Chapter 200: 200 The Final Battlefield
"Boom!"
In the quiet hall, a loud bang appeared without any warning.
The moment Reiger’s words fell, Kibutsuji Muzan finally lost his patience, lashed out violently, and destroyed the small wooden table between them.
He reached out his hand towards Reiger, and his arm suddenly transformed into a meaty tendril-like whip studded with countless spikes and mouth-like openings, generating immense suction and creating a vortex while it viciously struck out at Reiger, who was within arm’s reach.
The small wooden table, merely grazed by the whip, was instantly reduced to splinters and fragments.
The tatami mats in the hall were torn apart by the immense suction from the whip, disintegrating on the spot.
Kibutsuji Muzan, when he took action, it was always a lethal blow aimed straight at a person’s life.
This strike, capable of tearing everything apart, shredding the atmosphere, and even breaking the sound barrier, was ridiculously easy to land on someone less than two meters away from Kibutsuji Muzan, taking less time than a blink.
Usually, anyone suddenly attacked by Kibutsuji Muzan like this would be doomed on the spot.
However, such a deadly and terrifying strike failed to even touch Reiger.
"Pffft—!"
As the tearing sound erupted, the black blade, emitting high temperatures and carrying flames, cut through the tendril whip like a dancing flame flower, and also severed Kibutsuji Muzan’s arm along with the whip, turning them into minced meat.
Reiger had quietly drawn his sword at some point, and with an unknowable speed, he had cleaved off Kibutsuji Muzan’s arm.
"Hmph!"
Kibutsuji Muzan felt an intense burning pain at the stump of his arm and involuntarily let out a stifled groan.
Yet he ignored the searing pain and lunged forward, diving towards the wooden box adorned with the blue blooms of the other shore.
"It’s mine!"
Kibutsuji Muzan shouted loudly.
His face, about to break into a wide smile, suddenly froze.
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"...
All of a sudden, a series of sounds of splitting the air arose.
They were figures dashing through the night, emanating from all directions of the hall, each one bringing an explosive presence.
They arrived at incredible speeds, surrounding Kibutsuji Muzan while exuding immense momentum.
"Flame Breathing·Third Form·Air Flame Myriad!"
It was a downward slash accompanied by surging flames.
"Water Breathing·Seventh Form·Snow Ripple Stab!"
It was a slanted thrust that traveled in a straight line, rippling like waves on the surface of water.
"Wind Breathing·Eighth Form·Initial Gale Slash!"
It was a slicing attack that spiraled around Kibutsuji Muzan after a rush, with the force of a gale able to tear his body and whip up spiraling wind blades.
"Rock Breathing·Fifth Form·Wheel Punishment!"
This was an attack hurled from the sky, where broad axes and meteor hammers surrounded each other like two meteorites, powerful enough to shatter the earth.
"Snake Breathing·Second Form·Narrow Head Poison Fang!"
This was the Vertical Slash that instantly circled to the back of Kibutsuji Muzan, striking at his nape like a venomous snake.
"Love Breathing·First Form·First Love Tremor!"
This was a fast slash like a whip cracking, aiming to shred Kibutsuji Muzan into pieces with a rotating strike.
"Sound Breathing·First Form·Boom!"
This was a supersonic cleave that came with a roar-like explosion.
"Mist Breathing Fourth Form: Level Flow Slash!"
This was an assault slash hidden within a thin mist.
"Insect Breathing·Bee Tooth Dance·True Drag!"
This was a fierce stab with the strength to pierce through the skull, as if stung by a bee.
Each of the pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps appeared at this moment, surrounding Kibutsuji Muzan and unleashing their most peak, most powerful, and most merciless blows they had ever delivered.
"Puchi!" "Puchi!" "Puchi!"...
The sounds of blades cleaving flesh came one after another, allowing all pillars’ Sun Wheel Blades to slice into Kibutsuji Muzan’s body, drenching him in blood and leaving him covered in wounds in an instant.
Among them, several slashes were aimed directly at Kibutsuji Muzan’s neck and successfully beheaded him.
Yes.
The King of Demons, who had lived for a thousand years since the Heian period, was beheaded in this small chamber.
But—
"Scram!"
Kibutsuji Muzan appeared not to be affected at all; one second his body was a bloody blur, and the next, it had suddenly recovered, looking completely unharmed.
Even the severed neck that had just shown a streak of blood, healed and regenerated in the blink of an eye.
"What...!?"
All the pillars shrank their pupils when they saw this scene.
What followed was a counterattack like a storm of fierce wind and heavy rain.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...
All of a sudden, flesh whips like tubes extended from Kibutsuji Muzan’s body, frantically whipping around and lashing at the pillars, flinging them away.
"Cough...!"
"Splurt!"
The pillars could only feel an overwhelming force striking their bodies, and then one after another, they spat out blood and were blasted away, some breaking through walls, others falling into courtyards, and some even smashing ceilings to disappear from the hall.
The nine strongest pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, each with their Demon Slayer Marks activated and most in a state of Transparent World, were overwhelmed before they could react, collectively defeated by Kibutsuji Muzan.
But Kibutsuji Muzan was not pleased, instead he was shocked.
"Where is the box?"
He noticed the box with the blue Spider Lily was gone.
This made Kibutsuji Muzan’s expression turn extremely ugly, his face bulging with countless veins, angrily gazing in one direction.
There, Reiger held a sword in one hand and the wooden box in the other, his eyes full of mockery as he looked at Kibutsuji Muzan.
Then, with a flick of his hand, Reiger made the box disappear from his grasp.
"......!"
Muzan was immediately struck as if by a great provocation and violently lunged at Reiger.
Reiger’s expression remained cold and indifferent as he tightened his grip on his sword, allowing the flames to rise and burn fiercely.
......
"Boom!"
Under the moonlit night, in a corner of the swordsmith village, a residence akin to a small courtyard suddenly exploded, unleashing an endless barrage of shockwaves.
The shockwaves, mixed with flames, bloomed in the darkness like flowering fire, reducing the entire small courtyard to rubble.
Reiger and Muzan reemerged from the blaze, albeit in starkly different conditions.
Reiger was engulfed in flames, radiating intense heat, unscathed as if the Fire God himself had descended.
Muzan, on the other hand, appeared to be burned by the flames, savagely slashed by fiery blades, his body blackened by burns or crisscrossed with sword wounds, and it seemed he was not yet capable of regenerating.
"Damn it!"
Muzan was furious.
Reiger was somewhat surprised.
"You actually avoided a fatal injury, huh? It seems you have made some progress since the Warring States period," he said.
These words struck a nerve, wounding Muzan’s pride.
He knew Reiger was referring to their encounter during the Warring States era with Tsukiguni Yoriichi.
Back then, Muzan had underestimated Yoriichi, who seemed like an ordinary samurai without any sense of oppression, resulting in a surprise burst of aggression that left him severely wounded before he could put up any significant resistance.
This time, though he had been severely wounded again, at least he managed to avoid his vital spots.
Reiger called this progress.
But to Muzan, this was no different from an insult.
Hence, Muzan no longer harbored any false hopes.
"You forced my hand!" Muzan roared.
"Nakime!"
As he called out, the world around them transformed in an instant.
The destroyed small courtyard vanished.
The moonlit sky vanished.
The swordsmith village vanished.
The surrounding mountains and forests also disappeared.
Reiger felt the world spin around him, and then, the environment shifted to a strange space with buildings arranged chaotically, as if turned upside down. He felt as though he was plummeting down a cliff, falling towards the endless darkness below that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
Without hesitation, Reiger turned and slashed towards the direction of the abyss.
"Boom!"
A blast of fire erupted, lifting Reiger on the flames as if he were flying upwards, and soon he reached the top of a building where he landed.
Reiger looked around.
"So this is the Infinite City?"
He recognized the stronghold of this demonic being.
Reiger had been transported into the heart of Infinite City.
"Muzan!"
Taking a deep breath, Reiger called out into the surroundings.
"Are you running away again?"
His words were quickly met with a voice filled with anger and hatred.
"Don’t be hasty. Since you want a decisive battle, let’s have it. I’ll entertain you properly in this Infinite City, and welcome the lingering spirits of the Ubuyashiki lineage to their demise!"
"If you want to kill me, come to the Jade Throne!"
"We will settle everything there!"
Having left those words, Muzan’s voice disappeared.
"Jade Throne..."
Reiger narrowed his eyes.
It was an unfamiliar term.
The original story did not mention a Jade Throne within Infinite City.
This was a chaotic castle, with vast interior spaces and many rooms connected to each other, even leading to places outside of the castle itself.
Finding this so-called Jade Throne here would be difficult.
Fortunately, Reiger was well-prepared for this.
He knew that with Nakime, the ghost of the city, Muzan would choose to battle here, taking advantage of the most favorable terrain, even if he desired war.
Therefore, Reiger was not in a hurry.
"If you want to play, I’ll play along slowly."
Flames gathered around Reiger, turning him into a blazing sun as he sped off into the distance.
......
"Damn it!"
Meanwhile, Muzan was feeling the intense pain all over his body, growling lowly.
"I must buy some time to heal my wounds," he thought.
"Nakime, it’s in your hands now."
"Don’t let him find me too quickly, and wipe out the Demon Slayer Corps once and for all!"
As he finished speaking, a voice responded in Muzan’s mind.