Chapter 24
For a moment, Kiriya felt as if he could hear an electric guitar riff full of overwhelming pressure.
Huh?
Who brought the speaker system here?
"..."
Giyu’s expression tightened, but a fierce fighting spirit burned in his eyes.
"Don’t attack yet." ×2
The two of them spoke at the same time, and the words were shockingly similar, leaving both of them stunned.
"You just went through a battle and helped heal my injuries. You should rest properly," Giyu said seriously.
"Huh? That was nothing."
Kiriya waved his hand, calm and casual.
"With that level of intensity, I can fight all day."
"Hm?"
Akaza, who had made his shining entrance, froze.
He had not expected this situation at all.
Usually, when he appeared, the Demon Slayers were either grim and heroic or completely despairing.
Yet these two were both...
Eager?
"Subarashii!!!!!!! Hontō ni subarashii yo."
Akaza’s mouth curled into an extremely delighted smile.
"I can see it. That refined fighting spirit. You’ve tempered your martial skill to an unbelievable degree. You’re not far from the Supreme Territory."
"I didn’t expect to run into prey like this while out clearing my head. This is truly irresistible."
He had been dealing with some matters nearby when he suddenly sensed a stunning fighting spirit erupting here, shooting straight toward the heavens.
That surging presence had left him fascinated, so he rushed over directly. He had not expected such a wonderful surprise to be waiting for him.
"First, let’s have a little appetizer."
As he spoke, Akaza pounced like a leopard, throwing a punch straight toward Kiriya’s chest.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel."
A cold flash appeared.
The sharp blade directly cut off Akaza’s forearm.
"Hm?"
Akaza’s expression shifted slightly.
He stopped his attack and leapt back more than ten meters.
He had originally intended to target Kiriya, since the fighting spirit on him was even more vast and blazing.
He had not expected the quiet young man beside him to lose patience first.
"I see. So you couldn’t hold back either."
Naturally, Akaza never refused a challenge from the strong.
He raised his fists and took a stance toward Giyu.
"Technique Development: Destructive Death — Compass Needle."
An invisible snowflake-like technique spread across the ground, and standing at its center was none other than Akaza himself.
For a moment, in Giyu’s senses, this Upper Rank’s presence rose by more than one level.
It felt as if countless steel needles were stabbing into every pore of his body, filling the air with tremendous pressure.
"Let me go first."
Giyu stepped forward.
"As a Hashira, I cannot keep hiding behind someone else."
Seeing the serious look in Giyu’s eyes, what else could Kiriya say?
He was not worried about Giyu stealing the kill anyway, so letting him test the enemy’s moves was not a bad idea.
He slowly nodded.
"Be careful."
Giyu held his sword in both hands, took a deep breath, and charged straight forward.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
Right from the start, Giyu used one of his best forms. Continuous slashes gathered into an unbroken river.
As for Akaza, his response was simple.
Punches.
High-speed punches.
"Clang, clang, clang—"
His fists collided with the sharp blade, yet the sound that rang out was like steel striking steel.
’Such power! Such hard fists!’
The more Giyu fought, the more shocked he became.
The opponent was receiving his blade barehanded, yet not only was he not at a disadvantage, the force behind those blows nearly numbed Giyu’s hands.
’No, it isn’t just his strength and body. This guy’s combat skill has also been tempered through countless battles. It’s refined to an astonishing degree.’
Giyu seized the timing and swung another Water Wheel, but the other party dodged it and even struck the spine of his blade with his fist.
If Giyu had not reacted quickly and changed his move in time, his Nichirin sword might have snapped right there.
’As expected of an Upper Rank!’
Giyu’s fighting spirit hardened.
’In that case, I’ll give it everything.’
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
Giyu caught the timing and unleashed a strike as fierce as a raging wave.
In one move, he cut off Akaza’s arm and even carved a massive wound through half of his shoulder.
"Subarashiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."
The more Akaza fought, the more excited he became, continuing his ferocious assault.
As he punched, the severed arm and damaged shoulder had already finished regenerating.
Then he planted both feet on the ground and threw both fists, creating afterimages.
"Destructive Death: Disorder."
The violent force of his punches blasted out wave after wave of air cannons, firing toward Giyu.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
At the critical moment, Giyu adjusted his stance and used his self-created form to oppose this large-scale assault.
"Pop—"
There was only a sound like bubbles bursting, and every air cannon that came within several meters of Giyu vanished.
"The previous Water Hashira didn’t have a move like that."
Akaza looked at Giyu with increasingly heated eyes.
"A self-created sword form. As expected, you really are talented. How about it? Will you consider becoming a demon like me? That way, you’ll have more than enough life to pursue the highest realm of martial arts."
"..."
Giyu could not be bothered to answer.
His attacks simply became even fiercer.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool."
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust."
Giyu freely displayed all of his sword forms, showing the overwhelming strength expected of a Hashira, and even Kiriya found it eye-opening.
For example, Kiriya had seen Tanjiro use Drop Ripple Thrust before. But in Tanjiro’s hands, it had only been a revolver with a painfully slow rate of fire.
In Giyu’s hands, however, it had become a Gatling gun. The difference between their levels was like heaven and earth.
’So that’s how thrusting techniques can be used?’
Kiriya widened his Sharingan, observing and memorizing all of Giyu’s movements.
As the strongest Water Breathing user of the current era, Giyu Tomioka’s sword techniques had extremely high copying value.
His swordsmanship treasury could increase its inventory again.
And not only Giyu.
Akazas movements were also highly valuable as reference material.
After all, these were skills forged through countless battles.
Especially that air cannon technique—great appearance, great power.
Copy!
Destructive Death, Leg Type: Crown Splitter?
That kick was pretty nice.
Copy!
Flying Planet Thousand Wheels?
Copy!
Copy, copy, copy!
On one side, Giyu was tempering himself under extreme pressure.
Akaza’s fighting spirit was soaring as he thoroughly enjoyed the supreme pleasure brought by battle.
And Kiriya was harvesting precious intelligence and techniques.
All three of them had bright futures ahead.
The human and demon maintained that high-intensity battle for a full five minutes, but in the end, Giyu still began to show signs of decline.
There was no helping it.
Humans were not demons.
Human stamina ultimately had limits.
How could a battle of endurance favor him against this kind of blood-soaked monster?
Moreover, Akaza’s Blood Demon Art was a natural counter to a technical fighter like Giyu.
Every punch and movement Giyu made would be perceived by Akaza and, under the effect of his Blood Demon Art, guided toward the outcome most favorable to him.
In contrast, Akaza’s movements, guided by his Blood Demon Art, would strike straight toward Giyu’s weaknesses and vital points.
As time dragged on, Giyu’s defeat became unavoidable.
"Hah... hah..."
Giyu’s breathing grew heavier and heavier, and his body became increasingly sluggish.
Against a master martial artist like Akaza, that kind of delay was fatal.
"Destructive Death: Disorder."
A barrage of chaotic punches rained down.
A gap appeared in Giyu’s defense, and in the end, several blows landed.
He was sent flying far away and crashed onto the ground.
"What a shame."
Akaza did not continue pursuing him. Instead, he shook his head and sighed.
"If you were a demon, we could have fought to our hearts’ content for much longer."
"Humans really are such fragile creatures."
"So, will you consider becoming a demon?"
Akaza still refused to give up on inviting him.
"Never!"
Giyu stood up, endured the severe pain of his broken ribs, and adjusted his breathing, preparing to continue fighting.
"That’s enough."
At that moment, a hand pressed down on his shoulder, and a familiar warmth flowed through his body, healing the injuries within him.
"Kiriya-san."
Giyu unconsciously used an honorific.
"Leave the rest to me."
Kiriya looked back and smiled, then walked toward Akaza.
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