[Location: Demon Slayer Corps HQ]
Kiriya Ubuyashiki stared at the map in his mind, sweat dripping down his face. The paper talismans fluttered on his desk.
"Tamayo-san..." Kiriya's voice trembled. "She couldn't hold him."
"Brother!" Kanata shouted. "The first squad... they're right on top of him!"
"Tell them to stop!" Kiriya screamed into the Crow network. "Don't engage! Wait for the Hashira! Retreat immediately!"
[Within the Infinity Castle]
The flesh cocoon tore open. Muzan Kibutsuji exploded out of it.
He looked different and older. The gentleman in the tuxedo was no more. In his place was a monster. His hair had turned long, flowing silver-white, like he'd aged a thousand years in a minute. Mouths with jagged white fangs opened all over his body, on his arms, his thighs, his spine.
In his right hand, he clutched the severed head of Lady Tamayo.
The nearest Demon Slayers froze. They didn't even have time to scream. Muzan walked forward, and their bodies burst apart, absorbed them before their blood could even touch the floor.
"Retreat!" a Kasugai Crow shrieked.
SNAP.
Muzan's whip-arm lashed out, taking the bird's head off mid-squawk.
"I haven't felt hunger like this in centuries," Muzan murmured, the mouths on his body echoing his words. "Kagaya... you really did deliver dinner to my doorstep."
He lifted Tamayo's head. She was still conscious, tears streaming from her remaining eye.
"Give them back," she sobbed, her voice a broken whisper. "My family... give them back..."
Muzan looked at her with bored, red eyes. "You want your family? You said I would fall into hell? Hundreds of people have said that to me. It hasn't happened once."
"Please..."
"Your drug didn't work, Tamayo," Muzan stated flatly. "Die. Go join the family you killed."
He squeezed. Her skull began to crack under the immense pressure.
BOOM.
A golden bolt of lightning slammed into Muzan's chest.
The shockwave of the attack spread thirty meters in every direction, breaking nearby buildings. Muzan was blasted backward, his grip faltering.
Manjiro Asakura.
He stood where Muzan had been a second ago. In his hands, he gently held what remained of Tamayo.
Muzan roared, his bone whips thrashing the air. "You... why interfere? Isn't your job killing demons?"
Manjiro didn't look at Muzan. He looked down at Tamayo, his expression unreadable.
"She's someone I respect," Manjiro said softly. "And I won't let you hurt her anymore."
He gently laid her on a rooftop, far from the fighting.
[Demon Slayer Corps HQ]
"I killed them... I sent them to die..." Kiriya whispered, spiraling.
SLAP.
Kuina hit him "Get it together, Oyakata-sama! The war isn't over! Give the order!"
Kiriya blinked, the shock receding, grabbed the map. "All Hashira! Converge on Muzan's location! NOW!"
The order went out. But panic was setting in. The Slayers could feel Muzan's aura. It was suffocating.
Then, a voice cut through the Crow network.
It wasn't Kiriya. It was Manjiro.
"Everyone relax. Fight if you can. Believe if you can't. I'll handle the rest. As long as you trust me, this battle is already over."
The effect was apparent as the shaking halted. The Slayers gripped their swords. If the Rumble Hashira—the man who killed Upper One—was this nonchalant, then surely... victory wasn't just a dream. It was an inevitability.
[The Infinity Castle]
Muzan didn't wait. His arms elongated into horrific, white-boned whips lined with spikes that lashed out.
Manjiro stood there, hands on "Kira," his katana sheathed. He tilted his head to the left.
WHISH.
A bone whip missed his ear by a fraction severing a lock of his blonde hair.
"Is that it?" Manjiro taunted.
Muzan glared, barely holding back his anger. Twelve whips struck at once, a grid of death from which there was no escape.
"My turn."
Steam curled from his mouth as he inhaled.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Eightfold."
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
The sound of steel hitting bone-whips rang out in eight distinct bursts. Manjiro reappeared ten feet to the left, his blade half-sheathed.
He drew the black blade. The Hamon surged, turning it crimson.
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form..."
Muzan sensed something repulsive, an energy that felt opposite to demon art condensed into the sword.
"...Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon."
He swung the black blade in a wide arc.
The result was a vortex of silver and golden crescents infused with Hamon that filled the entire hallway. They expanded outward, chaotic and beautiful.
Muzan's whips were shredded, sliced into thousands of pieces before they could reach Manjiro. The attack continued, carving deep gashes into Muzan's torso.
"You're using Michikatsu's style?" Muzan sneered, his flesh already bubbling and knitting back together. "A mere human replicating something similar to Blood Art? Don't make me laugh."
"Demon Art?" Manjiro chuckled, "It sure looks like it, doesn't it? But it's not. And I know you can feel it."
Muzan's eyes narrowed. "Impudent worm!"
Muzan retaliated. He sprouted nine thin, razor-edged whips from his back, creating a chaotic storm of attacks. At the same time, he activated his art.
"Black Blood, Brambles."
Thorny tendrils burst from the ground, trying to stab Manjiro from below while whips struck from above.
Manjiro's saw through it all the trajectory of every whip before they even moved.
"Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form: Distant Thunder."
Manjiro released multiple ranged lightning strikes, disintegrating the brambles before they could touch him. He pressed the attack, his movements a blur of Thunder speed and Moon range.
"You are persistent," Muzan growled. "But nothing exists above me. Not you, not anyone..."
Muzan's torso morphed into a giant, beastly mouth. He unleashed a Shockwave Energy Blast.
Manjiro, anticipating this, leaped into the air, using the falling debris as steppingstones.
"Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Incessant."
From above, Manjiro unleashed a wild barrage of crescent-shaped slashes. The Hamon-infused blades clashed against the shockwave, cutting a path through the force. The impact forced the Demon King to take a single step back.
"You stepped back, Muzan," Manjiro smirked, landing lightly. "Careful. If you back up any further, you might trip over your own ego."
[Elsewhere in the Castle]
Yushiro manages to seize control of Nakime, the demon responsible for maintaining the Infinity Castle.
Through this interference, the Infinity Castle began to destabilize, vomiting everyone out into the cold night air.
[Location: Tokyo / Edo Surface]
Debris rained down on the city streets.
For the first time, the battle was bound by a single condition: Survive until sunrise.
Kiriya's voice shook over the Crows. "Time until dawn... one hour and thirty minutes."
Manjiro landed lightly on a rooftop, dropping Tamayo safely.
"Enjoy the show, darling," he said, giving her a quick wave.
Down on the street, Muzan rose from the rubble. He smiled, and it was terrifying.
"You think you can keep me here until sunrise?" Muzan asked, his voice echoing off the buildings.
Manjiro jumped back down to the street level. Muzan was tearing through the city. His arms had become bladed whips again, moving faster than before.
Manjiro drew Kira his golden-hilted blade, walking calmly toward the monster. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the loose ends of the Satiporoja Beetle Bandages wrapped around his arms. He wound the fabric tightly around the hilt of his sword.
"Who said anything about keeping you here?" Manjiro said, his voice cold as ice.
He pointed Kira at the Demon King.
"You won't last until sunrise. I will make sure of it."
At that moment, for the first time in a thousand years, the King of Demons felt a sensation he had long since forgotten.
*****************
I've got a few worlds in mind for the next arc.
⚔️ Jujutsu Kaisen
🩸 Tokyo Ghoul
🌺 Hell's Paradise
If you feel like it, let me know which one you'd like to see.