"Heh, you talk as if you care about me so much."
Mizuki smiled and closed her eyes slightly. The moment she opened them, the smile on her lips vanished abruptly.
"Elder Brother, please let me strike once."
Kokushibou's eyelid twitched: "Even if you address me correctly, don't dream of it."
"No, I'm serious." Mizuki shook her head, placing her finger on her Nichirin Blade.
"You are beyond saving. Sending you to Hell with my own hands is the only thing I, as your younger sister, can do."
"So, I beg you, die here."
Clang!!!
Accompanied by a sharp sound of blades grating, Mizuki's Nichirin Blade clashed with Kokushibou's cry of emptiness.
During the stalemate, Kokushibou asked, "Yoriichi's Nichirin Blade... did you give it to that brat?"
"Yes, Tanjirou works very hard. He won't let that blade go to waste."
Mizuki had already made peace with herself and would no longer hold a grudge against herself over Kokushibou's actions.
The idea that you must cut ties just because a relative is a murderer—that's not how it is.
"Are you serious?" Kokushibou raised an eyebrow. "That level of Sun Breathing isn't even one ten-thousandth of Yoriichi's. It's laughably weak."
"The talent that brat possesses doesn't even compare to Muichiro's."
Sun Breathing is certainly powerful, but it also depends on the user's inherent talent.
"Always talking about Yoriichi this, Yoriichi that. How much do you care about Yoriichi?" Mizuki instinctively retorted, then continued.
"Do you think Muichiro is terrible?"
"That child became a Hashira two months after picking up a sword, and has only been cultivating for two or three short years to reach where he is today."
"When you were his age, you were probably still playing in the dirt somewhere."
Kokushibou's eyelid twitched: "Your mouth certainly hasn't changed."
Mizuki sneered: "You could speak even slower. Hopefully, you'll choke to death."
Kokushibou's speaking speed, to put it nicely, was steady and full of oppressive Aura.
To put it poorly, it could drive someone crazy; it was the kind of pace that would make him sulk if someone argued back too fast.
If he argued with the aunties at the village entrance, he'd be suppressed and unable to utter a single word.
That's why Mizuki had never lost an argument with him.
As for whether he actually sulked, that wasn't Mizuki's concern.
Of course, this guy was indeed very composed.
He showed absolutely no signs of anger when countered.
If it were Inosuke or Genya, they would have had a complete mental breakdown long ago if they were rendered speechless.
She used to be able to use Yoriichi to counter him, but Mizuki couldn't bring herself to drag out a deceased person from hundreds of years ago just for a few lines of trash talk.
Just as Mizuki was formulating her rhetoric, Kokushibou accelerated his offensive.
A sudden, unexpected strike grazed Mizuki's cheek, leaving a scarlet gash.
Kokushibou said flatly, "This is the consequence of being distracted during battle."
"A scummy Elder Brother who bullies his younger sister, how dare you call yourself that?" Mizuki smiled slightly, the wound on her cheek already rapidly healing.
Kokushibou: "You who want to cut off your Elder Brother's head are just as bad."
Mizuki clicked her tongue in annoyance. Why was this guy talking so much?
Beneath her seemingly relaxed expression, her heart was growing heavy.
Sure enough, she couldn't beat him... She hadn't actually been careless with that last strike.
She simply couldn't avoid it.
It made sense, considering her natural talent was originally inferior to Kokushibou's.
Over these hundreds of years, Kokushibou had been consuming humans to grow stronger, greatly increasing his strength compared to centuries ago.
Meanwhile, she had tormented herself severely due to'starvation'.
The gap in their strength had already widened during this time.
Although she couldn't lose because of her Undying Body, achieving victory would be extraordinarily difficult.
But Mizuki hadn't expected to easily cut off Kokushibou's head in the first place.
Although she constantly ran her mouth about her older brother, Kokushibou's power couldn't be underestimated.
Apart from Yoriichi and Muzan, he was the strongest; there was no doubt about that.
Furthermore, given Akaza's precedent of Decapitation Immortality, her older brother might have also mastered this ability.
Decapitation might truly not be effective.
Mizuki casually glanced up at the sky. There were probably two hours left until dawn.
All she had to do was stall until daylight.
After all, she wasn't without advantages.
In terms of comprehensive quality, she was inferior to Kokushibou, but purely in swordsmanship, she wouldn't lose.
Over the past few centuries, her physical strength might not have improved, but her swordsmanship had continuously grown.
She hadn't been abused by Yoriichi for decades for nothing.
Moreover, she still had her Nichirin Blade.
An advantage in weaponry.
In short, she should first try to see if she could cut off Kokushibou's head.
If not, she would stall him.
If this guy tries to run away later, she could always self-destruct and take him with her.
As long as Kokushibou is eliminated, Muzan will truly be isolated and helpless.
When she saw Kokushibou's attack near the hot spring, what filled her mind was mostly excitement.
She had been struggling with how to allocate combat personnel between Muzan and Kokushibou.
Whether the others could deal with the other side while she stalled one.
Kokushibou appearing here now was a God-given opportunity.
Noticing Mizuki's offensive becoming sharper, Kokushibou narrowed his eyes.
This girl... she really wants to cut him down.
Mizuki... truly has great talent.
She barely carries the scent of having consumed humans, yet she can achieve this level.
It seems... he should get serious too.
The moment the blades collided, the cry of emptiness in Kokushibou's hand suddenly extended segment after segment of blades, spreading out like tree branches.
Mizuki tried her best to dodge but was still grazed twice.
Mizuki was about to grumble a few words about him being despicable when she suddenly felt Kokushibou's Aura gradually becoming denser.
Kokushibou said in a deep voice: "I am serious too."
"Even if you don't agree, I will take you back."
"You belong on this side."
That evil Aura became dense, viscous, and profound.
It even caused a hint of oppression in Mizuki's heart.
Mizuki's eyes turned cold, and she exhaled a long breath: "No one likes a man who harasses a girl so persistently."
Kokushibou shed the restrictive clothing on his upper body, radiating an unstoppable Aura.
"What foolishness are you speaking? Such matters are irrelevant."
Mizuki's eye twitched. She had intended to retort casually, but then remembered that although he had abandoned his wife and child, he had actually been married.
Conversely, she was still single to this day.
Fortunately, this person's mind was rigid; otherwise, if he had retorted just now, she truly wouldn't have had a comeback.
"You talk as if you're the only one who's serious."
Mizuki, who was extremely nervous internally but still felt incomplete unless she retorted outwardly.
Mizuki's crimson eyes focused. Her wine-red hair had turned white, hideous Demon Horns sprouted out, and her height of 1.7 meters also increased due to this transformation.
Kokushibou, seeing Mizuki's Demonization for the first time, was slightly entranced.
This form... it truly is...
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!