P1vec became ađ· ChĆ«nin - Rising Flame!
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In the flat courtyard, time became infinitely slow at this moment.
All around the courtyard, the sixteen Demon Slayers holding the chains were red-faced, exerting all their strength to pull the chains backward, desperately trying to keep Mitsuba trapped in place, unable to move.
Directly ahead, the thirty Demon Slayers holding firearms were also nervously reloading their weapons, quickly preparing for the next round of volley fire.
And surrounding Mitsuba, six Hashira-level swordsmen swarmed forward simultaneously, swinging their blades at her neck.
Among them, the Sound Hashira, fastest without question, charged at the front. He pounced at Mitsuba from behind, his Nichirin blade flashing with electrical light, less than thirty centimeters from Mitsuba's neck!
Victory was within reach!
Hands clenched tight, breath subconsciously held, eyes fixedly staring at this scene before him, watching Tsugikuni Mitsuba kneeling on the ground, seemingly devoid of any ability to resist, completely unaware of the attack coming from behind.
Even Ubuyashiki himself didn't realize that his back was already soaked with sweat.
Was it going to succeed?
Were they finally going to sever this demon's head?
This powerful demon who had once annihilated the Demon Slayer Corps nearly a hundred years ago, who had even killed that legendary Child of Godâwas she finally going to be successfully subjugated by the Demon Slayers today?!
"Heh..."
At this very instant, Ubuyashiki suddenly saw the slight upward curve of Mitsuba's lips.
She smiled.
She actually... smiled?
"Something's wrong, she still has strength left, quickly retreaâ"
Boom!
It was already too late.
Under Ubuyashiki's terrified warning, at the instant when the Sound Hashira's blade was about to touch Mitsuba's neck, a sudden transformation occurred!
At Mitsuba's feet, the mandala formation that had originally collapsed and dissipated, expanded once again in this very moment!
Those intricate patterns, red as fresh blood, simultaneously enveloped the six Hashira-level swordsmen around her!
"Sound Hashira?!"
In the next instant, the Sound Hashira's scar-covered neck severed without warning!
His body crashed down, and upon that head rolling on the ground like a football, the Sound Hashira's eyes still shone with unwavering determination.
This unfortunate manâhe hadn't even realized what had happened before Mitsuba used the "cause" of the past to sever his "life" of the present.
"Damn it! She actually still has strength to release her Blood Demon Art?!"
The situation suddenly took a drastic turn. Behind the Sound Hashira, the bodies of the Flame Hashira, Water Hashira, Wind Hashira, and Mist Hashira all simultaneously suffered varying degrees of mutilation!
Among them, the Stone Hashira's body was instantly cut in half at the waist, his entire person collapsing to the ground. The twin-bladed weapon in his hands slid several meters away due to inertia!
"Quick! Pull them out!"
Only at this moment did the surrounding Demon Slayers finally react.
They roared as they pulled on the iron chains at the waists of the several men, dragging them forcefully out of the mandala formation while they had not yet completely died.
The moment they left Mitsuba's domain, these men who had been on the verge of death were once again corrected by divine power, their threads of karma restored to normal.
But among them, the Sound Hashira whose head had been directly severed, and the Stone Hashira who could not be pulled out due to being cut in half at the waist, still died completely.
Originally six people, instantly reduced to four.
Just one exchange, just one instant of Blood Demon Art releaseâand they had directly lost two Hashira?!
The terrifying power of Mitsuba's Blood Demon Art deeply shocked everyone gathered in the courtyard at this moment.
This female demon before themâcould she truly decide their life and death at will?
Even those normally powerful Hashira-level swordsmen could not escape her manipulation?!
Witnessing this scene unfold, the originally high morale of the Demon Slayers in the courtyard instantly collapsed at this moment.
Even on the faces of many Demon Slayers, an expression called terror had already emerged.
It was as if only at this moment did these Demon Slayers finally realize what kind of terrifying monster they were attempting to subjugate tonight...
For a moment, no one dared to advance further.
"Haha... hahahaha!"
In this suffocating silence, Mitsuba, trapped in the center by chains, suddenly burst into laughter.
"Splendid! Truly splendid!"
Withdrawing her formation, using her only remaining functional left eye to look back at the terrified Demon Slayers all around, Mitsuba maintained her kneeling posture and laughed heartily.
"Wisteria poison, chains, firearms, and this perfectly calculated distance... even the weakness of my Blood Demon Art was calculated so clearly!
Tamayo, I never expected you would plan to this extent just to kill me?"
Yes, Mitsuba was well aware that all of this could only be Tamayo's handiwork.
These Demon Slayers before her, nearly frightened out of their wits, were absolutely incapable of planning such a subjugation operation.
Because only Tamayo in this world was not only extremely familiar with the characteristics of her Blood Demon Art, but also had the motive to kill her.
"Arrogant and self-assured, acting on whimsânot only the characteristics of my Blood Demon Art, but even the weaknesses in my personality, all calculated by you!
I never imagined that the method I once used to defeat that Child of God would one day be used against myself?
This truly is... a bloody lesson!"
Her toes swiftly hooked the twin-bladed weapon that the Stone Hashira had dropped at her feet. Mitsuba caught it with her only normally functioning left arm, then threw it with force!
The blade spun through the night sky, passing with terrifying momentum between the four Demon Slayers holding chains who stood on one side of the courtyard, too late to react!
Immediately after, four heads flew high into the air, and four sprays of blood simultaneously gushed from the severed necks!
"Damn it!"
With the annihilation of this swordsman squad, the originally stable chain balance maintained by four squads totaling sixteen people was completely shattered at this moment!
Her brain operating at extreme speed, Mitsuba who had broken free showed no hesitation, charging at the fastest speed toward Ubuyashiki directly ahead.
However, perhaps due to being severely poisoned, Mitsuba's "fastest speed" was not particularly fast.
At the very least, it was enough for the thirty firearm-wielding Demon Slayers before her to react.
"Quick, open fire to stop her! Protect Lord Oyakata!"
Roaring voices filled with terror, the thirty Demon Slayers who had completed their reloading preparations almost instinctively raised their firearms, simultaneously aiming at Mitsuba ahead.
At the same time, the four Hashira-level swordsmen surrounding her also once again pounced at Mitsuba together.
They swarmed forward, sandwiching Mitsuba from front and back with the firearm squad at the front, attempting to block her advance.