It was more or less as Shinji had previously analyzed.
The mysterious man who had fled from the Shinobi World back to the Demon Slayer World was in terrible shape. This wasn't just because he'd been gravely wounded in the great battle in the Grass Country—he'd also lost his most important "Lantern"!
The "Lantern" was the core of the Lantern Bearer's power.
Once it was destroyed, the mysterious man lost his status as a Lantern Bearer. Without the Lantern Bearer's protection, the Overlord's invasion of the Demon Slayer World accelerated dramatically.
That was why, even though Shinji had only been counter-invading the Demon Slayer World for a few days, he could already clearly sense that its collapse was getting worse by the day!
Under the Overlord's influence, the gravely wounded mysterious man had been utterly unable to resist. His mind was corrupted, and he gradually became a mass of mutated flesh.
The tumor from before had been the mysterious man in the midst of his transformation.
If Shinji and the others hadn't intervened, the mysterious man would have continued to sink into corruption. Once the guardian of an entire world, the Lantern Bearer would have become a tool of the Overlord, slaughtering and destroying the Demon Slayer World ahead of time and hastening the Overlord's infiltration.
But Shinji's arrival had thrown everything into disarray.
Sasuke's decisive strike, made with everyone's help, had shattered the tumor and brought the mysterious man back from his mutation.
That was why the tumor had withered so quickly just now. Having regained his senses, the mysterious man used his Demon King abilities to harvest the tumor's flesh and blood, not only healing all his injuries but also restoring himself to peak condition.
As the mysterious man lunged at him, Sasuke's pupils contracted.
His instincts told