You know what? You blew past 550... You hit 610 PS...
I'm TIRED. My fingers can't take it anymore. I do NOT want you donating more power stones.
So I'm setting an IMPOSSIBLE record, so you stop busting my balls, don't reach it, and finally leave me alone:
820 PS. š¤
There. Impossible. Nobody's hitting that. I'll finally get some sleep... right? š
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The battle escalated at full speed.
Sanemi's hysterical screams didn't stop for a second, echoing among those present.
And yet, the expected metallic ringing of clashing swords could hardly be heard. Instead, what filled the air was the sound of the blade tearing through flesh and the constant gush of blood.
"Wind Breathing, Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist!"
The blade, wrapped in a cyan whirlwind, threw an upward slash loaded with immeasurable rage.
Even so, Marcus simply swung his own sword and cut cleanly through Sanemi's body.
In his eyes, the three red arrows coiled around the Wind Pillar's arm were the best guarantee he could have.
The cyan flash of the blade died out and a spray of blood splashed into the air.
Marcus was still on his feet, without even a shift in the rhythm of his breathing.
Sanemi, however, had already dropped to his knees, panting with difficulty.
Another cut was added to his body. By now he was up to five fresh wounds over his scar-riddled skin: one on his left shoulder, two on the ribs of his right side, and another on his thigh, so deep it left the bone exposed.
Not to mention the slash across his abdomen, which ran all the way through him.
None of them fatalā¦ and that was exactly what was causing him the most unbearable pain.
"Get up."
Marcus tilted his head. "Weren't you saying you were going to kill me?"
Clenching his teeth hard, Sanemi tried to get to his feet, but his legs failed him and he collapsed again.
He had lost too much bloodā¦
A graveyard silence took hold of the place.
Rengoku was at the entrance of the courtyard, his hair gleaming under the sun, though his face had turned serious.
"He's too fastā¦" he murmured. "Sanemi's speed is among the best, but that young manā¦"
"It's not speed." Obanai's voice reached him from behind. "It's strange."
Narrowing his eyes, he fixed his gaze on Marcus.
"Every time Sanemi attacks, the tip of his sword veers off course. And it's not that he's missingā¦ something is deflecting it."
"Thatā¦" Mitsuri brought her hands to her mouth, staring at Marcus without blinking. "That pink lightā¦ it's beautifulā¦"
And Tokito, who for once didn't have his eyes set on the sky but on the pink light that kept appearing and disappearing around Marcus.
'Could it be a breathing technique?' he asked himself. 'Or a Blood Demon Art?'
Meanwhile, GyÅmei was still crying, but his eyes were "looking" precisely in Marcus's direction.
"What sorrowā¦ a human wielding the power of a demonā¦"
Being blind, he was, in fact, the only one of those present capable of "seeing" the existence of the Koketsu Arrows.
Behind Marcus, Giyū kept his face impassive. But if one looked closely, you could tell he was gripping the hilt of his sword tighter.
"He's gotten strongerā¦" he whispered under his breath. "More so than on Mount Natagumoā¦"
Shinobu, at his side, laughed bitterly. "Tomioka-san, even if the two of us went at him together right now, would you have the confidence to stop him?"
Giyū stayed silent for a moment, and then nodded.
"If we put our lives on the line."
For his part, Tanjiro was letting his eyes wander across his surroundings: Nezuko, Kanao, Ivy, Pearl, andā¦ Shinobu.
He had a subtle expression on his face, as if he wanted to say something but didn't dare.
He knew the particular quirk of Marcus's Breathing Technique well. The more women there were around him, the stronger he became. That was why, when he heard Shinobu's words, something stirred inside him.
He was dying to tell her.
MY BROTHER'S STRENGTH IS DUE, IN LARGE PART, TO YOU, MISS!
But he bit his tongue and kept it to himself.
Meanwhile, the battle was far from over.
Seeing that Sanemi was still on his knees, unable to get up, Marcus walked over at a calm pace and crouched down to be at his level.
"Do you give up?"
Sanemi, his eyes bloodshot, shot the look back at him loaded with fury.
"Never."
"Then shall we continue?"
"..."
Sanemi kept silent, but the fire in his eyes only burned more intensely.
"Let's keep going!"
Marcus smiled.
"How persistent."
Getting back on his feet, he swept his gaze over those present. "Anyone else want to try their luck?"
His eyes passed, one by one, over every Hashira.
Rengoku didn't move, but the itch to fight gleamed in his gaze. It wasn't that he lacked guts, he simply didn't want to fight two-on-one or take part in a tag-team match.
Against a demon any method was fair game, but against a human he had his principles.
Mitsuri, on the other hand, was looking at Marcus with her eyes lit up.
"Marcus-san standing up to a Pillar all by himselfā¦ it's so impressiveā¦ so coolā¦"
Tokito remained impassive, with nobody able to guess what was going through his head.
Gyomei kept his hands together, rolling the rosary beads between his fingers.
Then, a voice emerged.
"Me."
Obanai stepped forward, with Kaburamaru hissing at his neck.
His sharp eyes locked onto Marcus. "I can't stand those demonic things you use."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"You can see them?"
Obanai drew his sword and positioned himself next to Sanemi.
"They're red arrows, aren't they? Kaburamaru just told me."
That caught Marcus off guard.
But he quickly realized: serpents perceive heat in infrared. Blood Demon Art is Blood Demon Art, when all's said and done ā these techniques are born of blood. Just because it can fool the human eye doesn't mean it's invisible to a serpent's eyes.
"Excellent! Then come at me both of you, it'll be much more entertaining this way."
Sanemi shot Obanai a sidelong glance. It looked like he was going to say something, but in the end he just gritted his teeth with his face red, got up however he could, and gripped his sword tightly again.
"Less talk," he spat out in a hoarse voice. "Keep going!"
Licking his lips, Marcus raised his two swords as the Breath of Desire started to flow around him once again.
"Then let's keep going."
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