Horitake swung the long length of intestine like a cowboy twirling a lasso, then suddenly launched it toward Aizetsu.
Aizetsu (Sorrow), still reeling from the shock of Horitake's brutality, failed to react in time. The fleshy rope coiled tight around his neck in an instant!
Terrified, Aizetsu clawed frantically at the intestine, trying to tear it loose.
However, this was the gut of a demon—abnormally tough and resilient. Moreover, it was coated in slick mucus, making it too slippery for Aizetsu to grip or rip apart in his panic.
Desperate, Aizetsu raised his cross-spear, intending to sever the coil strangling his neck!
But Horitake wasn't about to let that happen.
Gripping his end of the intestine tightly, Horitake surged with power. Purple lightning flared intensely, traveling along the wet, conductive tissue of the gut. Crackle-hiss! The electricity slammed into Aizetsu, sending the clone into spasms of numbness.
It couldn't be helped; Horitake's "Heavenly Thunder" was simply too great a counter for demons. The high-voltage current stiffened Aizetsu's body, locking his muscles and rendering him immobile.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Sekido (Anger) had been completely disemboweled. He clutched his empty abdominal cavity, rolling on the ground in agony.
The Demon of Hatred clutched his shoulder, where a large chunk of flesh had been shaved off, and dared not approach.
Urogi (Joy) hovered in the sky, blood dripping from his wounded wing, struggling to maintain flight.
Only Karaku (Pleasure), holding his leaf fan, remained relatively unscathed—aside from the black eye Horitake had given him earlier.
He looked left, he looked right, and realized he was the only one capable of action.
He sighed helplessly. Under these circumstances, how could he leave Aizetsu to die? After all, Aizetsu was one of their own clones!
Gritting his teeth, Karaku gripped his fan tight and swung it violently toward Horitake!
A massive volume of wind was compressed by the fan into a giant air cannon, roaring toward Horitake with enough force to blast a crater into the earth!
Horitake, who was busy torturing Aizetsu with electric shocks through the intestine, sensed the incoming air cannon.
"You'd be better off just watching from over there!"
As he spoke, Horitake swung the Raikiri blade—its purple light still undimmed—and slashed in Karaku's direction!
A razor-sharp purple energy slash tore through the sky, slicing the air cannon clean in half. The slash continued with undiminished momentum, heading straight for Karaku.
The speed of the lightning slash was terrifying. Startled, Karaku scrambled to jump away. He managed to dodge, but he was a fraction of a second too late—the lightning slash sliced off a small portion of his fan!
Having evaded the blow, Karaku looked at his damaged fan and wanted to cry without tears.
His Blood Demon Art, his entire fighting strength, relied almost exclusively on this fan.
Now that the fan was damaged, his combat potential was severely discounted! What was he supposed to do now?!
Having dealt with Karaku, Horitake let out a cold, sneering laugh.
"Gentlemen, back in my hometown, there is a recreational sport called the 'Yo-Yo.' I don't suppose you've ever seen it?
Ah, of course, you haven't.
No matter. Allow me to demonstrate how a Yo-Yo is played!
I might not be very good at it, but I hope you'll support the performance!"
With that, Horitake gripped his end of the intestine and yanked it violently toward himself!
The long intestine was incredibly resilient, showing no signs of breaking.
The other end was still wrapped tightly around Aizetsu's neck.
Paralyzed by the electricity, Aizetsu couldn't resist. He was hauled through the air, flying limbs-flailing toward Horitake!
Although Aizetsu's body was stiff from the shock, his mind was still active.
He knew that being pulled toward Horitake would end in nothing but disaster.
If that's the case... then I might as well...
Aizetsu's heart hardened. As he flew through the air, he tightened his grip on his cross-spear. The moment he was pulled within range of Horitake, he thrust the spear viciously, aiming straight for Horitake's throat!
Unfortunately, Aizetsu had overestimated his own physical condition.
After being subjected to Horitake's high-voltage torture for so long, his body was stiff and numb. How much strength could there be in that thrust? How much speed?
Horitake merely tilted his head slightly, easily dodging the stab.
And he didn't stop there. He delivered a casual slash in return.
Squelch!
The arm holding the spear was sliced clean off by Horitake's Raikiri!
Aizetsu screamed as blood sprayed like a fountain from the stump. The severed arm, still clutching the cross-spear, spun twice in the air before falling limply to the ground.
Horitake, holding the intestine leash attached to Aizetsu's neck, prepared his "Yo-Yo." He tossed Aizetsu's body upward, and then...
Just as Aizetsu began to fall, Horitake launched a kick!
THUD!
Horitake's foot connected, launching Aizetsu's body straight up into the sky!
The force of the kick was tremendous; Aizetsu flew high.
But one must not forget: the intestine in Horitake's hand was still wrapped around Aizetsu's neck.
After flying up a certain distance, the intestine stretched to its limit and went taut. The gut possessed excellent elasticity, and that tension instantly snapped Aizetsu back down.
Having flown up, Aizetsu was now yanked violently downward. Because of the tether, his trajectory led him straight back to Horitake.
Watching the ground—and Horitake—rushing toward him, Aizetsu was consumed by terror. He struggled desperately, trying to use his one remaining hand to pry the intestine from his neck.
But there wasn't enough time.
As Aizetsu fell into range, Horitake launched another kick!
THUD!
Aizetsu was sent flying into the sky again!
Once again, the intestine stretched to its limit. Due to its toughness and elasticity, Aizetsu was yanked back down.
Horitake kicked again! Sent flying up! Pulled back down! Sent flying up! Pulled back down! Sent flying up...
The cycle repeated over and over. Aizetsu lost count of how many times he had been kicked, how many times he had flown up, and how many times he had been yanked back down.
The other four clones watched Horitake's atrocity in stunned silence. They were too frightened to speak.
It didn't matter if they didn't speak; Horitake asked them anyway, all while continuing his kicking rhythm:
"Well? Gentlemen, my Yo-Yo skills are pretty good, aren't they?"
The four demon clones were speechless.
Good, my ass!? Is that how you play with a Yo-Yo!?
Sure, there's a string attached, and sure, it goes up and down... but I've never heard of playing Yo-Yo by kicking it!
The most miserable one, of course, was Aizetsu.
The clone had lost track of how many kicks he had endured. His body was bruised and swollen, looking a full size larger than before. He was dizzy, the world spinning around him, his mind a chaotic mess.
If it were just the kicking, perhaps he could endure it.
But every time Aizetsu reached the highest point of his flight, the intestine tethering him would pull taut.
And since the intestine was wrapped around his neck, every time it reached maximum tension, it strangled him with lethal force, choking him to the absolute limit!
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