The voice was cold and devoid of any emotion, inspiring dread in anyone who heard it.
Immediately afterward, Akaza's muscles swelled. With two sharp thuds, his arms broke off at the shoulders—and he was free.
Tony sensed something was wrong and lunged forward to restrain Akaza again.
But Akaza moved the instant he was freed—stepping forward with his right leg, turning, leaning his upper body back, raising his leg, and kicking!
"Destructive Death: Leg Type—Crown Splitter!"
BANG!
The upward kick exploded against Tony's head. Jarvis had calculated that the armor could withstand three attacks on the same spot, but it shattered like cheap plastic in a single blow.
Fortunately, after breaking through the faceplate, the kick didn't have much strength left.
The barefoot strike to Tony's face only caused his nose to bleed and made him stumble back a few steps—it didn't take his entire head off.
Even so, it left him dizzy and disoriented, swaying like a drunk unable to maintain his balance.
"Miscalculation! The enemy still had a move far more powerful than anything before!"
"Sir, your blood pressure and heart rate are dangerously elevated. Please take deep breaths!"
Jarvis kept calling out, but Tony could only hear ringing in his ears. His head was pounding, the pain excruciating.
Fortunately, Akaza didn't consider him a priority anymore.
After delivering the Crown Splitter, his arms had already regenerated completely. He flipped and landed on his feet, crossed his hands in front of him, then slashed them to both sides.
"Destructive Death: Chaotic Type!"
In an instant, the air parted like waves, surging and turbulent like a tide breaking the sound barrier.
BOOM!
The Blazing Tiger collided with the Sonic Tide, unleashing a terrifying shockwave that caused the ground to tremble violently.
Kyojuro didn't stop there. Taking advantage of Akaza's two consecutive attacks—when the demon was exhausted and hadn't yet generated new momentum—he used Unknowing Fire, transforming into a band of flames to attack.
The blade rose. The blade fell.
Blood splattered, and severed limbs flew.
In a flash, Kyojuro swung his sword dozens of times, severing Akaza's arms and leaving deep wounds on his chest, face, and abdomen. He even nearly bisected the demon's entire body.
Yet despite this, he was unable to seize the opportunity to cut off Akaza's head.
Indeed, Akaza was currently in a state of exhaustion—old techniques expended, new ones not yet ready. He couldn't launch attacks to defend himself, nor could he make large movements to dodge. However, he could still evade with small movements like tilting his head or bending his torso.
His Destructive Death: Compass Needle, with its twelve-pointed snowflake array beneath his feet, sensed the opponent's fighting spirit like a true compass, making his attacks and evasions as precise as if guided by a magnet. The stronger the enemy's fighting spirit, the stronger the compass's reaction, and the higher its corresponding accuracy and power.
Even the slightest movement—unless there was absolutely no way to avoid it—couldn't harm him.
With such incredible technique, even in such an extremely unfavorable situation, it was more than enough to protect his neck from being severed.
"Kyojuro!"
Akaza roared in fury, swinging his severed arm toward the head of the man he'd come to admire. The arm regenerated as he swung, and the attack continued without hesitation, aiming to kill in one blow.
Kyojuro had just unleashed dozens of sword strikes and was already exhausted. He could barely raise his blade to block.
CLANG!
He blocked it.
With a metallic ring, fist met blade.
However, the barely raised sword couldn't fully stop the fist. It was knocked aside, and the fist—slightly diverted from its original trajectory—slammed into Kyojuro's left eye.
BANG!
With a dull thud, Kyojuro was sent flying. A faint explosion could be heard in the distance.
Akaza unleashed his full power in a fierce hurricane of motion.
He bent his legs, and the ground cracked instantly. Just seeing this, everyone's minds filled with the image of him launching like a cannonball, catching up to Kyojuro mid-flight, and finishing him off.
However, the imagined scene didn't materialize.
Akaza abandoned the power he'd painstakingly accumulated and dodged to the side instead.
At his feet lay a series of bullet holes.
It was Tony.
Despite the tinnitus and excruciating pain, he'd had Jarvis control the armor to unleash a barrage of gunfire at Akaza, determined to prevent him from pursuing the Flame Hashira.
He succeeded—but he also drew Akaza's full attention to himself.
Akaza hated the weak... but even he didn't know that the reason he hated them wasn't contempt or disdain, but rather his life experiences, which had led him to believe the weak wouldn't fight fairly. They'd only resort to despicable and vicious tricks behind the scenes.
Tony's earlier deception and his current interference had both ignited Akaza's hostility and murderous intent toward the weak.
In an instant, a terrifying and overwhelming killing intent erupted, engulfing Tony like a vast ocean of blood.
"Technique Deployment: Destructive Death—Compass Needle!"
Akaza stomped his foot and unleashed that compass-like technique once more, pulling his arms back like a fully drawn bowstring. "Destructive Death: Final Form—Blue Silver Chaotic Afterglow!"
The taut string released, and Akaza swung his arms, launching hundreds of invisible projectiles in an instant from his position as the center. The attacks were incredibly fast and powerful, like miniature missiles, locking down the space within tens of meters around Tony.
Faced with this omnidirectional assault, Tony immediately activated his propulsion system and flew backward, turning mid-flight to escape.
Jarvis instantly calculated the speed difference between the projectiles and the armor, concluding impact would occur in two seconds. He took control of the armor and ejected Tony at the critical moment, using the armor as a shield to intercept the attacks mid-air.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Explosions and shockwaves continued, causing the ground to shake.
While everyone was still captivated by the devastating attack, one man stood up again.
"The opportunity Mr. Stark secured for me..."
Kyojuro's left eye was blind, and his left frontal bone was shattered.
Despite the excruciating pain and the difficulty even standing, he rose to his feet. He gripped his blade with both hands, placed it on his shoulder, and assumed a slashing stance. He inhaled and exhaled scorching air, chanting, "Set your heart ablaze, surpass your limits..."
The rhythm of breathing, the special energy inhaled, powered by the heart, spread throughout his body, unleashing latent power.
"Secret Technique: Ninth Form—Purgatory!"
Like a rocket booster igniting, raging flames suddenly erupted, engulfing his entire body. He became like a roaring fire dragon charging toward Akaza.
Such a tremendous display drew everyone's attention back.
"Kyojuro!"
Akaza felt surprise, delight, and fury all at once.
Amazed that Kyojuro could unleash such tremendous power despite his severe injuries. Delighted that his opponent was so strong—fighting him was truly exhilarating and pushed him to break through his own limits. Furious that his opponent lacked honor, attacking from behind while he dealt with a despicable person.
Regardless of his emotions, as a martial artist pursuing the supreme realm, Akaza's body responded instinctively when faced with such a limit-breaking attack.
"Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!"
The power that gathered spirit, courage, strength, demonic energy, and Blood Demon Arts into one body burst forth in a fierce wave. It was monotonous and pure, yet so powerful that even the air trembled.
The Blazing Dragon Sword Energy collided with the Tidal Fist Intent, unleashing a tremendous impact that shook the earth.
The two, each having unleashed their ultimate techniques, didn't stop. Before the aftershocks had even subsided, they charged into close combat for a final battle.
Kyojuro knew that Akaza's martial arts level approached the supreme realm, making it nearly impossible to achieve the precise target of severing his neck. Therefore, he aimed for the body instead, preparing to open massive wounds to prolong the regeneration time.
However, none of these plans came to fruition.
Just as they charged toward each other and were about to collide, two Quinjet fighters suddenly appeared overhead, their rotary cannons roaring to life.
With a 36mm caliber and a rate of fire of 3,000 rounds per minute, these were heavy weapons originally designed to deal with tanks, warships, and even other fighter jets—capable of tearing steel machines into scrap metal.
When used against Akaza, the bullets instantly rained down on him.
Despite possessing his compass for evasion, he still couldn't avoid this attack that left no gaps. He was instantly riddled with holes.
Despite his body being punctured and even his head being blown apart, Akaza didn't die.
The bullets had just pierced his body, leaving massive holes, when regeneration began immediately. Less than a second later, he was torn apart again, and he regenerated again. Eventually, his healing speed couldn't keep up with the destructive speed of the guns. Finally, before the ammunition belts ran out, his body was torn into several pieces and scattered across the ground.
The scene was so sudden it stunned everyone.
"Okay, all clear!"
Just then, Fury's voice—sounding as if he'd breathed a sigh of relief—came from the plane, and everyone finally snapped back to reality.
So the Director's reinforcements had arrived after all.
Coulson relaxed and couldn't help but tease, "Director Fury, cutting it a bit close with the timing, aren't you?"
"But it was timely, wasn't it?"
"Indeed..."
"Look out!"
Before he could finish, Kyojuro shouted anxiously.
What happened?
Hadn't they already won?
Everyone looked toward the sound in confusion, only to see a blurred figure darting into the crowd.
People scattered, raising their guns to aim at the afterimage that had fallen among them—it was Akaza, now just an upper torso from the chest up.
He'd latched onto a special forces soldier's back, tearing off a chunk of flesh from the back of the soldier's neck.
"Fire!"
The special forces hesitated, worried about hitting their comrade, but Coulson gave the decisive order.
He knew his colleague was beyond saving, and he knew hesitation would endanger others as well.
Hearing Coulson's command, the others no longer hesitated and were about to pull their triggers, but it was too late.
After swallowing fresh human flesh and blood, Akaza's missing lower body regenerated like toothpaste being squeezed from a new tube.
He grabbed the person in his grasp and threw them away.
Immediately afterward, he leaped up like a tiger among sheep, ready to unleash a massacre.
Kyojuro charged forward, dragging his mangled body, and positioned himself in front of Akaza.
"Get out of my way!"
Akaza no longer had any desire to fight the strong. He only wanted to tear these despicable people to shreds, then take Tamayo back to his master. He raised his fist and unleashed his ultimate Annihilation Type technique.