze to the surroundings.
Under the demons' assault, a swordsman who had lost all strength was pounced upon. Amid agonized screams, his life disappeared.
If this continued, then for these swordsmen, death was already their ending.
And it was not only the swordsmen who would die.
Soma himself was now restrained by Muzan Kibutsuji. He might even be taken away by Muzan for research.
What would await him then?
Perhaps he would become nothing more than research material for Muzan Kibutsuji. His blood would be drawn every day for study. His body would be sliced apart and observed…
"This really is somewhat miserable."
Thinking of what might happen to him, Soma could not help sighing softly.
But very quickly, he noticed Shinobu Kocho, who had arrived.
The petite girl was looking at him now, her beautiful purple eyes utterly blank.
She must have found it difficult to believe the truth that he was a demon.
"Everything ends here."
Muzan Kibutsuji stared excitedly at Soma, who was already bound. He personally lifted Soma's body, then looked toward those still holding the line against the demons—Gyomei Himejima, Kyojuro Rengoku, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Tanjiro, Giyu Tomioka, Mitsuri Kanroji…
All these irritating things would end today.
Afterward, he only needed to return and calmly study this perfect body. He would study the secret that allowed Soma to bathe in sunlight until he too could…
Thinking of the thing he had desired for more than a thousand years finally coming within reach, Muzan Kibutsuji felt his blood boil.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines." Soma, still under Muzan Kibutsuji's control, suddenly spoke.
In the next second, more than a dozen icy vines wrapped in frozen lotus flowers burst from beneath Muzan Kibutsuji's feet, binding him almost instantly.
"Heh… Doma's Blood Demon Art again."
Muzan Kibutsuji's body shook, and every ice vine wrapped around him shattered.
At first, Soma had indeed wounded him by using Doma's Blood Demon Art. But now, trying to use Doma's technique against him again was nothing but wishful thinking.
But—
immediately after,
Muzan Kibutsuji felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest. A cold hand had pierced straight through it.
It turned out that the so-called "Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines" was only a distraction.
And at that moment, the person whose hand had pierced through Muzan's chest—
Had jet-black hair tied up in a bun, adorned with an exquisite flower hairpin. Her eyes were like a layer of pale violet mist, her skin as white as snow, and her lips a vivid red.
She wore a deep purple kimono embroidered with floral patterns and red flower motifs, with a wide beige obi tied around her waist.
Her slender figure outlined the gentle curves of a woman.
Tamayo—
The first demon to betray him.
The first demon to break free from his control.