BOOM—
Accompanied by a thunderous explosion that shook the entire valley, the explosives buried beneath this mansion detonated simultaneously!
Dust shot up into the sky, and massive flames instantly engulfed the entire mansion!
This violent explosion also alerted the Hashira in the nearby mountains.
"That is..."
His footsteps halted. Sabito turned back in disbelief, looking at the cluster of flames in the distance behind him.
"Ubuyashiki mansion under attack! Ubuyashiki mansion under attack!"
In the night sky, Kasugai crows flew everywhere, continuously spreading this message.
"Master Oyakata-sama!!"
Beside him, Shinazugawa Sanemi didn't hesitate for a moment, roaring as he rushed back at maximum speed!
"This is... the smell of charred flesh! Father! Master Oyakata-sama's side..."
At the same time on another side, Tanjiro and Tanjuro also turned back together, looking toward where the explosion occurred.
"Quick, Tanjiro, let's hurry back..."
And the Hashira located in various other places in the mountains were all currently rushing toward the Ubuyashiki mansion at extreme speed.
Among them, only Kanae was the exception.
Standing alone on a hillside, she calmly watched the continuously spreading flames in the distant valley, then directly turned and walked in another direction.
There was one important matter she must attend to personally.
"..."
"Ubuyashiki!!"
In the burning ruins, Muzan—whose body had been almost completely destroyed in this explosion—slowly rose from a collapsed building.
"Incredible. To scheme against me, you would actually go to such lengths..."
Her body regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye, looking toward the ruins that were originally the inner room, Muzan's tone was incredulous.
"Your own wife, your own daughters... you could actually bring yourself to do it?
I underestimated you. I guessed you would set a trap, but I never thought you could be this ruthless...
Not only using yourself and your own family as bait, but also mixing large amounts of crucifixion nails into the explosives to delay my regeneration speed... No, it shouldn't stop there..."
Her body roughly finished healing. Muzan turned to look at the surrounding ruins.
"You must have other methods. What are they? Where are they... Ugh!"
Suddenly, just as Muzan focused her attention on the surroundings, an arm suddenly pierced through the wound in her abdomen that hadn't fully healed yet!
She looked down...
"Tamayo?!"
Yes, this suddenly appearing figure was precisely Tamayo, who had quietly approached using Yushiro's Blood Demon Art that could conceal one's form!
"Why are you here?!"
Showing no intention of answering Muzan, looking at her own arm that Muzan had subconsciously absorbed, Tamayo's face showed the triumphant smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded.
"Muzan, you absorbed my left hand, right? But do you know what I was just holding in that hand?
It's medicine that can turn demons back into humans! How about it? Can you feel the effects starting to work?!"
"That's impossible."
Looking down at her already somewhat crazed face, Muzan's pupils contracted.
"Such medicine couldn't possibly be developed..."
"But I did develop it!"
Interrupting her, Tamayo nearly roared:
"You will die! You will certainly die tonight! Even if I can't kill you, those Demon Slayers will certainly..."
"Mad woman, there should be a limit to how much you blame others for your own problems!"
Finally reaching her limit with Tamayo's hatred toward her, Muzan raised her hand to press on Tamayo's head, mocking her:
"The one who killed your husband and son back then—who was it? Was it me? It was you yourself!
For hundreds of years, you've always used this matter to pour your illogical hatred upon me. I think you're simply..."
"If I had known things would turn out this way, how could I have possibly agreed to become a demon?!"
Interrupting Muzan once again, Tamayo roared with tears streaming down her face:
"The reason I didn't want to die back then was because I wanted to watch my own child grow up!"
"So what does this have to do with me?!"
Looking down at her, Muzan roared back with equally angry voice:
"Are you still trying to say that I was toying with you back then? Who do you think you are? What qualification do you have for me to toy with you?!
That I was willing to give you such an opportunity was already a blessing. Did you expect me to be like your family's nanny, listing out all the rules and regulations word by word for you?!
Not willing to face reality yourself is one thing, but you always want to push all the blame onto me?
Wretched woman! I think you've simply gone mad!!"
"Namu Amida Butsu!!"
Just as the two were arguing with each other, behind Muzan, the first Hashira finally arrived!
It was Himejima Gyomei, swinging his spiked flail as if it were a propeller!
The massive flail smashed down from mid-air, smashing Muzan's head to pieces from behind without any suspense!
But merely a second later, at the severed neck, a new head regenerated!
Hearing the sound of flesh growing, Himejima Gyomei was shocked in his heart.
[As expected! For this demon, simple beheading is already completely ineffective!]
[The only plan now is to stall for time as much as possible, and find a way to wait until dawn...]
"Master Oyakata-sama!"
Meanwhile, the other nearby Hashira also arrived one after another.
Looking at these burning ruins everywhere, and the remains of the Ubuyashiki family that weren't even left, a flame called anger gradually rose from within everyone's hearts.
"Uraaah!!"
Among them, Shinazugawa Sanemi was the first to draw his blade, charging toward Muzan.
"Move!"
Driven by him, the other stunned Hashira also drew their blades one after another, charging toward Muzan.
"Heh..."
At this critical moment, Muzan in the center suddenly smiled.
"A bunch of ants. Do you really think such petty methods can drive me into a desperate situation?"
Strum!
The next instant, a biwa sound suddenly rang out under the night sky.
Immediately after, the gates of the Infinity Castle instantly opened, appearing simultaneously beneath everyone!
[What is... this?]
Stepping into empty air, before Tanjiro could react, an incredibly powerful gravity attacked from within the gate below, forcibly sucking his body into it!
Not just him—all the Hashira around him were sucked into the gate at the same instant!
"Troublesome things..."
With one hand gripping Tamayo's neck, her body landing on a high platform, Muzan looked down at everyone falling endlessly into the Infinity Castle, grinning hideously:
"Tonight, you will all die here!"
"..."
Meanwhile, in the outside world, the ordinary swordsmen who arrived late saw only a burning ruin.
"Damn it! What exactly happened here? Where did everyone go? Where are those Hashira-level swordsmen?"
Ten people, dozens of people, hundreds of people... Near the Ubuyashiki mansion, Demon Slayers gathered more and more.
Everyone instinctively began searching around, yet couldn't see a single person.
This strange calm continued, until a sharp whistling sound pierced through the night sky.
"Hey, there seems to be something ringing in the sky..."
"Damn it, it's pitch black. I can't see anything at all..."
"Strange, is this sound getting closer?"
"Wait, this seems to be..."
BOOM—
The whistling landed and exploded, raising a cloud of dust while also taking the lives of several Demon Slayers.
"No! This is... it's cannonballs! Everyone scatter!"
BOOM—
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Amid everyone's panic, countless cannonballs rained down upon this headquarters under the cover of night, raising blossoms of flame!