Countless icy-blue meteors of fighting spirit shot forward, like a net cast across heaven and earth.
Merely facing this attack from Akaza head-on would instill a sense of despair, of having nowhere to run.
Yet, there was not a shred of fear in Obanai's eyes.
His haori fluttered wildly in the turbulent blast, and his partner, Kaburamaru, coiled around his neck, also raised its small head high.
As the winding, serpentine Mark on his skin glowed as if coming to life, the crimson Nichirin Blade in Obanai's hand radiated scorching heat while also faintly exuding a chilling, razor-sharp killing intent.
This was the essence of Serpent Breathing, which had undergone a strange qualitative change under the enhancement of the Mark.
"Serpent Breathing, Final Form: Serpent's Nest - Myriad Serpent Prison!"
Instead of retreating, Obanai advanced.
The crimson blade in his hand transformed into countless red serpent phantoms.
These were not simple afterimages; they seemed to possess life, slithering and winding through the air!
Each red serpent phantom precisely met a beam of blue fighting spirit, coiling around it from a cunning angle, deflecting it, and even devouring it.
From a distance, it looked as if a crimson flower composed of thousands of red serpents was blooming around Obanai, surging upstream against the blue meteor shower.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The dense cacophony of collisions merged into a single roar!
The blue fighting spirit and the red serpent phantoms clashed madly, annihilating each other and exploding into a sky full of light.
"What?!"
For the first time, a look of disbelief appeared in Akaza's eyes.
His Blue Silver Chaotic Afterglow was an ultimate move for clearing the field.
In a past Blood Battle for replacement, even someone as powerful as Upper Moon One, Kokushibo, had to temporarily avoid its brunt.
Yet the Serpent Hashira before him, whom he had been overwhelming just moments ago, could actually counter it head-on?!
Was this the power of the Mark and the Crimson Blade?
Of course, while Obanai had withstood Akaza's full-powered strike, it could also be said that Akaza had blocked Obanai's strongest attack.
The two had mutually canceled each other's moves, with neither able to gain an advantage!
If the battle continued as a war of attrition, the situation would only become increasingly unfavorable for Obanai.
No matter what, his recovery speed could not match Akaza's demonic body.
But just as Akaza was stunned and Obanai was struggling.
A flash of turquoise light appeared without warning at the side of Akaza's neck.
There was no sound of tearing air, no warning, not even much disturbance in the atmosphere.
The blade flash seemed to have suddenly materialized at Akaza's neck.
Only Obanai, who was facing Akaza directly, saw it clearly.
The one who had struck... was Shinichi!
He had appeared, at some unknown point, within several meters of Akaza.
His Nichirin Blade, in a seemingly slow manner, sliced through with exceptional resolve.
Pfft!
The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh and bone was clearly audible.
Akaza's golden pupils, which had been burning with battle lust, suddenly froze.
Before he could even realize what had happened, his entire head had already detached from his neck, flying high into the air.
As his head tumbled through the air, his face still held a look of astonishment, confusion, and a trace of... bewilderment.
"When..." the flying head uttered a barely audible question.
He hadn't sensed Shinichi's approach at all.
With his battle instincts honed over centuries and the fighting spirit perception of his Destructive Death: Compass Needle, it should have been impossible for any disturbance within a radius of dozens of meters to escape his senses during a fierce battle.
Everything in the world possessed fighting spirit.
Even a newborn human baby had a faint trace of it, and the stronger a person was, the stronger their fighting spirit.
Akaza's sensitivity to it had almost reached its peak.
For a powerhouse of Shinichi's level, his fighting spirit should have been as conspicuous and dazzling as the moon in the night sky to Akaza.
But in that instant, Shinichi's presence seemed to have merged with the air, like a dark cloud obscuring the moon.
Akaza couldn't sense any fighting spirit at all!
'This... this feeling...'
In the brief moment his head was tumbling through the air, a term that made his very soul tremble suddenly flashed through Akaza's chaotic thoughts.
'Shinichi Moriki... had actually surpass everyone?'
Thud!
The head hit the ground, rolled a few times, and came to a stop in a corner of the ruins.
The headless demonic body remained in its fighting stance, frozen in place.
In the distance, Obanai stood with his sword sheathed, panting heavily.
The glow of his crimson blade gradually dimmed, and his Mark slowly faded.
He stared at the scene in shock, then looked at Shinichi.
That last strike... he hadn't seen it clearly either.
Shinichi stood holding his blade, his expression calm, just as he had said during his fight with the Maito.
After his battle with Shunichi Moriki, his perception of the flow of life force had advanced further.
He could not only sense the flow of life force within his opponent's body but could even use it to "see" the movement of their muscles and bones.
In this state, by retracting all of his own killing intent and completely synchronizing with the life force in his surroundings, he could achieve a very peculiar effect.
It seemed Akaza's fighting spirit perception could not detect Shinichi in this state.
It was common knowledge that a demon's weaknesses were sunlight and their neck.
Even a demon as strong as an Upper Moon should be no exception.
Therefore, when Shinichi decapitated Akaza, both he and Obanai breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.
However, in the very next moment, just as they both thought the battle was finished, a sudden change occurred!
Akaza's headless demonic body did not disintegrate into ash like an ordinary demon.
On the contrary, from the stump of his neck, blue fighting spirit surged forth.
The fighting spirit was no longer pure blue; it began to be mixed with a dark red, bloody color, becoming more violent, more solid.
Under Shinichi and Obanai's shocked gazes, the flesh and bone at the stump of Akaza's neck began to writhe and regenerate at a frantic pace.
"What?"
"How is this possible!?"
"Hgh... hghh..."
Amidst the grating sound of growing bones and squirming flesh, the blurry outline of a head began to form.
Blue tattoo-like markings spread across the newly formed skin like living things, and golden pupils lit up once more!
"Destructive... Death..."
A hoarse, broken voice was squeezed out from the forming throat.
Shinichi's pupils shrank, and without hesitation, he swung his blade again at the regenerating neck.
If one strike wasn't enough, he would do it again!
However, CLANG!!
Akaza's hand, covered in blue fighting spirit with veins bulging, actually caught Shinichi's blade barehanded!
"Annihilation Type: Myriad Flashing Willow!"
A low roar escaped Akaza's newly formed throat, and then, without hesitation, he clenched his free hand into a fist!
BOOM!!
A ferocious punch slammed into the ground.
Crack, crack!
Countless fissures instantly spread out, and a massive shockwave kicked up a cloud of debris, blasting outwards with Akaza at the center!
Whoosh!
Shinichi's figure reappeared beside Obanai, slightly stumbling.
They looked at each other, both seeing the deep vigilance in the other's eyes.
The new head finally finished forming.
A smile spread across Akaza's lips, his golden eyes bloodshot, his gaze excited and savage!
"Excellent, the fight isn't over! Come! Let us continue to fight! Let me use this newfound power to crush you all!" Akaza laughed maniacally as his blue fighting spirit surged.
He stared intently at Shinichi and Obanai, his legs bent as he was about to launch an attack.
Suddenly!
His movements froze abruptly.
A trace of bewilderment flashed through his crazed golden eyes.
He raised a hand to his newly formed forehead, the smile on his face stiffening, replaced by a look of confusion.
"What... what is this image?" he murmured, his voice tinged with a hint of... fragility?
Fragmented images, without any warning, rushed into Akaza's mind, flashing through his chaotic thoughts.
A tidy dojo... a sky full of snowflakes... brilliant fireworks... a pair of figures drawing close to each other.
"Hakuji-san, don't leave me..."
"Haku... ji...?" Akaza unconsciously uttered this unfamiliar yet familiar name.
Who was that? Who was calling? Who... was crying?
A sudden, sharp, tearing pain erupted from where his heart should be.
It wasn't a physical pain, but a sorrow and regret originating from the depths of his soul, forgotten for hundreds of years!
"Ah... AAAAAHHH—!!!"
Akaza clutched his head and let out a frantic howl.
The violent fighting spirit around him spiraled out of control, erupting chaotically!
"Memories... human memories... No! I am Akaza! I am the Demon of Combat who pursues the pinnacle of martial arts! Get away, you weak, useless things! Get away!!"
He frantically pounded his own head, trying to expel the fragments that had suddenly appeared.
But those images, those voices, those emotions, were deeply rooted in his soul.
Shinichi and Obanai watched this scene in astonishment.
What was wrong with this guy?
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