"You actually know my identity?"
At those words, a flicker of interest flashed in Eto's single eye.
She had hidden herself for so many years, and the number of people who knew her true identity could be counted on one hand. Yet now, Hayashi had exposed her so easily — it was almost amusing.
But in the end, it didn't matter.
As long as she devoured Hayashi, her secret would vanish along with him.
In short, all she needed to do was kill the white-haired boy before her, and everything would be resolved!
Thinking this, Eto's lone eye gleamed with excitement, and her razor-sharp claws slashed forward.
Hayashi, however, raised the sword without the slightest thought of retreat.
But the moment their weapons met, the blade shattered instantly.
"Is your sword made of glass?"
"Why did it break at a single touch? Don't tell me it's just a toy?"
Watching the fragments scatter through the air, Eto let out a clear, bell-like laugh.
"You guessed right—it shatters when you touch it."
Hayashi's lips curved into a smile as he flicked his hand upward.
The scattered shards gathered in an instant and tore her massive, hardened claws to pieces.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
Eto's eye widened in surprise. She had thought it was nothing but a defective sword. Clearly, she had underestimated it.
But that only thrilled her more.
She loved slaughter, loved battle, loved bathing in blood.
She loved watching limbs torn apart, bodies reduced to ruin — it brought her immense satisfaction.
But it had been a very long time since she'd encountered an opponent who could truly match her.
And now, all that pressure she had bottled up burst free at once.
"How long has it been since I felt this? The thrill of real combat—ah, it's wonderful!"
Her crimson eye burned with joy. The wounds that had just been inflicted sealed up in only a few breaths, her regeneration so strong it even absorbed the fragments of Thousand Demon Daggers into her body.
"Your sword is mine now. Let's see how you block this!"
Laughing wildly, she swung both claws down, shattering the ground with every strike.
Hayashi dodged swiftly, his body twisting aside again and again.
Eto's strength was overwhelming — each claw left deep gouges in the earth, every blow cracked the ground. This level of power was nothing like Jason or Ayato.
Even a glancing hit would be fatal for an ordinary human.
Fortunately, Hayashi's body had been strengthened by the Ox Talisman and the Horse Talisman.
Without them, he would have been torn apart by the first shockwave alone.
As he adjusted his position mid-dodge, a third kagune suddenly burst from Eto's back.
A sharp ukaku spear shot toward his heart, too fast to react to.
"What a delicious flavor…"
Eto could almost feel the joy of blood washing over her.
With no time to evade, Hayashi crossed the hilt of his sword to block.
Clang!
The clash of metal rang through the air.
He deflected the strike, but Thousand Edge flew from his grip.
"Your precious sword is gone. You've reached the end of the road, boy."
Eto licked her teeth, her crimson eye gleaming with mockery.
"Oh?"
Hayashi tilted his head, a faint grin curling his lips.
"You think I'm cornered?"
Before she could respond, his body vanished.
In the next instant—Boom!
His fist slammed into her, sending her massive frame hurtling backward into a building. Concrete shattered around her.
"A human with such strength? Impossible."
Surprise flickered through Eto's eye, but it only stoked her excitement further.
Yes, this was what she craved — a fight where both sides could unleash everything.
Laughing with ecstasy, more kagune spears burst from her body, the air thickening with the stench of blood.
In a blur, she surged from the rubble and launched herself forward again.
This time, Hayashi didn't dodge. He met her head-on.
Her claws ripped his body into pieces, jagged spears spinning around her like a storm —
— but within an instant, his body regenerated completely.
"You even have regeneration?"
Eto's excitement grew.
He was just like her — inhuman strength, terrifying endurance, rapid regeneration.
The more she realized how alike they were, the more she wanted to kill him.
"Wonderful… too wonderful… this feeling is intoxicating!"
Flushed, her delicate face glowed with fevered delight.
"I can't take it anymore — I'm about to climax!"
Her movements grew wild, her claws slashing faster and faster, the spears multiplying and whirling at insane speeds.
"This feeling…"
Hayashi's lips curved upward, his eyes narrowing with exhilaration.
Ever since obtaining the Ox and Horse Talismans, he had longed for a battle like this.
A fight where nothing else existed, where only the desire to overwhelm and consume the opponent remained.
The two blurred into motion, colliding dozens of times in the blink of an eye.
Buildings collapsed around them, walls cracked and crumbled, their figures flashing in and out of the ruins.
The sounds of claws and fists colliding thundered nonstop.
Finally, Hayashi's fist hammered her into the ground.
The impact cratered the earth, shattering her kagune and exposing the petite body beneath.
Her regeneration worked furiously, the wound closing rapidly.
"Now tell me… who's really cornered?"
Hayashi smirked, and with a flick of his hand, Thousand Demon Daggers flew back from the rubble into his grasp.
"It's useless. My regeneration is too fast. You can't kill me."
Eto shook her head, her face flushed but smiling faintly.
"You really haven't realized the seriousness of your situation?"
Hayashi sighed, his eyes glinting with pity.
"What?"
Her eye widened. Only then did she notice — her life force was draining rapidly.
Her regeneration had slowed dramatically. The difference from before was staggering.
She had been too consumed by battle to notice until now.
Her body suddenly felt weaker.
"This… impossible…"
Eto whispered in shock.
"Why do you think I left the fragments inside you?"
Hayashi chuckled, tightening his grip on Thousand Edge.
The shards buried in her body suddenly tore their way out, reforming into the blade glowing with a sinister violet light.
"My sword has been draining your strength this whole time."
Sliding Thousand Demon Daggers back into its sheath, he said softly, "You've already lost."
"I lost?"
Eto blinked, then let out a light laugh.
"How amusing… I've never imagined something like this could happen."
"I think… I might be starting to like you, boy."
Her kagune dissolved, revealing her small, bandaged body. Under the sunlight, her pale, smooth skin flushed with a rosy glow, like a ripe apple — delicious, tempting.
"Though I lost, this game was fun."
Hayashi nodded. It was true.
He had never experienced such pure, exhilarating combat. It was dangerously intoxicating.
"Fun, you say?"
Eto sat up, the breeze tugging at her bandages until they fluttered away, revealing her lithe, flawless figure, radiant like a work of art.
"I should thank you. This fight made me realize something."
Then she suddenly lunged forward, catching Hayashi off guard.
"We're so alike, you and I. We resonate in such a beautiful way."
Her soft fingers cupped his face, her lips curling in a faint smile.
"Takatsuki…?"
Hayashi swallowed hard as realization dawned.
"Hayashi…"
Her delicate face flushed pink as her tongue flicked against his forehead.
"I think I'm starting to like you. Hopelessly, irreversibly in love with you."