"It is Lord Muzan..."
Sensing the anomaly in his eyes, Akaza instantly realized that Muzan was watching him. At the same time, he noticed Ren's crimson heavy sword slashing diagonally towards him, teeming with murderous intent.
Fortunately, Muzan did not control his physical movements, so Akaza immediately raised both arms to block this potentially fatal strike.
Pu!
Ultimately, Ren's Nichirin heavy sword sliced through his arms as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. Simultaneously, the scorching sword energy slit his throat.
...
"Ahhh!!!!"
"My hands! My hands! My hands!"
Inside the Infinity Castle, Muzan witnessed "his" own hands being severed by Ren's Crimson Blade with his own eyes. He immediately began squealing like a pig being slaughtered for the New Year, even rolling around on the ground in a tantrum. Nakime, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.
'Lord Muzan's guts... are a bit too small, aren't they?'
After a good while, Muzan finally regained his composure, lingering fear still in his heart.
'Luckily, I didn't connect to Akaza's sense of touch. Otherwise, even if the wounds aren't synchronized to my body, the pain of being cut by a Crimson Blade would have been!'
'I didn't expect that brat to join the Demon Slayer Corps and successfully unlock the Crimson Blade. He is simply just like Tsugikuni Yoriichi from the past. It seems Akaza alone cannot deal with him.'
Thinking of this, Muzan looked at Nakime angrily and raged impotently, "Nakime, teleport Doma to Akaza's side immediately. Let him and Akaza finish that kid off together."
"Understood!" Nakime immediately struck the biwa in her hands.
...
Meanwhile, Akaza, having had his arms severed, was shocked to discover that his limbs were not regenerating.
"How can this be? My hands..."
"My arms aren't regenerating. Is this the effect of the Crimson Blade?"
Looking at Akaza's severed arms, Kocho Shinobu suddenly realized that Ren's crimson heavy sword could halt the regeneration of demons.
'If all members of the Demon Slayer Corps could master this Crimson Blade technique, slaying all demons under heaven would no longer be a dream.'
"Hmph, even without arms, I can still defeat you. Destructive Death: Leg Type - Flowing Light Flash!"
Akaza raised his right leg and kicked forcefully at Ren, delivering hundreds of kicks in a single second, moving so fast that only afterimages were visible.
Ren's eyes couldn't even keep up with Akaza's movements; it had to be said that he was indeed the fastest among the Upper Rank demons in terms of attack speed.
Facing Akaza's assault, he immediately positioned the Nichirin heavy sword in front of him, using the sword's broad blade to block the opponent's attacks.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang...
Akaza's kicks landed on the Nichirin heavy sword. The terrifying impact force made the web of Ren's thumb ache, and his bones felt as if they were about to snap. Even his Nichirin heavy sword seemed to develop cracks.
However, Akaza wasn't having an easy time either. Striking flesh and blood against a scorching heavy sword left his feet covered in injuries that could not regenerate, yet he persisted in his attack.
"Destructive Death: Leg Type - Flying Planetary Thousand Wheels!"
This move was essentially the "Destructive Death: Disorder" performed with legs. Akaza first executed a roundhouse kick.
Seeing this, Ren hurriedly retreated and leaped high into the air, dodging Akaza's powerful strike. But this was merely the beginning.
Akaza continuously unleashed kicks, firing shockwaves from the ground upward to attack Ren in mid-air.
Ren performed a flip, wielding the Crimson Blade as he descended from the sky to slash at Akaza.
"Earth Combat Technique: Crimson Blade · Flame Meteor!"
This move was a version of the Meteor combat technique used in Crimson Blade mode, perfectly fusing the heaviness of a meteorite with the searing heat of the Crimson Blade.
This strike was earth-shattering. It collided violently with the shockwaves kicked out by Akaza in mid-air, causing deafening explosions to ring out one after another without pause.
In the end, Ren proved to be superior. With the force of a landslide, he crushed Akaza's shockwaves and descended, slashing his sword toward Akaza's throat.
Akaza, whose hands had not yet recovered, could not block this sword at all. Ren sliced through his neck, and his severed head rolled into the nearby grass, his body gradually turning to ash.
"We won!"
Kocho Shinobu beamed with joy. "Ren, that guy, actually killed an Upper Rank!"
While Kocho Shinobu was excited, no smile appeared on Ren's face. He knew the battle was far from over.
Akaza was a demon capable of breaking his limits. In the original story, he overcame the weakness of decapitation.
Like Muzan, he wouldn't die even if beheaded by a Nichirin sword, and could even regenerate his head through sheer will.
If he hadn't recalled his past memories at the very end and chosen to give up on regeneration, Tanjiro and Giyu would have been in danger.
Just then, despite having his head severed, Akaza's body continued to move, inching closer to Ren bit by bit.
'Did he really overcome the weakness? If that's the case, I can only drag this out until the sun rises, just like dealing with Muzan!'
As he spoke, Ren swung his sword, severing Akaza's legs and splitting his torso in two.
Akaza's regeneration speed became slower and slower. It was unclear whether the Crimson Blade was halting his regeneration or if Akaza saw his fiancée in his final moments.
After an unknown amount of time, Akaza's body stopped regenerating and turned to ash, bit by bit.
"It seems Koyuki called Akaza home for dinner. Truly the henpecked husband of Demon Slayer! Akaza actually managed to overcome the weakness of decapitation; Muzan must have a look on his face like he just ate shit right now."
Ren spoke with amusement, then sat down panting heavily to rest. Although he hadn't comprehended a new combat technique after the battle with Akaza, his basic attributes had increased somewhat.
[Ren]
[Strength: 233]
[Speed: 218]
[Constitution: 206]
[Five Senses: 143]
[Combat Techniques: Meteor, Whirlwind Dance]
...
Especially his speed attribute; one battle had raised it by a full 8 points. If he were to rely on daily training, it would take at least a year to reach that level of improvement.
"Ren!"
Suddenly, Kocho Shinobu ran hurriedly to Ren's side, speaking with wild joy, "Ren, you are too amazing! You actually killed an Upper Rank, and it was Upper Rank Three! You are the first person in history to solo kill an Upper Rank demon. If you were an official Demon Slayer Corps member, this feat alone would be enough to make you a Hashira!"
Kocho Shinobu was so excited she forgot herself, acting as if she were the one who had killed Akaza.
Ren nodded thoughtfully. He knew there were two ways to become a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps: first, to slay fifty demons; second, to solo kill one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Now that Ren had slain Upper Rank Three, he could completely rely on this merit to become the Demon Slayer Corps' tenth Hashira.
"When I get back, I will definitely report this matter to the Master and have you become a Hashira too!"
"Hehe, then I'll leave it to you, Miss Shinobu."
Ren smiled. Becoming a Hashira had quite a few benefits. First, the salary was essentially unlimited—he could take as much as he wanted. In the future, he wouldn't have to worry about food and housing.
Furthermore, Tanjiro and his family had just moved and definitely needed money. Once he became a Hashira, their family's life would be a bit better.
After all, Nezuko was his sister from another mother.
"Oh my? Lord Akaza was actually killed by someone. How truly sad!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]