Tsukumogami's tricks had caused Hakuji to mistakenly strike Gyutaro. Now, Hakuji searched furiously for the demon's figure.
Tsukumogami, meanwhile, sat mockingly atop a massive boulder, eyes full of ridicule as he looked down at Hakuji.
Suppressing his rage, Hakuji pressed his feet into the ground, the earth beneath him collapsing into a deep crater under the force of his strength.
In an instant, he lunged toward Tsukumogami—but once again, the demon's figure vanished. In its place appeared countless illusions of a gravely wounded Koyuki, surrounding Hakuji on all sides.
"Koyuki," barely clinging to life, pleaded weakly:
"Hakuji… save me. I don't want to die…"
Veins bulged across Hakuji's forehead. He knew these were illusions, and yet, his heart still trembled with fury.
When Hakuji refused to move, the many "Koyuki"s turned to hatred, their faces twisted in blame:
"Why… why won't you save me? Father died because of you. I became a demon because of you. Why wasn't it you who died instead?! I hate you! Die!"
Hakuji drew a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Compass Needle!"
Hidden within the illusions, Tsukumogami seized the opportunity, shaping his hand into a blade and thrusting straight toward Akaza's chest.
But instead of piercing through him as expected, his arm was caught and gripped in a vice-like hold.
Tsukumogami's face twisted in shock.
"Impossible?!"
Hakuji opened his eyes, his voice cold and expressionless:
"Your Blood Demon Art manipulates my emotions to generate illusions. But your fighting spirit… I can sense it as clear as day. Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!"
Hakuji's fist smashed forward with devastating power, obliterating half of Tsukumogami's body in an instant.
Tsukumogami staggered back at blinding speed, barely escaping Hakuji's range, his mangled form already beginning to regenerate.
Hakuji discarded the severed arm in his grip, shifting back into his martial stance.
"Our battle has only just begun."
Tsukumogami's wounds finished mending. He sneered wickedly.
"Hah… don't flatter yourself! My abilities aren't limited to illusions. Everyone has emotions—do you think simply closing your eyes means you can ignore them? Blood Demon Art: Twin Soul Slaughter!"
Before Hakuji's eyes appeared a perfect duplicate of himself—an entity in his image, standing in the exact same stance.
Hakuji frowned.
"…Another illusion?"
But the double attacked first, its fist tearing through the air.
At first Hakuji tried to dismiss it, but the howling wind pressure forced him to block with crossed arms.
The impact hurled him back, smashing him into a boulder.
Shock rippled through Hakuji—this "illusion" had landed a real, effective blow, using none other than his own technique: Destructive Death: Disorder!
Tsukumogami howled with laughter.
"This is no illusion! It's an entity born from your own heart, possessing your very abilities! Every ounce of your power belongs to it. This is your shadow, your other self—it is you!"
Hakuji's expression hardened. He leapt forward again:
"Destructive Death: Air Type—Crown Splitter!"
But his double mirrored him exactly, unleashing Crown Splitter in perfect unison. The two attacks collided, the overwhelming force sending both reeling several steps back.
Hakuji's face grew grim.
"Even its strength matches mine completely…"
Before he could analyze further, the doppelgänger lunged again. Forced to divide his focus between clashing with his duplicate and keeping track of Tsukumogami's killing intent to guard against a sneak attack, Hakuji found himself locked in a bitter deadlock.
Elsewhere, Gyutaro faced his own opponent—Hantengu, who had already split into four emotion clones. Unlike his frail elder form, these clones appeared as young men, each with a pair of horns sprouting from their foreheads.
Sekido (Wrath Demon): clad in Hantengu's original kimono, tongue marked with "Anger," wielding a staff that unleashed lightning.
Karaku (Pleasure Demon): bare-chested like a wandering monk, tongue marked with "Pleasure," his fan generating raging wind.
Urogi (Joy Demon): a winged birdlike hybrid, lower body avian, arms ending in talons, tongue marked with "Joy," releasing destructive soundwaves with his cries.
Aizetsu (Sorrow Demon): dressed like a warrior, tongue marked with "Sorrow," wielding a spear that fired waves of impact with each thrust.
But none could land decisive blows against Gyutaro. His regeneration healed any injury instantly. Enduring their attacks with sheer resilience, he pressed toward Hantengu's true body.
Sensing danger, Sekido crushed and absorbed Karaku, Urogi, and Aizetsu into himself. From the fusion emerged a new form—Zohakuten, a youth with multiple drums engraved with the kanji for "Hatred" sprouting from his back, wielding S-shaped drumsticks.
"Blood Demon Art: Lightning Strike!"
He beat one drum. A wooden dragon roared forth, spewing massive bolts of lightning.
The strike landed before Gyutaro could dodge, searing his flesh and leaving his skin blistered and charred.
"Blood Demon Art: Furious Barrage!"
Another drumbeat. The dragon's maw unleashed titanic shockwaves, obliterating half of Gyutaro's body in a single blast.
Toppling to the ground, Gyutaro heard Zohakuten declare coldly:
"I am Zohakuten. All who harm my true body are evil and must be destroyed."
But Gyutaro's missing half rapidly regenerated. Rising to his feet, he scratched idly at his cheek, flakes of scab falling away.
"…Heh. You've gotten strong all of a sudden. If Hakuji-san saw me like this, he'd laugh for sure. That'd be troublesome. Guess I should get a little serious too."
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Scythe Hell!"
A storm of scythes formed from his blood spun chaotically around them, slashing toward Zohakuten.
"Blood Demon Art: Wooden Dragon Constructs!"
The wooden dragon coiled protectively around Zohakuten, unleashing a mighty gale that scattered the blood scythes.
But the scythes simply reformed midair, striking again. In an instant, deep gashes opened across Zohakuten's body.
Realizing he couldn't fend them off forever, Zohakuten aimed to crush Gyutaro outright.
"Blood Demon Art: Thousand-Fold Catastrophe!"
Countless massive wooden dragons writhed and crashed forward, intent on pulverizing him.
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Scythe Hell—Chaotic Blade Dance!"
Under Gyutaro's control, the countless blood scythes accelerated beyond sight, shredding the onrushing dragons into nothing.
Zohakuten tried to strike his drums again—only for his hand to falter midair. His body cracked apart, disintegrating into ash before his own eyes.
Gyutaro sneered at Hantengu's horrified expression.
"Forgot to mention—my blood carries poison. It won't kill demons, but it continuously corrodes your cells and saps your strength. Looks like your little clone couldn't withstand it."
Compared to Hakuji and Gyutaro's evenly matched battles, the struggles of Koyuki and Ume were far more desperate.
Gyokko had shed his pot and emerged in his true form—webbed hands, serpentine lower body, skin covered in scales harder than diamond yet flexible as silk. Anything his fists touched transformed instantly into fish.
Ume could only evade frantically, conjuring decoy clones from her Blood Demon Art's silk to avoid being touched and "fishified."
But constant defense couldn't last. While fending off Gyokko's octopus-like limbs, she was grazed. Her arm began to transmute into scales and fins.
Reacting swiftly, Ume severed her own limb before the corruption spread further.
Still, Gyokko's attacks came relentlessly, forcing her on the back foot.
As for Koyuki, her icy Blood Demon Art was suppressed entirely by Doma's—ice against ice, but his mastery far surpassed hers. Weakened and pressed hard, she could only hold on thanks to the support of the Butterfly sisters beside her.
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