Ordinary swordsmen were just insignificant small roles in this battle, trivial characters whose strength was so minuscule that neither Kiyokawa Izumi nor Upper Rank Five, Gyokko, truly paid attention to them.
Kiyokawa Izumi had only one request for them—don't drag him down, and keep yourselves alive.
But it was these insignificant guys who were the first to break their limits, overcome their fear, and truly take action.
They did not abandon the Hashira and flee due to fear or terror.
When they drew their nichirin blades and destroyed the surrounding pots, Gyokko was enraged. This act was tantamount to defiling its works of art!
These small characters weren't Douma. That one's strength was indeed far superior to its own, and if Douma used its artworks to display women's heads, Gyokko could only swallow its dissatisfaction.
Filled with immense anger, it manipulated the goldfish to attack the ordinary Team Members. Dense, countless poisonous needles shot out from the goldfish's bulging gills.
At this moment, the ordinary Team Members felt their breathing suddenly stop.
"Aren't you perhaps looking down on me too much?"
Amidst the chaotic blade shadows, Kiyokawa Izumi, who stood in front of the ordinary Team Members, spoke calmly.
He truly was an unqualified Hashira.
If the Flame Hashira were here, those thoughts would never have arisen from the start. Big Brother would only consider how to protect others and how to slay the Demon before him.
In comparison, Kiyokawa Izumi was simply too unqualified.
'After experiencing so many life-and-death battles, what is there to hesitate about now?'
'It's nothing more than death. Someone who has died once, can they truly still fear death?'
'I know all its abilities, I know its personality. It's just fighting the strong with the weak. Haven't I been doing this all along? What is so special about an Upper Rank?'
'Even those ordinary Team Members can conquer their fear. Am I, this irresponsible Hashira, worse than them?'
Kiyokawa Izumi's breathing rhythm suddenly changed.
An excessive amount of air was drawn into his lungs. The constantly beating heart behind his sternum emitted a dull sound like a heavy drum, and hot blood, wrapped in overloaded oxygen, surged into every part of his body.
Beneath his skin, veins bulged hideously. His taut muscles exploded instantly. Without giving Gyokko time to manipulate the goldfish again, he traversed the dozen meters in a flash.
'Third Form: Soundless Three Stage: Instant Approach!'
There was no technique involved; under the extreme burst of speed, his body seemed to merge into the darkness, only to reappear in the Demon's line of sight in an instant.
Gyokko's pupils sharply contracted. Compared to upper rank one or Upper Three, it was not skilled in close combat.
At this moment, it instinctively dodged.
The goldfish suspended in the air were instantly cut down.
Gyokko narrowly dodged the strike and reappeared elsewhere.
"Just barely missed! Your attack is meaningless, it's impossible to touch me!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Before its words finished, a faint wound appeared on Gyokko's neck. It touched it belatedly, and its condescending attitude changed for the first time.
In that instant just now, this Hashira truly threatened it.
Inhaling a large amount of air to achieve a momentary speed boost? A straight, skill-less charge—this kind of Move is only useful the first time it's used.
The Great Lord Gyokko won't fall for the same trick twice!
"Daring to let your guard down in front of me, are you treating me as nothing?"
An indifferent voice came from behind him, startling Gyokko.
How could he make a judgment instantly? There were so many pots!
No strong Qi could be felt. Whether it was his breathing or the sound caused by his movement, it should have been very obvious in the silent night.
Yet, this man seemed to hide himself within the darkness.
"Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Pot!"
The speed of your desperate burst is indeed fast, and your reaction time also surprised the Demon.
But so what?
You Swordsmen rely too much on the Breathing Technique, using breathing to enhance physical fitness—and once you can't breathe, you become utterly vulnerable.
A Gyokko pot engraved with wave patterns appeared in its hand, and a large amount of highly viscous, water-like liquid surged towards Kiyokawa Izumi.
'I have memorized the location of every surrounding Gyokko pot.'
'Facing me charging right in front of you, you would inevitably use this Move... Knowing all your abilities, why did you think I couldn't dodge?'
'Spinning Heel!'
With a secondary burst of breathing, Kiyokawa Izumi's legs suddenly exerted force, changing positions repeatedly around Gyokko. The suspended streams of water passed through the afterimages he left behind, as if unable to find their target.
An ordinary Hashira encountering this Demon alone, without knowing its abilities, would have no room for error against this Move.
This gave Gyokko immense confidence, believing this Move could also kill Kiyokawa Izumi while preserving the integrity of his corpse.
But it was clearly overthinking things.
'Finale!'
"Checkmate!"
During the third breath, he felt as if his lungs were about to burst. Even though he had mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, his body still couldn't withstand this explosive breathing.