Hiru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at the broken short spear in his hand, clicking his tongue.
"Well, now I'm really going to get an earful."
"What kind of sloppily flawed technique was that?" Akaza frowned, disgust plain in his eyes. "In this brief half hour, you've shown me more trash than I've seen in centuries. Is the Demon Slayer Corps blind? How did someone like you become a Hashira?"
"You dodged the Bright Red Nichirin Sword like a mess and still have the nerve to talk?"
Hiru sneered, tossing aside the short spear now stripped of its blade. He rolled his shoulders, loosening up.
"Seriously… if that owl doesn't show up soon, I'm going to stop holding back."
"You intend to fight me bare-handed?" Veins bulged on Akaza's forehead. "How laughably arrogant."
"Who knows…" Hiru smiled, his eyes briefly washing over with gray before clearing again. "It's a pity it's not Kokushibo, but killing you would do just fine."
"Fighting someone like you is an insult to my martial path…" Akaza felt a rare surge of rage, the same fury he'd once felt when facing Doma. Luminous blue snowflake patterns spread out from beneath his feet once more. "I'll tear you apart and drag you before the Lord."
The two… the two demons clashed again.
This battle was far more vicious than before. Beyond the dull thuds of fists and kicks colliding, the sickening crunch of breaking bones rang out again and again. Yet with both bodies unnaturally resilient and no blades in use, even after dozens of exchanges there was no spray of flesh and blood.
Well—aside from the surrounding forest.
During the fight, Hiru fully committed to his tried-and-true tactic of if I can't beat you, I'll disgust you to death. More than once, Akaza's fury threw his strikes off target.
"So you still can't put me down after all this time? You're really useless. Are you actually an Upper Moon? You're so weak—"
"…Shut up."
"Did Muzan recruit you out of pity?"
"Shut up."
"When I first met Kokushibo, I couldn't even last thirty moves. You're both Upper Moons, so why is the gap this big? Oh, right—I forgot. You were originally Upper Moon Three, weren't you? Sorry, sorry, my mistake. The former Upper Moon Two must've been way stronger than you, huh?"
"Shut up!"
"What, getting mad? Did the new Upper Moon Two surpass you, and now you're bitter because a junior caught up? How pathetic—getting this angry over being overtaken. Ah, I get it now. You're jealous, aren't you?"
"I'll—" Akaza's face twisted as he lunged forward, both hands reaching for Hiru's arms. "Shut! Up!"
"I'm terrified—" Hiru flipped his palms and met Akaza's hands head-on without retreating.
The instant their grips locked, the grating sound of bones grinding together rang out. Hiru kept smiling.
"Is this embarrassment turning into rage? My, my. How ugly."
"Finally caught you, you slippery eel." Akaza glared at him, fingers tightening. "I'll tear you apart!"
"I'm the one who caught you." Hiru laughed, his own grip tightening as his muscles coiled. He drew his legs in at an unnatural angle, planted his foot squarely against Akaza's chest, and exploded forward with all his strength.
"Remember this in your next life—Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen never fight alone!"
With a wet, tearing sound, Akaza was blasted away for the first time. More than anger, shock rippled through him at Hiru's words.
[Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen never fight alone?]
"Breath of Flame, Ninth Form—!"
A voice Akaza didn't recognize rang out, and a piercing sense of danger stabbed into his perception. Ignoring the damage to his body, he forcibly regenerated his arm and twisted around—
Only to see a sky filled with raging flames, carrying an overwhelming force as they came crashing down.
The unfinished words finally followed.
"Rengoku!"
Hiru raised an arm to shield himself from the swirling dust. As the smoke cleared, his gaze dropped to the severed arm in his hand.
"Blood Demon Art: Banshoku Seki."
The limb transformed into two pale cherry-blue stones—the fleeting, brilliant hue cherry blossoms reveal only under bright moonlight.
After a brief pause, Hiru quickly pocketed the stones. His eyes locked back onto the center of the smoke, burning hotter than ever.
[Did we get him? No… probably not. Even if he's dead, it's fine—but at least let me collect more! Please! I haven't seen unmixed cherry blue in centuries!]
"How infuriating…"
At the sound of that voice, Hiru couldn't tell whether he felt delight or regret—but he immediately went on guard.
A golden-haired figure stepped up beside him.
"How is it? Can you still fight?"
"No problem." Hiru glanced at the blood trailing down Rengoku Shinjuro's neck. "Need to stop the bleeding?"
"A minor wound—nothing worth mentioning." Shinjuro watched the massive gash stretching from Akaza's left shoulder down to his right ribs rapidly knit itself together, his expression darkening. "So this is an Upper Moon… My apologies. I misjudged."
"Upper Moons aren't that easy to deal with." Hiru tore off his tattered haori without a care. "We'll just do it again. Let's go."
"…Yes. This time, I won't miss."
That was the plan, but when Rengoku Shinjuro witnessed Hiru charging straight at Akaza and trading blows bare-handed, shock ran through him.
What unsettled him even more was Akaza's complete disregard for Shinjuro, his intent focused solely on killing Hiru.
Several times, Shinjuro nearly severed Akaza's neck—only to be met with a vicious glare and nothing more.
[What happened before I arrived?] Shinjuro frowned at Hiru. [And for a human to fight a demon to this extent… it's unbelievable. Can this child really still be considered human?]
After another attack was deflected, Shinjuro was forced to retreat far back to dissipate the force. Just as he prepared to reenter the fray, he saw Akaza abruptly leap backward, clearly disengaging.
[Why retreat? Dawn is still far off.] Confusion flickered through Shinjuro's mind—
And before he could reach a conclusion, the figure beside him had already dashed ahead.
"Don't think you can run!"
"Hiru! Don't chase him too far!" Shinjuro rushed after him.
"They have Spatial Blood Demon Art! If we give them distance, they'll escape!" Hiru kicked off the ground and instantly closed the gap. "And Aoba's in that direction!"
Akaza glanced back once before plunging into the dense forest. Hiru followed without hesitation.
But from behind, Shinjuro caught a glimpse of Akaza's eyes as he turned—there was no fear in them, only thick, coiling killing intent.
[No—this isn't a retreat!] Realization struck, and Shinjuro burst into the trees. "Wait! Hiru! Come back!"
Too late.
The instant Akaza cleared the thicket, he spun around, his right hand clenched into a fist and swung backward. Hiru emerged at the same moment—the tattooed fist already filling his vision.
He barely leaned back to avoid it.
The second strike came immediately after.
"Hiru!" Shinjuro roared, eyes wide with fury.
[I can't dodge this one.] Watching the fist rapidly close in, Hiru let out a quiet sigh. [I've been avoiding it this whole time because I didn't want to use Blood Demon Art on a Hashira… Come to think of it, I've never been blown apart at the head before. Hope it doesn't hurt too much.]
Just as Hiru resolved to alter Rengoku Shinjuro's memories with Blood Demon Art—
A blade struck first, severing Akaza's arm.