At the center of the once-scorching Sun Cursed Energy, the phantom of a cold, clear moon quietly emerged.
The damaged organs were rapidly reconstructed under the moonlight; muscle fibers rewove themselves, and bones snapped back into place with audible cracks.
Yoru opened his eyes once more.
Within his dark red pupils, not only did a crescent moon rotate, but a phantom of the eerie Six Eyes was also reflected.
"Roar—!"
The Proliferation Cursed Spirit let out a heart-wrenching shriek. Though it couldn't speak, it instinctively felt uneasy.
Its massive body shuddered violently, as if issuing a lethal command.
With its roar, the previously stalled sea of corpses seethed once again.
Tens of thousands of stitched monsters lunged at Yoru like a tsunami.
This time, the momentum was even more overwhelming than before.
Yet Yoru simply stood his ground, his blade lowered slightly.
It was as if he had given up resistance.
But a closer look revealed that within a three-meter radius around him, the air was being sliced into a vacuum by countless tiny blade-winds.
"Total Concentration: Moon Breathing."
Yoru whispered softly.
The sound wasn't loud, yet it reached the ears of every living creature present.
"Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon - Avici."
Shhh!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no deafening roar.
Only a crisp sound, like a snapping lute string.
Immediately after, the tens of thousands of lunging stitched monsters froze simultaneously.
Their bodies remained in a charging stance, but the light instantly vanished from their eyes.
Snap.
A faint crackling sound.
Like the first domino falling.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Countless fine bloodlines surfaced on the monsters' bodies.
In the next second.
The tens of thousands of monsters disintegrated into countless tiny chunks of meat as if tossed into a meat grinder!
Blood sprayed out, turning into a rain of gore.
But before the blood rain could hit the ground, it was sliced again by the lingering moonblades in the air, finally transforming into a mist of blood!
One move.
With just one move, tens of thousands of cursed stitched monsters were annihilated!
This was Moon Breathing.
If Sun Breathing was the dominance of extreme yang and direct force...
Then Moon Breathing was the trickery of extreme yin and pervasive softness.
It was a sword technique born for slaughter.
Especially when facing such massive numbers, the lethality of Moon Breathing grew exponentially!
"......"
Although the Space Cursed Spirit lacked intelligence, its simple mind was now filled with terror.
Its murky eyes stared intently at the youth in the center of the ruins.
Yoru's aura had completely changed.
The warmth that felt like the sun had vanished, replaced by a suffocating chill.
Behind him, a massive blood moon seemed to rise slowly.
Beneath that blood moon lay a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
And Yoru was the master of this hell!
"What? Scared already?"
Yoru slowly raised his head.
His eyes had turned an eerie dark red at some point, with a crescent moon faintly spinning in the pupils.
That was the manifestation of the Transparent World being opened to its limit.
Moreover, it was proof of the high synchronization between Moon Breathing and the Yoriichi Tsugikuni template.
"Weren't you having a lot of fun just now?"
The corners of Yoru's mouth curled up into a cruel smile.
Shhh!
His figure vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already right in front of the Space Cursed Spirit!
Too fast!
So fast that even afterimages were invisible!
The Space Cursed Spirit was terrified, instinctively trying to activate its technique to flee.
But how could Yoru give it that chance?
"Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace."
Clang!
A pitch-black crescent slash swept out.
But this was no ordinary slash.
Surrounding that massive crescent were countless tiny, irregular moonblades!
Splatter!
The space-folding defense the Space Cursed Spirit took pride in was as useless as a facade before this eerie moon slash.
Its half-body was sliced open instantly, the wound as smooth as a mirror.
What was even more terrifying...
Those tiny moonblades burrowed into its body through the wound, frantically destroying its Cursed Energy core!
"Roar—!!!"
The Space Cursed Spirit let out a piercing shriek.
It wanted to regenerate, but the Moon Cursed Energy clinging to the wound was like a disease, suppressing its healing ability.
While not burning it directly like Sun Breathing, this continuous destruction was far more torturous!
"It's not over yet."
Yoru's voice rang in its ear.
Like a whisper from the Grim Reaper.
"That move just now was returning the favor."
"Next comes the interest."
The blade in Yoru's hand danced again.
This time, his movements were more violent and unbridled.
"Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains."
Swish, swish, swish!
Two massive crescent slashes crossed each other, instantly sealing off all escape routes for the Space Cursed Spirit.
Simultaneously, countless tiny moonblades rained down like a meteor shower, turning the Space Cursed Spirit into a pincushion!
Boom!
The massive body of the Space Cursed Spirit slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Within the dust...
The other two Special Grade Cursed Spirits—the Gravity Cursed Spirit and the Proliferation Cursed Spirit—finally reacted.
They let out a roar and attacked Yoru simultaneously.
The Gravity Cursed Spirit slammed its hands onto the ground, and a terrifying gravity field capable of crushing a tank instantly enveloped Yoru.
The Proliferation Cursed Spirit split off countless small self-detonating cursed spirits again, swarming toward Yoru like locusts.
If it were the previous Yoru, he might have found this pincer attack tricky.
But now...
"Too slow."
Yoru snorted coldly.
He squatted slightly, holding his long blade at his side.
Within that terrifying gravity field, his movements weren't hindered in the slightest!
Because the moment Moon Breathing was activated, the space around him had been shredded into pieces by countless tiny moonblades.
Gravity?
Even space was shattered; where would gravity find purchase?
As for those self-detonating cursed spirits...
"Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy."
The blade in Yoru's hand swung out violently.
But he didn't slash at any enemy; instead, he spun in place.
Boom!
A massive tornado appeared out of thin air.
But this tornado wasn't made of wind; it was composed of countless razor-sharp moonblades!
It was practically a giant meat grinder!
Before those lunging self-detonating cursed spirits could even get close to Yoru, they were swept into the moonblade storm and shredded into powder instantly!
They didn't even have time to explode!
"Is that it?"
Yoru stood at the center of the storm, looking coldly at the two trembling Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
"Since you won't make a move."
"...then I'll take the initiative."
Shhh!
Yoru's figure vanished again.
This time, his target was the Gravity Cursed Spirit.
"Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail."
A massive dragon composed entirely of moonblades roared forth, slamming fiercely into the Gravity Cursed Spirit.
Rumble!
The massive body of the Gravity Cursed Spirit was sent flying, crashing through countless buildings before being embedded deep into the nuclear power plant's reactor containment shell.
At this moment.
The entire nuclear power plant trembled.
The three Special Grade Cursed Spirits, who had been so arrogant, were now being overwhelmed by Yoru alone!
This was the terror of a 30% Synchronization Rate!
This was the power of Moon Breathing!
"Roar..."
The last remaining Proliferation Cursed Spirit let out a low, desperate growl.
It looked at the youth before it, who resembled a demon god, and for the first time, the thought of fleeing occurred to it.
But just as it turned around.
A cold voice rang out behind it.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Yoru stood behind it at some point.
The long blade in his hand was held high, and on the blade, a beautiful yet tragic waning moon was slowly taking shape.
"Since you're here."
"...then stay here forever."
As the words fell.
The blade in Yoru's hand swung down violently.
At that moment.
The entire world seemed to turn blood-red.
And within that crimson, only a cold, lonely moon hung high in the sky!
Under that moonlight, all sin and filth would have nowhere to hide!