(Extra chapter)
'I have to stop him! I can't let him get any closer!'
Rui quickly made a decision in his heart. He didn't have time to marvel at Kiyokawa Izumi's confidence; he had to act, otherwise, he would die.
"Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!"
With a flick of his wrist and a swing of his arm, ten incredibly hard blood threads suddenly rotated in front of him. They spun so fast like a vortex that their solid forms couldn't be seen; only the sound of air being torn apart echoed through the forest.
"Can you still block this?"
Wherever it passed, only faint afterimages left by the blood threads could be seen. Under the high-speed rotation, whether it was a nichirin blade or a fragile body, everything would be shredded.
Kill him!
The dead father and mother were no longer important; he could find others!
The sister who ran away must receive her due punishment.
The brother who didn't show up must also be heavily punished.
As long as he could kill this Demon Slayer before him, everything would return to normal.
The beautiful life would continue.
'Second Form: Flash of Interspace - Multi-Recital!'
Kiyokawa Izumi, whose advancing steps never faltered, already had his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Facing the lethal move coming at him like a vortex, both his hearing and vision were sending him signals of extreme danger.
To touch it was to die.
If he couldn't block it, he would be turned into mincemeat.
However, his state of mind at this moment was unexpectedly transcendent.
It was as if he were standing from another perspective, calmly watching himself swing the sword.
The sharp nichirin blade precisely sliced into the gaps.
In just an instant, all the incoming blood threads were severed.
Kiyokawa Izumi lowered his head slightly, watching the thin threads fall slowly as if weightless. Before he could savor that state of mind, his leg muscles suddenly exerted force, and he crossed the remaining distance of less than ten meters in a flash.
"Checkmate!"
There were no flying sparks, nor the sound of metal clashing.
It was just an ordinary strike, the smooth blade seemingly reflecting the image of a bright moon.
Not a hint of leaked killing intent could be felt, and even the trajectory slicing through the air was barely visible.
His perspective changed in a dizzying whirl. Vaguely, he seemed to see Kiyokawa Izumi's movement of sheathing the sword.
Why did I lose?
Why was he able to sever my threads so precisely?
"Why?"
Rui, who still couldn't understand, looked at Kiyokawa Izumi and asked blankly.
"If a leaf blocks the eye, the forest is hidden; if the heart dwells on things, the blade stagnates. Looking at the whole picture, I can see everything, while your gaze remains fixed on my blade because you believe the blade poses a threat to you."
Kiyokawa Izumi lightly covered his nose, saying casually with a hint of disgust.
It wasn't an illusion; his sense of smell had also become more acute at this moment.
He could smell the faint scent of blood in the air. The blood flowing from the demon's body seemed to have a peculiar stench.
The threads soaked in demon blood had been emitting this smell.
That was why he could see, hear, and smell it.
"What does that mean?"
The smell of ashes grew stronger. Kiyokawa Izumi pulled back and didn't explain further.
At this moment, he even felt a sense of emptiness.
The pressure from Lower Rank Five wasn't as strong as he had imagined.
It wasn't the battle he had looked forward to, let alone a life-and-death struggle.
From beginning to end, he held the advantage.
He knew this one's abilities and personality. When the fake bonds were destroyed, it had already lost its composure.
Kiyokawa Izumi had enough time to construct his Cognitive Domain. After completing the training for Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, his mastery of the Breathing Technique had reached a higher level. Not only were his physical attributes enhanced, but his senses were also improved.
However, there were pros and cons; after this battle, his swordsmanship had hardly improved.
The pressure Rui gave him wasn't enough!
If he hadn't shared his blood with ordinary demons, he might have been stronger and perhaps could have fought Kiyokawa Izumi for a long time.
Unfortunately, the hypothesis didn't hold.
"Cough—"
Using the Breathing Technique at full power, combined with maintaining the Fourth Form, caused a slight sensation of discomfort.
It was likely because he had received too much information too quickly, causing his brain to feel a sense of dizziness.
Kiyokawa Izumi quickly began to adjust.
This move still had many shortcomings; it required too many prerequisites and the preparation time was too long.
If the opponent were an Upper Rank, he might not have lasted until he could use this move.
Even if he successfully used it, it wouldn't be enough to bridge the massive gap between him and an Upper Rank.
If he could maintain it for a long time, he might hold out for ten or twenty more moves.
It wouldn't result in a comical scene where he'd be killed in three or five moves just by a glare from a Sharingan.
But what if he could only hold out for a short time?
Both physical and mental strength would be depleted, and his reactions would become sluggish.
Competing in endurance against an Upper Rank, how could an ordinary person of flesh and blood possibly win?
The path to improvement was still long and arduous.
Kiyokawa Izumi didn't waste much more time there and began searching for the remaining demons.
Although these demons were only a matter of one or two moves for him.
They could still easily deal with ordinary Team Members.
Take the Spider Demon Sister, for example; a Blood Demon Art she cast casually had instantly defeated the experienced and senior Murata.
Some Team Members were even weaker than Murata.
If Kiyokawa Izumi didn't take this opportunity to clear them out and instead relied on ordinary Team Members, who knows how many people would die.
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