Among the Hashira, some had successfully regrouped to fight the Upper Ranks together, while others were still alone, having not seen any fellow members until now.
Kyoujurou was one of these people.
At this moment, his Nichirin Sword remained sheathed in his hand, and he had yet to draw it to slay a single demon.
In truth, this was because he hadn't encountered a single demon since being transported to the Infinity Castle. He couldn't even find a way out, simply wandering around in an area that resembled a fighting arena.
Yes, a fighting arena.
From the very beginning, Kyoujurou had been transported to this arena, which was completely out of place in the Infinity Castle, like a samurai who had come to challenge a dojo and couldn't leave no matter what.
In the end, Kyoujurou decided to stop moving around and stood in the very center of the arena, closing his eyes.
After a long silence, Kyoujurou suddenly opened them.
"Come out, Akaza."
He suddenly spoke without any apparent reason.
"You're here, aren't you?"
His words echoed in the arena for a long, long time.
After a while—
"You found me, huh?"
Accompanied by a voice filled with fighting intent, a demon with short peach-colored hair, dressed as a martial artist, slowly walked out from the shadow.
Who else could it be but Akaza?
"Long time no see, Kyoujurou."
Akaza stared at Kyoujurou, smiling happily.
"It's been six months since that time on the Mugen Train, hasn't it?"
"To be exact, it's five months." Kyoujurou stared back. "As expected, just as Young Tsugikuni said, you're still alive."
Since Riezel had already informed all the Hashira about the survival of Upper Three Akaza, Kyoujurou wasn't surprised as he saw him appear.
"How did you do it?" Kyoujurou asked calmly. "You should be different from the Upper Four and the Upper Six, not the type that wouldn't die when beheaded by a Nichirin Sword, right?"
Akaza was purely a martial artist, a demon purely for combat, and this was something Kyoujurou could feel.
Such a demon shouldn't have awakened a Blood Demon Art related to survival but solely for combat.
And as it turned out, that was indeed the case.
Akaza's Blood Demon Art indeed revolved around martial arts without any gimmicks. Yet he had indeed overcome the weakness of demons, surpassing his own limits.
"Normally, demons die when beheaded by a Nichirin Sword, this is our limit."
Akaza spread his hands and explained with a smile.
"Only a few powerful demons, when on the verge of death after being beheaded by a Nichirin Sword, if they possess a strong will, fiercely resisting the outcome of death, desperately wanting to survive, can break through this limit, making their necks no longer a weakness."
Such was a concept unique to demons called 'Limit Break.'
A demon that successfully achieved it would not die even if beheaded by a Nichirin Sword, and could even regenerate immediately if their head was blown apart.
"After Tsugikuni Yoriichi beheaded me, just as I was on the brink of death, a strong sense of defiance and unwillingness surged within me, pushing me beyond the limits of my demon body," Akaza recounted. "Soon after, I regenerated my head and came back to life—though, I only realized this later."
"You're one tough guy..." Kyoujurou said solemnly. "To think you've surpassed the theoretical life limits of demons, overcoming the weakness of dying when beheaded by a Nichirin Sword... Upper Three Akaza, you really are a dangerous being."
"Me? Dangerous? Heh, what a funny joke..." Akaza chuckled. "You're mistaken, far off the mark."
He withdrew his spread-out hands as he spoke.
"Just a human, and a younger one at that, managed to behead me in an instant where I couldn't even react, bringing me to the brink of death."
"Just so you know, the former Upper Five and Upper Six, their survival skills should surpass mine, yet they seemed unable to withstand a single attack from him."
"Although the Upper Four managed to escape, that coward has since refused to mention that guy's name again, probably for the rest of his life."
"Knowing this, you think I'm dangerous? The real danger is that guy, not me!"
With these words, Akaza's smile faded, his gaze upon Kyoujurou turning serious.
"Enough about him. Let's talk about you, Kyoujurou." Akaza said, his eyes narrowed. "Is it just me, or have you changed a lot?"
He said this not without reason.
"Where's your fighting spirit? Where's your tightly condensed, inspiring fighting spirit?" Akaza said with a serious face. "Why can I not feel your fighting spirit at all?"
He had not revealed himself until Kyoujurou called him for a reason.
In truth, he had been waiting here for a long time, and the moment he saw Kyoujurou appear, he instantly decided to show himself.
However, when his 'Destructive Death - Compass Needle' showed no reaction to Kyoujurou and he couldn't sense Kyoujurou's fighting spirit at all, his pupils contracted, freezing him in place.
For a moment, he completely forgot to show himself.
In theory, this shouldn't have been possible, as no matter who it was, everyone had a fighting spirit.
Even a newborn baby knew to grab the food brought to its mouth and eat it, so how could a battle-hardened swordsman like Kyoujurou be any different?
As long as there was a heart for battle, even if it was just instinct, a fighting spirit would arise.
Therefore, if even a newborn baby was no exception, Kyoujurou should be the same. A faint fighting spirit should appear on his body, making it impossible for anyone to have no fighting spirit at all.
When they met at the Mugen Train incident, he had already confirmed that Kyoujurou possessed a highly condensed fighting spirit. Given this, how could he not freeze in place when Kyoujurou's fighting spirit had completely vanished?
He was even filled with shock.
Because, as far as he knew, there was only one situation where one could so completely erase their fighting spirit.
"Have you already stepped into that domain?"
Akaza stared intensely at Kyoujurou.
"Have you reached the domain we martial artists pursue to the death?"
Unfortunately, Kyoujurou didn't answer his question.
*Scwing—*
Amidst a faint metallic friction sound, Kyoujurou drew his Nichirin Sword.
"It's truly incredible..." Kyoujurou suddenly remarked. "You know, since that incident, I've been constantly reminiscing about our battle..."
In that battle, he was clearly at a disadvantage against Akaza's fierce attacks. If not for Riezel, maybe he would have already left this world.
"Even though I got totally defeated by the Upper Four, I didn't dwell on it much. But weirdly, I've been thinking about our battle a lot..."
Reflecting on this, Kyoujurou found it truly mysterious.
"I always wonder, why is that?"
Kyoujurou closed his eyes, his expression unusually calm.
"Why is it that with you, I feel an overwhelming desire to win, to defeat you, no matter what?"
Kyoujurou never quite understood this.
However, there was one thing he was certain of.
"It seems like between you and me, we're fated to fight each other."
Kyoujurou opened his eyes, calmly looking at Akaza.
"Let's settle the score that was left undecided back at that time."
"..."
"Heh... Hahahahaha—!"
Upon hearing Kyoujurou's words, Akaza first seemed taken aback, then burst into hearty laughter.
"You really do understand, huh! Kyoujurou!" Akaza smiled widely. "That's right. Nothing else matters. You're here, I'm here—we'll inevitably clash! Even if you've already stepped into that domain, it makes no difference!"
With that, he took a step forward and assumed a stance.
"Technique Development - Destructive Death - Compass Needle!"
In an instant, a snowflake pattern unfolded beneath Akaza's feet.
Seeing this, Kyoujurou calmly raised his sword before a corner of his forehead suddenly seemed to ignite like flames, revealing a red, mark-like tattoo.
"!!!"
At this moment, though Akaza hadn't yet sensed Kyoujurou's fighting spirit, he felt a lethal threat.
In this way, he affirmed that Kyoujurou not only stepped into that supreme domain but also awakened some kind of power that greatly enhanced his strength.
At the same time, the Nichirin Sword Kyoujurou wielded had somehow turned blazing, bright red.
Seeing the bright red blade, Akaza felt that it could truly kill him. Even though he had surpassed the limits of the demon body, if he were to lose his head to Kyojuro's current sword, he believed he would die.
Realizing this, warning signs blared in Akaza's mind, yet his smile grew wider on his face.
"Let me ask you one last time, Kyoujurou."
"I can probably guess what you want to say..." Kyoujurou responded calmly. "Well, go ahead, let me hear it."
"Do you want to become a demon?"
"No."
"...Is that so?"
With that, their conversation simply ended there.
*Whoosh!*
In the next instant, both vanished from their original positions.
When they reappeared, one was swinging toward the other with a sword, and the other was striking out with a fist.
*BOOOOM!*
A thunderous roar shook the entire arena.
Flames and shockwaves swept through, stirring the air.
===
"Flame Hashira is fighting the Upper Three!"
"Flame Hashira is fighting the Upper Three!"
Before long, the sharp report from the Kasugai Crows quickly spread throughout the entire Infinity Castle.
Now, everyone, including Riezel, knew that Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyoujurou was facing the Upper Three by himself.
"..."
Upon hearing the report, Riezel fell into deep thought.
Even he wouldn't have thought that because of his arrival, the battle between Kyoujurou and Akaza would unexpectedly drag on until now and still happen as originally intended in the original work.
'Is this what they call fate?'
In the original work, Kyoujurou was the first Hashira to fall in battle, with Akaza being the one who killed him. Furthermore, this battle was also a crucial part of the main story.
And now, this battle was upon them.
'But the outcome will be different this time...'
Different from the original work, in this reality, Riezel had faith in Kyoujurou and believed he would absolutely win.
Absolutely.