" Serpent Breathing "
" Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile "
Obanai Iguro whispered, his body instantly transforming into a black shadow as he charged toward the demon with astonishing speed.
With his command, a pale snake light suddenly shone through the forest, as if two giant white snakes were coiling in the air, intertwining to form a sharp sword aura that mercilessly attacked the Lower Rank Three.
However, to Obanai's surprise, Lower Rank Three did not show the slightest panic. He stood still, like a majestic mountain, letting the sword energy attack him.
His pupils gleamed with an indescribable mockery and disdain, as if laughing at Obanai's powerlessness.
Why didn't he hide?
Can't he see which direction I'll attack him from?
A deep sense of doubt arose in Obanai's mind.
However, reality didn't give Obanai much time to think.
With a full sprint, Obanai appeared in front of Lower Rank Three in the blink of an eye.
Without even thinking about why Lower Rank Three wasn't dodging, he swiftly swung his Nichirin Blade toward Lower Rank Three's neck.
Suddenly, Obanai seemed to understand why Lower Rank Three was standing still, letting him cut her down.
The Nichirin Blade, which was originally as fast as lightning, seemed to be bound by an invisible force as it approached Lower Rank Three, and its speed decreased sharply.
What should have been a journey that passed in an instant now seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Obanai watched helplessly as the Nichirin Blade slowly sliced through the air, her mind completely blank.
Sudden.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fist growing larger and larger.
Although she didn't know what the demon's abilities were, Obanai was already very clear that she didn't have the ability to kill it.
Therefore, he decisively abandoned the idea of continuing to cut off the demon's head and prepared to retrieve his Nichirin Blade for defense.
However, unexpectedly, I didn't feel any force affecting the Nichirin Blade.
However, the retraction motion of the Nichirin Blade is very slow.
Lower Rank Three's fist was less than an arm's length away from him.
Hit by a ghost?
Or should we abandon the Nichirin Blade?
No, that won't work.
I cannot give up my Nichirin Blade. My Nichirin Blade is specially made. If I give it up, even if I have Shimada and Takeuchi around to use, I won't be able to use many of their sword styles to their full potential.
At that time, one's combat strength might not be less affected than if one were hit by a ghost and injured.
In a flash, Obanai made a quick decision.
With his right hand gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly, he used a slight push from his legs to leap into the air.
The fist that was originally aimed at Obanai's head struck Obanai abdomen instead due to her change Obanai position.
"Bang"
Obanai's figure was sent flying backwards through the air.
"Uh-huh"
A suppressed groan of pain rang out in the air.
Obanai's figure flipped rapidly in the air a few times before landing steadily on the ground.
"Cough cough... Pfft"
After enduring it for a long time, he still couldn't hold it in and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The punch was much heavier than Obanai had imagined...
As she coughed up blood, Obanai seemed to feel much better. She slowly stood up from the ground and glanced at her Nichirin Blade.
The blade of the Nichirin Blade was now covered with nicks and slits, clearly caused by its close-range use of the Nichirin Blade to deflect the rain of pebbles.
Serpent Breathing is ultimately a breathing technique that leans more towards offense, unlike Water Breathing which has defensive techniques and can generate water flow to offset the damage caused by pebbles hitting the Nichirin Blade.
Obanai banished the thought that she might have made the wrong choice, raised her head, and stared intently at Lower Rank Three's figure.
" Lower Rank Three? Wasn't he supposed to be killed by the Wind Hashira?"
A cold, clear voice came from the Demon Slayer not far away.
Seeing the Demon Slayer before him covered in blood, having just been punched and coughing up a mouthful of blood, Shokugetsu's lips curled into a grin. He licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with a cruel and excited light.
These three Demon Slayer are pretty much guaranteed to win tonight!
Feeling confident of victory Shokugetsu decided to chat with the Demon Slayer before her to while away the time before the impending carnage.
"I didn't know how Lower Rank Three died, but it's probably true what your Demon Slayer Corps said. I only got promoted this year!"
"Let me introduce myself, Lower Rank Three — Shokugetsu."
Shokugetsu's voice revealed a hint of smugness, as if she were very proud of her promotion.
Was that your Blood Demon Art just now?
"Whee..."
When the Demon Slayer in front of him asked about his Blood Demon Art, Shokugetsu couldn't help but chuckle twice, as if he had found a topic to brag about.
"Since you're going to die today anyway, it doesn't matter if I tell you."
"My Blood Demon Art can accelerate or decelerate objects that come near my body. That's why your Nichirin Blade slowed down so much when it was slashing at my neck."
"Oh, right, and that Demon Slayer at the very front too. He was also momentarily blinded by the temptation to sever my neck. I clearly waited for him for quite a while, but he didn't sheathe his sword and kept aiming for my neck. I had no choice but to punch him."
"Speaking of which, you're stronger than that guy. He couldn't dodge my punch at all, but you managed to react and avoid a fatal blow. You look younger than him, even though."
At this point, Shokugetsu paused for a moment, then continued.
"Hello! Hello! Hello!"
"Could it be that...!"
You bastard!
"Is he a genius in the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Maybe!
The cold words came from Obanai's mouth.
Upon hearing Obanai's admission, Shokugetsu became even more excited, her lips stretching wide to almost reach her ears, and a sickly voice emanated from Shokugetsu mouth.
Hehehe...
"Doesn't that mean that the person I killed today was a future Pillar?"
"I don't understand what you're thinking. So what if I might become a Pillar in the future? Let's not even talk about whether you can kill me today. Even if you do kill me today, what difference does it make? You're only killing the part of me that isn't a Pillar. What's there to be happy about? You'll still be powerless against a Pillar in the future."
Upon hearing Obanai Iguro's words, Shokugetsu's smile vanished.
"Hmph, you Demon Slayer really don't know how to talk!"
"By the way, you just said your Blood Demon Art can also speed things up?"
When Obanai brought up his Blood Demon Art again, Shokugetsu couldn't help but curl up his lips slightly. Blood Demon Art was his masterpiece.
"That's right, my Blood Demon Art can accelerate or decelerate objects within 20 centimeters of my body. Currently, I've developed this ability to a maximum of 40 times."
I named it -- Boundary Speed!