Seeing Kanae actually manage to block his "Air Type" shockwaves, Akaza was absolutely thrilled. "What is your name?"
The usual gentle smile was completely gone from Kanae’s beautiful face. "Kanae Kocho!" she replied, her voice deadly serious.
"Kanae, become a demon! That body of yours isn't going to hold out much longer!" Akaza laughed. He could easily tell that while Kanae's Battle Spirit appeared overwhelmingly powerful, it was incredibly unstable. She was burning out from the inside.
Tetsuya frowned. Akaza’s combat intuition was far too sharp; he had seen right through the fatal flaw of the Demon Slayer Mark with a single glance. Awakening the Mark meant overdrawing one's own life force to fight—it was a curse that practically guaranteed death before the age of twenty-five. For Kanae to force it out while dragging around a severely wounded, infected body... the toll it was taking on her life span was undoubtedly catastrophic.
"I am the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps!"
That was Kanae's only response. Slowly raising her Nichirin Sword with both hands, she deliberately drew Akaza's full attention. In that split second, her beautiful eyes shot a subtle, almost imperceptible glance toward Tetsuya.
Tetsuya instantly understood that look. Kanae had fully prepared herself to die.
"Flower Breathing, Esoteric Art: Sea of Flowers," Kanae whispered.
The moment the words left her lips, a tremendous aura erupted from her petite frame, yet it carried an incredibly soothing warmth. A sweet, fragrant floral scent washed over the battlefield, drifting into both Tetsuya and Akaza’s noses. It was as if they could faintly hear the crisp, melodic chirping of birds singing in their ears.
A gentle breeze brushed past their faces. Phantasmal flowers bloomed and danced wildly through the air, making Tetsuya feel as though he had suddenly been dropped into the middle of a magnificent, sprawling garden. Countless petals drifted with the wind, blotting out the sky itself. Kanae’s silhouette vanished entirely within the floral storm. Each individual petal concealed boundless killing intent, swarming directly toward Akaza.
Akaza trembled from head to toe, his eyes practically glowing with indescribable euphoria and excitement. In his perception... What an unfathomably powerful Battle Spirit! It was already on par with Upper Rank Four! And his opponent was nothing more than a human girl who had barely lived a dozen years!
"Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!" Akaza grinned viciously. Every muscle in his body coiled to the absolute limit as he took a single, explosive step forward. Channeling his surging, torrential Battle Spirit entirely into his fist, he threw a punch of absolute devastation.
BOOM!
The sheer pressure of the punch tore the earth asunder with a deafening roar. A massive explosion detonated, sending blinding light and sparks shooting into the sky. A towering, overwhelming shockwave of explosive heat completely swallowed the beautiful sea of flowers in front of him. The temperature spiked drastically as the breathtaking blossoms were obliterated, turning into nothing more than floating ash.
Kanae watched the shocking devastation unfold, the terrifying scene reflecting in her wide eyes. 'So this is the true might of an Upper Rank!' she thought in despair. 'No wonder almost no one has successfully slayed an Upper Rank in centuries. Even Hashira... they just march to their deaths, one after another!'
The destructive shockwave expanded wildly in all directions, flipping over everything in its path. Unable to withstand the crushing pressure any longer, Kanae's fragile body was violently thrown backward through the air.
Swish!
Summoning the very last dregs of her strength, Kanae flipped her grip on her Nichirin Sword and hurled it with everything she had left. The blade transformed into a streak of silver light, fast as lightning, its razor-sharp edge parting the monstrous shockwave right down the middle.
'So fast!'
Akaza's eyes widened. He quickly jerked his head to the side, but he was still a fraction of a second too slow. The Nichirin Sword impaled him straight through the neck. The immense kinetic impact dragged his body backward until he slammed into a sturdy brick wall, pinning him entirely in place.
'It still wasn't enough, huh?'
Seeing the outcome, Kanae let out a hollow, sorrowful sigh. Her delicate body was tossed like a ragdoll by the blast. The plum blossom Mark on her neck dissolved into nothingness, and her life force plummeted instantly. She flew backwards for dozens of feet before crashing heavily onto the dirt.
"Pfft!"
Kanae coughed up a large mouthful of blood, the last traces of color draining from her face. Her unhealed surgical wound tore open, fresh crimson blood rapidly seeping through and staining her uniform.
When the dust finally settled, the surrounding hundred meters of earth had been completely leveled. Only Tetsuya, Kanae, and Akaza remained.
"Heh!"
Akaza chuckled, effortlessly yanking out the Nichirin Sword that had nearly decapitated him and tossing it aside. "Kanae Kocho, become a demon! If you don't, you are going to die right now!"
Within the perception of his Compass Needle, Kanae's Battle Spirit had flatlined. She was practically indistinguishable from a corpse! While she appeared to only have superficial injuries from the blast, in reality, her internal organs were completely ruptured.
"I am a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps... I will fight until my absolute last breath!" Kanae whispered, stubbornly forcing her broken body to stay upright.
A look of genuine pity crossed Akaza's face. If the person fundamentally rejected the transformation, forcefully injecting Muzan's blood wouldn't do any good. The moment the sun rose, Kanae would just step into the light and turn to ash anyway. And wasting That Man's blood was no trivial matter!
Akaza stepped forward, ready to finish Kanae off once and for all. Suddenly, a figure blocked his path.
Tetsuya’s expression was as cold as frost, his voice hoarse. "Akaza. Let me kill her."
Akaza halted his steps. "Suit yourself."
A Hashira's exceptionally trained physique was practically the ultimate nutritional supplement for any demon. Akaza figured he knew exactly what Tetsuya was after: to consume Kanae and skyrocket his own strength. Akaza had his own strict moral code—he absolutely refused to eat women or children. Giving her to Tetsuya didn't bother him in the slightest.
Tetsuya turned around. Taking slow, heavy steps, he stopped right in front of Kanae. Their eyes met in the silence. Tetsuya's expression was taut, practically overflowing with bone-chilling killing intent.
Kanae maintained her beautiful, sweet smile despite her deathly pale face. The inevitable grip of death was already wrapping its invisible hands around her throat, yet her violet eyes were entirely serene. It was as if she was silently telling him: 'I'm sorry. I have to go on ahead.'
Rumble!
A sudden boom of thunder echoed in the distance, lightning splitting the sky as if the heavens themselves were weeping in sorrow. Heavy, bead-like raindrops began to fall, pattering down like a broken string of pearls. The sudden downpour quickly drenched Kanae, pasting her messy black hair against her cheeks and granting her a haunting, tragic beauty.
Standing in the background, Akaza kept his eyes glued to Tetsuya. After witnessing the true strength of a Hashira from Kanae, a seed of doubt had sprouted in the back of his mind. How on earth did a weakling like Tetsuya survive against her earlier?
Tetsuya felt Akaza's piercing stare digging into his back like a bed of needles. Clenching his right fist, he declared loudly, "I'm going to kill you, and then I will take my place among the Twelve Kizuki!"
Kanae’s lips parted slightly. 'And then what? What do you want to do after becoming part of the Twelve Kizuki?'
Thwack!
Tetsuya didn't say another word. Lunging at Kanae, his hand shot out like a bolt of lightning. His right hand brutally pierced straight through her chest, erupting from her back as he utterly crushed her heart.
"Pfft!"
Kanae coughed up a final mouthful of blood. All the strength completely left her body. Tilting forward, she collapsed right into Tetsuya’s embrace, her small head coming to rest softly against his shoulder.
Her dimming, beautiful eyes shifted, looking at Tetsuya's close, apathetic face. Yet, it was as if Kanae could feel the agonizing pain tearing through the deepest parts of his soul. Weakly raising her small hand, she gently stroked his cheek. "This must be... a kind of punishment for you, too," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
As her final words hung in the air, Kanae Kocho slowly closed her eyes. Her life force completely faded away.
Kanae Kocho was dead!
Akaza withdrew his intense gaze. 'Looks like I was just overthinking things,' he mused.
Just then, a petite, delicate silhouette bolted out from around the street corner. As her light purple eyes took in the horrifying scene, a hysterical, heart-wrenching scream tore from her throat.
"SISTER!!!"