As Chika stepped forward, the sounds emanating from within the broken walls grew clearer and more distinct. When Chika entered the inner space, all she could see was utter devastation.
On the empty battlefield, Muzan Kibutsuji stood in the center and entered a full battle stance.
At this moment, due to the ultimate poison, Muzan's originally jet-black hair had turned into white, a symbol of old age. His body, limbs, and lower body were wrapped and covered with black hair and blood. His fanged mouth grew out of his skin, making him look extremely ferocious.
Long, wide bone whips grew from his back. As the Demon King, his abilities seemed rather ordinary, but their power did not tarnish Muzan's reputation. A single bone whip was enough to reduce a tall building to ruins.
When Chika entered the interior and saw the wounded people and Muzan in the center, she understood everything.
Muzan did not restore his injuries to full strength within the tumor he had created. Instead, he restored them to a level where he felt he could easily deal with everyone except Chinatsu, and then had Nakime manipulate the terrain to bring everyone to him.
Muzan attempted to improve his body's recovery efficiency by consuming the flesh and blood of the Pillars, and also to get rid of any troublesome individuals except for Chinatsu.
In this plan, Muzan, who had kept a straight face and did not destroy Chinatsu but instead gave her blood to make her stronger, was responsible for holding Chinatsu back. From beginning to end, Muzan did not believe that Doma could devour Chinatsu.
Of course, in the absolute worst-case scenario, if Doma really did devour Chinatsu, Muzan would devour Doma completely after this battle, making him the strongest and most perfect being in the world.
However, there was one thing Muzan hadn't anticipated: Chinatsu had given the Demon Slayer Corps members intensive training in advance, making their strength exceed Muzan's expectations.
With the exception of Shinobu Kocho, all of them were able to activate their Crimson Blade on their own, and their physical abilities were no less than those of those who activated their Demon Slayer Marks in the original work. In addition, four of them arrived at the "Transparent World".
It's equivalent to four people having "three-piece sets" and the rest having "two-piece sets," and they start with full health.
This setup gave Muzan, who had misjudged his strength and whose body had not fully recovered, a headache. This is why, when Chinatsu defeated Doma and arrived, Muzan only managed to knock everyone down and did not have time to absorb or devour them.
At this moment, with most people incapacitated, Tanjiro stands directly in front of Muzan as one of the few who still possesses fighting ability.
He was panting heavily, and although he was covered in wounds, his eyes were incredibly clear. It turned out that during his battle with Muzan, he had also broken through to the "Transparent World" realm.
Seeing this scene, the heavy weight in Qianxia's heart was lifted. Although the current situation could not be considered good, it had not yet reached the point of being "bad".
Chika walked to Tanjiro's side with a serious expression. Tanjiro, who was completely focused on Muzan, finally came to his senses.
"Sister...Sister?"
"Sorry I'm late."
Chinatsu's words were not only directed at Tanjiro, but also at everyone present who was still conscious. The current situation had deviated from their original plan, and a full-scale group fight was no longer possible.
"Tanjiro, can you still fight?"
"Of course not... cough cough!"
Tanjiro had intended to give a firm answer that he had no problem, but with the arrival of Chinatsu, his tense mind suddenly relaxed, and the pain he had previously ignored spread throughout his body.
Chika fell silent as she looked at Tanjiro's current state. If she told Tanjiro to hold on, he would definitely be able to grit his teeth and continue fighting.
However, as Tanjiro's older sister, Chinatsu also has her own "selfish motives," or rather, Chinatsu has "selfish motives" for the entire Demon Slayer Corps. It could even be said that Chinatsu has come this far entirely for this "selfish motive."
Individual heroism?
Is sacrifice inevitable?
Chinatsu didn't want to think about that; all she knew was that the bottom line was for everyone to survive, and even to live happily.
"Tanjiro, go and take care of the injured person."
As soon as Chinatsu uttered those words, Tanjiro, standing beside her, looked shocked and immediately exclaimed, "Sister! I can still fight!"
"Tanjiro, go and take care of the injured person."
Chinatsu helplessly repeated what she had just said. Tanjiro understood what Chinatsu meant, but it was precisely because he understood that he didn't want Chinatsu to bear this risk alone.
After a moment of inner turmoil, Tanjiro left Chinatsu's side.
Seeing Tanjiro obediently leave, Chinatsu breathed a sigh of relief.
Selfishness, still selfishness.
Chinatsu thought that if she were to lose, then the nine pillars and Tanjiro, after a short rest, might be able to defeat Muzan, just like in the original story, by relying on the "convergence of world lines".
This can be considered an insurance policy, an insurance policy that doesn't belong to Chika, but it still makes Chika feel at ease.
Seeing Chinatsu's actions, Muzan couldn't help but smile, praising her, "You made the right choice. The strong are always lonely; associating with the weak only makes the strong weaker. It seems you and I are the same type of person... oh no, I mean demons~"
Faced with Muzan's "sarcasm," Chinatsu remained unfazed. Muzan clicked his tongue at Chinatsu's expression, spread his hands, and continued, "Honestly, humans are such annoying creatures. They even bring up things like revenge for parents, children, and brothers when facing me..."
"You should be grateful that I'm still alive. Just treat me like a natural disaster, like a violent storm, a volcanic eruption, or a massive earthquake. Does anyone seek revenge against a natural disaster? Am I wrong?"
Muzan's words brought the hatred level to its maximum, and even Chinatsu's usually impassive face finally revealed other emotions.
Chika coldly stared at Muzan in front of her and said, "Weakling? Calamity? A coward who was instantly killed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who was so scared that he exploded into more than 1,800 pieces of flesh and fled in panic, and then hid until Yoriichi Tsugikuni died of old age before cowardly running out into the outside world again, what right does he have to call himself a calamity and others weakling?"
Muzan's words dealt 1 point of damage to Chinatsu, but Chinatsu's words dealt Muzan an extremely powerful critical hit.
Muzan, who had been speaking eloquently with his head slightly raised, suddenly frowned, his expression becoming incredibly ugly, because this was his only and greatest black mark in his history as the Demon King…
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