Despair, Sakonji Urokodaki's final chapter!
The once tranquil woods have been so ravaged that even a dog would shake its head in disgust.
"Pfft--!"
As the final, azure-blue blade of light flashed past,
A deformed fish monster with seven or eight legs was Sakonji Urokodaki.
"Huff... huff..."
The old man, leaning on his Nichirin Blade with both hands, knelt on the ground.
I'm exhausted, really exhausted.
Sakonji Urokodaki felt that,
Even if I were to use these old bones to make soup, I probably wouldn't get a single drop of oil out of them.
And opposite him,
Gyokko stared at the chopped-up fish monsters scattered on the ground, her face etched with deep sorrow and indignation.
"Too brutal!! Too barbaric!!"
Gyokko covered his eyes (actually his mouth) with his twisted little hands and let out a pretentious wail. o(╥╥)o
"My carefully nurtured slippery tentacle fish, number three, has been cut so irregularly by you!"
You old man, you're a butcher with absolutely no sense of aesthetics!
While cursing, Gyokko looked at Urokodaki, who was kneeling on the ground, with the same look he would give a piece of trash.
"I was hoping to find some inspiration for carving the Water Hashira from you, but your rigid swordsmanship is making me want to doze off!"
Never mind!!
I've completely lost patience with you, this defective product.
Gyokko's small hands, which were located on either side of her cheeks, suddenly clasped together.
"Smack!"
"Since you don't understand avant-garde art, then let me show you what a magnificent ending really is!!"
"Blood Demon Art—Thousand Needle Fish Kill!!"
As the Gyokko began to chant, several pots with even more anachronistic shapes than before appeared out of thin air.
Immediately afterwards, a dozen strange fish with poisonous spines on their backs emerged from the pot and swaggered into the air.
"What kind of eerie design is this?"
Sakonji Urokodaki couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically behind his mask.
He vowed that if he made it down the mountain alive today, he would eat fish with his eyes closed from now on.
Before the old man could even catch his breath, the floating monster fish all opened their gaping maws like those from the abyss.
"Pfft--!"
Those densely packed poison needles were like a Gatling gun firing at Full Release power, swarming towards Sakonji Urokodaki's face!
This density is so high, calling it a downpour is an understatement; it's practically a piercing wall!
"Water Breathing - Eleventh Form... No, I don't know that move."
Sakonji Urokodaki gave a bitter laugh to himself, gritted his teeth, and stood up again.
"Water Breathing - Second Form - Water Wheel!"
The blue water danced in his hands, forming a circular shield.
"Jingle bells!"
The poisoned needle struck the blade of the water stream.
Urokodaki was extremely experienced; each swing of his sword precisely deflected a large number of poison needles.
The problem is, there are just too many of these things, and his stamina bar is almost empty.
If he were at his peak, he could shave all these toothpicks off with his eyes closed.
But now, my arm muscles are starting to ache and tremble involuntarily.
"Pfft!"
A stray poisoned needle, cunningly grazing the blind spot of the blade, plunged deep into Urokodaki's left shoulder.
"Ugh!!"
Urokodaki let out a muffled groan, his movements pausing for a fraction of a second.
In those fatal fractions of a second, the defense network collapsed instantly.
"Pfft--!"
Two poisoned needles pierced his right calf in succession.
The poison in the Gyokko is no joke; it works extremely quickly.
In less than three seconds, Urokodaki felt a cold, numb sensation coming from the spot where he had been stabbed, and the numbness spread rapidly along his nerve endings.
Urokodaki completely lost his balance and crashed heavily into the mud, unable to even move a finger.
"Hehehe--!"
The Gyokko emitted an unpleasant, eerie laugh.
He appeared before Sakonji Urokodaki.
Even at close range, Urokodaki could smell the fishy odor emanating from the monster, which had been fermenting for three months.
"Oh dear, weren't you jumping so fast just now? You old bones!"
Gyokko stretched out a hand covered in suckers and deliberately waved it in front of Urokodaki.
What does the toxin taste like?
Don't worry, it won't kill you right away!
It will only paralyze you, forcing you to watch helplessly as you become my artwork.
Gyokko gave Urokodaki no chance to catch his breath.
He suddenly waved his small hands in front of his chest, instantly sucking away all the moisture from the surrounding air.
"Take your time to appreciate this breathtakingly beautiful art!"
To suffocate inside my masterpiece is the greatest blessing of your life!!
"Blood Demon Art - Water Prison Pot!!"
A large amount of viscous water suddenly appeared out of Sakonji Urokodaki, who was lying on the ground.
This is a completely enclosed water sphere.
Urokodaki was trapped in mid-air, his limbs fixed in place by the water pressure. He couldn't even turn his neck, let alone swing his sword.
Cold, murky mucus poured into his mouth and nose.
I can't breathe!!
"Yes, yes!! That's the expression!!"
Outside the water bowl, Gyokko was so excited that he danced around, just like a fanatic who had seen a limited edition figurine.
"Involuntary muscle spasms due to oxygen deficiency!"
The suffocating despair beneath the mask!
So wonderful!!
This is absolutely my most satisfying work this year!
~~~
Shift in gaze.
The forest on the other side of Mount Sagiri.
A ferocious, light blue blur was hurtling through the trees, almost skimming the ground.
It's Giyu Tomioka!!
He didn't take any proper mountain paths at all.
When encountering a thick tree trunk, simply smash it open with your body;
When they encountered thickets of thorns, they didn't even bother to hide, letting the barbs scratch their clothes and faces, leaving bloody marks.
His expressionless face remained unchanged; he didn't even furrow his brow.
But.
If someone could see into Giyu's inner world right now, they would find that the little devil inside him is about to flip the table to the Milky Way.
Panic.
This ever-calm, ever-keeping-hidden-in-your-heart Water Hashira is now truly panicked.
Within his Transparent World perception, Master Urokodaki's flame of life, though dim, was still stubbornly flickering.
But just a moment ago...
The flame was suddenly enveloped by a thick cloud of murky water vapor, and its life force was waning at the speed of a cliff fall!
"Faster... faster..."
Giyu frantically pushed himself in his mind.
"Huff-huff--!"
The lungs, subjected to extreme strain, have begun to protest.
Fine streaks of blood slowly seeped from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't even waste a moment raising his hand to wipe them away.
The muscle fibers are groaning, the bones are protesting.
But he ignored it.
Speed.
All he needs now is speed.
"Boom!!"
The ground beneath his feet was blasted into a crater half a meter deep.
Giyu's figure once again broke the limits of physics in mid-air, and his speed more than doubled!
His entire being transformed into a streak of blue lightning tinged with crimson steam, tearing through the pitch-black night of Mount Sagiri, hurtling headlong towards the despairing Water Prison Pot!