Chapter 253

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming, but the pain in my body was very real.

This is not a dream. The world just now is a dream-like world.

I struggled for a while, then I realized that I didn't stand up by my own strength, but with the support of Mr. Komaji. His hand was on my shoulder, so I didn't fall down.

Before I could figure out what was going on, the feeling of my spirit gradually dying was very real, and the discomfort of the emptiness far outweighed the feeling after being injured.

"Xue, how do you feel?" Mr. Komaji's voice was extremely anxious, but I didn't have the strength to reply him. The blood flowing from my ears even blocked my ears, so I couldn't hear what he was saying at all. When I opened my mouth, I could only feel more blood pouring out.

But unexpectedly, this feeling made me feel very comfortable.

The scorching heat of the Sun Blade spread from the wound to the whole body, and the stagnant feeling after excessive absorption seemed to be cleared away.

This, this is——

The power of the sun stored in the Sun Blade is stimulated by a powerful breathing method.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and got ready.

After receiving my signal, the Wind Pillar Fushigi Fushigi who was holding a knife in front of him drew his knife first, followed by Tomioka Giyuu behind him.

They may not be the fastest among all the pillars, but it seems that they are the closest to here.

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but looking at the horizon, the darkest moment a few minutes before dawn has arrived.

As soon as the Sun Blade was pulled out of my body, the wounds on my body healed immediately, and then I felt the blocked feeling begin to gather again.

I looked up, and Douma, who was wrapped in the vine, was still alive. There were deep knife marks on the outside of the vine. I think the first reaction of the two pillars after coming here must be to cut off the evil spirit. But the last thought before I fainted was that I must not let Douma escape, so I used all my strength to build this thick vine.

The power from within cannot be broken, and the power from outside is also being blocked.

I didn't even know I had such power.

From this angle, I can see the broken sword that was stabbed by Douma still stuck in Genya Busui's neck.

The remaining ghost power in him was very little, and pulling out the knife at this time would be tantamount to suicide. Of course, he still had my mark on him.

But on the one hand, after I fell into a coma, this mark might not be effective in the eyes of others; on the other hand, my whole condition was so bad, Xuan Mi would definitely not want to add burden to me - at least he would think so.

I think that when Wind Pillar Busui River came over, the first thing he saw was his brother using ghost power to stay alive. He must have been furious, as his only brother almost died in a place he didn't know.

Genya Busui's body no longer allows him to continue eating the flesh and blood of ghosts to replenish it in such a short time. Moreover, the flesh and blood contains such a high concentration of Muzan Muzan's blood that problems will occur in his body and there is even a possibility that he will transform into a ghost.

I leaned my whole body on Mr. Komaji. Although I didn't regain control of my body, I was able to control the vines extending from my body more easily than I did myself.

The thin branch climbed up Xuan Mi's body and wrapped around the blade, indicating that it should be pulled out.

The mark I left behind will never lose its effect even if I die before my power is exhausted.

The problem lies with Douma. Originally, it was too difficult for the people present to directly behead him, so I used this method to forcibly absorb Douma.

But if there were two of them, Douma in his current state might be able to chop off his head.

I patted my chest and spit out all the blood that was blocked in my chest at once.

"Mr. Shimizu, Mr. Giyuu," I called them by their first names. The former was because there were two Fuzukavas present and it would be too weird to call them by their last names, and the latter was because -

I don't know how to describe it. I always feel that if I just call him by his last name, would he feel disgusted?

Since it was something that came to my mind, I just said it directly. They didn't mind. "I will loosen the shackles. The neck of the Upper Rank Two will be very stiff even in this condition. You have to wait until he recovers--"

"Cut off my head, right? Come on!" Fuzukawa Miyabi smiled, and the scars on his face seemed to be more prominent. He held the hilt of the knife, and the originally light green blade absorbed my blood, and it felt like it was glowing in the middle of the night.

Tomioka Giyuu, who was a completely different type from him, had almost no expression on his face. He didn't open his mouth or speak. He just stood silently side by side with Fuzukawa Michiya. The red blood drew ripples on the sea-blue blade.

I moved my mind, and the vines that were originally made of light instantly spread out, becoming small blue dots of light that stayed in the air. Although it may seem a bit self-promotional, this scene looks healing from a distance, and is very beautiful.

Breathing of Wind·Eighth Form·First Fierce Wind Slash——

Water Breathing·Pick Up Form·Flowing Life——

The two of them controlled the time very accurately. Almost at the moment when the light left, they disappeared from both sides at the same time. One wind and one water drew a beautiful ukiyo-e in the air, and one from the left and one from the right slashed at the neck of Douma, who was shattered by Mr. Komaji and whose body was not even put together.

The air was pressed to make a hissing sound, and the two breathing methods of different natures collided with each other. Sparks were generated after the collision of the swords, and above these sparks was the head of Douma, which was beheaded in half by each of them.

The head, without support, fell from the air to the ground.

It was completely different from the resistance and difficulties I had expected.

Oh, is it... that simple?

Did I take the power of the Upper String too seriously?

"Xue," I felt my face being lifted up, and looked into Mr. Komaji's golden eyes, "How do you feel now? Muzan's power just appeared in you, he——"

I shook my head, not knowing where to begin, so I simply replied, "It's okay, it's okay now."

Wait, what did he just call me?

Snow.

I think I... used this name - no, it's not my name.

Why did Mr. Komaji suddenly call me like this?

My doubtful gaze collided with Mr. Komaji's concentration, and in the reflection of his pupils, I saw the small flower in the center of my own eyes.

These eyes, these eyes—

I have been stared at by such eyes before, just like I am staring at Mr. Komaji now.

Snow, love snow.

My pistil, has it appeared beside me so early?

Did she, did she know my identity, so she brought me back to the dojo from the wild where I was about to wither?

Or - is this the guidance of fate?

I have a strange feeling, I can't tell whether it's comfortable or uncomfortable. It's a strange sense of guilt. This is a very strange thing. Lian Xue and I shouldn't be two sides of the same person, we shouldn't be the pistil of a flower, we should be -

They are two completely different individuals.

As soon as this thought came to my mind, I felt a sharp pain in my temple. This feeling did not come from my body, but seemed to come from something deeper.

I raised my head and looked at the starless sky, and suddenly I felt the ground shake.

Komaji-san pushed me behind him, and I instantly lost my balance and fell to the ground without any reaction.

Moving my eyes upward, I saw the whip piercing Mr. Komaji's body.

It's vampire magic!

This smell and this familiar feeling——

I turned my body away and saw that Douma, who had clearly lost his head, was still standing there. The blood demon art that erupted from his body was not something made of ice, but a thorn whip that grew out of his body and tore his clothes apart - like a tentacle, it was waving wildly, with a sharp thorn whip stained with blood on the tip.

Douma's legs were gradually covered in pure black, as if a black liquid had crawled up his body and become programmed into a coat.

He picked up his head and pressed it back down.

This is not his blood demon art, this is Muzan Muzan's!

When the King of Demons unlocked the power of the Upper Moons for the second time, he once again injected a large amount of blood into them, making their power stronger while also becoming an anchor for Muzan Muzan.

With the help of their bodies, Muzan Muzan can transfer his spirit and power.

I became solemn - this must be another way out that Muzan Muzan left for himself. Even if we could luckily use my power or other means to kill Muzan Muzan's real body, as long as there is still an Upper Rank like this - with a blood concentration as high as the current Upper Rank, then Muzan Muzan will have the possibility of transferring and starting over. And in the current situation, he obviously forcibly changed Douma's physique, and used his own ability to transfer Douma to break through the limit of demons and no longer fear being beheaded.

This is Muzan Muzan's secret. He is able to reveal it in advance in order to witness the situation of Mr. Komaji under the sun and bring me into the Infinite Castle.

Because there would be danger of being exposed to the sun, he would not let his true form appear.

In the split second I was thinking, the whip was not only coming towards me, but also the other five members of the Demon Slayer Corps were attacked.

Muzan Kibutsuji's attacks are extremely sharp, unexpected and extremely fast.

After just experiencing a fierce battle and successfully beheading someone, Tanjiro Kamado and Genya Fushigawa, whose nerves had just relaxed, did not react at all.

Toioka Giyu's Third Type: Ryu Ryuu and Fuzugawa Mitsuya's Ninth Type: Windy Rooftop Wind were activated at the same time, and each of them protected the person closest to them.

Xuan Mi looked at his eldest brother's back, perhaps thinking of the scene when they last met, or perhaps thinking of some things that happened in his childhood, his mood fluctuated greatly.

But this was not the time to be sentimental or nostalgic. Xuan Mi loaded the bullets and picked up the broken knife that had just been inserted into his neck with his bare hands.

The number of bullets is limited, and too many have been consumed in the previous battle. He is temporarily unable to use vampire magic and needs to find other ways to protect himself.

Yes, for Tanjiro and Genya now, being able to protect themselves without the need for the pillars' spirits is already a help.

For me, this is not the case.

This is not the first time that Tanjiro has wielded a Gantō like this. As long as the blade remains, he can use the breathing method smoothly.

I looked up. The swordsmanship of Fuzugawa Saneya and Tomioka Giyuu is absolutely at the top of their respective fields, but the two of them are not enough to compete with Muzan Muzan.

The sky in the distance was as black as ink, a sign that dawn was approaching.

But before that, Muzan Kibutsuji still has the potential to kill the rest of humanity.

The whip was extremely sharp at every angle, and Fuzukawa Saneya and Tomioka Giyu, the two pillars who were not opponents, had to quickly adjust their pace and cooperate when the battle began.

Water Breathing·Form 11·Nagi, closely blocked the multiple thorn whips that were swinging with afterimages. Taking advantage of the moment when Tomioka Giyuu was restraining Muzan Muzan, Fuzugawa Saneya summoned the fastest Form 1 of Wind Breathing·Dust Cyclone·Slashing, and the moment it slashed through Muzan Muzan's body, it switched to Form 1·Powerful Wind·Tengu Wind, trying to break Douma's body into as small pieces as possible and prolong his recovery time.

However, the breathing technique carved deep scars on his body, but it could never penetrate his entire body. The blood at the wounds coagulated into new thorns, stabbing straight forward like a scorpion's tail.

The two pillars reacted very quickly, and even though they didn't have time to dodge, they immediately turned back to defend and slashed at the thorn whip with the Sun Wheel Sword. However, the thorn whip made of blood quickly split in two directions in the fraction of a second before it came into contact with the Sun Wheel Sword.

As the defensive attack was in vain, the whip of thorns spread out at an accelerated speed, circling from both sides and piercing through the limbs of the two people.

If it weren't for the blue light particles I scattered in the air affecting the synchronization rate of Muzan Muzan and Douma's bodies, and helping the other two pillars to synchronously recover from the wounds caused by Muzan Muzan.

The outcome will probably be decided in just a few minutes.

The gap in strength is too big.

And Mr. Komaji——in the attack just now, in order to completely help me block Muzan Muzan's attack, a large amount of demon blood was instantly injected into him.

Muzan Muzan is really like this. On the one hand, he wants to seize control of Mr. Komaji, but on the other hand, he is also cautious and dares not inject an overdose of blood into Mr. Komaji's body that can directly clear Mr. Komaji's personality, so as not to destroy the potential of Mr. Komaji now.

I stood up and poured a large amount of my blood on Mr. Komaji's wound, watching her close her eyes in pain, as if she couldn't feel the outside world.

Nezuko covered Mr. Komaji's body with her hands. It was too difficult for the power of the blood explosion to directly burn the blood of the demon king, and the speed was very low. But no matter how low it was, it was still effective.

But I believe that Mr. Komaji will be able to survive.

After tidying up my tattered clothes, I took two steps forward, ignoring Tanjiro's shouts, and stood in the center of the battle. I quietly moved the vines underground closer to the two pillars who were fighting hard, and shouted to them, "Be careful, that's Muzan Kibutsuji Murei!"

Muzan Kibutsuji's goal is to personally witness whether Mr. Komaji is successful as a case study, rather than fighting the pillars. He can find something more attractive without a clear intention to kill.

Under his control, the Upper Moon Two might be annihilated in the sunlight, or only a pair of eyes might remain. Our goal now is to hold him back.

As for what method is used, it actually doesn't matter.

If I can distract Muzan Muzan, then I will have succeeded.