Bam!!
Taka took another kick from Akaza, but immediately swung his blade down, severing half of the other's lower leg with the burning Tonan!
His chest ached so much, it felt like it was going to explode!
His consciousness began to blur. The high-intensity Reiatsu Perception and the forcibly converted breathing method were oppressing his body, making his brain oxygen-deprived and dizzy.
'Hold on! Break through the limit!'
Clang!!
Akaza punched the blade. Although the punch itself was burned, it parried Taka's attack, leaving a huge opening in his chest!
"What a shame! What a shame, boy!"
He roared, lamenting, but seemingly without any restraint, he viciously threw a punch!
If this punch landed, Taka would surely be pierced!
"Ughhh—!!!"
Even so, Taka did not give up. He actually actively turned sideways to meet it, minimizing the impact of Akaza's punch as much as possible!
Crack! Crack!
Although this punch still broke two of his ribs, his blade had already cut into Akaza's shoulder!
"Damn! Off target!"
This slash, Taka had aimed for Akaza's neck, but the intense pain distorted his movement!
'Shoulder then! I'll just tear you apart! Ahhh—!!!'
The blade embedded itself in Akaza's body, madly devouring his blood and demonic power, continuously injecting new strength into Taka, allowing the blade to sink deeper inch by inch!
Taka grew vicious, his eyes bloodshot, like a demon god.
"Taka! Don't let go! Burn!!" Kyojuro endured the intense pain in his chest and struggled to his feet.
He didn't know if his bones were shattered or his organs damaged, but he couldn't just watch Taka fight an Upper Moon alone!
This kind of sudden erupted power was surely something Taka was overdrawing his life for. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be!
He once again erupted with a sky-shaking roar, forcibly mobilizing his remaining strength and resting his Nichirin Sword on his shoulder!
"I am the Flame Hashira! Rengoku Kyojuro! I will fulfill my duties as a Hashira!!"
"Flame Breathing: Ninth Form: Rengoku!!"
Kyojuro surged Flame Breathing through his limbs and bones. The erupting fighting spirit shook even Akaza, who was locked in stalemate with Taka!
He roared, his entire body transforming into a gold-red fire dragon, charging at Akaza!
The power condensed in that blade was enough to split mountains and sever rocks, tearing the sky!
'Damn it, these humans!'
He roared inwardly, his killing intent boiling to the extreme!
In his fury, he roared: "Destructive Death - Eight-Layered Demon Core!!"
This time, he directly abandoned defense. His powerful fists, infused with all his demonic power, swung wildly, unleashing continuous destructive heavy punches aimed straight at Taka's vital points!
Seeing this, Taka had to abandon his plan to tear him apart. He quickly withdrew his blade and barely parried!
Bam Bam!!
Two punches still struck his lower back, making him spit out a huge mouthful of foul blood!
At this moment, Kyojuro had also arrived!
His Nichirin Blade violently slashed down, carrying space-tearing flames, viciously cutting into Akaza's crossed, blocking arms!
Shrrk—!!
A piercing sound of bone grinding accompanied by the sound of flesh being burned and torn exploded!
The intense heat on Kyojuro's blade instantly tore through Akaza's indestructible demon arms. The fire dragon-like flames, like the fangs of a fierce beast, madly cleaved open half his body!
"Damn Demon Slayers!!" Akaza was furious. He swung his fist to pierce Kyojuro, but an unexpected figure appeared!
Boom—!!
"Thunderclap and Flash - Godspeed!!!"
Akaza's newly raised fist, after a clap of thunder, was completely severed!
Although this was a wound that would heal in an instant for him, in this deadly fight, it created a huge vacuum.
Unexpectedly, Zenitsu, the one among them most afraid of demons, launched the most decisive charge at this moment!
"Hinokami Kagura - Sunflower Thrust!!"
"Second Fang: Cleaving Cut!!"
Even though they were terrified, seeing that Taka and Kyojuro were about to exhaust their strength-
Tanjiro and the others could no longer stand by and watch. They forced their bodies to move, even if they couldn't wound Akaza, they could cause even a moment's hesitation!
At this moment, the east was already showing the first light of dawn!
"What?!" Akaza let out a roar tinged with shock and anger for the first time.
He didn't expect to drag it out until this time!!
'Sunlight! Deadly sunlight was coming!'
'There was no time! I had to escape immediately!'
In that instant, Taka caught his breath!
"My Style - Fang Thrust!!"
He roared, blood spraying from the corners of his mouth, but he was unaware.
Shrrk!!!
The scorching Tonan plunged into Akaza's body, interrupting his attempt to flee!
"Damn it! Get away!!"
Akaza was furious to the extreme. His entire body once again erupted with incomprehensible immense force, actually blasting Tanjiro and the others away, leaving only Taka and Kyojuro, who resolutely refused to let go, locking onto his body!
"Destructive Death - Annihilation Type!!!"
Akaza let out his most violent roar yet!
His newly regenerated fist seemed to transform into a falling black meteor, carrying a destructive, terrifying pressure as it hurtled towards Kyojuro!
Kyojuro's pupils contracted sharply. The instinct to survive screamed at him to dodge!
But as the Flame Hashira, even if he died, he absolutely could not release the demon before him!
"Taka boy! Strike!" He roared. "Sever his neck!!"
Pfft—!!
A sickening sound of bone shattering rang out, followed by a spray of blood!
But the one struck was not Kyojuro. It was Taka, who had thrown himself in front of Kyojuro at the last moment!
In the blink of an eye, Taka had drawn Tonan, but he did not choose to strike for the neck.
He stepped forward, cleaving through Akaza's fist, but was pierced directly through the chest by a shard of broken bone.
The uniform on his chest, along with the bones beneath, visibly caved in a huge area!
His entire face instantly turned deathly pale!
Taka, with his ferocious, almost cyan fingers, tightly clamped onto Akaza's upper arm, blocking in front of Kyojuro without yielding an inch. He raised Tonan once more:
"I told you, I will protect you all. No one will die!"
"Get lost!!!"
The sky was beginning to lighten. Akaza had no mood to listen to these people's nonsense any longer!
Clang—!!
But before his roar had even finished, Taka, with his last breath, had already swung his Nichirin Sword into his neck!
'It hurts! It burns! Was it going to be severed?'
Akaza was terrified. He tried to use his fist to parry Taka's blade, but found that after a night of fierce battle, his body was already eroded by countless wounds from Taka's sword momentum. His regeneration speed had slowed to a crawl!
"Ahhh—!!" Taka roared. Tonan slowly tore through Upper Rank Three's flesh and blood, already reaching the hard vertebra!
"Inosuke! Zenitsu! Move!!" Tanjiro, blasted away by Akaza, also did not give up. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up again. "Help! We have to hold him back!! Help Taka-san!!"
"Ahhh—!! Boar Rush!!"
"Thunderclap and Flash!!"
The three of them simultaneously struck Taka's blade with their own, injecting strength into Taka, who was already weakening!!
"Ahhh—!!!"
Amidst everyone's roars, Tonan completely tore through the demon's flesh and blood!
Shing—!!
Akaza never imagined his head would actually be severed!!
At this moment, he suddenly felt many memories flooding back, including the precious ones taken from him by Muzan after he became a demon.... They all rushed back at once!
Koyuki....
"How can I fall—!!!"
Akaza's head, still in the air, roared. His body, using the last of its strength, kicked the severely injured Kyojuro once more in the chest, and directly tore off his own arm!
His headless body stumbled backward. The face flying through the air no longer held rage, but was completely replaced by extreme fear.
His body leaped up, grabbing his head with newly grown, slender limbs. Not even bothering to pull out the embedded Nichirin Sword, he fled panic-stricken into the forest!
"How is that possible! Why didn't we kill him!" Tanjiro was shocked, completely unable to understand why Akaza hadn't died!
Taka, however, stared blankly at the dim Tonan in his hand and spat in frustration:
".....At the last moment... ran out of strength... what a shame..."
The light was rapidly expanding. Golden dawn, like a sharp sword, pierced the dark curtain, sweeping across the earth with unstoppable force!
The first faint rays of sunlight, lethal to demons, had already reached the treetops at the edge of the battlefield!
'No time left! Hurry! Escape!!'
"Black-haired swordsman! I will remember you! Next time we meet, I will tear you limb from limb!!!"
Akaza transformed into a blood-red afterimage, speeding away, madly spewing venomous vows. In moments, he vanished into the depths of the dense forest, leaving only a trail of burnt, stinking blood.
Watching the Kizuki disappear into the mountain forest shadows at dawn, Taka's tense nerves finally completely snapped.
He could no longer hold on. He fell heavily to his knees, vomiting large mouthfuls of blood.
Not far from him, Kyojuro had been kicked into the remains of the train carriage. He also lay in a pool of blood, unconscious, his breathing faint to the extreme.
"Taka-san! Rengoku-san!!"
Tanjiro panicked as he ran to Taka, checking his condition.
He only saw that Taka had already closed his eyes and fallen unconscious.