The broken blade hurtled rapidly toward Kokushibo's neck.
In the blink of an eye, Kokushibo's pupils contracted rapidly.
There was no time to think about anything else; all the muscles in my body began to twitch rapidly.
Teiichi's eyes were fixed on Kokushibo, so the sudden movement naturally caught Teiichi attention.
The broken blade, which was falling at high speed, suddenly stopped in mid-air.
He then took a powerful step backward and his figure shot backward.
The next moment.
Countless sharp, alien blades sprouted from beneath Kokushibo shoots after a spring rain, instantly enveloping his entire body.
The clothes were torn to shreds by these sharp blades and scattered in the wind.
In the distance, Teiichi, who had settled down, was also sizing up Kokushibo.
At this moment, Kokushibo was shirtless, with segments of alien blades extending from his body.
Seeing this, Teiichi's brows furrowed slightly.
Although the Kyokokukamusari in Kokushibo's hand was made of his own flesh and blood, it was not as tough as the Nichirin Blade made of ore.
However, because his blade could regenerate, Teiichi had not specifically targeted Kyokokukamusari in the previous battles.
But things are different now.
Kokushibo's body was covered in blades, and he was holding a broken sword.
When he was about to cut Kokushibo's neck, Kokushibo only needed to move his body slightly to allow the blades on his body to pierce him.
In other words, to cut off his neck, besides blocking the Kyokokukamusari in his hand, one also has to cut off all the blades in front of him at the same time...
He quickly formulated a battle plan in his mind.
The next moment.
suck--!
With deep breathing, a strong wind surged around Teiichi.
The snowflakes, which were originally falling straight down, swirled and danced around Teiichi.
" Wind Breathing!"
" Ninth Form - Idaten Typhoon!"
Before he finished speaking, a huge tornado rapidly formed in front of Teiichi.
They then swiftly attacked the location of Kokushibo.
Whoosh whoosh--!
As the tornado moved forward, it swept up the snow in its path, and the area it covered grew larger and larger.
The swirling snow gradually spread across the entire battlefield.
Are you planning to obscure our view and then launch a sneak attack...?
Gazing at the snowstorm that filled his entire field of vision, Kokushibo pondered to himself, his hands gripping the Kyokokukamusari stretched out behind him.
" Moon Breathing!"
" The Fourteenth Form - Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
The Kyokokukamusari his body.
One crescent blade after another formed around Kokushibo, circling him before flying outwards.
Each crescent blade that flies out will offset part of the tornado's wind force.
After a dozen or so moon blades, the snowflakes that had been blown up by the tornado and covered most of the battlefield vanished instantly.
Before Kokushibo could even see the scene before him clearly...
The next moment.
The sound of wind breaking came from behind.
An attack that was expected...
Kokushibo made a mental comment, then quickly turned around.
The scene before him, however, caused his pupils to dilate violently.
In the deserted woods, a Wind Blade was hurtling toward him at breakneck speed.
Wind... blade?
The sound of wind breaking through the air came from behind.
There was no time to defend against the incoming Wind Blade, nor to think about why the Wind Blade could come from behind when the person was still in front.
Kokushibo's body quickly turned around.
Clang!
The Kyokokukamusari firmly blocked the incoming Nichirin Blade.
The next moment.
laugh--!
After some of the Wind Blade were neutralized by the blades on Kokushibo's body, the remaining ones struck Kokushibo's back directly.
Although he had anticipated this when he turned around, Kokushibo's body still inevitably leaned forward slightly.
Taking advantage of Kokushibo's forward lean and loss of control, Teiichi quickly raised a foot and kicked him.
Bang!
As the force was applied to his torso, Kokushibo's body inevitably bent, and the force originally applied to Kyokokukamusari was greatly reduced.
A sudden gust of wind surged around the two of them.
" Wind Breathing!"
" Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash!"
The broken Nichirin Blade emitted a dazzling blue light as it slashed towards Kokushibo.
Click! Click! Click!...
Although Kokushibo offered some resistance, the blades that were attached to his body were ultimately incomparable to those that were held in his hand.
The sound of blades shattering echoed continuously.
After severing all the blades in front of Kokushibo, the broken blade turned and aimed directly at Kokushibo's neck.
Kokushibo stared at the Demon Slayer before him, his body covered in blood, his broken blade gleaming with a dazzling blue light.
The words of his Yoriichi Tsugikuni, resurfaced in his mind.
'In the future, there will surely be people who can reach our level!'
Six golden pupils stared intently.
No!
This is not the future I approve of!!
I... I must sever this future!!!
Kokushibo roared inwardly, his muscles surging rapidly.
Even though there was no movement in his body.
But the next moment...
Countless crescent blades slashed out from the broken edges of the blades that had been cut off his body.
Whoosh--!
The moon blade slashed straight at him, and despite some reluctance, Teiichi abandoned his attempt to strike the Kokushibo's neck.
After taking two steps back, he pushed off with his feet and leaped into the air.
Then, he tilted his body slightly to the side and leaned back.
The next instant.
Two crescent blades flew past Teiichi's body, one after the other.
A few strands of hair flew past Teiichi's eyes along with the moon blade.
The attack, which exploited the intelligence gap, failed to achieve its goal, compounded by the remaining broken blade, the exhausted body, and Muzan attention...
Teiichi temporarily extinguished Kokushibo.
Teiichi landed, the blade flashed again.
The clanging sounds echoed across the battlefield once again.
However, this time the two sides were more evenly matched, and neither could gain the upper hand.
After a long while, Kokushibo's words rang out again on the battlefield.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why... you've only comprehended one Transparent World, yet your strength has reached this level?"
Kokushibo's voice was low and hoarse, filled with incomprehension and confusion.
He seemed to be questioning Teiichi, but more like he was questioning himself.
He had only one goal in becoming a ghost.
That was to climb to the summit of the mountain he had ever seen.
to this end...
He can abandon his family, his wife and children!
to this end...
He could even abandon his identity as a human being!
everything...
All for the sake of reaching the level that Yoriichi had reached, as he had witnessed it...
I want to see it for myself.
What's the view like from that altitude?
And yet, I abandoned so many things and spent hundreds of years cultivating.
In return... he couldn't even kill this human who had only grasped the essence of the Transparent World.
This scene...
It seems somewhat like it was hundreds of years ago.
We are all awakened Demon Slayer Mark, people Transparent World.
but...
It seems there are always a few individuals...
It's special...
Teiichi slightly turned his body to dodge the vertically slashing crescent blade, then replied.
You and I are not much different.
but...
The distance between you and Yoriichi Tsugikuni isn't just a matter of training time...
Teiichi turned his gaze to Kokushibo and slowly spoke.
The difference between you is an insurmountable chasm called 'talent'!!!