"It seems that once wasn't enough."
The icy voice utterly crushed the Yaoshi's newly ignited elation into the snow.
The head being trampled underfoot, the pupils behind the gold-rimmed glasses suddenly contracted!
"You... you bastard..."
The Yaoshi's voice was muffled because his face was being firmly pressed down, but the arrogance and madness that emanated from his very bones remained undiminished!
"A sickly, dying man! How dare... how dare he step on God's face! Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!!"
With his venomous roar, the headless body that was still kneeling on the ground suddenly moved!
From the severed neck, large swathes of eerie green mist gushed forth!
Blood Demon Art: A Breeding Ground for Corruption!
The green mist seemed to come alive, transforming into countless writhing venomous snakes that swiftly coiled around Tanjuro's ankle!
This is his true fighting style!
Elegant and composed, standing at a distance, watching the enemy slowly rot and collapse!
Close-quarters combat? That's a stupid thing only barbarians would do!
As it turned out, the scene he imagined—a sickly person terrified and instantly swallowed by the virus—never happened.
"Call-"
Tanjuro exhaled another long breath.
His frail body, at this moment, looked like a real sun!
"Hinokami Kagura: Blazing Sun Red Mirror!"
The axe, burning with golden-red flames, slashed upwards in a twisting, fiery arc!
That flame carried the divine power to incinerate all things!
The green poisonous mist that rushed towards them was instantly evaporated and purified upon contact with the golden-red flames!
The residual force of the slash left a deep, bone-revealing gash on the headless body without any mercy!
"Thump."
The Yaoshi's body was cleaved away by the immense force, crashing seven or eight meters away, half of his body nearly broken.
"Wh... what?!?!"
The head, trampled underfoot, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"My virus... it was burned? This doesn't make sense! This completely violates the law of conservation of energy!"
As a top scholar, he could not comprehend this supernatural scene before him.
Tanjuro, however, clearly wasn't going to give him any time to think or analyze.
"Hinokami Kagura: Mirage Sun Rainbow!"
His figure left a trail of rapidly moving afterimages in place, his steps appearing and disappearing unpredictably, like dancing to the rhythm of light.
Each afterimage carried an aura as scorching as the sun, completely neutralizing the Yaoshi's prized perception abilities!
"Where?! Where?! Damn it! This sickly child's data is completely beyond my calculation range!!"
The Yaoshi's head spun wildly on the ground, its eyes darting around, trying to capture Tanjuro's true form.
But the next second, a golden flame exploded on the side of his body that had been cleaved away!
"Laugh-!"
An arm shot skyward!
"Hinokami Kagura: Fire Wheel!"
Another fiery slash came from another tricky angle, precisely severing his remaining arm!
Cut in half at the waist, severed arms, severed legs!
Tanjuro's figure, like a tireless fire god, danced an ancient and deadly sacrificial dance around Yaoshi's tattered body.
Each breath was accompanied by a slash.
Each strike would inevitably take a part of the Yaoshi's body.
The Yaoshi was completely stunned and felt utterly bewildered.
He was like a newbie player who had just reached the level cap, hadn't even had a chance to read the skill descriptions, and was immediately thrashed by the game master – the experience was absolutely terrible!!
Pain, shock, humiliation, bewilderment...
Countless negative emotions surged wildly within his mind, which was now only capable of thinking.
But amidst this extreme chaos, an even more morbid and twisted emotion emerged.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
The head, trampled into the snow, actually chuckled softly.
"So that's how it is... So that's how it is! This is the Sun Breathing?!?!"
"Fantastic! This is absolutely amazing clinical data!!"
Instead of being afraid, he became like a pervert, greedily analyzing Tanjuro's power.
But this so-called academic research was quickly interrupted by a violent coughing fit.
"Cough... cough cough cough..."
After delivering his final blow, Tanjuro staggered and knelt on one knee, the flaming axe in his hand dimming.
Large beads of cold sweat kept sliding down his forehead.
Ultimately, it reached its limit.
His body, tormented by illness for many years, simply could not support him dancing this dance dedicated to God for an extended period of time without interruption.
"Oh?"
Chance!
The Yaoshi's eyes suddenly lit up!
The head that was being stepped on suddenly sprouted countless fleshy tentacles from its neck, like nimble octopus tentacles, which instantly wrapped around Tanjuro's ankles!
Tanjuro was startled and instinctively tried to lift his foot, but it was too late.
Meanwhile, the tattered body parts lying in the snow seemed to have received a command, wriggling wildly and converging towards the head!
The severed leg was reattached, the severed arm was put back in place, and the body that had been cut in half at the waist was put back together!
The Yaoshi's dilapidated body was restored to its original state in just a few breaths!
The headless body staggered to its feet, walked up to Tanjuro, grabbed its own head, and roughly shoved it back onto the severed neck!
"Crack... crack..."
The Yaoshi shook his neck and let out a comfortable groan.
"Ah... the original body is still the most comfortable to use."
He pushed up his still-perfect gold-rimmed glasses, looked down at Tanjuro who could no longer stand, and his face once again wore that wicked, cat-and-mouse grin.
"Mr. Tanjuro Kamado, have you finished your dance?"
"It was such a fantastic performance; it gave me so much valuable clinical data."
"In return, I'll let you witness firsthand how perfect and... invincible the true God is!"
He opened his arms as if to embrace the world, his expression both fanatical and distorted.
"Did you see that?!?!"
"Your strikes are ineffective against me! The sun is ineffective against me!"
"Nothing in this world can kill me now!"
"I am eternity! I am truth!"
Tanjuro didn't speak, but simply raised his head and looked at him quietly with his still calm eyes.
That look in his eyes was like looking at a pathetic clown standing on a stage.
That look pierced the Yaoshi's fragile and sensitive pride!
"What kind of look is that! You damned sickly brat! You're about to die, and you still dare to look at me like that?!"
The Yaoshi's face instantly contorted into a ferocious expression. He raised his foot, ready to stomp down hard on Tanjuro's head!
But, at this very moment!
The sense of impending death caused Tanjuro's already exhausted body to burst forth with a final burst of light and heat!
"Call--!"
That was the longest, deepest, and brightest breath he had ever taken in his life!
"Hinokami Kagura: Dance!"
The dull axe blade suddenly burst into golden-red flames!
A perfect circular fire slash exploded from Tanjuro's position!
"Sizzle--!"
The Yaoshi's body, which had been so arrogant just moments before, didn't even have time to react before being cut in half at the waist once again!
The ferocious expression on his face froze instantly, turning into utter astonishment and pain.
"Again?!?!"
But this time, his body recovered several times faster than before!
The golden flames on the wound that had been severed at the waist burned for only a second before being forcibly extinguished by an even stronger life force. Countless buds of flesh surged out frantically, trying to reconnect!
"It's no use! I've already told you! It's no use!!"
The Yaoshi's upper body lay sprawled on the ground, laughing maniacally.
"You can't kill me! You mortal! You're... out of strength!"
His words were like the most vicious curse.
Tanjuro's axe fell to the ground with a clang, and the dazzling golden-red flames were completely extinguished.
His frail body could no longer hold on, and he slowly collapsed forward.
He collapsed on the cold snow and completely lost consciousness.
"It's over."
The Yaoshi watched this scene and laughed even more smugly. His injuries had fully healed, and he was walking step by step toward the fallen Tanjuro.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Tanjuro Kamado. Your data is extremely valuable."
"Now, I ask that you become my first... work of art on my path to godhood."
He raised his hand, his sharp nails aimed at Tanjuro's head, ready to stab!
But just then...
A voice that seemed capable of freezing the soul slowly rang out behind him.
"Water Breathing - Fourth Form - Striking Tide"
Laugh--!
A continuous blue slash, like a tidal wave, appeared out of nowhere and instantly severed the Yaoshi's arm, along with half of his shoulder!