Bewilderment

Muzan recalls first meeting Yoriichi and dismissing him as feeble, never imagining the man would behead him and leave his cells burning like sunlight for centuries. He tells Tanjiro that Yoriichi defied all reason and was the true monster between them. Tanjiro, seeing that Muzan can no longer hide his wounds, recognizes how far the demon has weakened and resolves to finish the battle that so many sacrificed to make possible.

When a Kasugai crow calls out forty minutes until dawn, Muzan turns and runs. Tanjiro gives chase but his fatigue slows him, and the demon shreds the fallen Slayers' bodies to block the path, enraging him. Tanjiro hurls their katanas at Muzan, then Obanai drives his bright red blade into the back of the demon's neck. Tanjiro shares Yushiro's talismans so Obanai can borrow Kaburamaru's vision, and the two coordinate to pin the demon between them.

The chapter continues the second phase of the fight against Muzan. Tanjiro realizes the demon's resurfaced scars mark where his organs sit, letting him target them without entering the Transparent World.

With forty minutes remaining until dawn, Muzan attempts to escape but Tanjiro halts him. Obanai gains crude sight through one of Yushiro's seals, allowing the pair to hold the demon back. Far off, Nezuko reaches the edge of the city and looks toward the battlefield, with one of her eyes already changed back to a human appearance.

Obanai describes Muzan as neither a proud warrior nor a feeling person, but a being that clings only to survival and will abandon the fight the moment sunrise threatens it.

As the two Slayers keep him boxed in and constantly moving, Muzan begins to breathe heavily, alarmed at his own fading strength. The chapter is part of the Sunrise Countdown Arc.