With incredible speed, El twisted his body in a perfect, deadly dance-like motion, launching a horizontal slash in one complete 360-degree turn.
Shing!
The air crackled, the Varanium sword in his hand shot out with tremendous power, launching a sharp slash, "Heki-ra no Ten." he muttered sharply.
The slash this time was not just a cut. It was an extremely powerful strike, with a momentum that formed shockwaves around it, accompanied by a violent gust of wind.
Varanium's blade, like a deadly poison, shattered the approaching Gastrea bodies, slicing them into pieces that scattered in all directions.
Their bodies disintegrated so quickly, pieces of flesh and bone scattered about, as if crushed by an overwhelming force.
The wind and shockwave created by the attack was quite sharp, flying the pieces of their bodies into the air, even strong enough to cut through the trees around El, who was now standing in the middle of the chaos.
Everything around him seemed to be shattered by the force of the attack he had just unleashed, creating an atmosphere that was quiet for a moment, colored only by the remains of body parts and the roar of the wind blowing.
El stood quietly, his eyes sweeping over the remains of the Gastrea bodies that had disintegrated around her. "This way, there are only two more stage 2 Gastrea left," he muttered, searching for the remaining enemies.
However, when his gaze focused, El saw only one stage 2 Gastrea standing far in front of him, staring with its red eyes full of hatred, but not immediately attacking.
El frowned, feeling something was off. He clearly remembered the number of Gastrea that came out of the forest. "There should be two more, but why is only one left?"
An uneasy premonition began to creep into his heart. His right hand holding the Varanium sword trembled slightly, not from fear, but rather from the feeling that something was wrong.
As the former strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer World, El knew very well that no one could be trusted in a situation like this, especially in a field filled with danger.
El's eyes wandered around, searching for signs that could indicate the position of the other Gastrea. Silently, his sense of smell began to work meticulously, combing the air around his.
Suddenly, he smelled another distinctive Gastrea odor, coming from an unexpected direction.
El shifted her attention, focusing on the approaching source of the odor. "Huh?" he whispered, then his eyes widened as s
he realized that the scent was coming from Kayo's direction.
Without hesitation, El immediately stepped towards the running Kayo, while the sound of gunfire from the Assault Rifle echoed in his ears.
Along with a deafening low howl, the previously silent Gastrea jumped up with incredible speed, opening its jaws wide and intending to swallow El alive. The sound of her roaring steps seemed to break the silence.
However, El was ready. Without losing his composure, he swung his Varanium sword with incredible precision, power and speed.
Shing! Shing!
Two vertical slashes cut through the Gastrea's body with great speed. The Gastrea's body was split into two halves, and blood and parts of its flesh splashed around El. "Retsujitsu Kōkyo," he said calmly, finishing the fight in an instant.
However, even though this enemy was eliminated, El felt something was still off. The atmosphere around him felt increasingly tense, a bad feeling lurking in his heart about Kayo's condition.
El immediately moved at full speed, while focusing all his attention on the bad possibilities that could befall her first Initiator.
Shortly after, El arrived at the scene and found the last Gastrea had fallen, her body shattered with bullet holes, blood pooling on the dirty ground.
However, his gaze soon shifted to Kayo, who was lying helplessly nearby. Her body was covered in severe wounds, with her right arm and leg missing, and signs of mutation beginning to develop.
Blood had stopped flowing from her wounds, and the changes that had taken place in her body were undeniable, Kayo was beginning to turn into Gastrea.
El walked over with cold, unmoved steps. Her face remained unreadable, looking at the pitiful sight.
Slowly, El took a closer look, realizing that Kayo was still alive, though her breathing was labored and her vision blurred. Kayo glanced at El with half-empty eyes.
"Heh... So strong..." Kayo's voice sounded very weak, almost inaudible. "Thank goodness... you're safe..." she said, as if giving in to the situation.
Suddenly, a rumble of thunder shook the sky, followed by a heavy downpour of rain, adding a gloomy feel to the atmosphere.
In the silence that filled the surroundings, El stared at Kayo's body, noticing the increasingly obvious signs of mutation. Her face remained calm, despite seeing the little girl's suffering.
"You... can kill me?" Kayo asked in a desperate voice, barely audible amidst the increasingly heavy rain.
"At least... I wanted to die as a human..." Kayo's voice weakened, full of deep regret.
El sighed. Suddenly, El's eyeballs underwent a surprisingly gradual change.
Her irises rotated, and two interlocking circles appeared, each with a mysterious glowing pattern, along with six tomoe that surrounded like a galaxy map.
Rinnegan, a pair of powerful eyes emitted a faint purple light, creating an eerie aura around her.
The rain was falling heavily, but when Rinnegan El's eyes activated, the raindrops seemed to slow down, dancing in the air, freezing for a moment before falling back to the ground.
With one quiet movement, El snapped her fingers. The originally quiet atmosphere suddenly changed. The ground around them cracked, and from it emerged something terrifying.
The great head of the king of hell, filled with purple flames that would never be extinguished, appeared with a power that shook the ground. The purple flames even pierced through the pouring rain, surrounding the hell king's head with a flame that was unaffected by the water soaking his body.
The surrounding atmosphere suddenly felt colder, as if all the existing heat was sucked away by the energy of the monstrous hell lord's head. The air became heavy, and a chill enveloped the area, adding to the aura of tension that was increasingly felt.
El didn't show the slightest expression of panic or emotion. With characteristic calmness, he raised his right hand and controlled the hell king's head.
The giant's mouth opened wide, revealing a sharp and terrifying jaw. Without giving any chance for debate or thought, El casually threw the helpless Kayo into the hell king's mouth.
Kayo, who was still lying weak, unable to resist, could only watch with a withering and despairing gaze as her body entered into the dark and terrifying mouth of the hell king.
Rumble!
The horrifying sound of thunder rumbled out as the mouth closed quickly, trapping Kayo inside.
The silence that followed was so thick, only the sound of rain could be heard. El stood tall, unfazed by what had just happened, his eyes remaining sharp and calculating.
The Rinnegan in his eyes glowed a brighter purplish, as if to signify that everything El did was now under his complete control.