Chapter 79: That Glimmer of Light
A bone-chilling cold shot up Makomo's spine, a primal warning of an attack from her blind spot.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"
Unable to halt her forward momentum, she could only pivot on her heel, twisting her body into a defensive vortex of razor-sharp water and steel. The hand, grotesque and pale, lunged for her back. With a sharp hiss, Makomo's Nichirin Blade carved through the wrist, severing the limb cleanly.
But before a single drop of demonic blood could even touch the ground, flesh and bone writhed, knitting back together. In a sickening instant, a perfect, new hand had sprouted from the stump.
Still, the brief exchange had bought her precious seconds. Makomo used the momentum of her spin to launch herself away, once again putting distance between herself and the demon.
"Hyo, hyo! A fine stroke indeed, though it means little to me," the demon, Gyokko, cackled from within his pot. "Still, for a human, you are quite formidable, are you not? Hmm… so beautiful, and so powerful. My fingers tremble with anticipation! You will make an exquisite work of art. Yes, one of my most perfect creations in a century!"
Makomo ignored his gleeful, self-absorbed monologue. Her mind was racing, analyzing how he had appeared behind her so suddenly. After a swift scan of her surroundings, her gaze locked onto the ornate pot beneath him. She was certain it had been in its original position just moments ago.
'Can he move freely between his pots?'
The realization struck her with chilling certainty.
Her focused stare did not go unnoticed. "Oh my, are you admiring my pot? Do you like it?" Gyokko's voice was cloyingly sweet. "If you do, I have many more right here~"
Before his words had even faded, the multiple arms sprouting from Gyokko's torso each produced another pot. With a flick of his wrists, he scattered them across the clearing, surrounding Makomo in a wide circle.
Seeing the trap closing in, Makomo tensed, preparing to leap out of the encirclement. But she was too late. The pots began to shake violently, then swelled in an instant, growing larger than a man.
Immediately after, the ground beneath each pot churned. A horde of grotesque fish-like monsters, each with fleshy legs sprouting from its belly and a maw full of needle-like teeth, clawed their way out of the earth. The giant pots were fused smoothly to their backs.
"Let my little darlings entertain you properly~" Gyokko waved a hand languidly. At his command, more than ten of the fish monsters swarmed Makomo at once.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
Unsure of their weaknesses, Makomo moved like a river current, her blade weaving through the monstrous school. She decapitated each creature while simultaneously severing the connection to the pot on its back, ensuring they wouldn't regenerate. The coordinated assault was effective, felling all the fish monsters, but the constant, fluid movements took a significant toll on her stamina.
"Excellent! Truly excellent! You resolved that little crisis with such ease," Gyokko chirped, his tone dripping with condescending praise. "Judging by that display of strength, you must be a Hashira, correct? This is the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting such a beautiful one. I simply must add you to my collection."
Before Makomo could even catch her breath, Gyokko raised a hand and conjured another pot—this one bearing the same seaweed pattern as the first she had seen. Two shimmering, ethereal goldfish floated out of its mouth, their bodies glowing faintly in the dark. They opened their mouths in unison, spitting a dense cloud of bone-white spines directly at her.
"Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill!"
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent!"
Facing the overwhelming barrage, Makomo pushed her body to its limits, her blade a blur as she deflected and dodged with everything she had.
"Ugh!"
A sharp, searing pain tore through her left shoulder. She hadn't been fast enough. A single bone spine had pierced clean through the muscle, its force carrying it out the other side in a spray of crimson.
'That spine… it's poisoned!'
A terrifying numbness was already spreading from the wound, her shoulder rapidly losing all sensation. Makomo's heart sank. She could feel it—this demon wasn't even trying. He was toying with her, like a cat with a cornered mouse. And even then, she was struggling just to survive. Now, with a paralytic poison coursing through her veins, her situation was about to become infinitely more dangerous.
"Oh dear, it seems I used a tad too much force," Gyokko lamented with false sympathy. "Thankfully, I didn't injure your beautiful head. I would never want to use flawed materials to create my art."
He tilted his head, a grotesque parody of curiosity. "Well then, shall we continue? I'll be much gentler this time."
"Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill."
He used the same technique, but now only one of the goldfish attacked. A relentless hail of bone spines swept towards her, forcing Makomo into a desperate retreat. She managed to avoid any new injuries, for now, but the toxin in her body was slowly spreading. Though she was consciously using her Breathing Technique to restrict blood flow around the wound, it was only a minor delay. Gyokko's ceaseless attacks gave her no time to even reach for an antidote.
As the minutes dragged on, the combination of the spreading poison and her dwindling stamina began to take its effect. Makomo's movements grew sluggish, her speed uncontrollably waning.
After enduring who knew how many waves of attacks, she felt something strange under her foot as she landed. Her exhausted legs refused to respond in time.
"Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Pot!"
At the exact spot where her foot touched down, a pot with a swirling wave pattern had been buried. As Gyokko activated his Blood Demon Art, a thick, gelatinous fluid erupted from the pot's mouth. It wasn't water; it was a suffocating, viscous prison that slammed into Makomo, enveloping her completely before she could even cry out.
An intense feeling of suffocation and crushing, omnipresent pressure made her struggle instinctively. But it was useless. Deprived of air, she couldn't maintain her Breathing Technique. Her Nichirin Blade couldn't find purchase, sliding harmlessly off the bizarre liquid. Her entire body was encased, suspended helplessly in mid-air.
"How do you like that? Isn't this method much gentler?" Gyokko drifted closer to the floating prison, his voice filled with smug satisfaction. "It won't leave a single wound on your body. I have truly gone to great lengths to preserve the beauty of my material."
It wouldn't be long now. Trapped within the water prison, Makomo would suffocate, and he would obtain a rare and exquisite specimen for his collection.
Time ticked by, each second an eternity. Makomo's struggles grew weaker. Without the control of her Breathing Technique, she could no longer suppress the poison. Starting from her left shoulder, the paralysis crept down her arm, up her neck, and into her legs until her entire body felt like lead.
The need for oxygen became an all-consuming fire in her lungs. Her head spun, and her vision began to blur and fade.
'Is this… the end? But I haven't even…'
Just as she was about to surrender to the encroaching darkness, a flicker in her hazy vision caught her eye. Beyond the ugly, muttering demon, there was something else.
It was a glimmer of light. A light she knew with every fiber of her being.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
A streak of incandescent lightning tore through the dark night, a thunderous roar that shattered the silence and illuminated Makomo's fading heart.
The water prison exploded. Makomo's body fell, limp and weak, from mid-air—straight into a familiar, waiting embrace.
"I'm sorry," a low voice murmured, filled with regret. "I'm late."
Looking up at the face she knew so well, Makomo felt a wave of deep relief wash over her. A faint smile touched her lips, and then she slipped into unconsciousness.
Even as she fainted, the Breathing Technique that had become pure instinct kicked in once more, fighting to suppress the poison's spread. Kanzaki Akira, already holding an antidote vial, quickly administered it. While it couldn't neutralize the demon's toxin completely, it would buy them precious time.
"My, my. The support arrived rather quickly," Gyokko's voice echoed from a nearby pot. "And judging from that strike, your strength seems to be far greater than that of the little girl in your arms."
Akira's attack had come from behind, nearly cleaving both him and the water prison in two. Only by retracting into his pot at the last possible second had he escaped.
But even so, the thought of losing never crossed his mind. After all, Akira's attack had been a complete surprise. He was so confident that he even had the leisure to appraise his new opponent's appearance.
"Hmm~ not bad looking at all. It seems I'll be able to collect a second piece of fine material tonight," he mused aloud. "I really am quite lucky."
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