It can kill demons even without a Nichirin Blade?
Kokushibou would never believe such a thing.
Even Yoriichi couldn't do something like that.
A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.
Without the Nichirin Blade's power over demons, how could one possibly kill a demon?
So, after Kokushibou cut Mizuki's Nichirin Blade, he didn't think Mizuki could pose any threat to him.
He still harbored the idea of luring Mizuki to his side, which was why Mizuki found opportunities time and again.
However, being pushed to such an extent by Mizuki now made Kokushibou feel a sense of crisis, a matter of life and death.
This blade... it can really kill him.
Kokushibou's pupils widened slightly, his entire body and nerves tensed to the extreme.
Looking at Mizuki's resolute expression, Kokushibou seemed to return to hundreds of years ago, to the embarrassing scene when he faced being beheaded by Mizuki.
At that time, he was also careless enough to give Mizuki an opportunity, and he was in such a wretched state.
But unlike that time, this time Mizuki wouldn't fail due to physical reasons.
This was a never-before-felt anxiety in the face of death, an anxiety he hadn't experienced since his chance encounter with an elderly Yoriichi in his hometown hundreds of years ago.
That anxiety of impending defeat.
Mizuki's demon blade had already pierced deep into his neck, and as the blade cut, bones and flesh let out a gurgling shriek.
Blood continuously gushed from Kokushibou's neck, but it was quickly frozen by the cold air emanating from the blade, forming a circle of ice around Kokushibou's neck.
"Mizuki!!!"
Kokushibou suddenly exerted force with both arms, trying to push Mizuki's asura sword out, but Mizuki's resolve was even tougher than he imagined. Facing Kokushibou's sudden burst of strength, Mizuki's wrist dislocated and deformed slightly under the immense force, yet she endured it without a sound.
No... it wasn't that she got stronger.
It was that his body had weakened.
The biting cold was eroding his body, making it stiff and unrecognizable, affecting both regeneration and blood flow.
At this rate, his head would be severed.
How could such a thing be allowed!!
"Ah!!!" Kokushibou's veins bulged on his arms, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he roared.
demon blades burst forth from Kokushibou's body like hatching shells; his body, which was once somewhat human, now bore no resemblance to a human at all.
Mizuki was within arm's reach, with no possibility of dodging, and she had no intention of dodging.
demon blades pierced through her entirely.
Her already dark yukata became even darker with blood, and damp blood squeezed out from the edges of the yukata, dripping onto the ground.
The most severe strike directly pierced her neck, and a gush of blood instantly welled up and overflowed from her mouth.
It didn't feel good, but apart from the pain, there would be no other problems.
"Don't yell, I merely... want to kill you," Mizuki said with a faint smile, her voice hoarse, as blood gushed out with the rising and falling of her throat.
The blood around her mouth made her smile look somewhat morbid. "Please... just die obediently!"
She seemed full of a desire for victory, yet her eyes held a profound heaviness.
Please... brother, just die like this... Mizuki's body was pierced by several blades, but instead of retreating, she stepped forward towards Kokushibou.
Affected by the cold aura of Mizuki's asura sword, Kokushibou could not use even seventy percent of his strength and was actually suppressed by Mizuki.
The anxiety of impending defeat constantly assailed Kokushibou's brain, making his expression somewhat contorted.
Mizuki stepped forward, completely ignoring the demon blades emerging from Kokushibou's body and piercing into her own.
Kokushibou was completely forced to retreat by her, and accidentally stepped on a Nichirin Blade hilt behind him, instantly losing his balance.
Taking advantage of this sense of imbalance, Kokushibou desperately tried to break free from Mizuki's restraint.
Mizuki had no intention of giving him a chance, pressing herself against him.
"Cough..."
As Kokushibou was pinned to the ground, the blades moved, stabbing into Mizuki's body, and streams of blood flowed out, making her look like a blood-soaked figure.
"Don't think... you can escape..." A trace of cold sweat oozed from Mizuki's forehead. Her teeth beneath her lips bit down hard on Kokushibou's life force. She straddled Kokushibou, her hands not daring to relax in the slightest.
Blood gushing from Mizuki's throat, mixed with a few beads of sweat, dripped onto Kokushibou's face.
"What a joke!" Kokushibou was filled with hatred and unwillingness. "This thing... wants to kill me too?"
"You... you and Yoriichi both..." A transparent drop of liquid splattered on Kokushibou's face, and Kokushibou's angry voice abruptly stopped.
As Kokushibou was stunned, he saw that Mizuki's eyes were overflowing with tears at some point.
"Please..."
"Die here... and I can still..." Mizuki's hands trembled slightly, her voice a little shaky and hoarse.
To treat you as a 'human,' as a brother... This is an excellent opportunity that will never come again.
As long as Kokushibou is killed here, the Demon Slayer Corps' chance of defeating Muzan will greatly increase.
Even Muzan would absolutely not be able to casually create an Upper Rank comparable to Kokushibou.
She would absolutely not let go of this sliver of an opportunity.
Killing Kokushibou... or rather, killing Michikatsu, was a promise she once made to Yoriichi.
She had thought she wouldn't hesitate at all, but now that she was truly here, she found herself still hoping that Kokushibou would betray Muzan and fight alongside her.
When this thought appeared in Mizuki's mind, she felt ashamed of herself.
Don't be confused, just like Tanjirou.
She should harbor the thought of saving Michikatsu and kill him!
Seeing Mizuki's tearful expression and slightly trembling shoulders, which was the best moment to break free, Kokushibou's body relaxed little by little due to this momentary daze.
The asura blade's body slowly deepened... "Damn it, these brats... like flies..." The youthful Hantengu tapped the thunder drums behind him, looking annoyed at the people jumping up and down under the Wood Dragon's attack.
"What's going on over there... from just now?" Tanjirou couldn't focus his attention on Hantengu at all.
A series of deafening roars came from the distant mountains, and birds and beasts fled from them in a stampede.
The dust rising into the sky was like a collapsing mountain.
"Tanjirou! Look out!" Zenitsu's sudden sharp cry brought his thoughts back.
Two Wood Dragons intertwined like a DNA strand, arching towards him. Tanjirou's back went numb; in his Divided Soul state, he had advanced into such a position.
"Love Breathing, First Form: First Love Tremor!"
A pink ribbon, like silk, streaked through, shredding the attacking Wood Dragon.
A voluptuous figure flashed past, pulling Tanjirou to a safe position.
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