The Pitch-Black Aura, which once could only cover his palms, had unknowingly reached his elbows.
Trapped within the dense web of hardened threads, Kurozawa gave a faint smile. "Breaking my sword is just the beginning for me."
Across from him, a rare look of surprise appeared on Rui's usually placid face. "Are we the same kind? No, that's not right, you don't have the smell of a Demon."
If they were truly the same kind, Rui would have been able to tell the moment he saw them.
Shaking his head, Kurozawa had no intention of explaining.
Reaching out, he pinched the nearest thread blocking his path. He didn't need to apply force; the Pitch-Black Aura already burned and softened it, stripping away the sharpness that could easily cleave a Nichirin Blade.
Rui's hardened threads were much stronger than the corrosive hair of the red-haired female Demon Kurozawa encountered on the train. That hair would turn to ash the moment it touched the Pitch-Black Aura, but these hardened threads were still holding firm.
Snap! With a slight flick of his finger, Kurozawa snapped the thread.
"Hmm?"
From the Pitch-Black Aura burning on Kurozawa's arm, Rui sensed danger. The stronger a person, the more accurate their intuition about things or people that threaten them. The faint dangerous aura around Kurozawa when Rui first saw him had already made Rui secretly wary. The current Pitch-Black Aura made him feel direct apprehension.
Just looking from afar, Rui felt as if he saw the struggling and wailing figures of his own kind. That Pitch-Black Aura seemed to be forged from the corpses of Demons.
If Kurozawa knew what Rui was thinking, he would definitely give him a thumbs-up. He was right; the Pitch-Black Aura was indeed built upon the Power of Despair from deceased Demons and had a significant suppressive effect on Demons.
Looking up at the sky, there was still a long time until dawn. Rui looked at Kurozawa seriously, his hands gradually turning blood-red.
It was a red that seemed dyed with fresh blood, extremely striking in the night.
Not only that, the scarlet color spread from Rui's fingertips, also staining the originally translucent threads red.
Blood Demon Art: Thread Cage! Without manipulating the dense threads already in the forest, Rui extended his palm towards Kurozawa.
A large quantity of red threads appeared in Rui's hand, densely packed like a crimson vortex, spinning and suddenly disappearing.
?
Where did it go? Just as the question arose in Kurozawa's mind, sharp sounds of something cutting through the air came from above.
Looking up, the crimson vortex had appeared in mid-air and was raining down blood-colored threads like a violent storm.
Anything pierced by the blood threads, whether a giant tree or a boulder, was instantly riddled with holes and easily penetrated.
Thump, thump, thump... With a series of rapid steps, Kurozawa charged towards Rui. Behind him, the dense rain of blood threads fell, creating a honeycomb-like pattern on the ground.
While dodging the sharp attacks of the blood threads, Kurozawa rapidly closed in on Rui.
What surprised Kurozawa was that Rui didn't seem to have the self-awareness of being a ranged fighter. He stood rooted to the spot, calmly watching Kurozawa.
Is he confident, or has he laid a trap? A sense of urgency arose in Kurozawa's heart, and he quickly stopped his advance.
Based on Kurozawa's previous actions, Rui could likely discern his attack pattern.
And Kurozawa's usual combat style could be summarized in five words: charge headfirst into face-to-face combat.
With his swift close-quarters combat skills, suppressing the strength and speed of Demons, as long as he successfully got close, it was a matter of holding them down and brutally beating them. Most Demons encountering Swordsmen would rely on swordsmanship to maneuver, but encountering Kurozawa charging headfirst, they truly didn't have a good solution for a while.
But Rui was different. As one of the Twelve Kizuki, despite his baby-faced appearance, his combat experience was extremely rich.
Boom! The moment Kurozawa abruptly stopped, the ground exploded violently, kicking up a large amount of dust. Threads of blood shot out from underground, like a beast cage suddenly snapping shut.
The air itself vibrated, creating ripples. One could imagine that if Kurozawa had been hit, his body would have been split into who knows how many pieces by now.
Rui was like a calm spider, unconsciously weaving traps nearby, waiting for the prey to step into them.
He sighed slightly, seemingly feeling a bit regretful.
"I don't understand what you are, but from your movements..."
"You seem very afraid of getting injured. You have methods similar to Blood Demon Arts, but you don't have our bodies that can regenerate indefinitely..."
"So, what makes you think you can be my enemy?"
Pointing his fingertips at Kurozawa, Rui closed his eyes.
At the same time, all the blood threads vibrated violently, then pierced through the air, turning into afterimages and slicing towards Kurozawa.
Amidst the attacks that seemed to cover every inch of the air, Kurozawa's speed and agility were completely useless.
Let alone getting close to Rui, just using the Pitch-Black Aura burning on his arms to block the slicing blood threads was somewhat difficult. In just a few breaths, small wounds appeared on Kurozawa's body.
This guy is definitely not comparable to the Demons from before.
Rui had almost filled the entire battlefield with blood threads. Looking around, the vision was a sea of red.
This was the first time Kurozawa had seen a Blood Demon Art that was so widespread and rapid.
With his current speed, he couldn't break through Rui's Blood Demon Art defense. Dodging was fine, but trying to approach Rui at the same time was quite difficult.
My methods are too limited, I need to figure something out in the future.
Kurozawa wasn't a genius; he couldn't defy the hierarchy or achieve victory against stronger opponents like the protagonist Tanjiro did with repeated bursts of power.
He had always relied on his superior raw strength to overwhelm opponents. When he was at a disadvantage, charging headfirst wasn't as effective because all Demons' bodies were far more resilient than ordinary humans.
In fact, Sword Forms were the best way to deal with Demons, but if he relied on Sword Forms, Kurozawa wouldn't even be able to stand in front of Rui. His Sword Form level had always remained at merely skilled usage, like copying a model.
It wasn't that he didn't like using the Nichirin Blade; it was due to the limitations of his talent. Gray-White couldn't improve his Sword Forms for some reason, so he could only specialize in Breathing Techniques and fight with his physique.
Suppressing his thoughts, and looking at the overwhelming attack of blood threads, Kurozawa's peripheral vision shifted to Gray-White, his gaze gradually turning cold.
If I can't overthrow you, then it's enough for me to always be one step stronger than you.
"Demon Slayer Mark, just open it."
"If it can take my life, then take it!"
Kurozawa didn't believe he would die suddenly from the so-called Demon Slayer Mark curse. After a fierce laugh, he resolutely increased the level of his Water Breathing.
Following Kurozawa's will, Gray-White faithfully executed his idea. All 540 Potential Points disappeared at once, leaving just over a hundred points.
In an instant, the aura around Kurozawa soared.
The sudden change made Rui's face change. The blood threads that were attacking Kurozawa like a fierce storm also paused. If he had a scouter, he would definitely see Kurozawa's battle power skyrocketing.
Boom. Boom. Boom. In the battlefield, it was as if someone was beating a war drum; the dull sounds echoed under the moon.
Kurozawa dodged the blood threads, his speed growing faster and faster. His previously somewhat clumsy dodging quickly became effortless.
The situation improved, but Kurozawa's brows were tightly furrowed, as if he was enduring pain.
At the same time, he gasped for breath like an untrained ordinary person. For a swordsman practicing Breathing Technique, this was an unqualified action.
But between Kurozawa's nose and mouth, streams of air circulated and expelled continuously like swimming dragons, becoming increasingly solid.
The muscles all over his body vibrated and pulsed with the expulsion of breath. The ground beneath his feet couldn't bear the strength, and spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread.
Boom. Boom. Boom. The heartbeat that could be heard even externally was coming from Kurozawa's chest, as if his heart wanted to leap out of his chest.
Inside Kurozawa, earth-shattering changes were occurring.
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