Chapter 274: No Battle Spirit
Liam, carrying Shinobu, approached the battlefield where Akaza was. As he got closer, he saw that Akaza was fighting three-on-one, and winning. The Flame Hashira, the Water Hashira, and Tanjiro were all completely unable to land a decisive blow. Akaza's fists were imbued with an intense battle spirit, and his attacks were leveling the surrounding buildings, reducing them to rubble.
"He's pretty impressive," Liam remarked, before moving closer to the fight.
Akaza sensed the approach of another powerful enemy and immediately launched a high-speed barrage of punches through the air. A volley of battle spirit projectiles flew toward Liam, but such an attack posed no threat to him at all. He simply activated his Secret Sword Art. A dense flurry of sword qi erupted from his blade, neatly slicing apart and neutralizing every single one of Akaza's attacks before they could reach him. The dissipated energy didn't even leave a shockwave.
Seeing this opening, the Flame Hashira immediately moved to the demon's flank and unleashed his own high-speed slash. But Akaza reacted instantly, blocking the attack. The two clashed and were both forced to retreat.
Liam, his Nichirin Blade now in hand, quickly closed the distance. "It seems this guy really enjoys fighting. A shame he's already a demon."
Tanjiro gripped his own blade tightly, his heart filled with shame. This was a level of battle he couldn't even participate in.
"Thunder Breathing!"
Liam unleashed the technique. This time, real lightning burst forth from his body, crackling around him. The others stared in shock. Could a mere human body really do such a thing?
"Are you a demon, too?!" Akaza laughed, once again sending a sky-full of air-punch projectiles at Liam. It was clear that Akaza possessed the power to easily destroy entire buildings.
But it was also clear that Liam was leagues above him. Liam was actually quite interested in Akaza's fighting style, which combined numerous martial arts to enhance his own strength. This was exactly what Liam himself was trying to do.
"State your name! What are you called?" Akaza demanded, sensing that Liam possessed an aura capable of threatening his life. This opponent was strong. Very strong.
Liam simply answered with an attack. His form vanished in a clap of thunder. A moment later, one of Akaza's arms was severed.
Bluish-white air bullets chased after Liam, shattering the surrounding structures, but they couldn't even touch Liam, who was moving at high speed.
"Liam Moon!"
"I am Akaza! Upper Moon Three of the Twelve Kizuki!" Akaza roared, his excitement palpable. "It has been too long since I've had a battle this thrilling! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"
In the time it took him to speak, the arm Liam had severed had already completely regenerated. Akaza launched a high-speed kick, sending another dense volley of air bullets at Liam. From Liam's perspective, he could clearly see the trajectory of every single attack. He didn't even activate a skill; he just used basic sword movements. Countless blurred afterimages of his blade appeared in front of him, and the entire barrage of air bullets exploded harmlessly before him.
In a continuous shockwave of expanding energy, Akaza roared at Liam.
"Destructive Death: Disorder!"
The pale blue air bullets suddenly swelled in size, each one massively amplified in power and diameter. But as Liam watched them approach, he only looked more relaxed. This attack was far too weak.
Liam's blade turned red as flames burst into existence, coating the steel.
"Akaza, is this the only extent of your strength?"
Liam stomped the ground, pushing off with light force, and his body instantly crossed the distance to Akaza. His burning blade slashed down at the demon's fists. The sword, wreathed in roaring flame, met the fists, which were coated in pale blue battle spirit. A shower of sparks exploded at the impact. As the blade and fist collided, Akaza's fists were continuously shredded, chunks of his flesh sliced away by Liam's sword, raining down around them.
Akaza, seemingly immune to pain, continued his high-frequency attacks even as his hands were being minced. The pale blue battle spirit then turned crimson, and the wooden floorboards beneath them exploded outward.
Liam could have dodged this, but he simply stood his ground, slicing apart every projectile that came at him.
"The power has increased a bit. But just a bit."
Akaza lunged at Liam. His fists, having just regenerated, smashed into the floor where Liam stood. The floorboards instantly ruptured, and the two of them fell through the splintered wood to the level below.
The flames on Liam's blade roared, taking the form of a dragon and letting out a low cry. Liam kicked off the falling debris, his sword aura flaring, and instantly closed the distance to Akaza. Akaza punched at him, and Liam sliced the arm off. Akaza immediately followed with a kick, but he was smarter this time, unleashing a dense barrage of air bullets at point-blank range. Liam swung his sword in a blur, cutting every single one of them out of the air.
He blurred past Akaza, and before the demon could react, his flaming blade had already struck him in the chest. Enduring the burning heat, Akaza ignored the pain and launched an even more ferocious counterattack.
At that moment, they both landed on solid ground again, finding their footing.
The Water and Flame Hashira finally caught up. When they saw Liam single-handedly overwhelming Upper Moon Three, they looked at each other, stunned.
"Should we...?" Giyu asked.
Akaza's head had just been partially sliced open by Liam, only to regenerate in the next breath. Liam's attacks were relentless, completely dismantling Akaza's defense and continuously cutting parts off his body, but the demon's regeneration kept pace.
"This guy's regeneration is too strong! Giyu, let's go!" Kyojuro yelled.
"Right! Let's finish this!"
Liam noticed the two Hashira approaching and deliberately deactivated his area-of-effect flames. This was a rare chance to fight an Upper Moon; he didn't mind letting them get some participation points.
Seeing that he was now being triple-teamed, Akaza only grew more excited. "Yes! This is it! Let's fight together until the end of time!" He unleashed his fierce battle spirit again, pushing back both Kyojuro and Giyu with his attacks.
Liam, meanwhile, switched to Sun Breathing. The roar of a dragon echoed as his black Nichirin blade was wrapped in high-temperature flames. Dazzling orbs of battle spirit flew toward him like fireworks, but Liam's blade met them all, and no matter how fast or powerful the attacks, they were all completely neutralized before they reached him.
The brilliant white air bullets were each as fast as a real bullet. They were only the size of a man's fist, but their speed, power, and sheer number were absurd. In just a few seconds, well over a thousand projectiles had flown at Liam.
"Not bad. The power went up again."
Liam was still only using Breathing Techniques to fight, suppressing his true strength. If he went all-out, Muzan might get spooked and hide for another thousand years.
Suddenly, he found that Akaza's attacks seemed to be moving in slow motion. He could easily dodge them. He could see the texture of Akaza's muscles, the flow of his energy. He had entered the Transparent World.
To test the limits of this power, Liam basically stayed in one spot, dodging. He effortlessly evaded the vast majority of the dense barrage; the few he couldn't step around, he simply sliced apart. He had a feeling that, if he wanted to, he could dodge every single one of them.
In the next instant, Akaza unleashed an attack in all directions. This stronger barrage slammed into both Kyojuro and Giyu, sending them flying. Blood dripped from Giyu's mouth, and wounds appeared on Kyojuro's body.
Liam closed the distance to Akaza again. This time, the flames on his blade burned even hotter.
"What's wrong? I can't sense his battle spirit!"
Seeing Liam approach, Akaza naturally unleashed his full power, but his technique, his compass, had suddenly gone dead.
"But even a baby has battle spirit!"
Fighting Liam was, for Akaza, like fighting thin air. Besides being able to see him, his senses and his techniques were completely useless.
Akaza unleashed another massive volley of air bullets. Liam simply weaved through the dense barrage, and his blade flashed, severing Akaza's left arm. A second flash took his right. A third took his neck.
Akaza's head tumbled to the ground. But his severed hands, which had already regrown, instantly snatched the head as it fell. Akaza's headless body then grabbed the head and tried to press it back onto the wound.
Liam moved to destroy the head, but the headless body—its legs also regrown—kicked out to stop him. Liam easily sliced off the attacking leg.
Akaza's head, which had been set ablaze by Liam's blade, finally burned completely to ashes. And yet, even this did not kill him. His severed neck had stopped bleeding and was already beginning to grow a new head. His missing limbs were also regenerating at a visible rate.
Liam had no intention of sparing him. Akaza may have had a tragic past, but right now, their positions were clear. All he had to do was kill him.
Akaza, balancing on his one remaining leg, leaped high into the air. In that instant, all his wounds healed, his limbs returned, and even his head was half-formed. He condensed a final, dazzling blue orb of battle spirit in his regrown hand and fired it at Liam.
Liam leaped up to meet him, his blade slashing. Akaza's attack, even stronger this time, was still effortlessly destroyed. Liam's Nichirin Blade met Akaza in mid-air. Both fell toward the ground. In that moment, Akaza abandoned all defense, unleashing a final, all-out assault on Liam.
Liam swung his blade, defending against every blow while simultaneously counter-attacking. His chest, head, limbs, torso... every part of Akaza's body was struck by Liam's blade and set ablaze by his high-temperature flames.
As Akaza's attacks finally slowed, Liam launched his own final, fatal strike.
And so Akaza, the demon who had survived even decapitation, was finally slain by Liam.
"Akaza is dealt with. Where to next?"
Liam heard the twang of a biwa string. The world around him shifted again. He found himself in a new room, standing before the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, and Upper Moon One, Kokushibo.
"So you were the one who dealt with Akaza," Kokushibo observed. "You are indeed strong. Let us see how long you can last against me."
Kokushibo stood before him, a man with six eyes. His face was covered in dark red markings, his hair was also dark red, and he wore a sword at his waist. His six eyes had blood-red sclera and golden pupils.
He drew his dark-red blade from its sheath and swung. It was a simple horizontal slash, but it unleashed a barrage of crescent-moon-shaped sword qi.
Liam simply coated his own blade in fire and swung his sword casually to counter. The dense storm of moon-shaped sword qi was easily deflected.
"I see. You are very strong."
The Mist Hashira, Muichiro, whose left hand had been severed by Kokushibo before Liam arrived, was clenching his teeth in pain, using his hair to tie off the wound. He had lost his hand in a single exchange, yet this newcomer could block Upper Moon One's attacks while just standing still. Muichiro felt a wave of relief. If Liam could truly kill Muzan, his own life was a small price to pay.
Kokushibo, seeing his attack easily blocked, turned his gaze back to Muichiro. "Muichiro, become a demon. You are my descendant. If you become a demon, your arm can easily be regrown."
"I refuse!"
Genya, hidden in a corner, raised his gun and aimed it at Kokushibo. But before the gun could even fire, the sound of clashing blades rang out.
Liam had already appeared in front of Genya, blocking Kokushibo's attack.