At this moment, Akaza was very, very excited.
It was because of the man who had appeared in front of him.
"That's a massive and inspiring fighting spirit!" Akaza couldn't help but exclaim.
Sensing 'Fighting Spirit' was the driving force of Akaza's Blood Demon Art.
Those proficient in martial arts would naturally possess fighting spirit, it was just a matter of more or less.
Just like how anger generated wrath, when someone had murderous intent toward another, they naturally emitted a murderous aura. Similarly, martial artists naturally emitted a fighting spirit, whether they were swordsmen or something else.
Akaza's Blood Demon Art, known as 'Destructive Death - Compass Needle', could sense his opponent's fighting spirit like a compass, making his attacks and evasive actions as precise as if being drawn by a magnet. The stronger his opponent's fighting spirit, the stronger the reaction of the Compass Needle, and the higher the intensity and precision of his corresponding technique or attack.
With this Blood Demon Art as the foundation, Akaza used a series of precise, swift, and powerful martial arts to strike his opponents by sensing their fighting spirit.
For example, the previously used 'Destructive Death - Disorder' was one of them, a technique based on sensing fighting spirit, capable of striking with unparalleled precision, causing excessive damage.
Akaza's perception of his opponent's fighting spirit was extremely keen and sensitive, and he could easily discern his opponent's strength with this technique.
In his perception, the human standing before him emitted a tremendous and awe-inspiring fighting spirit. Such a massive fighting spirit, even for him who survived for hundreds of years, he had never felt it from anyone else.
Not even from that 'person'.
Therefore, Akaza was very interested in Riezel, and facing him like this excited him even more.
"Although it's not yet condensed, not refined enough, unable to reach the highest domain yet, judging solely from the scale of your fighting spirit, you must be the strongest in this world."
Akaza spoke with his eyes gleamed as he stared at Riezel.
"You must be very strong, extremely strong, even have a chance to reach that highest domain, such an existence like you being just a human, it's truly a pity."
At those words, Riezel raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing.
"Hey, what do you say? Wanna come over to our side?" Akaza extended his hand toward Riezel, smiling invitingly. "I'll introduce you to that 'person' and make you a demon, how about it?"
As soon as he said that, before Riezel could speak, others became excited.
"Don't listen to him! Big Brother!" Tanjirou was the most excited, so excited that he even overcame his fear and finally managed to shout.
"Bento Boy!" Kyoujurou, who was always calm, also shouted, his usual laid-back attitude was nowhere to be seen.
"By the way..." Akaza turned to face Kyoujurou. "Why don't you join us too, Kyoujurou? Though you may not match up to this guy, your fighting spirit is equally massive. I've slain so many Hashira, and among them, you surely rank among the best. It's such a waste for humans, really. Just become a demon, and I promise you'll become even stronger."
"I refuse!" Kyoujurou answered without hesitation. "I can't think of any reason to become a demon."
His remark surprisingly caught Akaza off guard.
"Are you kidding me, Kyoujurou?" Akaza chuckled. "Reasons to become a demon can be listed without much effort. Yet you claim there's no reason at all? Truly absurd!"
In a sense, his words weren't wrong since there were indeed many reasons to become a demon.
For example, once someone became a demon, they wouldn't die or age. As long as they avoided sunlight, they would live indefinitely. Moreover, no matter how severe their injuries or illnesses, becoming a demon guaranteed recovery. Not to mention, they also gained inhuman strength, which was another advantage.
Compared to fragile and powerless humans, becoming a demon, in the eyes of most people, wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
However—
"To become a demon means living in darkness for eternity, unable to see sunlight, and having to feed on human flesh just to keep your sanity. That's the true absurdity." Kyoujurou countered, his expression serious.
"But compared to the benefits gained, how significant is that cost?" Akaza said nonchalantly. "Even humans spend roughly half of their days indoors, and the rest is wasted on meaningless sleep. Considering just the active hours, humans and demons aren't so different, right? Humans during the day and demons at night."
"As for eating humans, it's just a way to get nutrition and become stronger. It should be a good thing. What's absurd about it? Don't humans do the same to livestock like chickens or pigs?"
Akaza's words earned a furious glare from Tanjirou and a disapproving headshake from Kyoujurou.
"Our values and perspectives are like the difference between heaven and earth. Continuing this talk is meaningless." Kyoujurou stated firmly. "Regardless, I'll never become a demon!"
Upon hearing that, Akaza's smile instantly vanished from his face.
"How foolish... Human existence is nothing but a burden."
"Limited life."
"Limited talent."
"Limited time."
"Limited body."
"Everything about humans is limited."
"With such limitations, how can you chase infinite power and reach the highest domain?"
Akaza's voice was cold, but his voice carried intensity.
"Only demons, those with infinite time and life, can free themselves from the shackles of the human body, constantly improving themselves, continuously getting stronger, until they reach that highest domain."
"You are such powerful beings, would you really be willing to watch your strength fade away, only to disappear when your body ages and your lifespan ends?"
"If that's truly what you desire, then you are truly foolish."
Akaza's words made Tanjirou unable to hold back anymore.
"Where's the foolishness?!" Tanjirou exclaimed angrily. "Our lives may be limited, but it's because of that limitation that many valuable things emerge! That's not something as shallow as being summarized by mere strength!"
However, his impassioned words only earned a cold response.
"Shut up."
*Whoosh!*
Akaza suddenly swung a powerful punch at Tanjirou.
His punch, although clearly striking through the air, caused a resounding boom in the atmosphere. In no time, his punch transformed into a gust of wind, roaring toward Tanjirou's head.
*BOOM!*
Akaza's powerful punch hit, creating an impact like thunder. However, this punch didn't hit Tanjirou, but Kyoujurou, who arrived just in time and blocked it with his sword.
"Mr. Rengoku!" Tanjirou shouted at Kyoujurou, who appeared in front of him.
"Be careful, Young Kamado." Kyoujurou didn't turn back, just gave a word of caution.
Akaza maintained his punching posture and spoke to Tanjirou with a cold voice.
"Weaklings should recognize their weaknesses. It's your weakness that makes you see trivial things as important. As a weakling, how can you grasp that the path of the strong can't tolerate anything unnecessary? Those are just obstacles holding people back from getting stronger."
After saying that, Akaza looked again at Riezel, who hadn't moved at all.
"You must understand what I'm saying, right?" Akaza smiled. "No, it's okay if you don't understand. When you encounter a situation where you cannot move forward no matter what you do, you will know that your human body is just a shackle. Only by becoming a demon can you continue to grow stronger, until—"
"Until you reach that so-called highest domain?"
Akaza couldn't finish his sentence since Riezel interrupted his words, finally speaking up.
"Yes! Exactly!"
Akaza, seeing Riezel finally speak, immediately showed a happy smile.
"You still have a chance now, you can gain more time to improve yourself!"
"Come on! Become a demon and you can be like me, always fighting, always getting stronger!"
At this point, Akaza had already opened his arms wide, ready to accept Riezel at any moment.
Unfortunately—
"Do you know how much time it took me from being just an ordinary human that you looked down upon to having the power I have now?"
Riezel asked in a calm tone, leaving Akaza stunned.
In the next moment, Akaza got the answer.
"Four months."
Riezel continued, suddenly smiling at Akaza.
"I've grown from an ordinary human with no power to this point in just four months."
With those words, not only Akaza but even Kyoujurou and the other three showed expressions of disbelief.
"Impossible!" Akaza vehemently denied it. "Your massive fighting spirit is obviously the result of years of training! It's basically impossible to achieve it with just a human body in a mere four months!"
He simply couldn't believe Riezel's words.
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't..." Riezel said calmly, raising his eyebrows. "The fact remains, whether you deny it or not."
Akaza's face immediately darkened.
"What I want to tell you is... what you can't do, don't preach it to others as an absolute truth."
Riezel continued in the same calm tone.
"You can't become consistently strong with a human body? You can't reach the highest domain unless you become a demon? Who told you that bullshit?"
"At least, I haven't encountered any bottlenecks yet, let alone know what limits are, so there's no reason to abandon my human body."
"Besides, in my opinion, what you call the highest domain is not such a difficult domain to reach. Perhaps the next time you see me, I will have already reached it."
"Of course, that is..."
Riezel paused, gazing at Akaza's face for a while before continuing with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"...if you can leave here alive today."
Upon hearing that, Akaza's complexion immediately turned ugly.
"Technique Development."
He stopped talking and assumed a stance.
"Destructive Death - Compass Needle."
A snowflake pattern appeared under his feet, causing his fighting spirit to surge.
Seeing this, Riezel narrowed his eyes and suddenly shouted.
"Rengoku! Lend me your sword!"
Kyoujurou hesitated for a moment, then quickly threw his sword to Riezel.
Riezel reached out and caught the sword.
"As I thought, this kind of sword is more suitable, huh..."
Riezel weighed the sword in his hand as if confirming something, murmuring to himself.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Shortly afterward, Riezel started to breathe in and out, and gradually, the air around him began to grow increasingly hotter.