Yue let out a breath and forced down the fear Raiden had caused. A cold light appeared on the silver moon Blade in his hand.
"Blood Demon Art: Moon Waterfall."
His voice dropped into a low growl as the power inside his body erupted instantly.
The silver blade swung forward, and a chilling light burst from it, bright like moonlight cutting through the night. A phantom crescent moon formed above Raiden's head, releasing a cold glow that covered the entire area and gave the battlefield an eerie beauty.
As Yue moved his arm, the crescent moon tilted downward. A stream of white mist poured from it like a waterfall falling from the sky, heavy and unstoppable.
The mist twisted through the air like a silver ribbon, filled with freezing power as it rushed toward Raiden. Every drop carried destructive force, enough to tear through anything in its path. Sharp blade lights were hidden inside the mist, flashing like countless moon Blades ready to slice everything apart.
Raiden looked up calmly.
His expression did not change at all, as if he were watching something boring. When Yue unleashed his full-power attack, Raiden only curled his lips slightly.
"Flashy. Looks scary, but that's all."
He leaned back a little, almost like he was casually admiring the scene.
In Raiden's eyes, the attack looked childish. Even though Yue had used all his strength, it still meant nothing to him.
As the white mist rushed toward him, Raiden lifted a finger. Thousands of thin strands appeared instantly and formed a large net that shot toward the crescent moon.
The web tore straight through the mist.
The white mist collapsed the moment it touched the net, as if it had never existed. Yue's attack was destroyed in an instant, and the crescent moon phantom vanished into the air.
Yue froze.
He turned toward Nakime's floating eyeball without knowing what to do, hoping for help or instructions.
How was he supposed to fight someone like this?
The difference in strength was too great. It made him feel completely powerless.
"Continue…"
Nakime's voice came from far away, filled with tension.
She did not care about Yue's fear. All she could feel was her control over the Infinity Castle slipping away faster and faster. She only needed Yue to delay Raiden for a little longer, even if it was just a few seconds.
But before she could finish speaking, Yue's head suddenly exploded in midair as if it had been torn apart by an invisible force.
Blood and fragments scattered instantly, turning into a red mist that spread across the room. The air was filled with the smell of blood, and the entire space was dyed with a strange, tragic color.
Yue's body remained frozen for a moment, his eyes still wide with disbelief. The last trace of fear was still visible on his face.
Then his body collapsed backward.
It hit the ground heavily, and blood continued to pour out, quickly forming a dark pool on the floor.
His fingers twitched once, then completely stopped.
Upper Moon Four was dead.
"Boring. I'm done playing with you."
Raiden raised his eyebrows and lost all interest in Nakime.
He had already gained half of the control over the Infinity Castle. With a little more time, the entire place would belong to him. Once he controlled it completely, he would not need to search for the Hashira one by one. With a simple thought, he could gather all of them here.
Everything was almost finished.
After saying that, Raiden focused completely on merging with the Infinity Castle.
A layer of crimson-gold energy spread around his body as if he were connecting with every part of the castle. As the fusion continued, his power rose rapidly.
Once the progress passed fifty percent, the speed increased even more. Raiden could clearly feel every change inside the castle. Every room, every movement, every small shift was transmitted directly to his mind.
On the other side, Nakime's situation became worse.
She felt Raiden's power swallowing her control piece by piece. The space that once belonged to her was slowly being taken away.
Cold sweat appeared on her forehead. Her single eye moved quickly as she tried to think of a solution.
She began to pluck the biwa faster and faster. Sharp sounds echoed through the Infinity Castle as her fingers moved across the strings in desperation. She tried to regain control, or at least slow Raiden down.
But nothing worked.
Inside the Infinity Castle, Nakime began to transfer demons directly to Raiden's location. Only the areas where Kokushibo and Akaza were fighting were left untouched.
She knew that sending those demons was her only chance to delay him.
One after another, demons appeared around Raiden. For a moment, they were frozen by the terrifying pressure coming from him.
Then instinct took over.
They attacked him without hesitation.
Raiden did not even look at them.
He simply stretched his shoulders, and the crimson-gold energy around him burst outward. Every demon that came close was torn apart instantly, turning into blood mist that disappeared into the air.
Using small demons to slow him down was useless. It only showed that even Akaza and Kokushibo were busy somewhere else.
Nakime watched everything in silence. Her fingers slowed down little by little, as if all hope had disappeared together with the demons that had just died.
Raiden's fusion finally reached its end.
His body completely merged with the Infinity Castle, and the entire space felt like it had become part of him.
"It's time to end this," Raiden said quietly.
With a small movement of his finger, the Infinity Castle began to change violently under his control, as if the entire place was responding to him.
Not only that, after merging with the castle, Raiden's realm rose again. The increase was even greater than the combined strength shown earlier by Kyojuro Rengoku and Muichiro Tokito.
At this moment, the barrier of the Super Pillar level became completely clear to him.
^_________^
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