Nearly Headless Kokushibo

"Hnnngh, aaaaah-"

Muzan Kibutsuji let out a scream, abruptly severed his connection with Kokushibo, and collapsed to his knees on the platform.

He instinctively reached up and kept rubbing his neck.

Having shared Kokushibo's senses completely, he had vividly felt the agony of a blade slicing through his neck.

He even had the illusion that he, too, had been beheaded.

Hide!

I have to hide!

After encountering Yoriichi Tsugikuni all those years ago, he had hidden for so long that he had managed to outlast Yoriichi until he died of old age.

I can't afford to cross Yoriichi Tsugikuni, but surely I can hide from him?

Muzan Kibutsuji had already begun planning how to hide from Yoriichi Tsugikuni-

Move the Infinity Castle to Hiroshima or Nagasaki in Japan.

Surely I won't encounter any danger in either of those places...

Yet just as Muzan Kibutsuji was planning his move, the words he had just heard from "Yoriichi Tsugikuni" surfaced in his mind again.

Damn it, Yoriichi Tsugikuni said he could overcome death!

Had anyone else said that, Muzan Kibutsuji would only have scoffed.

But even Kokushibo, who knew Yoriichi Tsugikuni best, had confirmed that the man was Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself.

No matter how much Muzan Kibutsuji refused to believe it, he had no choice but to accept that fact.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni really has returned!

What good will it do if I keep hiding?

Even if I manage to outlive Yoriichi Tsugikuni again.

Who knows whether I'll step out of the Infinity Castle one day only to immediately run into a resurrected Yoriichi Tsugikuni?

Cold sweat soaked through Muzan Kibutsuji's clothes.

He desperately put all five of his brains to work thinking of a solution.

In the end, those brains reached a conclusion:

I must immediately find a way to locate the Blue Spider Lily!

If I turn myself into a perfect being that fears neither sunlight nor death, I'll surely become even stronger!

Then I won't have to fear Yoriichi Tsugikuni anymore.

I need to tell those subordinates to stop obsessing over attacking humans.

They must put all their energy into searching for the Blue Spider Lily.

Of course, I can have them devote some effort to finding the Demon Slayer Corps' support bases, such as their swordsmith village, to cause Yoriichi Tsugikuni some trouble.

Otherwise, Muzan Kibutsuji truly feared that Yoriichi Tsugikuni would do nothing but devote every day to finding the Infinity Castle.

What if one day I suddenly see Yoriichi Tsugikuni opening a passage straight into the Infinity Castle...

The mere thought of that possibility turned Muzan Kibutsuji's face exceptionally pale!

It took well over half a day before some color returned to his face.

But he had to find an outlet for the overwhelming negative emotions that had built up inside him as soon as possible!

And the target he would vent them on was naturally-

Muzan Kibutsuji roared:

"Nakime!"

Kokushibo's head had not fallen off completely.

But with his vision tilted and distorted, Kokushibo knew that only a sliver of skin probably remained connecting his head to his neck.

That lord's sudden connection with him, along with "Yoriichi Tsugikuni's" sudden words, had completely disrupted his concentration.

Because of that, Kokushibo had been utterly unable to react to "Yoriichi Tsugikuni's" sudden attack.

By the time Muzan Kibutsuji's consciousness vanished, Kokushibo discovered that "Yoriichi Tsugikuni's" blade had already cut most of the way through his neck.

Although he retreated immediately, it was clearly too late.

After jealousy and anger, what feeling welled up in his heart again?

Fear, of course!

Nearly being beheaded with a single stroke instantly reminded Kokushibo of that red-moon night when he had encountered the elderly Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

Yet the situation Kokushibo now faced was completely different from back then!

After all, the Yoriichi Tsugikuni of that time had exhausted his remaining lifespan after delivering that strike.

Although he remained standing, his life had already faded entirely.

But the "Yoriichi Tsugikuni" Kokushibo faced now was still young!

Kokushibo instinctively reached up to touch the wound on his neck.

Beneath his fingers, it felt rough all over, as though burned.

Under that "charred" layer, Kokushibo could still feel masses of new flesh writhing frantically, ready to repair the wound.

Yet without exception, those writhing growths turned to charcoal again the instant they extended.

The terror in Kokushibo's six eyes grew increasingly apparent.

The same spot, the same familiar wound!

Although he was already quite certain that the man standing before him was the real Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

Upon suffering the same injury again, the fear he had felt back then surged into his heart with redoubled force.

Against any other enemy, Kokushibo felt that he might prefer death and fight to the very last moment.

But right now, he was facing Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

He feared death, but he feared dying without ever catching up to Yoriichi Tsugikuni even more.

And he did not know whether it was because that lord had influenced him too much over these past few centuries.

At that moment, only one thought remained in Kokushibo's mind-

Run!

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded before Lin Yoriichi.

With only a sliver of skin connecting his head to his neck, Kokushibo turned and ran.

By now, his replication level had reached 49%, and he also had the benefit of the Transparent World.

Even with Kokushibo moving at tremendous speed, Lin Yoriichi could clearly track his movements with his eyes.

In his eyes, Kokushibo's body bobbed up and down as he moved at high speed.

That sliver of skin "tugged" his head along, making it repeatedly knock against his shoulder.

Lin Yoriichi, who considered himself thoroughly familiar with the original story and had seen plenty since transmigrating, had thought he had seen every kind of spectacle.

But he really had never seen anything like this!

What is this supposed to be?

Hogwarts has Nearly Headless Nick.

And here I get Nearly Headless Kokushibo?

After driving those absurd thoughts that had inexplicably surfaced out of his mind, Lin Yoriichi did not pursue Kokushibo.

Although only a sliver of skin now connected Kokushibo's head and neck, making it seem as though just a little more effort would let him behead Kokushibo with a single stroke.

He knew very well that his earlier success had largely been thanks to Muzan Kibutsuji's "remote login," which had given him an opportunity for a surprise attack.

Moreover, by this point in time, Kokushibo should already have overcome the demons' weakness of dying when beheaded.

To destroy him completely, he would probably have no choice but to drag things out until sunrise.

As for showing Kokushibo a mirror so he would die from his own ugliness...

It must not be forgotten that one major reason Kokushibo had died from his own "ugliness" in the original story was that he had remembered the deceased Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

And now, he himself, this "Yoriichi Tsugikuni," was standing right before Kokushibo.

Lin Yoriichi felt that, upon seeing his own appearance, Kokushibo would probably only think, This is merely a small price to pay to catch up to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

After that, he would either keep fighting or turn and run just as he was doing now.

But for Lin Yoriichi, this was already enough.

He had successfully delivered a "surprise" to Kokushibo and Muzan Kibutsuji.

And next, it would be time for him to spell out exactly what a surprise meant...