Himura Ruri felt a scorching and surging power instantly course through her limbs and bones.
Her blood seemed to be boiling.
Her father's consciousness enveloped her like a warm tide, familiar and intimate.
This sensation instantly dispelled all her fear.
"Ruri… don't be afraid… follow my feeling…"
Himura Senichi's voice resonated directly in her mind, without any obstruction.
Almost simultaneously, she clearly felt—
Power!
Unprecedented power surged through her muscles and sinews!
Her vision became incredibly clear.
The jumping trajectory of distant burning flames and the dust floating in the air all slowed down.
Her body felt so light that she could leap through the roof, and within her, she seemed to contain terrifying energy capable of easily overturning giant rocks.
Even the lingering pain from her previous injuries vanished, and vibrant vitality surged deep within her body.
Is this… the power of a demon? Father's power?
She subconsciously tightened her grip on the long blade in her hand, which had been transformed from the nichirin blade her father had seized, now entwined with dark red demon blood aura.
The hilt felt cold to the touch, yet it was connected to her by blood.
The girl's body, encased in the blood armor, involuntarily sank slightly.
She stepped back with her right foot, the tip of her blade pointing diagonally forward, naturally adopting an ancient and sharp starting stance.
Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū!
The next moment, she moved!
Without thought, without hesitation, she completely followed the guidance of her father's surging combat consciousness in her mind.
The figure of the blood-armored warrior instantly blurred before everyone's eyes!
Boom!
With a loud bang, the ground where she had stood erupted with a circle of air pressure.
Everyone only saw a dark red streak of light tear through the air, precisely positioning itself in front of the monstrous wooden dragon that was crashing towards the injured area.
Clang—
A deafening clash of metal exploded!
The blood-armored arm swung the blood blade, actually managing to withstand the massive wooden dragon's violent charge.
It even… forcefully repelled it a certain distance!
The wooden dragon let out a grating creak, and splinters flew.
"What?!"
Uzui Tengen, who had just cleaved through entangled wooden branches, couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment at this sight.
Kochou Shinobu's purple eyes widened, her attack slowed by half a beat, her face filled with disbelief.
The consciousness of father and daughter achieved a wondrous fusion at this moment.
The blood armor provided invincible defense and immense power, perfectly executed by Himura Ruri's young body.
And Himura Senichi's combat consciousness, dormant for decades, and the exquisite swordsmanship of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, were reborn into the world through the blood connection!
"Left!" Himura Senichi's consciousness urgently cried out.
Without thinking, Himura Ruri swung the blood blade in a crescent arc, slashing fiercely to her left-rear.
A silent, distorted, transparent psychic shockwave that had been attacking was precisely cut apart by this blade, imbued with the power of demon blood and swordsmanship!
Rokuro stumbled out of the shadows, clutching his forehead, which felt as if it had been burned.
His cracked face was filled with horror: "Impossible! How can you cut an invisible thing?!"
"Kill!" The blood-armored warrior let out a low roar, a mixture of the girl's clear voice and a demon's shriek, as an answer.
The battle continued!
At times, they were like an unmoving rock, enduring Zohakuten's frantic charges with his wooden dragons.
The blood armor groaned chillingly under the immense force, and cracks spread.
But often, a flash of eerie blue light would instantly repair it.
The blood-armored warrior was like a dark red lightning bolt tearing through the battlefield.
Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's exquisite and simplified swordsmanship, supported by the demon's physique, unleashed terrifying power.
He (She) withstood most of the wooden dragon's attacks.
Kochou Shinobu and Uzui Tengen's pressure drastically reduced.
The two Pillars quickly recovered from their shock, their combat instincts allowing them to immediately seize this valuable opportunity!
"Uzui-sensei!"
Kochou Shinobu let out a soft cry, her figure fluttering like a purple butterfly, circling towards Zohakuten's flank.
The poison on her rapier gleamed ominously in the firelight.
"Ah! Got it!"
Uzui Tengen roared back, his twin blades erupting with even fiercer explosive flashes.
"Sound Breathing, Fifth Form: String Performance!"
He wildly swung his twin blades; the explosive slashes no longer aimed for wide range.
Instead, they were extremely concentrated, focusing on a single point, continuously destroying the defenses on Zohakuten's body and those annoying taiko drums.
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Bee Sting: True Thrust!"
Kochou Shinobu spotted an opening, and her rapier, like a poisonous bee's stinger, thrust out dozens of times in rapid succession, all embedding into the connection between Zohakuten's arm and shoulder blade.
Wisteria poison was violently injected!
Zohakuten's movements visibly stiffened and contorted for a fleeting moment.
A pained expression appeared on his monstrous face.
"Insect!"
He let out an enraged roar.
Hantengu's inherently cowardly true body, hiding further away, now trembled uncontrollably.
Through Zohakuten's vision, he saw that the "sample" not only failed but instead unleashed such strange and powerful abilities.
Coupled with Zohakuten being wounded by the female Pillar's poisoned blade, intense fear instantly overwhelmed him.
Escape! Must escape!
This strong urge to retreat was immediately transmitted to the struggling Zohakuten.
"Damn it… how could this happen…"
Zohakuten's face simultaneously showed extreme anger and unwillingness.
But he could not defy his true body's will and could only let out a roar: "Blood Demon Art: Raging Dragon Roaring Waves: Disorder!"
Boom boom boom boom boom!!
He violently struck all the taiko drums on his back!
All the wooden dragons suddenly abandoned their attacks, sweeping and smashing indiscriminately in all directions with a suicidal frenzy!
Forcing everyone to temporarily retreat or guard.
Although Rokuro had been strengthened by Muzan's blood, seeing that Upper Moon Four Hantengu, the main force, wanted to run, how could he dare to prolong the fight?
He glared viciously at the dark red blood armor, seemingly wanting to firmly remember this strange form and ability.
Then, his figure flickered, and he was about to merge into the shadows to withdraw.
"Roar—!"
The blood-armored warrior let out an earth-shattering roar, the sound a mixture of Himura Senichi's wild will and his daughter's naturally clear voice.
She suddenly hurled the Nichirin blood blade in her hand like a javelin!
The blood blade tore through the air, emitting a shrill shriek, carrying astonishing immense force and concentrated demon blood energy, instantly shooting towards Rokuro!
Rokuro was scared out of his wits, desperately twisting his body to dodge.
Boom!
The blood blade flew past his cheek, the wind pressure it created like a knife, blasting a broken pillar behind him into smithereens.
But in the end, it failed to stop him.
Rokuro and Zohakuten, using this brief chaos, quickly transformed into shadows and disappeared into the pervasive smoke and night.