To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

84 • The Countdown to Dawn

"Inori, are you alright?" Muichiro lifted the rubble off his back. He held out his hand, pulling the girl under him to stand.

"Yes. Thank you." Inori looked around, feeling a different kind of dread washing over her. "We're outside...the sky is still dark...but this is...a city." It was a battle of power between Muzan and Yushiro-kun...the fact that he was able to bring us to the surface is nothing short of amazing. The kakushi can take care of the civilians...how much longer until dawn? Where is Muzan?

"Caw! One and a half hours until dawn! One and a half hours until dawn!"

"That long?" Inori and Muichiro looked at each other, despair written all over their faces as sweat trickled down their temples.

A pile of rubble suddenly got blasted back, and in the middle, stood Muzan in all his glory. Nine flesh whips with sharp edges sprouted from his back, swinging menacingly. "So, you plan on keeping me here until dawn, huh?" The flesh whips slammed onto the ground before extending, swinging in every direction.

"Try it if you can!"

Inori and Muichiro dashed forward, weaving through the whips and closer to Muzan. Obanai, Mitsuri, Kyojuro, and Giyu were right at their heels. The six of them unleashed their attacks in tandem.

Serpent Breathing: Third Form: Coil Choke

Hinokami Kagura: Dance

Flame Breathing: Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation

Love Breathing: Second Form: Love Pangs

Water Breathing: Eight Form: Waterfall Basin

Mist Breathing: Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist

The sword is going through his flesh. Obanai observed as his sword cut through Muzan's neck. He may not die even if we cut his head off. But if we can effectively slice him up to pieces, we can weaken him just a bit—huh?!

What a monster! Inori watched as their blades cut through Muzan's flesh, widening her eyes when not a single drop of blood or scratch was left behind. Are you kidding me? Even if he can't die from decapitation, shouldn't we at least be able to slice him up and stall for even a second?

"Eh?" Mitsuri couldn't contain her shock. "What? We cut him! We cut him, but he's not getting cut!"

"No! We cut him! That's for sure." Kyojuro gritted his teeth, continuing to swing his sword. "But this monster's regenerating the moment we cut him!"

Are you joking? Muichiro gripped his sword tighter. He won't die even if we cut his head off. He regenerates so fast that it's impossible for us to cut him up. Moreover, there's still over an hour until dawn.

Shit! We're too close. Inori jumped back, but deep down she knew it was too late. But faster than she could see, her body was being pushed back by blurs of black. It took her a second to realize that numerous lower-ranked slayers had just dived between the pillars and Muzan, shielding the pillars at the cost of their own lives.

She held onto the mutilated body of a soldier whose name she didn't even know, eyes wide in a mixture of shock and fear.

"Go! Charge! Get in front of them!"

"Become human shields for the pillars! Protect the pillars at all costs!"

"Prioritize the lives of the pillars!"

"At the very least, we must protect the swordsmen who can stand against Muzan!"

"Don't back out now! We were saved countless times by the pillars! We owe them our lives!"