Gyutaro failed to completely evade Tomioka Giyu's blade—the left half of his chest was cleanly cleaved open.
In the last second, Gyutaro scoffed at what he assumed to be a "minor wound."
But the very next moment, his pupils shrank with shock—the injury wasn't healing.
"What…?!" Gyutaro snarled, realizing the truth. The red blade—a Nichirin Sword ignited with Crimson Flame—was interfering with his regeneration.
Just as he attempted to pivot and counter, he discovered that Tomioka Giyu had already vanished from behind him.
"What?! Where did that bastard go?! What's he planning?!"
But by the time Gyutaro understood, it was already too late.
Giyu, with the swiftness of water itself, reappeared in front of Daki, his sword trailing a roaring water dragon.
Daki shrieked, struggling to intercept with her obi belts, but they may as well have been paper in the face of Giyu's red blade.
"Onii-chan!!" she screamed instinctively.
But the world spun violently before her eyes—her head was severed before she could blink.
Giyu didn't pause. In a single fluid movement, he sheathed and unsheathed his blade several times, dissecting Daki into countless pieces.
The crimson glow of his Nichirin Sword gradually faded. Giyu exhaled, voice calm:
"Let's see you behave now."
Though Daki's attacks hadn't been able to injure him, they were an unbearable distraction.
And in this fight—one destined to wear on—any distraction was a death sentence.
"My stamina won't last forever. But a demon's… does."
"DON'T TOUCH MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!!!"
Gyutaro roared. As expected, he charged recklessly. But Giyu was already prepared.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
BOOM!
Using the force of the downward slash, Giyu launched himself backward, gaining distance from Gyutaro.
After retreating several meters, Giyu finally halted, his right hand trembling from the impact.
"Tch… Even with the Crimson Blade, the recoil's still harsh…"
He clenched his fist tighter, his muscles numb.
He had predicted the demon's reaction, and exploited it—but the price wasn't light.
"Onii-chan!! Why?! Why isn't it healing?! Waaaaah!!"
"Calm down! It's not that it won't heal—it's just slowed down!" Gyutaro snapped, summoning his Blood Demon Art.
Several blood blades exploded forth, screaming toward Giyu like crimson meteors.
"Anyone who harms my sister… must pay their debt IN FULL!!"
"Blood Demon Art: Flying Blood Sickles!"
Giyu, hearing Daki's shrieking sobs from a distance, couldn't help but mutter:
"Whose kettle is boiling?"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
He deflected each blood blade with fluid precision, water surging from his sword.
"Blood Demon Art: Rotating Circular Slash!!"
Giyu looked up—his expression sharpened.
"His strength… He's getting faster!"
No time to analyze—he dropped into stance.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
FWOOSH!
Twin crimson whirlwinds howled through the air, aiming to rip him apart.
Giyu stood unmoving. The storm of slashes clashed against his absolute stillness—and broke like waves on stone.
But then—a chill struck his spine.
He instinctively leapt forward—too late.
A hot slash tore across his back.
"GOT YOU!! Bwahahahaha!! I finally got you, you little brat!!"
Gyutaro laughed, triumphant. Giyu winced, but turned to face him immediately, sword drawn defensively.
"No comeback? You finally learned fear?"
Gyutaro scratched his neck grotesquely and smiled, enjoying the torment.
"Judging by your face… looks like you know my sickle's coated in poison."
He stepped closer, grinning.
"Hehehe… it's kicking in now, huh? Starting to feel sluggish? Weak?"
"Pick up your sword! Come on! TRY to cut my neck! What's the matter?! Can't move?"
"AHAHAHA! PATHETIC!"
Tomioka Giyu said nothing, his face unreadable. He stood in the moonlight like a statue, silent.
In his mind, he calculated:
An hour until sunrise. The first light will break soon. This clearing will be bathed in sun…
He took a deep breath.
No more restraint. No more holding back. From now on… it's all or nothing.
Using Breathing Techniques to suppress the poison's spread would only divide his strength.
Better to risk death—and fight at full force.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
He burst forth with a swift, slashing arc, cutting through Gyutaro's surprise.
But Gyutaro met him head-on.
"THAT'S IT! COME AT ME!! DIE LIKE A DOG!!"
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Steel sang. Blood scattered.
But Giyu was falling behind.
The demon's erratic movements, his shifting attack rhythms, plus the poison sapping Giyu's body—it was overwhelming.
"Tired already? Aww, too bad! One more second and I'll carve you up!"
THUD!
A brutal strike smashed Giyu backward, making him stagger.
Gyutaro grinned, sensing the kill.
"Heh, GOT YOU!! Blood Demon Art: BLOOD-SPATTERED SICKLE—SPIN!!"
Giyu's heart clenched. No time to invoke the Eleventh Form!
He had one shot.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool-Twisting Vortex!"
Instead of deflecting the sickles—he absorbed them.
His blade spun in a spiraling surge of water, drawing the demon's attacks inward—nullifying their force.
"WHAT?!"
Gyutaro gasped—his control of the sickles was unraveling.
But he wasn't done yet. He snarled, and his arms erupted—slashing whirlwinds spiraled forth.
***
"Blood Demon Art: Circular Slash – Blood Scythe!!"
Seeing this, Tomioka Giyu knew he had to be faster. He pushed off the ground and leapt high into the air.
At that moment, the blood-soaked sickles had been fully controlled by Gyutaro, but then—a water dragon surged from Giyu's Nichirin Blade!
"Hope you don't mind—I'll borrow your blood blade."
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form – Modified: Flow of Blood!"
That's right—the water dragon was completely dyed red with blood, transforming into a blood dragon!
Gyutaro had no intention of dodging. He roared and swung both arms forward, facing Giyu's blood dragon head-on.
A deafening bang echoed. The ground between them collapsed instantly, engulfed in dust and flying debris.
But it wasn't over. The blood dragon, forcibly fused with the demon's blood techniques, hadn't dispersed yet.
Giyu hadn't anticipated that the Tenth Form, merged with the blood, would have a second strike.
"Again!"
Slash—slash—slash!
The grin on Gyutaro's face vanished, replaced by clenched teeth and fury. He realized he was gradually unable to keep up with Tomioka's rhythm—especially with every bone-crushing blow from the blood dragon.
"Damn you… don't get cocky, brat!!"
The relentless, high-intensity attacks pushed Tomioka into a trance-like state. His body radiated heat, but strangely, he didn't feel tired. Each swing of his blade was heavier—stronger—thanks to the blood dragon's power.
More importantly, Gyutaro's movements now seemed slower to him.
Suddenly—a rush of air from behind!
Though still mid-battle, Giyu sensed it. Just as the whistling wind reached his ears, he delivered a powerful strike to push Gyutaro back and immediately repositioned his stance.
Spinning around, Giyu slashed several times, shredding the belts attacking from behind.
Daki had fully regenerated—but before she could say anything, Giyu was already in front of her.
This time, he was even faster than before. Before Daki could react, three clean slashes tore her apart.
"Blood Scythes, rip him to shreds!!!" Gyutaro shouted, struggling to suppress his fury. He knew the warrior before him was no ordinary Demon Slayer. One mistake—and both he and his sister would die here tonight.
His outward anger, the maniacal aura—that was all a distraction. He was truly afraid.
As the blood-soaked sickles rained from above, Tomioka didn't flinch. In the blink of an eye—he vanished!
The sickles slammed into the earth—but struck only an afterimage.
"What?!" Panic flickered in Gyutaro's eyes.
Because Giyu reappeared right in front of him—his blade aiming straight for his neck!
At the last second, Gyutaro's instincts kicked in. He twisted his body violently to the side.
Slash! Even though he evaded the fatal strike, his neck was still cut halfway through.
But this gave him a chance to counter.
Just as Gyutaro prepared to follow up, Tomioka suddenly paused—waves rippling around him.
A torrent of belts descended all at once.
Slash—slash—slash!
Daki had been overtaken—her brother now fully controlling her.
The impact burst into smoke and dust. But Giyu burst from it unscathed, racing toward Gyutaro again.
This time, he didn't even try to catch Daki. Tomioka knew the version of Daki under Gyutaro's direct control wasn't easy prey. Instead, he focused all his energy on finishing Gyutaro first.
Daki's interference had become negligible. Besides, dawn was near. Even if he couldn't kill them both, surviving until sunrise was enough.
"Tch—dammit!!!" Though only one eye remained open, Gyutaro's fury burned just as intensely.
As Tomioka closed in, Gyutaro didn't retreat. He charged forward, scythe raised high.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The battle exploded. Sword and sickle clashed faster than the eye could follow.
But something inside Tomioka awoke.
His speed—sharper. His angles—more unpredictable. His precision—flawless.
Blocking one of Gyutaro's scythes, Giyu loosened his grip, letting his Nichirin Sword drop.
He squatted low, leaning forward. In the same motion, he caught the falling sword and swept it upward—a clean arc from below!
Gyutaro was caught off-guard. But just in time, he called Daki's belts to his defense.
The belt blocked the strike—but only partially. A flash of blue light—and two-thirds of Gyutaro's neck was sliced through!
"Onii-chan!!! Are you kidding me?! Don't lose to that guy!!"
Daki's composure crumbled. She screamed, unleashing all her belts toward Tomioka in desperation.
But Giyu had predicted this. As soon as his blade failed to finish Gyutaro, he swept his leg low, using the force of his sword swing.
Gyutaro's pupils widened in shock. He had instinctively protected his neck—but hadn't expected Giyu's true intent:
To destroy his balance!
"Crap! This little bastard's going to take my head—!"
"No, wait! As long as my sister's head is still intact, I'll survive!"
Slash!
Giyu gave no opening. In a flash, he decapitated Gyutaro—his severed head falling to the earth.
He didn't stop.
Tomioka turned sharply, reversing his grip on the Nichirin Sword, and took a powerful step.
Boom! The ground cracked beneath him. He pulled back his right arm and hurled the Sun Blade at Daki, who was trying to hide in the distance.
Her defenses were down—all her belts had been released.
The Nichirin Blade impaled her neck.
As the three-eyed Daki grasped her throat and looked up, she saw—
Tomioka Giyu—already mid-air, not even three meters away!
She was still stunned, unable to react.
But Gyutaro—he could feel it clearly: death was imminent.
At this range, Giyu could definitely decapitate Daki before his body regenerated.
"No—!! I'm about to be beheaded—heal, heal, dammit!! Use the Circular Slash—use the Whirlwind—!"
But the scene Gyutaro imagined… didn't happen.
Daki's head was still intact. And even from a distance, Gyutaro's body had already started to regenerate.