^ Chapter 47 - Indomitable Will ^

"Shinazugawa. Stitch up your stomach wound right now, that's an order." asked Gyōmei without turning his head to Sanemi, the Stone Hashira standing resolute before his brother-in-arms without a hint of fear. "I will take him on while you do that."

"Right...sorry about this, Himejima-san." Sanemi apologized before he held an arm over his abdomen and retreated.

Hearing his friend's footsteps grow fainter, Gyōmei took a deep breath and twirled the spiked ball half of his weapon rapidly in a circle with his right hand. The beat of his heart was steady and his muscles were tense, ready for the fight that was about to occur.

These things could be seen by Kokushibō, and with a slight smirk the demon gazed upon his opponent and chuckled lightly. It had been three hundred years since he had met a swordsman who's body had been as refined as Gyōmei's. All of his training had pushed the titan of a man to his limits, becoming a n example of just how far a human could go if they were determined to grow and better themselves.

It was simply outstanding, and after he finished chuckling Kokushibō felt his heart skip a beat again in anticipation. From one opponent to the next, he was reminded of the thrill of battling a strong enemy.

Faster and faster spun Gyōmei's flail, to the point that Kokushibō could feel the very air around him begin to be drawn towards the swordsman. With yet another deep breath, Gyōmei acted.

His spiked ball was thrown at blinding speeds at the Upper Moon One, Kokushibō ducking to the right and avoiding it. The floor erupted with debris and dust when the flail struck it, a loud pinging noise rebounding off all the walls after impact. Kokushibō barely parted his lips and prepared to use a breath, before a rush of air tickled the back of his neck, drawing his gaze back to see the razor sharp axe of Gyōmei's weapon coming right for him.

"He's even throwing his axe? Unleashing both weapons at the same time...what utter bravado." thought Kokushibō as he easily avoided the axe by ducking back.

Gyōmei then slammed his foot down onto the heavy chain that connected his weapons and made the flail practically stop in midair, before making it whip back down just as fast as he had thrown it himself.

"Iwa no kokyū, Ni no Kata: Tenmen Kudaki!" Gyōmei's flail grew spiked pieces of rocks as it hurtled back down towards Kokushibō's face, threatening to smash him to pieces.

Staying calm he found his footing and avoided the blow before it could hit him, the impact of the flail upturning the floor once again and sending fragments of tile and earth flying outward in all directions.

Gyōmei didn't let Kokushibō breathe at all when he manipulated his chains with efficient and powerful arm motions, the large metal links closing in around his neck. Expecting them to be simple iron, he raised his sword up into the loop before it could close entirely to cut through them.

He was surprised when the edge of his blade struck the rapidly closing chains and failed to make even a single dent in them, causing all six of his eyes to widen. Reacting on instinct he brought his head through the loop just in time for it to snap shut, severing only a medium size portion of his hair.

"The chain, axe and iron ball are all made of the same materials, most likely a mixture of scarlet crimson iron sand and scarlet crimson ore. It's refined to such an extent that my flesh sword will burn itself out before I can cut his blade…" Kokushibō thought tactically while avoiding Gyōmei's furious, yet graceful attacks. He'd never seen a swordsman who used such an unorthodox pair of weapons so fluidly with such strength. And the quality of metal of his weapon was an issue too. "Metal that absorbed sunlight to this extent wasn't even discovered during the Sengoku Era, when swordsmith techniques were at their golden age. I need to go within striking range...that's what's best…"

Kokushibō turned his sword back and ducked down low in order to avoid the attack vectors of Gyōmei's axe and flail, the Stone Hashira grunting and furrowing his brow. When the demon brought his blade within inches of the man's neck, he vanished, appearing directly above him.

Back and forth they traded blows, with Gyōmei's weapons chipping away at Kokishibō's sword and clothes while his immense reflexes and agility kept him clear from harm. The demon was impressed with the Hashira's muscular strength, heavy frame, and lightness of his feet. All of it was so hard to believe.

Those three things contained within one singular person was truly a deadly combination, one that even Kokushibō had to recognize and respect. For a human, Gyōmei certainly was a force to be reckoned with.

When he avoided Gyōmei's flail again he lunged at the with his sword held back, aiming to get within the range of his chain again. With years of expertise with his weapon on display yet again, Gyōmei manipulated the chain to twist around Kokushibō's sword while at the same time he readied his axe and flail for another technique.

Half of his flesh sword was severed thanks to the chain, but Kokushibō kept moving forward, leading to an eventual confrontation as both swordsman uttered their next attacks.

With a storm of chaotic moon blades and whirling stones and rock, they clashed with a mere few feet of clearance between one another. When the chaos subsided, both men were standing across from one another with hardly any marks on one another.

"Everything that breaks, will regenerate right away...attacks are useless…" murmured Kokushibō as all of the wounds he sustained had healed that quickly, including his broken flesh sword. Meanwhile Gyōmei had suffered a diagonal cut across his face, starting above his right eye and ending at the bottom of his left cheek. Blood was dripping into his right eye, but it hardly affected him because he was already blind. "Pitiful human...even with all your strength, you're beginning to tire…"

"I wanted to save this for when I faced Muzan...but if I fail here, I'll end up back where I started." Gyōmei replied as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and widened his stance, gritting his teeth. With a huge burst of power, black crack-like markings appeared on both of his forearms.

Kokushibō's eyes widened slightly at the appearance of the markings, and he tightened his fingers around his sword a second later. "The markings have appeared…"

"There's no point holding out here. I have to use everything I have!" Gyōmei announced with determination.

Muichirō on the other hand was not doing so well, thanks to the rapid accumulation of injuries that he sustained. Most of his uniform's torso area was stained red because of the blood oozing from his shoulder, and every time he moved only made it hurt that much worse.

As the clock ticked away until Muzan's revival, Muichirō had spent all of his time trying to dislodge his own sword from the pillar Kokushibō had pinned him to, just so that he could get back into the fight. On the verge of tears a few times, with one last pull he finally succeeded and dropped to the ground, barking in pain.

Then he slowly situated himself on his knees and used his right hand to start taking his sword out from his shoulder. Every inch that the blade grinded against his bone was as if he were on fire, with even all his training not preparing him for the suffering he was experiencing that moment.

With a great amount of sweat and a few tears he finally got his sword out and he hunched over, gasping for air as he tried to cope with the pain.

"This is terrible...just this wound and I've been rendered useless...I wasn't blessed with a physique like Uzui-san or Himejima-san. I only have a few hours before I die of blood loss…" Muichirō thought as he tended to his wound, using some of the cloth that Kokushibō had tied around his opposite arm to cut off blood flowing to his severed wrist.

His entire body was screaming at him to stop hurting, but for the Mist Hashira, rolling over like a dog was out of the question. Staying still be damned, he would use whatever life he had left to help take out the top Upper Moon and lighten the burden of the survivors who were still fighting.

Muichirō grabbed his sword and started to hobble-run, his vision still a little splotchy because of the blood loss. He then happened across Genya, who had managed to return his upper half to his lower half and come back together partially. He was still without arms or legs, but he was very much alive and still willing to help.

"Tokito-san! I hate to ask this, but...any chance you could give me a hand?" Genya asked a little awkwardly, Muichirō screeching to a halt and kneeling next to him.

"Genya, I can't believe you're still alive! But, uh...where's the rest of you?" he asked, bringing a light-hearted smile to Genya's face.

"Not pulling any punches huh...anyways, over there on the ground...it's a lock of that Upper Moon's hair...you wanna bring it over here so I can eat it?"

"You want to eat the...are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I wanna fight to the end...I don't want to let my big brother die." Genya replied, determined.

"Alright," said Muichirō with a nod, wiping his sweat from his forehead too. "We'll fight to the end, together."

At Genya's direction, Muichirō retrieved the lock of Kokushibō's hair and hand-fed it to him, cringing a little at how the younger Shinazugawa sibling forced himself to swallow it. He coughed and sounded like he was about to hurl, but he kept it down and wheezed uncontrollably.

His vision started to grow dark and horrible thoughts started to enter his mind as the Upper Moon's DNA contained within the hand was absorbed into his body, allowing him to heal rapidly. That's when a blood-curdling voice started whispering in his head, sending chills running up and down his spine. He didn't know who it was, but as his body finished healing and his senses started coming back, he became more and more aware.

"^Kokushibō...how many Hashira have you felled? It is not yet time. Do not let them come here. Kill them." spoke the menacing voice, its mere tone alone being enough to render Genya paralyzed.

It took Muichirō shaking him to bring him back and allow him to start controlling his breathing and move his body. All of his wounds had healed and he was in one piece again, which meant that he could not fight.

There was no mistaking that aura and presence, however. That voice was none other than Muzan's, the demon lord himself. His connection to Kokushibō was so strong that, upon ingesting just a fragment of the demon's body, Genya's demonification had also given him said connection.

His eyes shifted and his fingernails sharpened as a result of the transformation, but he managed to keep his cool and started working his back back onto his feet. Nothing was going to prevent him from helping his older brother. Not even the Demon Lord himself.

Gyōmei and Kokushibō, in their area of the battlefield, had ceased fighting for a moment as the latter contemplated the reveal of the former's demon slayer mark. He had shown little to no emotion to its emergence, but of course for someone like Gyōmei he knew from the way Kokushibō spoke that something was off.

"So you've developed the mark as well...what a pity…" murmured Kokushibō, shaking his head side to side.

"A pity?" asked Gyōmei.

"At a glance, were I to guess your age...would 27 be about right?" Kokushibō asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I grieve the loss...those who develop the mark, without exception...die before they see the age of 25."

Gyōmei's expressions seemed to soften a little at the declaration of mortality for the man. A moment of silence persisted between the two of them before he resumed spinning his flail as if it were made of feathers.

"The appearance of the mark...true, it increases one's power, but in the end, it is no more than an exchange for one's life. You have passed the age of 25, and your mark has appeared. You may even die this very night." Kokushibō explained, continuing to speak without missing a beat while a sorrowful expression even developed on his face from the way his six eyes seemed to squint and lower their gaze. "You have mastered your body and techniques to such a degree...and they will vanish from this world. Don't you think that's tragic?"

"I don't. All of that stuff, that means nothing. Even if I were to die tonight because of this mark, I'd be perfectly content." retorted Gyōmei with no hint of hesitation whatsoever.

"You're not afraid of dying?"

"Even if this mark didn't appear, as long as I'm in the Demon Slayer Corps...there is never a promise of tomorrow. What's the use of trying to preserve my life, this late in the game? Nobody with half-assed resolve like that becomes a Hashira."

"Yet you are perfectly willing to accept demons into your ranks? You know who I speak of, do you not?" questioned Kokushibō.

"I do, and they are more human than any one of you Upper Moons. Their differences from us makes them no less human, and I've come to accept and trust them as allies. Even against the likes of you, they risk themselves to protect us."

"They are trash and undeserving of the powers they have if they consider themselves humans. Demons are above humans in every conceivable way."

Gyōmei exhaled through his nostrils and swung his flail a little bit harder, the veins in his face bulging out as his usually calm composure allowed his rage to seep up to the surface. The air around his flail grew harsher with each passing second until it was starting to become a raging whirlwind that was manipulating Kokushibō's clothes and hairs even from where he was standing.

"What an unbelievable insult. You've got my blood boiling." snarled Gyōmei, though his anger hardly changed Kokushibō's expression.

"I could hardly care about your feelings. The facts are there. Becoming a Demon means the ability to preserve your body, your techniques. Why try to mimic the weakness that is being human? If they wished to be human, they would've stayed as humans, and died like them. That boy should have stayed by that man's side."

"You cannot even begin to see the wonder that is being human. We're born as humans, and we take it as a point of pride to die as humans." Gyōmei retorted to the Upper Moon's harsh words. "Tanjirō and Nezuko are different, yes, but they still take pride in what humanity they have left. A humanity that you clearly have lost."

Gyōmei and Kokushibō stared one another down in silence with their thoughts on one another's ideas and nothings worn on their sleeves. Neither would submit to the other's viewpoints, and they certainly weren't about to let their opponent win in that regard.

One was a demon who's lived since the Sengoku Period, and the other a human born in the present day Taishō Period. Two differing ideologies, two different world views.

"I just realized something. While you were talking, you lied about the severity of these marks." Gyōmei pointed out while referring to what was on his forearms. "There is an exception, isn't there? A human who bore a mark and lived well past 25."

Kokushibō's eyes widened ever so slightly, a slight chill running up and down his spine. Even his fists quivered lightly. These tiny motions did not escape Gyōmei's attention, even when the man was completely blind and unable to see through his eyes.

He made his satisfaction at correctly deducing Kokushibō's deception by cracking a wry smile and even chuckling lightly. His guess had hit home. In a flash, Kokushibō's directed fury was unleashed on the Stone Hashira by a furious assault of sword slashes and chaotic moon blades, their weapons creating such a flurry of sparks it seemed like fireworks were going off.

A split second later Kokushibō deflected a second blade that was surrounded by rampaging, whirling winds. Sanemi was the wielder of the sword, and a quick inspection by the demon showed him that he too had developed a demon slayer mark. Present on his right cheek, reminiscent of a pinwheel, the Wind Hashira attacked Kokushibō ruthlessly despite having just finished stitching up his abdomen to keep his guts in.

The demon was surprised by the sudden appearance of another mark, and wondered to himself while ducking and weaving through the pair's attacks if the other Hashira also possessed them too.

He was so focused on his own thoughts that he very nearly missed the iron ball that very nearly decapitated him. Immediately after the narrow miss Sanemi aimed for his shins with a viscous swipe, the winds it had blowing Kokushibō's clothes and hair around.

"For them to coordinate their attacks...even as users of different breaths...and what's more, at this speed!"

"Man, that Hashira Training really did pau off, huh?" exclaimed Sanemi with a confident laugh, the Stone Hashira nodding his head silently next to him. "Let's do it, Himejima-san!"

"Mhm."

Once again the trio of swordsmen went all out, trading blows left and right with their techniques doing the talking for them. The once beautifully polished tiled floor of the Upper Moon's personal chamber was rendered devastated by their personal war. Felled columns were also littering the area, but that hardly stopped them.

Always the one to analyze his opponent's every little trait, Kokushibō figured out what made either Hashira so spectacular. Sanemi stood at the forefront of peak human condition alongside Gyōmei, which made him again wonder if the other surviving Hashira were this well-built.

Gyōmei especially was a point of wonder for the demon. He had an outstanding physique, possessing strength that could rival that of a demon's. He was even blind, yet he could still perceive the space and movements around him with uncanny precision. Thanks to his weapons and the vibrations the chain made in the air as it swung around, Gyōmei could keep tabs on everything happening around him without even having to see.

It was a kind of cunning that Kokushibō could hardly accept from a human. It was the truth all the same, however, so he had to force himself to accept it. To swing the tables back firmly into his favor against the two marked Hashira, he set his sights on Sanemi and targeted his blade.

Sanemi recognized his aim to break it and with a rapid change in grip, he was able to force Kokushibō's sword down into the floor and crack through the tiles. In the short span of time since gaining his mark, Sanemi's reflexes had improved, allowing him to better keep up with the Upper Moon and react at a moment's notice. Kokushibō darted back to avoid another beheading strike, his hair becoming the only casualty as dozens of strands were sent flying.

Sanemi chased after the Upper Moon, clashing swords left and right, before Gyōmei interjected into the duel seamlessly with his axe posed to end the demon.

With his enhanced reflexes Kokushibō foiled the Stone Hashira's attempt, but in the process he lost his right ear from the vicious upwards slash with the blade. Leaving no room for the Upper Moon to breath, both Hashira mixed their attacks to unleash a twin barrage on him.

Kokushibō's clothes were ripped to shreds and a couple of minor scratches were left behind for a brief moment before they healed, the demon's eyes staring down at his sword while Sanemi and Gyōmei briefly retreated to compose themselves for another assault.

"We gotta press the attack! One clean cut through the neck and we got him!" bellowed Sanemi once his feet touched tile, Gyōmei sucking in a breath and reading his flail and chain for another go at the demon..

"There you go...this is the kind of fighting spirit I'd expect from you…" Kokushibō uttered as he turned towards them, a menacing aura around him.

Suddenly a whole mess of cuts and gashes appeared across both Gyōmei and Sanemi's bodies, from their heads down to their toes, a few of them pretty deep. They were blown away by how they had suffered injuries without neither of them even feeling it, and were forced to halt their advance just to recover.

"If the best you can do is tear my kimono...I doubt you could even kill an infant." Kokushibō taunted as he swept the pieces of his tattered kimono away with one swing of his arm, his sword doubling in length and manifesting three separate curved blades from the main one. It was the perfect weapon for the six-eyed demon, one that was just as unnerving and strange as him. "Once I put down the two of you...the rest ought to be trivial."

Sanemi dropped his sword down some and cursed at himself, cringing at the sight of a pair of his fingers resting in a small puddle of blood at his feet. Kokushibō's unseen attack had left his right hand missing some digits, which would make it harder for him to grip his sword effectively.

They were the index and middle fingers, the two digits that he would have wanted to have been lost last, right behind his thumb. With only the ring and pinky fingers left to hold his sword with his thumb, he'd had to try even harder to maintain a steady hand.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! If Himejima-san hadn't switched the trajectory of his chain...I wouldn't be missing just my fingers, I'd have no arms!" Sanemi thought, snarling to himself. His body was screaming even more at him than before, with the new injuries adding on more pain to what he was shouldering.

Nearly being disemboweled had been bad, but with each new wound, he knew it was going to get worse for him. Not even his special mariachi blood was having an effect any more. That was supposed to be his one sure trump card against strong demons, but Kokushibō had proved him wrong.

The initial advantage he had when he had first unveiled its potency was now gone. The Upper Moon had perfectly adjusted himself to its effects, and he was moving and fighting just as he had before he had taken a whiff. In fact, he was moving faster.

"Tack on that monster swinging around that moronic, oversized sword so damn fast, and this is turning into a shit show! Can I even avoid it next time?! Can I even possibly get close to him?!"

"Ki...Kiriya-sama…should I send the other Hashira to Upper Moon One's location?" asked Kuina with a nervous stare at Kiriya's back, her table littered with map upon map of the Infinity Fortress.
Kuina, her sister Kanata, and Kiriya were privy of the deteriorating situation within Kokushibō's chambers, thanks to a Kasugai crow surveying the battle from near the ceiling. The two girls were sweating anxiously as they had watched Sanemi and Gyōmei fight the beast, with their hope for Genya and Muichirō's recovery also mounted on their shoulders.

The amount of stress in the room was palpable, to the point it could be felt by Senjurō and Amai just outside the room. They didn't dare peek in and distract the three Ubuyashiki family members, but they couldn't stop themselves from being curious either. The success or failure of their mission to eradicate Muzan hinged on the defeat of Kokushibō.

Should they send reinforcements to ensure the Upper Demon's death? Or stick to the mission objective and risk losing the Hashira there with him?

Kiriya was silent, staring firmly ahead as he paused in his work. Kyōjurō and Giyū had nearly recovered from their brawl with Upper Moon Three, which meant they could be on the move again. Shinobu and Tanjirō, along with Kanao and Inosuke, were being guided to Muzan's location at the same time. Moments like these were what he was trained for. The years he spent with his late father, preparing for the toughest decisions a leader had to make. He had to make a choice now.

"Tanjirō, Shinobu, Kanao and Inosuke are to continue heading for Muzan. As for Upper Moon One...I have zero doubt that Gyōmei, Sanemi, Muichirō and Genya will defeat him." Kiriya decreed, his two sisters nodding their heads. "As a precaution, direct Kyōjurō and Giyū to their location with the most direct route possible. Go!"

Kokushibō angled his sword back and slid his left foot forward, widening his stance by a couple of inches while drawing in a breath. Veins in his face bulged outward and Gyōmei and Sanemi clenched their jaws, tensing up.

"Tsuki no kokyū, Shichi no kata: Yakkyō - Dzukibae!" he said when he brought his extended sword around in a powerful horizontal slash.

The chaotic moon blades erupting out from it expanded rapidly and, with blinding speed, shot forward in a multi-directional long-range attack that cleaved through the floor all around Sanemi and Gyōmei. If not for a last-second body swerve by both Hashira, they could have easily been bisected.

"What's with that range?! He's extended the reach of his attack twice over! And the speed...this is bad!" Gyōmei thought after finding his balance again.

"Tsuki no kokyū, Hachi no kata: Getsuryū Rinbi!" bellowed Kokushibō as he followed up with another devastating technique, the massive slash he made with his sword generating a huge storm of chaotic blades across a wide area.

Gyōmei and Sanemi were at the mercy of the Upper Moon, reduced to dodging the attacks as they tried to stay alive. They suffered more cuts and lacerations, Sanemi worse than Gyōmei thanks to the latter's defensive skills with his weapon, which left them in a dire situation.

Because of Kokushibō's increased attack range, neither of them could get close enough to each his neck. His blinding speed and the strength of his techniques could overwhelm them if they weren't careful.

The demon once again unleashed another powerful Moon Breathing technique, this time creating a stream of crescent-shaped vertical and horizontal slashes that forced Gyōmei and Sanemi to continuously move in order to not be diced up into pieces. Even still, Sanemi was unable to avoid taking another hit across his back, a fountain of blood shooting out from the newest cut that stretched from shoulder to shoulder.

"Shinazugawa!" yelled Gyōmei out of concern for his ally.

"Forget about me, Himejima-san!" Sanemi said back as he stumbled to his knees.

"Tsuki no kokyū, Jū no kata: Senmenzan...Ragetsu!" Kokushibō said as he brought his sword up for a downward slash.

A storm of chaotic blades layered in three layers descended upon Sanemi. In that moment he could see his death approaching, but before his end could greet him, his body was suddenly yanked away by something small yet agile.

"Tokitō!" exclaimed Sanemi, the Mist Hashira gritting his teeth as he flipped once and brought Sanemi back onto his feet away from Gyōmei and Kokushibō.

"I won't let you die! You still have two arms to swing a sword with!" Muichirō stated with a grunt, Sanemi's eyes widening when he saw Muichirō's injuries up close and personal and realized the hidden meaning beneath his words.

When they both recovered and joined Gyōmei to take on Kokushibō three versus one, on the side behind an undamaged pillar stared Genya, sweat dripping down his face. He was afraid, not only for himself but for his brother, Muichirō and Gyōmei.

"Can I do it? Can I...be useful…?" thought Genya as arm started to quiver, making his shotgun rattle in his hand.

The battle continued to wage on in front of him, the diminutive Muichirō just barely managing to keep up with the heavily injured Sanemi and the still relatively unharmed Gyōmei. The man's huge stature and physical prowess was what enabled him to keep fighting without much drawbacks, but having to defend himself and the other Hashira would eventually come back to bite him in the ass if they didn't kill Kokushibō.

"Himejima-san, Tokitō-san...aghhh, dammit! If only I were stronger! If I were a Hashira! The more I think about how I want to save them, to save Big Bro, the more my body stiffens up." Genya thought as the nervous quaking spread down into his legs, causing his entire body to quiver. He couldn't move. He was too scared about failing. About being useless, and about protecting his friends.

"Why am I so weak?! I hate this! I hate it all! I hate being...weak…"

"Genya, the weakest people are the ones who have the most potential."

Genya's eyes widened as a passing memory of him spending time with Tanjirō yet again during the Hashira Training. They were sharing tea with one another, talking about Genya's doubts of himself.

Tanjirō told him of how he believed that a weak person shouldn't count themselves out of a fight, because they could be the decision between victory or defeat. An enemy could only focus on so many opponents at one time, and that they would choose the strongest over the weakest.

"In a one on one fight, if you're weak, the enemy could underestimate you. And when they least expect it, you can catch them off guard with something crazy. It's happened to me countless times before, whether it was by the demon who killed my Sensei's students before me, or as a demon still grappling with his powers against a stronger opponent."

"Tanjirō...do you really think I can do it?" Genya thought as Tanjirō's smile lingered in his mind. He reached into his clothes and pulled out something wrapped in a piece of cloth, gripping it tightly. He unwrapped it, revealing it to be the broken off piece of Kokushibō's sword from earlier. "I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it...I have to do it! Just think of victory, that's all! I'm not gonna let any one I care about die!"

He gulped nervously as he held the sword up and over his mouth, stretching his jaws as wide as he could to make it as easy for him to swallow the blade as possible. Psyching himself up over and over again, he took the initiative and plunged the sword down his throat.

As blood oozed from his lips and through his fingers, his heart started pounding against his chest and his eyes turned bloodshot. Every single fiber of his muscles tensed and contracted all at once, but he steeled himself. No point in getting soft now. People were counting on him!

While Genya grappled with the second onset of demonification as a result of ingesting the blade, Gyōmei and Sanemi had their backs against the wall. Kokushibō's endless techniques and stamina hadn't allowed them a single moment of respite, with even their own techniques being cut short by the timely usage of Kokushibō's own attacks.

Neither of them could get any sort of counterattack against the Upper Moon, which left them no choice but to continuously dodge the oncoming waves of chaotic blades from his demonic blade.

"I can't attack...I know he is reading my every action. Sometimes he shuts down my attacks before I can even start them!" thought Gyōmei with a slight growl, the rushing air created by the demon's chaotic blades around him making his tattered clock flap wildly. He'd already suffered other wounds as a result of Kokushibō's barrages, it was only a matter of time before a meaningful blow connected. "The second I think of unleashing a technique, he knows. It's insane! Is it some supernatural ability? Just what can this demon see? What is he seeing?!"

Gyōmei avoided another giant slash of chaotic blades from Kokushibō by leaping up in the air, and as he stared down his opponent and forced himself to calm down and think rationally. There had to be something he wasn't understanding. The demon had to have a trick up his sleeves.

"Sharpen your senses. Find the truth behind this dread. A demon is a human whose form has been altered. What's possible for a demon is possible for a human."
Kokushibō created dozens of devastating slashes that upturned the tiled floor, sending debris flying everywhere. Sanemi and Muichirō were caught in the thick of it, unable to get closer.

"These unseeing eyes perceive the true nature of the world. They can never be deceived!" Gyōmei thought as his eye muscles tensed up, pushing against the limitations of his blindness. Something was there, all he had to do was find it! "Gaze deeper! To the very limit!"

Gyōmei directed his gaze at Kokushibō, focusing all of his efforts on pushing his unseeing eyes past the limitations of his blindness to see beyond what he could not. Sounds and vibrations overlapped, the picture started to become clearer and clearer, until finally he was not only able to see Kokushibō's body, but what lay beyond his skin too.

For him, this was an unbelievable sight. Never before had he seen such a perfect image of another person's body, whether they be human or demon. He could clearly make out each of Kokushibō's muscles, the way they flexed and moved alongside his bones in perfect unison. This was it. This had to be what was being used against them!
At the same time Gyōmei made this discovery, Muichirō's demon slayer mark had reappeared as he dashed nimbly through the vortex of chaotic blades surrounding Kokushibō. More of the lethal weapons were released every second by the man's blade, which made it difficult for them to get through.

"I have to get inside his range. A moment is all I need." he deduced before sliding across the ground to avoid being decapitated. "If I can keep Upper Moon One from moving for even a single moment, or slow his relentless attacks even a bit...either Himejima-san or Shinazugawa-san will lop that bastard's head off! I know it!"

His breathing was beginning to get more ragged by the second, and it was due to the exorbitant amount of blood that he's lost from his injuries, especially his missing hand. That initial encounter with Kokushibō had nearly crippled him, but his own sheer will had enabled him to pull himself together and get back into the fight.

Muichirō knew that he didn't have much time left, which is why every second he spent moving, fighting, and doing anything he could that was possible to bring Kokushibō to his knees. In that moment of desperation of iron will, Muichirō's eyes widened when he too saw a world beyond. Now was the time.

When Gyōmei happened to glance at the Mist Hashira, he recognized his intention and shouted for Sanemi to join them in a three-pronged assault on the demon. Muichirō was a little surprised by Gyōmei's quick articulation of what he wanted to do, but he disregarded it and focused on the goal.

Kokushibō on the other hand saw all of them as a potential one-hit kill, ending all three of them at the same time with yet another of his strong Moon Breathing techniques.

"Tsuki no kokyū, Jū Shi no kata…" murmured Kokushibō, the demon widening his stance and preparing his sword for yet another dramatic, overwhelming slash. "Kyōhen - Tenman Sengetsu."

With a mighty swing of his demon sword, a monstrous vortex of blades that dwarfed any attack he had made before quickly surrounded him and the nearby area in his chamber. Muichirō gasped when he felt a rush of air pass by his throat, certain that he was going to lose his head, but he kept moving forward, seeing through the onslaught for the opening he was desperately needing.

Sanemi was barely able to keep himself alive through the storm, his sword and agility being his only defense mechanisms to stay alive. Gyōmei found his own opening from where he stood, using his ball and chain to keep Kokushibō's chaotic blades at bay, and managed to hurl one of his prayer beads at the demon.

The bead struck Kokushibō's right hand, breaking bone, and halted his arm motions just enough to give them some slight breathing room from his attack.

"A prayer bead from the flail-wielding man?! Did he throw it the instant he whipped his chain? How could it possibly evade my sight?" Kokushibō pondered, baffled.

"Jin Senpū - Sogi!" Sanemi bellowed, the technique forcing Kokushibō to leap back and avoid it.

That's when his entire upper right torso and arm was smashed to bloody pieces by Gyōmei's spiked flail, his blood splattering all over the tiled floor behind him and throwing the demon for a loop.

Once again, he was surprised by the titan of a Hashira, who had managed to land the first meaningful blow on his body since their fight started. Before he could retaliate though, he felt the burning metal of a Nichirin blade be plunged right into his ribcage and through his abdomen, coming out from his back.

Muichirō, the blade's owner, was now pressing his smaller body against the Upper Moon's and holding on for dear life. Blood was oozing from his mouth, a deep gash through his throat making him unable to speak. He had lost his left leg from the calf down as well, but that hardly bothered him. It was do or die. Every one of his cards were now out on the table.

"His carotid remains intact, but he won't be long for this world. The bead may have dulled my strike, if only by a fraction, but still..." thought Kokushibō, his six eyes looking deep into Muichirō's own, right down into his soul. The clarity in them, the determination. At first, he figured it was just the boy's determination, but in the next he had a realization. "Could it be, those eyes...can he see it? The same world I see?"

Kokushibō's gaze went to Gyōmei and he recognized that the blind man was also able to reach the world beyond the one they could initially see. Even if it wasn't through direct sight, he deduced that Gyōmei could sense it. In the midst of battle, both the Mist and Stone Hashira awakened their sight and unlocked its truest potential.

Surprises were popping up left and right, but Kokushibō remained confident. Not a single blade had found his throat. Distractions and loopholes could only get his opponents so far. Once he understood them, they all become meaningless. He was still going to be the only one left standing at the end of this fight, and not the other way around.

As he brought his arms up for another technique, with Sanemi and Gyōmei closing in, and Muichirō holding on to his sword, the latter hoped and prayed that Genya would keep up his end of the plan they had devised.

From where he stood, the now transformed Genya, who possessed a similar demon slayer mark and pair of eyes to Kokushibō, had his demon blood enhanced shotgun pointed straight at the Upper Moon. Despite ingesting both the hair and the sword piece, he still had doubts. Could he follow through?

"Genya, if I'm able to stop Upper Moon One for even a moment...you have to shoot both of us, okay? You absolutely cannot hesitate."

"I know. I know!" Genya thought with a snarl.

The blast of his transformed shotgun echoed through the room, alerting Kokushibō to Genya's presence. He brought his blade up and countered almost instantly, deflecting the buckshot bullets with a flurry of swipes. Instead of the projectiles shooting away, they curved right back around his sword and punctured his skin, diving deep into his flesh.

He brought his eyes up to Genya and gasped at the man's weapon, as well as his eyes. He recognized their appearance, they were his characteristics, copied over and transferred into the human. All of a sudden the bullets in his body exploded outward into thick, dark green and red tree roots and branches that pierced his limbs, torso and arms, binding him to where he and Muichirō stood.

"A tree?! It put down roots—I can't move! This has to be a Blood Demon Art!" thought Kokushibō, his fiery gaze staying firmly planted on Genya. The man's mohawk had even grown out to resemble Kokushibō's, completing his demonification. "Some of my hair and a piece of my blade...he absorbed portions of me!"

Kokushibō's head whipped to the right when Gyōmei and Sanemi took advantage of his momentary binding, aiming to finally bring an end to their fight once and for all. From the pit of his stomach all the way to the top of his head, Kokushibō felt a disturbing sense of dread for the first time in hundreds of years. The way his life felt threatened, with his body freezing up. The sensation of his composure crumbling up from my feet, all of it.

He detested every single facet of this feeling, not only because it shouldn't be possible for someone of his caliber, but because of what he was remembering. It was like it was yesterday, a singular night from four hundred years ago.

"It was four hundred years ago. On the night of a blood red moon...I bore witness to something I could not believe."

Kokushibō was taken back to his past self, standing on a beaten trail with his hands on his side, the glow of a blood red moon shining from above in the dark night sky. He had been walking alone until he had come across a lone figure standing in the middle of the trail.

It was the aged and decrepit form of his little brother. With white hair, unkempt and thin, and wrinkles on practically every part of his body, and blindness in both of his eyes, the man known as Yorrichi Tsugikuni stood across from Kokushibō with a hand resting on a blade at his hip.

Over sixty years had passed since the last time they had met, which meant that at that moment, Yoriichi had to have been over eighty years old. It was impossible. It should be impossible. Everyone who gains a Demon Slayer Mark dies before the age of twenty five. It was an undeniable fact that Kokushibō could not refute.

"My sympathies...my brother." Yoriichi said with obvious age in his voice, and tears rolling down his withered cheeks.

The old and ugly creature that was once Kokushibō's little brother had pity for him. But at the time, he wasn't angry. Even when sixty years prior, he had been such an eyesore. The voice calling him "brother" was terribly hoarse, without an ounce of youth left in it. Yoriichi had never shown the slightest emotion either, so at the sight of him shedding tears, something welled up in him for the first time since birth.

Kokushibō was confused at his own unrest. The man before him, even though he was a part of what he once was, an old man of brittle flesh way past his prime, was his enemy. He was a Demon Slayer, and he must cleave anyone who turns a sword against him.

In an instant, the odd sentimentality that was coming from his younger brother disappeared. In one smooth motion, Yoriichi took a stance that had no foreseeable openings, even for the six-eyed Kokushibō. It felt as though two monumental boulders had just come to rest atop his shoulders as a result of the increase in air tension from Yoriichi's intimidating aura.

With only three single words, "Here I come", Yoriichi made his move. Kokushibō did not even have time to pull his own blade before the stinging touch of his younger brother's crimson blade cut through his neck, nearly severing his head from his shoulders. Yoriichi ended up on the other side of Kokushibō, and as he grabbed his blood-soaked neck the old man turned, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"Why were you...always the special one?" asked Kokushibō in his own thoughts, his anger beginning to boil upwards to the surface. "You are marked, but you lived long. Even when you were old, your speed and power were no different from when you were in your prime."

Vividly the memories returned. Kokushibō's grudge from sixty years ago resurfaced, along with jealousy that burnt to the bone. Yoriichi had existed outside the laws of the world, receiving the favor of the gods without any tradeoffs whatsoever.

He hated him. He wanted to kill him. But on that night he was certain that his next blow would chop off his head. Yoriichi's sword technique, which even pressed Muzan, was nothing less than godly. With unrest and defeat welling up in his stomach, it felt like as if his insides were going to burst.

However...he never did release the next blow. Standing upright, sword stuck in the ground, Yorrichi's life expired.

Had Yoriichi taken one more breath, he would have lost. For how many centuries have I borne that indignity, thought Kokushibō. He had become a demon specifically to extend his life.

With Yoriichi's passing, there would be no honorable death for me. The strongest Demon Slayer in history had passed away, so he could hardly go on and lose to someone else.

"That's right. I'd chosen to keep on winning. Even if it means using that hideous form."

With a mighty roar, the Upper Moon unleashed a devastating attack of chaotic blades that emanated from his very body. Gyōmei and Sanemi were blown away by an accompanying shockwave, taking more injuries along the way, while Muichirō gasped when he felt one slice clean through his torso and bisect him into two halves. Even Genya, from where he stood, was struck, a chaotic blade slicing right through his body vertically in order to split him cleanly in half from head to toe.

With a sickening smack his body hit the ground, and those who had survived stared in horror at Kokushibō and what he had done. With fury painted all over his face, dozens of copies of his blades had sprouted from all across his body, from his shoulders down to his thighs.

"Blades from inside of him…?! He didn't even swing! He just attacked us with the sheer number of blades emerging from him!" thought Muichirō when he felt his grip lessen on his sword. Blood was pouring from his waist after his legs dropped to the floor at Kokushibō's feet, there was no saving him now. But still, he held on with all his might. "Just moments ago, we had him completely cornered! What a monster...this is bad...I can already feel my body...shutting down…! How can I help anyone if I die!"

With blurry vision, he saw Sanemi and Gyōmei rush to get back to their feet so that they could attack Kokushibō again and finish the job, even if it meant they had to sacrifice their lives to do so. With renewed vigor erupting in his heart, Muichirō took one last breath to stop the bleeding and focused all of his remaining strength to his one hand.

Tightly he gripped his sword that was still plunged deep in Kokushibō's body. They still had Muzan to take care of. They still needed to fight him with their strongest fighters, and Sanemi and Gyōmei were some of them. He couldn't let them down!

Kokushibō gripped his sword while the blades emerging from his body started to quiver, the next attack about to come, before he felt a fierce burning in his gut. He winced and looked down, gasping when he saw Muichirō's sword suddenly start to turn crimson.

"What?! His blade is reddening! What is this?! It feels like my insides are on fire!" Kokushibō thought as Sanemi and Gyōmei drew nearer. "It's just like Yoriichi's…"

"Who do you plan to have succeed you?"

Kokushibō was once again returned to the past, when he was a human speaking to his younger brother atop a breezy hill. He snorted a little bit and shook his head.

"Nobody can compare to us. Trying to pass on our breathing techniques is hopeless. The techniques that we have mastered will just be lost to time." he said with a scoff.

"We are not so great as you make us see, Onii-san. We are but a line in the long, long book of human history. Even as we speak, the voices of those who will surpass us cry out for the first time." Yoriichi replied, a small smile stretching across his lips as he looked to the rising sun coming up over the horizon. "They will find their way to the same place again. No matter when the curtain closes on our lives, we can rest easy. What is there to worry about? It's an exhilarating feeling, right Onii-san?"

Kokushibō's gaze was then full of the color of black and red, and without so much as a gasp, he felt his head leave his neck and fall to the floor with a fountain of blood trailing behind it. Sanemi and Gyōmei were stopped in their tracks, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

With shock vibrantly radiating from all six of his eyes, Kokushibō glared up helplessly at the face of the person he had despised for most of his human life, all the way up until his death. Without a single wrinkle nor hint of white hair, standing before him with that same aloof expression.

"Y...Yorii...chi…"

A/N BUM BUM BUUUUUUUM *dramatic music intensifies* Hi guys! Sorry for the long hiatus, needed a brain break. Plus work too, all that stuff. Thankfully got some motivation back to get this chapter out to you guys! Told you something special would happen in this fight, but not in this chapter! We'll see what happens here in the next chapter, when I get that out to you lol.

Not much else to say here except I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter! Leave a fav and follow if you haven't already, and drop a review for me pretty please! Thank you so much! See you next time!

Translation(s):

Iwa no kokyū, Ni no Kata: Tenmen Kudaki

-Stone Breathing, Second Form: Celestial Surface Smash

Tsuki no kokyū, Shichi no kata: Yakkyō - Dzukibae

-Moon Breathing, Seventh Form: Baleful Mirror - Moon's Glory

Tsuki no kokyū, Hachi no kata: Getsuryū Rinbi

-Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon Dragon's Wheeling Tail

Tsuki no kokyū, Jū no kata: Senmenzan - Ragetsu

-Moon Breathing, Tenth Form: Piercing Guillotine - Ivy Moon

Tsuki no kokyū, Jū Shi no kata: Kyōhen - Tenman Sengetsu

-Moon Breathing, Fourteen Form: Calamity - Tenjin's Crescent

Kaze no kokyū, Ichi no kata: Jin Senpū - Sogi

-Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind - Slice