When Tanjiro heard Luo En's words, he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to suppress his surging anger, and temporarily calmed down.
At the same time—
"Poof! Crackle, crackle, crackle—!"
The Extreme Ice Drill ruthlessly plunged into the barrier made of arms! Its terrifying penetrating power instantly pierced through the outermost layer of several arms, emitting a dull tearing sound.
However, the Hand Demon's arms were simply too numerous and incredibly tough. After tearing through more than ten of them, the ice drill's speed noticeably slowed.
But the extreme coldness, like a plague, spread wildly!
"Roar!"
The Hand Demon let out a roar of pain and fury.
Those arms directly hit by the ice drill and affected by the cold air were covered in thick, solid ice at a visible rate, and emitted sounds of cracking under the strain!
The biting coldness crept along the connected arms, invading his massive body!
"What kind of power is this?!"
For the first time, the Hand Demon felt genuine apprehension.
He suddenly shook, actually tearing off a dozen or so arms that had been frozen into ice lumps!
There was no blood at the break, only flying ice crystal fragments.
He stared intently at Luo En, his eyes devoid of amusement, only rage and a hint of surprise remaining:
"Brat! What is this power of yours?! This is not Water Breathing at all!"
Luo En, having failed to achieve complete success with one strike, did not linger. He lightly tapped his toes on the cold ground and gracefully retreated, avoiding the Hand Demon's furious swings from his remaining arms.
His breathing was steady, and visible white cold mist swirled around him, as if he were enveloped in a frosty fog.
"This power is specifically for sending you to hell!"
Luo En's nichirin blade pointed diagonally, the surging magic power within him coordinating with his Breathing Technique.
Each breath brought forth visible white cold mist, and the ice crystal condensed on the blade reflected the moonlight, emitting a cold, eerie glow.
"Let's see if your regeneration can keep up with the speed at which I cut you down?"
The Hand Demon was completely enraged by this cold indifference, as if he were nothing. Blood vessels instantly filled his eyeballs.
"Arrogant brat!"
His massive body erupted with astonishing speed, disproportionate to his size, crushing forward like a mountain of flesh.
Having experienced the potency of the cold air in the previous attack, the dozens of arms he regenerated this time were no longer mindlessly grabbing but rather well-coordinated.
Some transformed into fleshy fists to smash, while others became sharp claws to tear, attacking Luo En simultaneously from all directions.
His intention was to crush him, along with that strange cold air, using the purest force!
Facing this overwhelming offensive, Luo En's eyes sharpened. He took a deep breath, and the magic power within him surged like a tide.
"Ice Breathing, Second Form — Ice Wheel Whirlwind!"
Luo En's figure suddenly spun at high speed, and his nichirin blade transformed into a silver halo in his hand!!
This time, the extremely cold air infused with magic that he exhaled was drawn by the sword wind, condensing along his spinning trajectory into several colossal ice wheels, thin as cicada wings yet incredibly sharp!
In an instant, several giant ice wheels, each over a meter in diameter and with edges bristling with sharp ice teeth, spun furiously, cutting around Luo En's body!
The high-speed circulating cold air and sword wind combined, emitting a shrieking sound as they cut through the air, stirring up a biting ice storm and sending ice fragments flying everywhere!
"Puff, puff, puff, puff—Crack! Crackle, crackle!"
The Hand Demon's smashing fists and tearing claws, upon contact with this frosty storm, were like meat willingly fed into a grinder!
The tough flesh and skin instantly disintegrated and vaporized under the extreme low temperature and high-speed cutting!!
There was no flesh and blood flying at the wounds, only purplish-blue tissue frozen solid and white mist that instantly evaporated!!
That bone-chilling cold, like maggots, wildly poured back into the wounds.
The Hand Demon's proud regenerative power, under the deep, bone-marrow-penetrating cold erosion, completely froze, necrotized, and its regeneration speed visibly became sluggish and difficult!
The ice wheels did not disappear after completing their cutting storm.
Two of them, propelled by Luo En's centrifugal force, flew out like giant thrown frisbees, carrying a piercing whoosh through the air, spinning towards the Hand Demon's massive torso!
"Damn it! What kind of Breathing Technique is this?!"
The Hand Demon was filled with anger and shock. For the first time, he realized his regenerative power could be completely suppressed!
He abruptly pulled back, actively tearing off the arms that were deeply eroded by the cold. At the break, flesh began to wriggle, but it was covered in a layer of white frost, growing exceptionally slowly.
In a hurry, he could only use a few relatively intact arms to block.
"Bang! Crack!"
The ice wheel heavily struck the arms. Although it was barely blocked and did not cut into the torso, the immense impact made the Hand Demon stumble.
At the same time, the cold air contained within the ice wheel once again froze the blocking arms stiff and brittle!
The Hand Demon watched the ice wheel shatter and dissipate after being blocked, then sneered and actively broke off the frozen parts that had come into contact with the cold.
Although the speed was still very slow, new flesh was already wriggling and regenerating at the break.
"Hehehe... interesting! But just cutting off arms won't kill me!"
He regenerated while staring intently at Luo En, guarding against any sudden attack.
Luo En's spin stopped, tiny frost had condensed on his forehead, and he was slightly out of breath; Ice Wheel Whirlwind had consumed a considerable amount of his stamina.
He looked at the Hand Demon, temporarily forced back, whose regeneration speed was clearly slowed due to the cold air and multiple extensive regenerations, and his killing intent grew even stronger.
"Hmph, don't rush... This is just the warm-up!"
Luo En gripped his nichirin blade with both hands, pointing it straight at the sky. Massive magic power wildly gathered above.
He pushed his Breathing Technique and magic power to their limits, and the surrounding temperature plummeted once again. Tiny ice crystal snowflakes even condensed in the air, falling in a flurry.
"Ice Breathing, Fifth Form, Modified — Heavenly Weeping, Infinite Ice Prison!!"
As he swung his nichirin blade towards the Hand Demon, in the high heavens, magic power instantly condensed, as if an invisible entity began to weep!
Countless ice needles, fine as ox hair yet hard as steel, shimmered with a deadly, eerie blue cold light.
Like a cold rain of tears falling from the sky, they descended with a mournful whistle, pouring down like a waterfall, precisely targeting the Hand Demon's huge, unwieldy body that was difficult to dodge!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!"
The dense rain of ice needles instantly covered the Hand Demon!
He let out a desperate roar, futilely shielding his relatively vulnerable head and neck with his remaining arms.
However, the number of ice needles was simply too great, and their penetrating power was extreme!
Countless ice needles deeply pierced his massive body, riddled with fat and stitched marks, making him look like a porcupine!
Each ice needle contained a cold poison that froze life, spreading wildly inward the moment it pierced!
The Hand Demon's body surface rapidly became covered in a thick, continuously spreading layer of white frost, and his movements became extremely stiff and sluggish.
Even his painful roars seemed to be frozen in his throat, emitting strange "ho-ho" sounds, with only his eyeballs still able to roll in terror.
Luo En seized this excellent opportunity, his eyes blazing with cold light, his leg muscles bulging, and he once again assumed the starting stance for a thrust.
"It's over! Take your sins and repent in the ice hell!"
"Ice Breathing, Seventh Form —!"
He did not call out the name of the technique, because all his power was poured into this single thrust!
His figure vanished from its spot, leaving only a dark blue straight line piercing through heaven and earth!
"Poof—!"
The first impact was not the blade, but a cone-shaped air blast formed by extreme cold, shattering all of the Hand Demon's arms that were protecting his neck and had already become brittle from freezing!
"No—!!!" The Hand Demon let out a final wail in his heart.
"Crack————!!!"
The blade tip, following closely behind, accurately pierced into his exposed neck, the only part not completely covered by ice needles!
Extreme cold and sword technique erupted at this point of impact!
There was no decapitation, but a complete internal explosion!
The connection between the Hand Demon's grotesque head and his massive body was instantly pierced and pulverized by an irresistible ice-blue energy!!
Finally, his entire body, like a shattered ice sculpture, disintegrated inch by inch, turning into a sky full of shimmering ice dust, reflecting its last light under the moonlight, and then returning to nothingness.
The battle ended, Luo En breathing slightly, calming his breath, each exhalation carrying white mist.