Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Theoretically speaking, as long as Muzan stays inside the Infinity Castle, no one from the Demon Slayer Corps will ever be able to find him.

The Infinite City is a second space independent of the outside world.

Unless he actively releases it and absorbs people in, this is a place that humans can never reach.

"Lord Muzan said that he transformed a human from the Demon Slayer Corps, and to prevent him from suffering the same fate as the two uncontrollable demons before him, he chose to bring him into the Infinity Castle for safekeeping."

He glanced at Emiya, whose breathing had become rapid, his eyes filled with doubt.

"Why? You accepted Lord Muzan's blood, yet you are still human!"

Chapter Forty-Five: Desperate Situation

"..."

Emiya did not answer the man's question.

It wasn't because Emiya wanted to keep such a secret to himself, but because he genuinely didn't know why he hadn't turned into a demon.

"Since you are unwilling to tell me, I will know the secret after I devour you."

Just as Muzan devoured Tamayo and learned the effects of the poison in his body, Doma devoured Shinobu Kocho and learned of the extremely terrifying modifications she had made to him.

After a ghost devours a person, you can access all of their memories and extract the information you need from those memories.

"call----!"

The biting cold wind swept mercilessly through the empty corridor.

The battle of the Upper Moon demons does not require the intervention of other demons.

After being rescued by Kokushibo, Nakime disappeared instantly, and the space around her gradually expanded as she left, becoming more suitable for their battle.

Just standing in front of him, Emiya felt an unprecedented pressure, as if he could cut him in two at any moment.

And that is indeed the case!

"clatter----!"

Almost in the blink of an eye, the sound of him landing came from beside Emiya.

A bizarrely strange samurai sword, its eyes gleaming crimson, carrying countless crescent-shaped blades, flashed before Emiya's eyes.

“Puff——!”

Immediately afterwards, the sound of something being pierced resounded loudly.

Blood was spilled across the sky.

A deep, ravine-like knife wound ran from Emiya's forehead, across one eye, to the side of his face, and blood gushed out like a spring.

In an instant, Emiya lost sight of his entire left side.

"Without mastering the Transparent World or activating your Demon Slayer Mark, you were able to dodge such a fatal blow. No wonder Lord Muzan wanted to turn you into a demon even if it was by force."

Kokushibo stroked his blood-stained katana as if recounting something completely ordinary.

As the attack arrived, Emiya's body reacted instinctively, causing him to quickly raise his head and retreat sharply, barely dodging the attack at the cost of one eye.

It should be noted that this was just a casual attack by Kokushibo; he didn't even use any breathing techniques.

At this moment, Emiya's physical condition was already in a very bad state. If it weren't for his strong willpower, Emiya would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

His legs were already half-numb, he was losing too much blood, and he was in excruciating pain. Every single one of these things was tormenting Emiya.

But the enemy he faced was a demon several times stronger than him, capable of easily killing him.

Such a battle is almost a foregone conclusion.

"There's nothing to hesitate about!"

Emiya took a deep breath, and the fang-shaped Nichirin Blade in his hand suddenly disappeared, instantly transforming into a golden Nichirin Blade with lightning-like stripes.

"Interesting. They're clearly not ghosts, yet they possess blood demon magic just like ghosts?"

In this world, apart from Blood Demon Art, there is no other breathing technique that can create things out of thin air, and there are no magicians.

Kokushibo naturally assumed that Emiya's ability to project weapons was some kind of Blood Demon Art.

"Perhaps the transformation wasn't complete?"

As Kokushibo voiced his question, a powerful golden lightning bolt rose from Emiya's body.

"laugh----!"

Emiya Shirou shot out like an arrow, the shimmering golden lightning on his body flowing like fluid, resembling a dazzling golden spear, tearing apart the air wherever he went. Like lightning, he swept towards Kokushibo's direction.

A fierce glint flashed in Kokushibo's eyes. Without any mercy, he raised the extremely strange samurai sword in his hand, bringing with it a powerful, oppressive gust of wind that made one's heart clench, and slashed fiercely at Emiya.

"Breath of the Moon, First Form: Dark Moon, Palace of the Night"

This is an Iaijutsu slash so fast that the blade is invisible; the entire slash trajectory is filled with various crescent-shaped blades.

If he were to be struck by this blow, Emiya would undoubtedly die.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Emiya was unable to find any way to counter Kokushibo.

After all, the difference between the being who attacked Emiya Shirou and him was simply too great.

Unless Shirou Emiya can project Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, he is absolutely incapable of matching Kokushibo at this stage.

Even if Emiya reacted in time and decided to block such a terrifying slash, he would likely be cut in half along with his Nichirin Blade.

This is the extreme difference between them and the Upper Moon Demons!

"Buzz!"

In the instant that Kokushibo unleashed his furious swing, Shirou's body moved forward instead of backward. He did not choose to dodge to the side, nor did he choose to raise his sword to counterattack. As if he did not care about his life at all, he faced the extremely terrifying slash head-on.

In an instant, the golden Nichirin Blade in his hand appeared at Kokushibo's neck.

Emiya is willing to trade his life for hers!

Kokushibo had never imagined that the man in front of him would be so resolute. He had also encountered Pillars who, like him, wanted to kill him by risking their lives.

However, all of this is based on the premise that they have fought each other a certain number of times. Those pillars know that their strength is completely incapable of reaching such a level, which is why they resort to such a desperate measure.

For most of the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps, their first thought upon seeing him was to flee, not to fight.

But the man in front of her, whom she had only just met, was already planning to fight to the death.

This truly filled Kokushibo's eyes with shock.

Not only is he exceptionally talented, but his character is also of the highest quality.

However, the difference in their strength is vast.

Even such a life-or-death struggle was like child's play to him.

"The gap in strength is completely unavoidable!"

Kokushibo didn't even change his moves; in his Transparent World, Emiya was full of openings.

With such a life-or-death fighting style, Emiya's head would fall to the ground before he could strike his own neck, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Pfft——!"

The sound of flesh being severed echoed in the empty space, and blood mercilessly sprayed into the air, onto Kokushibo, who was slashing at Emiya.

The arm that had been gripping the golden Nichirin Blade was lifted into the air by this terrifying slash.

Kokushibo's calm expression finally showed a slight ripple, as Emiya had actually dodged his deadly strike.

But what surprised him even more was yet to come.

Just as his arm was severed and flew into the air, a thunderous roar, like divine punishment, came from beside Emiya.

"Boom——!"

In an instant, the ground he was standing on split into pieces like a spider web, and the immense force even stirred up a fierce gust of wind that swept outwards.

"Thunder Breathing First Form: Lightning Flash - Divine Speed"

A bolt of lightning, as thick as a tree and as powerful as a real thunderbolt, appeared beside Kokushibo. Almost instantly, the entire space fell silent.

"Pa-ta-!"

The sound of an arm falling to the ground rang out.

This is the window through which Kokushibo looked towards Emiya as he left.

He wasn't unaware of what was happening.

But Kokushibo's first reaction was to block Emiya's attack; he had even prepared how to cut off Emiya's neck again.

But unexpectedly, Emiya, risking his own life and sacrificing an arm, ultimately chose to escape.

Chapter Forty-Six: The Final Strike

"Boom——!"

The violent thunder roared like the wind howling through the valley, and the entire space was enveloped in this terrifying thunder.

This is Emiya's last move, and also his last hope for survival.

His legs had almost lost all feeling at such terrifying speed. He could feel the wounds on his thighs festering from the constant running and the impact of the wind.

The blood on his face almost completely submerged his other eye.

Not to mention the numerous wounds on his body, large and small, and the blood gushing from his severed arm.

The weakness from excessive blood loss had completely affected Emiya's body and mind.

His face had lost all its previous color and turned deathly pale.

Emiya felt he could fall asleep at any moment, but the pain in his body, as if being bitten by countless ants, prevented him from drifting off to sleep.

However, now is certainly not the time to remain dormant.

No matter how tired he was, Emiya could not fall asleep here.