*BOOM!*
In the blazing reddish flames, the two figures that had been battling fiercely finally pulled apart, as if blown back by a shockwave, creating distance between them.
Yoriichi landed on the ground, taking a few steps back before finally stabilizing himself.
Riezel, on the other hand, continued to scrape the ground with his feet, leaving a furrow several meters long before coming to a stop.
After such an intense exchange of offense and defense, they finally had a moment to catch their breath.
"Hahh... as expected from the one who defeated Kibutsuji Muzan." Yoriichi remarked, looking at the young man across from him, raising his sword in admiration. "You're far stronger than I was in life."
"No..." Riezel remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "In some ways, I am far from being as good as you."
What he said were his heartfelt words.
In the recent battle, there was no doubt that Riezel had been at a disadvantage for most of the time.
Was it because Yoriichi's current strength was greater than his?
No.
If you only consider their overall abilities, Riezel and Yoriichi were nearly evenly matched.
In terms of strength and speed, they were very close, with no clear superiority.
However, outside of their physical abilities, Yoriichi had clearly surpassed Riezel in many areas.
For instance, in swordsmanship, Yoriichi was clearly better than Riezel.
Although their use of Sun Breathing's sword forms was similar in effect, Yoriichi's transitions between the forms were smoother and quicker than Riezel's, allowing him to manage his overall combat skills and rhythm better.
Additionally, regarding the Transparent World, Yoriichi had been accustomed to this ability for many years.
In other words, Yoriichi observed details more finely and reacted faster than Riezel who had just awakened it several months ago. Furthermore, Yoriichi's control over finer details was also superior, causing Riezel to sometimes struggle to keep up with his movements and reactions.
Moreover, Yoriichi's use of Sun Breathing had a level of refinement that Riezel couldn't match.
It was important to note that Riezel's Hermit was not an ordinary Nichirin Sword but first-class special equipment, constantly emitting high temperatures that could easily melt steel.
Yoriichi's Nichirin Sword, on the other hand, was an ordinary weapon, not reaching the level of special equipment.
In a clash between Yoriichi's Nichirin Sword and Riezel's Hermit, the expected outcome should be clear—Riezel's Hermit should cut through Yoriichi's Nichirin Sword.
However, Yoriichi's Nichirin Sword was not only unharmed but also withstood multiple collisions with Hermit without showing any damage.
Why?
In fact, this was because Yoriichi wrapped the flames of Sun Breathing around his sword and ignited them upon impact, converting the high temperature into a hot wind that neutralized the heat from Hermit and softened Riezel's slash speed and power.
As a result, Hermit could not cut through Yoriichi's Nichirin Sword.
Such remarkable skill and the combination of various factors allowed Yoriichi to suppress Riezel.
Whether it was swordsmanship or the Transparent World, these were clearly abilities that Yoriichi had possessed even before he evolved Sun Breathing.
What did this imply?
It implied that before evolving his Sun Breathing and reaching Level 7, Yoriichi's swordsmanship and Transparent World were already superior to Riezel's.
Even though Riezel, after evolving Sun Breathing, had achieved strength comparable to Level 7, his swordsmanship and Transparent World were still inferior to Yoriichi's.
Because of this, Riezel made such heartfelt words.
However, at the same time, it also served as a wake-up call for him.
He realized that improving his strength was not solely about enhancing his status or power; it also involved gaining combat experience, honing skills, and mastering the tactics used in combat.
Recently, Riezel had been focusing on improving his status in his endeavor for power. Although he hadn't completely neglected accumulating combat skills, his focus had shifted somewhat.
Fortunately, Riezel hadn't completely disregarded honing his swordsmanship. Otherwise, he wouldn't have mastered all the sword forms of Sun Breathing or managed to hold his ground against Yoriichi's offense until now.
Besides, it was not only Yoriichi who could learn from others.
Riezel recalled the rhythm, angle, and timing of Yoriichi's sword strikes during their recent exchange, as well as the movements used when Yoriichi performed Sun Breathing's sword forms.
Thinking back to those smooth slashes and the natural, swift connections of sword forms, Riezel closed his eyes.
When Riezel opened them again, his eyes had become somewhat transparent, just like Yoriichi's.
"Hmm?"
Yoriichi was initially stunned but then understood.
'He absorbed the experience from the recent battle and grown stronger...?'
Yoriichi thought to himself, feeling both surprised and amazed.
Undoubtedly, this junior of his, whom he had discovered and chosen by chance, possessed extraordinary talent, blessed by heaven.
"In that case... I guess I have to put in even more effort..."
Yoriichi, murmuring to himself, didn't notice that his mouth had unconsciously curled into a slight smile.
He was unaware that, at this moment, he had begun to enjoy the battle.
In his lifetime, no human had ever matched him in combat, while demons were merely targets to be slain. Even Muzan was merely treated as a monster distinct from humans, not as an opponent to be enjoyed in battle.
For this reason, he had never faced a truly evenly matched opponent nor experienced the feeling of giving his all, clashing swords with someone, verifying strength, and progressing together.
It was only at this moment, facing Riezel, that he experienced this feeling for the first time.
At this moment, even though he believed this was his final battle before leaving the world of the living, it might also be the most satisfying fight he had ever experienced.
Realizing this, Yoriichi tightened his grip on his sword.
"Let's go."
A voice filled with unprecedented fighting intent came from Yoriichi's mouth.
Instead of responding with words, Riezel raised his sword, cracked the ground beneath him, and charged at Yoriichi with blazing flames.
And so, their two flaming swords clashed again, causing reddish flames to continue blooming on the mountaintop again.
===
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
At this moment, not only did the sound of metal colliding echo through the air countless times, but the reddish flames had also spread across the mountaintop, turning it scorching hot and charred black.
Riezel and Yoriichi continued their battle amid the flames, slashing with fiery strikes and creating dazzling bursts of light, as if they felt no fatigue, maintaining their fierce offense and defense.
In this battle, the sword forms of Sun Breathing had been unleashed countless times by the two of them, causing the sun's flames to collide violently, altering the terrain and gradually turning the area into a sea of flames.
At this point, their battle had been ongoing for more than ten hours.
If this were the present world, it would certainly be dark by now, the sun would have long since set.
However, since this was a dream and not the present world, even after more than ten hours, the sun remained high in the sky, glowing brilliantly from its zenith, not moving an inch.
*BOOM!*
A thunderous roar erupted, and the explosion once again forced the two swordsmen apart, creating distance between them.
"Huuu..."
"Haaa..."
Riezel and Yoriichi stood facing each other, raising their swords, appearing completely unwearied.
Riezel, who possessed the highest rank of 'Healing Power' development ability, had nearly infinite stamina and hardly ever felt tired.
Yoriichi, though lacking Riezel's development ability, had a breathing style so extraordinary that as long as his breathing remained steady, he rarely felt fatigued.
In the original work, Tanjirou's father had once said—If the breathing method is correct, you can keep dancing.
Holding onto this belief, Tanjirou's father could dance the Kagura Dance in the snow for a day and night without feeling tired, despite his frail body.
Yoriichi was undoubtedly the same.
His mastery of Sun Breathing was so extraordinary that it allowed him to fight intensely for long periods without feeling tired.
Of course, whether tired or not, after more than ten hours of fierce battle, both Riezel and Yoriichi looked drastically different from before.
Not only were they both battered, with their clothes torn by sharp blades or scorched black by flames, but their appearance was so disheveled that it would shock anyone who knew them.
Yet, despite their ragged and scarred state, their eyes shone brightly, full of spirit.
Clearly, their fighting intent and determination had never wavered.
"You've caught up to me already." Yoriichi remarked with a smile.
"Yeah, finally..." Riezel responded with a smile of his own.
After hours of intense combat, Riezel had fully matched Yoriichi's swordsmanship. Even the Transparent World, he gradually became more skilled at using it by observing Yoriichi.
Now, facing Yoriichi, he no longer found himself at a disadvantage like earlier.
However—
"Even so, it will only become a stalemate at most..." Yoriichi continued. "In that case, you won't be able to defeat me."
Indeed, Riezel was at his limit as well.
Needless to say, as the two of them had reached a perfect balance and neither was getting tired, the fight would only end in a draw if it continued.
Consequently, there was no way to determine a clear winner.
Even if they fought for three days and nights, or even ten days and nights, it would still remain the same.
At least, Yoriichi didn't think he would lose.
However, Riezel shook his head at Yoriichi's words, denying it.
"No, there will be a winner... I still have one final strike left."
Upon hearing Riezel's words, Yoriichi was slightly taken aback.
"One final strike...?" Yoriichi muttered confusedly.
Seeing his confusion, Riezel smiled faintly.
"Honestly, I've always felt that the thirteenth form you created doesn't really count as a new sword form."
"For this reason, I've invented my own thirteenth form."