Although Gyomei Himejima had blocked Soma's slash, his feet had nearly sunk into the ground, and the earth centered around him had cracked like a web.
Ordinary swordsmen had only seen the power of Soma's strike, but Kyojuro Rengoku, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Kanae Kocho had seen the terrifying force contained within that blade.
It was even stronger than Gyomei Himejima's.
One had to know that Gyomei Himejima's physical strength was famous throughout the Demon Slayer Corps. His body could be called a perfect physique tempered to its limit through countless trials, and he possessed tremendous power. Because of this, even his Nichirin weapon took the form of heavy arms like a spiked flail and hand axe.
Yet even so, Soma's single slash had still suppressed Gyomei Himejima.
In the eyes of Kyojuro Rengoku and the others, Soma's raw force had probably surpassed Gyomei Himejima's.
That was truly difficult to imagine.
Gyomei Himejima himself had never encountered anyone whose raw power surpassed his own. In all his years of battle, not even the demons he had faced had ever matched him in pure physical might.
As expected, what I sensed earlier was not wrong.
"Mr. Soma really has… become stronger."
Gyomei Himejima used his spiked flail to deflect Soma's blade, taking the opportunity to pull his legs free. His completely blind eyes faced Soma. Though they could not see his figure, he could sense the powerful aura emanating from that direction.
Bang!
As he spoke, Gyomei Himejima stepped heavily on the ground, producing a dull, resounding impact. Almost instantly, his towering figure vanished from where he stood. In the next moment, he charged toward Soma with his spiked flail.
Now that he understood Soma's strength, Gyomei Himejima no longer held back. His heavy, earth-shaking attack came crashing down.
Soma did not hesitate at all and raised his blade to block.
Boom!
A violent gust born from the fierce collision erupted outward from the two of them, turning into a shockwave that swept in every direction.
The surrounding spectators felt the fierce wind strike their faces, while dull explosive sounds that made their ears ache rang beside them. What they could see with their eyes were almost nothing but the afterimages of the two fighters.
Ordinary swordsmen could barely track Soma and Gyomei Himejima at all.
But the Hashira—Kyojuro Rengoku, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Kanae Kocho—were not so limited. They could clearly follow every movement and every impact.
"So strong. I never imagined Mr. Soma would be able to fight Lord Himejima for this long."
Kyojuro Rengoku sighed in admiration. He had also crossed blades with Gyomei Himejima before, but under the force of Gyomei Himejima's heavy weapon, he could hardly last long.
"I never expected Mr. Soma's strength to be this powerful either." Sanemi Shinazugawa found it difficult to believe.
BANG, BANG!
The sound of weapons clashing rang out again and again. Two figures flashed through the air, sometimes separating, sometimes colliding. Sometimes it was steel against steel. Sometimes it was raw flesh and bone meeting head-on.
No one had expected that Gyomei Himejima, whose body was his greatest weapon, would be unable to overpower Soma in a contest of pure strength. Instead, as the fight dragged on, he gradually fell into a disadvantage.
BANG!
After another violent collision, both sides retreated several steps and then stopped.
"Huff, huff…"
Gyomei Himejima's breathing was heavy and labored. The exchange had clearly taken a tremendous toll on him.
In contrast, Soma stood exactly as before. His breathing had not changed in the slightest.
It was just as it had been at the start.
"I have lost."
Gyomei Himejima brought his hands together in a gesture of respect and openly admitted defeat. Continuing in his current state would only end in loss, no matter how one looked at it.
"Lord Gyomei's strength is also worthy of great respect."
Soma sheathed his blade, a faint smile of satisfaction on his face. Gyomei Himejima was widely regarded as the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, yet even he could not match Soma. Though this had only been a sparring match, it had revealed a great deal.
The brief spar with Gyomei Himejima ended quickly, but the influence it created was far from over.
Especially for the swordsmen who had watched the match, the shock in their hearts was enormous. One had to know that Gyomei Himejima's strength was publicly recognized throughout the Demon Slayer Corps, yet even he had lost in their spar.
It was truly difficult to imagine.
Some swordsmen who had not personally seen the spar did not quite believe it when they heard others talk about it. They only felt that even if Gyomei Himejima had lost, it must have been because he had not gone all out.
...
Yoshiwara Entertainment District.
A residence near Kyogoku House.
Soma soon brought everyone here and listened to the reports from several swordsmen. At present, their attention had basically locked onto a woman using the alias Warabihime.
In truth, Soma rather wanted to recreate the scene at the Eternal Paradise Faith. Once they had locked onto the demon, they could act during the day and directly use explosives to destroy the nearby buildings that could block the sunlight, forcing the demon to bathe beneath the sun.
But this place was not very suitable.
The Yoshiwara Entertainment District was not in a remote area like the Eternal Paradise Faith. Instead, it was located in a prosperous district, or rather, at the heart of commerce. Moreover, the population was extremely dense, so the impact of using explosives would be far too great.
"Then it seems we can only behead the demon directly."
Kyojuro Rengoku spoke, his sharp brows lifting slightly, a hint of fighting spirit in his eyes.
"It would be best if we could infiltrate the place." Kanae Kocho also spoke.
"Who currently knows the most about the situation in the entertainment district?" Soma asked at that moment.
"It is Miss Hinatsuru, Miss Suma, and Miss Makio."
Gyomei Himejima pressed his palms together and said softly, "They are waiting outside."
Very soon, Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio walked in. All three were dressed in mourning clothes, and their faces were faintly pale.
Makio had her hair tied in a side ponytail, with golden bangs at the front while the rest of her hair was black. She appeared to possess excellent physical ability.
Hinatsuru also wore a side ponytail, her hair black. Her irises were purple, and there was a beauty mark beneath her left eye, giving her an especially gentle, virtuous, mature, and steady impression.
As for Suma, she had long black hair and a pair of blue eyes, and she seemed somewhat timid.
It had to be said that all three of them were beautiful and captivating, with graceful, well-developed figures.
For many male swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps, the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, had always been an object of envy for having married three wives at once. Now, seeing these three women, Soma could not help sighing at Tengen Uzui's romantic fortune as well.
However, because of Soma's arrival, many things had changed. Tengen Uzui had sacrificed himself early, and now that Soma saw these three beautiful wives again, he could not help feeling somewhat regretful on Tengen Uzui's behalf.
Soma's gaze only swept briefly over the three wives before he began carefully asking about the specific situation in the entertainment district.
For the sake of this investigation, Hinatsuru, Suma, and Makio had all conducted deep inquiries before. They had even disguised themselves as courtesans to gather information.
...
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