Chapter 113: Facing Muzan Kibutsuji Head-On!
"Tap—Tap—Tap—"
Tonight, the streets were completely empty.
This wasn't even a busy district to begin with, yet the silence felt unnatural—heavy, almost suffocating.
This entire villa complex was home to people of extreme wealth and status. And yet now, the quiet didn't feel luxurious.
It felt terrifying.
Yukinoshita Akira walked forward without encountering a single obstacle, until he finally stopped in front of one particular villa.
"So, we finally meet, Yukinoshita Akira."
"Muzan Kibutsuji."
"It seems you've known about my existence for a long time. A few months ago, you were the one who killed that first demon as well, weren't you?"
"That's right."
"I don't recall ever becoming your enemy. So why do you keep hunting me down without stopping?"
As he said that, Muzan Kibutsuji's face twisted into something grotesque.
At his core, Muzan was a creature of cruelty and rage. The only reason he could still sit here calmly and speak with Akira was because of Akira's strength.
Kokushibo's death—
He had witnessed it all with his own eyes.
The man standing before him was the heir of Tsugikuni Yoriichi. His power was in no way inferior to Yoriichi's—if anything, it might even surpass it.
That realization filled Muzan with deep unease.
He wanted to return to how things used to be.
To hide for ten years.
Fifty years.
A hundred years.
Until Akira eventually died of old age.
He was the Demon King, blessed with endless life. To him, a hundred years was nothing more than a fleeting moment.
But now, he couldn't leave this villa complex at all.
Everything had been sealed off by an unknown black fog.
He had tried countless times, sacrificing flesh and blood, but every attempt ended in failure.
That was when he realized—
There was no path of retreat left for him.
And that black fog blanketing the entire area was none other than Akira's doing.
Akira understood this "cowardly boss" better than anyone. That was why, to prevent him from escaping, Akira had released part of his restraints and called upon the power of the Shadow Realm.
Shadows had swallowed the entire area.
As long as Akira didn't withdraw them, no one would be able to leave.
After Kokushibo's death, Akira's inheritance rate had surged to 95%.
But that final five percent had become a problem.
He had slaughtered plenty of demons that had gathered around, yet he hadn't gained even a fraction more.
From that, Akira formed a hypothesis.
That last five percent could likely only be obtained from Muzan Kibutsuji himself.
And so, he prepared all of this.
In every other aspect, Muzan might not be particularly impressive.
But when it came to running away—
He was truly first-class.
If Muzan genuinely decided to flee, even Akira would have trouble stopping him.
That was why, in desperation, he chose this path.
To prevent the worst possible outcome.
"Bzz—"
Silently, Akira activated the Transparent World and the Mark, his gaze locking onto the creature before him.
Muzan's bodily structure was completely different from that of a normal human.
He had five brains.
And seven hearts.
His regenerative ability was absurd. The moment he was injured, he could recover instantly. Even if his body were chopped into minced flesh, he could still fully restore himself.
Against regeneration like that, ordinary blade attacks couldn't deal any real damage.
Aside from sunlight, only a Red Blade—equal to the sun-like destructive power of Tsugikuni Yoriichi—along with Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form, a technique specifically designed to suppress Muzan, could break through his regeneration.
Unlike other demons, Muzan could split his body into 1,800 pieces, like detonating himself.
This was one of his trump cards.
And also his strongest survival technique.
Even if most of the fragments were destroyed, as long as even one piece remained, he could fully recover with his unmatched regeneration.
However, those fragments were incredibly small.
Even Tsugikuni Yoriichi had only been able to destroy around 1,500 of the larger pieces in an instant.
"Click—"
"Click—"
Akira drew two Nichirin Blades from his waist.
He had deliberately brought extra swords, just in case.
The next moment, a crimson glow flared up, wrapping around both blades.
Red Blade: Activated!
"You really intend to fight to the death? I can promise you this—I will leave Japan and never appear before you for the rest of my life."
"I'm sorry. Your promise is worth nothing to me. And you are the final piece of my puzzle."
"What puzzle?"
"The moment I kill you, every demon will perish along with you. Because you are the source of all demons."
"You bastard! In that case, I'll kill you first!"
"BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—"
The ground around them exploded.
Blood-red, thorn-covered whips burst up from beneath the earth, shooting straight toward Akira.
The thorn whips were Muzan's primary method of attack—his arms transformed into barbed whips that fused offense and defense, flexible yet hard as steel.
"PUF—PUF—PUF—"
But in the very next second, scorching flames surged.
Akira's figure flickered.
Every thorn whip was severed, and both swords in his hands burned with blazing fire.
"Damn it! Die, you stupid humans!"
"Hah—!"
Nine pale-white tubes burst out from Muzan Kibutsuji's back. Together with the newly regenerated thorn whips, they all attacked Akira at the same time.
If anyone else had witnessed this scene, they would have been terrified out of their mind.
Muzan Kibutsuji at this moment truly looked like a humanoid monster.
White hair.
Limbs and lower body wrapped in blood and fur.
And across his entire body, massive mouths lined with sharp teeth had grown open.
"Sun Breathing: Dance!"
Flames roared.
Akira was like a dancer drifting through a storm of death.
Wherever he stepped, every attack was cut down.
"Damn it—!"
The sight only drove Muzan into even greater fury, and he increased the intensity of his assault.
"Sun Breathing: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!"
"Swish—"
A streaking figure, a blazing afterimage—
Two roaring fire dragons took shape in its wake.
"Hah—!"
"Hah—!"
Even though Muzan Kibutsuji was the strongest of all demons, his actual combat experience was extremely limited.
For thousands of years, he had almost never truly fought.
Aside from Tsugikuni Yoriichi, no one had ever wounded him.
Now, two Red Blades driven by Sun Breathing pierced through his body.
Two of his hearts were stabbed clean through.
"Out of my way!"
In an instant, Akira leapt back, widening the distance between them.
Seven hearts.
Two had already been destroyed.
Muzan Kibutsuji clutched his chest, feeling the two pierced hearts.
His rage was no longer something he could suppress.
But beneath that fury, something deeper began to surface.
Fear.
This man—
Just like Tsugikuni Yoriichi back then—
Was his natural enemy.
His curse.
Two of his hearts had been destroyed, and his regeneration couldn't restore them.
That was not a good sign.
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