"Boom, crackle, crackle…"
Golden lightning tore through the Different Space like a living storm, filling every corner with blinding arcs.
Heat surged in waves, and rolling steam mixed with icy mist spiraled upward like a gathering cyclone.
The air itself trembled under the pressure.
Douma screamed, his body erupting with columns of blood.
His eyes widened in panic as he spun helplessly, unable to pinpoint the enemy.
He never even saw the strike.
His vision blurred, his flesh unraveled, and a cold whisper brushed his ear.
"Instant Kill."
In the next moment, his world flipped.
A sharp pain cut through his neck, and he found himself staring at his own headless corpse.
Before the body hit the floor, Kaigaku rushed in, lightning cracking behind him, but he was already too late.
The war theme echoing through Lucien's spirit was only five minutes and twenty seconds long.
Every second mattered.
He had no intention of wasting time on Douma or Kaigaku.
"Damn it…"
Kaigaku's expression twisted in panic as his attack missed completely.
He barely turned to react when a figure appeared in front of him.
Those amethyst, diamond-patterned eyes locked onto him, and a chill stabbed straight through his spine.
"Pfft…"
He felt nothing but a numb flicker at his neck.
A heartbeat later, his head sailed upward, spinning through the air.
Lucien's crimson kukri slammed into the ground like a fiery nail, pinning both heads in place.
The blade burned at an extreme temperature, reducing their remains to ash.
Douma and Kaigaku felt their souls shredded by a pain like ten thousand blades.
"No…"
Douma's final roar dissolved with his body.
Kaigaku vanished right after.
One minute.
Not a second more.
Lucien released his Ki perception, sensing two presences deeper in the Infinity Castle, one overwhelming and one faint.
Without hesitation, he blasted forward, tearing through countless rooms toward the source.
Deep within the castle, Muzan Kibutsuji had transformed into a grotesque flesh sphere that enveloped Tamayo, his body focusing entirely on decomposing the medicine ravaging his system.
When Lucien's intense aura surged closer, Muzan's face darkened.
Douma, Kaigaku, and Nakime had fallen in under a minute.
His calculations had failed.
"He is stronger than I imagined," Tamayo whispered inside the flesh mass, sensing the approaching storm.
The aura felt like sunlight forcing its way into endless night.
"Damn it!"
The flesh sphere burst apart.
Golden lightning filled the air as Lucien descended.
Muzan violently flung Tamayo aside and leaped backward, dodging by instinct alone.
Before he could gather his thoughts, a colossal dragon spiraled into his vision.
"Great Might Heavenly Dragon!"
Lucien chanted the incantation as a twenty-meter divine dragon roared forward with his palm strike.
"Blood Demon Art, Black Blood Thorns!"
Muzan transformed instantly.
His hair flared white, his limbs warped and thickened, and countless gaping mouths opened across his body.
A forest of black thorns erupted from his back, launching toward Lucien like a swarm of spears.
Lucien didn't evade.
Hardening spread across his body, turning him into a translucent crystal figure.
His right palm thrust forward with overwhelming force, shattering the thorns and smashing into Muzan's chest.
The impact was like a mountain collapsing.
Muzan spat blood as a massive hole tore through his torso.
Tamayo stared from the distance, lips parting in disbelief.
Even weakened, Muzan should have been beyond the reach of ordinary power, yet Lucien pierced him effortlessly.
His crystalline form radiated an aura unlike anything she had seen.
"Damn you…"
Muzan roared in hatred.
Were it not for Tamayo's medicine, he would never have been pushed so far.
"Die!"
He didn't bother healing.
The black thorns shot from his back again, faster and deadlier.
"Eight-Span Mirror."
Lucien's cold gaze sharpened.
The music in his soul surged, and he spun through the air, turning into blazing golden lightning.
He sliced apart the incoming thorns and flashed past Muzan's body.
"Crimson Blade!"
Smoke rose from Muzan's waist as the scent of burned flesh filled the air.
Lucien didn't pause.
He launched attack after attack, striking Muzan from every direction, his movements relentless and precise.
Tamayo watched with wide eyes.
Golden lightning wrapped around Muzan, and blood sprayed with each strike.
Muzan, the progenitor of demons, the being who had terrorized the world for centuries, was being overpowered.
"Boom, crackle, crackle…"
Minutes passed.
The war theme had only one minute left.
Lucien had attacked uncountable times.
Muzan's body was covered in wounds.
His skin looked boiled, red and swollen like an overcooked shrimp.
The smell of burnt flesh filled the area, sickening and foul.
Suddenly, Muzan's body swelled grotesquely.
"He's preparing to self-divide and escape!"
Tamayo gasped.
She slashed her wrist open, letting blood flow freely.
A fragrant aroma spread, filling the space like a field of blossoms.
"Wicked Blood, Visual Dream!"
She flew forward without hesitation.
Thorns tore through her body, but she forced her way through and wrapped her arms tightly around Muzan.
Kibutsuji Muzan was not like ordinary demons.
In a crisis, he could split into countless pieces, detonating himself and escaping even total destruction.
As long as one fragment survived, his regeneration could restore him completely.
It was the very technique that had allowed him to escape Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the creator of Sun Breathing.
"Tamayo, you hateful woman!"
Muzan's mind spun.
Fragrance filled his senses.
His vision twisted with illusions.
His body froze against his will.
At full strength, he could have resisted her Blood Demon Art, but now, even a moment of hesitation was fatal.
"Boom, crackle…"
Golden lightning fell from above.
A massive jaw materialized, biting down on both Muzan and Tamayo.
Flesh, bone, and screams were crushed in a horrific grinding sound.
Lucien seized the opening perfectly.
He transformed into the Jaw Titan without hesitation and devoured both Muzan and Tamayo.
The titan's body hardened rapidly from head to toe until a colossal crystal statue stood frozen in the ruins.
Lucien's consciousness blurred.
He found himself in another Different Space, a realm resembling a spiritual battlefield.
Muzan stood before him, uninjured, smirking.
"Fool. You dare to eat me?"
"My instincts tell me that if I kill you here, I can devour you."
A kukri appeared in Lucien's hand.
He stared at Muzan like a predator eyeing prey, his amethyst eyes glowing with fierce light.
"Then let's see who ends up digesting whom."
Blood thorns surfaced behind Muzan, and the two charged at each other.
Their battle in this realm was as real as any physical clash.
Lucien could still transform the kukri and still felt the surge of the war theme.
Muzan fought at his peak.
Victory would be decided by sheer force of will.
In the real world, their cells clashed inside the crystal.
If Muzan's spiritual will triumphed, his cells would dominate.
If Lucien's will proved stronger, his cells would assimilate Muzan's entirely.
This was a battle with no smoke, no sound, and no pause.
A battle more dangerous than anything Lucien had faced so far.
Above them, the Infinity Castle sank deeper into the darkness as time continued its silent march.
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