A blood red domain spread out under Akaza's feet.
Feeling the demon aura growing thicker by the second, Kyojuro Rengoku could not help frowning.
The light beneath Akaza's feet flickered. The crimson pattern slowly shifted to a cold blue, misty energy rising from it.
All of it was demon aura.
Everyone watching tensed up.
Akaza's aura had just spiked to its absolute peak.
His hair lifted slightly in the pressure, and he squinted at Rengoku.
"Since you refuse to become a noble demon, I have no choice but to erase you."
Mist swirled around his body.
Then Akaza moved.
The mist exploded outward as he burst from within, attacking first without warning.
Rengoku drew his blade to meet him.
In an instant, crimson flame and blue demon energy twisted together and tore through the night sky.
The two of them grew faster and faster, their figures turning into streaks of light.
Clashes followed one after another. The ring of blade against bone echoed nonstop.
Tanjiro stared at the two locked in combat, mouth hanging open.
"So fast… I can't see anything at all."
Even boar-head Inosuke, who was usually overflowing with confidence, was completely stunned.
The moment the fight began, he had spread his senses to try and lock onto them.
But any time his awareness brushed toward those two, all he felt was emptiness.
He could not force his way in at all.
"A fight at this level… if I get close, I'll be killed instantly."
"Damn it."
Inosuke slashed at the ground in frustration.
For the first time in a long while, a feeling of powerlessness rose inside him.
For someone as proud as him, that was hard to swallow.
Meanwhile, Akaza was calmly deflecting Rengoku's sword while talking.
"So you use flame?"
"Among the Hashira I've killed, I have yet to meet a Flame user."
"And none of them ever accepted my offer to become demons. Why is that?"
His expression twisted with genuine confusion.
"As fellow seekers of the pinnacle of martial arts, I really cannot understand it. Not just anyone can become a demon."
"Only those chosen have the right to receive Muzan's blood. Yet you people do not cherish it at all."
He swung his arm straight into the oncoming Nichirin Blade.
Slash.
His arm was severed in an instant.
But a heartbeat later, Akaza's arm regrew as if nothing had happened.
His goal was simple and absolute.
Either Rengoku accepted his invitation and became a demon, or he would kill him.
The pain in his arm meant nothing to him.
How could a bit of physical pain compare to the despair of growing old, of watching one's body decay, unable to keep climbing the path of martial arts?
He threw another punch, meeting Rengoku's flaming blade head on.
His arm split in half again, yet Akaza's expression remained relaxed, as if he felt nothing at all.
"Die, Rengoku. While you are still young, while you are still strong."
Rengoku said nothing, answering with his sword.
Akaza was forced back by roaring flames. His powerful body twisted in midair, reversing direction in an instant as his demon art shifted.
Pale blue light condensed around his right fist, and his silhouette melted into the night.
"Destructive Death, Air Type."
Rengoku braced himself, but to his shock, he could not sense Akaza's strike at all.
Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen.
He staggered back several steps, bile forcing its way up his throat.
The silent blow had landed cleanly.
His stomach caved inward from the impact. The bile in his mouth quickly turned to blood, and it felt as though his internal organs were being crushed.
Akaza did not let up.
His fists erupted in a flurry. Silent blows rained down from every direction.
Unable to sense the attacks, Rengoku could only raise his Nichirin Blade again and again, blocking the most fatal strikes.
The crimson blade shuddered, humming under the relentless barrage.
Rengoku's feet slid back across the ground, step after step, until his back was almost to the others.
"This cannot continue."
He glanced briefly over his shoulder at the group behind him.
If the battle spilled toward them, they would not survive.
At that moment, a burst of blazing fire cut across in front of him, forcing Akaza's combo to halt for an instant.
"Mr. Fox?"
Seeing the familiar figure, Rengoku unconsciously used Tanjiro's way of addressing him.
"Your abdominal wound is serious. Fall back and recover."
Vincent Fox spoke quietly.
Feeling the sudden pressure rolling off Vincent's body, Rengoku, almost against his own instincts, gave a short nod.
"Be careful."
He wasted no more words.
Rengoku immediately sank into his breathing, trying to stabilize his injuries.
Cracked ribs.
Organs still bleeding.
If he kept fighting like this, his condition would only get worse.
He might collapse from his wounds before he ever got the chance to kill Akaza.
"Mr. Fox…"
Tanjiro looked at the figure now standing in front of them all, worry rising in his chest.
Even a Hashira struggled against this enemy.
What could Vincent possibly do?
"Tanjiro. Believe in your comrade."
Rengoku said softly, then closed his eyes and focused on regulating his breathing.
With the Flame Hashira himself saying that, any further doubts would only sound insulting.
Zenitsu, Inosuke, Nezuko, and Tanjiro all fell silent, watching the two men now facing each other.
"So we are switching opponents? You seem a little stronger than he is."
Akaza's gaze brightened with interest as he looked Vincent up and down.
"Why not attack together?"
"To deal with you, I am enough."
Vincent answered coldly. His body exploded forward.
A streak of fire tore across the night, heading straight for Akaza.
"What?"
Akaza's relaxed expression vanished, replaced by shock.
The speed Vincent unleashed in that instant made his instincts scream danger.
He hurriedly crossed his arms, locking them tight around his neck to guard his head.
A flash of fire filled his vision.
His balance vanished.
Akaza's body tilted uncontrollably.
Vincent's target had not been his head.
He had cut both of Akaza's legs.
Pain shot up from below, but rather than rage, Akaza's face actually relaxed.
"Even if you cut my legs a hundred times, they will still grow back."
As he spoke, flesh writhed at the severed stumps, and new muscle and bone rapidly grew in.
Within a few breaths, his legs were whole again.
Flames still clung to the newly regrown limbs.
The sizzling sound of burning flesh grated on Akaza's nerves.
With a violent yank, he tore the charred outer layer of flesh away.
"Impressive flames. But they are still not enough to deal with me."
He grinned, planting both feet firmly on the ground and stomping hard.
"Technique Development."
"Destructive Death, Compass Needle."
The twelve-pointed snowflake array blossomed under his feet once more, this time expanding to cover an even larger area.
The pattern swallowed the battlefield, and Vincent was squarely within its bounds.
This was the core of Akaza's Blood Demon Art, the technique that let him read his opponent's attacks in advance and slip through them as if drawn by a magnet.
The instant the array wrapped around Vincent, the entire snowflake flared with blinding light.
"So strong."
Akaza could not help an excited exclamation before his face twisted again into a confident, feral smile.
"The stronger you are, the sharper my Compass Needle becomes, the more precisely it predicts your attacks."
"The stronger the opponent, the stronger I grow. You have no chance of victory."
"Become a demon. With your strength, you could far surpass even me."
"Join the glorious Upper Moons. The entire world will be beneath our fists."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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