El, on the other hand, had already taken a deep breath, and instantly visual embers appeared in her mouth. "Hi no Kokyu," he said firmly, while his hand holding the sword was drawn downward, the tip of the sword parallel to the ground.
His arms were slightly bent, positioning the sword at his side, near his right hip. El's back remained straight, while his shoulders looked relaxed, although his body was clearly preparing to launch an explosive move.
Shwosh!
As soon as his foot stomped on the ground, the ground beneath him shattered instantly, creating a five-centimeter-deep depression.
In an instant, El's body shot forward at an extremely incredible speed, as if distorting the space and time around him, creating waves of air that sizzled in his path.
At the same time, two wooden dragons darted out extremely fast, intent on taking up El's time by biting him. While the three wooden dragons were behind, about to launch the real attack.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
In slow motion, El suddenly appeared behind the two wooden dragons, his sword gliding gracefully, slicing through their wooden bodies with ease in a zig-zag motion, like scissors cutting through paper.
Shwosh!
Instantly, El again shot out with incredible speed, his figure disappearing instantly, as if time was unable to bind his existence, leaving only a faint trace in the air.
Meanwhile, Genya could only remain silent watching the battle between El, a Hashira, and Zohakuten, one of the 12 Upper Moon Kizuki.
The sight was so incredible, that it transfixed him. "So this is the level of power of a Hashira?" he muttered, his teeth chattering as he felt the tension and awe flooding through him.
Tanjiro, who was previously flabbergasted by El's movements, came to his senses and shouted, "Uncle Adrian! That's not his real body! It's useless if we cut it down!"
Without turning his head, focusing only on his target, El replied in an icy voice, "I already know." And without hesitation, his foot slammed hard into Zohakuten's face, creating a boom that echoed through the air.
El's kick traveled much faster than Zohakuten's attack. As a result, the sound waves Zohakuten was about to emit were stopped, and his body was knocked down hard, hitting the trees and dragging the ground for seventy meters.
Tanjiro fell silent again. He, Nezuko, and Genya were simply transfixed, watching the scene with deep admiration.
El's power and attack were completely beyond their reach, a power so impressive, yet so terrifying for a human.
El turned his head slowly towards Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya. His gaze was cold, her face calm without a hint of hesitation. In a tone that sounded firm but undeniable, he said, "You guys take care of the real body. Let me hold it."
El's voice was commanding, with no need to explain further. Tanjiro swallowed, momentarily feeling the weight of responsibility crush him. However, behind El's cold gaze, there was an unshakable conviction.
Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya understood very well that they had no choice but to trust the strongest Hashira to control the situation.
Suddenly, from the distance came a thunderous drum beat, as if the battlefield was reverberating amidst the tension.
The sound seemed to vibrate the air around them, making the atmosphere even more tense. El immediately turned to the direction where he had kicked Zohakuten earlier.
There, the rumbling sound was clearer, and closer. At the same time, the ground could be heard tearing apart, trees were falling one by one, and the flying dust began to obscure the view.
That powerful wave of force seemed to be approaching, signaling the awakening and irresistible anger of Zohakuten, who would not back down easily.
"Stubborn," El said coldly, gripping the sword tighter in his hand. Then, El took a breath that was heavy but full of power and said, "Kasumi no Kokyu."
Slash!
With incredible speed, El immediately swung his sword, horizontally, creating a sharp, storm-like wind wave that exploded from the slash.
"San no kata: Kasan no Shibuki," El said calmly, like a mist on a quiet morning.
The flash of the sword sliced through the air, producing a visual of a splash of mist, accompanied by a smoldering fire, pushing aside the dust that blocked his view.
In an instant, some of the nearby trees split apart like brittle little twigs, collapsing to the ground with a swinging thud, which carried a cold mist.
The mist from the movement formed a gentle yet powerful vortex, sweeping away any obstacles in its path, opening up a clear path and revealing the approaching Zohakuten from behind the cloud of dust that had been knocked away.
Zohakuten approached with tremendous strength, standing on the head of the wooden dragon he had created. Around him, there were four wooden dragons following him, preparing to launch an attack.
"How uncivilized!" said Zohakuten, shouting until his voice echoed throughout the forest. "You're still after the life of a creature as small as my hand!" he continued in a hateful tone.
Instantly, one of the wooden dragons following him shot up, twisting and turning as if dancing freely in the sky, crashing through all obstacles including the trees in its way.
While darting at an incredible speed, the wooden dragon opened its jaws, ignoring El who stood calmly in the center of the battlefield, his composure unshaken in the slightest.
However, the true purpose of the attack was not El, but rather Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya who were running behind El, trying to catch up to his real body.
Zohakuten, filled with hatred, already knew that defeating El would not be easy and very long.
Therefore, Zohakuten chose a more cunning strategy, deciding to kill those who were weaker first, a cowardly act, but effective if successful.
{N/A: Even if it worked, it would take Akaza, Doma, Kokshibo or Muzan to get El to sweat and take the fight seriously. You're nothing in front of Mcku, Hatengu}
Without the slightest change in his face, El quickly realized Zohakuten's true intentions. "What a coward," El thought coldly, preparing his next move.
Suddenly, the figure of El who was standing quietly disappeared, as if reality ignored his existence, but only left a depression in the ground five centimeters deep.
As soon as he appeared, El was already near Tanjiro, Nezuko and Genya. Meanwhile, right in front of him the wooden dragon Zohakuten had opened its jaws very wide, about to swallow everything in front of it whole.
Very quickly, El threw out her right leg, kicking the wooden dragon's lower chin like a hard sunrise. Then El launched another kick, this time like an axe swung horizontally.
Krak!
The wooden dragon's head was kicked until it cracked, and it was blown five meters away from where El was standing. El's kick not only cracked the wooden dragon's head, but stunned it for a moment.
Wordlessly, Tanjiro and Genya were just shocked with gaping mouths, looking at El's kick, simultaneously thinking about how hard his foot actually was.
However, it was only Genya and Tanjiro who had such expressions, not Nezuko. The girl only tilted her head slightly and looked at her elder brother's expression with eyes rounded like acorns.
El coldly said, "How long do you want to stay stunned? Hurry up and find the demon's real body."