Art is an explosion!

As the blood-red barrier spread, it instantly enveloped not the enemy before him, but Lu You himself.

Like a blood-red eggshell, layers of blood frantically wrapped around Lu You's entire body, sealing him in completely.

The last thing he said as he looked at Muzan's abruptly changing expression was, "You and your subordinates can have a taste of over a year's worth of my efforts, Muzan Kibutsuji."

Art is an explosion!

In that instant, yellow light of utmost brilliance scorched and utterly blinded their vision. More importantly, a tremendous shock followed-the earth was roaring, the mountain rocks were weeping.

BOOM!!!

A terrifying explosion erupted violently throughout the valley. A visible shock wave swept in every direction, abruptly flinging countless clouds of settled dust and shattered stones into the air and uprooting trees.

Endless light and heat finally gathered into a gigantic mushroom of flame that towered into the clouds, illuminating the dim night completely. It was visible for dozens of miles around.

In the distance, the Demon Slayer Corps troops rushing toward them were instantly driven backward by the gale. Rubbing their eyes, they stared dumbfounded at Lu You's handiwork.

"Namu... is this what You and Oyakata-sama have been preparing all this time? How awe-inspiring!"

Himejima pressed his palms together, tears in his eyes.

He was leading the Hashira-level swordsmen onward toward the valley, struggling forward against the fierce wind.

That blazing mushroom cloud lingered for a long time, its heat seemingly ready to scorch the world. Staring at it for a while longer in the darkness seemed enough to blind someone.

The mountain walls collapsed, almost burying the valley completely.

The scorched earth was covered in ash. Soil crystallized by the intense heat was incredibly hard, and waves of an unpleasant burnt smell filled the air, along with the aroma of roasted meat.

Explosives had been planted throughout an entire mountain.

With them all detonating at once, most of the demons would be reduced to nothing. After all, not every demon possessed an Upper Rank's regenerative ability, and even the Upper Ranks would suffer.

This was the work Lu You and Ubuyashiki had spent over a year preparing.

Ubuyashiki supplied the money, and Lu You supervised the work.

All that remained was to wait for those demons to come knocking. Of course, the most crucial part was having bait, someone willing to accept a mutually destructive end.

Ubuyashiki had originally wanted to do it himself. He felt he did not have long to live anyway.

But Lu You had refused. Nothing in this world could tempt Muzan more than Nezuko, who had conquered sunlight.

With Nezuko's whereabouts as bait, Lu You only needed to stay here, and he had a way to survive the explosion.

At that moment.

The demons densely packed into the valley had been incinerated into ash the instant the explosion occurred.

Only demons at the Lower Rank level could survive the explosion, struggling to regenerate what little remained of their bodies.

The Upper Ranks were in equally miserable shape. Only the tumor on Hantengu's forehead remained, and it was burning fiercely. Its brain had actually already perished, and he should have died, but fortunately, his Blood Demon Art was very unusual.

He was desperately trying to split, attempting to create all four of his joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure clones so that his injuries would at least be somewhat alleviated.

The other three Upper Ranks were equally miserable. They were practically reduced to heads, their bodies full of holes and indistinct, charred flesh. Only their skeletons remained relatively intact, though even those were nearly shattered.

"If there's an ambush here, he can't have prepared just this one move. We have to regenerate quickly!"

Akaza felt as though his head was a muddled mess, but the intense sense of danger never faded.

The other demons had practically been wiped out. If the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira arrived now, things would be bad.

The first to regenerate was Muzan Kibutsuji.

His regenerative ability far surpassed that of ordinary Upper Ranks. His scorched body rapidly shed its skin and regenerated, while buds of flesh writhed on his severed limbs and grew back out.

Sensing that the horde of demons had been almost completely wiped out, Muzan Kibutsuji's expression turned utterly foul.

"That bastard was actually willing to die here. Ubuyashiki! What a fine arrangement!"

Fortunately, although the losses were devastating, the demons had not truly been wiped out completely. A few were still in the Infinity Castle.

Catching sight of the miserable Upper Ranks out of the corner of his eye, Muzan felt utterly frustrated.

"Useless trash."

Yet he did not stop to consider who had led them into this trap.

They were his subordinates, after all. His best option now was to retreat quickly with these battered remnants, because this could not possibly be the only wave of the ambush!

Tap, tap, tap...

Sure enough, a dense patter of footsteps had already begun. Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen broke through the thick haze on the perimeter and closed in.

"Just as I expected. The bombs posed no threat to you."

An indifferent voice sounded behind Muzan. He spun around to see the blood egg crack apart, blood-red crystalline chunks falling away as Lu You stepped out completely unharmed.

"Impossible!"

Even demons could not survive an explosion like this. How could a mere human do it? No Breathing Style could possibly possess such a bizarre power.

No.

The man before him had already used a strange ability when fighting Gyokko.

It had seemed like a supernatural power that controlled blood.

A Blood Demon Art? It was very similar.

Muzan's mood hit rock bottom. His body had already regenerated completely, and his terrifying pressure shook the air, pinning every speck of surrounding dust firmly to the ground.

"Do you think you're so impressive?! To me, these injuries are barely more than an itch. You can't accomplish anything!

"No, more than that-the Demon Slayer Corps? From this day onward, the Demon Slayer Corps will cease to exist! Nakime!"

Muzan roared in fury.

Ting! A clear pluck of strings.

At once, a latticed window opened beneath Muzan's feet. A smug, vicious grin appeared on his face, and he dropped straight down.

Not only Muzan, but the Upper Ranks as well-open windows appeared beneath their mutilated bodies, and they immediately began falling into the Infinity Castle below.

Sending the Upper Ranks back to the Infinity Castle would give them time to regenerate. Staying here with their ravaged bodies now would be no different from throwing their lives away.

Despite his tough talk, Muzan was doing the most cowardly thing possible. He was running away.

"Jump in!"

Tanjiro and the Hashira-level swordsmen arrived without the slightest trace of panic on their faces, leaping down one after another!

Without a moment's hesitation!

Now that things had come this far, any hesitation would lead to defeat. They would follow the plan strictly.

They trusted themselves, and they trusted You and Oyakata-sama's arrangements.

That window was something Lu You had mentioned when going over possible scenarios with them, so none of them were confused.

They jumped down decisively.

Zenitsu Agatsuma took deep, nervous breaths. He gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly, his expression resolute.

"Big Brother You, I'll definitely do it."

Yes, the Infinity Castle had been Lu You's chosen site for the final battle from the very beginning!

Now, the Kasugai Crows that had followed the swordsmen all along also began flying recklessly through the windows into the Infinity Castle.

At the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki gazed intently ahead, a mysterious paper talisman attached to his head.

Little Kiriya Ubuyashiki swallowed nervously, and his father spoke gently.

"Don't worry. Trust You, and trust them. What we need to do is avoid holding them back and do our utmost with the intelligence work."

The Valley of the End.

As they fell, the Stone Hashira, Wind Hashira, and Mist Hashira exchanged a knowing glance, then firmly gripped one another's arms, forming a ring.

The Insect Hashira, Flame Hashira, and Kanao held on to one another, while Inosuke and the Sound Hashira gripped each other's arms, plummeting rapidly.

The Water Hashira and Tanjiro nodded vigorously amid the fierce wind, successfully pairing up.

The Serpent Hashira and Love Hashira caught hold of each other in tacit understanding, following the original plan. The Serpent Hashira even blushed a little.

Yushiro was tucked under the arm of a composed Zenitsu Agatsuma, thunder rumbling between the buildings.

The other swordsmen also called out to one another, avoiding being isolated and surrounded by demons.

Last came Lu You.

Unlike the others, he was alone. Pivoting on his toes, he instantly appeared over the window Muzan had fallen through, then leaped inside.

Everyone, tonight will be a long night. Whether we can end the age of demons once and for all, whether I can have a perfect finale in this world, will all depend on how you perform.

Give it your all!

Saying this silently to himself, Lu You drifted down into the vast Infinity Castle.

The final battle had officially begun!