bioinnovel Chapter 381 [3 Chapters Combined into 1] The Great Sage Subdues the Demon
Chapter 381 [3 Chapters Combined into 1] The Great Sage Subdues the Demon
Unfortunately……
It's true that Muzan could forcibly "silence" Tamayo by covering her mouth.
However, just as Muzan was able to rely on his status as the progenitor of demon kings to issue absolute orders to the demons under his command directly through his cells, so too...
Because of Muzan's continuous devouring, Tamayo, whose body is now mostly fused with Muzan, can also use this to invade Muzan's consciousness in return.
That voice, filled with endless mockery and pleasure, pierced directly and clearly into the deepest part of Muzan's consciousness like an invisible needle!
Even more dangerous is the bizarre connection unexpectedly created by the forced fusion of their flesh and soul at this moment…
Unless Muzan separates Tamayo from himself, or completely kills Tamayo and erases her consciousness...
Otherwise, even Muzan wouldn't be able to block such mental communication!
"Oh, so you can be afraid of death too..."
"You...?! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I told you to shut up, didn't you hear me?! Believe me or not, I'll kill you right now!!!"
From other people's perspectives, Muzan had clearly covered Tamayo's mouth tightly, rendering her unable to speak. However, his manic emotions did not subside; instead, he seemed to have completely lost his mind, roaring madly at the speechless Tamayo, trying to suppress the persistent voice in his mind with external volume. This scene appeared both bizarre and ridiculous.
"Then why don't you do it?"
For Tamayo, who harbors a deep-seated hatred, Muzan's current state of disarray is exactly what she has dreamed of for centuries! Therefore, in the face of Muzan's impotent rage, Tamayo not only did not stop, but her voice rang out even more clearly in Muzan's consciousness, carrying a sense of liberation and defiance.
"Come to hell with me, Muzan Kibutsuji! I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Tamayo's remaining body began to struggle violently. She no longer resisted Muzan's corruption; instead, she used the life essence he had forcibly injected into her to sustain her life to condense an abnormal power. A brand new, somewhat ethereal arm painstakingly materialized from the boundary where her flesh and blood had merged with Muzan's!
The next second, fearing that Riley and the Demon Slayer Corps might miss their chance because they were concerned for her life, Tamayo unhesitatingly raised her newly grown arm, pouring all her remaining strength into it in a desperate gamble. She suddenly grabbed Muzan's wrist, which was gripping her neck, and with her last bit of strength, she lowered her head and smashed it against those sharp nails—she was deliberately seeking death!
"You...you bastard—!!! Ah—!!! You deserve to die! You all deserve to die!! Why are you all going against me!! Why—!!!"
This fearless, even death-seeking act was like igniting the final fuse, causing Muzan to completely break down! Like a mad beast driven to the brink, he trembled with rage, gritting his teeth and letting out incomprehensible roars.
Ironically, Muzan had already decided that Tamayo's life was his only chance of survival. Even though he desperately wanted to tear her to pieces, the intense instinct for survival overwhelmed him the moment he saw her actively seeking death! Almost reflexively, he used his overwhelming strength to forcefully break free from Tamayo's desperate pull. At the same time, the hand that had been deeply embedded in Tamayo's neck, ready to end her life at any moment, instinctively recoiled as if electrocuted!
He can't let her die! At least not now!
His arrogant yet obsequious and pathetic demeanor completely exposed his cowardly nature.
The menacing threats from just moments ago have instantly transformed into frantic attempts at "protection."
The mere existence of the other person was crucial to his own slim chance of survival.
Unfortunately...
Muzan made a fatal mistake from the very beginning.
When Muzan, outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly, threatened Tamayo's life in an attempt to grasp at the last straw in this desperate situation, he may have subconsciously still believed that he and Riley were equals, placing himself in a position where he could "negotiate."
He thought that by holding leverage, he could fight for his life.
But they forgot that in the face of true power, so-called bargaining chips are nothing more than dust that can be dissolved in the blink of an eye.
"You don't really think I need your permission to save her, do you?"
As the cold words fell, Riley, who had been standing silently as if observing this farce, finally moved.
He didn't shout angrily, nor did he gather his strength; he simply raised his right hand and pointed lightly in the direction of Muzan and Tamayo.
"Certainly."
There was no incantation chanting, no dazzling light, only a clear and plain syllable uttered from his mouth.
However, this extremely simple word seems to contain the supreme power to make words law.
In an instant, Muzan and Tamayo's figures were forcibly frozen and locked!
Especially Muzan, he was like a sculpture that had suddenly lost all its power, forcibly frozen in his most wretched and insane moment.
Only in those wide-open, crimson pupils remained the madness of the previous moment and... the unbelievable horror that suddenly erupted at this moment!
He can think and perceive, but he has completely lost control of his body!
This absolute, unresistable confinement terrified him more than any direct attack!
This is an absolute crushing victory on a level!
Just like when he was once high and mighty, reprimanding the evil spirits under his command!
In that instant, as the roar of impotent rage ceased, the vast space fell into an eerie silence.
Only the billowing flames of Riley's cloak behind him and the suppressed gasps of shock from the Pillars proved that time had not completely stopped.
"I'm just torn about whether or not to respect Ms. Tamayo's wishes and let her be free..."
Riley walked forward slowly and leisurely, as if strolling in his own backyard.
He walked up to the two people who were completely frozen in place and unable to move.
His gaze softened as he looked at the faintly breathing Tamayo. With a slight nod, he silently promised to give her, who had endured centuries of torment from her conscience, a better ending.
Then he shifted his gaze, his eyes quickly turning cold and disgusted as he focused on Muzan. Each word he uttered was a chilling, soul-crushing statement.
"It now seems that Miss Tamayo can indeed decide her own life and death according to her own wishes."
"But I shouldn't die at the hands of a despicable person like you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Riley flipped his wrist, and a strange talisman with an ancient shape, neither gold nor jade, appeared in his palm.
And looking at the tiger patterns on the surface of the talisman, which are interdependent yet mutually opposing...
What Riley was holding at that moment was the Tiger Talisman, which symbolized the balance of Yin and Yang, but had always been sidelined and never had a chance to be used because of the special nature of its power!
The moment the talisman appeared, the tiger stripes on its surface emitted a soft, mysterious glow under Riley's infusion of magic. It slowly rotated, as if adjusting some invisible balance around it.
Riley didn't even make any extra movements; with just a slight thought, the Tiger Talisman transformed into a stream of light and instantly entered Tamayo's mangled body!
The next second, the power of the Tiger Talisman began to take effect.
A soft white light began to emanate from the boundary where Muzan and Tamayo merged.
Guided by the Tiger Talisman, Tamayo, who was originally forced to be closely connected with Muzan because most of her body had been devoured by Muzan, began to be rapidly "disassembled".
The process is smooth and natural, allowing you to enjoy the silky smoothness without experiencing the slightest pain.
Moreover, during the separation process, the Tiger Talisman's principle of "maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang" also produced a wonderful effect under Riley's deliberate control!
It actually established Tamayo and Muzan as two opposing forces, like yin and yang, with a relationship that was both irreconcilable and intertwined! Thus, in the process of separating the two, based on the principle of "fairness and justice," their powers were integrated into one and then "equally distributed"!
At this moment, Muzan could clearly feel that the immense power within his body, accumulated over countless years and by devouring countless pieces of flesh and blood, was being forcibly diverted in a way that he could neither understand nor stop!
A significant portion of them didn't even bother with any pretense. They left Muzan's body right before his eyes, and with a light touch of Riley's finger, they were infused into Tamayo's new body, which had been visibly reconstructing itself ever since it separated from Muzan's!
"No! My power! Stop!!"
At that moment, Muzan desperately wanted to roar and try to stop the god's biased actions.
Under the control of the immobilization spell, Muzan couldn't even make a sound, let alone struggle or resist.
He could only watch helplessly as his own power was drained away, and as Tamayo's originally weak aura became solid and powerful at an astonishing speed!
This process is not long.
In just a few breaths, as the light faded, Tamayo completely broke free from the abnormal fusion she had been forced to maintain with Muzan, and returned to being an independent individual!
She staggered for a moment, then regained control of her body.
The body that was originally broken has now been restored to its original state.
Furthermore, because it received a large portion of Muzan's original power as a supplement, and because Riley intentionally transferred the potion that could turn demons back into humans during the separation process.
This caused Tamayo's face to no longer be as pale as paper as before, but instead, a few traces of color could be seen to appear.
After a brief period of adjustment and experiencing the changes in herself, Tamayo couldn't help but look up at Riley's imposing and reassuring back. Her eyes, filled with a complex mix of emotions—whether joy or regret—revealed that she had been given a new lease on life when she should have died on the spot.
In contrast, Muzan...
The moment Tamayo was separated, the effect of the immobilization spell was also lifted.
As Muzan lost his external support, his legs went weak due to the massive loss of power and his inner fear and unease, and he collapsed to the ground with a "thud".
Between heavy breaths, Muzan subconsciously raised his head and looked at Riley with eyes filled with fear, resentment, and a hint of confusion.
Riley remained silent, but the golden cudgel in his hand once again radiated boundless divine light!
Ancient runes lit up one by one on the staff, as if drawing upon the power of the celestial sphere. The entire Infinite City began to tremble violently under the suppression of this power, emitting mournful cries of unbearable strain.
Muzan felt the destructive aura locking onto him, a force as overwhelming as the collapse of the entire world, and completely panicked!
"No! No! My God! Spare me! Spare me!"
He no longer cared about the dignity of being the progenitor of demons, and struggled on the ground like a maggot, kowtowing and weeping.
"I was wrong! I know I was wrong! I'm willing to submit! I'm willing to offer everything I have! I can be your most loyal servant! From now on, I will do whatever you want me to do, without any disloyalty! I only beg you to spare my life!"
However, Riley's gaze did not waver in the slightest.
With a mere flick of his wrist, the golden cudgel flew into the sky, rapidly expanding and growing stronger, then, like Mount Tai pressing down, steadily and firmly descended upon Muzan.
Of course, considering the special circumstances of the Infinity Castle and Nakime...
Having already begun considering taking over the Infinity Castle and transforming it into a new secret base under the jurisdiction of the Thirteenth District, Riley was clearly deliberately controlling the scale of his operation. His only plan was to kill Muzan and demolish the existing buildings to prepare for future reconstruction.
Unfortunately, after realizing that his pleas were ineffective, Muzan's emotions instantly shifted from extreme fear to extreme resentment and despair!
"If you don't give me a way to live, you won't have an easy time either!"
He suddenly raised his head, his distorted face filled with frenzied hatred.
"I curse you! I curse you to be forever alone! I curse your family, your friends... everything you cherish! Everyone you care about will die a horrible death, and sooner or later they will all go to hell like me! You hypocritical monster! You cold-blooded...!"
Muzan's words caused a subtle, chilling flicker in Riley's eyes, which had remained calm due to the lack of personal grudges.
Even the symbiote that was always connected to Riley and could most clearly sense Riley's emotional changes couldn't help but mimic a hand behind Riley's back and secretly give Muzan a thumbs up.
Therefore, before Muzan could finish uttering that extremely vicious curse, he didn't have time.
The golden cudgel, which had been slowly descending, seemed to have been touched by some taboo, and its divine light suddenly surged! The speed of its descent increased several times over!
The oppressive feeling that was as indifferent as the way of heaven instantly transformed into a destructive will as fierce as thunder!
"Buzz—!!!"
A terrifying sonic boom swept in all directions, and the space around the rod shattered inch by inch, revealing the chaotic void behind it!
Muzan's vicious curses came to an abrupt halt, replaced by an infinitely magnified image of the staff filling his entire field of vision, and within it a resolute killing intent powerful enough to freeze his soul!
He didn't realize until the very last moment that he had touched the other party's absolute taboo!
But this also caused Muzan, who knew he was doomed to die, to let out a maniacal laugh as if he had finally gotten his revenge.
"Hahaha--!!!"
"boom--!!!!!!!!!"
With its enormous golden cudgel, it crushed down with overwhelming force!
Amidst the earth-shattering roar, Muzan Kibutsuji's body, along with all the traces of his sins over the years, was utterly crushed and annihilated in this furious attack, not even lasting a fraction of a second!
But the power of this angry strike goes far beyond that!
Riley held nothing back; destroying Muzan was just the beginning.
After crushing Muzan, the Golden Cudgel continued its momentum, containing the supreme power to shatter the void, and slammed heavily into the core of the Infinity Castle's foundation!
"Crack... Rumble—!!!"
A more violent and thorough collapse than before has begun!
Countless enormous spatial rifts, centered on the point where the Golden Cudgel landed, spread rapidly like a spider web to every corner of the Infinite City!
Twisted beams and pillars, corridors, palaces...
Everything in the Infinite City is collapsing, disintegrating, and shattering at an alarming rate!
Nakime, who was in close contact with the Infinity Castle, was unable to withstand the power of the Golden Cudgel and vanished into thin air with a sharp, piercing wail!
This other-dimensional prison, constructed with blood demon magic and harboring filth for hundreds of years, was utterly destroyed and erased from its very existence by this furious attack that touched its Achilles' heel! It met its final end!
Only the members of the Demon Slayer Corps, protected by Riley's magic, escaped unharmed from the Infinity Castle and returned to the ruins of the Ubuyashiki mansion.
Thus, the Golden Cudgel completed its mission. As its size rapidly shrank, it transformed into a streak of light and flew back into Riley's ear.
He glanced at the crowd whose faces were a mixture of shock, joy, and tears after witnessing Muzan Kibutsuji's demise. The coldness in his eyes faded completely, and he waved his hand, calling out meaningfully.
"Alright, the trouble here is resolved. I'm getting a little hungry after all this time... You guys shouldn't mind if I come over for a meal, right?"
"Of course, as a reward for getting a free meal, I'll prepare a little 'surprise' for you~"
……
When Riley and the Demon Slayer Corps members, dragging their slightly weary but unusually excited bodies, returned to the familiar Demon Slayer Corps headquarters under the guidance of the bright moonlight, the scene before them made them instantly forget their physical exhaustion.
The headquarters was brightly lit inside and out!
All the team members who remained, the members of "Hidden," and even the women and children in charge of logistics, all gathered inside and outside the gate. A huge crowd of people were there, eagerly waiting.
Clearly, the news of the great victory in the battle against Muzan had already been sent back to the main camp by the loyal Kasugai crows as quickly as possible.
This led to the unprecedented and heartfelt grand welcoming ceremony we are witnessing today.
They held lanterns and torches high in their hands, the flickering flames illuminating faces brimming with irrepressible excitement and anticipation.
The moment they saw the crowd appear, even before the young master Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who was standing at the front, could speak, a fervent and overwhelming cheer erupted from the crowd, soaring into the sky!
"They're here! Look! They're all back!"
"We won... We really defeated the evil spirits! Hahahaha!!!"
"Waaaaah... That's wonderful... From now on, we won't have to worry about being attacked by evil spirits at night anymore... The children can grow up safely... It's so wonderful, waaaah..."
Amidst the cacophony of shouts of ecstasy and cries of excitement, the crowd, as if by unspoken agreement, automatically and swiftly parted to create a straight path.
Tears of joy and almost fanatical, heartfelt reverence glistened on everyone's face.
He bowed deeply, almost at a 90-degree angle, whenever each member of the Demon Slayer Corps, especially each Pillar and Riley, passed by.
We greeted their triumphant heroes with this silent yet sublime ceremony.
Until everyone pushed through the crowd and stood in front of the young lord who had been waiting for a long time.
Although the child tried his best to restrain himself, a choked voice could still be clearly heard in his deliberately calm and clear tone as he bowed and thanked everyone.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work..."
"On behalf of the entire Demon Slayer Corps, I welcome your triumphant return!"
As they spoke, young master Teruya Ubuyashiki, carefully supported by his two white-haired sisters—Hika and Hina—stood at the brightest spot at the entrance to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
Although he tried his best to straighten his small body and maintain the composure and dignity of a lord, his slightly trembling, clenched fists and his eyes, already blurred with tears and sparkling like stars in the firelight, completely revealed the surging excitement and indescribable joy in his heart at that moment.
After he finished speaking, he took several deep breaths to calm himself down.
He then knelt down in a dogeza (a traditional Japanese gesture of worship) and bowed deeply to the returning crowd, especially Riley who was at the front.
Although the young master and Riley had never met before, through the information conveyed by the Kasugai Crow, the young master understood that the Demon Slayer Corps' successful campaign was entirely due to Riley's assistance.
Otherwise, how many of the people standing before him right now would have survived?
My lord simply doesn't dare to even think about it!
"The evil spirits have been vanquished, the darkness has dissipated! Everyone, thank you all for your hard work tonight!"
Thinking of this, even though he tried very hard to restrain himself and show the composure a leader should have, like his father, a hint of sobbing still crept into his voice the moment he opened it.
But more than anything, there was the most sincere gratitude, and a tremendous joy of relief after a heavy burden had been lifted.
"The Demon Slayer Corps... no, the entire world will forever remember your kindness!"
Meanwhile, Riley, who had remained silent throughout, was scrutinizing the child before him. Despite being still young, the child was forced to take over the position of leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, prematurely shouldering heavy responsibilities, and was so sensible that it was heartbreaking.
This touched Riley, who always doted on children, but he simply nodded slightly in response.