According to what was written in the notebook, the demon seemed capable of manipulating the surrounding environment.
Akimi felt that this ability was somewhat similar to the Inorganic Reincarnation technique used by the Yakushi Kabuto.
It was a troublesome power—being able to control the environment left him with virtually no reliable countermeasures.
"I guess I'll just have to take it one step at a time,"
Akimi muttered to himself helplessly.
After confirming that there were no other resources or information in the abandoned town, he followed Suzaku to the demon's lair—located at the very end of the underground passage.
The area had already been transformed by the demon's powers into a massive chamber.
On the way from the dwarven town to the demon's dwelling, bone-white skeletons would appear from time to time.
Though only about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall, their bones were thick and sturdy—clearly the remains of the dwarves who had fallen prey to the demon.
After roughly half an hour, Akimi reached the entrance to the demon's lair.
The jagged stone spikes at the entrance stood in stark contrast to the smooth passage that preceded it, appearing completely out of place.
Once inside, he found the darkness here even deeper than in the passage before.
Even with a torch, he could barely see within a three-meter radius; anything farther than that was just a blur of outlines.
Akimi explored the space briefly and could clearly tell that it was even larger than the fifth floor's floor boss chamber.
The room was an irregular circular shape with a diameter of about 45 meters.
The height was harder to judge, but it likely didn't exceed 10 meters.
He began to feel something was off—he had already circled the space twice, yet hadn't found any signs of the demon.
The huge chamber was completely empty.
Just as he began to suspect that the demon might have left and was preparing to exit the area, something unexpected happened—the solid stone beneath his feet suddenly turned into a mud-like liquid.
Akimi stumbled, and as he struggled to regain his balance, his feet began to sink.
Once the liquid engulfed him up to his calves, the muddy rock suddenly solidified again, trapping him in place.
Akimi struggled, trying to pull his legs free, but before he could escape, the surrounding rocks began to writhe and form several sharp stone spikes that lunged at him with deadly force.
He immediately used his Nichirin Blade to shatter the stone spikes, but in the next second, they regenerated, reappearing just as quickly.
This made him frown deeply.
While slashing at the spikes, he racked his brain for a way to escape.
It didn't take long for something to come to mind—the Terrain Ring.
If it weren't for the item he'd previously obtained that allowed him to enhance accessories, and the fact that he had strengthened the ring while upgrading his Nichirin Blade, he might've completely forgotten about its existence.
Akimi quickly raised his hand and activated the Terrain Ring.
Instantly, the rock trapping his legs split apart, and the surrounding spikes halted their assault.
Back on solid ground, Akimi tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade and cautiously scanned the area.
He was certain he hadn't triggered any trap just now, which could only mean one thing—there was a monster nearby.
Most likely, it was the demon.
At that moment, the ground a short distance ahead of him suddenly cracked open.
Two withered arms stretched up from within, followed by a head, torso, and legs—each emerging one after another from the fissure.
Finally, its full form appeared before Akimi : a shriveled body that looked like a skeleton with nothing but a thin layer of skin clinging to the bones.
Its head was eerily upside-down, connected to the body from the top of the skull.
The moment it surfaced, a grating and incomprehensible shriek came from the mouth pressed tightly against its upward-facing nostrils.
The sound was unsettling and grating to the nerves.
Beneath its red name marker wasn't a standard English name, but rather the Japanese katakana spelling of "Terrain Demon" (地形鬼).
It had only one HP bar, but it was noticeably longer than a typical health bar.
The Terrain Demon raised its inverted head and looked toward Akimi, revealing a spine-chilling and twisted grin.
With its disproportionately large eyes, the entire atmosphere turned terrifying.
Akimi raised his Nichirin Blade and readied himself for battle.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
As he called out the sword form, Akimi charged toward the Terrain Demon with a graceful, dance-like movement.
His footsteps were swift and unpredictable, and the water flowing along his blade traced a brilliant blue arc through the air.
Faced with Akimi's attack, the Terrain Demon didn't move an inch.
It showed no reaction at all.
But Akimi didn't let his guard down—instead, he grew even more cautious.
The blade met no resistance whatsoever as it sliced into the point where the Terrain Demon's head was connected to its body, cleanly severing the head from the demon's thin, shriveled frame.
However, the moment the blade made contact with the demon's body, Akimi immediately sensed something was wrong—if he had truly struck the demon's neck, there should have been at least some resistance.
The ease with which the blade passed through was unnatural.
He quickly leapt backward.
Sure enough, the very next instant, a spike of rock erupted from where he had just been standing.
And the seemingly decapitated Terrain Demon had already crumbled into a pile of stones.
The real one had appeared behind Akimi and was swinging its sharp claws at him.
Reacting instantly, Akimi blocked the claws with his Nichirin Blade, then kicked the demon square in the chest and used "Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel" to sever its arm in a spinning slash.
The Terrain Demon staggered backward, and its HP bar visibly dropped by nearly half.
However, within just a few seconds, its arm regenerated, and its HP bar was fully restored.
"Tch, it's really just like a demon from Demon Slayer… that regeneration is insane," Akimi muttered in disbelief.
The Terrain Demon let out a sharp, furious scream and charged at Akimi at breakneck speed.
Akimi quickly slashed again, cutting the demon clean in two before retreating once more.
As expected, the split body crumbled into shattered stone, but this time, the demon didn't immediately reappear.
Akimi scanned the area, trying to spot it, but found no trace.
Frowning slightly, he searched for a few more seconds before using the "Enemy Detection" skill.
The skill's indicator pointed directly above his head, and his expression darkened.
He looked up and spotted the Terrain Demon clinging to the ceiling, glaring down at him with a sinister expression.
In the next moment, a ring of stone pillars erupted from the ground around Akimi, extending all the way up to the ceiling and trapping him inside like a cage.
These pillars were thick—each about ten centimeters in diameter—and unlike the surrounding gray-black rock, they were a deep crimson red.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
With a focused expression, Akimi slashed one of the pillars, but the blade only carved a few centimeters into it—it wasn't enough to break through.
The Terrain Demon leapt down from the ceiling, eyes locked onto Akimi.
With a wave of its hand, several sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground and lunged straight toward him.
The narrow stone cage restricted Akimi's movement, making it hard for him to dodge.
Though he managed to destroy a few of the spikes, he was still struck by one in the thigh.
Seeing Akimi injured, the Terrain Demon let out a malicious laugh and conjured even more stone spikes to attack him.
Trapped inside the stone cage, Akimi struggled to hold on, but his HP quickly dropped to half.
While fending off the Terrain Demon's attacks, Akimi tried to use the Terrain Ring to control the stone pillars—but it had no effect.
Even the rock beneath his feet had now been altered by the Terrain Demon into that same deep crimson color.
In just a few minutes, Akimi's HP had dropped to a mere tenth of its total.
His health bar was now flashing a dangerous red.
"Is this... the end?"
Akimi gritted his teeth, gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly, frustration and unwillingness flickering in his eyes.
At that critical moment, a cloaked figure suddenly appeared beside him, smashing through the incoming stone spikes.
Akimi froze in surprise and looked toward the figure, who calmly pulled back her hood, revealing a cascade of chestnut-brown hair—it was Asuna.
"I'll draw the monster's attention. You break through the cage," Asuna said calmly.
Akimi nodded blankly, then replied, "Got it."
Upon hearing his voice, Asuna immediately raised her slender rapier, Radiant Silverlight, and launched a Linear thrust straight toward the Terrain Demon.
The demon dodged to the side, but Asuna quickly followed up with a Parallel Stinger, striking it directly.
With her first hit landing, she pressed the attack, her rapier landing blow after blow on the demon.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Akimi repeatedly used Water Surface Slash, and after several strikes, he finally managed to shatter some of the stone pillars—escaping the cage at last.
TL Note : Have you guys watch KNY movie yet? Zenitsu and Giyu was the MVP, Zenitsu fight was too short but at least i can enjoy Giyu fight much longer lol
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