"Not bad at all," Takeru remarked, impressed that his opponent's attack had completely neutralized his Rankyaku.
While Rankyaku wasn't Takeru's primary offensive method, and his power was currently halved due to the substantial stamina he had lent out, achieving such a result was still commendable for his opponent.
"Time's up. Commencing interest calculation. Insufficient stamina value. Initiating debt collection mode!" Meanwhile, as Akaza was marveling at Takeru's ability to counter his Annihilation Type attack, the stamina doll underwent a change.
Immediately afterward, Akaza felt as if a large portion of his stamina had vanished, leaving him with a hollow, empty sensation.
Once he went 'bankrupt', all the stamina Takeru had previously lent him would instantly dissipate, and an equivalent amount of stamina would be forcibly extracted from Akaza's own reserves and returned to Takeru.
Of course, since Akaza's base stamina was roughly around 17000, instantly repaying over 7000 points, combined with the stamina he had already expended, left him with about 6000 points remaining. He wasn't completely incapacitated.
Feeling his own stamina being replenished, Takeru allowed a faint smile to touch his lips.
"Is it over?" Seeing the change in the stamina doll, the onlookers behind, including Tanjiro, murmured in confusion.
"No. Akaza doesn't look like he's lost the ability to fight," Rengoku countered, frowning.
"It's about time to end this, Akaza," Takeru said lightly, ignoring the speculations behind him. He simply set the debt collection mode to drain 100 stamina points from Akaza every ten seconds.
Even as he said this, Takeru knew it wouldn't be that simple. After all, Akaza was no ordinary human, he was an Upper Rank demon. His stamina recovery rate was far beyond that of a normal person.
However, one thing was certain: Akaza's recovery rate absolutely could not reach 100 points every ten seconds. Even at full capacity, it was likely around 100 points per minute at most...
"Damn it!" Feeling the hollowness from his depleted stamina, Akaza seethed with anger. He threw another futile punch at the now-transformed debt-collecting doll, but it was useless.
"Hmph. Though I have to admit your ability is strange, even with half my stamina gone, half is more than enough to kill all of you!" Akaza declared, watching the doll fly back to him. As if reaching a conclusion, he regained his composure.
"Oh? Are you sure about that?" Takeru replied, amused by Akaza's confidence.
Just then, another ten seconds passed. To Akaza's shock, he felt another sliver of his stamina disappear. Noticing this, he stared dumbfounded at Takeru.
"Haha, looks like you've noticed. Besides the initial debt collection, you'll need to keep paying me stamina continuously from now on," Takeru explained with a light laugh.
Hearing this, Akaza's expression changed drastically, losing all its previous calmness. Not daring to waste any more time, he explosively charged at Takeru again.
"Destructive Death: Leg Type: Crown Splitter!" Closing the distance instantly, Akaza swung his leg upward from below in a powerful kick aimed at Takeru's head.
Facing this attack, Takeru remained unhurried, simply leaping lightly out of its range.
"Destructive Death: Leg Type: Explosive Flurry!" Seeing Takeru jump into the air, Akaza wasn't dismayed. Instead, a smile appeared. He leaped after Takeru and unleashed another technique.
He believed that in mid-air, Takeru would be unable to dodge. Explosive Flurry involved delivering several rapid, violent kicks to the same spot with one leg, like a burst of light.
"Kami-e!" In response, Takeru completely relaxed his body, swaying and flowing with the rhythm of the attack, causing every single kick to miss.
"Impossible! Destructive Kill: Leg Type: Flying Planet Thousand Wheels!" Seeing even Explosive Flurry fail to connect, Akaza found it hard to accept and quickly switched to another move.
A series of continuous kicks, their trajectories elusive and blurred, swarmed towards Takeru like shooting stars. Yet, despite using such an attack, Takeru's body seemed to anticipate every move, dodging them all effortlessly.
Once Akaza's assault ended, Takeru delivered a simple kick that sent Akaza flying backward.
"Impossible!" After regaining his footing, Akaza stared at Takeru with disbelief. The fact that not a single one of his attacks had connected was unacceptable to him.
"It's all over. I respect you as a warrior. To thank you for helping me test my abilities, I will use my greatest power to end you," Takeru stated seriously, looking at Akaza.
"Greatest power?" His words left everyone stunned.
"Ka...me...hame..." Taking a deep breath, Takeru assumed a classic stance, his voice a low murmur.
As Takeru began gathering energy, a brilliant blue light coalesced between his hands. Whether it was Tanjiro, Inosuke, or Rengoku, in that instant, they all felt as if they were witnessing something truly fear. Their bodies screamed at them to retreat, an instinctual warning that being hit would mean certain death, that no defense could possibly withstand it.
Akaza felt the same primal terror. His hair stood on end, and his body momentarily stiffened. The thought flashed through his mind: 'I will die. I absolutely cannot block this.'
"Don't be ridiculous! I am Upper Moon Three, Akaza! Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!" Sensing that despairing thought, Akaza's mind seemed to snap. He roared in fury, pouring every last ounce of his remaining power into his final, ultimate technique.
"HA!" On Takeru's side, as the gathered energy reached its peak, he thrust his hands forward.
Instantly, a massive blue energy wave erupted from his palms, colliding head-on with Akaza's Destructive Death: Annihilation Type. They clashed for less than half a second before the Kamehameha overpowered it with unstoppable momentum force, piercing straight through Akaza's body.
Bathed in the energy of the Kamehameha, Akaza felt his very being disintegrating. His cells were annihilated within the torrent of energy, his body fading away, his consciousness dissolving...
Yet, in the final moment before oblivion, a flood of long-forgotten memories surged back to Akaza. Memories from his human life, his true name: Hakuji.
In his youth, Hakuji's only remaining family was his father, who suffered from a severe illness. The young Hakuji, desperate to save his father's life, turned to theft to get money for medicine.
Driven by instinct, Hakuji believed that if he were weak, he would inevitably face retaliation from his victims or capture by the authorities.
So, while stealing, he also relentlessly honed his physical skills.
Despite his training, Hakuji couldn't escape capture every time. Initially, due to his youth, he was always released. But after turning fifteen, he was subjected to a punishment at the magistrate's office: one hundred heavy blows, a beating that would render even a grown man unconscious.
Thanks to his years of training, Hakuji endured the punishment and was released. However, upon returning home, he received devastating news: his father, believing he had become a burden, had taken his own life...
Later, Hakuji encountered the person who would change his life: his master, Keizo. He also met his future beloved, Keizo's daughter, Koyuki.
While caring for the frail Koyuki, Hakuji revealed his inherently gentle nature, and over time, living together day by day, Koyuki gradually fell in love with him.
But this peace was short-lived. During a period when everything seemed to be going well, Hakuji returned alone to his hometown to visit his father's grave.
When he came back to the dojo, he discovered that both his master and his beloved had been killed by a rival dojo master who had poisoned them out of jealousy...
Having lost everything he sought to protect once again, Hakuji completely broke. He single-handedly killed all 67 people in the rival dojo with his bare hands. It was at this moment that Muzan Kibutsuji appeared, bewitching the lost and confused Hakuji and brought him under his sway...
In the end, after becoming a demon, Hakuji gradually lost all his memories. His heart was left with only the obsession to become stronger. He was given a new name: Akaza.
"Forgive me, Koyuki..." After remembering everything, Akaza's appearance seemed to change once more, and tears streamed from his eyes.
"Welcome back, my love." Yet, in his final moment, Hakuji seemed to see Koyuki's soul, as if she had been watching over him all this time. Now, she gazed at him with tears in her own eyes.
"Koyuki..." With Hakuji's last whispered word, he finally shattered into fragments and vanished from the world.