Demon Slayer Mark: Crushing All Obstacles

Kurozawa silently approached, his undisguised Fighting Spirit fluctuations engulfing Sanemi Shinazugawa like a tsunami.

Sanemi Shinazugawa's breathing hitched, feeling as if he had been targeted by an incredibly ferocious beast. Any rash movement, and the beast would pounce, tearing out his throat.

As predators of humans, entities at the top of the food chain, Demons possessed a natural aura of suppression that was enough to make most Swordsmen's limbs go soft, especially an entity of Kurozawa's caliber.

However, Sanemi Shinazugawa was no ordinary Swordsman. His Breathing Technique had been in the Total Concentration: Constant stage for some time, and his current strength was vaguely at the Pillar level. His disposition was arrogant and tenacious, and in just an instant, he broke free from the oppressive might emanating from Kurozawa.

Whoosh. A vein on his face slightly bulged. Sanemi Shinazugawa didn't hesitate to activate Total Concentration once again.

Due to his battle with Hachikotsu Ryo, he had been in the Total Concentration Breathing state for a while. Sanemi Shinazugawa considered his physical condition and estimated he could maintain Total Concentration for about another hour. Exceeding that time would cause his body to tend towards collapse.

"One hour. Can I kill him?"

Sanemi Shinazugawa tightened his grip on his broken blade, quickly dismissing this unrealistic thought from his mind.

However, running away was clearly a worse option.

After intense thought in just a few breaths, Sanemi Shinazugawa made his decision, his eyes filled with the vicious, relentless ferocity of a cornered beast.

He struck first, his toes sharply pushing off the ground. His body stirred up a whirlwind as he closed in on Kurozawa. At the same time, the broken Nichirin Blade in his hand was raised high, delivering a fierce horizontal slash towards Kurozawa's neck.

Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts!

A swirling hurricane, nearly two meters in diameter and over ten meters high, rose from the ground, sucking up the dust and churning the air into a murky mess.

A powerful wind rushed towards him, and Kurozawa felt a slight resistance.

At the same time, Sanemi Shinazugawa followed closely behind the hurricane. His broken blade emanated a chilling glint as he bravely charged forward.

This Swordsman's attack style was exceptionally fierce and sharp, sacrificing defense to a certain extent and focusing wholeheartedly on offense.

Facing a high-powered Sword Form with Pillar-level damage, Kurozawa didn't want to take it head-on. Otherwise, his body would be severely damaged, and the stamina required for regeneration would ultimately consume his precious Potential Points.

So, Kurozawa lowered his arm, slightly tilting the Mingzhou blade with its tip touching the ground.

Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin! The Mingzhou shot up in an upward slash. A rapidly extending crack suddenly split open on the ground. At the same time, a waterfall-like blade light surged upwards from the crack, like a black curtain, forming a surface and striking towards Sanemi Shinazugawa.

*Boom!* The hurricane-like blade light collided with the thick water cascade, generating layers of air currents that buffeted the nearby trees, causing their branches and leaves to tremble violently and their crowns to tilt.

Both were high-powered Sword Forms, but thanks to Kurozawa's deeper understanding of the Sword Form, he overpowered Sanemi Shinazugawa in terms of power.

As a result, the remaining fragmented blade light struck down towards Sanemi Shinazugawa, who narrowly dodged it by twisting his body, slicing off a few strands of his short white hair.

While dodging, Sanemi Shinazugawa's arm muscles bulged. He threw the broken blade, which spun into a blade wheel in mid-air, then curved into a sharp arc at a tricky angle, flying accurately towards Kurozawa's neck.

It was rare to see a Swordsman actively discarding their blade. If an ordinary Demon encountered such a surprise attack, they might very well be caught off guard.

But Sanemi Shinazugawa had been within Kurozawa's Fighting Spirit Domain the entire time.

When he mobilized his arm muscles and adjusted the flow of his internal energy, Kurozawa already knew his next move.

So, Kurozawa extended his left hand and, with a hiss, caught the whistling broken blade.

Hiss... A feeling of intense pain came from his hand, causing Kurozawa to look sideways.

"Huh? What's going on?"

He frowned and looked. The half of the Nichirin Blade, at some point, had taken on the color of a burning hot branding iron. A layer of scorching Crimson Red color was attached to it, causing damage to Kurozawa's palm.

*Thump!* A muffled sound suddenly came from Sanemi Shinazugawa's chest. His face changed, with a hint of confusion but also obvious joy.

A black Demon Slayer Mark appeared from nothing, like a winding snake, climbing onto Sanemi Shinazugawa's cheek.

"On-the-spot breakthrough... These main characters probably all have similar talents."

"I heard Hongyue say that when she fought the Flame Pillar, the Flame Pillar also awakened the Demon Slayer Mark."

Kurozawa watched the changes on Sanemi Shinazugawa's body, his expression calm.

Kurozawa had anticipated this situation.

Some Demon Slayer Corps Swordsmen were like this. They seemed to be at a disadvantage, but as soon as they were pushed hard, they would frequently break through, giving their enemies unexpected surprises.

He hadn't been using his full strength, the goal being to see if Sanemi Shinazugawa's strength would continue to rise.

Kurozawa guessed that even the Divine Will couldn't help certain individuals break through without limits.

Sanemi Shinazugawa being able to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark and activate the Crimson Red Blade was likely because he already possessed this talent, just lacking a slight push. The Divine Will's role was to give him that extra push.

Otherwise, Kurozawa estimated that Sanemi Shinazugawa would also simultaneously possess Fighting Spirit.

On the other side, Sanemi Shinazugawa quickly emerged from the negative state of awakening the Demon Slayer Mark and clenched his hand, feeling the new power surging within him.

"Demon Slayer Mark... but it doesn't seem to change the current situation."

He turned his head to look at Kurozawa, his peripheral vision glancing at the lower half of the Nichirin Blade at Kurozawa's feet and the upper half of the broken blade not far behind him.

His overall physical attributes had increased by about thirty percent, which was a terrifying improvement that could reverse the tide of battle in many situations.

But in front of the unfathomable Kurozawa, Sanemi Shinazugawa still felt no confidence at all.

Especially since his hands were empty; bare-handed he couldn't injure a Demon's body.

Across from him, Kurozawa sensed the much denser Fighting Spirit on Sanemi Shinazugawa than before. He shook his head and said, "Alright, let's end this."

Total Concentration! He took a deep breath, his energy surging wildly, rushing into his body, greatly enhancing his physique.

"What?" Sanemi Shinazugawa was startled.

Boom! With a thunderous blast, the ground beneath Kurozawa's feet shattered, and his body instantly vanished from Sanemi Shinazugawa's sight.

Where is he? Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes widened in horror as he frantically searched for Kurozawa.

At the same time, intense wind pressure came from above.

He didn't even lift his head, quickly rolling away to dodge.

Snap! Time seemed to slow down. In the end, Sanemi Shinazugawa couldn't completely evade. Kurozawa descended from the sky, his figure blocking the moonlight like a dark shadow cast over the ground.

A heavy kick with immense force landed on Sanemi Shinazugawa's right shoulder.

The moment they made contact, the strong muscles on his shoulder blade first caved in, then the bone instantly buckled under the strain, snapping into a comminuted fracture with a crack.

Using Sanemi Shinazugawa's teetering shoulder as a pivot point, Kurozawa adjusted his body, flipped in mid-air, and kicked again, intending to directly blow Sanemi Shinazugawa's head off and kill him.

But just then, an exceptionally sweet fragrance, a scent of sweet blood that made every cell in his body crave it, wafted into his nose and mouth.

-----------

Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/

Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/

Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua

-----------