Chapyer 63: Pillars and Moons (Part 4)

In the future, summer festivals always feature fireworks. As night falls, the prepared fireworks soar into the sky, painting beautiful flowers against the backdrop of the night.

It's a beautiful picture.

And Li Mo's sword technique at this moment is as beautiful as fireworks. It's like a dance offered by spirits before the gods.

Sun Breathing, also known as the Dance of the Fire God. Between the two, Li Mo actually prefers the latter name.

Facing this lethal move, Akaza, in an instant, saw the flow and fusion of the twelve forms of Sun Breathing, seamless and unending. It was almost a flawless strike.

But unfortunately—

The user was not the creator of this technique. The speed was too slow, leaving openings.

Akaza leaped back, escaping the encirclement. He could have exploited the opening to counterattack, but in the next moment, the Nichirin Blade might have been at his neck.

"I don't understand. Even if you're part of the Demon Slayer Corps, you're still a martial artist. What's wrong with pursuing the pinnacle of strength? Becoming a demon gives you a better chance to reach that pinnacle!

Destruction Style: Chaos!"

Facing Li Mo, who was closing in, Akaza naturally chose to attack. This move was a relentless barrage aimed at a single point. A swordsman's body is far more fragile than a demon's. While a demon could withstand this with its body, a swordsman had to parry with their blade.

Humans are so fragile!

"The pinnacle of strength? Must all martial artists purely pursue the pinnacle as their sole goal? Then I'm sorry, I'm not a martial artist. What you call the pinnacle, to us swordsmen, is just a tool.

Swordsmen train their breathing, master their techniques, and pursue the pinnacle for a reason! And that reason is to kill demons.

Akaza, you need to understand! We hone our skills and train for the purpose of killing you."

Li Mo was calm.

He was stating his perspective.

In truth, he felt anger rising within him.

"What? You need a reason to pursue the pinnacle? How laughable! With such strong fighting spirit, yet you're so impure.

Li Mo, your words anger me!"

Akaza felt rage. In its life, there were only two things: obeying Muzan-sama's orders, and pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts.

For this, it spent most of its time training in the mountains, not even willing to waste time eating humans. It only ate when tasked by Muzan-sama.

The one thing it pursued in life was being denied by a human. Even as a demon, Akaza felt anger.

This human, so strong, yet indifferent to the pinnacle?

How arrogant!

"Destruction Style: Annihilation!"

Its fist shot out. This was Akaza's full power, concentrated into a single punch. The punch shattered the defensive net Li Mo's sword techniques had built, striking his body.

Li Mo was sent flying but quickly regained his footing.

"Yes, what angers you is what angers me! Akaza, you use your pursuit to deny ours. How arrogant! It's truly infuriating."

—Sometimes, Li Mo wondered why he sought strength.

The Kamado family's solitary exploration of the Dance of the Fire God.

The courage to fight demons without a Nichirin Blade.

The diligence during harsh training on Mount Sagiri.

The奔波 of being a Pillar.

Since coming to this world, he had been busy. Even when the chance to return to reality was before him, he didn't take it immediately.

Because—demons were too ugly.

The demons he had faced before were all killed in an instant, so he never felt this way.

But Akaza.

His feelings toward Akaza were complicated. Before meeting it, Li Mo had a somewhat positive image of it, though that didn't stop him from wanting to kill it.

Stance determined action.

But after truly interacting with Akaza, Li Mo began to dislike it.

It kept urging him to become a demon.

Everything he had done, from the Kamado family to the Butterfly Mansion, from Mount Sagiri to Tokyo, was to kill demons. If he became a demon, what was the point of all he had done?

"I dislike you, Akaza. I feel like you're denying everything I stand for!"

"I dislike you too, Li Mo. You're strong, but your perspective disgusts me!

Destruction Style: Chaos!"

Akaza was far from Li Mo, now mid-air. In the previous exchange, it had chosen to leap into the air. Its fists struck rapidly in the void, the force transmitted through the air, forming invisible projectiles that bombarded Li Mo.

Whoosh—

Li Mo could hear the sound and see the distortion in the air. All he could do was swing his Nichirin Blade again.

He had used this blade, thin as a cicada's wing, to cut through boulders. Surely, he could cut through these attacks.

…

This wasn't a battle he could participate in.

Rengoku Shinjuro was the sole witness to this fight.

As a Pillar, as one of the strongest in the Demon Slayer Corps, he could see that the two combatants had surpassed him.

—Extreme speed.

—Extreme strength.

—Extreme skill.

Both displayed unmatched power. Even his junior seemed to have the upper hand. Just a year ago, this foreign junior was weaker than him. Now, he had reached such heights.

Was he ashamed? No, he felt relief and pain. Relief that the Demon Slayer Corps had a worthy successor, and pain that this foreign junior might fall here. Compared to demons, humans had far less room for error. Demons, with their regeneration, had countless chances to fail. Humans had only one.

—Perhaps he shouldn't have called for help.

A dark thought crossed Shinjuro's mind. Facing Upper Moon Three, he couldn't even buy time until sunrise, forcing his junior to fight desperately.

He watched the two engaged in high-speed combat. It was a battle beyond the perception of ordinary humans, the battlefield constantly shifting. He had to focus intently to follow.

The scales of victory seemed to tilt in Li Mo's favor.

But Lady Luck was not on Li Mo's side.

…

"Destruction Style: Crushing Type—Ten Thousand Leaves Flash!"

A downward strike, Akaza's powerful leg came down like a great blade. But the agile swordsman dodged.

He swung his blade, aiming for Akaza's neck. Akaza dodged just in time, avoiding the fatal blow.

A demon only dies if its head is cut off by a Nichirin Blade. Even if its body is injured, it regenerates instantly.

The Nichirin Blade cut into Akaza's body. But unexpectedly, the blade couldn't advance further, nor could it be pulled out. Akaza had used its muscles to clamp down on the blade.

Then, it swung its hand, severing the Nichirin Blade.

The edge of the Nichirin Blade was sharp, capable of cutting through almost anything. But its side was fragile, easily chipped by a few pebbles.

Li Mo retreated with the broken blade, creating distance from Akaza.

"You did that on purpose?"

Akaza said, "Yes."

"I thought you wouldn't use such underhanded tactics."

"But you are an exception."

Under the night sky, the Nichirin Blade in his hand was now halved. To a swordsman, the blade is life, a fifth limb. A swordsman without a blade is like a tiger without teeth, no longer a threat.

Akaza said, "You could go and take Shinjuro's Nichirin Blade now."

Rengoku Shinjuro was just a few hundred meters away. Li Mo could easily go to him, take his Nichirin Blade, and continue the fight. But the cost would be moving the battle to Shinjuro, whose mobility was compromised.

"What will you do?" Akaza asked. "Li Mo, I'll ask you one last time. Will you become a demon?"

Under the night sky, the "Upper Moon" offered the "Pillar" a poisonous apple that could save his life.