'Using a Blood Demon Art, and being able to heal quickly even after being cut by Wind Breathing....'
Taka's hand gripping the sword tightened, quickly assessing the threat level of the demon before him.
According to Tetsushin, above the major demons that had eaten many people, there existed even more terrifying beings.
The Twelve Kizuki.
It was said that these twelve demons were all extremely powerful, each with a number carved into their eyes representing their rank. Defeating any one of them qualified a swordsman to become a Hashira-level swordsman.
Similarly, Tetsushin had warned him that if he ever truly encountered one of the Twelve Kizuki....
Run away immediately!
Although it sounded somewhat cowardly, in Tetsushin's view, Taka as he was now did not have the power to oppose the Twelve Kizuki. Learning to retreat when faced with difficulty was not shameful.
'Was this creature before me one of the Twelve Kizuki?'
The female demon flexed her newly regenerated arm, looking at Taka with interest. "A swordsman who uses wind? You must taste refreshingly fragrant."
As she spoke, the female demon seemed to grow more serious. Layers of dark red blood plasma began to adhere to the surface of her body, wrapping around her like a sticky, viscous suit of armor.
"My name is Akanuma. And you, little one?" Akanuma began to pace around Taka, the slime from her body dripping onto the ground, quickly spreading into a slippery, filthy patch like a slime carpet.
Taka did not respond. Instead, he backed away, moving cautiously. He felt that the female demon's purpose was not to chat with him, but to plot some evil scheme.
And that was indeed the case.
Seeing Taka retreat silently, Akanuma realized that her plan to use the spreading slime to create terrain advantageous to herself had been seen through by the other party....
A surge of anger flared within her, and with a roar, Akanuma charged!
Relying on the spreading dark red slime carpet beneath her feet, Akanuma's figure slid as if across water, closing the distance with Taka at an unprecedentedly fast speed!
Simultaneously, she swung both arms, and dozens of fine, needle-like blood arrows shot out once more, covering all of Taka's possible escape routes!
"Wind Breathing: Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!"
Taka slashed his blade in front of him, rapidly unleashing four intersecting, fierce wind blades. His reaction was lightning fast.
A tearing sound rang out. The emerald wind blades mercilessly shredded the foremost blood arrows and dispersed most of the surrounding attack.
However, the blood arrows were too dense… a few slipped through the net, grazing his left arm and right leg.
Hiss—!
A burning and numbing sensation spread. Taka felt a sliver of strength drain from his body, his movements becoming distorted.
'Poison?' His heart sank, knowing the situation was bad.
"Quick reactions," Akanuma laughed softly, her laughter devoid of warmth. "A pity, that was just an appetizer!"
"Blood Demon Art: Blood Swamp Bog!"
Closing in on Taka, Akanuma did not attack his body directly. Instead, she slammed both hands onto the ground!
Hum—!
The dark red slime carpet seemed to come alive. It began to surge and expand violently, its scope instantly spreading tens of meters from the area beneath her feet, until it covered most of the stream bank!
In an instant, the area around Taka was completely enveloped within the range of Akanuma's Blood Demon Art. The terrain disadvantage grew even greater.
This slime carpet writhed, pulling at Taka's ankles like a sticky, absorbent bog. It even threatened to spread upwards and drag at his entire body!
He felt his legs sink, as if he had fallen into a muddy swamp. His movements became sluggish and numb. Coupled with the paralyzing toxin from before, his whole body grew clumsy.
Shing!
Akanuma's demon claw swept down through the air. Taka barely dodged and tried to counterattack.
But the other party's figure, like a ghost, grew even more agile and swift on this slime carpet domain, rapidly moving and flickering, occasionally lunging at the hampered Taka, leaving new wounds.
"How about it? Can your wind catch me?" She mocked, laughing.
Akanuma's attacks were so crafty and vicious. Not only were they fast, but her claws also carried a sharpness that could tear rocks. This made it difficult for Taka to even defend himself, let alone find an opportunity to counter.
Every time Taka tried to gather his strength to unleash a powerful Wind Form, either the other party dodged with incredible speed, or he was interrupted by a sudden increase in the sucking force beneath his feet or a crafty blood spike.
Shing!!
Finally finding an opportunity, he unleashed a powerful Wind Breathing slash, but it still failed to cut down the high-speed sliding Akanuma.
'This won't do. I can't let her lead me by the nose!'
"Third Form - Modified: Rolling Haze!"
If the original Clear Storm Wind Tree was the surging mountain wind of rolling mountain mist beneath a clear sky-
Then what Taka did now was to roll up this unceasing, thick mist, unleashing a continuous chain of cloud haze!
Emerald sword energy howled forth. The originally counterclockwise rising, howling wind blades changed their attack, becoming a large sheet of blade wind sweeping horizontally close to the ground!
Shing! Shing!
The blade wind rapidly spread. The slime carpet beneath Taka's feet was swept up in sheets, quickly annihilating and dispersing like paper meeting fire, like fire meeting a torrent!
Akanuma's expression changed. She hadn't expected this kid to adapt so quickly.
Her Blood Demon Art itself lacked killing power… relying on this special domain to increase her speed, she could often kill Demon Slayer Corps' swordsmen before they could react.
Seeing her blood swamp slime carpet cleaved open, creating a large clear area, the advantage of her domain vanished. Her expression grew more serious.
"How disagreeable, little one. You don't want to dance with me?"
Just as Taka, having unleashed this modified sword form, was still adjusting his somewhat chaotic breathing, the demonic figure was already upon him.
'No good. I can't keep entangling with this brat. I must end this quickly!'
Akanuma concentrated her blood on her right arm, almost condensing it into a bright red long sword! She swept it fiercely towards Taka! And the boy, in turn, suddenly pulled open the strap across his chest and barked:
"...Fang Thrust!"
Thud! Pffft!!
It was an incredibly fast thrust, so fast that even Akanuma, known for her speed, couldn't react.
Accompanied by a dull piercing sound, Akanuma's body flew backwards, spun in the air, righted itself, and landed unsteadily.
She stared in shock at the horrifying blood hole that had appeared in her chest!
And the boy opposite her, holding two swords, was staring at her, breathing heavily.
'The one in his left hand...' Akanuma hadn't seen it before, 'It must have been the one he'd been carrying on his back all along... Speaking of which, what was with this wound?'
She noticed that her wound was being gnawed and torn by some kind of force, healing at an incredibly slow pace.
'A wound from Wind Breathing? Or the effect of the Nichirin Sword? That shouldn't be the case....'
Taka silently sheathed the old sword Tetsushin had given him, adjusted his breathing, and tightened his grip on the Asauchi in his hand.
Compared to that old sword, this battered blade resonated with him more. When he swung it, it moved with his will, one part of force could be stretched into three.
"Hey! You over there! Are you alright?"
Just as Taka was readjusting his stance, preparing to attack Akanuma again, three figures, accompanied by the sound of wind, burst forth from the dense forest on the other side of the path!
The one in the lead was tall, his movements swift. He wore a dark uniform with the character [Exterminate] on it, and held a Nichirin Sword that flickered with a blue light. He called out anxiously to Taka.
At the same time, he also noticed Akanuma in the distance. The expressions of all three changed.
"Found her! The major demon responsible for the thirty-five murders upstream!"