The force and reach of this technique were far more terrifying than even the Sun Breathing.
This was not a slash that a human could perform.
Had he fused his Blood Demon Art into his swordsmanship?
Yuko glanced at the blade in Kokushibo's hand. At some point, it had transformed into an eerie demon blade, several thin edges branching horizontally from its surface like the twigs of a tree.
Although Kokushibo's expression did not show anger, his face had grown cold to the extreme.
Seeing him look like that made Yuko laugh instead. She tilted her head, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Angry?"
"I know, you know… Michikatsu."
"Ever since you were young, you've always envied Yori—"
"Silence!" Kokushibo's gloomy face twisted with a flicker of anger, and the blade in his hand rose uncontrollably.
"Moon Breathing, Seventh Form: Mirror of Misfortune — Moonlit!"
Several massive purple shockwaves shot toward Yuko along the ground, with smaller waves interwoven between them, almost completely covering the attack range.
"Snow Breathing, Sixth Form: Snowfall Across Ten Thousand Miles."
A pure-white wave of sword light broke through one of the shockwaves, and Yuko tilted her body with a subtle angle to slip past the remaining blades.
Unstoppable.
That was Yuko's first impression after facing the Moon Breathing head-on.
She constantly mocked Michikatsu, but she couldn't deny one thing:
After becoming a demon, the Moon Breathing forms he created—likely fused with his Blood Demon Art—were sword forms no human could ever learn.
Judging by sheer power alone, they far surpassed the Sun Breathing that Yoriichi used.
Of course, that did not mean he had surpassed Yoriichi. It simply meant that with the boost from his Blood Demon Art, he could unleash techniques impossible for a human body.
Kokushibo narrowed his eyes. Had Yuko already mastered Transparent World?
When both sides possessed Transparent World, the contest came down to raw conditions:
Speed and strength.
Setting aside the natural difference between men and women, his physique—strength and speed alike—had been enhanced far beyond anything human.
"Yuko, I'll ask you one last time." Kokushibo lifted his head. "Will you become a demon?"
Her answer was a flash of blinding white.
Yuko's figure blurred, her snow-white blade carving a slender streak of frost through the air.
"Snow Breathing, Seventh Form: Snow — A Line to the Heavens."
This technique was her fusion of the Snow Breathing and the Thunder Breathing— the fastest charging attack in the entire Snow series.
But because of that, it placed harsher demands on breathing control and put immense strain on the lungs.
Normally, breathing techniques were beneficial to the body, a method of conditioning oneself.
But Full Concentration Breathing—and its constant usage in battle—while greatly enhancing a swordsman's physique, also consumed the body in equal measure.
Cold sweat streamed down Yuko's temple. She forced herself to endure the stabbing pain in her lungs, gripping her blade tighter.
So fast!
Even faster than the Thunder Breathing!
Kokushibo's pupils tightened. A faint sting touched his neck, as though a needle were pressed against his skin.
This technique!
This was the technique Yuko used to sever his arm in an instant.
That streak of white snow condensed to a point in his vision, and for a moment, he actually felt the urge to evade.
Yuko's swordwork had surprised him for an instant—but it did not erase the gap between them.
Kokushibo braced himself and raised his blade to block. His muscles tensed as he forcefully halted the attack.
Clang!
A sharp metallic note rang out.
The two blades clashed.
Kokushibo's own long blade showed signs of fracturing, thin cracks spreading across its surface.
He did not seem surprised. The Kyokokukamusari was formed from his own flesh, while a Nichirin blade—designed specifically to slay demons—could break it under the right conditions.
Beads of sweat dotted Yuko's forehead, her lips growing pale.
Through Transparent World, Kokushibo could see clearly—Yuko was at her limit.
The cracks on the Kyokokukamusari pulsed with flesh and quickly repaired themselves. Kokushibo shifted aside from the Nichirin blade and swung again.
Yuko ducked low and slipped behind him.
A dying struggle.
Kokushibo had never used full strength. He turned with unhurried ease—only to see red breath leaking from Yuko's lips, her sword now coated in crimson flame.
Sun Breathing?
Was she planning a desperate final strike?
Kokushibo knew perfectly well that Yuko could not use Sun Breathing flawlessly.
And if anyone understood that style, aside from Muzan claiming first place, he was second.
This stance—Sixth Form—
Hm?
He was about to counter when his pupils constricted sharply.
Not the Sun Breathing!
The red breath from Yuko's mouth was laced with pure white.
On her snow-white blade, red and white flames burned fiercely together.
"Snow Breathing, Ninth Form: Sunflare Snow!"
Yuko clenched her teeth, forcing her mind to remain focused.
Just a little longer… My body…
Her Nichirin blade traced a radiant arc through the air, formed of red-and-white flames.
Not good!
The opening stance was nearly identical to the Sun Breathing's Sixth Form. Kokushibo's knowledge of that style made him misread her intent.
By the time he realized it, the blazing blade was already at his neck.
From this angle—he couldn't dodge!
In a rush, Kokushibo crossed his arms and lifted his blade to form an X-shaped guard.
Clang!
Fwoooosh!!!
The roaring flames cleaved through his long blade entirely. Veins bulged on his hands as his arm muscles tightened, desperately trying to slow the sword's advance.
It's fine!
Yuko was already at her limit. Her strength wouldn't last. As long as he focused on regenerating his arms, she would falter first!
But as he attempted to accelerate his regeneration, he suddenly realized—
It wasn't being slowed.
It was being stopped.
Kokushibo's eyes widened. He stared at Yuko's glowing blade, now burning red-hot.
A red blade!
With that physical condition?!
A Transparent World awakening could be attributed to talent. The Mark could be achieved by surpassing mortal limits.
But a red blade—without sufficient grip strength, it was simply impossible.
Even he had only achieved it after awakening his Mark.
He discarded that technique after becoming a demon, but he had never denied one truth:
A red blade could not be mastered by talent alone.
It demanded a body capable of it.
What he could not comprehend was this truth:
A human's will could turn the impossible into reality.
Even a dying body could explode with strength beyond its limits for a single moment.
Kokushibo's arms were shaved away bit by bit. Agonizing heat pressed against his neck.
His eyes filled with fury and panic as he stared at Yuko.
Why?!
Why was it always like this—for both Yoriichi and Yuko—
He abandoned his family, abandoned his humanity—yet still…
Yuko could no longer answer the confusion in Michikatsu's eyes. Every cell in her body was taut, her mind stretched like a hair-thin thread bearing a thousand pounds. A single stray thought would shatter it.
That small, fragile figure overlapped with someone else in Kokushibo's fading vision.
…
No!
He couldn't die yet!
He hadn't surpassed Yoriichi!
Kokushibo could only watch helplessly as his neck was sliced away piece by piece, the torment of waiting for defeat driving him mad.
When two-thirds of his neck had been cut and decapitation was only a breath away—
Yuko's expression suddenly changed. Her breathing technique, pushed far beyond its limit, caused the thread sustaining her mental focus to snap entirely.
"Hgh—!"
Her strength vanished. She collapsed to her knees, vomiting mouthful after mouthful of blood, as though she were coughing up her very organs.
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Currently at chapter 123 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08