The moment Gyutaro appeared, he crouched down and looked at his sister's head with aching concern.
"How? How could you be so careless? Your head got cut off again."
"Brother, Brother, avenge me! It was him! He's the one who cut off my head with his sword! It hurts so much, it really hurts…"
Daki cried as she accused Soma of his crime.
"It's all right. Your head only fell off. We can still put it back."
Gyutaro comforted his sister, but his eyes were already burning with rage.
No one was allowed to bully his sister. Anyone who bullied her deserved to die.
Just as Gyutaro prepared to avenge her, a blade suddenly appeared in the depths of his vision, slashing toward him from behind.
Although Gyutaro's back was facing Soma, Soma's attack was reflected clearly before his eyes. Almost any sneak attack was useless against Gyutaro.
This was one of the advantages of being a twin demon. The information seen by his younger sister, Daki, was integrated with what he saw himself. What Daki saw, Gyutaro could see as well.
Even though no one had ever taught him, Gyutaro had mastered this ability with ease. It was precisely by relying on such an exceptional sense that he had been able to enter the ranks of the Upper Ranks.
So even with his back to Soma, he still saw the sudden slash coming.
However, Soma's blade was extremely fast—so fast that Gyutaro's pupils contracted.
Whoosh!
The Nichirin Sword struck Gyutaro almost instantly.
Even though Gyutaro's reaction was quick enough, he still could not completely evade it. Still, he managed to avoid having his head severed.
The blade cut through his shoulder and sliced through half of Gyutaro's body with ease.
After that strike, Gyutaro immediately retreated, pulling distance between himself and Soma.
What a pity.
Soma felt a trace of regret that he had failed to cut off Gyutaro's head while Gyutaro had crouched down to check on his sister's severed head. Upper Rank demons truly were different. Killing one was not easy.
After retreating far away, Gyutaro lowered his head and looked at his body, nearly half of it sliced apart. His pupils were now filled with solemn wariness.
The human before him was stronger than any Gyutaro had ever seen. He had killed quite a few Hashira before, but even those powerful Hashira had been nowhere near this person's level.
Deep in his heart, Gyutaro even felt a trace of fear.
"Upper Rank demons really are impressive." Soma held the hilt of his blade and looked at Gyutaro.
Although that single strike had cut through more than half of Gyutaro's body, with a demon's powerful regeneration, the severed half was already writhing and had nearly recovered.
Two sickles had even appeared in his hands. Under the moonlight, the tips of the blades gleamed with a dark green sheen. Clearly, both sickles were coated in deadly poison.
"Brother, hurry and kill him! Rip him to pieces!"
Daki, now only a head, shouted again. "This person is despicable! Absolutely despicable! I want him dead! I want to kill him!"
Hearing this, Gyutaro tightened his grip around his blood sickles.
He was not confident he could kill the human before him, but…
At that moment, viciousness filled his eyes.
Bullying his sister was unforgivable.
More than that, this was his sister's request. When faced with his sister's demands, Gyutaro had no way to refuse.
And at that moment, Daki reattached her head. The instant it connected, she suddenly stretched out her hand, and sashes flew out from beneath her clothing, rushing fiercely toward Soma.
They seemed intent on binding him in place.
"Brother, now!" Daki shouted excitedly.
Gyutaro gripped his blood sickles and coordinated with his sister's attack almost at the same time. As long as her sashes bound the opponent, he could end the man's life immediately.
Humans and demons were different. Humans could be injured. If their vitals were wounded, they would die. No matter how powerful a Hashira was, they were still human, and being human meant having very little room for error.
Whoosh…
In the next instant, the air faintly trembled.
Soma drew his blade almost immediately. A flame-like arc of steel fell, spreading outward in all directions. Like a storm, it tore apart every sash shooting toward him from all sides.
Gyutaro's figure blurred closer. The moment his blood sickle swept out, Soma met it head-on with a slash.
Blade and sickle collided, sending sparks bursting outward.
Under that single strike, Gyutaro staggered back, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger going numb.
Even a hurried slash carried tremendous force. It was impossible to contend with.
Gyutaro truly could not understand why this person's strength was so great.
But Soma did not give him any chance. In that same instant, he swung his blade again.
Swish!
The blade was so fast it was almost impossible to see even an afterimage as it cut toward Gyutaro.
Gyutaro hastily dodged, but the blade was too fast. Its sharp edge instantly sliced through a large stretch of flesh on his arm. Fortunately, Gyutaro reacted in time; otherwise, his arm might have been severed again.
After that slash, Soma continued pressing forward with his blade, each cut swift as lightning.
Gyutaro did everything he could to evade, but the wounds on his body still continued increasing. If not for the body of a demon and its powerful regeneration, he would already have died as a human.
Soma slashed downward. Gyutaro blocked with his blood sickle, but he could not block the kick Soma lifted immediately afterward.
Bang!
A dull impact rang out as Gyutaro was sent flying backward by the kick, smashing through several walls in succession before finally stopping and crashing heavily to the ground.
"Ugh…"
He struggled to rise. Even with the powerful body of a demon, he bent over at that moment and spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Daki had never stopped attacking from the side, but the sashes flying out from beneath her clothing were cut apart by Soma before they could even get close. They had no effect at all.
No matter how much she hated Soma, and no matter how poor her judgment was, Daki had now realized that the person before them was terrifyingly strong. Even her powerful brother could not possibly be his opponent.
After kicking Gyutaro away, Soma charged at him again, blade in hand, his attacks falling like a violent storm.
Clang!
Gyutaro blocked each strike with his blood sickles, but every time the weapons collided, both of his hands went numb.
And he could not block every blade.
Aside from his head not being cut off, every other part of his body had suffered heavy damage. One moment, his arm was severed; the next, his thigh was cut off.
As for the wounds where flesh had been sliced open or carved away, they were countless.
If not for being a demon, Gyutaro would have died who knew how many times already.
"Crack!"
Another slash connected.
This strike cut Gyutaro directly through the waist, almost completely separating his upper body from his lower body.
As a demon, he possessed extremely powerful regeneration. Even severed hands and feet were nothing; they could recover. And the stronger the demon, the faster the recovery. But that recovery was not unlimited.
Moreover, recovery was one thing. Pain was something else entirely.
The agony of being cut in half made Gyutaro's eyes bulge at that moment, his face twisting into a ferocious grimace.
Behind Soma, Daki, who had been harassing him, saw her brother suffer such a severe injury for the first time. She descended into near madness, attacking Soma like someone who had lost her mind.
But her sash attacks did not hinder Soma much at all.
Although Gyutaro had been cut in half, he still forced himself to hold on, gripping his blood sickles tightly.
"That will alone is worthy of praise."
Soma looked at Gyutaro and sighed softly, but the movement of his hand did not stop. He swung his blade again without hesitation, cutting toward Gyutaro's neck.
Everything…
should come to an end.