Akaza and Doma

In the inverted corridors of the Infinity Castle, Moyu stood quietly.

His six-eyed perception spread out like mercury, revealing clear energy Meridians in this alternate dimension constructed by Nakime's Blood Demon Art. The inverted staircases, the rotating pavilions, and the countless opening and closing doors all operated according to a certain rule, and at the core of that rule Nakime playing the zither on the high platform not far away.

But Moyu did not go to find her.

Because at this moment, hundreds of demons are pouring out from behind the shoji doors that have opened from all directions.

They came in all shapes and sizes; some were on all fours like wild beasts, some were as thin as bamboo poles, and some were as bloated as mountains of flesh. With sharp teeth, claws, bone spurs, and tentacles, each ghost had a ferocious face and a bloodthirsty desire, surrounding Moyu.

These were all ordinary demons under Muzan's command, instantly teleported here by the Blood Demon Art. Their only mission was to wear down, or at least disrupt, this white-haired swordsman.

Moyu simply raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

"Spell forward rotation -- Cang."

Buzz--

The space resonated with a deep, resonant sound.

Three meters in front of Moyu, a ping-pong ball-sized point of light emitting a ghostly blue glow appeared out of thin air. The point of light was as deep as a miniature black hole, distorting the surrounding light and causing the air to converge towards it like flowing water.

The next second, a terrifying, invisible gravitational force erupted from the center of the light!

"Roar--!"

The dozen or so ghosts closest to it were instantly pulled by an invisible force. They tried to resist and retreat, but their bodies flew forward uncontrollably, as if grabbed by an unseen giant hand and dragged violently toward the eerie blue light.

The first ghost crashed into the "Azure" domain.

Its body suddenly deformed.

First, the limbs were squeezed towards the center by an invisible force, and the bones made a teeth-grinding cracking sound. Then the torso was squeezed, as if by a giant hand, applying pressure from all directions at the same time. The skin cracked, the muscles were crushed into a pulp, and the internal organs burst under the pressure.

But that's not the scariest part.

When the ghost's body was compressed to a certain extent, a more fundamental destruction occurred. Its cellular structure began to collapse, and its regenerative ability became completely ineffective in the face of absolute spatial distortion. The shattered flesh, bones, and internal organs were further compressed and distorted in the core area of "Azure," eventually turning into the most basic material particles and being completely Annihilation.

The whole process took less than two seconds.

A ghost vanished from the world just like that, leaving not even ashes behind.

And this is just the beginning.

The gravitational pull of "Cang" is expanding.

The second, the third, the fourth... more and more ghosts were forcibly dragged into that realm of death. Like moths drawn to a flame, they rushed one after another into that distorted space, and then vanished into nothingness amidst their shrill screams.

Moyu watched as the ghosts surged in like a tide and melted away like snowflakes. He watched as the light of "Cang" devoured everything that approached it like a black hole. He watched as the floor, walls, and ceiling of the entire corridor began to twist, crack, and shatter under the influence of the gravitational waves, and the fragments were also sucked into them.

Less than a minute.

Hundreds of ghosts vanished.

The once crowded corridors have become empty, leaving only twisted architectural remains and ripples in the air left by the forced manipulation of space.

Moyu clenched his right hand, and the light spot of "Azure" vanished silently, as if it had never existed.

In the distance, inside a closed room.

Muzan was observing the battle through Nakime's Blood Demon Art.

His left side had regenerated more than halfway, but the regeneration rate was more than ten times slower than usual. The four drugs were raging in his body, causing him to suffer the pain of cell corrosion and inhibited cell division every moment.

But what shocked him even more at this moment was the ability that Moyu had just used.

"What is that...?" Muzan's crimson pupils contracted sharply. "That's not Breathing Style... nor is it Blood Demon Art..."

This type of attack was Muzan had never seen in his thousand years of life.

What's even more terrifying is that when the white-haired swordsman unleashed this move, it was as effortless as if he were just casually swinging his hand, without even any noticeable energy fluctuations.

"Damn it..." Muzan gritted his teeth, the pain from the potion causing veins to bulge on his forehead. "I must analyze these potions as soon as possible... but before that..."

He looked at the wall on the other side of the room.

There, through Nakime's Blood Demon Art, another scene from the Infinity Castle was revealed, where Akaza and Doma stood awaiting orders.

"Akaza, Doma," Muzan's voice transmitted through their bloodline connection, "Go and kill him."

A brief silence.

Then, both voices responded simultaneously:

"Yes."

"Yes, Muzan."

As for Kokushibo, Muzan knew he still retained the dignity of a samurai from his human days and wouldn't gang up on others, so he naturally wouldn't invite trouble. As for Kaigaku, he was just a substitute to fill a spot, so there was no point in him going.

In the upside-down corridor, Moyu was preparing to walk towards Muzan's direction.

But just as he took his first step, the two doors in front of him and to his right opened simultaneously.

Two figures landed.

The man on the left has a complexion as pale as snow, and short pink hair that is as flamboyant as flames. His naked upper body has clear muscle lines, and his lower body is wearing white shorts and a green belt around his waist. The most eye-catching thing is his eyes, with blue sclera and golden irises, and the Chinese characters for "Shangxian" and "gin" are engraved on his left and right eyes respectively.

Upper Rank Three, Akaza.

The man on the right has a completely different style. He has white oak-colored hair, irises as brilliant as rainbows, and "Shangxian" and "" are engraved on his left and right eyes respectively. He wears a red coat with a black collar, and an area on his head that seems to have been soaked in blood, with black spreading edges. He holds two golden iron fans in his hands, with pink-purple lotus flowers and green lotus leaves engraved on the fans, and the edges of the fans are as sharp as knives.

Upper Rank Two, Doma.

After landing, the two of them locked their gazes on Moyu simultaneously.

Akaza's eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit, and an excited smile spread across his lips, "Eye Hashira, you seem to have become stronger. Very good."

Doma, with a relaxed smile, waved his iron fan, its surface reflecting the dim yellow light of the Infinity Castle lanterns. "Oh my, is this the legendary Eye Hashira? He certainly looks quite different from ordinary Pillars."

Moyu's gaze swept over the two of them, finally settling on Akaza.

"Hakuji," he said calmly, "Haven't you remembered your past?"

Akaza's expression froze for a moment.

Doma's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered something interesting. "Oh? Akaza has other names? How come I didn't know that?"

"Shut up." Akaza glanced coldly at Doma, then looked back at Moyu, his tone turning icy. "I'm Akaza, not Hakuji."

"Is that so?" Moyu's voice was devoid of emotion. "Fine, I'll kill you so you'll remember."

Akaza's pupils suddenly contracted.

The next second, the ground beneath his feet exploded!

"Spell Deployment - Destructive Death - Compass Needle!"

The snowflake-shaped formation unfolds in twelve directions from Akaza's center, with pale blue light outlining intricate geometric patterns on the ground. This is the foundation of Akaza's combat mode: by sensing the opponent's fighting spirit, it precisely locks onto the body's fatal weaknesses, guiding the direction of attack like a compass needle.

But this time, the Compass Needle malfunctioned.

The array of lights had clearly been deployed, but Akaza couldn't sense any flow of battle energy. He looked at Moyu; the white-haired swordsman was clearly standing in front of him, but in Compass Needle's perception, there was nothing there.

There was no fighting spirit, no flaws, and not even a trace of life.

It's like... facing not a person, but a vast, empty void.

"This..." Akaza frowned, "Could it be... the Supreme Realm?"

"Yes and no," Moyu replied, his tone remaining calm.

Doma stood casually fanning himself. "Koma... Osamu... need any help? You seem... to not even know what's going on with the other side."

Akaza ignored Doma's taunts.

He took a deep breath and suddenly pushed off with his feet!

The ground exploded again, Akaza's figure shot out like a cannonball, instantly covering a distance of ten meters. His right fist, carrying a force that tore through the air, slammed straight into Moyu's face!

Wherever the fist passed, the air was compressed into visible white shockwaves.

Just as Akaza's fist was thirty centimeters away from Moyu's face --

Akaza's fist froze in mid-air.

No, it wasn't that it stopped, but rather that it was blocked by some invisible barrier. That barrier was invisible and intangible, but the sensation from the fist was like hitting an infinitely thick rubber wall. All the impact force, all the destructive energy, was absorbed, dispersed, and vanished into nothingness the instant of contact.

"It's that kind of defense again..." Akaza gritted his teeth, recalling the first time he fought Moyu.

But this time, the defense was even stronger, even more... impenetrable.

"Destructive Death - Chaotic Style!"

Akaza did not retreat, but instead swung both arms simultaneously, his fists transforming into a sky full of fist shadows, bombarding Moyu from all angles. Each punch was enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, and the wind from the punches stirred the surrounding air into a violent hurricane.

Bang bang--!

The dense sound of wind breaking blended together.

But all the attacks were blocked by that invisible barrier. Moyu stood still, not even the hem of his clothes moved.

"Destructive Death - Air Type!"

Akaza leaped into the air, inverted his body, and slammed his fists downwards. The force of his punches transformed into a visible shockwave, crashing down like a falling meteor.

Boom--!

The ground was cracked, and gravel flew everywhere.

But Moyu remained completely still. The shockwave dissipated three feet above his head, as if he had hit an invisible ceiling.

"Destructive Death - Foot Style - Crown Cut!"

The moment Akaza, her right leg whipped upwards like a whip, aiming for Moyu's jaw. The angle of this kick was tricky, and the speed was extremely fast; an ordinary person wouldn't have time to react.

But his heel stopped thirty centimeters below Moyu's chin.

It's blocked.

"Destructive Death - Footwork - Flowing Light!"

Akaza powerful kicks with one leg, sending out dozens of kicks in a single second, each aimed at the same spot—his goal was to break through the entire area with a single point!

Footsteps fell like a torrential rain.

But the barrier remains sturdy.

"Destructive Death - Leg Style - Flying Star Thousand Wheels!"

Akaza changed tactics, his legs kicking out in rapid succession like a whirlwind, each kick carrying a spiraling force, attempting to shatter the defense with continuous impact.

The floor and walls of the corridor continued to crack in the aftershocks.

But Moyu remained standing calmly.

He even yawned.

"Are you done playing?" Moyu asked.

Akaza's pupils contracted sharply.

The next second, Moyu took a step forward, then raised his right foot and kicked forward.

The movements appeared effortless, even somewhat casual.

But Akaza felt an indescribable force slam into his chest.

Bang--!

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through seven walls before finally embedding itself in the eighth. The walls cracked like a spiderweb around him, and rubble fell down in a shower.

"Pfft--" Akaza spat out a mouthful of blood, his chest caved in, and at least five of his ribs were broken.

Doma, watching from the side, exclaimed with shining eyes, "Wow, that's amazing! Hakuji, are you really going to give up?"

Moyu turned to Doma: "Let's all go together. It'll save time."

Doma's smile widened, "Since the Eye Hashira has said so..."

He raised his right hand and gently waved his golden iron fan.

"Blood Demon Art: Ice Crystal"

The moisture in the air began to condense, turning into countless tiny ice crystals that spread like mist. These ice crystals shimmered faintly in the dim light of the Infinity Castle, beautiful yet deadly. Human skin would freeze upon contact, and if inhaled, the alveoli would die within minutes.

Moyu looked at the approaching icy mist but did not dodge.

When the ice crystals touched a radius of three feet around him, they suddenly all floated in mid-air, then silently turned into water vapor and evaporated.

"Oh?" Doma an eyebrow. "Even my ice crystals can't get close?"

He waved both fans simultaneously.

Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus!

Lotus-shaped ice crystals flew out from the fan, each one as sharp as a blade, spinning and slashing towards Moyu.

At the same time, Doma pressed his left fan downwards.

"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines!"

Five vines covered in ice lotus flowers sprouted from the ground, coiling around Moyu's legs like venomous snakes.

A mid-air ice lotus slash, ground vines bind it.

But Moyu simply raised his left hand, fingers spread, palm facing outward.

"Spell forward rotation · 'Azure'."

Buzz--

A pale blue dot of light appeared. It wasn't fixed in one place, but rather traced an arc in the air as Moyu's palm moved.

The lotus ice crystals and ice vines were all twisted, compressed, and then sucked into the core Annihilation the moment they entered the "Azure" gravitational field.

Doma's smile finally faded a little.

"Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!" He spun around, his twin fans fluttering like butterfly wings, scattering countless ice petals. Each petal was as thin as a cicada's wing, its edges as sharp as a scalpel, their sheer number almost obscuring the entire corridor's view.

Ice petals rained down like a storm.

Moyu continued to move only her left hand.

The light spot of "Azure" drew complex trajectories in the air, and wherever it passed, ice petals disappeared, like pencil marks erased by an eraser.

Blood Demon Art: Barren Hanging Garden!

Doma forward, unleashing a flurry of slashes with his twin fans. His attacks flowed like falling snowflakes, each strike accompanied by biting frost.

Moyu finally drew his sword.

The moment "Azure Star" was drawn from its sheath, the Azure light flowing across the blade seemed to come alive.

He didn't use Breathing Style technique; he simply combined it with Cang's horizontal slash.

The blade sliced through the air, leaving a pale blue trail.

Doma's twin-fan slash followed that trajectory--

Click!

Both golden iron fans developed cracks at the same time.

Doma contracted, and he retreated rapidly.

But Moyu was faster.

He took a step forward, his figure appearing like a ghost to Doma's left, the blade already aimed at his neck.

In a moment of haste, Doma parried with his left fan.

Bang--!

The iron fan shattered completely, scattering fragments everywhere.

Using the momentum, Doma leaped backward, simultaneously swinging his right fan:

Blood Demon Art: Frozen Clouds!

A large number of ice crystals spread out instantly, forming a thick ice fog that obscured visibility.

But Moyu's six eyes don't need vision at all. Didn't you see he's wearing an eye patch? He "saw" the flow of Doma's energy, saw where he landed, and saw the Blood Demon Art he was about to unleash.

"Blood Demon Art: The Cold White Princesses!"

The moment Doma, two ice lotuses in the form of young girls bloomed beside him. The ice lotuses opened their mouths and exhaled extremely cold air, instantly freezing a ten-meter radius around them into an ice cave.

Moyu's figure disappeared before the freezing air touched him.

The next second, he appeared directly above Doma, the tip of his blade pointing downwards, aimed straight at the top of his head.

Doma's expression changed, and he clasped his hands together. "Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Divine Child!"

Five tiny ice figures instantly materialized around him, each a miniature version of Doma. Simultaneously, the ice figures raised their hands, unleashing the same Blood Demon Art as their original form—

"Blood Demon Art: Rime — Water Lily Bodhisattva!"

Five small ice figures, each summoning a giant ice bodhisattva. The five ice bodhisattvas, with their hands clasped together, simultaneously swung their hand blades, sealing off all of Moyu's escape routes.

This is one of Doma's signature moves.

But Moyu simply switched the knife to his left hand, and with his right index and middle fingers together, pointing downwards.

"Spell Reversal - 'Her'."

A dark red light gathered at his fingertips.

It wasn't a beam of light, but a constantly expanding sphere filled with destructive energy.

When the sphere expanded to a diameter of one meter, Moyu released control.

Boom--!

A dark red repulsive field erupted from the sphere in all directions.

It wasn't an explosion, but a purer form of rejection.

The space itself was forcibly pushed open and compressed, then released a devastating shockwave into the forward fan-shaped area.

Just a second before the hand-blade strike landed, the five ice bodhisattvas were struck head-on by the dark red repulsive force field.

There was no sound, or rather, the sound was Annihilation too quickly.

The ice bodhisattva began to Disintegration from the point of contact, turning directly into the most basic water molecules, and then even the water molecules were further decomposed and Annihilation.

The shockwave continued to spread.

The five little ice figures vanished instantly.

Doma himself was hit head-on by the repulsive field, and his whole body flew backward like a cannonball, crashing through more than a dozen walls before finally landing in the corridor at the other end of the Infinity Castle, covered in blood.

Just then, Akaza burst out of the ruins.

His injuries have mostly healed; the Upper Rank Demon's regenerative abilities are truly astonishing.

"Destructive Death - Annihilation Style!"

Akaza unleashed both fists simultaneously, the force of the punches condensing into two spiraling streams of energy that pierced towards Moyu's back like drills.

Moyu didn't even turn around, but simply turned slightly to the left.

Two powerful punches grazed past his right side and slammed into the wall in the distance, blasting two large holes in it.

Then Moyu raised his right foot and kicked backward. The movement looked casual, but its power was considerable!

The sole of the foot is directly above the chest of the Akaza.

"Pfft--!"

Akaza was sent flying backward again, his sternum shattered completely, and he became embedded in the ceiling.

Doma wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his smile becoming somewhat forced, "Oh dear, this is really troublesome..."

Akaza broke free from the ceiling and landed on the ground, his chest wound healing rapidly. His eyes became even more fervent, and even more... crazed.

"Not enough..." Akaza growled, "Spell Unfurled - Final Form - Azure-Silver Chaotic Afterglow!!"

The Compass Needle array beneath his feet shone brightly, and the next second, Akaza vanished, leaving dozens of afterimages in the air. He launched a simultaneous attack from all directions, centered on Moyu—

Fists, elbows, knees, feet—his entire body was transformed into weapons.

Each strike was enough to shatter the mountain rocks.

Every strike is aimed at a vital acupoint.

In a mere second, Akaza threw over a hundred punches.

The air was stirred up like boiling water, and shockwaves echoed repeatedly in the narrow corridor, causing the walls, floors, and ceilings to crack and shatter continuously.

But all the attacks were blocked within three feet of Moyu.

That invisible barrier is as stable as an unchanging law.

"It's time to end this." Moyu sheathed his sword.

Then, he made a simple hand seal in front of his chest, with his right index and middle fingers together and his left hand loosely grasping his right wrist.

"Spell Reversal - Maximum Output · 'Hercules'."

This time, it did not coalesce into a sphere.

A dark red light burst forth from Moyu's hands, like a torrent bursting its banks, pouring forward into a fan-shaped area.

That is the manifestation of pure spatial repulsion force amplified to its limit.

Wherever it passed, all matter was pushed away, but the speed and force of the repulsion were so great that the material structure was torn apart, decomposed, and ultimately Annihilation in an instant.

First, the corridor itself—the wooden floor, walls, and ceiling—turned to dust the instant the dark red light swept across it, and then even the dust disappeared.

Then it was Doma; he tried to hide, but the area covered by the light was too large.

He raised the broken iron fan, intending to use his Blood Demon Art to defend himself, but the fan vanished the moment it came into contact with the light.

Next came his arms, shoulders, chest...

"What's this..."

Doma didn't finish his sentence.

A dark red light engulfed his entire body.

When the light faded, only Doma's head remained suspended in mid-air; everything below his neck had vanished. He hadn't been severed, but utterly Annihilation, with no possibility of regeneration.

A trace of astonishment remained on the face of the severed head before it began to turn to ash.

Upper Rank Two, Doma, dies.

On the other side, Akaza tried to rush over, but as soon as he took a step, the aftershocks of the dark red light swept over his body.

From the waist down, everything disappeared. Akaza's upper body fell to the ground. He looked down at his vanished lower body, and for the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.

"I... can't die!!" He opened his mouth, a ferocious expression appearing on his face; he wanted to try his best to regenerate.

But fragments of clear memories suddenly flooded into my mind.

Snowy night... dojo... Koyuki... Master Keizo...

"I am... Hakuji..."

His voice was soft, and he no longer struggled to regenerate; his upper body began to slowly turn to ash.

Before disappearing completely, Akaza, or rather, Hakuji, looked at Moyu with a complex expression.

"Thank you," he said.

The Upper Rank Three, Akaza, dies.

Moyu lowered her hand.

The corridor was gone, and all around was a void of darkness, with only a few scattered architectural ruins floating in the distance.

He turned and looked towards the core of the Infinity Castle.

In the six-eyed perception, Nakime's energy fluctuations showed obvious disorder, clearly indicating that the battle just now was beyond her comprehension.

Muzan...

Moyu saw the room.

Muzan is still trying to analyze the drugs, but his progress is slow. The four drugs interact with each other, creating a chain reaction that causes his regenerative abilities to continue to decline.

"That's about it." Moyu muttered to himself, lifting his foot and taking a step forward.

Space distorted slightly, and in the next step, he appeared a hundred meters away, heading deeper into the Infinity Castle.

On a distant high platform, Nakime's fingers trembled on the strings of her biwa.

She saw everything that had just happened. She saw "Cang" devour the hundred ghosts. She saw "He" Annihilation the Upper Rank.

Now, the white-haired swordsman is walking towards her.

Nakime gritted her teeth and plucked the strings of her harp with a fierce movement—

Buzz!

The structure of the Infinity Castle began to change drastically.

The walls flipped, the stairs reversed, and countless doors opened and closed, attempting to trap Moyu in the maze.

But Moyu's steps did not stop. Liu Yan had seen through everything. No matter how Nakime manipulated things, he was steadily getting closer.

Deep within the Infinity Castle, Muzan finally stopped his research.

He raised his head, and in his crimson pupils, he saw the image transmitted through Nakime's Blood Demon Art: the white-haired swordsman was walking towards him step Shoichi step.

"Kokushibo!" Muzan called out to Kokushibo through their bloodline connection.