Ren swung the wolf-tooth mace with all his might, the rapid friction against the air causing the cold metal to turn incredibly red, resembling a branding iron heated in a forge.
"Earth Combat Technique: Obliteration!"
Seeing Ren's figure streak across the sky like a crimson meteor, Kibutsuji Muzan merely laughed aloud.
"Hehe, do you think you can defeat me with this? Jumping into the air is fine—let's see how you dodge in mid-air!"
Before his voice had even faded, the nine tube whips on Muzan's back suddenly elongated, shooting toward Ren with a howling sound, intending to pierce through his heart.
At that moment, Ren swung the mace heavily. The weapon collided violently with the nine tube whips in mid-air, producing an earth-shattering boom. The loud noise was heard for kilometers around Mount Kumotori.
"That sound came from the mountain..."
In a wooden house at the foot of Mount Kumotori, Tanjiro's face changed instantly upon hearing the roar. Worried about Nezuko and his family, he quickly dressed, bid farewell to Grandpa Saburo, and ran up the mountain without a second thought.
"Grandpa Saburo, thank you for taking me in, but I have to go!"
'Brother Ren, Nezuko, you must be safe!'
...
On a peak on the other side of Mount Kumotori, a cool-headed man with flowing black hair, sea-blue eyes, and a face as cold as ice was running quickly toward the mountain, hand on his sword.
The man wore a haori with different colors on the left and right sides, looking quite dashing, with a crow circling above his head.
'What was that loud noise? Could it be a demon's Blood Demon Art? No, it looks like I need to speed up!'
Thinking this, Tomioka Giyu increased his pace, adjusting his Water Breathing to run at full speed.
...
Meanwhile, in the dense forest of Mount Kumotori, facing the Obliteration combat technique unleashed by Ren, Muzan was not having an easy time.
Ren's strength and speed were already far beyond that of ordinary humans. Coupled with his jump into the air, utilizing the acceleration of gravity, the power of the technique was further enhanced.
This was truly a victory for the law of universal gravitation!
As the mace continued to rub against the air, by the time Muzan's tube whips made contact with it, the temperature on the weapon had exceeded eight hundred degrees. It looked crimson and scorching, as if he had activated a Bright Red Nichirin Sword.
Originally, Muzan had planned to grab Ren's weapon first and then kill him with a single blow. However, upon feeling the temperature of the mace, he abandoned that idea.
Immediately following that, the immense impact force carried by the weapon arrived!
As the tube whips and the mace collided violently, under Ren's offensive, the nine tube whips made of Muzan's flesh and blood were instantly smashed into paste, raining flesh and blood down from the sky.
Ren continued charging toward Muzan without slowing down, the scorching mace aiming to smash Muzan's head.
Seeing the mace that looked like a branding iron, Muzan's expression changed abruptly. With a thought, a terrifying, low sound of a biwa suddenly rang in his ears.
Bang!
Instantly!
A broken window suddenly appeared beneath Muzan's feet. The window connected to a brightly lit otherworld, and Muzan fell straight into it, dodging Ren's attack.
'That's the Infinity Castle? The Scum Boss is running away!'
Ren was shocked, though he wasn't all that surprised that Muzan wanted to flee.
After all, looking at the entire anime world, Muzan was one of the top cowards. His cowardice was truly unique, which was why netizens jokingly called him "The Scum Boss."
His only two bold attempts: once, he was chopped into mincemeat by Tsugikuni Yoriichi; the other time, feeling full of himself, he tried to destroy the Demon Slayer Corps, only to end up being burned to death by the sun!
Seeing Muzan fall into the Infinity Castle, Ren had to stop his pursuit. He didn't know if the Twelve Kizuki were inside.
Moreover, he didn't have a Nichirin Sword. With just a wolf-tooth mace made of ordinary refined iron, he wouldn't be able to kill even the Lower Moons of the Twelve Kizuki, let alone the Upper Moons.
However, he wouldn't let Muzan leave that easily. He immediately raised the mace, the muscles on his arms and back bulging suddenly.
Then, the red-hot mace was thrown like a cannonball bursting from a chamber, smashing squarely onto Muzan's body!
Boom!
Looking at the large hole smashed through his chest, Muzan felt a wave of astonishment, seemingly amazed by Ren's strength.
Seeing the Infinity Castle about to close, Ren didn't forget to taunt him.
"Don't run if you have the guts! Coward!"
As soon as the words fell, the door to the Infinity Castle closed immediately, but the words still reached Muzan's ears, turning his face green with anger.
He thought, 'Regarding matters of demons, how can this be called running away? This is called a strategic retreat!'
And for some reason, hearing the word "coward," he actually thought of Akaza.
"Hmph, I'll call Akaza over and teach him a lesson when I get back. I happen to be in a bad mood right now!"
Akaza: 'Scum Boss, I have an 8 AM shift!'
...
After Muzan fled, Ren sat down heavily against a tree, gasping for large breaths of air. Watching his limbs trembling uncontrollably, he felt waves of hunger and exhaustion wash over his entire body.
"Although the Obliteration technique is powerful, it consumes extreme amounts of stamina... In my current state, I'm afraid if I use it one more time, I'll faint from exhaustion. It's even unknown if I could successfully execute the technique..."
"But fortunately, I succeeded. I changed the fate of Auntie Kie's family. This way, sister Nezuko won't turn into a demon, and that guy Tanjiro won't need to join the Demon Slayer Corps or die before twenty-five due to awakening the Mark, right?"
"But... my body hurts so much..."
Looking at the injuries all over his body, Ren couldn't help but give a helpless, bitter laugh. During the fight with Muzan earlier, he hadn't emerged unscathed; his calves and arms had been injured by Muzan's tube whips.
Muzan's cells remained on those nine tube whips. These cells would enter the body through the wounds, destroying Ren's cells throughout his body and causing unbearable pain.
Earlier, he could hold on through sheer willpower, but now, having consumed too much stamina using his combat technique, the pain spreading through his body made him suck in a breath of cold air.
"For an ordinary person, Muzan's cells are equivalent to a deadly poison. But my constitution is over ten times that of a normal person, though I don't know if I can survive it..."
With that said, Ren moved his mind and opened his attribute panel. After the battle with Muzan, his base stats had improved across the board.
[Ren]
[Strength: 215]
[Speed: 191]
[Constitution: 168]
[Five Senses: 125]
[Combat Technique: Obliteration]
...
Seeing that his base attributes had improved significantly, Ren felt slightly relieved. As long as he continued to improve his physique, one day he would be able to hang Muzan up and whip him, and then intimately "sunbathe" with a cross-dressing Muzan.
"Fighting a demon with a body of flesh and blood—your strength is passable, but you still need to practice more!"
Just then, Tomioka Giyu suddenly appeared beside him. Looking at the bruised and battered Ren, he delivered a wave of "mockery."
However, what he actually wanted to say was: To be able to repel a demon with bare hands, your talent is very strong. If you continue to train, you can become even stronger!
But to Ren's ears, these words were no different from saying: You brat, you're still too noob. Did you hear me? If you're bad, practice more; if you can't afford to lose, don't play!
Ren now understood why the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps disliked Giyu so much. This guy's EQ was truly low; he couldn't say a single nice word.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask speechlessly, "How can such chilling words come out of your thirty-six-degree mouth? You must not be very popular, right? People around you must really hate you."
Giyu said expressionlessly, "I am not disliked by people!"
Ren: "..."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]