Chapter 96 — Akira vs Akaza!
"Where is it?! Where's Yukinoshita Akira's katana?!"
The shout tore through the still night air. Hikigaya Hachiman came stumbling back into the campsite, gasping for breath, his voice cracking like a whip rather than calling for help.
"Akira's katana? What do you need it for?"
Yukinoshita Yukino, who had just stepped out from one of the cabins, immediately tensed up.
As someone who had trained as a Demon Slayer herself, she knew how crucial a Nichirin Blade was. Hearing someone suddenly demand it with that level of urgency—it could only mean one thing.
"There's no time to explain! Hand me the katana—now! And wake everyone up! We have to evacuate immediately!"
"What happened?!"
"I said there's no time! Just do it! Give me the katana and get everyone out of here!"
"You're asking for a Nichirin Blade in such a hurry… don't tell me—you encountered a demon?"
"…You know about demons too?"
For a brief second, Hachiman froze. But then it made sense—of course she knew. They were from the same family line, after all.
"Yes. In the small forest just past the clearing… a demon appeared. Akira's fighting it right now. He sent me back to retrieve his katana."
"Then leave it to me."
Without wasting another breath, Yukino turned on her heel and dashed back into the wooden building.
She grabbed two blades—her own and Akira's—and sprinted toward the forest, her footsteps silent but swift.
"Yukinoshita—damn it." Hachiman clenched his teeth, his jaw tight. Then, without hesitation, he turned in the opposite direction. "Komachi…!"
He didn't care about anyone else. As long as his little sister was safe, that was enough.
— — —
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, the battle between man and demon raged on.
Every clash of their fists cracked the air like thunder. The sheer shockwaves tore through leaves and dirt, sending debris swirling like a storm.
One was a demon whose body had transcended human limits.
The other—a man who had mastered the Sun Breathing technique and awakened the mark of the Demon Slayer.
"As I thought… you're incredible, Yukinoshita Shin Akira," Akaza said, his voice filled with exhilaration. "It's been centuries since I've met a human who could fight me like this—and last this long."
"You're strong too," Akira replied calmly. "The strongest demon I've fought so far."
"Hahahaha! Then become a demon, Yukinoshita Akira! If you do, we can fight forever!"
"Sorry. I refuse. Living under someone else's command… isn't my way."
"Then I'll crush you myself," Akaza growled, grinning with feral delight. "And when I do, I'll devour you—slowly. Bite by bite. Because you are the first human I've ever acknowledged!"
Despite being rejected again, Akaza didn't grow angry. On the contrary—his excitement only burned brighter.
The air pulsed. His power surged. His body moved faster, heavier, deadlier.
As a demon, Akaza's physical strength and durability were far beyond human comprehension. For a normal Demon Slayer, the gap was insurmountable.
Even with Sun Breathing, a human's power was finite. Their stamina, their speed—their very life—had limits.
But Akaza? He was eternal.
"Sun Breathing: Flame Dance!"
A blinding light burst through the darkness.
Akira's entire body was wreathed in blazing fire, golden and radiant like sunlight breaking through dawn.
The heat shimmered around him, and his aura expanded until even the air seemed to tremble.
He didn't restrict himself to swordsmanship alone. As the inheritor of Chains of Heaven – Enkidu, his strength may have been sealed in part, but his instincts and battle experience remained unmatched.
He moved like a beast unleashed—wild, fluid, unpredictable.
Now, combined with Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Sun Breathing, Akira's martial rhythm became something beyond human—burning brilliance and primal ferocity intertwined.
"Magnificent!" Akaza shouted, his voice trembling with awe. "Yukinoshita Akira—you are the strongest human I have ever met! No exceptions! This… this is thrilling!"
The two vanished in a flash.
A split second later, Akira's fist slammed into Akaza's abdomen.
The impact roared like an explosion, shaking the trees. Akaza's body twisted from the force, blood spraying from his lips as he was sent crashing backward through the forest.
For the first time in centuries—he bled.
But to a demon of his caliber, such a wound was meaningless.
If a human had taken that blow, it would've been fatal. But Akaza only wiped the blood from his mouth and smirked.
Within a single heartbeat—his injuries were gone.
That was what made demons so terrifying. Unless they were decapitated by a Nichirin Blade, they would regenerate indefinitely.
And an Upper Rank like Akaza? Even if you destroyed his limbs or shattered his torso, his body would reform before you could blink.
"It's such a shame, Yukinoshita Akira," Akaza said, his tone soft, almost sorrowful. "You should become a demon. For someone like you to die as a mere human… it's too tragic. Join us."
"I'll say it again—thanks, but no. Living under another's rule isn't my path."
"Then you're a fool… Yukinoshita Akira!!!"
The forest erupted once more.
Their fists clashed in a blur, faster than the human eye could follow. Each blow carried enough force to tear through stone.
Akaza's attacks grew more violent, his movements reckless.
Not out of rage—but desperation.
He couldn't bear it. He couldn't stand the idea that someone this strong, this pure, this worthy… would vanish from the world after one fleeting human life.
"Why won't you understand?!"
He pummeled forward, each strike faster than the last.
Akira parried and countered, but the longer the fight dragged on, the more his body faltered.
Blood ran down his arms. His shoulder burned. A deep gash split his temple, staining his vision red.
Meanwhile, Akaza's flesh healed with every second. Each time Akira wounded him, it was as if nothing had happened.
"You see it now, don't you?" Akaza said with quiet intensity. "Humans are weak. Look at yourself—you're bleeding, you're breaking. It's only a matter of time before you fall."
"You're mistaken, Akaza," Akira said, smiling faintly. "You forgot something."
"…What's that?"
"That I'm a swordsman."
The air shifted.
A sharp whistle cut through the night sky.
Akaza's eyes darted upward just in time to see a glint of steel spinning through the moonlight.
A voice echoed from afar. A familiar one.
"…Yukinoshita Yukino."
Standing in the distance, calm and composed, Yukino hurled the Nichirin Blade high into the air.
"Perfect timing," Akira murmured.
He reached out his hand.
The sword descended, and—
Clang!
His fingers closed around the hilt.
In one fluid motion, Akira drew the blade, its edge blazing like liquid sunlight beneath the moon.
The instant it left its sheath, everything changed.
The ground trembled.
The killing intent that radiated from him sharpened to a point so fine it felt like the very air could slice flesh.
His presence—his aura—had transformed.
Now, Yukinoshita Akira stood not as a man, but as the embodiment of the sun itself.
And for the first time… Akaza felt something deep in his chest—something he hadn't felt in centuries.
A chill.
A sliver of fear.
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