"Th-This is—?!"
As astonishing murderous intent permeated the entire area, Tanjirou, Zenitsu, and Inosuke couldn't help but take a step back, their pupils trembling, seemingly shaken.
Since they each possessed exceptionally keen senses, murderous intent, which even some ordinary people could sense, undoubtedly had a magnified effect on these three youths, causing them a lot of distress.
In this situation, Tanjirou unconsciously gripped his sword, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Inosuke resembled an enraged beast, his entire body bristling with sweat-soaked fur.
Zenitsu hugged his head and squatted directly on the ground, his face pale, letting out a sharp scream of fear.
"You three, step back!"
Even Kyoujurou's expression was grave as he shouted at the three.
He quickly stood in front of Tanjirou, Inosuke, and Zenitsu, body lowered, hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.
In front of them, the figure emerging slowly from the dust finally revealed his full form.
He was a young man with peach-red short hair, golden eyes, deep blue tattoos covering his entire body, and fingernails painted blood-red.
He wasn't tall and looked even younger than Kyoujurou, wearing a short, sleeveless dark purple-pink haori with an open chest, prayer beads hanging from his ankles, and bare feet.
He looked like a martial artist, clearly someone not to be trifled with.
However, that wasn't the most important part.
What was most striking was the characters engraved in his eyes.
In his pair of golden eyes, two Japanese characters were engraved.
Left eye - 'Three'.
Right eye - 'Upper Rank'.
This was the characteristic of the Twelve Kizuki, symbols of their rank and identity.
Upper Ranks have characters engraved in both eyes.
Lower Ranks have characters engraved in one eye.
Needless to say, the demon before them, without a doubt, was an Upper Rank.
"Upper Three?" Kyoujurou muttered solemnly.
Upper Three, meaning the third-strongest demon aside from the Demon King, was now standing before them.
"I am Akaza."
The Upper Three, Akaza, nonchalantly revealed his name.
However, as he looked toward Riezel and Kyoujurou, his face broke into a smile full of fighting intent.
"Ahh... I see..." Akaza seemed to understand something, his smile turned aggressive. "To think there are two guys with such fighting spirit here... No wonder a Lower Rank dies so easily..."
Akaza's words were clearly directed at Riezel and Kyoujurou.
Obviously, this Upper Rank had seen through it all, recognizing Riezel and Kyoujurou as the strongest individuals within the group. As for Tanjirou and the other two, Akaza didn't even put them in his eyes.
"You're the Upper Three, right?" Kyoujurou asked, his gaze fixed intently on Akaza. "Are you also the mastermind behind the Mugen Train incident?"
Kyoujurou speculated that Akaza had appeared here because he, along with Enmu, had orchestrated the Mugen Train incident.
Unfortunately, his speculation was wrong.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not like those weaklings like Lower Ranks..." Akaza shook his head. "I don't involve myself in such messy matters. I just happened to be nearby and received an order to come here because of the Lower One's blunder."
'Order?' Kyoujurou's mind stirred. 'Someone who can command Upper Ranks? Could it be...'
Before Kyoujurou could finish his thought, Akaza had already changed the subject.
"What are your names?"
Akaza surprisingly took an interest in their names, but of course, his question was directed only at Riezel and Kyoujurou.
"I'm Rengoku Kyoujurou, the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps." Kyoujurou stated his name.
"As I thought, you're a Hashira."
Akaza showed no surprise—or rather, knowing that the Lower One had been slain, regardless of who it was, they would suspect that the culprit was a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Within the Demon Slayer Corps, only Hashira-ranked swordsmen had the ability to kill the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki. Other ranks of swordsmen were basically incapable of threatening the Twelve Kizuki. Even Kinoe-ranked swordsmen were equally powerless against the Lower Ranks.
Therefore, for the Twelve Kizuki, the true threats were only the Hashira, and opponents worth noting were likewise Hashira.
"What about you?"
Akaza turned his gaze to Riezel, the smile on his face growing broader.
"Which Hashira are you?"
Unfortunately, faced with Akaza's question, Riezel remained silent, just watching him quietly.
"Don't want to answer, huh?" Akaza expressed some regret but didn't feel annoyed. "Well, strong ones always have a temper and privilege, and you indeed qualify to be arrogant."
With those words, Akaza suddenly raised his head, releasing his full-blown aggressiveness without hiding it.
"But... I'm also strong!"
*Crack!*
As he spoke, Akaza suddenly stomped on the ground, shattering it beneath his feet.
"Technique Development!"
Akaza assumed a martial arts stance, with a firm stance, performing a starting pose, causing a twelve-sided snowflake pattern to appear under his feet.
"Destructive Death - Compass Needle!"
As the snowflake pattern emitted a bright light, his pair of golden eyes gleamed brightly.
"Danger!" Kyoujurou reacted quickly and stepped forward without hesitation.
*BANG!*
In that split second, Akaza disappeared from the spot.
He broke through the ground, trampling the earth underfoot, darting out as fast as lightning. With a burst of explosive air, he rushed in front of Riezel.
Everyone felt their vision blur.
Akaza had disappeared a second ago, and the next second he suddenly appeared right in front of them, his face wearing an aggressive smile now seemingly inches away.
Tanjirou couldn't react.
Zenitsu couldn't react.
Inosuke couldn't react either.
Even though they had sensitive and keen senses, in the face of such absolute speed, their bodies couldn't keep up, let alone react.
Riezel, however, calmly moved his finger slightly, preparing to draw his sword. He had no choice since Akaza was coming for him.
*Whoosh!*
With a fearless smile, Akaza swung his fist toward Riezel.
His fist was so fast that even the sound barrier couldn't keep up until it was about to touch Riezel's face.
However, Riezel stopped the action he was about to take because—
"Flame Breathing - Second Form - Rising Scorching Sun!"
A flaming blade rose violently from bottom to top, slashing toward Akaza's fist, which carried a sonic boom. Seeing the trajectory, the flaming blade would definitely cut down his arm before his fist could touch Riezel's face.
"Hahaha!"
However, instead of being scared, Akaza laughed madly, twisting his arm and unabashedly striking toward the fire blade that was slashing toward him.
*DING!*
Akaza's fist carrying a sonic boom collided with Kyoujurou's flaming blade, ultimately resulting in a crisp metal collision sound, causing the two to flick away from each other, and creating distance.
"Flame Breathing - First Form - Unknowing Fire!"
Kyoujurou engulfed his entire body in flames and with a fierce momentum like a rocket, charged toward Akaza.
"Destructive Death - Disorder!"
Watching the blurred figure of Kyoujurou charging toward him at such speed that even his silhouette was indistinguishable, Akaza's fighting intent erupted. Instead of retreating, he advanced, striking out with both hands like a machine gun.
*BOOM!*
Amid the exploding sound, Kyoujurou's charge was blocked by Akaza.
Kyoujurou's fiery slash was deflected by Akaza's fist, resembling a barrage of bullets. It seemed as though he was engulfed in a storm of punches, nearly overwhelmed by the countless fist strikes aimed at him.
At this moment, the gazes of a swordsman and a demon instantly clashed, sparking intense friction.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
In the next moment, the fierce battle between a swordsman and a martial artist erupted without warning.
Unable to land a blow, Kyoujurou unleashed a flurry of flames, enveloping Akaza in a sky-covering, earth-hiding blaze. While it appeared that he was attacking every corner of Akaza's body, his intent was subtly focused on Akaza's neck, aiming most of his slashes at Akaza's vital points after feinting his attacks.
Unfazed, Akaza met Kyoujurou's sword with his bare fists, engaging in combat without weapons. His fists repeatedly struck Kyoujurou's sword, deflecting, knocking, smashing, and even blocking it, leaving numerous blood trails on his hands and spilling copious amounts of blood.
Despite the immense price of this battle, Akaza showed no fear, instead bursting with astonishing determination and fighting intent. With a smile on his face, he swung his fists wildly, unleashing fist strikes as powerful as toppling mountains and overturning seas toward Kyoujurou.
As for the wounds on Akaza's body, they were healed in less than a second by his terrifying regenerative ability as an Upper Rank.
"Hahaha! Your attacks are futile, Kyoujurou!" Akaza laughed loudly before suddenly giving a powerful punch.
*BOOM!*
Another explosion resounded as Akaza's powerful punch landed on the sword hastily raised by Kyoujurou, sending him flying after creating a shock wave.
"Ugh—!"
Kyoujurou couldn't halt his momentum as he was sent flying, his feet skidding along the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
"Destructive Death—"
Akaza immediately assumed a defensive stance once again, preparing to unleash his fist toward Kyoujurou like a cannonball.
However, he suddenly halted because another figure had appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere.
Maintaining a steady posture, Riezel stood in front of Akaza with a calm expression on his face, but his eyes betrayed a hint of indifference.
With this, Akaza's opponent was switched.