Chapter 206: 206 All-Out Battle
Himejima Gyoumei and Kochou Shinobu faced Douma, the Upper Moon Two in battle!
Rengoku Kyoujurou faced Akaza, the Upper Moon Three in battle!
Shinazugawa Sanemi and Tomioka Giyuu faced the Upper Moon Four, Hantengu, in battle!
Iguro Obanai and Uzui Tengen faced Nakime, the Upper Moon Five in battle!
Love Pillar Kanroji Mitsuri and Tokitou Muichirou faced Toraja, the Upper Moon Six in battle!
All the current nine pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps had entered combat state with the Upper Moon Demons, fiercely fighting each other!
Such intelligence not only made the members of the Demon Slayer Corps tense, but even the demons were closely watching.
The outcome of these battles would heavily impact the subsequent attacks and defenses, a matter of great significance for both the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons.
Looking at the history of these several hundred years, the demons and the Demon Slayer Corps had never engaged in total warfare like today, where the high ranks on both sides collided in an unprecedented fierce confrontation, a fight to the death.
This made many who hadn’t adjusted their mindset fully realize that tonight was the real final battle.
"Hahahahaha!"
Kaigaku, having received the message from the Kasugai crow, laughed loudly in front of our main trio.
"It seems our seniors are all in high spirits, no matter the side!"
To Kaigaku, indeed, both sides could be considered his seniors.
As Zenitsu’s senior brother and one of the inheritors of Thunder Breathing, Kaigaku had once been a Ghost Hunter of the Demon Slayer Corps, so all the pillars were his seniors.
And as a demon who had newly turned, the rest of the Upper Moon in front of him were undoubtedly his seniors as well.
One side was his seniors when he was human, the other was his seniors after he became a demon, both sides being the top echelons of the two major factions, a position just below one and above ten thousand, now fighting each other, this seemed quite marvelous to Kaigaku.
However...
"No matter how much the pillars struggle, the final outcome is already determined!"
Kaigaku laughed boisterously as he confidently declared.
"Humans can never win against demons; the pillars will definitely not match the Upper Moons. Soon, you all will experience the greatest despair!"
Kaigaku drew his blade, pointing it at Zenitsu.
"After I deal with you, I’ll also go seek out the pillars to make them understand that the current me is no longer the same!"
Apparently, having become a demon, having become an Upper Moon, Kaigaku had completely swelled with pride.
He could clearly feel how much stronger he had become than before, how powerful the so-called Upper Moons were.
The pillars who used to appear invincible, in the current Kaigaku’s view, were just so-so.
Therefore, Kaigaku did not believe the pillars were a match for the Upper Moons, and he himself had also surpassed the pillars, becoming an unimaginably strong being to humans.
Kaigaku actively sought out Zenitsu, partly to flaunt his strength, to show off the wisdom of his choice.
He had always looked down on Zenitsu, considering him both cowardly and inept.
What kind of terrified expression would he show after experiencing his current power?
Thinking about this, Kaigaku’s heart surged with excitement.
However, he was disappointed.
"...You’ve gone mad."
Instead of showing fear, Zenitsu looked at him indifferently, with an emotion in his eyes that Kaigaku had never seen before and that made him extremely uncomfortable.
This emotion, called disgust.
Yes, just like the way he used to look at Zenitsu.
"Do you know?" Zenitsu gritted his teeth and said, "Because you became a demon, grandfather has already committed seppuku!"
With these words, Kaigaku was stunned.
"What?"
Tanjirou and Inosuke both showed astonished expressions.
The former Pillar of Sound who had adopted Zenitsu as his master... had committed suicide?
At that moment, Tanjirou and Inosuke finally understood why Zenitsu had been acting so unusually lately.
Because he had lost a loved one.
"The old man committed suicide?"
Kaigaku muttered to himself.
A moment later, Kaigaku laughed.
He laughed extremely joyfully.
"Good for him!" Kaigaku laughed heartily, "A fool who wanted someone like me and a waste like you to inherit the style didn’t deserve to keep living!"
"Suicide? That’s indeed the wisest choice he made!"
"Otherwise, after this battle, I would have gone to find him and kill him myself!"
"Haha... hahahaha...!"
Kaigaku’s arrogant and unrestrained laughter finally made Zenitsu lose his composure.
"Boom!"
This was a thunderclap.
In the thunderous explosion, a figure transformed into a thunderbolt, flashing like lightning, surged towards Kaigaku.
"Thunder Breathing·First Form·Thunderbolt Flash!"
The slash of lightning appeared right before Kaigaku’s eyes.
"...!?"
Kaigaku’s pupils contracted, his heart shook, and in this critical moment, he only managed to raise one hand.
"Puchi!"
The next second, the slash of lightning severed Kaigaku’s arm.
The armless Kaigaku felt a sharp pain in his arm, then he was swept up by the high-speed flying thunder, rolling along with the hot, chaotic air current.
Zenitsu’s figure then appeared in the lightning, at the position where Kaigaku was a second earlier, posing in a sword drawing stance.
His sword, had already been sheathed.
"You... you bastard...!?"
Only then did Kaigaku react to what had happened, standing up furiously.
He felt deeply humiliated.
"To think that a piece of trash like you, who only knows the First Form, could chop off one of my arms...!?"
Kaigaku’s face twisted, unable to accept this reality.
Zenitsu turned around, his face colder than ever before.
"You’re right, I am a piece of trash that only knows the First Form, a fool in your eyes,"
Zenitsu said coldly.
"But how much better can you be?"
"I’m a piece of trash that only knows the First Form? Then you’re trash that can’t even learn the First Form!"
"You seem to take pride in becoming an Upper Rank Demon? What’s there to be proud of?"
"Even as an Upper Rank Demon, you’re just the lowest, the very bottom. If it weren’t for the addition of the Seven Upper Ranks, you wouldn’t even make it into the previous six positions!"
"In the end, you’re just a being of this level; otherwise, you wouldn’t have fallen to become a demon, continually boasting about the fate of pillars, making the Upper Ranks sound so formidable..."
Zenitsu looked at Kaigaku disdainfully, speaking word by word.
"Such a formidable guy, and yet, he was still slaughtered by many under the blade of our Grand Master, a human nonetheless!"
"Not to mention someone like you, in front of our Grand Master, you probably wouldn’t even have the privilege to make him draw his sword."
"With such status, what right do you have to disdain humans?"
"Idiot!"
Zenitsu’s words pierced Kaigaku’s heart, one sentence after another.
"I’ll kill you!"
Kaigaku completely lost his sanity, regenerated his arm and rushed toward Zenitsu.
In his rage, he forgot that there wasn’t just Zenitsu here.
"Flame Breathing·First Form·Fire!"
Tanjirou drew his sword and charged, appearing at Kaigaku’s left side shrouded in blazing flames, slicing at his neck.
"Beast Breathing·Third Fang·Tusk Tear!"
Inosuke, on the other hand, moved to Kaigaku’s right side, his saw-like swords crossing and slashing, also aiming for Kaigaku’s head.
The combined attack from both sides forced Kaigaku to stop his forward charge and defend.
"Thunder Breathing·Sixth Form·Thunder Bomb!"
Kaigaku swung his sword, centering on himself, instantaneously releasing countless lightning-shaped slashes all around.
The lightning was pitch-black, like a raging god’s thunder, instantly repelling the flames and tusks, blasting both Tanjirou and Inosuke away.
Tanjirou and Inosuke ended up next to Zenitsu.
"Zenitsu!" Tanjirou shouted, "We’re here to help you!"
"Haha!" Inosuke also laughed, "Go chop off his head! Snot-nosed brat!"
Upon hearing this, Zenitsu wanted to refuse, wanting to say that this task could only be his to handle.
Yet, when he saw Tanjirou’s eyes and heard Inosuke’s laughter, his eyes couldn’t help but moisten.
Zenitsu quickly wiped away his tears and took a deep breath.
"Leave the final blow to me!"
That was all Zenitsu asked for.
Tanjirou and Inosuke naturally had no objections.
"Bring it on, however many!"
Seeing this, Kaigaku roared.
"Trash like you, in front of my power, isn’t worth mentioning at all!"
Kaigaku charged towards Tanjirou and the others.
Tanjirou and the others charged forward unyieldingly as well.
Before long, flames, thunder, and numerous beastly shadows emerged on the battlefield.
The last of the Upper Rank Demons, Upper Rank Seven, Kaigaku, thus engaged in a death battle here with three low-ranking swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps.
......
"Is everything handed over?"
Reiger, transforming into a sun disc coursing above Infinite City, received all the news from the crow that kept coming and going.
"Tanjirou is now fighting with an Upper Rank Demon?"
Indeed, the original protagonist is the protagonist for a reason; even though my arrival has significantly reduced his presence and importance, once entering the critical decisive battle, he still appears in an essential position.
"Can he do it?"
Reiger was a bit uncertain.
After all, the current Tanjirou had neither markings nor a Nichirin sword and was still not fully mastering the Fire God Kagura; his power was still quite inferior to that of an Upper Rank Demon.
Fortunately, he was not alone; beside him were Zenitsu and Inosuke, and the opponent, being one of the last to become a demon in Upper Rank Seven, had not been a demon for long.
The other Upper Ranks had existed for hundreds of years, consuming countless humans, their power was by no means comparable to their initial state as newly turned demons.
This Upper Rank Seven, Kaigaku, had transformed into a demon quite recently, hadn’t eaten too many humans, and whether he could fully grasp the power of an Upper Rank was still an unknown, so he likely wouldn’t be too difficult to handle.
"They can win."
Reiger finally became assured.
"Hmm?"
At a certain moment, Reiger suddenly paused in midair, peering down at the ground.