Upwards Towards the Stars
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Breath of the Rifleman! The real fight is starting now as our heroes stand ready to confront Muzan Kibutsuji himself! And as always I'd like to give the usual shout out to LoneTaker, groche9655, and Noble Eight for their contributions to this story. Now then, with no huge review questions to answer this week, let's dive on in!
The Infinite Fortress
So, here he was at last. After years of training, fighting through countless demons, more training and even the slaying and/or defeat of a few Lower and Upper Moons, Subaru and his group of slayers, save for Mukago who elected to stay behind and help Izayoi with his task, were now finally confronting Muzan. The demon lord had altered his body since the last time he saw him, taking on a positively alien appearance now. He had black skin on his arms and the entirety of his lower body and his hair had turned white. What was more disturbing was the presence of numerous mouths on his arms and legs filled to the brim with pointy, razor sharp teeth.
But there was no mistaking his face, the same face he'd seen that day in Asakusa when he and Tanjiro stumbled upon him. This was the bastard responsible for his and countless other tragedies. That's why the Matagi steeled his nerves and calmed the trembling in his body, focusing everything on the task at hand. "You're all so annoyingly….persistent," said Muzan. Subaru moved more on instinct than anything then as the floor and surrounding walls were suddenly sliced up.
"Shit," exclaimed Obanai as he managed to pull Ozaki out of the way in time while Jinora and Mitsuri also leapt away.
"Why are you all so persistent," Questioned Muzan as he directed his next attack towards Subaru who just barely avoided it with the aid of Willow's Windpath.
"Try this," said Mitsuri as she came up on his left side, "Breath of Love Sixth Form: Kitty Paw Love Breeze!" She unleashed numerous slashes against Muzan while still in midair, feeling the impact of her blade cutting into flesh. 'That was a direct hit,' thought the Love Pillar triumphantly until she noticed something, he didn't look hurt in the slightest, 'what, no effect at all!' Muzan seemed bored as he struck back at the shocked Mitsuri who raised her sword to block the attack.
"Breath of Thunder Second Form," said Jinora as she moved in front of Mitsuri, "Rice Spirit!" She countered the attack with five quick slashes, but the force was still enough to send her flying back into Kanroji as the two crashed a short distance away.
"Breath of the Serpent Third Form," said Obanai and Ozaki at the same time, "Coil Choke!" Muzan retaliated with his own attack again which Subaru could now barely see appeared to be some type of tendrils as their sharpened points sparked against the slayer's blades. They struck with all of their might but it wasn't enough to keep themselves from getting overpowered by Muzan's own overwhelming force as they too were sent back into the walls. Subaru fired his rifle as fast as possible the moment there was a lull in the demon lord's attacks. But much like Mitsuri's earlier attack, Subaru's didn't seem to have much effect despite impacting against Muzan's body.
"Breath of the Rifleman Fourth Form," said Subaru as he quickly reloaded his weapon and took his stance, "Mountain Stride!" The floor buckled under the force of his charge as the Matagi practically flew towards his opponent, bayonet aimed right for his heart. He got a good look at Muzan's morphed arms then as his weapon clanged against them with a resounding noise that filled the room. They were like flesh branches protruding spikes and teeth, all of which were sharp as swords and clearly designed for one purpose: death dealing.
And Subaru felt every bit of of that intent as Muzan pushed back with all of his strength, propelling the Matagi back through the entrance where he hit the floor and rolled several feet. It was a miracle his rifle landed so close to him as Subaru struggled to get up, gasping for air from the impact which had knocked some of the breath out of his lungs. Obanai and Jinora landed nearby, followed shortly after by the others. "Genjiro, you alright," questioned Jinora, "we need all hands on deck here."
"I'll live," coughed Subaru as he got back to his feet, "I didn't make it this far just to die to something so simple."
"Then why not something like this," said Muzan as he landed at the entrance to the room. In the next instant, the entire hallway was getting sliced to pieces with the cause of the destruction rapidly approaching them.
"FALL BACK!" Ordered Obanai. The group didn't need to be told twice as they quickly retreated further down the hallway. "We can't fight him in a confined space like that, we need more room."
"There was plenty of room to flip around back at the entrance where Izayoi was-EEEEPPP!" Mitsuri felt half of her haori get shredded from one of the tendrils as she picked up the pace slightly.
"The problem is gonna be getting there before we get sliced up!" exclaimed Ozaki as the group picked up the pace even more.
"Izayoi!" Called Subaru as they spotted the shinobi at the entrance, "best drop whatever you're doing and get out of here, Muzan's right behind us!"
"Then I leave you with these parting words, Subaru Genjiro," said Izayoi as he pointed at something on the wall in front of him, "This panel right here." The ninja moved out of sight then as the slayers all jumped out of the hallway, just barely avoiding its destruction by Muzan's attacks.
"Oh come on!" Seethed Ozaki as she noted her haori and much of her uniform top had been torn off in the back, "yet another mission where I run around in my underwear in front of Genjiro. Fan-fucking-tastic!"
"As much as I'd love to hear your 'I told you so' rant," said Jinora as the group took up fighting stances, "we can't really afford to get distracted right now."
"You still want to stand against me after seeing such a display," said Muzan as he now stood at the entrance of the destroyed hallway, his arms morphed back to somewhat normal for the moment, "it's honestly annoying, boring, and sickening how persistent you all are. And it's the same thing with every one of you, spouting that same dumb notion about avenging your parents, children or siblings. You all have survived multiple deadly situations, so why go seeking out more? The fact that you live should be enough."
"It hasn't been enough for you, dipshit," spat Jinora, "nor any of your wretched creations."
"My creating other demons was a means to an end," said Muzan, "as for the slaughtering of your friends and family, you really shouldn't have a problem with that. I am far beyond a simple human, so you should consider yourselves lucky for surviving my wrath up to this point. There's no real reason for you to continue this futile fight against me, because I am a force of nature, a calamity if you will. Dying by my hand is the same as dying to a typhoon, a volcano, an earthquake, or any other type of natural disaster. You can't get revenge on one of those no matter how many lives it takes away."
"So instead of fussing over the issue of lives that you can never bring back, just go back to living the way you were. Most everyone else lives that way, quietly while earning their daily wages, and those who don't are typically considered deviants. And that's what the Demon Slayers are, an assembly of deviants, and much like the rest of society I grow tired of dealing with deviants. I'm the one who really wants this all to end, so if you all surrender now and give up everything you know about the Demon Slayer Corps, I might grant you the honor of becoming a demon alongside me or at least let you all live. I guarantee you that is a far better offer than anything the Ubuyashikis can offer you."
There was silence for several moments as no one was quite sure how to react at first. And then, the silence was broken by a light chuckle. It grew and grew until it became an almost manic laugh as Subaru was close to gripping his sides from the amount of laughing he was doing. Naturally everyone looked at him like he'd lost his mind for a moment before the Matagi finally settled down.
"Wow," Subaru finally spoke as he wiped a tear from his eye, "I knew you were egotistical, but even I hadn't realized how far in another dimension your arrogance is. A thousand years you've had to understand your situation and all you've accomplished is cramming your head so far up your own ass that you can't recognize the smell of your own shit anymore."
"What was that," said Muzan as he narrowed his eyes at the Hunter.
"Just calling it like I see it," said Subaru, "you honestly think we can just 'go back to living the way were'? Let me break down the issue for you, a whole lot of us want to spend our days in peace, just living quietly and earning our daily wages. I'm a Matagi so my days are spent hunting on a mountain and my dream was to marry the girl of the family who'd I'd spent countless wonderful days with. You wanna know why I can't do that, because some egotistical demonic piece of shit decided to stop by their home one day and slaughter all of them save for the woman I love because he turned her into a demon."
Subaru's grip on his rifle tightened significantly, his demon mark appearing as he continued speaking. "My story is the same as many other slayers, we're all here right now because we can't go back to living the way we were, we can't just live quietly and earn our daily wages when we know a bastard like you and the monsters you produce are roaming the land causing others to suffer like us. And as for that calamity bullshit, don't make me laugh, only three demons have ever held the title of 'calamity' and two out of three of them are dead! And if they can die, you sure as shit can too because I guarantee you no typhoon or volcano ever feared the sun like your cowardly dickless self does, so if you really want to do us all a favor, eat shit and die so the rest of us can finally live in peace!"
The Matagi was certain he hit a nerve the way Muzan's eyes narrowed and veins appeared on his forehead. He was quick to form his now signature bladed tendrils and obviously directed his next attack towards Subaru before anyone else could react, or so he thought until another figure dropped down. "Breath of Water Eleventh Form: Dead Calm," said Giyuu as he held off the attack with the incredible speed of his own blade work even despite the strain such an attack was putting on his already battered body. "Well said, Subaru Genjiro, I doubt Tanjiro has anything to add to that."
"Hinokami Kagura," said Tanjiro as he also dropped down from above, "Beneficient Radiance!" Muzan reacted quickly, whipping his tendrils around in quick succession to deflect the flaming slash that surrounded him as Tanjiro landed and leapt back to join the others. "Is everyone alright?"
"I should be asking you two that," said Obanai, "you both look like shit. And Giyuu, how did you wind up breaking off part of your sword?" It was true, both Tanjiro and Tomioka looked like they'd been beaten bloody and their haoris were torn and dirtied. Tanjiro even had some bandages wrapped around his head.
"Upper Moon 3 was a difficult opponent," said Giyuu in his usual neutral tone, "but we're both fully capable of fighting right now, so keep your focus on Muzan."
"You really think you can kill me with just three Hashira and some slightly above average slayers," seethed Muzan, "THINK AGAIN!" His attack was even more erratic this time as he intended to tear all of them to shreds. The group scattered out of the way of his initial assault with a few blocking the deadly bladed limbs while the rest dodged them as best as they could. It took no time at all for the area in front of him to be torn to shreds as the demon lord's eyes wandered about the large space, picking and choosing which slayers he wanted to focus on killing first.
Naturally he wanted to end the life of the Kamado brat as soon as possible, but the Matagi had admittedly pissed him off to a surprising degree by daring to insinuate his understanding of the world was inferior to his, and the mentioning of the three calamities. 'How would that brat even know about the Three Calamities,' thought Kibutsuji in annoyance with the faces of Tamamo, Otakemaru and Shuten Doji appearing in his mind as he continued tearing up the area in pursuit of his many enemies, 'don't tell me, that's the one Shuten Doji thinks has the same potential as Raikkou?!' This possibility only served to enrage the demon lord further as he spread his attack out even more, waiting to see who would be foolish enough to try and get within striking range with their sword.
"Everyone," announced Subaru, "help me push him back just a bit, I got an idea!"
"It had better be good," said Obanai as he leapt over a tendril which nearly sliced his leg off.
"It's the first idea we've had as far as I know," said Tanjiro, "what do we need to do Subaru?"
"First hit him with every defensive technique we've got," said Subaru, "and once we got an opening, I'll take the shot." He started this particular plan by actually moving closer to Muzan before setting up to twirl his rifle. "Bayonet Dance!" Tanjiro, Jinora, and Giyuu followed quickly after with their own techniques.
"Hinokami Kagura: Bone Burning Sun, Rice Spirit, Dead Calm," said the other slayers as they all unleashed their own techniques to deflect Muzan's tendrils.
"Now everyone else, push him back," called Subaru as he continued to ward off attacks with the twirling of his rifle. Ozaki, Mitsuri and Iguro took on this task.
"Slithering Serpent, Love Pangs," said the two breath of the serpent wielders as they slithered their blades around in multiple directions against the tendrils while the Love Pillar used her own technique of unleashing whip slashes around her body to get closer. "I don't know why my attack had no effect earlier," said Kanroji as she got within striking distance of their foe, "but maybe this'll work better!" She lashed out with a powerful sidekick, putting all of her strength into it. Muzan actually looked mildly surprised that she went with this form of attack as he slid a short distance back towards the entrance where he'd been a minute ago.
"How brilliant," said Muzan, "you managed to annoy me even more, so now what do you plan on doing?"
"What any good hunter does, I'm springing a trap!" Replied Subaru as he took a split second to aim and fire at the spot on the mostly destroyed wall that Izayoi had been working on. Kibutsuji's eyes widened upon hearing the sound of the bullet impacting against something metallic. Half a second later, an explosion engulfed the demon lord as the other slayers leapt back, most in mild surprise.
"A bit more advanced warning before setting something like that off," said Jinora as she tore off the remainder of her sleeves which had taken a little shrapnel and brushed some embers off her uniform. She knew they wouldn't actually burn the uniform, but getting burns on her skin would not help her in the fight at this point.
"I couldn't exactly give out all the details with him right there," Subaru pointed out, "and I trusted everyone had good enough reflexes to move out of the way in time."
"I mean I figured you'd make some sort of explosion," said Tanjiro, "I just didn't know you'd set one up there."
"He didn't, it was that Izayoi guy," commented Ozaki as she ditched her partially smoking uniform top, "and I think he underestimated how much he used there." Any further comments were halted then as Muzan suddenly burst from the pile of rubble he'd been buried under, his body burned and missing chunks that were quickly being replaced with new skin thanks to his regenerative powers.
"It appears he might not have used enough," commented Giyuu of all people, "but it's clear now, bringing him out into the sun is the only thing that will kill him. So our priority from this point on will be stalling him."
"You must really think you're all so clever," scoffed Muzan as his face and body continued to reform, "sunlight will not reach into this fortress, even if you fight me all day. I don't know how so many of you got past Nakime, but it's clear she still lives."
"Indeed she does," said an unfamiliar voice within Kibutsuji's mind, "but she is not under your control, because I am manipulating her vision." The floor and the rest of the fortress began shaking then as everyone moved to keep their footing.
"Who are you?" Questioned Muzan in both anger and confusion.
"I'm someone else who lost the love of their life because of you," said Yushiro from his location where Nakime was at, "you committed the gravest of sins against me by taking Lady Tamayo. Now you will kneel in regret, Muzan Kibutsuji, and the light of the sun shall be your death sentence!" The Infinite Fortress began greatly reshaping itself then as the room they were in and all the nearby ones became large pillars made of doors, windows and walls.
"Everyone stay close!" Ordered Obanai as the platforms began moving and shifting with the ones they were on starting to move upwards.
"I think he's trying to force us above ground," said Tanjiro. As he said this, though, some of the pillars crashed into each other or changed direction.
"I think Muzan knows it too," said Jinora while struggling to stand with everyone else, "I thought his control over her was severed."
"It seems whatever you did to fool Kibutsuji's senses left some connection," said Giyuu, quickly understanding the situation, "if he's trying to reestablish control, we won't be able to get him above ground."
"Well we can't let him do that!" Exclaimed Mitsuri as she managed to charge forward awkwardly, "let's hit 'em while he can't move!" She whipped her sword towards their adversary, a bit more clumsily than usual and managed to strike his body. It didn't do a lot of damage but it did succeed in gaining his very enraged attention.
"She's got the right idea," said Obanai as he and Giyuu leapt in, "even if it's only for a moment, disrupt his focus!" He and Giyuu attacked then with Winding Serpent Slash and Striking Tide. These were attacks Muzan couldn't ignore as he produced his tendrils once again to ward off the two slayers. Meanwhile, Subaru took the opportunity to readjust and take a prone position, aiming above Muzan to compensate for the movement of the platform they were on.
Thanks to both Willow's Windpath and his demon mark, Subaru was able to find an opening with his enhanced perception and fired, nailing Muzan in the eye with his shot. "You damn pests!" Exclaimed the Demon Lord as he spread out the range of his attack and even started using his remaining influence on Nakime to open some doors in the floors. Subaru was forced to roll out of the way while everyone else either jumped to safety or had to grab onto the edges of the newly opened holes.
This made it even harder for them to evade Muzan's attacks as Subaru got nicked on his shoulder and Tanjiro took a cut to his face. Kanroji nearly got struck in the neck if not for Tanjiro quickly throwing the sword of a fallen Corps member into Kibutsuji's head. "Rawk, Nakime is dying," squawked a lone Kasugai crow with one of Yushiro's tags, "heading to the surface now!"
"I think that means we'd all better HOLD ON!" Yelled Ozaki as they all looked up to see what appeared to be the ceiling of the fortress rapidly approaching them. 'This is gonna hurt,' was the collective thought on everyone's head as they scrambled to reach a more sheltered place on the rising pillar. It slammed into the ceiling then, shattering as all of its occupants were thrown into the air to one degree or another.
They were at an emergence point now, and all of them were in varying degrees of consciousness. "Subaru," said Momiji in his mind, "Subaru, are you alright?"
"Define, alright," groaned the Matagi as his eyes fluttered open. He didn't know how long he'd been groggy after the impact, but he was certain it was longer than he wanted to be. "I'm seeing stars up there, did we make it out?"
"You might have taken a good knock or two on the head, but those are real stars up there," said Momiji, "we made it out of the fortress. But I think we might have another problem."
"You mean Muzan isn't a big enough problem already?" Grunted Subaru as he slowly got to his feet and took note of where they were. "Ah crap, this is Asakusa isn't it?"
"Guess it's only fitting you guys finish this in the same place where you ran into Muzan the first time," commented Momiji, "though the fighting in the city part isn't the problem I was referring too." Before Subaru could ask what she meant, a figure burst from the rubble, its head stretching towards the Rifleman with teeth bared.
"Shit," exclaimed the Matagi as he quickly drew and fired his Webley, embedding the bullet in the demon's head as it reacted to the pain before quickly dying from the wisteria poison. "That was one of the guard demons Muzan had in the fortress. Are they not all dead?" His answer came in the form of another demon, this one having eyes on its hands instead of its face, bursting out of the rubble to reach for the slayer.
As Subaru was about to shoot it, a black blade severed its head from its body. "Subaru, are you alright?!" Said a worried Tanjiro, his breathing a bit labored from recent events.
"I'm good enough to keep going," replied the Hunter as he holstered his sidearm and pulled his Jager Custom Rifle out of the rubble, giving it a quick once over to ensure it was still functioning. "How about everyone else? We should have at least a few survivors."
"I can distinguish everyone else's scents among all this rubble," replied Tanjiro, "though with such a foul demonic stench in the air I can't say for sure what their condition is." Subaru was about to make a suggestion for that when the sound of more rubble shifting out of the way caught their attention.
"We'd best find everyone else and Muzan fast then," said the Matagi as several guard demons emerged from the rubble, "because it looks like he's not the only demon who made it out into the open."
Roof of Nearby Building
"Oh no," said Shuten Doji as he downed some of the contents of his gourd, "Perhaps punching our way out of a collapsing fortress with several demons behind us wasn't the best of ideas. Now this little part of Asakusa might become overrun."
"Weren't we planning on getting this place overrun anyway," Ibaraki pointed out as she pulled out a piece of intestine from the body of another dead slayer with chopsticks, "I recall something about you giving the cat gang a call."
"Oh yes," said Shuten before taking another swig and turning to a small bird demon, "tell Hizuki and the gang to have a ball." The demon nodded before letting out a shriek. It was answered by the sound of several female humanoid cat demons who started up their stolen motorcycles and began speeding into the area where the slayers had emerged, cheering the entire way. "And now," said Shuten as he held up a captured Kasugai Crow with an eye tag, "I hope you're all watching because for one night only, we bring you the struggle against Muzan!"
Back At the Emergence Point
"Rawk, an hour and a half 'til sunrise," said one of the Kasugai Crows with an eye tag, "an hour and a half 'til sunrise!"
"Seriously," exclaimed Mitsuri as she popped out of the wreckage, "that's a really long time!"
"No kidding," said Obanai, secretly relieved that Kanroji was alright, "but even so we can't waste a minute. Giyuu, do you have any idea where Muzan could be right now?"
"I'm still getting my bearings," said Giyuu, "but he can't have gotten very far."
"Very astute," said a voice that chilled them all to the bone. In the next moment, the main pile of rubble exploded, or rather was being whipped away by the demon lord as he was revealed to now have eight extra tendrils protruding from his back. "As for keeping me here until sunrise, I'd like to see you try!" The next stage of their struggle against Kibutsuji, had now begun.
It's a real battle now as Muzan's been drug out into the open air, but he's far from done and the presence of several more demons is gonna make things that much more complicated. It's gonna be a big mess, but in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as the slayers try desperately to organize a response to the growing stakes! 'Til then.