"..."
At this moment, Kokushibou fell silent as he stared at the young man before him.
However, as his silence deepened, the aura he emitted became even more terrifying and astonishing.
*Glug*
Soon, Kokushibou slowly raised his sword, which emitted a squirming sound as it gradually elongated and transformed.
Before long, the sword in Kokushibou's hand completely changed its form, becoming a massive longsword, with its blade sprouting several blades like a branch, making it extremely intimidating.
In fact, the sword in Kokushibou's hand was no ordinary weapon but a demon sword forged from his own flesh and blood.
His Blood Demon Art allowed him to transform his physical body into blades at will. Not only could the blades unleash crescent moon slashes, but when combined with Moon Breathing, their effect far surpassed ordinary Blood Demon Arts.
Because of this, Kokushibou was known as a sword demon, not only because he was a demon swordsman proficient in the breathing style but also because he himself was akin to a sword.
In other words, this state was Kokushibou's full-power form.
In the next moment, Kokushibou began to swing his sword.
"Moon Breathing - Seventh Form - Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit!"
Slashing his sword forward, five crescent moon blades surged forth, fanning out across the ground and sending arc-shaped shockwaves toward Riezel.
Seeing this, Riezel's eyebrows slightly furrowed and his eyes began to emit a radiant glow. He swiftly shifted his steps, dodging each blade one by one.
"Moon Breathing - Eighth Form - Moon-Dragon Ringtail!"
Kokushibou showed no sign of stopping his attacks, continuing to wield his demon sword, unleashing a massive slash that could sweep away everything.
A massive crescent moon blade was attached to this enormous slash, like a dazzling streak, slashing fiercely toward Riezel.
Facing such a wide-range slash, there was no way to avoid it on the ground. Even the stone pillars standing in front of Riezel were effortlessly cut down, collapsing with a crash.
In the end, it forced Riezel to leap into the air, letting the massive crescent moon blade scrape beneath his feet and strike the wall behind him.
*BOOM!*
As the wall shattered on impact, it broke into pieces that scattered across the ground.
"Moon Breathing - Ninth Form - Waning Moonswath!"
Kokushibou, relentless, slashed countless crisscrossing waves at the airborne Riezel, the slashes forming a web of interlocking crescent moon blades, sealing off all of his escape routes.
Looking around, Riezel found himself surrounded by interwoven tornadoes of crescent moon blades, where a single misstep would result in being torn to shreds, leaving no trace behind.
Realizing this, Riezel stopped dodging.
"Sun Breathing - Sixth Form - Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
Suspended in midair, Riezel unleashed a whirlpool of rotating flames amidst the barrage of crescent moon blades. Although he still hadn't unsheathed his sword and was still using the scabbard, he performed the sword form of Sun Breathing perfectly.
Such an extraordinary skill demonstrated Riezel's progress over the past two months.
Through continuous combat training with the Hashira, he had not only deepened his understanding and comprehension of every sword form of the evolved Sun Breathing, but he had also mastered all forms of sword techniques and had truly achieved the state of 'Total Concentration - Constant'.
As a result, even without drawing his sword, even with just a wooden stick or a scabbard, Riezel could execute any form of Sun Breathing, no longer limited to using a sword.
*BOOOM!*
In this scenario, the vortex of flames clashed with the crescent moon blades, resulting in a massive explosion in midair.
Riezel emerged from the fiery explosion and managed to land back on the ground without a scratch.
However, the moment he landed, a figure swiftly closed in on him.
"Moon Breathing - Tenth Form - Drilling Slashes, Moon Through Bamboo Leaves!"
Kokushibou, now just a step away from Riezel, unleashed three gigantic crescent moon blades without hesitation.
*Rumble—!*
As the crescent moon blades tore through the air, ripping apart the ground where Riezel stood, the earth crumbled beneath him, drawing him into the raging blades.
*BOOOM!*
Riezel immediately swung his scabbard to meet the attack, shattering the violent crescent moon blades with a tremendous shockwave.
Kokushibou, unfazed by the shockwave's rampage, charged toward Riezel again, slashing at him with relentless attacks.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Riezel calmly countered, parrying all the incoming slashes.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Sparks and radiance burst around Riezel and Kokushibou in a dazzling, intense display.
Amid these relentless attacks, Kokushibou suddenly spoke up.
"He is just like you…"
Kokushibou's sudden remark was unexpected.
"He is just like you… His eyes always look ahead… Like he's seeing some target… Some place he must reach… So brilliant… And so annoying!"
*BOOM!*
Kokushibou's slashes grew fiercer, tearing through the ground, the air, and even the surrounding walls, ceiling, and rubble made from shattered stone pillars.
"I know what you're looking at…"
"You're looking at Lord Muzan… In your eyes… He's the only worthy opponent…"
"You're looking at humanity's future… At a glorious path… An ideal so grand that anyone who sees it can't help but admire and aspire to it…"
"Indeed… You're great… Strong…"
"But your eyes… Your eyes never seen me!"
Kokushibou quickly unleashed countless enormous crescent moon blades, turning his slashes into a raging storm, an overwhelming storm directed at Riezel.
Such an all-encompassing storm left Riezel with no way to escape, and his figure was quickly swallowed by the storm of slashes, torn apart, shattered, vanishing without a trace.
However, in the next second, Riezel's figure suddenly reappeared behind Kokushibou.
"Sun Breathing - Fourth Form - Fake Rainbow..."
Riezel whispered Sun Breathing's sword form.
Fake Rainbow—a specialized evasion sword form achieved through high-speed twists and turns, creating afterimages like sun flames. It allowed the user to become a flickering mirage, dodging enemy attacks while slipping into their blind spots.
Using this sword form, Riezel appeared behind Kokushibou like a flickering sun flame, raising his scabbard and slashing down.
*DING!*
At the critical moment, Kokushibou, with his understanding of Sun Breathing and his ability to use the Transparent World, turned around just in time to block the scabbard slash with his demon sword.
Surprisingly, the seemingly ordinary scabbard could directly clash with the grotesque demon sword, causing sparks to fly explosively.
"I'm right here! Right in front of you!"
Kokushibou let out a low growl as his six demon eyes glared at Riezel.
"I'm not an ant! Not some insignificant weakling! Do I not even have the right to enter your eyes?!"
"You are so arrogant! So self-centered! So detestable!"
Kokushibou roared angrily at Riezel.
"You want to know the throne?! You want to find Lord Muzan?!"
"Defeat me first!"
"Defeat me! Kokushibou (Tsugikuni Michikatsu)!"
As Kokushibou roared, an unprecedentedly terrifying aura erupted from him.
"Moon Breathing - Sixteenth Form - Moonbow, Half Moon!"
In Moon Breathing created by Kokushibou, this was the strongest move—the final form of Moon Breathing.
Hundreds of years of persistent research and practice of Moon Breathing led Kokushibou to create sixteen forms, far surpassing any other breathing style.
Even Sun Breathing in Yoriichi's hands had only thirteen forms.
Moon Breathing, however, had sixteen, clearly showing the depth of Kokushibou's research into his own breathing style, reaching a level that ordinary Demon Slayers could hardly achieve.
In fact, Kokushibou was not weak.
Just as he had said earlier, he was not an ant or a weakling.
Creating a breathing style like Moon Breathing and improving it to such an extent was proof enough that Kokushibou himself was a genius in swordsmanship.
It was believable that in another era, he would have been a great swordsman, an extraordinary figure whose name would go down in history.
Unfortunately, this genius happened to encounter a monstrous genius.
Moreover, it was not just one, but two.
*BOOM!*
When Kokushibou's final sword form descended from the sky, transforming into several gigantic crescent moon blades that shattered the earth and the entire palace, Riezel slowly raised his head.
*Scwing!*
Amid the clear sound of a sword's hum, Riezel finally drew his sword.
Soon, flames erupted around him, while intense heat surged from his body.
On the blade of the famous divine sword known as Hermit, red patterns glowed like the sun, engulfing Riezel in flames and transforming him into a blazing sun.
*Whoosh!*
In the next moment, Riezel's figure darted out, the blazing sun he had become evaporating the giant crescent moon blades and burning away Kokushibou's slash.
Before Kokushibou could react, Riezel's sword sliced past him.
"Sun Breathing - Twelfth Form - Flame Dance..."
*Swish!*
In a calm voice, Riezel's sword traced an almost perfect circle, transforming into two scorching slashes that cut through Kokushibou's body.
"..."
Everything instantly fell into a silent stillness.
Riezel and Kokushibou landed in the shattered palace, touching the ground simultaneously.
They stood back to back, one holding a flaming sword and the other a demon sword, saying nothing more.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, two murals fell from mid-air—one crashing down in front of Riezel, the other in front of Kokushibou.
The murals depicted the sun and the moon, respectively.
The mural in front of Riezel depicted the sun.
The mural in front of Kokushibou depicted the moon.
The two of them, like the murals—one radiated brilliant sunlight, while the other emitted desolate moonlight.
*Click*
"Are you satisfied?"
Riezel slowly sheathed his sword and asked indifferently.
"..."
No response.
Kokushibou remained silent.