"Aaaah!!!"
With a heart-rending scream, the white-haired figure, his face as hideously fearsome as an evil spirit, was cleaved in two at the waist by that mysterious, eerie green light!
Blood splattered everywhere in an instant, making for an extraordinarily bloody and brutal sight.
"You brat! That cut hurt!! It hurts like hell!!! You deserve to die, die!!!!"
Yet Teiichi remained completely unmoved by the screams ringing in his ears. His expression stayed as calm as still water, without even a flicker in his eyes.
Then he swiftly turned, blade in hand, ready to finish him off.
Just then, something unexpected happened-several vivid crimson threads of blood extended from the waist as though alive, tightly connecting the white-haired demon's severed upper and lower body.
In the blink of an eye, those threads began contracting at astonishing speed, as though possessing inexhaustible strength, forcibly pulling the two separated halves back together!
"Is this... high-speed regeneration? Can demons really regenerate that well?"
Witnessing this astonishing sight, Teiichi froze for a moment, an indescribable shock rising within him.
Once his body was reconnected, the white-haired demon turned around with astonishing speed. His bloodshot eyes glared viciously at Teiichi, as though he wanted to devour him alive.
"Boy, you brought this on yourself!" His voice was low and hoarse, filled with boundless malice.
Teiichi frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on the white-haired demon and his knees slightly bent, ready at any moment for the storm that might descend.
But to Teiichi's complete surprise, the white-haired demon did not pounce as he had expected. Instead, he slowly raised his left forearm.
Whoosh.
With a light sweep of the white-haired demon's right hand, a cold gleam flashed, and a long, narrow cut opened across his left forearm.
Blood instantly gushed from the wound like a spring, forming red streams that danced wildly through the air like a swarm of eerie sprites.
"Is this... a Blood Demon Art?" Watching the scene before him, Teiichi felt a complicated mix of relief and renewed tension.
He felt relieved because the sight of the white-haired demon immediately recovering after being cut in half had startled him. He had just been wondering how he would fight other demons in the future if one who was not even a Lower Rank had such powerful regeneration. Now that he saw it was a Blood Demon Art, he felt much more reassured.
His tension came from not expecting to encounter a demon with a Blood Demon Art on his very first demon hunt.
"That's right. This is a Blood Demon Art, one that belongs to me alone-Blood Control!"
Hearing Teiichi's murmured words, the white-haired demon's face brimmed with pride and confidence.
"Unfortunately, my ability isn't strong enough yet. I still need a wound to draw blood out.
"Once I apply for a Lower Rank's Rank Replacement Blood Battle and become a Lower Rank, I'll receive more of Lord Muzan's blood. Then I'll be able to draw blood straight out from beneath the skin. Demon Slayers will be nothing but weaklings before me. I'll drain them dry."
Hearing the white-haired demon's words, Teiichi knitted his brows tightly.
He knew very well that if he did not eliminate this evil demon now, and things developed as he described, the situation he spoke of could very likely occur in future battles.
Even if a Breathing Style could resist this Blood Demon Art to a certain extent, it would probably still have an enormous negative effect on Demon Slayers' combat strength.
While Teiichi was considering how to respond, the white-haired demon had already begun to act.
He manipulated the blood from his left arm, rapidly forming sharp blood arrows that shot toward Teiichi in a torrential barrage.
The blood arrows were extremely fast and numerous, each carrying tremendous force.
Teiichi dared not hesitate. His Nichirin Blade flashed rapidly, weaving an impenetrable net of steel before him that blocked every incoming blood arrow.
Yet just then, something unexpected happened.
At the edge of his vision, a drop of blood that should have fallen to the ground abruptly transformed into a blood arrow, tearing through the air toward Teiichi's head from a tricky angle!
Caught by surprise, Teiichi had no time to do more than lean his head back as far as he could and tilt it to the side, hoping to evade this fatal strike...
Whoosh.
A deep gash instantly opened across Teiichi's cheek, blood pouring out like a spring.
Teiichi reacted swiftly to the sudden attack. Bending his knees slightly, he leaped backward with all his strength, successfully escaping the blood arrows' range for the moment.
Surprisingly, however, once Teiichi had jumped back a certain distance, the white-haired demon did not immediately follow up with another assault. It seemed there was a limit to the range within which he could control blood, and once his target crossed that boundary, he could no longer pursue.
Now the white-haired demon merely stood quietly in place, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Teiichi, exuding an eerie, terrifying air.
Teiichi stared back without yielding in the slightest, and the battle reached a stalemate.
Time ticked by, and an eerie, deathly silence settled over the scene.
Neither dared make a rash move, afraid of giving the other an opening. The battle seemed to have reached an impasse, with both waiting for the other to reveal a weakness first...
"Boy, become a demon!" The white-haired demon spoke first. His voice seemed to come from the underworld, carrying endless chill and temptation.
"Once you become a demon, you'll possess strength beyond your imagination! And you'll have a chance at immortality, enjoying everything wonderful in this world forever!"
A trace of greed flashed through the white-haired demon's eyes after he said this. Then he pointed at the hideous wounds on his body and continued his temptation:
"Look. An ordinary person would have died long ago from injuries this horrific, but for us demons, they're hardly a problem at all. Even if we're cut in two at the waist, we can move freely once we're joined back together, as though nothing happened."
"But you humans? Once you're wounded that badly, all you can do is wait to die. You don't even need such a serious injury. Just a fist-sized hole in your body means certain death if you don't receive treatment in time. That's why you humans are far too fragile and insignificant..."
As the white-haired demon spoke, that astonishing slash Teiichi had just unleashed kept resurfacing in his mind.
It was not as though he had never encountered Demon Slayers, but this was his first time meeting one so powerful!
He had clearly known this boy was about to attack, and he had clearly braced himself to defend, yet the boy had still cut him straight in half.
If his Blood Demon Art had not been Blood Control, with versatility far beyond ordinary Blood Demon Arts, allowing him to reconnect his severed halves, this boy would probably have already cut off his head.
At that thought, the white-haired demon stared at Teiichi. Seeing the firm resolve in Teiichi's eyes, he suddenly shuddered.
No. I might not win if I fight this boy.
I have to trick him into becoming a demon. If that doesn't work, I have to run.
I'm a demon Lord Muzan values! I'm going to become an Upper Rank!
There are still endless wonderful days ahead of me!
This boy's life is worthless. How could I gamble my life against his here?
"Heh... become a demon?"
After hearing the white-haired demon's words, the corners of Teiichi's mouth lifted slightly into a bone-chilling smile.
His voice was perfectly calm, yet held endless indifference and distance, sending chills down the spine as though it came from the deepest depths of hell.
"I really... still can't accept eating people!"
Before his words had faded, Teiichi abruptly tightened his grip on his long blade, changing his two-handed hold to a one-handed grip on the hilt.
At the same time, he extended his left hand and gently wiped the blood seeping continuously from his cheek, his movements graceful and unhurried.
The crimson blood slid from his fingertips and dripped onto the ground beneath his feet, forming eerie, lurid blossoms of blood.
Afterward, Teiichi slowly raised his head and fixed his icy, merciless eyes on the white-haired demon before him.
Blood Control! I have to finish him tonight, or he'll be a huge problem later.
My face is wounded. When I use my breathing in a moment, I'll have to devote some of my attention to protecting it. I can't let the white-haired demon control the blood from that wound.
At that thought, Teiichi glanced at the cut on the white-haired demon's left arm.
He only cut his left arm. Is his ability too weak to control too much blood at once, so the blood from that cut is enough for a fight?
No, that won't do. I can't base my fighting on that guess. I'll still have to make his neck my main target and cut other places as little as possible.
Having decided, Teiichi focused his gaze and steadied his breath. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and brought his blade down beside the left side of his waist.
As he moved, a powerful aura erupted from him.
Hiss...
Accompanied by a low rush of air, Teiichi called out:
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form!"
"Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
In an instant, fierce winds swept through once again, like a surging torrent carrying boundless might.
Teiichi became a dazzling streak of green light, hurtling toward the white-haired demon like lightning.
Hearing that familiar technique name, the white-haired demon's expression abruptly changed, a trace of shock and apprehension flashing through his eyes.
Staring at Teiichi as he rushed toward him, he unleashed his ability without hesitation, manipulating the surrounding blood to rapidly form a sturdy barrier before him in an attempt to block Teiichi's attack.
At the same time, countless crimson blood arrows took shape in midair, glinting with a chilling light that made the heart tremble, as though they could pierce through anything at any moment.
Bang!
The next instant, the Nichirin Blade slammed into the barrier with an earth-shattering crash.