Chapter 213: 213 Then come and get it!
In the storm of shock, Reiger, hit by seventeen whip-like attacks powerful enough to alter the landscape and demolish buildings, was directly blown to bits, not a single fragment remaining.
However, in that instant, a figure appeared silently behind Kibutsuji Muzan, who unleashed the seventeen whips, like a shimmering mirage.
"Sun Breathing Fourth Form· Illusory Sun Rainbow."
Reiger had already drawn his sword, cutting through the void with the heat-emitting Sun Wheel Blade, striking straight at Kibutsuji Muzan.
But the slash missed.
Kibutsuji Muzan dodged Reiger’s incoming strike with astonishing speed, shooting away like a bullet, his seventeen whips still in motion.
"Ho?"
Reiger raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
This was the first time his slash had been dodged in this world.
Previously, whether facing Upper Moon Three Akaza, Upper Moon Four, Upper Moon Five, Upper Moon Six Gyuutarou·Daki, or even when facing Upper Moon One Kokushibou, once Reiger drew his sword and slashed, not one of them could react in time to avoid it effectively.
There was no way around it, with a level crush, Reiger’s strength was far more superior, and even in his aggressive mode, where his speed wasn’t as fast as in the swift attack mode, they still couldn’t react to his moves.
Even when Reiger first came to this world and had not yet evolved Sun Breathing, when he encountered Akaza on the Infinite Train, he already possessed the strength equivalent to Lv.6, two levels higher than Akaza’s Lv.4, making it a breeze to kill him.
And after successfully evolving Sun Breathing, with the strength of a lower-middle Lv.7 in aggressive mode, Upper Moon demons were three levels below him; even Upper Moon One Kokushibou was two levels below, making killing them quite easy.
But Kibutsuji Muzan was indeed different.
"It seems your power has truly increased a lot since that time you encountered Tsukiguni Yoriichi," Reiger said to Kibutsuji Muzan.
"Do you think I am still the person I was over three hundred years ago?" Kibutsuji Muzan spoke coldly, "After that, the number of humans I have consumed is beyond your imagination."
Over three hundred years, even if Kibutsuji Muzan ate just one person every few days, the number of people he consumed was astonishing.
Not to mention for this battle, Kibutsuji Muzan had slaughtered an entire town, capturing thousands to nourish and greatly enhance himself.
Therefore, Kibutsuji Muzan now was much stronger than when he first encountered Tsukiguni Yoriichi.
Otherwise, if Tsukiguni Yoriichi could kill him instantly, Reiger should also be able to do so.
In this case, Reiger had essentially confirmed it.
Kibutsuji Muzan definitely had the strength equivalent to Lv.6.
And it wasn’t just any Lv.6; at the very least, it was equivalent to upper Lv.6.
In the original story, even when weakened so much by Tamayo’s medicine, he could still effortlessly face Tanjirou, Himejima Gyoumei, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Iguro Obanai, Tomioka Giyuu, and Kanroji Mitsuri, demonstrating strength much greater than Kokushibou’s Lv.5. This made Reiger suspect that he might be a Lv.6 in his prime.
Now, whether he was Lv.6 before or not, Reiger was unsure, but at this moment, he definitely was, otherwise, he couldn’t have dodged that slash.
Of course...
"So what if you’ve gotten stronger?"
Reiger raised his blade.
"You’ve dodged one slash, but how will you dodge the next?"
With those words, a burst of flame erupted beneath Reiger’s feet, turning him into a comet of fire as he charged towards Kibutsuji Muzan.
"Sun Breathing·Seventh Form·Yang Hua Strike."
This form was intended for thrusting at enemies above, creating a ring of flames around the blade to cause multiple piercing and burning damages, but after mastering all forms of Sun Breathing, Reiger could also launch a horizontal assault like this.
The flames swirling around Reiger twisted into a cone shape, and with his thrust, they pierced through Kibutsuji Muzan.
"......!?"
Kibutsuji Muzan’s pupils contracted, and he immediately raised his arms, his arms turning into spiked whips, meeting the attack head-on.
"Pfftch!"
The fiery cone pierced the incoming spiked whip, shredding it from the tip like a column of flesh.
Kibutsuji Muzan grunted, swinging another spiked whip towards Reiger, now a burning cone.
"Boom!"
Dust and roar lifted, bringing fierce gales that gouged the ground.
But Reiger had already leapt high, avoiding Kibutsuji Muzan’s counterattack, and with a turn of his blade, the flames burned anew.
"Sun Breathing·Ten Forms·Radiant Grace."
Hovering mid-air, Reiger launched a downward spiral slash towards Kibutsuji Muzan.
The spiral slash, blooming like a lotus flower, entwined with flames as hot as the sun, not only severed Kibutsuji Muzan’s other spiked whip but also burned and cut through several of his hastily raised whip-like arms to block.
Thanks to this, Kibutsuji Muzan lost both arms, along with two whip-like spikes and several of the tubular ones.
"Get lost!"
His face veined with rage, Kibutsuji Muzan was now completely engulfed in fury. His pupils were no longer visible, only the whites of his eyes, bloodshot with anger, as he roared at Reiger.
An immense shockwave suddenly erupted from Kibutsuji Muzan at its center.
It was a shockwave that, accompanied by thunder and lightning, as well as hurricanes and explosions, indiscriminately bombed in all directions.
As the shockwave spread, it obliterated everything in its vicinity, especially the ground that was now tormented in all directions. It was no longer simply cracked; it was collapsing in a catastrophic ruin, making the cliff-like building’s upper half explode into fragments.
".....!"
Reiger, being so close, had no way to avoid the indiscriminate bombardment aimed at everyone. His face tensed as he was forced to slash at the oncoming shockwave with his blade.
"Sun Breathing·Second Form·Biluo Sky."
The circular vertical slash, mirroring the outline of the sun, sent rings of flame dancing, enveloping Reiger as he collided with the shockwave, creating a series of explosive booms.
Transformed into a sun, Reiger managed to block the shockwave with his slash, but it seemed the shockwave wasn’t just extremely physically destructive; it also affected the human body, causing confusion in the nervous system, leading to spasms that made one unable to move and could even result in death.
Reiger’s shoulder was grazed by a bolt of lightning carried by the shockwave, instantly paralyzing the area.
"Blood Art Technique?"
Reiger recognized the move.
This was Kibutsuji Muzan’s Blood Art Technique, and also his trump card, his strongest form of attack.
The name of the Blood Art Technique wasn’t mentioned in the original story, but Kibutsuji Muzan had used it several times to turn the tables, almost causing the protagonist group and the Pillars attacking him to die on the spot.
"This guy’s attacks, whether those whip-like spikes or tubular ones, or this Blood Art Technique, all have the effect of instantly killing a person."
Reiger, propelled backward by the flames, leaped from the cliff-like building, descending from the once glorious but now ruined throne.
"Bang!"
At this moment, Kibutsuji Muzan burst out from the shockwave, waving the dozen or so remaining tubular whips like a spider gone berserk, crushing debris and swooping down fiercely.
"Give me the Blue Spider Lily!"
Kibutsuji Muzan’s face had completely contorted, the veins throbbing like thick blood vessels, making him look like a genuine demon crawling out from hell.
"Want it? Then come and take it!"
Reiger’s feet landed on the building’s wall, sliding down while scraping against it, his black blade slashing out decisively.
"Clang—"
Amongst the bell-like sounds, the searing Sun Wheel Blade collided with the deadly tubular whips, causing flames to burst like sparks.
"Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—Clang—"
In the midst of the loud clashing sounds, Reiger and Kibutsuji Muzan engaged in fierce combat, one sliding down, the other plunging downward; one below, the other above, their clashes of black blade and whips resonated repeatedly.
Kibutsuji Muzan wielded the eight tubular whips connected to his lower half, each one with an attack force and speed far surpassing those of his upper half and the whip-like spikes on his arms. Every strike created sonic booms, damaging the wall of the building.
In contrast, Reiger’s sword swings were just as fast, leaving trails of fiery slashes in the air like dazzling meteor paths, one after another, slashing towards Kibutsuji Muzan, causing the flames to continually burst and set everything ablaze.
The two fought from the top of the building to its base, then from the base back to the peak, destroying everything in their path with flames and sonic booms.
"Rumble rumble..."
Before long, the entire mountainous building collapsed with a thunderous crash, turning into countless boulders and debris plummeting down.
It was as if a mountain had collapsed.
"Sun Breathing Eleventh Form: Halo Dragon Head Dance."
Finally, Reiger counterattacked. Charging forward with his blade, he was like a dragon in flight, unleashing high-speed consecutive Slashing Skills at Kibutsuji Muzan as he fell with the boulders.
"Spurt—Spurt—Spurt—"
The scorching slashes, dancing around like a fire dragon, hit the caught-off-guard Kibutsuji Muzan, instantly tearing his skin open, leaving him with fiery cuts all over his body.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Kibutsuji Muzan finally screamed in agony from the severe pain of the flame-scorched wounds.
"Round Dance!"
Then, Reiger turned and slashed with a perfect circle, the blade of flames striking Kibutsuji Muzan’s neck.
"Spurt!"
Amidst the sound of tearing, Kibutsuji Muzan’s head was cut off.