"Blood Demon Art: Rakshasa's Rampant Forest!"
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form: Catastrophe - Tenman Crescent Moon!"
Blood-soaked green thorns erupted from Shinichi's veins, scalding with the heat of his Raging blood.
Like tendrils from the depths of hell, they lashed wildly as he charged, their searing aura chilling to the core.
Kokushibo also unleashed his full power.
As his grotesque blood blade danced through the air, countless enormous crescent-shaped blade winds erupted from its edge, sweeping away everything before him.
Simultaneously, gigantic circular moon blades surged from all directions, slashing toward Shinichi.
Blood Demon Art versus Breathing Technique—who could have imagined that sworn enemies, a demon and a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, would one day stand like this?
Shinichi, the Forest Hashira wielding a Blood Demon Art, fought desperately to slay a demon, while the demon, employing a Breathing Technique, sought to kill the Demon Slayers.
The moment they clashed, an earth-shattering explosion roared across the sky, as if two meteors had collided!
The shockwave rippled outward in violent rings, reducing the already devastated ruins of the red-light district to dust.
Demon Slayers who stood too close and still processing what was happening, were sent flying by the overwhelming force.
Blinding light illuminated the night—half cold, deathly pale moonlight, half seething, wild crimson and emerald.
"All Demon Slayers, retreat!! Do not interfere with Shinichi's battle! Leave this place to us!"
Himejima Gyomei roared, his voice was grave.
At this point, he could no longer afford to hesitate, nor did he have time to explain why Shinichi had taken on the form of a demon.
Gyomei understood one thing clearly: Shinichi had exposed his hidden identity for a single reason—Upper Rank One's strength had surpassed all expectations, and Shinichi had resolved to fight with everything he had.
Yet, despite Gyomei's urgent command, the Demon Slayers—those flung aside and even those farther away—refused to retreat.
Many gritted their teeth, gripping their Nichirin Blades as they struggled forward, determined to aid the Forest Hashira.
"Even if our bodies perish and our souls fade, the will of the Demon Slayer Corps shall endure forever!"
This was no mere slogan—it was the unbreakable spirit that had sustained the Corps for a thousand years.
Speechless, Gyomei could only murmured a Buddhist chant, "Namu Amida Butsu!"
BOOM—the ground beneath him shattered!
At the heart of the fiercest battle, Shinichi pushed forward relentlessly through the storm of crescent blades.
His muscles bulged as he clenched his sword hilt, the crimson and emerald glow flickering along its edge.
The demonic thorns coiled around him lashed out, corroding and deflecting the incoming slashes, their collisions ringing with sharp, metallic clangs.
When his defenses faltered, Kokushibo's pale crescent strikes carved countless wounds into Shinichi's flesh.
Yet his scorching orange-red flesh writhed and regenerated at a visible rate under his Demon Transformation's enhanced healing, steam hissing from the closing wounds.
Across from Shinichi, Kokushibo's six blood-red eyes locked onto his frenzied opponent.
The extent of Shinichi's transformation had exceeded his expectations—this level of regeneration, this mastery of Blood Demon Art!
It reminded Kokushibo of Akaza, who had once challenged him in a Blood Battle for his rank.
Only now, the figure wildly swinging fists had been replaced by one wielding dual blades with even greater madness.
'Power comparable to Upper Rank Three—how could there be blood of such potency within him?'
The shock in his heart grew even stronger.
Kokushibo could clearly sense that the force emanating from Shinichi's blade was not just the power of a Blood Demon Art.
There was also a strange energy unlike any Breathing Technique he had encountered before.
Kokushibo had come across such power in the past, but the Forest Breathing of that time was nowhere near Shinichi's current level.
The thorns infused with life force were now frantically countering—even devouring—Kokushibo's Moon Breathing!
Whoosh!
Clang!
Boom!
Squelch!!
All six pupils contracted violently as dark demon blood exploded from Kokushibo's chest.
His purple samurai robes were torn apart, revealing a ghastly pale torso now marred by a deep, bone-exposing gash.
Though an injury of this degree meant little to him, for Kokushibo—who had faced no worthy opponent in nearly a millennium—this was nothing short of an unbearable humiliation!
"A mere half-bake demon… dares to…!" Kokushibo's killing intent surged to its peak.
His grip on his sword tightened, and the grotesque blood blade trembled with a resonant hum as even more condensed and massive lunar blades prepared to erupt.
Facing Kokushibo's fury, Shinichi bared his fangs in return, flashing a mocking grin.
The temperature around him spiked further as the verdant glow of his Nichirin Dual Blades dimmed slightly, replaced by a more violent, raging crimson light.
The clash between the grotesque blood blade and the Nichirin Dual Blades unleashed an even more terrifying storm of carnage—literally.
Like two immortals unleashed, Shinichi and Kokushibo abandoned all defense, their blades serving only to attack.
Their bodies erupted with sprays of blood and chunks of flesh, only to regenerate instantly thanks to their undying constitutions—before they resumed hacking at each other…
Amid this brutal and desperate battle, a figure wreathed in boundless rage and the howling wind suddenly tore into the fray like a verdant thunderbolt splitting the night sky!
"Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Gale Slash!"
Shinazugawa Sanemi had arrived!
The emerald-green windmill mark on his face blazed as his eyes locked onto Kokushibo.
The colossal, ultra-condensed wind blade erupting from his Nichirin Blade carried the will to slice through everything, descending upon Kokushibo's neck with ruthless precision.
The six eyes of Upper Rank One contracted sharply!
Sssshhk!
BOOM!
With Sanemi's furious roar, the emerald Nichirin Blade bit into Kokushibo's neck—nearly a full centimeter deep!
But it wasn't over yet!
Like the shriek of a mighty eagle, a massive steel warhammer came hurtling through the air, striking with pinpoint accuracy!
BOOM!!
The tremendous impact drove Sanemi's blade even deeper into Kokushibo's neck—burying it nearly a third of the way through!
"Get off!!"
Kokushibo's expression twisted into unprecedented ferocity as an immense shockwave erupted from his body, kicking up a storm of dust and debris.
Sanemi, Gyomei, and even Shinichi were all sent flying by the force of the explosion!
Clang!
The Nichirin Blade plunged deep into the earth, sliding back over ten meters before Sanemi managed to steady himself.
"Tch! That's some serious strength! No wonder you're Upper Rank One. Shinichi, you still holding up? You don't look so good right now."
Though the presence of the demon was unmistakable, Sanemi's tone when speaking to Shinichi showed no change—not even a glance was exchanged between them.
He entrusted his back to Shinichi without hesitation.
'Hah... hah...' Shinichi's throat emitted a hoarse, grating sound.
Having activated the third stage of Raging Blood, his vocal cords had long been scorched and deformed by the intense heat.
But now was not the time for idle chatter.
The battle was far from over!
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