Gyokko no longer dared to spare any attention for killing the Sound Hashira and the others. He immediately leapt backward to evade, a pot with wave patterns appearing in his hands as he activated his Blood Demon Art.
From the pot burst forth vast quantities of highly viscous liquid. The area it covered was enormous, directly sealing off every possible path of advance for Kurosaki Rei.
Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Basin!
Gyokko's combat experience was extremely rich. The backward dodge and activation of his Blood Demon Art happened almost simultaneously, with solid tactical reasoning behind it. Kurosaki Rei was currently in a forward-charging posture, making it extremely difficult to evade the engulfing slime.
And even if Kurosaki Rei forcefully altered his charge trajectory and dodged the liquid, Gyokko would still have succeeded in neutralizing Kurosaki Rei's close-range threat.
The liquid from this Blood Demon Art was exceptionally soft yet resilient. Ordinary attacks couldn't pierce or break through the Water Prison Basin. Once trapped, escape was basically impossible—water cut off a swordsman's breathing, and without air, even the strongest Breathing Techniques became useless.
Just as Gyokko judged that Kurosaki Rei would either be trapped or be forced into a clumsy retreat, something unexpected happened.
Amid an ear-splitting crackle of electricity that roared through the air like thunder, a pitch-black blade wreathed in golden lightning carved a massive cross across the night sky.
Before that razor-sharp blade light, Gyokko's Water Prison Basin was cleaved apart, scattering in all directions. Kurosaki Rei maintained his slashing posture as he shot through the opening, his blade still locked firmly on Gyokko's neck.
"Damn it!"
Gyokko truly panicked this time. In shock and fury, he unleashed his full power. Amid the thunderous crash of trees collapsing and colliding, several massive octopus tentacles—each dozens of meters long—suddenly emerged.
Some of those elastic, powerful tentacles shielded Gyokko, while others lashed toward Kurosaki Rei, intent on entangling and crushing him.
Facing the heavy, crushing tentacles surging at him, Kurosaki Rei adjusted his breathing midair. Then, accompanied by a sound like galloping thunder, arcs of lightning flashed, severing multiple tentacles before they could reach his body.
He sprang free from the mass of writhing limbs and landed atop a fallen tree. He didn't immediately press the attack, instead glancing back at Tanjiro and the others.
"What are you waiting for? Go!"
Only then did Tanjiro snap back to his senses. This wasn't the time to marvel at Senior Brother Zenitsu's strength or provide commentary. He and Nezuko hurriedly carried the Sound Hashira and Zenitsu and charged down the mountain.
"Don't even think about escaping."
Lower Rank Five, Rui, spoke in his gloomy voice as he leapt into the air, spider webs spreading toward Tanjiro and the others. "Leave Nezuko behind."
But before his attack could land, a thick crimson blaze smashed into him.
Boom—
Under the violent impact and searing heat, Rui smashed through several massive trees before coming to a halt. More than half his body was burned into blackened charcoal as he lay there, his life or death unknown.
Kurosaki Rei slowly lowered his raised hand, his voice calm.
"I already said it, didn't I? This battlefield is mine now."
His killing intent locked onto every demon present.
"Didn't you like fishing so much? Come on—kill me."
Under Kurosaki Rei's overwhelming killing intent, many Explorers involuntarily trembled and took a step back. Their instinctive aversion to danger was screaming at them to flee.
If their guess was correct, the man before them was the one who had slain Upper Rank Six—Gyutaro and Daki—just two days ago. He was the opposing faction's "god-tier carry."
No report or description could compare to seeing it with their own eyes. At this moment, the eight demon-aligned Explorers present were crushed by Kurosaki Rei's pressure, struggling even to breathe.
What kind of oppression was this?
Gyutaro and that adventure party hadn't lost unfairly at all.
"Don't be afraid! He's alone, and we have coordination!"
One Explorer shouted, trying to rally morale—but not a single Explorer dared to make a move.
Indeed, they had assembled a lineup that could be called absurdly overpowered in the Demon Slayer world: an Upper Rank paired with Lower Rank One. Damage, control, AoE, single-target—they had everything.
But none of that power truly belonged to them.
The demons' inherent cold-bloodedness meant Gyokko and Enmu would never protect them. And Kurosaki Rei wasn't a native—he knew Enmu's abilities and wouldn't be easily controlled.
Even if Gyokko and Enmu perfectly coordinated and managed to kill Kurosaki Rei, Kurosaki Rei would almost certainly kill several of the Explorers before that happened.
"Xiao Lian, don't worry. I'll protect you."
A male Explorer shielded a female Explorer behind him. They were a couple, forming a two-person adventure party.
"A Luo… should we run?" Xiao Lian whispered over team voice. "Maybe we can intercept the Sound Hashira downhill and snatch a chest."
She felt that the man who had become the Thunder Hashira was far too dangerous. They had originally believed that Lower Rank One paired with an Upper Rank was a rock-solid teamfight combo—but now it seemed far from invincible.
This fight was different from before. It was no longer Gyokko's playful "art performance." Enmu had tried to act, but Kurosaki Rei's combat technique was superb—he could fight while avoiding Enmu's gaze entirely, never once making eye contact.
Clearly, once an Explorer knew Enmu's ability and possessed sufficient strength, Enmu's control became far less terrifying.
Now, they could only place their hopes on Gyokko, praying that Upper Rank Five's raw power would force Kurosaki Rei to expose a flaw—giving Enmu the chance to activate his Blood Demon Art and pull Kurosaki Rei into a dream.
As long as it succeeded, even if Kurosaki Rei immediately committed suicide within the dream, that brief opening would be enough for Gyokko to kill him.
As for treasure chests, they no longer dared to fantasize. If it was the Sound Hashira, they might still dare to snatch a chest when he was on the brink of death. But someone as monstrously strong as Kurosaki Rei? They wouldn't touch him even if he was dying—there was nothing strange about such a person erupting with last-ditch strength and killing them all.
"Don't act rashly," A Luo warned in team chat. "Anyone heading downhill will become the Thunder Hashira's priority target."
At the same time, his mind raced. The plan to use Enmu's power alongside an Upper Rank to fish for Hashira had been his idea from the start, so he knew both its strengths and its risks.
The advantage was that the natives of this world—the Hashira—lacked information on Enmu. Even if enemy Explorers tried to warn them, it was hard to explain the source of such knowledge, and difficult to convey it clearly. And even if a Hashira knew how Enmu's ability worked, there would still be a delay in countering it.
The human body was far weaker than a demon's. Injuries couldn't regenerate. So even a monster like the Stone Hashira, if caught once and struck by Gyokko, would at least be severely wounded. Repeatedly exploiting control effects afterward would eventually grind him down.
And aside from the Stone Hashira, as long as fewer than three Hashira arrived at once, their lineup could handle it. After all, Enmu's Blood Demon Art affected an area, and Gyokko had plenty of wide-area killing techniques.
On the surface, his plan looked excellent—and in practice, it really did carry huge potential.
But there was also a risk: after the Demon Slayer Corps lost two Hashira in a "send-one-after-another" fashion, the next response would inevitably be an extremely luxurious lineup sent to crush them.
That was why, in his original plan, they were supposed to kill the Sound Hashira, fish one more time, and then retreat.
What he hadn't expected was that the second Hashira to arrive would be someone as absurd as Kurosaki Rei.
This was a man who had achieved a no-damage solo kill against Upper Rank Six. In terms of raw strength, he might already rival the Stone Hashira. On top of that, Kurosaki Rei was an Explorer—highly vigilant against Enmu's abilities, never falling for them.
A Luo felt that with limited visibility, Kurosaki Rei should have struggled against Gyokko. Yet Kurosaki Rei's combat performance seemed completely unaffected, putting their side at a severe disadvantage.
He had to consider the possibility that Gyokko might lose.
What then?
Kurosaki Rei, naturally, had no idea about the enemy Explorers' inner turmoil. His gaze swept the field before settling on Gyokko.
[Twelve Kizuki · Upper Rank Five · Gyokko]
Constitution: 35Strength: 31Agility: 35Spirit: 36Charisma: -5
Gyokko's overall attributes matched Kurosaki Rei's expectations. Among the Upper Ranks, he was on the "squishy" side.
When Kurosaki Rei first saw Gyutaro's stats, Gyutaro had 36 Constitution—and that was when he had split power with his sister. After Daki died, Gyutaro's Constitution rose even higher, reaching 37.
Gyokko's Strength was also lower than Gyutaro's. His stronger points were Agility and Spirit. Clearly, he was a more Blood Demon Art–oriented, "caster-type" Upper Rank.
No wonder in the original story, Mist Hashira Tokito Muichiro could solo-kill Gyokko after awakening his Mark. Gyokko's vision was obstructed by the mist, he failed to adapt to Muichiro's sudden power spike, and his head was cleanly severed.
If Gyokko had possessed the "tankiness" of Upper Rank Four or above, Muichiro's raw strength might not have been enough to cut off his head in one strike—giving him a chance to continue fighting.
As for Gyokko's skills, Kurosaki Rei didn't study them closely. On one hand, he already knew Gyokko's abilities from the original story. On the other, he couldn't afford to let his gaze linger too long in one place—he had to stay wary of Enmu's Blood Demon Art.
When Kurosaki Rei had first read the original story, he'd thought Lower Rank One's ability was absurdly strong, even complaining that Muzan's faction didn't do teamfights properly. This was clearly a perfect teamfight control skill.
In the final battle, if Enmu had still been alive, Muzan's faction might not have lost at all. This kind of control was simply disgusting.
The enemy Explorers assembling this lineup had clearly put serious thought into it. Kurosaki Rei had to admit—they were smart. This was a troublesome composition.
In a pure one-on-one, Kurosaki Rei was confident he could kill Gyokko within a minute. But with Enmu to guard against, he needed to be far more cautious. It was annoying.
"Kid, you don't look as good as that guy earlier," Gyokko sneered at Kurosaki Rei. "Barely third-rate art."
Veins bulged on Gyokko's forehead. "I'll turn your head into a chamber pot."
"Is that so?" Kurosaki Rei replied calmly. "With a face that distinctive, you really have the nerve to go out in public. And those pots of yours look like trash—how dare you call yourself an artist?"
He pointed at the pot beneath Gyokko. "The patterns on the left and right are obviously asymmetrical, aren't they?"
"What?!"
Gyokko flew into a rage—but he still couldn't help lowering his head to check whether there really was a flaw.
"Lord Gyokko, be careful!"
An Explorer shouted urgently, afraid Kurosaki Rei would take the opportunity to ambush him. Worried about Gyokko's "artistic Dao heart" shattering, he hurriedly added, "Your pot is perfect! He just doesn't understand art!"
Kurosaki Rei didn't take the chance to sneak-attack Gyokko.
But that didn't mean he did nothing.
With Thunder Breathing augmenting his flash step, Kurosaki Rei surged through the scorching air. The gale generated by his speed split the flames apart. His blade flashed, slashing toward the neck of the Explorer who had been flattering Gyokko.
Because his attention had been entirely on Gyokko—and because his own strength was mediocre—he failed to react at all. His head flew off instantly.
[You have obtained 1200 End Coins]
The notification sounded in Kurosaki Rei's ears, but the gravity of the battlefield didn't allow even the hint of a smile. Gyokko's furious counterattack descended from above.
"You dare kill my confidant!"
Gyokko erupted in rage, activating Blood Demon Art: Ten Thousand Slithering Sticky Fish—the same move that had gravely injured the Sound Hashira. Countless disgusting, sharp-mouthed fish swarmed toward Kurosaki Rei.
At the same time, Gyokko molted within his pot. His body grew larger. The small hands on his sides vanished, replaced by proper arms connected to his torso. His lower body detached from the pot and transformed into a fish tail, his entire body covered in clear, transparent scales.
Kurosaki Rei didn't choose to take Gyokko's attack head-on. Using Thunder Breathing's speed advantage, he sidestepped, then leapt backward. His body rotated midair until parallel to the ground, his feet planting against a tree trunk.
Vast amounts of hot steam poured from between his clenched teeth. His Zanpakutō had long since entered its released state—but his attributes were still climbing.
Against an enemy control composition like this, he needed to end the fight quickly.
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