thefictionvixens Page 283
Page 283
"What Muzan needs to do is to fight the Demon Slayer Corps, but now only one Upper Rank Demon remains with combat power."
“He is a man who values his life very much. It is impossible for him to fight us alone with Upper Moon One in this state. And creating small demons would not help in this situation.”
"So what he has to do is gather all the remaining ghosts together and give them blood to strengthen them."
"In other words, during the period before the final battle begins, there will be no more demons causing trouble, and the Demon Slayer Corps will have a window of opportunity."
……
Just as Natsuhiko had predicted, in the following period, the Demon Slayer Corps rarely received any more reports of demons causing trouble.
It was like the calm before a storm...
Thanks to this, although they still need to be on guard against demons at night, it has given the Demon Slayer Corps a lot of free time.
A hellish training program known as "Pillar Instruction" is in full swing within the Demon Slayer Corps.
It all started with the violent training of the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, to improve his basic physical strength, followed by the hellish flexibility training of the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, and the high-speed movement training of the Mist Hashira, Tokito and his brother.
The Serpent Pillar's swordsmanship was corrected, the Wind Pillar's relentless attacks were unleashed, the Water Pillar's defense and counterattacks were strengthened, the Flame Pillar's willpower was honed, and finally, the Stone Pillar's muscle-strengthening training was completed.
After all, what they will be facing next are demons that have been strengthened by Muzan, which naturally requires the swordsmen to have even greater strength!
Of course, this is only an intensive training program for swordsmen below the Pillar level.
Those who pass all the requirements of the pillars will proceed to the next stage of training.
Together with the Pillar-level swordsmen, he underwent intensive teamwork training and accelerated training in the Transparent World under Xia Yan's tutelage.
The training consists of real combat! Constant real combat!
Using Xia Yan as the target, engage in one-on-one, two-on-one, three-on-one, or even more real battles with different pillars!
After all, as mentioned before, the world of enlightenment is a state of being, and you can't enter it just by knowing the method.
Unless you can enter naturally like Xia Yan and Beimingyu Xingming, you have to push yourself to the limit and squeeze yourself to the point where you have no choice but to go in in order to have any chance of getting through!
It was through this training, and witnessing Xia Yan's formidable strength in easily defeating multiple opponents, that Shinazugawa Sanemi truly came to his senses and put away his fiery temper in front of Xia Yan.
Although he wouldn't die or be seriously injured, Xia Yan didn't hold back.
It's really too embarrassing to go to the swordsmen's training every day with dark circles under your eyes and a bruised and swollen face.
Until two months later...
Having finished training the swordsmen, or rather, having unilaterally beaten them, Sanemi Shinazugawa walked down the street with a disgruntled expression.
Although the past two months have been calm, the ghosts haven't really disappeared; they've just gone into hiding.
Therefore, the Demon Slayer Corps still maintains the practice of having at least three Pillars patrolling every day.
Today was Shinazugawa Sanemi's turn to be on duty, so in order to maintain his condition and prevent any accidents from happening, he did not engage in any strenuous training.
In fact, for the past half month, although most pillars still have not mastered the Transparent World, all pillars have consciously reduced the intensity of their training due to some premonition.
Most of them are just maintaining the status quo.
The atmosphere within the Demon Slayer Corps shifted from initial excitement to a sense of impending doom.
Chapter 431 The Real Plan, Poisoned Bait
rustle--
Upon hearing the strange noise behind him, Shinazugawa Sanemi reacted quickly and reached out to grab it.
It was as if he had crushed a tomato; bright red blood spurted from his palm.
"what is this……"
Looking at the crushed eyeball in his hand, and the large "two" written on it, Sanemi Shinazugawa felt a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
Meanwhile, at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, a man exuding an eerie aura walked in.
He was dressed in a full suit, his hair was curly like instant noodles, he had a handsome face with scarlet vertical pupils, his eyes were so cold that they seemed to pierce people's hearts, and his skin was so pale that he looked like he was about to die.
He is none other than the progenitor of all demons, Muzan Kibutsuji!
"...Oh, they're here?"
"I'd say it's our first meeting, Muzan Kibutsuji..."
As if he had anticipated Muzan's arrival, Kagaya Ubuyashiki sat alone in the courtyard, uttering a greeting as if he were meeting an old friend.
His tone remained gentle, like a spring breeze.
"Ha, what an ugly posture, Ubuyashiki..."
In contrast, Muzan's deep voice gives people a chilling, oppressive feeling that goes straight to the heart.
Looking at Kagaya Ubuyashiki's face, which was ulcerated and looked extremely ferocious due to the curse, Muzan let out a mocking laugh.
The "human" who connects with and passes on the memories, and the ghost who has severed all emotions and is eternally alone, meet for the first time!
"You've finally come to me, Muzan Kibutsuji. Our clan... cough cough, the demon that the Demon Slayer Corps has been searching for for a thousand years."
Although the ice and snow have completely melted and the vegetation has become lush, the spring chill is still lingering.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, whose health was already weakened, was blown by the cold night wind, and he coughed twice after saying just a few words.
"What a pity, my eyes are completely blind now, cough cough... I really want to know what you, our clan's nemesis, look like..."
"Heh, appearances have long since lost their meaning to me," Muzan said with a light laugh. "However, since you're curious, I'll be kind enough to tell you."
"Your current appearance is probably similar to when you were healthy, after all, the Ubuyashiki family is also my descendant."
Although he claimed to be acting out of kindness, Muzan's words were nothing short of a veiled attack on his conscience.
After all, the existence of a man-eating monster like Muzan Kibutsuji led to the curse on the Ubuyashiki clan, and therefore his existence is regarded by the Ubuyashiki clan as their only stain.
"Is that so... I see..."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki wasn't angry; he just smiled and nodded.
After all, for him, tonight was the last night to erase the stain of Muzan.
"I think you will definitely come. After all, you must hate me and our Ubuyashiki clan. You would definitely come to kill me yourself."
"No, I have completely lost interest in you," Muzan calmly retorted.
"To see you reduced to such a state is disgusting, utterly disgusting. You've already begun to reek of a corpse, Ubuyashiki!"
"Look at me, forever beautiful! Powerful! I have found no divine punishment, and even though I have killed hundreds and thousands of humans, I have been forgiven. And before long, I will conquer the sun!"
"Oh, right, why don't you beg me?" As if remembering something, Muzan's tone became intrigued.
"If you beg me, I'll turn you into a ghost too! That way you'll have a healthy body."
“Heh, impossible…” Kagaya Ubuyashiki said with a light laugh.
"Is that so? Still clinging to the identity of being human..."
"No, you misunderstand. I was already prepared to die in order to kill you. I mean, your dream is impossible, Muzan..."
"Hmph, it seems you're quite confident in where those six ghosts who betrayed me are hiding! But once I devour you, I can search your memories for their whereabouts!"
As he spoke, Muzan Kibutsuji had already walked up to Kagaya Ubuyashiki and reached out to grab his head.
"As punishment for disobeying me, I will preserve your consciousness for the time being, so that you can witness firsthand how the Demon Slayer Corps is destroyed by my hand!"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki seemed to have already resigned himself to death, and instead of resisting, he even showed a god-like smile on his face.
"Ha, stop dreaming, tonight is your death day!"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, whose body had already been absorbed, managed to utter his last words with his remaining brain.
“My body was already filled with a poison specifically designed to target you. From the moment you absorbed me, it was too late…”
"—What?!?"
Muzan's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinholes, but it was too late.
Boom boom boom boom——
The next second, a series of explosions rang out, and the explosives even contained cross-shaped nails to increase their power.
In just a moment, Muzan's body, which was as tough as steel, became as broken and mangled as a rag doll torn apart by a dog.
The violent shockwave and raging flames from the explosion enveloped Muzan, engulfing everything in the courtyard.
This was the real plan that Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Natsuhiko had privately discussed in the inner room two months before the Pillar Meeting began!
He himself is the bait!
For demons like Tamayo who have broken free from Muzan's control, finding them once they hide is extremely troublesome!
However, as the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Ubuyashiki clan, even if he didn't know the exact location of those demons, would surely be able to find the information Muzan wanted from his mind!
Therefore, whether it stems from hatred towards the Demon Slayer Corps or from his own dream of immortality and eternal life.
Muzan Kibutsuji will definitely take action himself and devour Kagaya Ubuyashiki!
Having guessed this, Kagaya Ubuyashiki decided to play along, using himself as bait and starting two months ago, continuously ingesting various drugs developed by Tamayo and Kanae to target Muzan.
Turn yourself into a giant poison bag.
He had planted explosives in the courtyard beforehand, and waited alone at the location where the explosion would be most intense for Muzan to arrive!
All for this moment.
Not only was he able to weaken Muzan to the extreme in an instant, but through his own death, he also inspired the swordsmen who respected him to unleash their strongest morale!
And now, he has succeeded!
Chapter 432 Muzan: Damn it, a honey trap, huh!?
"Kibutsuji Muzan—!!! What did you do to our master?!"
Accompanied by angry questions, all the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps assembled!
"We don't need to follow any rules of the game with a demon like Muzan! Let's all charge forward together!!!"
"???"
Looking at the Demon Slayer Corps Pillar-level swordsmen who were holding gleaming, controlled knives and whose eyes were flashing with hatred, he saw them surrounding him, ready to fight at any moment.