Akaza’s Blood Demon Art possessed one fatal flaw: it could not perceive the presence of anyone entirely devoid of Battle Spirit, or someone capable of perfectly concealing it—a state known as the Transparent World.
Without mastering the Transparent World, Akaza was practically an invincible opponent.
By deploying the Compass Needle to sense his opponent's Battle Spirit, Akaza had locked onto Tetsuya’s exact position in the real world. Breaking the Genjutsu was merely a natural byproduct of that absolute focus.
Akaza opened his eyes. The illusion shattered!
Boom! His leg muscles coiled tight before exploding with force, the sheer power shattering the ground beneath him as he rocketed forward.
"Destructive Death: Disorder!"
Akaza’s fists blurred into afterimages, unleashing a relentless barrage of hyper-speed strikes aimed at a single point.
Sharingan Copy: Destructive Death, Disorder!
Tetsuya’s Sharingan meticulously analyzed every micro-movement of Akaza's attack. Mirroring the stance flawlessly, Tetsuya threw his own fists, conjuring a storm of fist shadows to intercept the onslaught.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The two blurs of fists clashed violently. The sheer kinetic force sent shockwaves rippling through the air, accompanied by the deafening crack of sonic booms.
Akaza paused for a fraction of a second, his shock quickly melting into a feral grin. "Hahaha! I knew turning you into a demon was the right choice!"
For the kid to replicate his signature martial arts on the fly—and actually mimic sixty to seventy percent of its original destructive power—was simply unbelievable.
Still, the raw gap in their physical stats was far too massive to bridge.
"Destructive Death: Crown Splitter!"
Launching a vicious rising kick from below, Akaza aimed a devastating strike directly at Tetsuya’s head.
Whoosh! Hearing the shrieking wind pressure approaching his ear, Tetsuya didn't dare to be careless. He leaned his body backward, allowing Akaza’s kick to barely graze past his cheek.
However, he was still a fraction of a second too slow.
The tearing wind pressure sliced open Tetsuya’s cheek. Warm blood splattered directly into his eyes, forcing him to squeeze them shut. In an instant, he lost the predictive tracking of his Sharingan.
Swish! How could a seasoned fighter like Akaza ever let such a perfect opening slip by? His fists blurred into a torrential flurry.
Tetsuya’s expression sank. Flying completely blind, he crossed his arms over his head in a desperate guard.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Akaza’s fists rained down like a relentless typhoon. The blows slammed into Tetsuya's entire body, producing sickeningly heavy thuds. Brutal fist-shaped indents cratered Tetsuya's flesh, caving in his chest and ribs.
Boom! Sliding backward helplessly under the assault, Tetsuya took the final, devastating haymaker. An irresistible surge of force smashed into him, launching him through the air like a ragdoll.
He crashed straight through a brick wall, bringing a massive pile of heavy stone rubble down on top of him.
"Pfft!" Pinned beneath hundreds of pounds of debris, Tetsuya coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale, his body completely sapped of strength.
First, he had fought Kanae. Then, he performed delicate surgery while constantly keeping his Sharingan active. And now, he was taking a beating from Akaza. No one could endure this kind of back-to-back punishment.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Soul Manipulation: Devourer! Gritting his teeth, Tetsuya burned through everything he had harvested tonight. The numerous souls dissolved into a massive torrent of pure energy, flooding his system to jumpstart his regeneration.
But as Tetsuya was desperately knitting his flesh back together, Akaza had already shifted his focus.
Deploying the Compass Needle had revealed an incredible surprise.
Boom! Erupting from the ruins of the shack behind them was an absolutely staggering Battle Spirit—one that rivaled an Upper Rank demon!
"My body feels so hot... my heart is racing," Kanae murmured. Yet, her beautiful violet eyes shone brighter than ever before, an endless wellspring of power bubbling up from within her.
The agonizing sting of her fresh surgical wound had faded completely into the background. Her mind was frighteningly clear, her limbs feeling lighter and more agile than they had in years.
She had no idea what was happening to her body, but right now, she needed this power.
She needed it to slay Upper Rank Three, Akaza! Or, at the very least, sacrifice herself so Akaza wouldn't deduce that Tetsuya was colluding with the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
A breathtaking silhouette darted out from the ruined shack like a soaring butterfly. Executing a graceful aerial cartwheel, countless spectral flower petals danced in her wake as she unleashed a sweeping, horizontal slash.
The razor-sharp blade closed in perfectly on Akaza's neck.
"Hahaha! I owe you an apology! I mistook you for a weakling!" Akaza cheered, pleasantly surprised. To stumble upon such a magnificent fighter—tonight was truly a wonderful night!
A Battle Spirit this fierce... even in his hundreds of years of existence, he had rarely seen it radiate from a human.
"Destructive Death: Willow Flashes!"
Utterly fearless, Akaza threw a devastatingly powerful upward punch. The sheer kinetic impact of the blow sent violent ripples through the air, as if space itself was on the verge of shattering.
Boom! As the bare fist collided with the Nichirin Sword, a crisp, metallic clang echoed through the night, accompanied by a shower of fierce sparks.
Gripping her sword with both hands, Kanae poured every ounce of her strength into pressing the blade down. Unable to bear the crushing pressure, the earth beneath Akaza's feet completely caved in with a loud crack.
Swish! Slicing downward, the sharp blade cleanly cleaved Akaza's forearm right down the middle. Half of his arm dangled loosely in the air, blood spraying wildly.
Pulling himself out from the rubble, Tetsuya witnessed the clash and frowned. Dragging her heavily infected, post-surgery body around, there was absolutely no way Kanae should possess this level of explosive power.
Focusing his Sharingan, his eyes zeroed in on a specific detail, making his heart skip a beat.
Kanae had unbuttoned the collar of her Demon Slayer uniform, exposing her elegant, swan-like neck. Resting starkly against her pale skin on the right side of her neck was a vibrant, peach-colored plum blossom pattern.
The Demon Slayer Mark! Tetsuya was dumbfounded. It was one of the ultimate power-ups of the Demon Slayer universe. To think that at this critical juncture, Kanae Kocho had actually manifested her Mark!
His brain raced. It wasn't impossible. The physical conditions for awakening the Mark required a body temperature exceeding 39 degrees Celsius and a heart rate of over two hundred beats per minute.
Because her surgical wound was severely infected, Kanae’s body temperature had skyrocketed and her heart was racing. She had inadvertently met the exact prerequisites. By manifesting the Mark, her physical capabilities had exponentially multiplied.
"Weaponizing her own infection into power..." Tetsuya’s lips twitched. Kanae Kocho was far crazier than he had ever imagined.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
"Destructive Death: Eight-Layered Demon Core!"
A gentle breeze fluttered past, carrying phantom petals as Kanae unleashed a flurry of nine consecutive strikes from multiple angles, all converging on a single point.
Akaza’s expression grew dangerously ecstatic, answering her assault with eight devastating, rapid-fire punches aimed at her exact center.
The two figures blurred across the battlefield, clashing with lightning-fast speeds. Every time they met, violent sparks showered the area, kicking up massive clouds of dust.
"Destructive Death: Air Type!"
Leaping high into the air, Akaza flipped entirely upside down. From mid-air, he unleashed six blindingly fast punches into the void, sending devastating, invisible shockwaves hurtling toward her.
The sheer pressure warped the very air. Thwack! A sickening thud echoed as the sleeve on Kanae's forearm was blown to shreds, taking a chunk of her flesh with it.
'I got hit?' The sudden jolt of pain put Kanae on extremely high alert. In a split second, she grasped the mechanics of Akaza's technique—they were invisible, long-ranged shockwaves.
"Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kanae spun, unleashing a flurry of defensive circular slashes. The blade traced the path of blooming plum blossoms, expertly parrying every single invisible strike.
As the invisible shockwaves hammered against the Nichirin Sword, a rapid sequence of heavy, metallic clangs filled the air.
The overwhelming pressure of the assault forced Kanae to slide backward, her expression turning incredibly grave.