Chapter 273: The Infinity Castle
Night fell. Muzan, dressed in a white suit and a black coat, appeared at the Ubuyashiki Estate. With every casual step, a cold white mist radiated from him, like a demon from hell walking among mortals. It was as if everything around him had been frozen, paused in an unnatural, eerie silence.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki lay on his futon, his wife Amane at his side.
Muzan Kibutsuji, brimming with confidence, wore a triumphant smile. "What a hideous sight you are, Ubuyashiki."
Although the entire fighting force of the Demon Slayer Corps was gathered here, Muzan was certain that victory was already in his grasp. Otherwise, he would never have revealed himself, much less come to personally see the Corps leader of this generation.
Kagaya turned his head toward the door, though he could no longer see. "So you've finally come. The demon our family and the Demon Slayer Corps have hunted for a thousand years. Muzan. Amane, what does he look like?"
Amane, observing Muzan, replied, "He appears to be a man between twenty-five and thirty. His eyes are plum-red, and his pupils are vertical, like a cat's."
"Is that so? Is that... so. I knew you would come. Because you despise our Ubuyashiki clan with every fiber of your being."
Muzan's expression turned cold. "I am utterly bored by all of this, Ubuyashiki. Your arrogant clan, interfering with my plans for a thousand years!"
"Illusion Sword Dance!"
Liam Moon, who had been hidden, revealed himself. The space around them constricted with sword qi. Liam's figure instantly appeared in front of Muzan, his Nichirin Blade unleashing a torrent of high-speed slashes. In the blink of an eye, Muzan Kibutsuji was diced into several hundred pieces.
Of course, Liam knew this level of attack was nowhere near enough to kill Muzan. He accelerated his attack frequency, the number of afterimages from his blade multiplying. At this rate, he only needed another half-second to annihilate him.
But in that next instant, wooden sliding doors materialized on the floor beneath Liam. At the same time, wooden doors appeared under the feet of all the Demon Slayers, including the Hashira who were rushing to the scene.
All of them fell, plummeting into the endless, shifting structure below. This was the Infinity Castle. It seemed to be composed of infinite wooden rooms, lit by candles, all randomly shifting, rotating, and reforming in every direction. The scale, scope, quality, and intensity of this Blood Demon Art surpassed anything they had ever encountered.
Liam looked around the Infinity Castle. He found Nakime this early?
It seemed the butterfly effect Liam had caused had spurred Muzan to find the Biwa Demon ahead of schedule. Because of this, the killing blow that should have landed was thwarted, granting Muzan a sliver of a chance to survive. As he fell, Liam saw that a few of the hundreds of flesh pieces he had created were also transported by Nakime into the castle's depths.
Twang.
A biwa string sounded. Liam and Shinobu Kocho appeared on a platform, landing in front of Doma, Upper Moon Two.
"My, two guests have arrived," Doma said cheerfully. "Why don't you let me eat you? We can all enter paradise together."
"Doma!" Shinobu's voice was venomous. Her sister had been murdered by this very demon. For this blood feud, she would give her life to get revenge.
Doma held his two fans. Shinobu lunged, thrusting her Nichirin Blade straight through his eye. The tip of the blade exited the back of his skull. As she pulled it out and retreated, Doma swung his fan, unleashing a cloud of ice-mist mixed with a deadly poison.
Liam, standing in the rear, ignited his Nichirin blade. The blade turned a brilliant, burning red. He slashed at the ice mist, and the flame-infused sword qi from his Thunderflame Qi Sea instantly neutralized Doma's attack.
A purple stain spread across the eye Doma had been stabbed in, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Oh my, the blade was poisoned? Still, compared to that, this fellow who can create flames from nothing is much more interesting."
More blood gushed from his mouth. Liam observed him. He already had a plan. If Shinobu could kill Doma with her poison, that would be ideal. He wouldn't need to land the finishing blow, and letting her kill him with her own hands would be more satisfying. But if even sacrificing her life wasn't enough, then he would step in.
After only about five seconds, Doma stopped coughing. He looked at the two of them, beaming. "My, it seems that poison isn't working. That sound of you sheathing your blade... was that when you switched poison types?"
Liam glanced at Shinobu. "Be more careful in battle. I'll weaken him for you."
Doma looked at Liam mockingly. "Oh dear, do you really think you can hurt me?"
Liam didn't bother to explain. He sheathed his blade, and lightning began to crackle around him. Back at the Ubuyashiki estate, he had met Zenitsu's master, Jigoro, and learned the complete Thunder Breathing. A golden light flashed, and Liam's figure transformed into a blinding golden streak.
Before Doma could react, his left arm was severed at the shoulder. Lightning crackled where it was cut, the intense heat and electrical current searing the wound, continuously suppressing his regeneration.
Doma was now much more wary of Liam. But just then, Liam sheathed his sword again and moved to Doma's side, out of his immediate range. This forced Doma to face Shinobu with only one arm, while also diverting his attention to guard against Liam.
Shinobu resumed her attack, using Insect Breathing. She moved like a high-speed insect, thrusting her stinger. It was the same attack she'd used on his eye. Doma found this repetition boring.
"Try something new. I'm already getting tired of this move."
Shinobu closed the distance, her blade darting in close-quarters combat. However, her physical strength was too low. Her only viable attack method was thrusting. If she tried to slash, she lacked the strength and speed to decapitate a demon. This was why her blade was much thinner than the other Hashira's, with a blade only at the very tip.
Like a swarming hornet or dragonfly, her sharp attacks surrounded Doma, stabbing at his entire body. Doma countered with the fan in his right hand. Both were struck. Shinobu managed to pull away, but not before Doma's fan nearly sliced her open. Just as the fan was about to connect, Liam's sword was there, blocking its path.
Doma, meanwhile, had been stabbed by Shinobu's blade tip. Veins bulged on his face from the poison, but more than that, Liam's sudden intervention had also set his body on fire.
"Impressive! You actually managed to hit me! I'm so happy!" Doma laughed, even as he endured the high-temperature flames. He smothered them with his ice, but the fire had still managed to hurt him.
Shinobu gritted her teeth and closed in again. By the time they separated once more, Doma's left arm had already grown back, and the poison from her stab had been completely neutralized.
Shinobu was already panting heavily. Just keeping up with Upper Moon Two had pushed her stamina to its limit.
"That's five types of poison I've processed now," Doma counted cheerfully. "I wonder how many more you have left to use? I'm so curious."
Liam stepped forward, moving in front of Shinobu. "Shinobu. I will try to beat him until he has one breath left. Then you can deliver the final blow."
After that short exchange, Shinobu clearly understood the gap in their power. It was too vast. It was so large that her only path to victory was to ingest wisteria poison herself and hope he would eat her. But with Liam here, hope was rekindled. Perhaps this time, she wouldn't need to sacrifice herself.
Although entrusting her revenge to someone she'd only just met was shameful, right now, if Liam could kill Doma, she would do anything.
"Get back a little," Liam warned her. "The ice-mist from his fans is poisonous."
"Right!"
Liam took a deep breath. His black Nichirin blade instantly burst into ferocious flames. "Doma, was it? Any last words?"
Doma tilted his head. "Oh? Asking for my last words? As I see it, you're the ones who are about to die."
Liam advanced step by step, and the ice-mist spreading from Doma vaporized into steam before it could even get near him. High temperatures were the natural enemy of most toxins. The heat from Liam's blade was the perfect counter to this poisonous ice.
He swung his sword. A raging torrent of fire covered the area. The ice spikes erupting from the ground all melted and vanished under the intense heat.
Doma stared at the attack. "Well now, it looks like I need to get a little serious."
As he thought this, he danced with his fans. Immediately, three 10-meter-tall ice Bodhisattvas materialized around him. The ice figures opened their mouths, breathing a blizzard of frost toward Liam.
Liam initiated his Flame Breathing. Raging fire wrapped around his blade, then his entire body. He shot forward like a meteor, the flames taking the form of a fire dragon, and sliced all three ice buddhas to pieces. Not only that, but he arrived directly in front of Doma, thrusting his blade through the demon's chest. He twisted the sword, aiming to cut upward toward his head.
Doma tried to counter with his fans, only to realize his brain was already being incinerated. Both he and Liam were engulfed in a blazing inferno. Liam meticulously began cutting Doma to pieces, his own body wreathed in flames that created an area-of-effect attack. Every piece of flesh touched by his blade was instantly hit with fire and thoroughly reduced to ashes.
Shinobu watched Liam annihilate Doma and felt a wave of relief wash over her entire body. The feeling of her vengeance finally being realized brought tears to her eyes.
Liam swung his blade one last time, and the raging fire burned away all the remaining poison mist. He and Shinobu then began to move through the Infinity Castle. It was a constantly shifting space, with countless wooden rooms moving up, down, left, and right. Even with his advanced senses, Liam couldn't determine how vast the castle truly was.
Shinobu looked at Liam, her voice filled with excitement. "Mr. Liam, if we keep this up, we might be able to kill all the demons!"
Liam scanned his surroundings. "As long as we can find Muzan's location, putting an end to all of them won't be a problem."
Elsewhere, Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka had been dropped into the castle, landing directly in front of Akaza, Upper Moon Three.
The moment they met, Tanjiro was already in a life-or-death crisis. Akaza was a demon who specialized in martial arts, and his attacks were imbued with the concept of "qi."
"Battle Spirit!"
Even an infant possesses a faint battle spirit. The stronger the enemy, the stronger the spirit they release, and the faster Akaza's techniques would react to it. Akaza sent Giyu flying with one punch, blocked Tanjiro's sword, and sent another fist flying toward his throat.
"Watch out!"
The Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, arrived, blazing flames burning around him—an illusion created by his breathing technique. Kyojuro's blade severed Akaza's right arm.
"Excellent! A strong one has arrived!" Akaza was thrilled. "Become a demon! Talent like yours shouldn't be limited by a human lifespan. You should have a much more brilliant future!"
"I refuse!"
Akaza and the Flame Hashira closed the distance at high speed, the severed arm already regenerated. Akaza's fist flew at Kyojuro, who dodged. Their attacks set off shocking waves of compressed air, and flashes of light from the sword and fist techniques blasted out in all directions.
"Boom!"
Akaza's fist slammed directly into Kyojuro's blade. Even as his arm was sliced open, his other fist shot toward his opponent. Akaza unleashed a barrage of ranged shockwaves, which the Flame Hashira cut through one by one.
Akaza was ecstatic fighting the Hashira, while Tanjiro could only watch, completely outmatched, unable to even intervene.
"This exquisite swordsmanship shouldn't just disappear! Kyojuro, don't you find that tragic?!"
"All humans die. Is that not simply how it must be?"
Kyojuro sliced off another of Akaza's arms, only to take a fist to the chest. He spat up blood, roared, and charged Akaza again. Giyu Tomioka approached Akaza from behind, and the two Hashira, Water and Flame, attacked simultaneously. Raging water and searing heat formed sharp blades of light, assaulting Akaza from all sides.
Akaza's released Battle Spirit attracted Liam's attention. He and Shinobu began moving quickly toward the location of the fight.