Western suburbs of Tokyo
"Zheng--!"
A clear, crisp sound of Biwa rang out without warning, and then the air behind Muzan split open to the left and right.
"Splash!"
Two doors appeared out of thin air, revealing the eerie space behind them.
Just moments ago, Muzan Kibutsuji, but now he stood up abruptly!
The ferocious, disheveled expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an arrogant, haughty smile.
He slowly stepped back across the threshold, watching Giyu Tomioka stride towards him fifty meters away, carrying Red Nichirin Blade, and let out a cold laugh:
"Giyu Tomioka, tonight's battle ends here."
"I must say, you are indeed very strong!"
Muzan stood on the wooden planks of the Infinity Castle, pointed to the bottomless cluster of buildings behind him, and grinned maliciously:
"What? Judging from your expression, you seem quite unwilling to just watch me leave?"
"Since you're so persistent, then tonight I might as well show mercy and give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Behind this door lies my headquarters, the base where I command all demons— the Infinity Castle!"
"If you really have the guts, why don't you just step in!"
"Of course, that's assuming you, a short-lived human, actually have the guts to step into hell and die! Haha!"
After uttering what he thought were incredibly cool and Muzan words, Muzan leaned back and disappeared into the shadows of the Infinity Castle.
"Clang!"
Under the control of the Biwa, the portal began to close inward at an extremely fast speed!
In Muzan Kibutsuji's view, what he had just said was nothing short of a top-notch open scheme!
Giyu Tomioka, aren't you supposed to be the strongest in the Demon Slayer Corps?
Now I'm opening the door wide and inviting you in!
If you don't dare to go in and just stand outside watching the door close, your sword spirit, which you've been holding onto, will be broken on the spot.
But if you impulsively rush in... you'll fall right into a trap, where they'll trap you and overwhelm you with an endless army of evil spirits!
We're winning no matter what, we're so excited!
However,
What the Trash Boss could never have imagined was that, in Giyu Tomioka's eyes, his psychological warfare was as stupid as trying to wink at a blind man.
What a joke!
Who is Giyu Tomioka?
That's an overpowered ability to develop Transparent World to its limit, with built-in three-minute Future Sight!
Several minutes earlier, Giyu had already clearly seen every frame of the opening of this spatial gate!
As for Muzan asking him if he dared to go in...
That would be an even bigger joke!
The Demon Slayer Corps has been searching for Muzan Kibutsuji hundreds of years, but they haven't even managed to touch the doorknob of the Infinity Castle!
Now look what's happened Trash Boss is barking an invitation at the door. If he doesn't take the chance and raid the place, how can Giyu Tomioka still have the nerve to call himself the strongest and freeload off others?!
Even if there's Infinity Castle behind this door, or even if it leads directly to the eighteenth level of Avici Hell, Giyu Tomioka would still have to charge in!
"Courage?"
"Boom--!"
Giyu Tomioka transformed into a streak of blue and red light, traversing a distance of fifty meters. Just before the wooden door completely closed, he turned his shoulder, held his sword in one hand, and crashed into the Infinity Castle through the narrow crack in the door!
"Bang!"
The two wooden doors slammed together tightly and vanished into thin air in an instant.
As soon as he stepped through the portal, Giyu felt a strong sense of weightlessness beneath his feet!
I missed a step!
It has to be said, Muzan's heart is indeed very dirty!
When Nakime opened the portal, she didn't connect the exit to the ground at all. Instead, she deliberately opened the portal thousands of meters above the buildings!
The howling wind rushed past my ears, and the pavilions, corridors, lanterns below... rapidly magnified in my field of vision.
Faced with this sudden fall from a great height,
Giyu remained perfectly calm, even feeling a little amused—that's it?
Normally, when Kanae and Shinobu are sandwiched between me in the Butterfly Mansion, fighting over the blanket and I'm almost kicked off the bed, the scene is much more dangerous than this!
After falling more than 800 meters, and with less than 20 meters left to a pavilion below, Giyu finally moved!
Forcibly adjusting his posture in mid-air with no foothold, he gripped the Nichirin Blade tightly in his right hand and flicked his wrist:
"Water Breathing - Second Form - Water Wheel!"
"Splash--!"
Giyu transformed into a rapidly spinning blue water wheel in mid-air, his sharp blade slicing into a giant pillar beside him!
"Sizzle--!"
The blade slid down the wooden pillar, sending up a series of dazzling sparks!
Using the unique force-dissipating techniques of Water Breathing, the terrifying kinetic energy of a thousand-meter fall is dissolved in just one second!
Immediately afterwards,
With Giyu landed steadily on the eaves of the pavilion!
He flicked his Nichirin Blade with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at Muzan Kibutsuji was suspended on a high platform a hundred meters away. His voice was devoid of any extra emotion.
"I'm in, and then what?"
On the high platform, Muzan Kibutsuji, who was originally preparing to enjoy Giyu's disheveled appearance, froze on the spot with a smile.
Looking down at Giyu Tomioka, who was completely unharmed and whose hairstyle was not even messed up, a strong killing intent surged in his heart!
They really got in!!
This madman actually broke into my Infinity Castle by himself!
Muzan stared intently at Giyu below, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
In those desolate mountains and wilderness, facing Giyu Tomioka, a monster whose stats were so high that he was tireless, indestructible, and incredibly fast, Muzan was truly terrified!
But this is the Infinity Castle!
The space is completely controlled by Nakime, so no sunlight will ever shine in, and she has also amassed an army of demons that she has secretly cultivated over the past thousand years!
In Muzan's eyes, this was the only chance that God had given him Muzan Kibutsuji, to turn the tide!
If he can wear down Giyu Tomioka, his biggest threat, here today, then the rest of the Demon Slayer Corps... Muzan Kibutsuji will be invincible for at least several more centuries!
"Great! Excellent!!"
"You chose the path to hell when there was one to heaven! Giyu Tomioka, your foolish arrogance will be your epitaph today!!"
"All of you, get out here!!"
"This human below is the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps! Whoever can tear a piece of flesh from him today will be crowned the new Twelve Kizuki and granted demon blood! Whoever can cut off his head will be made the Upper Rank One!!"
"Clang! Clang! Clang--!"
At Muzan's command, Nakime's ten fingers began to pluck the strings of the Biwa fiercely!
"Splash! Splash! Splash--!"
In an instant, ten tightly closed doors in the void surrounding Giyu Tomioka burst open in the same second!
"Roar--!"
"It's a living person! The aroma of their blood and energy is wonderful!!"
"Kill him! Tear him to pieces! Obtain that lord's reward and become Twelve Kizuki!!"
"Charge!"
Accompanied by a deafening, bloodthirsty roar, a horde of dark, malevolent spirits surged forth from the portal!
One head, ten heads, a hundred heads, a thousand heads...
These aren't the lowly fodder from the outskirts of Mount Fujikasane!
These elite demons, kept by Muzan in the Infinity Castle for years, each have at least dozens of lives on their hands, and their strength is all very close to that of the Lower Rank!
A thousand demons, some with Quasi-Lower Rank, swooped down from the sky, others flew up and down the upside-down pillars and eaves... completely surrounding the attic where Giyu Tomioka was, so that not even a mosquito could fly out!
On the high platform, Muzan crossed his arms and looked down at the horde of demons below, a sight that could trigger trypophobia in anyone.
The Trash Boss is really calculating!
If thousands of Quasi-Lower Rank demons simultaneously pounced on him recklessly, even if Giyu Tomioka were made of iron, it wouldn't be easy to wipe them all out, would it?
If this group of cannon fodder can successfully deplete some of Giyu Tomioka's stamina, then when Muzan Kibutsuji personally steps in to reap the rewards, his chances of victory will double!
What if all of these thousand-plus elite demons, trained for several years, die?
Heh, in the eyes of capitalist Trash Boss, these mere free consumables are just a few thousand humans to be captured from the towns outside and then converted after they die!