A Clash of Wills

Repeating biwa notes warp the fortress around the fighters. Mitsuri forces herself onward despite the punishment, but the sight of an enraged Muzan terrifies her more than any demon before, and she wishes Gyomei would hurry. She reflects on Yushiro's scowling demeanor and how his ruse of pretending the Hashira were dead grows futile with Giyu, Obanai, and Tanjiro all in peril.

Earlier, seizing her by the haori, Yushiro had explained that although he is a demon he stands with them, and he laid out his scheme: while Mitsuri serves as a decoy drawing Nakime about, he will slip behind the Biwa Demon, hijack her sight, and strip away Muzan's hold on her mind. By tricking Muzan into believing the slayers are dead, he hopes to win time for the Corps to mass and strike at once.

Mitsuri surmises the situation has become a struggle of wills pitting Yushiro against the demon king, and that she may die before it resolves as the castle turns ever more erratic. As Yushiro wrestles for control of Nakime, the skin of his hand decays and bleeds while Muzan even tries to absorb his cells. The devoted Takeuchi offers himself to be eaten to lend Yushiro strength, but the demon angrily refuses, and Muzan is then assailed by Giyu and Obanai.