Battling Byōha

"Hey, looks like you know who I am."

Byōha wiped the blood trickling from his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned, revealing a row of sharp fangs.

His golden eyes were fixed on Haruto, and a drunken flush seemed to rise in his cheeks.

"Lower Rank Three..."

Haruto gripped his sword hilt and stepped back into a low stance, ready to attack.

"Hmm, did you see my eyes?"

The corners of Byōha's mouth rose in an eerie smile. He pulled down his right lower eyelid, making a face like a little child. "The name's Byōha."

He extended a hand toward Haruto and pressed his palm downward. As Haruto swiftly rolled back, the vegetation beneath the boy's feet withered away.

Blood Demon Art: Withering!

Sure enough, every demon's Blood Demon Art was tied to his name.

Byōha thought nothing of missing his first strike. He kept pressing his palm down toward Haruto, moving faster and faster.

The boy darted and dodged, but one careless step brought his toes against the withered vegetation. Even the sole of his geta was more than half eaten away!

Haruto's expression remained unchanged. He drove his toes hard against the ground and lunged straight at Byōha.

Star Breathing, First Form: Bright Tears!

Haruto's figure flashed past. The next instant, he hurtled toward Byōha in a blaze of sword light.

Star Breathing's First Form was incredibly fast, rivaling Thunder Breathing's Thunderclap and Flash. Accurate, decisive, and swift, its sudden attacks had always worked wonders in battle.

Today, however, it had met its match.

His blade met no resistance as it swept forward, nor did he feel it cut through anything.

Haruto's heart sank. He quickly twisted in midair and unleashed Bright Tears again.

A dark figure tore through the afterimage left by the boy in blue. Byōha gave a surprised "Oh?" and landed lightly in a tree.

Haruto landed steadily on the ground and glanced toward the treetop.

At some point, a Gauntlet Hook gleaming with dark light had appeared on Byōha's hand. Combined with the scars on his face and his extraordinary speed, it suggested that Byōha had been a ninja when he was human.

"You're pretty fast. A Hashira?"

Byōha shook his head, rejecting his own guess. "No, I've eaten plenty of Hashira from the Demon Slayer Corps. They weren't as weak as you."

Haruto narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If I hadn't just enjoyed a delicious meal, your arms and legs would already be broken, and you'd be writhing on the ground."

He swept his long, snake-like tongue around his lips. "Again!"

Before the word had finished leaving his mouth, a dark blur shot straight at Haruto's face. Haruto hurriedly raised his Nichirin Blade to block. With a harsh scrape, a shower of sparks burst before him.

The boy immediately twisted and sprang into the air, scissoring both feet toward the demon's face.

Byōha flipped backward several times and retaliated with Blood Demon Art: Withering. Haruto planted his sword tip against the ground and pursued relentlessly.

Star Breathing, Second Form: Starlight Prairie Fire!

Twinkling stars caught up to Byōha. Starlight spread from his claws along his limbs before finally erupting with a thunderous blast in his chest!

Bright red demon blood splashed onto the ground, giving off a foul stench.

Byōha hurtled backward through the air, then hooked his claws around a branch and flipped into a crouch atop the tree.

He looked down at the black hole blasted into his chest and grimaced for a while. The flesh there squirmed, and before long, it had completely regenerated.

"All flash."

That was his verdict on Haruto's technique. "A demon's weak point is the neck... surely you know that."

The Twelve Kizuki... they really lived up to their reputation.

Normally, Haruto's technique would keep exploding all the way to the neck, finally blasting the demon's head to pieces.

Against Byōha, however, it could only leave a tiny, barely noticeable wound.

"Is that all you've got?" Byōha's assault did not slacken. He leaped into the air. "This new generation of demon slayers is far too disappointing!"

He raised his palm high. Haruto's heart lurched, and he immediately rolled aside.

But this time, Byōha did not press his palm down. He lifted it up-

Blood Demon Art: Growth!

Haruto's heart dropped. This is bad.

A tree suddenly burst from the ground where he was about to land, covered in diseased purple-black branches and leaves!

"Damn it!"

Haruto forcibly twisted his body, but he still failed to avoid the growing tree completely.

Squelch!

Agony tore through his shoulder as a branch effortlessly pierced his left shoulder.

The branch embedded in him suddenly began to suck. Streams of crimson blood flowed into it and were fed back into Byōha's body.

Haruto immediately severed the branch with his sword. The broken section withered at once, but it clung tightly to his flesh and would not come out.

The drunken flush on Byōha's cheeks grew more pronounced, and he became increasingly excited. Yet in contrast to his rising excitement, his limbs moved more and more sluggishly.

An opening...

"Ha, the aftereffects of drinking seem to be getting worse. As I thought, rich, fragrant blood still moves me more."

He rambled incoherently. Beneath the night sky, only the sound of a blade slicing through the air could be heard.

Bright Tears!

Byōha still dodged swiftly, but this time, his movements seemed a little slower.

The blade swept across his neck, leaving a shallow, narrow cut.

"Damn you."

Byōha's smile vanished. At point-blank range, he opened his palm toward Haruto.

Blood Demon Art: Surge!

A thick mass of twisted, diseased vines erupted from his palm and shot toward the descending Haruto.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

He swung his Nichirin Blade rapidly, severing the vines flying toward his head and vital areas.

Squelch!

Amid the teeth-grating sounds of flesh being pierced, the vines punched through his limbs. Like the tree branch, they kept draining his blood and channeling it into Byōha.

"Your blood... your blood..."

The effect of his rare blood reached its peak. Byōha's speech began to slur until he could no longer even express what he wanted to say.

Haruto endured the excruciating pain and raised his blade to cut through the vines.

There was hardly an uninjured spot left on his body. Fortunately, his pretty face was unharmed. He still needed it to find himself a wife.

"Blood? What about my blood?"

Without another word, Haruto refused to give him an opening. His blade trembled as he ignored his pain and gathered all the starlight power in his body into the Nichirin Blade in his hands.

He turned the blade, gripping its hilt with both hands and holding it before his chest.

The stars filling the sky seemed to dim a little because of him.

The star chart behind Haruto blazed, and a bright moon rose above Byōha's head.

Even in his drunken state, Byōha sensed immense danger. His pupils had already begun to lose focus, but he still raised both hands and thrust them forward together.

Blood Demon Art: Embracing Tree!

An enormous tree burst from his palms and hurtled straight toward Haruto.

The full moon was going to shatter...

He had pushed every ounce of his strength to its limit, yet the bright moon trembled as though it might shatter at any moment!

"Star Breathing, Ninth Form-

Moon-Banishment!"

Facing the enormous tree, Haruto clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

The full moon hadn't shattered!

Haruto sent the Nichirin Blade spinning from his hands!

Bam!

The enormous tree struck the white-haired boy squarely, sending him flying dozens of meters like a bird with broken wings.

"Heh, heh..."

Byōha sneered twice and was about to say something when he felt his field of vision slide downward.

Thump.

His close-cropped, black-haired head dropped gently onto the grass. The spinning blade had fulfilled Moon-Banishment's purpose after all, sweeping through his neck before burying itself deep in the tree behind him.

Haruto clung to consciousness until he saw Lower Rank Three's head and body begin to burn. Only then did his eyes roll back, and he passed out.

I've really made something of myself. I actually killed one of the Twelve Kizuki.

Master, Mr. Urokodaki, Sabito, Giyu, Makomo, you Ubuyashiki kid...

Anyone, come check on me...

I actually killed one of the Twelve Kizuki...