"A pure swordsman? Interesting."
Yoriichi nodded without hesitation. "I accept. Bring her here."
Shuya didn't waste a second. He opened the Crossing Gate right there in the training hall and sent word through it for Saeko to come over.
"The strongest swordsman?"
Saeko stepped through the glowing portal and immediately locked eyes on the crimson-haired man standing in the middle of the room. Her tongue flicked across her lips as a fierce, burning battle lust exploded in her eyes.
She'd thought she'd have to wait much longer to fight the four-hundred-year-old demon swordsman Shuya had mentioned. Instead, the opportunity had come the moment she'd awakened Transparent World—and her opponent was none other than the strongest swordsman in this entire world.
The feeling was intoxicating.
The only downside? This legendary swordsman wasn't evil, and Shuya still needed him alive to complete the contract. Otherwise, she would've loved nothing more than to cut him down with Reizan.
Saeko glanced at Shuya with pure affection.
Shuya-kouhai is the best.
She was more than satisfied with this matchup.
As for last night's little incident… she'd let it slide. For now.
"A woman?"
Yoriichi blinked in mild surprise when Saeko stepped out of the gate. In any era, female swordsmen strong enough to fight demons were rare. Hashira-level ones were even rarer.
But that surprise lasted only a second. His expression quickly turned serious.
Yoriichi rested his hand on the hilt of his Nichirin Blade. "I've never seen such pure fighting spirit before. Even as a woman, you are truly a worthy opponent."
"Cut the talk. Let's fight."
Saeko manifested Reizan without hesitation. She released every drop of the terrifying killing intent she'd forged from slaughtering over a million zombies.
The aura became almost physical, pressing down on the entire training hall like a crushing weight.
"This killing intent—"
Yoriichi's eyes sharpened. His fingers tightened around his blade.
He had already tried to overestimate her. But the moment that overwhelming bloodlust fully erupted, he realized he'd still fallen short.
"How many lives did you have to take to forge something this terrifying?" he murmured.
Without another word, he unleashed his own battle-hardened aura—sharp, refined, and unyielding. The two pressures clashed head-on. One was overwhelming quantity. The other was absolute quality. For a moment, neither could overpower the other.
The air grew heavy. Any ordinary person standing here would've already collapsed.
Shuya watched intently from the side. Both of these monsters were far beyond his current sword skill. Even just observing could teach him a lot.
"Kill!"
Unable to overwhelm him with presence alone, Saeko kicked off the ground and lunged. Reizan flashed toward Yoriichi's neck, her killing aura coiling around the blade like a living serpent.
The air itself screamed as the blade tore through it.
"Not bad."
Yoriichi's face stayed calm. He drew his Nichirin Blade in one smooth motion—no fancy Sun Breathing forms. The blade simply ignited with brilliant golden-red flames, like a miniature sun.
Clang!
The two swords collided.
There was no metallic ring. Yoriichi's flames burned away the tangible killing intent wrapped around Reizan, while Saeko's aura began corroding his blade in return. The killing intent crawled up the Nichirin Blade like a living parasite, trying to devour both the sword and the man holding it.
Yoriichi's pupils contracted. He immediately leapt back, golden-red light flaring around his body to burn away the invading aura.
He had expected a simple spar. Instead, one probing exchange had already made him feel more pressure than he had during his first fight with Muzan.
"What a terrifying opponent," Yoriichi said, almost admiringly. "My back is already cold. If I'm not careful, I might end up dying a second time."
Shuya, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help rolling his eyes.
This old man is such a drama queen.
If memory served, Yoriichi had said almost the exact same thing the first time he faced Muzan four hundred years ago—only to turn around and beat the Demon King so badly that Muzan had to blow himself into eighteen hundred pieces just to escape.
And now he was pulling the same act?
Yoriichi looked at Saeko with genuine curiosity. "Can you tell me how you condensed such pure killing intent? It's far denser than anything I saw from even the greatest warlords of my era."
"More importantly… you've never suffered backlash from it. I can't even imagine how."
This world couldn't afford another monster worse than Muzan. If her answer didn't satisfy him, he might have to use what remained of his soul to cut her down right here.
"If this were the old me, I might've said I was born a killing demon who lived only for battle," Saeko replied, fingers gently tracing Reizan's edge. Her voice turned firm. "But now my blade exists to protect Shuya-kouhai. As long as he's with me, no matter how heavy this killing intent becomes, it will only point in the direction he walks."
"Swinging your sword to protect someone?"
Yoriichi's gaze flicked toward Shuya, then he gave a small nod. Saeko's answer seemed to satisfy him.
"Still… your killing intent is powerful, but it's like an unpolished gem. Not refined enough yet."
"In that case, allow this lingering soul to become your whetstone. I'll help you take one more step forward."