"How is this possible?! I clearly pierced your chest—why are you still alive?!" Upper Moon Four's clone, Aizetsu, widened his eyes in disbelief.
Yet before him, Inosuke—his chest stained with blood—standing just fine while gripping his Nichirin Blades.
Though his boar mask's mouth was soaked in blood, his voice remained as boisterous as ever.
"Stupid demon! Moving my internal organs around is as easy as drinking water for me! You think stabbing my chest is enough to kill me? Hahahaha!"
"So, Internal Organ Displacement, is it?" Aizetsu's expression shifted to one of realization, but soon, it was replaced by profound sorrow.
"Wouldn't it be better to just die? Lingering in this cruel world only brings endless suffering. Let me end your lives properly this time—I'll sever your heads."
Swish! His cross-shaped spear traced a dazzling arc through the air.
Inosuke scoffed, crossing his blades as he roared.
"Beast Breathing—Whatever-the-Hell Fang—DIE!"
BOOM!!
"Mmm!!"
A low growl rumbled from her throat.
If not for the bamboo muzzle, the furious roar of the demon-transformed Nezuko would have surely echoed through the battlefield.
Her body wrapped in thorn-like patterns, her slender frame now even taller than her brother Tanjiro, and a sharp pink horn protruding from her forehead—Nezuko stood before Tanjiro like a mother hen shielding her chick, glaring fiercely at Daki.
Daki, meanwhile, exuded overwhelming hostility, a golden vertical pupil emerging on her forehead, the kanji for "Six" clearly etched within it.
"So, it's you, huh? The traitor Muzan-sama mentioned. I didn't expect to run into you today. Perfect—I'll slaughter you all right here!" Daki sneered viciously.
Nezuko gave no verbal response, only fixing her pink eyes on Daki with a murderous glare.
Behind her, Tanjiro clutched his Nichirin Blade in one hand while pressing the other against his chest—where Daki's sash had struck him with devastating force, nearly knocking the breath out of him.
It was at that moment Nezuko had intervened, blocking Daki's follow-up killing strike.
Zenitsu wasn't faring much better either.
Repeated use of Thunder Breathing had pushed his body far beyond its limits—every muscle and cell screamed in agony, wracked with unbearable soreness.
"Don't give up, Nezuko. Be careful of her sashes—they're incredibly tough. Normal strength won't break through it," Tanjiro gritted out through the pain, rising to his feet while warning his sister.
Nezuko let out a muffled snort of acknowledgment before raising her claws, crouching low—then launching herself forward like a cannonball.
.....
"Hiss! This guy is ridiculously strong! No wonder he's a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Watching the massive vine serpent being cleanly severed while Shinichi continued battling Sekido and Karaku's two clones with ease, Kamaro couldn't help but click its tongue in astonishment from a distance.
Though it had now been promoted to Upper Moon status, gaining power countless times greater than before, facing Shinichi alone still made its neck itch uncomfortably.
This Forest Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps possessed strength that could rival Upper Moon Three.
Forget Kamaro being the lowest-ranked Upper Moon Six—even if combined with Upper Moon Four's complete form, Zohakuten, they might not be able to defeat him.
"Blood Demon Art: Phantom Onslaught!"
With another shout from Kamaro, a grotesque, terrifying face forcibly emerged from its chest.
In an instant, shadowy figures floated out from Kamaro's body, quickly merging with the severed vine serpent.
The serpent's broken body eerily regenerated, its size not just increasing slightly but seemingly doubling in magnitude.
The overwhelming, fearsome aura of the vine serpent now rivaled that of a Lower Rank demon.
Letting out a soundless roar to the sky, it immediately coiled toward Shinichi.
'Though it might still be useless, well... the main force this time isn't me anyway. I just need to hold out until that lord makes his move' Kamaro thought inwardly, its lips curling into a slow smirk.
Killing Demon Slayer Corps members outright was pointless—these humans were like weeds in spring.
No matter how many you cut down, they'd stubbornly sprout again soon enough.
A thousand years of battles hadn't eradicated the Demon Slayer Corps.
Instead, the organization had only grown stronger, even developing increasingly potent Breathing Techniques through combat.
At this rate, in a few more centuries, demons might become increasingly insignificant before human swordsmen.
"Will this ever end!?" Shinichi's heterochromatic eyes gleamed redder in battle—not because his opponents were overwhelmingly powerful, but because he could sense these demons weren't fighting with full intent.
It felt more like they were stalling, as if waiting for something.
Shinichi was acutely aware that the battlefield had been divided.
Tengen and the three young slayers were likely struggling in their own fight.
Perhaps the Upper Rank demons had planned to separate and defeat them individually.
If that were the case, the longer this dragged on, the worse their situation would become.
With this thought, the crimson in Shinichi's right eye deepened.
His grip on the Nichirin Blade tightened as the blood in his veins began to boil.
A trace of ferocity surfaced on his face, his voice turning icy.
"Get out of my way!"
The long Nichirin Blade swung horizontally—Forest Breathing First Form: Iron Birch Slash!
A verdant slash cut through the air with unstoppable momentum, forcing Sekido to raise its khakkhara with both hands to block.
At that moment, Shinichi moved like lightning, following right behind the slash with his blade raised for another strike.
This drew the attention of both the black mist-enshrouded vine serpent and Karaku wielding its fan.
Simultaneously, they attacked Shinichi's seemingly exposed back.
"Got you!"
Shinichi didn't turn around, but the murderous intent he sensed behind him couldn't be wrong.
Without hesitation, just as his Nichirin Blade was about to strike Sekido's staff—
Shinichi rolled to disperse the force, leaning back while delivering a powerful kick to Sekido's staff, using the momentum to flip backward and lunge straight at the stunned Karaku.
"What?! Don't even think about it!" Sekido reacted swiftly.
The moment he realized Shinichi's intent, he roared in fury, violently shaking his staff.
Countless lightning serpents erupted from the staff, rapidly chasing after Shinichi.
However, Shinichi's eyes burned with unwavering determination.
This time, he had to take down Karaku first—the one with the strongest control—even if it meant enduring some injuries.
A few lightning strikes were nothing; he could always activate Raging blood to tough it out momentarily.
But the expected numbness never came.
Instead, Shinichi's ears caught a deep, resonant chant:
"Namu Amida Butsu!"
BOOM!!
Followed by the sickening sound of flesh tearing.
A flash of silver light later, half of Sekido's body exploded into a mist of blood.
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