Clack!
"Hm?"
The sound of unfamiliar footsteps came from behind.
"Divide and conquer. Such a simple and crude method, but this troublesome spatial Blood Demon Art is truly impossible to deal with," Shinichi thought to himself.
Although he knew Shokyu's strategy, the Demon Slayer Corps was currently helpless against Nakime's Blood Demon Art and the Infinity Castle beneath their feet.
The enemy was in the light while they were in the dark, forced to passively face the "welcomers" that Shokyu had specially prepared for them.
This feeling was truly awful.
Shinichi turned, blade in hand, his cold gaze quickly locking onto the direction from which the footsteps came.
He was in a long, narrow, and dimly lit corridor of the Infinity Castle.
The enemy could only appear at the end of the corridor.
Sure enough, in the darkness at the end of the corridor before him, a shadow seemed to squirm.
A heavy, powerful demonic aura, tinged with madness and destruction, slowly drifted toward him, growing ever more intense.
Shinichi gripped his Nichirin Blade, focusing his mind in preparation. However, when the figure completely emerged from the shadows, revealing itself in the dim light, even Shinichi, who had been mentally prepared, couldn't help but be startled.
His pupils instantly constricted to their limit!
'That figure... that posture... that familiar yet strange sense of pressure...'
'Impossible! It was already...'
...
Let's rewind time slightly, to the deepest part of the Infinity Castle.
Atop a platform, Shokyu stood behind Nakime, his scarlet eyes emitting a faint, ominous bloody glow.
By directly controlling Nakime's Blood Demon Art through his bloodline, Shokyu could command the Infinity Castle with ease.
Looking down at the Demon Slayer Corps members who had been forced apart and were now scattered throughout the castle in a state of alarm and confusion, a cold smile slowly spread across Shokyu's face.
"A bunch of foolish, stubborn idiots who fancy themselves righteous. Your lives are worthless. I did give you a chance," Shokyu murmured, his tone filled with disgust and dissatisfaction.
"However, to welcome your arrival, I have gone to great lengths to prepare many 'special guests'."
With that, Shokyu turned around and looked at several massive, cocoon-like masses of flesh behind him.
These flesh masses seemed to be alive, pulsating faintly.
Seeing this, Shokyu reached out, placing his palm on one of the flesh cocoons with a look of appreciation and satisfaction.
"Although I haven't fully mastered the power of Yomi, hehe, it's still possible to prepare some 'gifts' from the underworld. Shinichi... and you fools from the Demon Slayer Corps, enjoy it. Enjoy the joy of your 'reunion'! Hehe... Hahahaha!"
Shokyu's dark laughter echoed across the empty platform, mixing with the monotonous strumming of Nakime's biwa, as if composing an incredibly sinister and terrifying piece of music.
...
When Shinichi saw the newcomer's appearance clearly, a deep sense of horror couldn't help but rise in his heart.
It was simply because he had never imagined that the opponent appearing before him would be him!
Yes, Shinichi recognized the person before him.
Or rather, Shinichi had seen his portrait in the Moriki Residence, in the room where the Old man enshrined their ancestors!
An ancient, half-worn samurai battle robe, long hair as black as ink, a handsome face, a slender figure, and the willow-leaf-shaped long blade in his hand!
Shinichi stared at him and softly uttered his name, "Shunichi Moriki?"
The ancestor of the Moriki family, the creator of Forest Breathing, the former close friend of the Martial Demon—Shunichi Moriki? Shouldn't he have died hundreds of years ago?
As if hearing his name, Shunichi's originally stiff face twitched.
His gray eyes shifted, and his unfocused pupils quickly locked onto Shinichi, who had called out his name.
Immediately after, a terrifying demonic aura erupted.
At the same time, a vast presence of Forest Breathing was mixed within the demonic aura.
It should have been a presence brimming with life, but now, mixed with the demonic aura, it appeared incredibly bizarre and horrifying.
"A successor... of Forest Breathing?" After a long moment, Shunichi spoke.
However, his voice sounded extremely unnatural, devoid of much emotion.
Shinichi took a deep breath, his grip on his Nichirin Blade not loosening in the slightest. But he also answered Shunichi.
"I am the Demon Slayer Corps' Forest Hashira, Shinichi Moriki. I seem to have seen your attire before. Are you the ancestor of the Moriki family, Shunichi Moriki?"
Crack!
Upon hearing this, Shunichi raised his willow-leaf Nichirin Blade and said coldly.
"I once was. Now, I am just an undead spirit returned from Yomi, with only one instinct in my body: to kill you..."
The moment his voice fell, swoosh!!
A verdant green light and a grayish-green light erupted almost simultaneously.
One was full of life, the other was steeped in a sinister demonic aura!
"Forest Breathing, First Form: Iron Birch Slash!"
"Forest Breathing, First Form: Iron Birch Slash!"
Bang!!
The nearly identical techniques slammed into each other, and the resulting shockwave shattered the wooden floorboards beneath their feet!
Shinichi stabilized himself, the shock in his eyes having turned to extreme solemnity. In that last strike, whether it was power, speed, or the application of Forest Breathing, the two were exactly the same!
Moreover, although his opponent used the exact same sword form, the chilling demonic aura contained within the blade's light made the Iron Birch Slash, which should have been full of life force, bizarre and cold.
"Even... even the details of the breathing style are identical..." Shinichi muttered to himself.
But the Shunichi opposite him didn't pause at all.
After the first clash, his gray eyes remained vacant, as if the exchange was merely a mechanical reaction.
He stomped his foot hard, crushing the splintered floorboards to dust, and his figure transformed into a grayish-green afterimage, instantly closing the distance!
"Forest Breathing, Third Form: Thorn Stab!"
The willow-leaf Nichirin Blade in Moriki Shunichi's hand thrust forward rapidly.
Dozens of grayish-green slashes burst out, spreading like a dense net of thorns, immediately locking down all of Shinichi's forward positions!
Shinichi's eyes sharpened.
Without dodging or evading, he spun his Nichirin Blade vertically in his hand.
"Third Form: Thorn Entanglement!"
A verdant green blade light also thrust forward, but with an added twisting motion.
The modified version of Forest Breathing's Third Form flowed freely in Shinichi's hands, and the verdant thorns shredded all the incoming grayish-green thorns!
But he didn't stop there.
Seizing that brief moment, Shinichi lifted his foot and kicked Shunichi squarely in the chest.
As the latter was forced back by the impact, Shinichi seized the opportunity, gripping his blade with both hands and pouring all his strength into it, his muscles bulging.
"Forest Breathing, Fifth Form: Soaring Bamboo Slash!"
A massive verdant green blade arc rose from the ground like a towering bamboo stalk, slashing toward Shunichi with the power to sever anything.
A minuscule flicker seemed to pass through Shunichi's vacant eyes.
Stabilizing his stance, he didn't use the same form to counter the attack.
Instead, his figure flashed, and his Nichirin Blade danced along with him.
"Forest Breathing, Fourth Form: Dandelion Dance!"
Shunichi's body seemed to transform into a gentle dandelion, lightly drifting past the side of the verdant green blade arc.
At the same time, the tip of his willow-leaf Nichirin Blade pointed straight at Shinichi's ribs!
Clang!!
Shinichi, turning back just in time, quickly blocked Shunichi's blade with his own.
"Damn it! It feels like I can't exert my full strength at all!" Shinichi's heart sank.
The glints of their blades crossed ceaselessly! Verdant green and grayish-green slashes constantly collided.
This was a clash of Forest Breathing against Forest Breathing, and the surrounding structures of the Infinity Castle were being pulverized by the aftershocks of their continuous battle!
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