从鬼灭开始,成就最强魔刀! 第23章

Water Breathing: First Form - Water Surface Slash!

He leaned forward, aiming for the neck, holding the blade in a single hand.

Raging currents bloomed atop the edge, and his horizontal slash forward kicked up a massive spray of water.

Yet a strike that should have surely hit.

Was dodged as Kamanue coiled his body and leaned backward, simultaneously lifting a foot to kick Tanjiro flying away from him.

When the two of them stabilized their bodies mid-air and landed.

They saw that Kamanue's original torso had transformed into something resembling a raccoon's body, remaining as extremely flexible and versatile as liquid.

Matched with a tiger's limbs.

Now his strength, speed, and even flexibility had all reached a truly terrifying degree.

It really was not so simple for Tanjiro to defeat this guy.

"Is this a cat or a tiger?"

Inosuke looked at Kamanue with a bit of confusion in his mind, suddenly feeling that his brainpower was no longer quite enough.

Conversely, Tanjiro appeared much calmer, enduring the sharp pain in his abdomen as he began to analyze his opponent.

This demon possessed a cat's body for extreme flexibility, while a tiger's limbs provided sufficient strength and explosive speed.

This was simply a close-combat assassin.

Fortunately, however, Ashura Maru could injure it, and it could not heal its own injuries.

Recalling his training over the past few days, as well as the changes brought about by the recent feedback.

He had the confidence to win!

At that moment, Zenitsu was also holding a sword in the corridor behind them, trembling as he loudly inquired.

"Tanjiro, will you guys win?"

Hearing this, Tanjiro spoke without looking back.

"Although it's a bit tricky, we'll win..."

Beside him, Inosuke eased his numbed hands, and his fighting spirit grew even fiercer. "Stop the nonsense, I'm definitely going to cut off your neck!"

"Heinous wretches, I'll kill you in the most cruel way possible!"

Kamanue smiled cruelly.

Chapter 30: I Still Can't Lose!

The emanating malice caused even the battle-hungry Inosuke's body to tremble slightly.

"This is not looking too good. This is the first time I've felt such intense pressure from an enemy; just this pressure alone is almost crushing my body..."

It even made Inosuke nearly lose his will to fight.

Such formidable strength—he could be certain of it.

He could not defeat this guy, and the thought of giving up unconsciously sprouted in his heart...

Fortunately, Tanjiro woke him up in time.

"Don't give up, Inosuke, we won't lose!"

Hearing this, Inosuke pondered for a moment before gripping the dual blades in his hands. "That's right, we absolutely cannot lose. Bring it on, you demonic cat... tiger...

To dare make me use my brain this much, you're done for!"

Kamanue's cruel smile froze, and even the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Was this guy out of his mind?

Seeing Inosuke pull himself together, Tanjiro finally breathed a sigh of relief and focused entirely on the enemy.

"Let's go together!"

With that, he stepped forward quickly.

He held his sword in a single hand.

Water Breathing: Fourth Form - Striking Tide!

He unleashed several tidal wave-like slashes straight ahead.

Yet Kamanue easily deflected them all by contorting his body, while simultaneously throwing a punch at Tanjiro's head.

Fortunately, Tanjiro managed to retract his blade and block in front of him in time.

Even so, he was still sent flying by that immensely heavy punch.

Meanwhile, Inosuke had already reached Kamanue's side once more, raising his dual blades. Beast Breathing: Third Form - Fangs: Slice and Dice!

The two blades slashed horizontally outward to either side.

However, Kamanue's flexible and ever-changing body dodged them once more in an utterly unreasonable manner, throwing a backhand punch straight into Tanjiro's—cough, into Inosuke's abdomen.

Inosuke's figure flew backward into the room, landing beside Zenitsu, and a large amount of blood gushed from the mouth of his boar mask.

"That really hurts..."

"Eh... Are you alright?"

Even though he was scared to death, Zenitsu still crawled over and asked with concern.

Lying on the corridor floor, Inosuke now felt pain everywhere in his body, especially his lungs, which felt as though they were about to explode.

Yet upon seeing Zenitsu beside him, he hurriedly spoke up. "I'm fine. Why aren't you going up to help?"

This single sentence.

Left Zenitsu completely speechless.

"I... I'm scared... I haven't gotten married yet and I don't want to die so early... Besides, Tanjiro himself said they'd win..."

"You really are completely useless."

It was the first time Inosuke had ever applied such an evaluation to someone. Fortunately, his own injuries could still support him, so he hurriedly struggled to his feet.

He picked up his sword, stepped off the corridor, and rushed toward the fray.

Meanwhile.

Tanjiro was also engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Kamanue.

Exchanging blows back and forth, the two clashed for dozens of rounds.

Kamanue relied as much as possible on his agile physique to evade the blade swung by Tanjiro, but under such close-quarters combat.

Mistakes were inevitably bound to happen.

At this moment, his body had already been slashed by the blade into several gruesome wounds.

"Damn it... To dare injure me, your crimes are boundless!" Kamanue roared up at the heavens and struck once more.

Blood Demon Art: Tiger Savage Claw Rend!

His claws grew wildly, each one stretching several dozen centimeters long, and he lashed out fiercely at Tanjiro.

Every single swipe.

Tore apart everything in front of him.

Except in front of Ashura Maru, what got torn apart was himself!

There were exceptions, however.

These sharp claws were not flesh and blood in essence, so the effect of halting regeneration on them was not very significant. Although it could similarly suppress them,

The effectiveness was poor in the end.

Kamanue also sensed this and began pouring all his strength into enabling his sharp claws to regenerate rapidly.

Yet even so, the regeneration speed of the sharp claws still fell far short of Tanjiro's slashes. Water Breathing: Third Form - Flowing Dance!

His footwork shifted and transferred like flowing water, closing in rapidly.

Currents raged atop the blade.

The moment his figure swept past, all of Kamanue's sharp claws were severed, and another wound was carved across his chest.

At that very instant, however.

A dark shadow suddenly darted out from behind Kamanue. Looking closely, it was shockingly a venomous snake with complex patterns.

It opened its bloody maw, baring its fangs as it bit toward Tanjiro, who had his back turned to it.

Upon seeing this, the corners of Kamanue's mouth curled into a demonic smile.

"Got you!"

Inside the blade, Lin Fan immediately issued a warning.

"Watch out behind you."

Hearing this, Tanjiro turned around without hesitation, holding his blade to block, and split the venomous snake's head right down the middle.

Did this guy have eyes on the back of his head?!

Kamanue's expression at this moment remained ugly to the extreme; his meticulously prepared sneak attack had been seen through just like that.

At this juncture, Inosuke finally arrived at the scene once more, leaping up into mid-air and raising his dual blades. Beast Breathing: Second Form - Slice and Dice!

Tanjiro struck out at the same time.

Water Breathing: Seventh Form - Ripple Thrust!

The two of them attacked simultaneously.

Tanjiro pierced straight through Kamanue's abdomen with a single blade, while Inosuke's dual blades struck the neck, though they only managed to break the skin before getting wedged between the flesh inside.

Inosuke exerted force with both hands.

"So hard, I can't cut in..."

Yet Kamanue suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, both of you are guilty! Go to hell!"

His head began to swell and mutate, transforming in the blink of an eye into something resembling the head of an ape, and he opened his bloody maw.

Roaring out toward Tanjiro right in front of him.

Boom!

The sound resembling an ape's cry was deafening. At such close range, Tanjiro felt dizzy and disoriented, blood streaming from his facial orifices.

He could barely keep a firm grip on the sword in his hand.

Inosuke had it no better, getting slapped directly flying by Kamanue and smashing a gaping hole in the courtyard wall.

This time, Inosuke was truly heavily injured.

For a short while, he possessed no combat capability whatsoever.

Fortunately, however, Tanjiro had Lin Fan's healing power, allowing his injuries to recover instantly. He gripped Ashura Maru tightly once more.

Exerting fierce force, he intended to split the demon in half down the middle.

Yet Kamanue also thrust both claws straight into Tanjiro's body, piercing right into his heart. The demon floated into the air by its own accord, flying a short distance while dragging Tanjiro pressed against the ground.

Then, with a toss, he hurled Tanjiro straight into the room.

Zenitsu truly broke down completely this time. Didn't you say you'd win, Tanjiro?

Lying within the messy room, Tanjiro felt that his body was now reaching its absolute limit; this demon was simply not something his current self could defeat.

The crying and whining of Zenitsu reached his ears, and his consciousness was on the verge of plunging into darkness. Right before losing consciousness, his gaze shifted toward Nezuko inside the room.

"I can't lose like this..."

While transmitting ghostly power to help repair his injuries, Lin Fan also dragged Tanjiro's consciousness deep into the interior of the blade.

At this boundary where the sky met the sea.

Tanjiro scanned his surroundings, spotting an elf-like figure at a single glance, and he spoke the moment he saw her.