The Pure Black Nightmare (Forty-One) -- Upper Rank Three: Akaza!

"Namo Amitabha Buddha..."

Himejima's deep voice, like the tolling of an ancient temple bell, echoed across the mountaintop.

"In my life, I have seen far too many evil spirits like you, who treat the destruction of life as a game and the suffering of the world as a joke."

"And my mission is to completely erase your unforgivable sins from this world and send you to the real hell to reflect on your actions."

"Oh?"

Doma's smile grew even brighter.

That sounds terrifying.

"However, in my view, death is the ultimate salvation. I am merely helping those poor humans to be freed from pain and suffering and enter into eternal peace."

"I'm doing a good deed."

Just as Doma was about to continue with his twisted and heretical theories...

Himejima stirred.

There were no warning signs, and no unnecessary movements.

The muscles beneath his monk's robe bulged instantly.

"Boom--!"

The ground beneath their feet was dented by sheer brute force, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out wildly!

"Call--!"

The heavy chain was swung through the air, forming a straight black line, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound!

Doma suddenly contracted.

The smile on his face froze.

That's too fast!

That's ridiculously fast! It completely defies the basic physics of this thing!

The enormous meteor hammer rapidly magnified in his seven-colored pupils, covering the distance between them in less than a fraction of a second.

The force of the impact was so great, it felt like it could smash through an entire mountain, and it just slammed down right onto his forehead!

Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus!

Doma's reaction was so fast it was almost inhuman.

With a sudden wave of his golden fan, dozens of enormous, crystal-clear ice lotuses exploded layer upon layer in front of him, creating a thick wall of ice.

However, in the face of the pure, extreme, and violent power of Gyomei Himejima.

This solid ice, capable of freezing ordinary Pillar-level swordsmen into popsicles, is as brittle as window paper!

"Boom-!"

The meteor hammer, without any fancy moves, smashed directly into the ice wall.

There was no stalemate.

"Snap!"

The ice wall, several meters thick, shattered instantly, starting from its center!

The sky was filled with ice shards, which shimmered with a beautiful yet deadly light under the moonlight.

The unstoppable meteor hammer, after smashing through the ice wall, did not lose any momentum. It grazed Doma's scalp and slammed heavily into the ground behind him!

"Boom!"

The entire summit of Mount Sagiri trembled, as if an earthquake had struck!

The spot where Doma had just been standing was now cratered more than five meters wide, with dirt and rocks flying everywhere as if blown up by a bomb!

Doma appeared disheveled about ten meters away.

His short, white oak hair was a mess from the wind, and the confident smile on his face was finally gone.

He raised his hand and touched his face; a trickle of blood was slowly flowing down from the tiny wound.

Although he managed to dodge a fatal blow at the last moment, he was still grazed by the wind generated by the meteor hammer.

"Oh dear, that really scared me."

Doma at the blood on his fingertips, a complex light flashing in his seven-colored eyes—a mixture of excitement and annoyance.

"I was so close to ruining my handsome face!"

"You monk, you really went too far."

Without saying a word, the muscles in Gyomei Himejima bulged again, and he yanked hard on the chain.

He forcefully pulled the meteor hammer, which had sunk into the deep pit, out of the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"Stone Breathing, Second Form: Upper Smash!"

This time, Himejima held back.

He leaped into the air, looking down at Tongmo with both his meteor hammer and broad axe, and slammed them down hard on Doma's head!

One force can overcome ten techniques!

Faced with the monstrous power of Gyomei Himejima, Doma's flashy freezing Blood Demon Art seemed utterly useless for the first time.

He kept dodging with his speed, creating ice sheets to try and block his opponent, but they were all shattered by the indestructible broad axe.

In an instant, a deafening roar echoed from the mountaintop, with ice crystals and pebbles flying Upper Rank Two was completely overwhelmed and couldn't retaliate at all!

***

Meanwhile, in the woods halfway up the mountain.

"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"

With a deafening roar, a tiger made of crimson flames pounced into the dense horde of ghosts with unparalleled ferocity.

Shinjuro Rengoku's swordsmanship is characterized by its sweeping, powerful strokes, brimming with the ruthless and domineering style of a seasoned veteran of the battlefield.

Each swing of the blade seemed to ignite the air itself.

And on his flank.

"Sound Breathing - First Form - Boom!"

Tengen Uzui's movements were as fast as a ghost.

The two enormous swords danced in his hands like two magnificent full moons.

Each clash of weapons with the demons would unleash a bomb-like roar, leaving those weak Lower Rank demons dazed and confused, their ears bleeding.

"Hey! Shinjuro!"

While severing both arms of a demon, Tengen Uzui still managed to shout a warning.

"You old bones can still fight pretty well!"

"This imposing manner is far more glamorous than when you were drinking alone at home!"

"Shut up, Yu Sui!"

Shinjuro cleaved a demon in two from head to toe with a single stroke of his sword; the charred corpse emitted black smoke.

"You're wasting your time talking nonsense, why don't you chop up a couple more flies! Hurry up and get rid of these flies so we can help the others!"

Under the combined attack of two Pillar-level warriors, the dozen or so Lower Rank- level demons offered no effective resistance and were quickly wiped out.

"Huff... huff..."

Tengen Uzui hoisted his twin swords onto his shoulders, panting heavily. His elaborate makeup was now mostly ruined by sweat.

"Finally... it's over."

"These guys aren't strong, but their clinginess is really annoying."

Shinjuro sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed solemnly on the mountaintop and the direction of another battlefield.

The collision of those two terrifying forces, even from this distance, made his heart pound with fear.

Just as the two were about to set off to provide support...

A powerful aura, filled with a thirst for struggle and destruction, descended upon them without warning.

Shinjuro and Tengen Uzui's muscles tensed instantly, and they turned around abruptly.

Not far away, on a treetop, stood a young man covered in dark blue tattoos and with short, peach-pink hair.

The young man was shirtless, a wild and arrogant smile playing on his lips, and the words "Upper Rank" and "Three" were clearly etched in his golden pupils.

Upper Rank Three - Akaza.

He didn't look at the charred corpses of his kind on the ground.

Instead, he looked at the two pillars in front of him with great interest, his eyes filled with the excitement and admiration of a hunter who had found excellent prey.

"What remarkable fighting spirit!"

Akaza spoke, his voice magnetic, but the fighting spirit emanating from him sent chills down one's spine.

"Especially you, aren't you the Flame Hashira of this generation?"

His gaze settled on Shinjuro.

"Your battle aura is like a blazing fire, condensed and pure, having been honed to the limits of human capability. It's simply magnificent!!"

He then turned to Tengen Uzui:

"And you, your battle aura, though not as pure as his, is more agile and full of explosive power. Very good too!!"

Akaza floated down from the treetop, his feet firmly planted on the ground, assuming a fighting stance.

"As a sign of respect for the strong, I'm giving you a choice."

"Abandon your fragile bodies and become ghosts!"

"That way, we can fight forever, to our hearts' content! Isn't that the most exciting thing?!"

Faced with this insane invitation, Shinjuro's response was to grip the hilt of his sword tightly once more.

"Further discussion is pointless."

Shinjuro's eyes were icy cold.

"As the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, my flames exist solely to burn you demons to ashes!"

Tengen Uzui grinned and twirled his twin swords in a dazzling display.

"Sorry, pink-haired guy."

"I have absolutely no interest in becoming an ugly creature like you, devoid of any aesthetic appeal."

"My life is meant to be a magnificent bloom, and a magnificent death!"

"Now, let this god of the festival play your magnificent final chapter!"

A great war is about to break out!