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"We won, we've won!"
Standing at the edge of the battlefield, Tanjiro Kamado, Inosuke Hashibira, and Zenitsu Agatsuma, who had been watching Mika and Kyojuro Rengoku face off against Akaza, couldn't help but shout.
When the Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku first began battling Akaza, the three of them had wanted to rush in and help. But the speed of the two fighters was simply too fast - they couldn't even follow with their eyes. At the same time, the clash of fighting spirits between Akaza and Rengoku was oppressing their minds, making their bodies unable to move.
As the battle progressed, they could see the Flame Pillar weakening. Yet they couldn't do anything to help. Just as they were feeling anxious and helpless, Mika's figure suddenly entered the battlefield. After just two or three clashes, he had severed Akaza's head.
"Has Mika really become this strong? I'm a bit envious, but this is wonderful!"
"We've succeeded in killing an Upper Rank demon!"
"And it was the third strongest among the Upper Ranks."
"This is amazing!"
Filled with excitement over the death of an Upper Rank demon, the three of them ran excitedly towards Mika. But at that moment, something unexpected happened.
...
"Did Akaza really die just like that?" Mika suddenly thought to himself after personally beheading Akaza.
Akaza was strong. In a direct confrontation, even if Mika fought with all his might, they would likely be evenly matched. Yet such a powerful opponent had his head so easily severed by Mika, ending his life.
"It was his experience that betrayed him!" Mika quickly concluded.
Through their earlier battle, Akaza, with his centuries of combat experience, had easily judged Mika's basic abilities. Based on his experience, he had positioned himself in a seemingly dangerous but actually safe situation. He believed that after six empty-handed strikes, Mika wouldn't have the ability to cut off his arm and then continue to sever his neck. According to his experience, Akaza's choice at that moment was undoubtedly perfect.
But the reality was that he lost. He was defeated by something beyond his experience
Originally, Mika hadn't planned to use Nen. After all, Muzan Kibutsuji, the big boss of this world, far surpassed him in abilities, and it wasn't yet time for the final battle. Therefore, Mika didn't want to expose his true capabilities. He had only intended to fight with Breathing techniques and swordsmanship, joining the Demon Slayer Corps for a real-life cosplay and to continue honing his sword skills and Breathing techniques.
Unfortunately, Akaza's confidence gave Mika an opportunity. It allowed Mika to seize the moment and behead him, taking his life.
"Although it's a bit sudden, since we've won, we shouldn't look gloomy. We should smile!" Looking at Tanjiro and the others running towards him, Mika smiled and waved.
Then he walked towards the fallen Kyojuro Rengoku. Earlier, Akaza had indeed struck with killing intent, severely injuring Rengoku with that attack.
As Mika approached Rengoku, just as he was about to help him up, a sense of crisis rapidly rose in his mind, constantly alerting him.
"Watch out!" Tanjiro's shout came at the same time.
Although his eyes hadn't seen it, the sharp sound of wind had already told Mika everything. Behind him, an enemy was attacking. And they had concealed their presence.
Quickly turning around, what entered Mika's sight was the headless Akaza. Unlike before, this time Akaza showed no outward signs of his fighting spirit.
"Not only has he surpassed the limits of demons, but he's also reached the Supreme Territory?" In the rush, Mika could only use his right arm to block Akaza's punch. His arm was directly hit, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
In the critical moment, Mika used his left hand to grab his Nichirin blade in mid-air and stabbed it into the ground to stabilize himself.
"Mika!" Tanjiro, who was already running, quickly reached Mika's side and shouted excitedly, looking at Mika's right arm. "Your arm?"
"Ah, the bones are completely shattered!" At this moment, Mika stood in place, his right arm hanging lifelessly in the air, obviously unusable now.
Even so, his expression remained calm. The pain couldn't affect his emotions at all. It was as if what he had received wasn't a severe injury, but just a minor scratch.
"How could this happen!" Tears started flowing uncontrollably from Tanjiro's eyes.
For a swordsman, the importance of the arms is unquestionable. Just moments ago, Tanjiro had been thinking about fighting alongside Mika in the future, slaying evil demons together. But now, Mika could no longer wield a sword.
"Calm down, now is not the time to think about other things!" Mika's words awakened Tanjiro from his sorrow. He quickly looked towards Akaza, who had shattered Mika's arm bones. At this moment, Akaza was standing straight, motionless.
But on his neck, the head that had been lost was rapidly regenerating. He, Akaza, Upper Rank Three, had broken through the limitations of demons and reached the Supreme Territory, the Transparent World.
...
A few minutes earlier!
Looking at his severed head, the concept of death appeared in Akaza's mind for the first time in hundreds of years. This filled Akaza with despair. Following that came anger and humiliation.
It was too easy! He died too easily. Akaza couldn't accept such a pathetic death.
"How could I die here! I still need to become stronger, stronger, even stronger!"
"How could I die such a pathetic death here!"
The obsession with becoming stronger allowed Akaza to break through the limits of demons. Beheading was no longer his weakness. And in the battle with Mika, experiencing the 'Transparent World,' he finally took that step that had been blocked for hundreds of years under the life-and-death crisis of death. He had reached the Supreme Territory, the Transparent World!
With this obsession, his headless body launched an all-out attack, concealing his fighting spirit and presence. This caught Mika off guard, leaving him only able to block the vital point on his chest with his right arm at the last moment.
"Hahaha! I've reached it, I've finally reached this place!" Powerful fighting spirit continuously spread from his entire body, suppressing the bodies and minds of Tanjiro and the others.
But before Akaza could gloat for long, two figures, one red and one blue, quickly rushed in front of him. The newcomers were none other than the Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku and Mika!
"Flame Pillar, you take the lead attack, I'll support!"
"Understood!"
"Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe!" The explosive crimson blade fiercely struck Akaza's arm, which he perfectly defended against.
"So this is the transparent world? It's perfect!"
"Now, I can see even clearer than 'Destructive Death: Compass Needle'!"
Excited to the point of frenzy, Akaza immediately moved to strike at Rengoku's weak point. But at that moment, Mika's Nichirin blade 'skillfully' thrust towards Akaza's martial arts weak point, disrupting his offensive and aiming for his vital points.
"Don't think you can ignore me just because I've lost my right hand! I can wield a sword with both hands."
"Damn it!"
Restrained, Akaza had to give up his counterattack against Rengoku and turn his attention to Mika on the other side. Just as Mika couldn't see Akaza in the transparent world and got injured, Akaza similarly couldn't see Mika, who was also in the transparent world. Their transparent worlds cancelled each other out.
---
Due to the design of Mika's Nen ability, Yahweh had created several combination techniques for him. Therefore, through rigorous training, Mika had mastered the essence of these combination techniques, which he could use to complement Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku's attacks in their joint assault against Akaza.
Unlike a typical two-on-one battle, the combined techniques of Mika and Rengoku amplified their strength far beyond a simple addition of their individual powers. With Rengoku leading the attack and Mika supporting, Akaza, who had just awakened to the Transparent World, quickly found himself in a difficult situation.
Although Akaza had awakened to the Transparent World, greatly increasing his power, this did not solve his inability to sense Mika, who was also in the transparent world. Additionally, after being injured, Mika's combat ability had significantly increased due to his 'Death Combat' skill's overall enhancement. As a result, Akaza gradually found himself at a disadvantage.
"Slash!"
As Akaza's arm was once again severed by Mika, he quickly regenerated it to block the Flame Pillar's attack.
"How can this be? I've already entered the Supreme Territory!"
"Why am I still at a disadvantage?"
"Indeed, Mika, you are my greatest enemy. This battle is truly exhilarating!"
Despite being at a disadvantage, Akaza showed no signs of defeat due to his rapid regeneration ability. Even though Mika's weapon, enhanced by Nen, could cut through Akaza's body as easily as slicing vegetables, Akaza, having overcome demons' weaknesses and surpassed their limits, was now like a perfect being - seemingly impossible to kill no matter how they attacked.
In this state, the three-way battle reached a stalemate.
"Is this what a battle between a Pillar and an Upper Rank looks like?"
Standing on the outskirts of Mika, Rengoku, and Akaza's battleground, the now-awake Zenitsu muttered bewilderedly. He had no possibility of intervening in a battle of this level. Of course, he had no intention of intervening either. Just standing here watching the three fight had already exhausted all his courage. Joining in? Don't joke around!
Beside him, Inosuke, also watching the battle, was muttering to himself: "No openings at all. Their battle has absolutely no openings."
Unlike Zenitsu, Inosuke had the courage to intervene. But his wild instincts, honed in the forest, were warning him not to advance. That place was not somewhere he could step into. It was filled with death.
Different from both Zenitsu and Inosuke, Tanjiro, now kneeling on the ground, had a face full of frustration. He was frustrated at his slow progress in strength, frustrated that he couldn't help his companion who was severely injured, frustrated that he couldn't move under the pressure of the three's auras.
Tanjiro knew clearly that the battle before his eyes was not a place he could intervene. But he was unwilling to accept this! He wanted to step into it.
At this moment, Mika and Rengoku, who were continuously swinging their Nichirin blades around Akaza, were both in a severely injured state. But even so, they kept fighting. How could Tanjiro just silently watch them fight? Especially when his close friend Mika was there!
Gripping his Nichirin blade tightly, Tanjiro slowly stood up and walked forward.
"Tanjiro! What are you doing, Tanjiro!"
"Come back, that's not a place where you can fight!"
Ignoring the advice in his ears, Tanjiro gripped his sword with both hands and quickly charged forward. Looking at the three figures before him, flashing like light, Tanjiro's eyes seemed to have flames burning in them.
"So slow! My speed is so slow, I need to accelerate, I need to run faster, faster!"
To keep up with the speed of the three, Tanjiro began to concentrate all the power in his body to increase his speed.
"Faster, even faster!"
"Need to be even faster!"
"Ahhh!"
With an angry roar, flame-like patterns began to spread rapidly on the scar on Tanjiro's forehead. This was the Mark!
In his desire to join the battle, Tanjiro broke through his own limits, entering the realm of the Marked, becoming a Marked swordsman. In an instant, Tanjiro's speed greatly increased, quickly catching up to the high-speed battle of the three.
"Another one!?"
"It's the Kamado boy!?"
"Tanjiro awakened his Mark!?"
Looking at the rapidly approaching Tanjiro, Akaza, who had been gradually gaining the upper hand due to his stamina advantage and Rengoku's fatigue, had a face full of anger.
Unlike Mika and Rengoku, Tanjiro's fighting spirit wasn't as thick as theirs. Akaza, obsessed with martial arts, had been full of smiles towards Mika and Rengoku from the start because their fighting spirits were thick enough to please him. He always disdained opponents with weak fighting spirits.
"I'll kill you first!"
Akaza used a 'Destructive Kill' move to force back Mika and Rengoku. Then he quickly rushed towards Tanjiro.
Facing Tanjiro's sword swing, Akaza skillfully sacrificed one arm to be cut, then used his other arm to deliver a fatal blow. This was his style, his battle method, his way of trading injury for injury.
But this time, his method encountered a problem. Tanjiro, not using Water Breathing but directly using Sun Breathing, cut off Akaza's arm, which didn't regenerate quickly as usual, but seemed to be hindered by something.
Unlike other Breathing styles, Sun Breathing was originally created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni to combat Muzan Kibutsuji's abilities, having the power to counter demons. Therefore, Akaza's arm, cut by Sun Breathing, had its regenerative ability affected and couldn't recover freely.
"Damn it!"
Realizing he had lost his advantage again, Akaza immediately moved to kill Tanjiro to vent his anger. But Mika, who had long noticed Akaza's movement, quickly rushed over and steadily saved Tanjiro.
"This is really troublesome!"
Looking at Akaza's retreating figure, Mika couldn't help but sigh. He had no way to counter this abnormal level of regeneration ability.
Although Tanjiro's Sun Breathing could restrict Akaza's regenerative ability, after realizing this, Akaza certainly wouldn't give Tanjiro another chance. After all, Akaza had now awakened to the transparent world, and Tanjiro's actions couldn't escape his observation. As long as he wanted, Tanjiro wouldn't have a chance to harm him again.
With Tanjiro's current strength, he couldn't take on the main offensive role in such a battle.
"Looks like this battle is coming to an end!"
After sighing, Mika charged forward again. Akaza quickly turned and began to flee.
After a night of battle, the sun was finally about to rise.
"Damn it!"
Akaza shouted loudly as he ran. In tonight's battle, apart from increasing his strength, he hadn't accomplished any of the tasks Muzan had given him. It would be difficult to explain when he returned.
"Hey, don't run, Akaza. Stay and enjoy some sunlight!"
Keeping close to Akaza's side, Mika smiled and teased. Even though his right arm was swinging with his movement, he paid no attention to it, continuously harassing Akaza.
"Who would enjoy sunlight!"
The angry Akaza struggled continuously, and finally escaped from Mika's grasp after having more than a dozen arms and legs cut off by Mika.
"He's really tough to cut down!"
Mika's eye corners twitched continuously.
"Looks like I can't delay learning the Bright Red Nichirin technique any longer!"
...
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