In a desolate mountain wilderness, a place devoid of human presence.
Blinding flames bloomed in the darkness, and the roar of explosions echoed through the silent night.
Kyojuro Rengoku stood with his blade held high, a blazing inferno clinging to his Nichirin Blade. His Flame Pattern cloak had been destroyed in the heat of battle.
At this moment, he was only wearing his Demon Slayer Corps uniform. His expression was calm, and his long, yellow and red hair danced in the wind like flickering flames.
His sharp eyes stared at Akaza, who stood opposite him. He slowly tightened his grip on his sword hilt with his fingers.
In the previous exchange, although he had the upper hand, he hadn't been able to seriously wound his enemy.
Recalling the various ways the enemy had dodged his attacks during the fight, many times he would suddenly change his posture, as if he could foresee the attacks, responding accordingly. He would defend if he could, counterattack if he could, and if he couldn't counterattack or defend, he would evade.
Is that some kind of skill? Predicting incoming attacks...
Kyojuro Rengoku, who had no information about Akaza, speculated, simultaneously pondering a solution.
If he used the shop, he could easily solve the problem, but it would be too wasteful.
For a moment, Kyojuro Rengoku couldn't think of any other solutions.
So, he resorted to brute force to solve all the unsolvable problems.
"Hoo—Hah—"
Kyojuro Rengoku breathed deeply, his chest slightly puffed out.
His scattered thoughts gradually disappeared, his vision became transparent, and his senses became sharper.
The fighting spirit, which had been burning fiercely like a flame, like a bonfire in the night, slowly diminished until it disappeared.
Transparent World, open!
At the same time, ten meters away...
Akaza adopted a fighting stance, excitement radiating from him.
For Akaza, battling a strong opponent brought him immense joy.
A fight between equals would give him a feeling of exhilarating satisfaction.
If he challenged an even stronger opponent, victory would bring an unparalleled sense of accomplishment, and the struggle would be a thrilling dance on the edge of a blade.
And at this moment, the person he was looking at was undoubtedly a veteran warrior, stronger than him, a peak worth striving for.
Thinking like this, Akaza suddenly froze. In his vision, the fighting spirit, which had been burning fiercely like flames, was visibly weakening. It was as if water was continuously being poured on a burning bonfire; the flames struggled stubbornly but ultimately couldn't hold on and were extinguished.
And at the instant the fighting spirit vanished, Kyojuro Rengoku's figure in Akaza's vision became somewhat transparent, as if blending with the environment, making it hard to make out without careful observation.
Whoosh!
Kyojuro Rengoku charged forward, like a gale sweeping across a grassland. The wind force generated by his high-speed running bent the slender grass, and the gray-yellow dust surged to both sides like waves created by a sailboat cutting through the sea.
"So fast!"
Akaza exclaimed, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.
Compared to before, Kyojuro Rengoku's movement speed had significantly increased.
At the same time, Kyojuro Rengoku had closed off his fighting spirit, making it impossible for Akaza to predict the enemy's attacks by tracking the fighting spirit.
The enemy had grown stronger, while he had weakened.
Therefore, Kyojuro Rengoku's threat level to Akaza immediately rose by two levels.
Before getting used to Kyojuro Rengoku's suddenly increased speed, direct combat was inadvisable.
Thinking like a martial artist, Akaza chose the most stable approach: to avoid his sharp edge for the moment.
Rushing in front of Akaza, Kyojuro Rengoku swung his Nichirin Blade, drawing a fiery trail in the air and slashing towards Akaza's neck.
Having been prepared, Akaza leapt backward the instant Kyojuro Rengoku stopped and swung his blade.
Almost at the same time, as Akaza jumped into the air, Kyojuro Rengoku maintained his swinging motion, abruptly stepping forward, closing in on Akaza.
Akaza's pupils constricted, and he immediately clenched his fist, Blood Demon Art at the ready, preparing to use it to stop Kyojuro Rengoku's advance.
However, before he could use his Blood Demon Art, Kyojuro Rengoku's figure rapidly descended, disappearing from his field of vision in an instant.
Akaza: ???
The enemy was also nowhere to be seen!
"What's going on..."
Akaza looked bewildered.
Could he have tripped and fallen into a hole?
But that didn't seem right! There weren't any holes near where he was standing.
Not to mention, how could a seasoned warrior fall from tripping in a hole...
It didn't seem strange. As amazing as Kyojuro Rengoku was, he was still human, and tripping and falling wasn't a problem at all!
Even demons could slip on a banana peel or a small stone and fall.
Lost in thought, Akaza landed.
No, no, that wasn't the point...
If he'd tripped, he should have been leaning forward or in some other direction, but Kyojuro Rengoku was falling straight down, as if he'd stepped on nothing...
Akaza's gaze moved downwards, just in time to see a closed shoji door.
Akaza: "..."
He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. He wanted to speak again, then stopped again, trying to organize his thoughts, unsure what to say.
Hope Nakime is alright!
Hands clasped together in prayer.
Suddenly, a surge of fighting spirit rapidly approached, filled with a very obvious killing intent.
Akaza followed the direction of the fighting spirit and threw a punch.
Duang!
The fist struck a blade, and drops of blood flowed down the blade to the handguard.
"Where did you send Kyojuro Rengoku!!!"
Muichiro Tokito gripped the hilt tightly and slowly pressed forward, the blade embedding itself in Akaza's hand.
Before this, Muichiro Tokito's opponents were a group of demons following Akaza.
Although Akaza didn't deliberately seek out demons, he encountered many along the way. Rather than fight them all, he recruited the strong ones and drove away the weak.
Traveling here, there were six demons acting with Akaza.
Although the number was small, each one was very capable, having been chosen by Akaza.
Cooperating with each other, even Muichiro Tokito couldn't defeat them in a short time, let alone capture them alive.
Therefore, Muichiro Tokito didn't join Kyojuro Rengoku in attacking Akaza.
But when Kyojuro Rengoku was suddenly swallowed by a door, Muichiro Tokito immediately abandoned those demons and rushed towards Akaza.
Akaza glanced at the Nichirin Blade, seemingly not feeling pain. He watched Muichiro Tokito for a few seconds with interest, then turned his gaze towards the demon standing alone in the cold wind behind him.
Turning his gaze away, Akaza replied, "He was sent into the Infinity Castle."
Akaza's attitude was better towards strong individuals, making it easier to communicate.
After answering the question, a twelve-sided snowflake array appeared beneath Akaza's feet, and he smiled, saying, "Technique Deployment, Destructive Death: Compass!"
"Let's fight!"
Although he knew the spatial door's appearance meant Muzan Kibutsuji was looking for him, Akaza didn't care, his mind focused solely on battle.
Anyway, Nakime would come looking again when she realized she had summoned the wrong person.
-----------------------
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