Beneath the silver moon, two figures stood, seeming unlike mortals.
After Mizuki adjusted her physical state, the demon blade lightly cut across her palm. A few drops of blood fell to the ground, and a dark crimson color slowly covered the blade, transforming the snowy white, sacred edge into a true demon blade.
Mizuki raised the dark crimson demon blade and placed it beside her cheek.
Yoriichi's expression shifted slightly; the starting stance had changed.
This rough starting stance was a Sword Form he had never seen before.
Mizuki's focus was unprecedentedly high. The frustration of being instantly killed moments ago was so intense that she could almost understand Michikatsu now.
Veins bulged on the back of Mizuki's hand gripping the hilt.
"Brother, here I come."
The moment her voice fell, under Yoriichi's observation using the Transparent World, Mizuki's leg muscles contracted, and her body abruptly leapt high into the air.
Looking at the figure revealed beneath the moonlight, Yoriichi's expression was somewhat startled.
What kind of Form is this?
Is it really this exaggerated?
The next moment, he understood.
"Snow Breathing, Tenth Form: Moonlight Beneath the Snow!" Mizuki controlled her body, starting to twist, and white-purple energy was exhaled.
As Mizuki's body twisted, the crimson demon blade swung a perfect arc in mid-air.
A massive, blood-colored full moon, with its ends connected, rippled open in mid-air, boasting a diameter of six or seven meters.
Is this a Sword Form enhanced by Blood Demon Art?
Mizuki herself was surprised that the range could be amplified to this extent.
In her human state, this Form's maximum reach was just the length of the blade, but now, it had multiplied several times over.
Under Yoriichi's astonished gaze, it was as if the full moon in the sky had truly fallen and was crashing down toward him.
It wasn't over yet.
Mizuki's body rotated once more in mid-air.
"Snow Breathing, Tenth Form: Moonlight Beneath the Snow - Double Strike!"
Two intersecting crimson full moons crashed down.
Although the two had chosen a relatively open area for the battle, the immense range of the Blood Demon Art-enhanced Sword Form caused its edges to graze the trees on both sides, instantly severing them without any resistance.
Facing a sword technique that surpassed human understanding, Yoriichi instinctively chose to dodge.
Yoriichi retreated two steps and looked up at the sky. Behind the still-descending full moons, Mizuki's figure was still missing.
Is she using the Sword Form to conceal her body?
This was different from the mist generated by Mist Breathing; instead, it utilized a wide-ranging attack technique to force the enemy's undivided attention, thereby concealing her next move.
But... Yoriichi's acute perception drove him to turn around swiftly.
Not far behind him, Mizuki's rapidly approaching figure entered his sight.
Mizuki's physical structure, without any concealment, was reflected in his eyes.
This raised hand, and the muscle control... is Burning Bones, Summer Sun... No!
A ripple of emotion appeared in Yoriichi's expression.
"Snow Breathing, Ninth Form: Heat Haze Snow." A triumphant smile appeared on Mizuki's lips. Crimson flames ignited in Yoriichi's eyes and rapidly closed in.
Mizuki had actually developed this move specifically for Michikatsu, who was familiar with Sun Breathing.
Given that if their mastery levels were the same, the combatants would only rely on basic physical attributes, she definitely couldn't beat Michikatsu in her state at the time.
Therefore, she created a Sword Form whose preliminary execution was almost identical to Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun.
It was meant to make the opponent jump to conclusions and catch them off guard.
Facts proved that the effect was good.
Not only Michikatsu, but now even Yoriichi had subconsciously made the wrong judgment.
Eyes don't lie, but people do.
Just as the blade in Mizuki's hand approached Yoriichi's neck, and before Yoriichi could react, Mizuki was about to halt her movement.
After all, Yoriichi couldn't regenerate after being decapitated.
However, the moment she withdrew her force, Yoriichi drew his sword.
So fast!
It was so fast that it almost formed an afterimage in Mizuki's eyes; the iron blade in Yoriichi's hand was already pressing down on her long sword.
The iron blade pressed against her long sword at an extremely tricky angle, striking bright sparks against the flame-wrapped surface of her blade. The rapidly enlarging iron blade was reflected in Mizuki's pupils.
Too fast.
Even if her eyes could see it, her body couldn't dodge.
A searing pain came from her neck. Mizuki's falling head strained to look at Yoriichi's figure.
That ordinary iron blade, under the friction of her Sword Form, actually generated crimson flames resembling a scarlet blade.
Her head hit the ground and rolled several times.
"Ptooey, ptooey."
The sound of Mizuki spitting out mud and sand brought Yoriichi back from his slightly distracted thoughts.
Yoriichi quickly retracted his long sword, picked up Mizuki's head, and gently wiped the mud and sand from her mouth.
"Are you alright?"
"...I am not alright." Mizuki felt a little doubtful about life itself.
A move that had almost decapitated Michikatsu was now easily countered by Yoriichi.
The same perception, different reactions.
Michikatsu, I understand you now.
Seeing her gloomy expression, Yoriichi knew she was fine.
He smiled and said, "That was an excellent Sword Form. I almost didn't react in time."
"Really?" Mizuki looked at him suspiciously. "Just 'almost'? Wasn't it 'almost a billion'?"
"Truly." Yoriichi was already accustomed to sometimes not understanding what his little sister said.
Moreover, he wasn't lying.
Mizuki's attack had genuinely astonished him.
That move just now was purely a subconscious counterattack.
And subconscious counterattacks often cannot hold back.
Although she felt a tiny bit comforted, Mizuki still let out a long sigh.
"Sigh, this has severely damaged my self-confidence and is extremely detrimental to my growth."
"..." Yoriichi was speechless.
The gold color in Mizuki's eyes gradually faded. She looked up, staring blankly at Yoriichi with her wine-red pupils.
Yoriichi stood still.
Mizuki suddenly tilted her head, as if confirming something, and her expression showed a slight shift.
Suddenly, she murmured, "Hmm, but it seems there wasn't absolutely no area where I won."
Yoriichi looked slightly confused.
Mizuki raised her hand and gestured above both their heads.
"See? I'm taller than you now, right."
Yoriichi was stunned for a moment. Following the line above Mizuki's head, he immediately fell silent.
Yoriichi was slightly shorter than Michikatsu, so Mizuki, at 1.7 meters plus her 20-centimeter horns, was indeed a bit taller than him.
But... it was useless.
Whatever makes her happy.
Yoriichi inexplicably didn't want to continue chatting on this topic, so he changed the subject: "The Breathing Technique you just used combined Sun and Moon Breathing, right?"
Mizuki nodded repeatedly, smiling. "Mhm, amazing, right!"
Yoriichi laughed along. "Mizuki truly is talented."
This truly was impressive.
Combining various Breathing Techniques one by one was no simple task.
Every Breathing Technique differed in its method of breathing, frequency, and even style.
For instance, the heaviness of Stone Breathing, the gentleness of Water Breathing, the sharpness of Wind Breathing, the passion of Flame Breathing... and so on.
To combine them all, it wasn't a simple math problem like one plus one equals two.