What in the world...
What was it?!
A power that absolutely didn't belong to a human!!
His aura was clearly that of an ordinary human brat, so why did he have such terrifying speed and strength?!
What was that fire...?!
How could a human possibly control fire like that?!
And...
Those eyes. Under their gaze, it felt as though nothing could escape notice...
Amid the flames, Muzan quickly grew a new head.
He wasn't tired; his heart was pounding so violently that he was struggling to breathe.
The main reason he'd survived for a thousand years was his body as a demon. The other was his cautious nature.
He didn't even try to learn more about Uchiha Sora. Instead, he hurriedly contacted Nakime through their mental link and told her to send him back to the Infinity Castle.
Only in that castle in another dimension could Muzan's shaken heart find some comfort.
Truthfully, he'd already wanted to run when he heard those words earlier. He just didn't know why his feet wouldn't move.
Just as he was about to turn and flee, numerous seeds made of flesh appeared, floating around him.
This was...
Blood Demon Art!
Shhk! Shhk!!
The fleshly seeds erupted in an instant, sprouting countless thorns that pinned Muzan in place!
Then...
Shhk!
A slender arm plunged into his lower abdomen.
Muzan looked down and saw someone who shouldn't have been there.
"Tamayo... why are you here?!"
"Muzan..."
Tamayo's voice trembled, a mixture of fear and excitement.
"You just absorbed my fist, didn't you... Do you know what was inside it?"
"It was medicine that turns demons back into humans!"
"That kind of thing could never be made!" Muzan roared, thrusting his hand into Tamayo's head and grinding his thumb deep into her eye socket.
"I made it!"
Tamayo was a demon too. An injury like this wasn't fatal.
"Talk about biting the hand that fed you. I wasn't the one who killed your husband and children. Who gave you—"
No, that didn't matter!
There was no time to deal with her. The most important thing now was to escape!
Muzan struggled to throw Tamayo off. Just then, a towering monk approached at incredible speed, swinging a chained flail.
He was saying something about Namu Amida Butsu, while the weapon in his hands came crashing down.
Before long, the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira arrived on the battlefield.
Seeing the master's residence engulfed in flames, the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, roared hoarsely.
"You did this..."
"What did you do to the Leader!!!!"
I didn't do anything. He just blew himself up without a word.
Then some brat appeared out of nowhere and smacked me so hard my head went flying.
All I want now is to escape.
I really want to run...
In the middle of the sea of fire, one spot remained untouched.
Amane clutched her husband's sleeve. Her purple eyes, so much like the Rinnegan, were filled with shock.
What had she just seen...
The progenitor of demons, the terrifying enemy the Ubuyashiki Family had fought for a thousand years...
Had been sent flying so easily!!
And the one who'd done it... was just a boy who didn't look much older than Hinaki...
Kagaya couldn't see, but he accepted what had happened far faster than Amane. He struggled to sit up and bowed toward Uchiha Sora.
"For a thousand years, we prayed, but not a single god or Buddha answered..."
"I'm truly grateful for your arrival."
"For the sake of humanity, please kill Muzan. You may take anything you want!"
"I've already taken what I wanted."
A notification sounded in his mind.
User name—Uchiha Sora. Energy level—Black Iron. Accumulated Credibility Points: 837 (700 frozen), 137 available.
"Completed loan project—Rotten Wood Grade, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's mission to save his wife and daughters."
Earned 95 Credibility Points.
According to Kagaya Ubuyashiki's request, he wanted his wife and daughters to survive.
The platform had already judged Uchiha Sora's contract fulfilled.
After all... even if Muzan had a few more lives, he wouldn't dare go after the Ubuyashiki Family now.
Knowing his personality, he might wait a few hundred years in the Infinity Castle before trying anything.
The 95 Credibility Points had been credited. Transit would begin in three minutes.
"I'm no savior. I saw what was in your heart."
Uchiha Sora gave a faint smile. "You've already done everything you can to deal with him."
"You'll succeed. You don't need me to interfere."
He'd just probed Kagaya's memories. The thing occupying his mind most was information about Muzan; there was no trace of the platform.
That confirmed Uchiha Sora's earlier guess.
He was different.
The Credibility Points he earned could be used for loans. He only had to repay Rayquaza within six years.
He'd have to try it once to find out what repayment actually involved.
The person before him...
It was as if he'd issued a quest and paid with his Credibility Points, using them as currency to hire someone.
Or perhaps... it was like making an offering and a plea.
Had the ancient practice of praying to the gods now become a loan?
Taking into account how he'd earned Credibility Points by fulfilling an agreement... could it work like this?
Perhaps Credibility Points were the crystallization of living beings' thoughts.
Was this what the platform needed—something intangible, like emotions or thoughts?
He didn't dwell on it.
Uchiha Sora wasn't very curious about the truth. As his strength grew, he'd learn what he needed to know.
He didn't care whether some mastermind was behind it all. The worst that could happen was that he'd die. Every extra day he was alive was a bonus, so what was there to fear?
"I still believe the children will win... but I truly wish there could be fewer sacrifices."
Kagaya lay prostrate, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He was close to death.
"Is there anything else I can offer? Even if it would save just one person from being sacrificed."
"Nothing."
Uchiha Sora had asked the platform. Kagaya was already burned out; there was nothing left to squeeze from him.
"My time is short. Goodbye."
The mission hadn't been difficult. He just found it a little strange that Muzan had lived for a thousand years.
But after a thousand years, that was all he had to show for it? He hardly lived up to the grandeur of the title "thousand-year-old monster."
"I can feel your kindness."
"If I have no more value to you... what about the demons?"
Kagaya was clever. Every head of the Ubuyashiki Family had been clever enough to amass great wealth and provide for the Demon Slayer Corps.
If there was nothing more he could offer, what about the demons?
To kill Muzan, he was willing to sacrifice his wife and daughters. There was no extreme measure he wouldn't take.
It didn't matter what the boy before him was. What mattered was that Kagaya could sense that this boy had the power to defeat Muzan.
Uchiha Sora shook his head. "I have no interest in that shoddy immortality that can't withstand sunlight."
Kagaya's breathing quickened. Thinking took a great deal of energy.
Soon,
he figured it out.
"The Infinity Castle!"
"Did you see the Infinity Castle in my memories?!"
"It's a castle in another dimension, its origin unknown. Nakime, one of Muzan's subordinates, can control its spatial teleportation and alter its terrain!"
Uchiha Sora had appeared in a way that made Kagaya think it had something to do with space.
Then the Infinity Castle, with its connection to space, might be the only offering that could interest Uchiha Sora!
Even if he did nothing else, just taking the Infinity Castle would be a massive blow to the demons!
That strange sensation of a force entering his mind came again. Kagaya didn't resist. He recalled everything he knew about the Infinity Castle and let Uchiha Sora search through his memories.
Platform, can you take things from this world with you?
"Any item or living being is eligible. Transit costs depend on the size of the target."
"No product in the current world exceeds the user's Credibility Point limit."
"Appendix: Transit costs permanently consume Credibility Points. Please use with caution."
"You should've told me that sooner."
Boom!!
Uchiha Sora vanished with a Body Flicker Technique, his movement creating a Sonic Boom!
Something like the Kamui Dimension, capable of holding so many living people, was being used as a place to live by these pathetic demons...
What a waste!!
By then, the Demon Slayer Corps had all arrived, and they swung their blades at Muzan.
Whoosh!!!
A figure shot over at incredible speed, stirring up fierce gusts.
"Move!"
Uchiha Sora's eyes blazed red as he fixed his gaze on the trembling Muzan.
"Hand over the Infinity Castle!"
"Scum!"
Flames surged around Uchiha Sora, making him look like a blazing sun rising in the night.
They burned Muzan's body and soul.
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