"This is impossible!!!"
Kokushibo roared, unleashing his full strength in a desperate flurry of blade techniques, trying to kill Kairo Retsu.
But all of his attacks—despite sending up cascades of sparks upon impact—failed to inflict even a scratch. They couldn't even slow down Kairo's advance.
Why?!
Why did such monsters always appear in this world?!
Why was it always him who had to face them?!
Kokushibo howled, accelerating his slashes—countless blows rained down on Kairo Retsu, sparks bursting forth like firecrackers.
And yet, all his relentless effort amounted to…
"Mmmph! Mmgh-mgh-mmghmmgh!!"
Right then, Kazuma had stuffed his mouth full of Potions, chugging Max Potions and Ancient Potions between breaths. Occasionally, he even tossed Lifepowder into the air.
That's right—Kairo was still standing in the Immovable Armor only because Kazuma was relentlessly healing him from the backlines.
Forced into this role, Kazuma looked like he was on the verge of tears—downing potion after potion to keep Kairo alive. His angry cursing was incomprehensible, thanks to his stuffed cheeks, but it was undoubtedly vulgar.
Because of this, Kazuma had to focus entirely on chugging, so Tanjiro ended up carrying him on his back during the approach—thankfully, Tanjiro was already quite used to carrying people while running.
Earlier, the party had split into two.
Joseph Joestar's side had chosen the bare minimum number of people to support Kairo against Kokushibo. Surprisingly, Tanjiro had been picked to go with Joseph and Kazuma.
He didn't understand how Hunters drinking potions healed other people, but judging from how frantically Kazuma was drinking, Tanjiro knew the battle was likely far more intense than he could have imagined.
Perhaps, at that very moment, the Guildmaster of the Hunters was fighting with full resolve—bathing in blood to fulfill his role.
After all…
Tanjiro clenched his fists with determination.
Back in the battle against Akaza, that Guildmaster had risked his very life to protect them.
So Tanjiro was determined—
He had to go support him. Immediately.
"AAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHH!!!"
Meanwhile, over in Kairo's fight, Kokushibo had completely lost it.
His unending barrage of slashes had begun spilling out in all directions, threatening even the rest of the battlefield.
Genya, being the most vulnerable in direct combat, would've been seriously injured had Sanemi Shinazugawa not jumped in front of him, intercepting the wild strikes.
"Oi, oi… this guy's way beyond Upper Rank Six!!"
Tengen Uzui stared at the blood-drenched Kokushibo, his forehead damp with sweat—though the slicing wind from the attacks quickly dried it.
"Namu… he's overexerting his body. Even a demon can't unleash this kind of power without harming themselves," Gyomei Himejima calmly noted Kokushibo's condition.
"If that eyeball bastard is a monster…
Then what does that make him—the one forcing him to go this far?" Sanemi pounded his fist into the ground as he watched Kairo, roaring with laughter while exchanging blows with Kokushibo.
"And yet we… can't do anything!"
Currently, Kairo and Kokushibo were trading blows, wounding one another.
Kairo could feel his life draining under Kokushibo's onslaught—
Only to be restored just as fast by the Wide-Range healing effect.
The rollercoaster of life and death made it impossible not to laugh.
But more important than anything right now—was sharpening his blade!
As Kokushibo shouted at him, Kairo shouted right back while hacking away:
"Spirit Slash! Spirit Slash! Spirit Slash!! Spirit Roundslash!! Right click, left click, right click, left click—!!"
Kokushibo had no idea what was going on inside Kairo's body.
All he saw was Kairo continuing to wound him—and that massive longsword gradually glowing…
From white—
To yellow—
To red.
And with each hue, the damage increased.
"Enough! You monsters!!!"
Kokushibo screamed, but neither his sword techniques nor Blood Demon Art could harm Kairo in the slightest.
"Why do beings like you even exist in this world?!"
"Why do you defy the very laws of reality?!"
"WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"
With that cry, more blades erupted from Kokushibo's body.
The storm of slashes doubled in size, even beginning to tear apart Infinity Castle itself.
This demon before them had long ceased to resemble a man.
His enraged howls clued Kairo in—he could tell what Kokushibo was thinking…
This Hunter, so far beyond common sense, had triggered Kokushibo's trauma—
Forcing him to remember Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
Kairo's words had driven Kokushibo to target him and him alone.
This wasn't sustainable.
Even without the Transparent World, Kairo could tell—Kokushibo's body was warping, tearing itself apart as it explosively regenerated.
So—
Kairo stepped forward and drove his Great Sword straight through Kokushibo's torso:
"Demons… are such hollow and pitiful beings!!"
"No worries!! We'll personally send you to hell for atonement!!"
He twisted the blade within Kokushibo's body, tearing at his flesh, relentlessly attacking.
"Your twisted life ends today!!"
"We!!"
Kairo suddenly leapt backward, withdrawing his blade just before his Immovable Armor expired.
He assumed a stance—preparing for Iai.
"Have prepared the perfect death for a hollow wretch like you!!!"
"So just roll over and atone in hell!!"
But his words didn't stop Kokushibo.
In fact, they made him even more unhinged.
His raised arm began to glow—charging an ultimate attack with tremendous force.
And then—
A glint of light caught his eye, making his pupils contract.
It was a Scoutfly—turning from green to red.
In that fleeting moment of distraction—his technique landed on Kairo.
"IAI SPIRIT SLASH!!"
In that instant—
A razor-sharp light carved a single line across Kokushibo's vision.
Kairo's movement seemed to transcend time—
That massive Great Sword flashed horizontally from its sheath—
A perfect Iai Slash that nearly cut Kokushibo in half at the waist.
Kokushibo's towering form staggered—on the verge of collapsing—
And in that final moment—he saw—
Tanjiro.
Carrying Kazuma on his back, finally arriving at the scene.
He saw the markings—so like Yoriichi's.
He saw the earrings, and the katana.
Kokushibo, whose body was about to fall, was pierced through from within—
Held up by countless flesh-forged swords.
And with his remaining breath—
He screamed:
"YORIIICHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIII—!!!!"