The man's eyes gleamed like crimson higanbana flowers, radiant and captivating. His every word and gesture exuded an elegance that bore no trace of demonic nature.
Yet this seemingly ordinary man exerted an unprecedented pressure on Ren. Within his human-like frame surged boundless power, as if a legion of demons had descended, ravenous to devour everything around them.
With a single glance, Ren knew this was the progenitor of all demons, Muzan Kibutsuji. Such terrifying oppression he'd only ever felt from his master, Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The woman beside the man turned her gaze toward Ren. Unlike Muzan's dismissive stare, which regarded Ren as a mere fly, her eyes held a profound sadness, as if she were looking at someone doomed to die, her sorrow born of that inevitability.
But Ren ignored her completely. Compared to the man beside her, her demonic aura was utterly insignificant.
Taking a deep breath, Ren vanished from his spot. In the same instant, his breathing fueled his Nichirin Blade, slashing toward the man's neck.
"Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"
Facing the attack from above, the man didn't even look up. With a casual flick of his palm, his hand morphed into a whip-like tendril, so swift it was nearly invisible, tearing through the air with unstoppable force.
Ren's pupils contracted. He altered his sword's trajectory, slashing downward. The fiery impact allowed him to shift his body mid-air, sending him tumbling backward.
*Crack! Crash!*
Trees around them collapsed, sliced cleanly as if by an invisible blade.
Such terrifying power, yet Ren's eyes held no trace of fear.
"Such immense strength—worthy of the Demon King. If I kill you, all demons will vanish, won't they?"
The man's face remained expressionless, neither confirming nor denying.
Ren inhaled deeply, his expression graver than ever. Muzan's earlier attack was horrifying; a single graze could have killed him instantly.
He knew he had to give everything, even if it meant pushing his body beyond its limits.
In that moment of resolve, a scar like a burn mark appeared on his forehead, unnoticed by him but caught by the man's eye.
"A swordsman with a mark? Another one, huh," Muzan said, a faint smirk curling his lips, laced with contempt.
"Muzan!"
Ren's focus sharpened to an unparalleled degree. Somehow, his body felt lighter, his breathing smoother than ever. Countless whip-like strikes lashed from all directions, but to Ren, they seemed sluggish, almost slow.
He saw it!
He saw that this fearsome man possessed five brains and seven hearts!
What a monstrous body. Despite slaying countless demons, Ren felt a chill run through him at the sight.
Closing in on Muzan, Ren danced through attacks that could end his life with a single misstep. He was a performer on a knife's edge, evading death time and again, until he finally stood before Muzan.
"Muzan!"
His Nichirin Blade glowed scorching red. A heavy breath escaped Ren's lips, his eyes blazing crimson, the flames within them fierce enough to burn the world.
In that moment, the world fell silent. His heart found an eerie calm.
He wondered: if everyone was born with a purpose, was his to slay the man before him?
All twelve forms of Sun Breathing unleashed in a single second, striking Muzan's head, hearts, and brains.
It happened in an instant. As the flames faded, Muzan's body was riddled with wounds, his arms and legs severed.
Muzan's expression flickered with shock, as if he couldn't comprehend what had occurred.
He, struck by this swordsman?
He, wounded by a mere insect?
Shock gave way to seething rage.
A suppressed volcano was about to erupt, ready to obliterate everything in its path.
Muzan's wounds began to heal, his severed limbs regenerating. But in the next moment, the extinguished flames reignited, as if to mirror an unyielding wildfire.
The twelve forms struck again, tearing Muzan's body apart once more.
Muzan's face twisted with fury, his focus forcing his arms to regenerate first. One hand shot out, seizing Ren's throat.
Ren spat a gush of blood. In the same instant, Muzan's newly reformed arm was severed again.
Familiar pain surged through Muzan, driving him to the edge of madness. This human, weak as a fly in his eyes, had, through relentless strikes, made him—a titan—feel threatened.
More shocking still, Muzan realized his severed limbs weren't regenerating immediately.
Enduring excruciating pain, Ren locked eyes with the man. He didn't attack instantly, sensing Muzan's body had reached its limit.
In that moment, images flooded his mind: families torn apart by demons, the boy from earlier carrying his brother through the night, his own struggles with Chitoshi before joining the Corps, and finally, the calm gaze of his master, Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
"What do you take life for?" Ren demanded.
Muzan didn't answer. His face contorted, teeth gritted in rage, veins bulging across his body, a cross of veins throbbing on his forehead.
*Swish!*
Two thorn-like tendrils pierced Ren's arms, blood trickling down his sleeves.
Muzan sneered darkly. "You didn't think you could kill me like this, did you, brat?"
Ren clenched his teeth, enduring the agony in his arms, and swung his blade again. The tendrils grated against his flesh, each movement a piercing torment.
But in the next moment, Muzan Kibutsuji, the progenitor of demons, exploded into over eighteen hundred fragments of flesh, scattering in all directions.
Ren, too weak to swing again, could only watch the fragments disperse.
Then, hurried footsteps echoed from the distance.
"Master!" Ren cried hoarsely, "Don't let him escape!"
Yoriichi said nothing, his blade flashing relentlessly.
Though his movements were swift, a small portion of the fragments slipped away, burrowing into the ground and vanishing.
Ren stood frozen, stunned.
His lips trembled, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He hadn't killed Muzan Kibutsuji. Muzan had escaped…