"Ah, I've been annoyed with you for a long time, you bastard!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's veins popped on his cheeks. He braked violently, turned around, and slashed at Mizuki's head with his Nichirin Blade.
Iguro Obanai, on the other side, moved in sync with him.
"Such good coordination." A bead of sweat slid down Tanjirou's temple. It was no wonder these two could get along so well.
Tanjirou did not attack immediately, instead observing Mizuki's movements.
He hadn't forgotten what Young Miss Mizuki had said: opening the Transparent World wasn't just about breaking through one's limits. It required one's understanding of martial arts to reach the Peak, required focused concentration, and required finding a way to see through the movements of limbs.
As Mizuki leaned back, she had already drawn the Nichirin Blade at her waist. With a backhand motion, she deflected Sanemi Shinazugawa's blade, while her other hand swung the scabbard toward Iguro Obanai.
Sanemi Shinazugawa's Nichirin Blade was easily deflected by her. However, just as the scabbard was about to touch Iguro Obanai's Nichirin Blade, Iguro Obanai's Nichirin Blade bent in a bizarre way, avoiding the scabbard.
Iguro Obanai bent his waist, his eyes dark and snake-like as he stared at Mizuki. His Nichirin Blade emitted a faint purple light, thrusting toward Mizuki's head at an extremely strange angle.
Sanemi Shinazugawa curled his lips. As he retreated, he didn't forget to keep an eye on the battle.
With that angle and speed, it was impossible to dodge.
This woman, is she going to get humbled after being so arrogant?
However, the very next instant, just as the tip of Iguro Obanai's Nichirin Blade was about to touch Mizuki's chin, Mizuki's figure suddenly became blurred.
Afterimage?
Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes widened slightly as he hurriedly searched for Mizuki's figure.
Immediately after, he couldn't help but shudder.
Six, seven... no, at least ten meters away.
It was that again, that incomprehensible speed!
If she had used some other method to dodge or parry, he wouldn't be this surprised. But in the situation just now, having witnessed the distance with his own eyes, how could she possibly have dodged it with pure speed?
Or rather, how could she have put such a great distance between them in an instant?
His line of sight hadn't been lost for more than a second, and during that time, his field of vision hadn't even caught any signs of movement.
Are you kidding me!
He considered his speed to be among the best in the Demon Slayer Corps, and even he couldn't see it clearly; others would likely be the same.
Shinazugawa was right. Even though he hadn't awakened the Demon Slayer Mark yet, his strength was still among the top tier in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Tanjirou watched this scene in shock, unable to recover for a long time.
He couldn't see it. He couldn't see it at all.
It was as if he had suddenly returned to the time when he had just met Young Miss Mizuki, before he had awakened the Demon Slayer Mark.
Back then, it was just like now; he was completely unable to see clearly.
A sense of powerlessness welled up instantly.
Tanjirou gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Mizuki's movements.
The Transparent World—only by Awakening that ability would one have a chance to notice Young Miss Mizuki's movements in advance.
As for the others, they had all more or less started to break out in a cold sweat.
The first to bear the brunt was Iguro Obanai. To some extent, he was the one closest to Mizuki.
He was never someone who liked to celebrate prematurely, but at that moment, when he was just half an inch away from hitting Mizuki, his heart couldn't help but ripple.
But at that distance, which he subconsciously thought was impossible to dodge, everything was overturned in an instant.
Iguro Obanai's heterochromatic eyes trembled slightly, filled with shock.
Breaking this silence was the Mist Hashira, Tokito Muichiro. Without thinking too much, he gripped his Nichirin Blade and charged at Mizuki.
He wanted to find that strange memory in his mind.
The sorrowful yet nostalgic one...
"Mist Breathing, Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds." A sea of blue mist instantly spread across the arena, completely surrounding everyone's line of sight.
The Obscuring Clouds form relied on high-speed movement to disrupt the opponent; it was the ultimate Move of Mist Breathing.
But in front of Mizuki, who had just performed a high-speed movement, it seemed a bit lacking.
At least, the others weren't unable to see his movement trajectory.
However, this was already Tokito Muichiro's strongest Move.
Unsurprisingly, the Obscuring Clouds form was easily blocked by Mizuki's blade.
Sparks flew with a clatter. Just as Tokito Muichiro's offensive grew faster, Mizuki suddenly accelerated.
The white mist-like blade, under Tokito Muichiro's slightly constricting pupils, was pressed against his throat in an instant.
Just as she was about to decapitate him, Mizuki shifted the tip of her blade to slash at his shoulder.
Clang!!!
The large blade collided with the slender white mist, producing a sharp sound.
"Hey, hey, hey, I still couldn't see that movement just now." Although he was joking, Uzui Tengen's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. "Can Teacher Mizuki go a bit slower?"
He had only relied on instinct—an instinct that felt Muichiro was about to be cut, so he had predicted and followed up in advance. He hadn't truly seen Mizuki's hand movement in that instant.
Mizuki said calmly: "Muzan will only be faster than me."
Her evolution was in terms of Blood Demon Art; her physical fitness hadn't improved that significantly.
It was an evolutionary direction on a different path from Muzan's.
Theoretically, Mizuki was more inclined toward Muzan's type, but she didn't have the choice. Being able to become stronger was already not easy.
Since Mizuki had said that much, Uzui Tengen had no way to continue the conversation.
Although he was just joking anyway.
If the group hadn't considered attacking all at once at the beginning, then after this opening shock, almost everyone subconsciously thought of the same thing.
That was: could they really defeat Mizuki by joining forces?
Could they really defeat Muzan?
But that was only a fleeting thought, because there was no other choice.
As Hashira, for the sake of others and themselves, they had to defeat Muzan.
If they wanted to defeat Muzan, then Mizuki, who was standing in front of them now, was undoubtedly the enemy.
The group's Aura changed from scattered to concentrated, even forming something akin to a pressure field, making even Mizuki feel a hint of pressure.
"Hmph, I admit that no one can defeat you, woman, alone." Sanemi Shinazugawa gripped his Nichirin Blade and took a deep breath, looking at Mizuki with a firm gaze.
"You're admitting it now? Your mouth is really stubborn."
Sanemi Shinazugawa ground his teeth. Is this woman eating gunpowder? Her tongue is so sharp?
If your tone is bad, her tone is even worse.
If your tone softens, she only gets more arrogant and wants to ride on your head.
Iguro Obanai said indifferently: "Shinazugawa, you really are an idiot. You clearly know you can't win an argument, yet you still go up to get scolded."
Sanemi Shinazugawa's face flushed red. He was already angry, and the backstabbing from his brother made him even more resentful.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"