As Akaza spoke, he had already shifted fully into a combat stance.
Because in Vincent Fox's cold, indifferent gaze, he instantly recognized it.
This man was just like the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku.
Another fool who did not know what was good for him.
In that case, there was nothing left to say.
He would simply kill him.
Akaza stared at Vincent with complete confidence.
Under the threat of death, no one could truly ignore the temptation of eternal life.
His left hand clenched into a fist, his right hand opened into a palm.
Under his feet, the Compass Needle began spinning rapidly.
"Is that all?"
Vincent said coolly.
He swung his flaming Nichirin Blade and rushed forward.
In that instant, the world around them lit up as if it were daytime.
Following the guidance of his technique, Akaza twisted aside, narrowly dodging the slash. Even so, a mere brush of those flames cost him another arm.
Flesh sprouted.
His arm regrew.
"Destructive Death, Disorder!"
Akaza's shrill voice pierced everyone's ears as countless blows of compressed fighting spirit roared toward Vincent.
"Blazing Inferno."
Vincent swung his blade.
Fire roared to life once again.
Every strike slammed into the wall of flames and detonated, filling the air with explosive bursts of light.
For a moment, the world was nothing but fire and shockwaves.
Then, gradually, the blaze died down.
Akaza's onslaught disappeared with it.
But as a side effect, the distance between them had widened quite a bit.
"This range makes it inconvenient to cut your head off."
Vincent said lightly.
He kicked off the ground.
In a single step, he was back in Akaza's face.
He swung.
The Nichirin Blade came down again, but this time, guided perfectly by the Compass Needle, Akaza raised his left arm at just the right angle.
Crack.
The blade bit into his wrist bone and stuck there with a harsh screech.
"Why?" Akaza persisted, still trying to shake Vincent's resolve.
"Why refuse to become a noble demon like me?"
"Such flawless swordsmanship will vanish along with your aging body."
"That is still better than becoming some half human, half monster thing like you."
Vincent's tone was ice cold.
He ripped his blade free.
Blood sprayed in a bright arc.
It looked gruesome, but to Akaza, it was nothing more than a scratch.
"Then I will simply take your head."
Vincent raised his sword again.
But Akaza's body moved with eerie fluidity.
It was as if an invisible giant hand were manipulating his limbs, forcing his joints into twisted angles just to avoid each slash.
Even when bones audibly cracked under the strain, he did not care. His expression stayed as arrogant as ever.
"I am Upper Rank. You think you can kill me so easily?"
The mocking laughter in his voice was nonstop.
Blue light condensed around his fists again and again, bracing against Vincent's relentless strikes.
His wrist bones were frighteningly tough. Even with Vincent's power, he could not sever them in a single blow.
And under the effect of Compass Needle, every killing strike he aimed was perfectly read and blocked.
Rengoku opened his eyes.
The moment he saw how fierce the battle had become, he tried to step in.
"Wait."
Vincent noticed his movement and shouted.
"If your wound tears open again, it will be life-threatening."
Rengoku froze for a moment, then forced himself to stop.
He watched the fighting closely.
Right now, Akaza was moving far faster than he had when trading blows with Rengoku earlier.
If he had to face this speed and power alone, he would probably be killed within a few exchanges.
Looking at Vincent, standing alone and holding back an Upper Rank demon for their sake, Rengoku felt a strange, complicated emotion rise in his chest.
It had been a long time since anyone stood in front of him like this.
He let out a quiet sigh and remained where he was.
He could see that, while Vincent's attacks had yet to land a decisive blow, he was also not getting injured.
"If you cannot hold on any longer, let me take over. As long as we stall him until sunrise, we win."
Rengoku called out loudly, not caring whether Akaza heard that plan at all.
With their combined strength, they could not decapitate Akaza easily.
But delaying him until dawn was within reach.
Vincent did not answer.
Rengoku took that silence as agreement.
"Stall until sunrise?"
Akaza's expression flickered for a heartbeat, but he quickly broke into loud laughter.
"Then I will simply kill you before the sun rises."
"You, and the hundreds of passengers behind you. I will slaughter you all."
Vincent still did not respond.
He just kept swinging his sword.
One cut.
Two cuts.
Three cuts.
He kept slamming his blade into Akaza's wrist, over and over again.
Metal against bone, sending sparks flying into the air.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, Vincent put his full strength into the next swing.
Akaza's face changed dramatically.
The impact rocked half his body numb, even though the strike still failed to shatter his wrist bone.
His fist was knocked wide open.
Vincent did not hesitate.
His second slash came instantly, aimed straight for Akaza's throat.
For most demons, this was the true weak point.
Cut off the head, and even the strongest body would crumble into dust.
Watching the blade closing in on his neck, Akaza did not defend.
He attacked.
"Destructive Death, Foot Technique, Flying Planet Thousand Wheels!"
He kicked off the ground.
In front of Vincent, his entire body turned into a spinning meteor.
He whirled at high speed, both legs lashing out again and again toward Vincent like a storm of kicks.
Feeling the overwhelming ferocity of the technique, Vincent immediately raised his Armament Haki.
Jet black energy wrapped around his vital points, and he drew his blade back.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Each kick slammed into the Nichirin Blade, warping the steel with every impact.
The rapid-fire blows gouged deep trenches into the earth beneath Vincent's feet as he slid back.
"This is bad. The blade is about to break."
Hearing the strained creak of metal and seeing the deformed sword, Vincent made a swift decision.
He sheathed it.
Then drove his left fist straight forward.
Their attacks collided.
The sound of the impact shook the forest.
Vincent slid back one step, then dug in and stopped.
Akaza did not get off so lightly.
After all, Vincent's fist was not something to take head on.
His legs crashed directly into that punch.
In that instant, the bone structure of both legs twisted horribly out of shape.
Solid, powerful limbs were reduced to splinters.
Akaza vomited a mouthful of blood and was blasted backward.
"Do not even think about running."
With a sharp shout, Vincent exploded forward in pursuit.
That punch sent Akaza flying deep into the nearby forest.
He crashed to the ground and lay there for a moment, limp and broken.
Then he hurriedly activated his regeneration, forcing his ruined legs to knit back together.
They writhed and squirmed, bone and flesh rebuilding. Within two breaths, they were whole again.
By then, Vincent had already arrived.
His Nichirin Blade remained sheathed at his side.
He stood over Akaza, looking down on him coldly.
"Impressive strength. It seems you really are close to the pinnacle of martial arts."
Akaza wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and met Vincent's eyes seriously.
"The peak you are talking about is only my starting line."
Vincent's voice was calm.
"In order to keep more Demon Slayers from dying at your hands, I have to kill you tonight."
"Kill me?"
Akaza chuckled.
"I admit your power is impressive, but any wound you inflict on me heals in an instant."
"You, on the other hand, are just an ordinary human. One punch from me, and you need a long time to recover."
"In other words, I can make mistakes countless times."
"You cannot afford even a single one."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"