Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

[Seiji's POV]

Muzan Kibutsuji ran.

He actually fucking ran.

How hilarious was that?

"Don't let him get away!!!" I screamed and all of us shot out after him. We were like sharks smelling blood in the water.

It was a cowardly move but who were we to judge when we were jumping him? There was no honor in a war and retreating now was his best option.

He could come at us again, more prepared and with the Upper Moons by his side. He had nothing to gain when he entertained our desire to fight. He was not entitled to it. Muzan Kibutsuji was smart but he was never an actual warrior in the first place. He was a king at best.

It was not like I did not expect him to run either. I knew he did the same thing with Yoriichi and running again was not out of the option for him.

Among the Hashira, Tengen and I were the fastest. While I used Sun Breathing, Tengen was able to match my speed so we were the first one to catch up to the Demon King.

"Running away again? This is getting dull!!" Tengen exclaimed and swung his blade to which Muzan ducked before he returned an attack.

Tengen lept into the air, dodging the attack but he also fell behind.

"You are not getting away Muzan, I wouldn't allow it," I said softly before I burst into a chain of perfectly timed action. My attack took into account everything around us, not just what was but what would be.

"Sun Breathing : Eleventh Form," My movement was swift, I did not even look forward as I knew beforehand exactly where we would be at the speed we were going.

My eyes were locked on the three remaining brains and five hearts of Muzan.

"You're getting careless!!" Muzan yelled suddenly and his feet sunk to the ground. In the very next moment, a mass of spiky flesh emerged in front of me and before I knew it, my legs were torn off.

At least, that's what Muzan saw because right after that my body faded away. It was an afterimage.

His eyes widened and his instincts screamed. He had just enough time to see me in the air right above him. His body which was always controlled by multiple brains reacted impossibly quickly.

The same tentacles emerged from his back and pierced through my heart. At least that's what he saw but that's not what really happened. My body faded and it was revealed to be yet another afterimage.

Muzan's eyes gleamed and he looked to his other side just in time to see me slashing at his neck. His tentacles moved fast and strike at me but it was too late. My blade successfully passed through his neck.

...But again that's only what he saw as it was revealed to be an afterimage. My sword never touched his neck.

The same thing happened three more times and each time Muzan was slower and slower to react. By the time my real body attacked him, he had absolutely no way to retaliate. His body did not even react, maybe hoping that I'd be another afterimage.

I was running in front of him and with a swift turn of my hips I turned to face him and I planted my feet on the ground. Muzan blitzed right past me but only a few feet.

His body fell apart as I had cut off all his limbs while he ran past me.

"Fake Rainbow,"

I called out the name of the technique. It allowed me to create seven after images through the manipulation of light and speed. The aim of the technique was the opposite of the saying, 'Never let them see you coming,'

I showed him everything and that ultimately led to the same result. The opponent is utterly ignorant of an attack.

I slid to a stop while Muzan's limbless body bounced and rolled on the frozen earth.

"Like I said, you are not getting away Muzan," I said and a few seconds later, everyone else had caught up.

We surrounded the Demon King, leaving no room to escape.

He slowly regenerated new limbs under our steady eyes. His regeneration was slow, to the point that he was barely healing at the rate of ordinary demons.

"Your Sun breathing might not be as overwhelming as Yoriichi was but you sure do know how to exploit its tricks better," Muzan admitted.

We did not attack him while he was healing because the gaping jaw in his abdomen was open, ready to release yet another wave of shockwave. We were all wary, unsure of what it would do to us if we took a hit from that again.

He won't escape us. Muzan managed to escape Yoriichi because he was but one man. But now with the five of us, I was sure that he wouldn't escape.

I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Was this it? Was this the end of my journey?

Would today finally be the day when good triumphs over evil?

"I don't want to do this but I guess you left me no choice," Muzan suddenly said and burst into speed.

He chose a direction where he wanted to run and as it so happened, he ran straight to Rengoku. He easily blitzed past the Flame Hashira but not out of his own ability.

Rengoku let him pass him.

"Flame Breathing : Esoteric Art!!" Rengoku roared and he burst into speed, faster than even Muzan's own.

Normally, Rengoku could not hold a candle to Muzan in terms of speed but if it was a sudden burst where Rengoku used everything he had, then he could outspeed Muzan who was only running away.

"Rengoku!!!"

The Flame Hashira was but a road of orange flames. He shot out like a laser beam, razing the earth with the force of his steps and heat. He left a small river in his wake.

Even I was left a little speechless. He was so much stronger than when he fought Akaza in the manga. And this time, he even had his own Demon Slayer mark to boost his power.

The fire around him soon formed the image of an eastern dragon and he blasted past Muzan. His blade easily tore through the flesh of the Demon Lord. Maybe it was luck or perhaps instinct, but Rengoku sliced two hearts.

For the second time, Muzan fell to the ground. His body was dismembered by the sheer force of Rengoku. It was not a clean cut like mine, more like his body was violently ripped apart by a firestorm.

We were about to jump at him again but finally, the giant maw on his abdomen released a shockwave that stopped us in our tracks. The earth caved in and cracked like brittle glass while we felt the force spread through our bodies.

It was a violent vibration that rattled my muscles, organs and bones. Luckily it was not a direct hit so we were fine, it only managed to slow us down.

Our moment of disorientation was short. Muzan regenerated from his upper body, leaving parts of his body as he ran again.

We were about to follow his tail once more but all of us were collectively stopped when we heard a strange sound from Rengoku.

They heard the sound of a demon but I froze because I saw that Rengoku stopped all movement. His muscles became rigid like cement and that made me pause.

That was now how the human body was supposed to work.

"...What?" Everyone looked at Rengoku and that was when we noticed an injury he sustained from the Demon King.

A finger.

A finger was jabbed right in Rengoku's neck. No, when I looked closely I could see that the finger stabbed right at his main arteries, like a syringe injection.

I think my heart fell to my stomach when I looked at the finger. It was Muzan's finger but unlike every other body part that had been cut off, the finger was without a drop of blood. It was pale and wrinkly.

..

..

!!!!!!!!

I think time stopped for every one of us at that moment. The fleeing Muzan had completely been erased from our thoughts as we watched Rengoku's eyes turn demonic, taking the shape of a demon.

No...

"NOOOO!!!!!!"

There was a demonic grin on a face that once housed the brightest smile. The eyes that always shone with righteousness burned with evil bloodlust.

A demon's claw tore off the haori that boldly declared, 'The Flame Pillar'

The purest soul was corrupted.

"RAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

The demon who was once my best friend released a beastly growl, like a wild animal, and it lunged at me with frightening speed.

Time stopped for me.

I did nothing.

At that moment, something in me just died.

..

..

..

[IMAGE]

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Author : 1000 stones for next chapter. We might ens there or I might do another one.