If nothing unexpected happened, that weapon must have been forged with a massive amount of sunlight mixed into it. If that was the case…
Kokushibo shifted his attention to the other two. After a brief scan, he locked onto Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Sanemi was already heavily wounded. He'd clearly been through a dangerous fight earlier.
More importantly than the cuts on his body, his stamina had likely been drained hard.
Out of the three, he looked like the easiest to eliminate.
"I'll break your weapon first."
Target acquired, Kokushibo moved.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Sanemi, his demonic blade chopping straight into the side of Sanemi's Nichirin blade!
Sanemi was forced into a block, his sword taking a brutal sideways impact.
Not good!
Sanemi instantly understood the intent.
Kokushibo was trying to destroy his weapon. Not every Demon Slayer could fight like Vincent Fox, still dealing terrifying damage even barehanded.
If a Nichirin blade was shattered, a swordsman lost more than half their combat power on the spot.
Sanemi exploded with strength, snapping his wrist.
His blade twisted back into proper alignment, forcibly pressing Kokushibo's weapon down and away!
Fast reaction.
Kokushibo hadn't expected that. He yanked his blade back and retreated.
Mist Breathing, Seventh Form!
Obscuring Clouds!
In the next instant, Kokushibo's figure was swallowed by a haze of rainbow mist, his line of sight disrupted.
Muichiro Tokito lunged in, slashing hard at the demon who dared call himself his ancestor!
"You want to be my ancestor?" Muichiro barked, voice cold. "You're not even close."
His blade accelerated again, cutting with ruthless precision.
Even so, Kokushibo raised his sword vertically and stopped it.
He burst backward, searching for a way to break their formation.
But how could three people attacking without a single gap give him that chance?
Gyomei Himejima appeared in front of him again, the spiked flail whipping forward.
That long-range strike covered the distance in a blink.
Kokushibo reflexively lifted his blade to defend, but a green whirlwind snapped his demonic sword aside.
"Remember me," Sanemi snarled, riding the opening as he moved through the air. "I'm the gale that's going to twist your neck off."
With the setup complete, Sanemi shifted positions midair, clearing the path for Gyomei's follow-up.
Kokushibo forced his body to twist, still getting his shoulder blown apart.
Wind Breathing, Seventh Form!
Mist Breathing, Fourth Form!
The two struck again, countless overlapping sword-shadows cutting through Kokushibo's body!
"Don't stop!" Gyomei roared. "Keep pressuring the neck!"
He charged first.
But Kokushibo, now reduced to half a body, attacked with only one arm.
Moon Breathing, Eighth Form!
Moon-Dragon Ringtail!
A violet blade-light whipped out like a dragon's tail, carving a massive circle.
The three were driven back at once.
Blue crescent blades tore shallow and deep wounds across them, blood spilling nonstop.
"Stop the bleeding!" Gyomei ordered.
Both of them immediately used controlled breathing to seal their wounds.
They'd been blasted eight meters away, completely outside effective range.
From that distance, even if they forced attacks in, they couldn't land anything decisive.
Kokushibo didn't pause.
His demonic blade shifted shape again.
One grotesque strike after another erupted, constantly forcing the distance wider.
Moon Breathing, Ninth Form!
Descending Moon: Consecutive Slashes!
Sanemi, too close, was carved open again and again, crushed under the pressure.
Moon Breathing, Tenth Form!
Piercing Face Slash: Lunar Net!
A storm of violet blade-light rained down.
Sanemi, pinned in place, couldn't dodge.
"Stay with me!"
A voice hit his ear. Sanemi felt his body jerk backward, yanked out of that hell in an instant.
"Tokito?"
Muichiro's voice came from behind him, calm and sharp. "Don't die. You still need that arm to swing your sword."
They retreated fast.
"Find an opening," Gyomei warned, charging again. "We can't keep stalling. The longer we waste here, the more time Muzan has."
Stone Breathing, First Form…
Boom!
He didn't even get the technique out before the attack interrupted him.
Blades of energy fell from above, smashing the ground into rubble.
Feeling the air tremble, Gyomei dodged again and again, barely avoiding strikes that would have taken his head.
Damn it. When does this end?
Even Gyomei was starting to feel the pressure.
He tried to rely on speed, to force a timing window, but every attempt was met by an attack that seemed to read him perfectly.
Fast.
Fast in a way that didn't make sense.
It felt like his intent was being extracted before he even moved.
This wasn't unheard of. Some gifted swordsmen could read posture and muscle tension and predict the next technique.
But Kokushibo was beyond that.
It was as if he read the thought the instant it formed, then answered it with swordsmanship and perfect defense.
Every single time.
This… wasn't that the realm of a god?
A memory surfaced, a comment the Flame Hashira had once made about Vincent Fox.
Like a prophet, able to predict Akaza's attacks.
No. Back then, Vincent Fox had been wrapped in a sacred aura.
But this demon…
Gyomei tried to feel for the source of what was wrong, even while dodging.
All he sensed was nauseating demonic malice.
Could a demon wield something like divine power?
He kept moving, searching, tracing that strange sensation.
Even demons were born from humans.
"My blind eyes can't be deceived," Gyomei growled, as if commanding his body to push beyond its limits. "These are the true eyes that see through all things!"
Suddenly, the darkness in front of him wasn't darkness anymore.
Kokushibo's silhouette appeared in his vision, stripped open like a diagram.
Muscle fibers.
Bloodflow.
Every detail laid bare.
What is this? It's like a heartbeat… running through his entire body!
In that instant, understanding crashed down on Gyomei like lightning.
Because the moment Kokushibo executed a technique, Gyomei's mind produced a perfectly clear image.
He slipped through the next strike with ease, then turned and shouted:
"Shinazugawa! Tokito!"
Sanemi moved at once, sprinting hard.
If Gyomei had confidence, then this was the moment they had to seize.
Muichiro also spread his haze of mist again, searching for a crack.
Then Kokushibo's voice fell like a blade:
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form!"
"Malevolent Shift: Heavenly Full Moon Thread!"
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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