The Hashiras gawked at the sight of Moraine hacking her way through the enormous dragons.
On the ground, seeing that Moraine was handling herself more than well against the powerful demon, Shinobu and Rengoku nodded at each other.
Letting out powerful shouts, boiling their Spiritual Pressure to the extreme, the two Hashiras shot toward Gyokko.
With a bang, Gyokko's arm regenerated.
In a pure rage, his hideous, distorted face becoming tighter, he pulled out pot after pot, firing sharp pillars of water at the incoming blurs.
Rengoku's sword whirled, vaporizing the water before it could even reach him.
Clouds of steam exploded around him, blinding the sight and senses.
Gyokko's eyes on his mouth and forehead narrowed.
With another bang, the diamond-like scales he possessed let out a demonic, reddish glow.
Tink!
Shinobu's Bankai hit the back of Gyokko's neck with a deafening sound.
Immense gusts of wind whistled as Gyokko's tail slammed onto Shinobu, trying to flatten her existence.
The Insect Hashira's demon slayer marks pulsed.
Dodging the thick, blue tail by the width of a hair, she used it to flip, landing on her toes.
Death arrived from the top.
Gyokko's mouths, which were in the place of his eyes, were grinning ear to ear.
Both of his hands were raised high, his claws sharper and stronger than the nail on Shinobu's hand.
Gyokko hacked.
A boiling hot red, curved sword met the claws.
Boommmmmmmmmm!
With a steamy, dusty explosion, the demon and the Hashiras separated, leaving behind a crater between themselves.
Gyokko laughed. "Ugly Hashiras! I can take on…"
Suddenly, his laugh died as he saw the grin on Rengoku's face.
Little by little, a butterfly-like tattoo appeared in the middle of Gyokko's forehead.
One done!
Two more to go!!
…
Drum-mm-mmm-mmmm-mmm!!!
Zohakuten's eyes had gone bloody red.
Seeing the armored figure, making an easy show of his dragons, fueled his hatred even more.
Before the Demon Slayer could even get up, though, he slammed the drums behind his back five times so fast that none could even see it.
Dragons sprouted from the grounds like vines, each thicker than before.
Their rage came out from their mouths like the roars of ancient beasts.
Then, circling and coiling around each other, they shot forward.
Zohakuten, though, wasn't done yet.
Drum-mm-mmm-mmmm-mmm!
Drum-mm-mmm-mmmm-mmm!!
Drum-mm-mmm-mmmm-mmm!!!
Fifteen more dragons followed the first five, the army of dragons engulfing the sky.
And all had only one figure in their eyes — a blue-gold-silver armored Moraine the Elegant!
Wind howled as the first five dragons roared, blasting a storm at her.
The second row of dragons spat out red-colored spears of spirituality, their speed faster than the wind.
The third row of dragons shook the space as they roared out sonic booms, one after the other, golden light blinding the sights.
And when the fourth row of dragons opened their massive, wooden maws, huge bolts of red-blue-colored bolts of lightning hacked toward the same figure.
It was like the very world was trying to erase the tiny existence standing in the middle of the crater, surrounded by the broken pieces of woods.
Hissssssss!
A flowery breath escaped Moraine's throat, her Claymore trembling with intense pouring of Mana into the mini-thrusters.
Suddenly, the tiara on her head stirred.
With a mechanical sound, the tiara opened up, sprouting parts.
In a fraction of a second, the tiara became a helmet, covering Moraine's face completely.
Within the helmet, the HUD display lit up, pinpointing everything within the battlefield with uncanny accuracy.
Elegant Breathing Style: Sixth Form —
Six holographic projections of Moraine appeared next to her, all looking and sensing as the original.
— Serene Rose Veil!
And then…
Elegant Breathing Style: Fifth Form —
The ground beneath Moraine's feet shattered beyond the sight.
The Grim Butterfly's Wings fluttered twice, the thrusters of her armor exploding with an immense burst of Mana.
Leaving behind a comet-like, blue trail, Moraine, and her projections, whirled through the incoming onslaught of techniques.
Bolts of lightning landed on her, but it was hard to tell which was a projection and which was not.
The long, red spears went right past her as well. Even the sound waves couldn't do anything, merely extinguishing the light of a projection.
In spirals, the flowers bloomed around the first row of dragons, covering all of them from head to tail.
With a neat, slicing sound, their bodies separated into dozens of pieces.
Moraine appeared behind them, flicking her elegant Claymore.
— Dusk Orchid Spiral!
"KILL HER!!!" Zohakuten roared.
Ten dragons launched toward her simultaneously, opening their fanged mouths.
Suddenly, a moon appeared in the previous moonless sky.
Around the moon, flowers bloomed and petals fell.
Elegant Breathing Style: Seventh Form —
The projections had disappeared, leaving behind one armored figure.
But this figure seemed to walk slowly.
Even when the ten dragons had arrived mere inches from her, she just stepped. Slowly.
Out of nowhere, hundreds of Moraines blurred into existence, falling from the moon.
Their speed was so fast that it looked like they were petals made of moonlight.
Blue-silver slashes overwhelmed the ten dragons, the figure underneath walking as slow as she had been before.
A misty breath escaped the helmet as Moraine appeared past them.
Overhead, the moon melted into the very sky like a mirage.
— Moonlit Camellia Cascade!
…
Moraine's breath rattled behind the helmet.
Suddenly, her silver eyes lit up, flashing like the morning sun.
From the front, the last of the five thundering dragons came, bringing a storm of red and blue lightning with them.
Elegant Breathing Style: Eight Form —
She hissed and raised the Claymore, preparing for the most tricky form.
…
Rengoku's blade had broken in two.
Half of the blade was stuck in Gyokko's torso, burning him from inside.
Giant, bloody claw marks covered the Flame Hashira's chest and back in return.
From the wounds, dozens of slimy fish came popping out as the effect of Upper Rank Five's special transmutation ability.
Two butterfly tattoos now covered Gyokko's head. His eyes had gone redder than red.
In the distance, Shinobu stood straight, missing her left leg.
With a pop, she vanished.
Gyokko's eyes popped out along with her.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Letting out a raging, smiling shout, Gyokko's entire body let out an ominous red-blue-purple glow. "I WILL SHOW YOU MY ART — RESU…"
Rengoku's heart skipped a beat.
Shinobu paused midway, coughing out a bucketful of blood.
Dense, demonic spirituality covered the surroundings as Gyokko's hand blurred, attacking himself.
However, something happened then that none of the three could have guessed.
Before Gyokko could even finish bringing out that ominous power, an elegant, armored figure wrapped around him like a wraith.
The Claymore in her hands landed on the demon's neck.
Then, with one flick of her wrists, Gyokko's head separated, still smiling.
Far into the distance, the thundering dragons bombarded the figure standing under them.
With a poof, the figure assuming a sword stance exploded in violet petals, drowning the surrounding lighting.
— Violet Wisteria Embrace!
It was such a trick that Gyokko, who was about to undergo Resurreccion, couldn't even feel it coming, dying under Moraine's Claymore.
Zohakuten's eyes shuddered at the sight of Gyokko turning to ash.
However, the Demon Slayer who had ambushed Gyokko didn't give him the chance to even breathe.
The Grim Butterfly's Wings shone brighter than ever.
Blue-Silver-Gold-Pink… Petals fell around her like raindrops.
The thrusters and displacers hummed as they got overloaded with Mana.
"I am Moraine the Elegant…"
Infrared lit up the position of hidden Hantengu near Zohakuten within her helmet.
"… and today I will stand true to my name."
Elegant Breathing Style: Ninth Form —
BOOM!
A mind-boggling boom originated as Moraine went supersonic.
With the sound waves, petals danced, taking the form of a blooming flower.
In one blur, Moraine appeared right on top of Zohakuten and the secured Hantengu and hacked, the mini-thrusters of the Claymore searing the very space.
Behind the helmet, Moraine's silver eyes burned gold.
— Eternal Bloom Finale!
**************
AN: 60 more chapters are available in advance on Pat -re -8n [Use the link available on my Webnovel Profile].
With each Tier, you will get ALL Monthly Uploads of all my works, Side Stories, Backlog Chapters, along with unique Images, enriching your reading experience while simultaneously supporting the work.
100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter