The Pitch-Black Aura surged and swelled, and combined with the patterned markings all over Kurozawa's body, he looked like a legendary demon straight out of hell.
Slamming to a halt, Kurozawa shattered the ground with one foot and, in a few breaths, caught up to Rui's body that had been sent flying.
At this moment, Rui's body had multiple broken and collapsed bones, lying on the ground, with his right arm torn from the elbow, looking quite miserable.
Leaping into the air, Kurozawa aimed for Rui's head, his fists clenched like falling meteors, striking down with immense force.
*Bang!* The ground shattered, and Rui's body was driven into the earth, his head bursting open like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer.
The attack, infused with the Pitch-Black Aura, instantly delivered a fatal blow.
Potential Points +130, Power of Despair +25.
The gains from dealing with powerful Demons are truly pitifully low.
Letting out a long breath, Kurozawa glanced at the large pit beneath his feet and jumped out of it.
Leaning against a tree that was still relatively intact in the battlefield, Kurozawa clutched at his heart with one hand.
Thump thump thump. His heart was still beating rapidly. Kurozawa counted, and it was close to thirty beats per second. This number was far beyond that of a normal person.
A normal person's heart beats between one and two times per second. At this rate, his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, not to mention the blood circulating at high speed like a waterfall.
"The markings, a double-edged sword. However, as long as the edge used against the enemy is sharper, that's enough."
Turning off Total Concentration, Kurozawa sat on the ground despite the surrounding chaos, then took deep breaths in and out, repeating the process. He used the Breathing Technique to try his best to control his internal state, slowly reducing his heart rate and blood flow.
Thump thump thump. In the silent forest, the drum-like sounds gradually weakened, finally disappearing into the air.
Half an hour later, Kurozawa opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.
Lowering his head, he looked at his arms covered in pitch-black patterns and couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
"Am I... a Yakuza boss with tattooed arms now?"
"No, not just arms. My face and body are also covered in patterns. I must look hideous."
He tried to make the patterns disappear, but it didn't work. The patterns remained stubbornly in place, not giving him any face.
"Big Brother is tired. What's wrong with wanting to be a normal person?"
Shaking his head helplessly, Kurozawa pushed the matter to the back of his mind.
His current heart rate was probably still around three to four beats per second, but surprisingly, Kurozawa didn't feel any side effects.
"This level of heart rate doesn't seem to affect me..."
Pondering quietly for a moment, Kurozawa vaguely guessed the answer.
His physique was already far beyond that of ordinary people. A physique with an average exceeding 1 point was something probably not found in the entire Demon Slayer Corps. Wait, no, maybe there was one person – that Stone Pillar probably also had this kind of inhuman physique.
An accelerated heart rate has a very bad effect on ordinary people, but for him, it was just an increased internal circulation, which was even beneficial to his health. "People who can't withstand the power of the markings should have their physique enhanced by the markings, but still not reach my level. That's why they die from cumulative physical damage over time."
"However, if I fight with all my might and can't focus on suppressing the power of the markings, my physical condition will also decline over time."
"Well, all things considered, this situation is not bad. It's acceptable."
Kurozawa's physique almost doubled after activating the markings. If he actively suppressed the markings, his physique wouldn't decline, but he couldn't engage in overly strenuous activity, otherwise he wouldn't be able to suppress it, and his heart would return to that state of extreme burden.
"Like this, if I don't fight, I can live longer. If I fight a lot, I might lose a few years of my lifespan."
"Hmm? There are still levels above? Not at the top yet?"
Focusing his attention on the Status Panel, Kurozawa examined his current attributes.
Strength: 1.1
Agility: 1.0
Constitution: 1.3
Intelligence: 0.5
Intelligence had also automatically increased quite a bit with the improvement of other attributes, but compared to them, I seem like a brute.
Hey, Ash-White, there's something I've wanted to say for a while, and I can't hold it in today. Do you really have to label these attribute values so low for me? I'm clearly very strong, okay?
Kurozawa looked at those decimal points with dissatisfaction, his mind wandering.
At the same time, the values displayed on the Status Panel suddenly changed.
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 5
Hmm... As expected, you're still that idealistic Ash-White, acting silently, supporting silently. Kurozawa didn't hesitate to give Ash-White a big thumbs up.
Body values were just a reference, a summary and understanding of his current state. As long as he understood the meaning himself, that was enough.
Focusing his attention downwards, Kurozawa's eyes widened when he saw his skills.
Skills:
Water Breathing, Tier 5 (Upgradeable)
Water Breathing Sword Forms, Tier 2 (Cannot Upgrade)
Among them, the Breathing Technique not being at its peak didn't surprise him too much, but the "Cannot Upgrade" for Water Breathing Sword Forms was half gray and half bright.
What does that mean? Kurozawa was a little confused.
Previously, "Cannot Upgrade" had always been fully gray. Today, it had suddenly become half gray. Did that mean there was a possibility of upgrading Water Breathing using Potential Points?
Unable to figure it out, Kurozawa looked at the remaining attributes.
Potential Points: 235, Power of Despair: 124.
Power of Species Annihilation was still zero and had never changed.
Seeing these Potential Points, Kurozawa imagined increasing Strength by 1 point and felt that it would consume a large portion. As his body attributes increased, the consumption of Potential Points also increased. It seemed that taking another step forward from a high point was not easy.
The Power of Despair, on the other hand, surprised Kurozawa a little.
His previous Power of Despair had reached 99 points after killing the venom-spitting spider Demon. However, after killing Rui's Demon father, it was still 99 points. At the time, because his attention was on Rui, he didn't have time to think and thought the Power of Despair had already reached its limit, but after killing Rui, it increased again.
And it seems to have undergone a qualitative change.
Boom! The Pitch-Black Aura ignited from Kurozawa's palm. Unlike its previous thin appearance, the Pitch-Black Aura was incredibly dense now, so dense it seemed almost tangible, as if it had solidified.
"This is..."
Kurozawa's eyes widened in surprise.
When he killed Rui, the Pitch-Black Aura was only like flowing water. Now, it had suddenly thickened to this extent, improving by more than just a little bit.
With a thought, the Pitch-Black Aura flowed along his arm, continuously extending and spreading, quickly covering Kurozawa's entire body, enveloping him in a layer of burning black flames.
"It can cover my whole body now!"
However, the Pitch-Black Aura covering his whole body was much thinner than it was initially, likely unable to withstand powerful Blood Demon Arts. It seemed more for show than practical use.
Suddenly, Kurozawa's peripheral vision caught sight of the broken blade at his waist. He thought of a better method.
The Pitch-Black Aura quickly retracted from his body, returning to his hand, specifically his right hand.
Furthermore, it gradually condensed and formed from his fingertips, extending outward and detaching from Kurozawa's body. He had done this before, but the excessively sparse Pitch-Black Aura couldn't form anything effective.
Now, however, it was different.
A pitch-black Nichirin Blade, from the hilt to the blade, condensed inch by inch downwards, gradually taking shape.
Finally, the Blade of Despair, enveloped in a layer of Pitch-Black Aura, completely materialized from nothingness in this silent world.
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