Chapter 145: Clash! The Wild Dance of the Sorcerer Killer
A dead silence fell.
The moment Suguru Geto pulled Riko away, the Tomb of the Star Corridor seemed to become a vacuum.
No breathing.
No heartbeat.
Even the air appeared to stop moving.
It was the final stillness before the storm broke.
Then—
Boom!
Yami and Toji moved at the same time.
The bluestone floor beneath Yami's feet shattered into countless fragments. His figure vanished from sight, leaving only a dark red afterimage behind.
Sun Breathing, First Form: Circle Dance.
A perfect arc of flame cut through the underground palace like the rising sun. It carried a heat that could scorch flesh from bone, slashing straight toward Toji's face with brutal force.
Fast.
Toji's pupils tightened.
His beastlike instincts screamed a warning.
Danger.
Real danger.
He could not take this blade head-on with his bare body.
Without hesitation, Toji reached into the Inventory Curse and drew out a pitch-black katana.
Special Grade Cursed Tool, Split Soul Katana.
The cursed blade ignored the hardness of matter and cut directly at the soul. As it moved, it left a cold black streak through the air.
Clang!
Sparks burst everywhere.
The burning arc of Circle Dance collided with the black edge of the Split Soul Katana.
Two bodies that had pushed physical strength beyond common sense met in the most direct way possible.
A violent shockwave exploded from the clash, spreading outward in a ring. The nearby stone pillars cracked from the impact.
"You can actually block the Split Soul Katana?"
Toji felt the weight transmitted through his blade and grinned.
He used the force to retreat, slipping through the shattered ruins like a ghost before swinging backhanded without warning.
"Then try this."
His speed climbed again.
The Split Soul Katana cut out a dense net of black afterimages, searching for any gap in Yami's defense.
"Too slow."
Yami's eyes were cold.
Shiranui traced a brilliant ring through the air.
Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky.
A vertical circular slash rose from below, flames surging with it, sealing every route Toji's blade could take.
Clang, clang, clang!
The blades collided in rapid succession.
Toji quickly realized that Yami's swordsmanship was not only powerful, but suffocatingly complete. Every slash carried heat like the sun itself, and even the Split Soul Katana could not easily pierce through that layered web of fire.
Sun Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Sun of the Red Mirror.
Yami stepped forward instead of retreating.
Two horizontal arcs of flame swept out like burning mirrors, parrying Toji's side attack while cutting back toward his throat.
"Tsk."
Toji tapped the ground with his toes. His body twisted in midair at an angle that looked almost impossible, barely slipping past the blades.
For the first time, shock rose in his eyes.
This man's swordsmanship was too perfect.
Every form connected to the next without hesitation. There were no wasted movements, no gaps, no hesitation born from thought.
It did not feel like a man swinging a sword.
It felt like a killing art given human shape.
"It's not over."
The instant Toji landed, he shot forward again like a released spring.
Using the explosive power of his Heavenly Restriction, he kicked off the wall several times and dove toward Yami's blind spot from above.
Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Illusory Sun Arc.
Yami's figure blurred.
Toji's Split Soul Katana pierced straight through his chest.
There was no resistance.
No blood.
No sensation of cutting flesh.
An afterimage.
Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Fire Wheel.
The real Yami had already risen into the air. His body flipped once, and using the force of rotation, he brought Shiranui down in a high-speed spinning slash.
Boom!
Toji raised his sword horizontally to block.
The impact smashed him straight into the ground.
Cracks spread beneath his feet like a spiderweb.
"It's not over yet."
Yami landed.
His stance changed again.
Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Burning Sun.
Shiranui spun through the air, releasing spiraling slashes of flame.
The cuts were not merely physical. They carried a burning sensation that clawed at both body and soul.
Even with Toji's iron will, the heat made his movements lag for a fraction of a second.
That fraction was enough.
Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sun Halo Thrust.
Yami seized the opening.
All the heat along Shiranui's blade gathered at the tip, compressing into a thin red line that stabbed straight toward Toji's heart.
"Damn it."
Toji twisted his body by force and barely caught the thrust with the Split Soul Katana.
The force behind the strike sent him sliding more than ten meters back.
Sun Breathing, Eighth Form: Flying Wheel Sun Flare.
Yami pressed forward immediately.
The tip of Shiranui trembled at high speed, blurring like heat haze.
Toji clearly saw the blade slashing toward his shoulder. He shifted sideways by instinct.
But the slash changed.
Shhk!
The blade that should have missed appeared across his chest instead, carving open a charred wound deep enough to show bone.
For the first time, Toji's expression truly changed.
A slash that deceived the eyes.
Sun Breathing, Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation.
Yami flipped upside down in midair, his body turning in a way that defied conventional swordsmanship. Shiranui swept upward from a low, impossible angle, cutting toward Toji's lower body.
Bang!
Toji kicked off the ground and barely escaped the blade.
His once-clean black shirt was now soaked with blood and scorched black in several places. His breathing grew heavier, and the look in his eyes sharpened into something darker.
"Ten moves."
Toji wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at Yami, who had landed steadily in front of him.
"Ten completely different sword techniques."
His grin returned, but the ease from before was gone.
"What the hell are you?"
Yami slowly raised Shiranui.
The Demon Slayer Mark on his cheek burned brighter.
"You still haven't seen the final one."
He took a deep breath.
His blood surged faster, his heartbeat rising to its absolute limit.
"In that case…"
The air around him distorted from the heat.
Sun Breathing, Tenth Form: Bright Sun's Grace.
Yami shot upward.
High above the floor of the Tomb of the Star Corridor, Shiranui erupted with a blinding red light. For an instant, it was as if a small sun had appeared beneath the underground dome.
Then he descended.
A spiraling slash of flame fell with him, unstoppable, merciless, burning everything in its path.
The entire Tomb of the Star Corridor was swallowed by light and heat.
Rumble!
The earth shook.
Stone cracked.
Dust and flame filled the underground palace.
When the smoke began to clear, Toji slowly straightened his body.
He was covered in blood.
A large chunk of flesh had been torn from his left shoulder by the spiraling sword energy of Bright Sun's Grace. Blood ran down his arm, dripping from his fingers onto the broken stone below.
But the contempt on his face had vanished.
In its place was a terrifying light, the look of a beast that had finally found prey capable of threatening its life.
"So that's what you meant by slow?"
Toji's voice was low and hoarse.
He reached toward the Inventory Curse wrapped around him.
Madness began to surface in his eyes.
"Fine."
His fingers tightened.
"Then I'll show you what real despair looks like."
.....
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