Infinite Castle

This feeling… reminded him of the weakness he had known when he was human.

Muzan suddenly froze, recalling the Nichirin Blades the Yoriichi Puppet had driven into his body earlier.

Have I been poisoned?

A poison that could turn demons back into humans?

In the blink of an eye, Muzan and Uesugi Shimizu had exchanged several moves.

Gyomei Himejima seized the opportunity and joined the battle as well.

Farther out, several Pillars led batches of Demon Slayer Corps members as they closed in to surround them.

Muzan’s heart sank.

He was continuously growing weaker.

Muzan knew he could not let this continue. Otherwise, he might truly perish here.

The Pillar before him was the strongest human Muzan had seen in a thousand years, second only to Tsugikuni Yoriichi. His strength and speed were not much inferior to Muzan’s own, enough to threaten him in his weakened state.

And there were other Pillars as well.

For example, this monk gave him no less of a feeling than several of the outstanding first-generation swordsmen from four hundred years ago.

Someone at this level was qualified to participate in a battle of his caliber, capable of restraining and supporting him. He was no longer cannon fodder, but a minor elite that could not be instantly killed and required a portion of Muzan’s attention to deal with.

If the remaining Pillars possessed such strength as well, together with the unexpectedly powerful Pillar before him, things would become troublesome.

But the Twelve Kizuki had been replenished. They should be able to eliminate the other Pillars.

And while this fellow before him was powerful, as long as he stalled for time and decomposed the poisons in his body, he would be the one to overpower his opponent!

Anything that could threaten him had to die!

Ideally, he would deal the Demon Slayer Corps a devastating blow, or even nearly wipe them out, just as he had three hundred years ago.

"Nakime."

Muzan silently issued Nakime a command from afar in his mind.

"Dong~"

A mellow note from a biwa rang out.

In an instant, doors opened beneath everyone within a kilometer of Muzan, sending them plummeting down at once.

At that very moment, Shimizu seized the opportunity and hurled more than a dozen Space Kunai forged from Scarlet Iron at Muzan.

Most of the kunai, which turned bright red the instant Shimizu threw them, were knocked down by Muzan. Yet two or three still embedded themselves in his body.

Muzan merely gave Shimizu a contemptuous, mocking smile.

In his eyes, this was merely Shimizu’s impotent outburst after seeing him about to escape.

The kunai imbued with Solar Energy were indeed fast and powerful. If they were used against some Lower Rank Demons, they might kill them instantly on sight.

But to Muzan, they only meant spending a few more seconds regenerating.

The next instant, the world spun.

At Muzan’s command, Shimizu was transported to the point farthest from Muzan.

He landed amid a lotus pond.

Bang!

Water splashed high into the air, but Shimizu was not the cause.

Chakra clung to the soles of his feet, allowing him to stand firmly atop the water.

Yet all around him stood countless demons, with the words Lower Rank One and Lower Rank Two written in the eyes of the two leading them.

The current Lower Rank One, Yorimichi, and Lower Rank Two, Kamatsu.

These two had originally ranked fourth and sixth among the Lower Ranks, making them among the weakest Lower Rank Demons. Only because so many ahead of them had died had it become their turn.

After the Twelve Kizuki were reassembled, their risen ranks earned each of them a portion of Muzan’s blood, strengthening them.

Shimizu merely swept a cold gaze over his surroundings and swung his blade in every direction.

Separation Breathing Seventh Form Mirror of Separation.

Sword Qi shot forth, spreading outward like a circular mirror.

Then the mirror shattered. Every demon present shattered alongside it under that strike, breaking into countless pieces before finally turning to ash and scattering away.

This included the two Lower Rank Demons.

Even if those two had been strengthened, in Shimizu’s current eyes, Lower Rank Demons were not much different from ordinary demons. One move was enough to kill them.

Upper Ranks might withstand a few attacks, and among all the Upper Rank Demons, the only one worthy of Shimizu’s serious attention was likely Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

As for Muzan, Shimizu would have to go all out.

Looking at the lotus pond that had turned into a Blood Pond and was rapidly filling with drifting ash, Shimizu raised his left hand and pressed the mechanical watch on his right wrist.

Ever since he had learned how to make Summoning Scrolls through Konoha’s sealing techniques, every incarnation Shimizu had in each world had made one of these watches for himself to summon puppets at any time.

A puff of white smoke rose, and a suit of steel armor in pale blue and white appeared.

This was the upgraded Armor Puppet. Its overall design was extremely lightweight, covering only about half of the body.

Its functions were not complicated. It was equivalent to an Exoskeleton battle armor that enhanced his strength, offered a certain degree of defense, and provided auxiliary offensive methods. Limited by its materials, its overall rating was only A-.

Before Perfect Demon Transformation, this armor could increase his strength by nearly half while having almost no negative effect on his agility or speed.

But now, with his physical capabilities greatly enhanced, it could perhaps only grant Shimizu around a ten percent boost.

Still, that was better than nothing, and some of its functions were quite useful. Its only flaw was that it made too much noise, which was why Shimizu had not used it directly when ambushing Muzan earlier.

He stepped forward, and with a thought, instantly teleported away.

Muzan had only just created a massive ball of flesh, intending to decompose the poisons inside his body.

Yet in the next second, countless streams of high-temperature Plasma Sword Qi surged forth like a storm, cutting the flesh ball and his body into pieces.

"Uesugi Shimizu!"

Muzan, bare from the waist up, roared as countless Bone Whips and tentacles burst from his body and lashed toward Shimizu.

He did not know how Shimizu had appeared here, but he knew the poison inside his body had not yet been fully decomposed.

For now, he could only divert part of his strength to block and suppress the poison, lest he truly be turned back into a human.

Doing so would cause his strength to steadily weaken, but that was still better than becoming human and losing his power outright!

As long as he could kill this human, there was still time!

Shimizu dodged Muzan’s attacks as if taking a leisurely stroll. His armor clattered as several openings unfolded, firing Space Kunai in every direction.

At the same time, streaks of white light lit up along the armor’s patterned lines, scorching Muzan’s skin.

Moreover, Muzan’s body contained an Aging Toxin developed by Tamayo specifically to target Muzan’s cells, continuously draining his vitality.

Every minute, the vitality Muzan lost was enough to age a normal person by fifty years.

This could continuously weaken Muzan’s speed, strength, and regenerative ability.