Just as Mizuki said, there's no need to reason with demons; all that matters is slaying them with minimal effort.
Everyone drew their Nichirin Blades from their waists, exchanged glances with Mizuki, and then, with a flicker of their bodies, surrounded her.
Ten Hashira-level combatants, many of whom had activated their Demon Slayer Marks, were not something even Mizuki could easily handle.
Relying on her Transparent World vision, Mizuki saw through their movements. After dodging attacks from Kyoujurou and Sanemi Shinazugawa, the subsequent barrage of attacks became too much to evade by simply dodging.
In a pincer maneuver like this, unless there's a significant gap in raw power, even if you see their movements in advance, it's hard to avoid everyone's attacks.
Mizuki countered by grabbing Kanae's wrist as she charged to her side, pulling her forcefully and sending her, along with Kanao behind her, flying back.
Without pausing, she bent down to avoid a horizontal slash from Tomioka Giyu, swept her leg, and kneed him, sending Tomioka Giyu flying.
Her hand didn't stop as she wielded her Nichirin Blade to deflect Iguro Obanai's strangely curved blade.
No sooner had she deflected Iguro Obanai's Nichirin Blade than a pink flash appeared in the corner of her eye.
"Love Breathing, Second Form: Anguished Love Pondering!" Kanroji Mitsuri appeared from nowhere, like an agile cat, performing a series of graceful leaps to reach Mizuki.
Mizuki was momentarily stunned.
The unusual Nichirin Blade, resembling a whip, twisted and slashed towards Mizuki.
The peculiar blade seemed to bounce off the ground, taking two turns before shooting towards Mizuki's face.
Mizuki instinctively moved to dodge in another direction, not expecting to run right into the blade's tip.
With the surrounding space infinitely compressed by everyone, Mizuki had limited room to dodge and couldn't create enough distance.
Mizuki simply tilted her head, not bothering to move.
According to her judgment, this strike should have been dodged about half an inch from her cheek.
Mizuki was quite confident in her judgment of distance.
But as the pink blade approached her, it vibrated unusually, like a ripple.
Mizuki no longer had time to react.
The blade grazed her cheek, leaving a white mark, and a trace of blood was about to seep out.
But the moment the blood was about to emerge, the white mark quickly healed, and not a single drop of blood spilled.
A somewhat tricky sword technique.
Mizuki judged.
To be honest, it was Mizuki's first time dealing with a user of such a Nichirin Blade. If purely in terms of skill, Kanroji Mitsuri and Iguro Obanai were much more troublesome than the others.
She couldn't simply rely on the Transparent World to see through their physical characteristics and predict their attack directions.
Iguro Obanai was fine; although his Nichirin Blade was curved, the amplitude was small, and overall it remained consistent with his body.
But Kanroji Mitsuri's Nichirin Blade, calling it a blade might be less accurate than calling it a whip; its twists often achieved unexpected effects.
The pink blade seemed to extend infinitely, grazing Mizuki's cheek.
"Hm-hm~" As Mizuki was momentarily distracted, Kanroji Mitsuri let out a playful hum, a triumphant smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
With a flick of her wrist, the extended Nichirin Blade rapidly retracted.
The twisting blade scraped against Mizuki's cheek like a razor.
This girl, why does she only think about messing with her face? Does she want to disfigure her?
After a brief internal complaint, Mizuki chose to close in proactively.
Her speed was incredibly fast, covering several meters in the blink of an eye.
"Eh-eh~" Kanroji Mitsuri cried out, her Nichirin Blade not yet fully retracted, as she fumbled to shake the hilt.
Hearing her silly voice, Mizuki's face darkened, realizing she had been a bit too relaxed.
This girl's mindset was different from the others; it would be hard to treat her as an enemy.
Mizuki actually hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should strike.
If she struck, it felt like she would cry for a long time.
If she didn't strike, it felt like this girl was just there to make up the numbers.
"Watch this great lord!"
A loud sound came from the sky.
The next moment, Uzui Tengen came with a wide, sweeping jump attack.
Mizuki lost her train of thought and rapidly retreated.
"Boom!!!"
Uzui Tengen's wide twin blades slammed to the ground, creating a loud explosion due to their special material.
"Waaah-waah~" Kanroji Mitsuri cried out, her fair cheeks splattered with black marks from the blast, as she was blown away by the strong wind.
The explosion kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring Mizuki's figure.
"Idiot, what have you done?!" Sanemi Shinazugawa complained without stopping his attack.
"Shut up!" Uzui Tengen, knowing he was in the wrong, retorted weakly with a darkened face.
"Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!" Sanemi Shinazugawa had no time to respond. His eyes sharpened, and four claw-shaped wind blades swept across the ground into the dust cloud, instantly dispersing the obscuring smoke.
But... "She's gone?"
Iguro Obanai's heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one green, slightly narrowed.
He knew the dust would obscure their vision, so he had been trying his best to focus on searching for Mizuki's figure.
However, he still hadn't seen when she had emerged.
Iguro Obanai at this moment didn't care where the person had disappeared from; he quickly looked left and right.
Then, in a hurried glance, he saw the anxious expression on Sanemi Shinazugawa's face.
Correspondingly, it was behind him.
Iguro Obanai felt a chill down his spine, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. Without looking back, he bent down and rolled on the spot.
Mizuki paused, what was he doing?
She didn't indulge him and gave his butt a kick.
Iguro Obanai awkwardly propped himself up with his hands on the ground, barely avoiding being kicked face-first into the dirt.
Seeing this, Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had been about to join the fray, immediately slammed on the brakes, almost dropping his blade with a snort.
Iguro Obanai regained his footing, his face a mix of changing expressions.
"Pffft haha~" Kanroji Mitsuri, covered in dust, bent over and laughed heartily without any concern for her image, "Iguro-san~ So cute~"
Iguro Obanai's ears turned red, and his gloomy expression inexplicably faded.
"..."
Everyone looked at the scene, somewhat at a loss, unsure if they should continue fighting.
Fortunately, the straightforward young man Tokito and the young girl Kanao dispelled their thoughts, charging forward with their blades without a word.
It must be said that, apart from Kanroji Mitsuri's peculiar weapon which caught Mizuki off guard, the attack methods of the others could generally be described as straightforward.
As long as a encirclement wasn't formed, a Transparent World was enough for Mizuki to dodge with ease.
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