Chapter 76: As for Mukago... She's Already a Total Mess
In the history of Far Eastern swordsmanship, there is a long-standing tradition
of decorating simple techniques with poetic flowery language. This often leads
to moves that sound god-tier but are actually quite basic in execution.
Take the Kesa-giri, for example. Fundamentally, it is just a diagonal
slash from the shoulder to the opposite hip, named because its path follows the
lapel of a monk's robe. Or the Ni-kesa, which is simply the same path traced in
reverse—an upward diagonal flick.
At the end of the day, it's just about having a cool name. A scholar's
"Heaven-Plunging Nine Abysses" sounds much more profound than a commoner's
"Black Whirlwind Down-Smash," even if the motion is identical.
However, the forms passed down through the Breathing Styles are different. They
aren't just a combination of technique and force; they are movements that
synchronize perfectly with the rhythm and frequency of the breathing itself.
Or rather, to use certain Breathing techniques, one must actively shift their
internal tempo to match the required output.
The Form is born from the Breath. The Breath defines the Form.
This was a truth Natsuya had gradually pieced together after hitting LV.4 in
Thunder Breathing and undergoing Igarashi's "Life-Integration" training.
It was like the difference between a random twitch and a proper stretch while
yawning. When your training is low, you don't think about the mechanics. But
once you reach a certain level, you realize they are two distinct systems—Lung
and Limb—that just happen to be programmed to coordinate under specific rules.
All the inherited Breathing Forms are essentially "High-Speed Channels"
discovered within the infinite rhythmic points of the Breath. They are the
optimized pathways that allow kinetic energy and slashes to be vented out at
maximum efficiency.
Take Water Breathing's Water Surface Slash. Without the Breath, or with a flawed
Breath, it is just a common horizontal cut. And a random horizontal cut while
breathing correctly isn't a true Water Surface Slash either. It's "performing a
cut while buffed."
Only by utilizing the ancient [Combo Input]—the precise synchronization of lung
pressure and skeletal leverage—can one achieve that perfect, mirror-still arc
that cuts like a frozen tide.
That is the standard First Form.
And this implied something very important:
As long as one understood and could synthesize the correct breathing rhythms,
following the internal flow while applying a logical physical movement... one
could create their own Forms. Even if the pairing wasn't the
"Developer-Optimized" best-in-slot combo, it would still achieve a power level
where 1+1 > 2.
At this moment, Natsuya held two Nichirin Swords, initiating a "Breath X
Technique" combination that no other Thunder Breathing user had ever attempted.
A novice just learns the forms. An expert understands the link. Natsuya? Natsuya
was currently writing his own code for Thunder Breathing.
It wasn't a quick-draw Iaijutsu. It wasn't a linear thrust.
It was...
[Total Concentration...]
He lunged forward.
His crouch was lower and more decisive than a standard Thunderclap and Flash.
His silhouette tore toward Mukago's defensive perimeter, following the most
natural kinetic chain for a dual-wielder.
This was Natsuya's own Battle Flow.
It wasn't a single, straight line of violent lightning. It was a series of
flickering, jagged electric arcs. He grazed the edges of the shifting vines,
hugging the gaps in her offensive, weaving through the chaos with impossible
agility.
Finally, like a rough, unyielding warrior storming into a maiden's chamber, he
bypassed all her resistance and modesty.
Under Mukago's stunned gaze, Natsuya was suddenly inches away.
A Dual-Wielding Link-Slash.
Two crossing bolts of lightning. They didn't fire simultaneously, but with a
staggered rhythm that felt like a single, cohesive heartbeat.
The right slash batted away her desperate defense, shredding the final layer of
vines. The left slash... followed a diagonal line straight across Mukago's
snow-white torso.
[Thunder Breathing...] [Seventh Form: My Style — Nikaido's Justice!]
If a normal swordsman's slash has a power value of 10... The Breathing buff
raises it to 15. Total Concentration can push it past 25. But a dedicated
Breathing Form? It can easily break the 40 mark.
Natsuya, with a base Power Level over 200, unleashing a custom Form while in
Total Concentration?
The result was a foregone conclusion.
In the micro-second the lightning crossed, the demon was sliced cleanly in half
from her shoulder to her hip.
Demonic blood sprayed like a geyser. The sanatorium courtyard was instantly
transformed into a visceral execution ground. Mukago had been turned into
"Divided Mukago," her two halves hitting the shattered ground with a wet thud.
"W-What... what happened?!"
The demon girl's pupils vibrated with shock. Her upper half began to wail in
agony. "It hurts! IT HURTS! You brat... how dare you wound me like this?!"
Natsuya turned around, looking down at the demon. The moonlight was at his back,
casting his face into a deep, impenetrable shadow.
"Hey. Stop playing human. You don't feel pain, remember?"
"Now... do you remember that Thunder-using swordswoman yet?"
Mukago shrieked, "I ALREADY TOLD YOU I DON'T—"
SHING! SHING!
Blade-light flashed. Her limbs, which were frantically trying to crawl away,
were lopped off instantly.
"Answer me."
Mukago: "WHO REMEMBERS STUFF FROM YEARS AGO?!"
SQUELCH.
The Nichirin Sword sank into her eye socket, detonating her right eye.
The demon's scream was cut off, replaced by a much higher-pitched, jagged shriek
of agony. Once her eye regenerated a second later, Natsuya spoke again, his
voice flat and chilling.
"Do you remember now?"
Mukago sobbed, "What is wrong with you?! Just kill me! Stop wasting time—!"
Another thrust. The newly grown eye was popped again.
"I guess you don't remember."
Natsuya nodded. He raised the sword in his left hand.
"I REMEMBER! I REMEMBER! DON'T HIT ME!"
"Liar."
POP! POP!
This time, he took out both eyes simultaneously.
It wasn't an interrogation anymore. It was pure, systematic torture. Even
Shinobu, watching from the sidelines, felt a shiver run down her spine.
No wonder Nee-san said the 'Block of Wood' has a blood feud with demons, Shinobu
thought. This is... more brutal than my poisons. Wait, he's so petty and
vengeful... if I keep bickering with him, is he going to do this to me?
She briefly imagined Natsuya tying her to a ceiling beam and spanking her with a
wooden sword. She felt a wave of genuine dread. No way! If he tries anything,
I'm telling his Senior and Nee-san!
Beside her, Igarashi had snapped out of his shock at Natsuya's stunning strike.
Natsuya... he's already finding his own 'Logic.' But this bloodlust...
Then he remembered Natsuya's daily life—brewing coffee, helping the wounded,
looking out for his juniors. No, his heart is fine. He's just dealing out the
'Holy Wrath' demons deserve.
Besides, Igarashi thought, he's only using Thunder Breathing and targeting her
eyes. He's definitely avenging Nikaido Mei's lost eye. What a filial Junior.
After popping Mukago's eyes for the sixth time, Natsuya paused his blades.
Nikaido had taught him six forms. He had dealt out six "repayments" on her
behalf.
"Hey. One more question."
Mukago didn't answer immediately. Saliva was dripping from her mouth, her eyes
were rolled back, and she was staring at the moon in a state of near-catatonia.
Demons can regenerate, yes. The Twelve Kizuki have the best healing factors in
the game. But the "Pain Sensor" doesn't turn off. Having a heavy blade stirred
around inside your brain-case through your eye-sockets was a level of suffering
she had never even conceived of.
If she wasn't a demon, she would have died of shock five minutes ago.
Natsuya slammed his boot onto her face, pinning her to the ground. He leveled
his blade at the eye engraved with [LOWER FOUR].
"P-Pain..." the demon girl managed to gasp, her entire body trembling as she
focused on the cold-blooded Slayer.
"Tell me. Where are the other Twelve Kizuki?"
"And... among the Upper Moons... which ones specialize in Poison?"
Nearby, Igarashi's expression shifted.
Poison? Upper Moons?
This child... is he planning to hunt down the one who killed Fudo Hino?
☆☆☆
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