Aoki looked at Shinobu. "How are you? Are you badly hurt?"
"I'm fine!"
Shinobu wiped the blood from her mouth and stood up.
Aoki turned to Gyokko. His shattered body had regenerated.
Gyokko looked shocked. "Traitor? How could you get here so fast? You went in the opposite direction!"
He hadn't planned to fight the traitor directly.
He still remembered the terrifying power he had felt in Infinity Castle.
He was familiar with the traitor's ability. He had a similar one.
Even if the traitor could teleport further, he shouldn't have known what was happening here.
He should have had enough time to make art and leave calmly, even with Demon Slayers blocking him...
Suddenly, Gyokko thought of something. He looked at Shinobu.
Could it be... that wooden board?
Shinobu seemed to read his mind and smiled happily. "That's right."
Gyokko's expression turned grim.
"You lowly maggot, how dare you trick me..."
Aoki appeared silently beside him.
"You're so arrogant, it's ugly!"
"Aoki Style, Funeral!"
Gyokko's voice stopped. Red lines appeared on his upper body, then he shattered. His pot also vanished.
"Spatial teleportation?" Aoki looked at the pot that had appeared out of nowhere a dozen meters away, interested.
This was the Blood Demon Art most compatible with Space Traverse he knew!
If he devoured Gyokko, Space Traverse should get a good boost, right?
Gurgle gurgle!
Gyokko crawled out of the pot, his appearance completely changed. His upper body was human-like, covered in scales, with webbed claws. His lower body was a thick blue snake tail.
"You're honored to see my true form. Only two people have seen me like this before!"
Gyokko became confident after his transformation. He completely forgot his fear of Aoki.
"This body modification ability is interesting, but it's ugly. And it's a stupid choice!" Aoki said.
All demons could change their appearance to some extent.
Muzan was the best. He could perfectly mimic any human.
Other demons couldn't change their size much.
Gyokko was excellent at body modification. He was probably second only to Muzan among all demons.
"What do you know, you artless brute!"
Gyokko roared, flicked his tail, and lunged at Aoki.
Aoki flashed.
Gyokko charged past, slamming a claw into a tree.
Whoosh! The part of the tree hit by his claw turned into many jumping fish. A chunk was missing from the trunk.
Gyokko proudly raised his claw. "This is the hand of God! Anything I touch turns into fish!
And my scales are harder than diamonds. My muscles can exert maximum force. My body is flexible. I can do anything!
This is my perfect form, refined in the pot!"
"I told you, your choice is stupid!"
Aoki vanished.
Gyokko swung his claw behind him.
Aoki shifted, floating to the side, dodging Gyokko's claw. He punched.
Boom!
Gyokko's upper body tore apart. He flew away, tumbling.
"Too slow. His combat sense is terrible. His hardware is good, but his software is bad. Useless!"
Aoki said.
Gyokko's normal form was more like a mage, fighting with Blood Demon Art. His perfect form was an assassin and warrior, fighting in close combat.
If he could use both to their fullest, he would be a super warrior with no weaknesses.
But in reality, being good at everything often meant being mediocre. Specialization led to mastery.
Unfortunately, Gyokko was mediocre in both mage and warrior styles. He was the epitome of being good at everything but great at nothing.
He was an Upper Moon, but he was second to last.
Gyokko's veins bulged.
"Then I'll show you my power! You'll regret saying that!"
"Blood Demon Art, Array Kill Fish Scales!"
He started moving quickly around Aoki, bouncing off his smooth scales and flexible body. His movements were hard to predict.
"He really is an Upper Moon!"
Shinobu looked serious.
Mr. Aomura had said Gyokko was useless, but she knew how difficult he was.
His superhuman body, and claws that couldn't be touched, made him unstoppable.
But she was more amazed by Mr. Aomura's strength.
Gyokko was the second-lowest ranked Upper Moon.
Mr. Aomura had escaped Muzan and five Upper Moons, and killed Upper Moon Three and Upper Moon Six.
The more she learned, the more she realized how impressive that feat was.
"Hahaha! How about that? Do you feel my power now? You can't do anything, can you?"
Gyokko laughed, attacking Aoki from behind.
Aoki didn't turn, but he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He tilted his head, dodging the claw, and turned to strike with a hand blade.
Pfft!
Gyokko's right arm was cut off below the elbow. Before he could escape, Aoki's next attack came, like waves, one after another, endless.
"Aoki Style, Death Calamity!"
Gyokko's attacks crumbled. He was overwhelmed by Aoki's relentless attacks. He couldn't escape. He couldn't fight back. His wounds grew quickly.
He was shocked and angry. His confidence vanished.
Bang!
Gyokko's two arms shattered. Aoki changed his technique, punching, elbowing, kicking, and kneeing like a storm.
Aoki Style, Storm!
Death Calamity followed by Storm. It was his classic combo. He hadn't used it much recently.
His opponents weren't suitable.
Doma used wide-range ice attacks. Death Calamity, which focused on "combo rhythm," had no place. He couldn't link techniques so smoothly when surrounded by many enemies.
Bang bang bang!!
Gyokko's body exploded with holes. His snake tail broke off. Blood flowed from the wound, but it wouldn't heal.
"Impossible! How dare you! How can I die here? I am a noble life chosen by God!"
Gyokko looked fierce, veins bulging. He clawed at his wounds, tearing off chunks of flesh, but his body wouldn't regenerate.
His regeneration wasn't just suppressed. It had completely collapsed.
"Maybe it's because you're not noble enough."
Aoki held out his hand. "But don't worry. You won't be alone on the road to hell. Muzan will join you soon!"
"No! Ah!"
Gyokko screamed. His body slowly disappeared.
---
Hello there ShixT9 here, caught up already?
Extra Chapters in my patreon right now go check it out.
patreon.com/ShixT9
Don't forget to drop stones and a good review if you like the story so far ^-^