From the very beginning, Kanbe Hikaru knew he couldn't defeat Kidomaru.
A Six Transformations against an old ghost who was infinitely close to Gaseous Transformation—even if he merged many more abilities, it would just be like an ant trying to shake a tree.
So he never intended to fight head-on.
He chose another path.
A path starting from the main castle of the Imagawa Clan, passing through the cities of the Hojo Clan, and cutting through the northern mountains and eastern villages.
On that path, he killed the Thunder Beast, killed Gakimaru, killed the Venomous Flood Dragon, and killed the Nekomata.
The blood of four Materialization level demons stained this land.
But more importantly—
His blood mist also stained this land.
Every place he passed through left traces of his bones and blood.
Those traces seeped into the soil, blended into the rocks, and created a connection with this earth—he 'touched' and took hold of it.
Touching and taking hold were the keys to his conquest.
From start to finish, he wasn't simply slaying demons.
He was also trying to conquer this land.
Just like conquering the Muramasa blade, the Shikon Jewel, and the Hiraikotsu.
The land is also a type of 'object'.
It has no consciousness, no soul.
But it has memory.
It remembers who shed blood upon it, who left footprints upon it.
It remembers who killed the demons occupying it, who purified the turbid air drifting above it.
So when Kanbe Hikaru walked through the four directions and cleared all the demonic atmosphere.
This land began to pay attention to him.
[Kanto Region: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 1 (Recognition)]
This number seemed very small.
But the meaning it represented was incredibly vast.
...
"Power of the Earth..."
Kidomaru muttered these words, his voice full of shock.
It was as if he only now understood why this Oni Samurai, who was only at the Six Transformations, dared to attack alone.
Why he dared to rush back without stopping after killing the four vanguards.
He wasn't being reckless.
He was well-prepared.
He had prepared a game with the entire Kanto Region as the chessboard.
"From the beginning... you were planning this?"
Kidomaru's voice was suppressed.
Kanbe Hikaru's voice came from beneath the Crimson Oni Mask, sounding quite natural: "It was just convenient."
"Slaying demons was my original purpose."
"As for whether this land would side with me..."
He looked up, his crimson eyes staring directly at Kidomaru.
"That was just an incidental gain."
He naturally couldn't have known that Kidomaru's purpose was to send those four demons to their deaths.
However, since he knew about the Kyoto Demons behind those four, and knew about the demon before him, Kidomaru, Kanbe Hikaru naturally couldn't be unprepared.
And this was his preparation.
It was the escape route he had left for himself!
Kidomaru's face darkened to the extreme.
He didn't believe it.
He didn't believe a minor demon could have such methods.
He didn't believe an Oni Samurai who had only been born for a few months could have such ability.
But the facts were before him.
The land beneath his feet was rejecting him.
The surrounding air was becoming heavy.
That resentment shrouding the entire area—the resentment condensed after the deaths of the four vanguards that should have been for his use—was being slowly dispersed by an even more majestic power.
"Impossible..."
His voice took on a tone of urgency: "How could you possibly oppose my domain!"
He raised that deep blue long blade, his Demonic Qi surging.
"Reality Marble: Rashomon!"
Black mist erupted from around him, turning into phantoms of gates.
That was the true manifestation of his domain, the demonic power known as an 'Reality Marble'.
It used the silhouette of the Rashomon gate of old Kyoto and Heian-kyo as its outline, but what it manifested was an absolute domain centered on high-speed slashes and based on the variation of speed.
Within this domain, his speed could stack infinitely until even time itself could not catch up with his blade's edge.
To some extent, in the realm of speed, Kidomaru had truly reached a level that even ordinary Great Yokais could not attain.
"Sword Art · Cherry Blossom!"
As the words fell, he vanished.
The next second, countless blade lights slashed toward Kanbe Hikaru from all directions simultaneously.
The blade lights were as fast as cherry blossom petals falling in the wind, and as dense as snow filling the sky.
This was clearly the extreme speed that Kidomaru could only display by relying on his innate Barrier—surpassing the wind, surpassing sound, and even capable of chasing lightning. Most demons would likely not be able to withstand it for even an instant.
Even high-level demons of the Six Transformations or even seven or eight transformations would be slashed into fragments.
But— Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Metal clashed against metal, sparks flying everywhere.
Kanbe Hikaru's Muramasa blocked those blade lights.
Not all of them, only a portion.
The remaining blade lights slashed onto his bone armor and his blood mist shield.
The bone armor shattered, and the blood mist dispersed.
But he did not fall.
Because the ground beneath his feet was supporting him.
Kidomaru's expression finally changed.
He saw it.
Those bone armors he had shattered, those blood mists he had dispersed, were re-condensing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was not Kanbe Hikaru's own power.
It was this land replenishing him.
Those bones and blood that had seeped into the soil, those traces of Demonic Qi left among the mountain rocks, were continuously flowing back into Kanbe Hikaru's body.
"In that case..."
Kidomaru's voice became cold and sinister.
He raised his blade again.
"Then I shall slash the land along with you!"
"Sword Art · Plum Tree!"
A stronger technique, stronger Demonic Qi, and faster blade lights swept over.
This time, it was not just aimed at Kanbe Hikaru, but also the ground beneath his feet.
The blade slashed into the soil, carving out deep trenches.
"Sword Art · Void!"
The speed surged again.
The blade lights were so fast that even the air was slashed apart, forming patches of vacuum areas.
Wherever those vacuum areas passed, all matter was annihilated.
Plants turned into powder, mountain rocks turned into ash, and even the ground beneath Kanbe Hikaru was collapsing.
"Do you think you can oppose me with this?"
Kidomaru's voice sounded as if it came from the Nine Underworlds.
"This technique of mine is ten times that of the previous'Sword Art · Cherry Blossom'!"
"In the face of this speed, whatever recognition of the land, whatever support of the earth—"
"All of it is futile!"
Kanbe Hikaru was shaken back ten steps.
His bone armor shattered again, and fresh blood gushed from his wounds—this was merely Kidomaru's twelfth transformation, speed pushed to the extreme.
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