Kimetsu no Yaiba: Sibling Bonds

by Spiritual Pyg

Demons and Humans share the world. One takes the day and the other takes the night. We know the story of a brother and sister but what if there was another pair tagging along with them on their journey? Find out what happens when brotherhood keeps them all together.

23. Chapter 23

The Blood Battle

(Someday I'll actually get back onto some kind of schedule with these, but for now Enjoy.)

---

There's been enough descriptions of winding halls and unending rooms. This time there was a large room bare of any obstacles or hindrances, no columns, no decorations, nothing but floor and walls. A strum of the biwa and a door opened to reveal Muzan himself on an overlook with a decorated chair waiting for him. "Things should be ready. Nakime." Another strum and a door appeared lower than The Demon King's overlook.

Now there was a second balcony with several figures walking from the shadows. "It's really going to be a nice show today~!" Douma. "It's been some time since we had a good Blood Battle on display!"

"My best friend is gonna beat anything in his way!" Namika. "I know that he can do it!"

A monochrome demon entered right behind her. In her black outfit with long flowing sleeves and pants, and her black to light blue hair barely kept above the floor. "This will be interesting." Katachi.

Elegant. Tall, powerful, and holding a very different aura than anyone else around him. "The outcome of this… it will set a new precedent." Kokushibou.

Right beside the gang of demons, a door opened and Nakime calmly walked out before taking a kneeling position beside Katachi. Her biwa was being tuned, and her dainty fingers started carefully handling the well made chords. Her face was never visible but she was always focused on her lovely music, and nothing else mattered as much comparatively.

*Strum*

"Oh it looks like the Biwa woman is getting things started~" Douma was fanning himself with a cheerful grin on his face. "This will be a fun fight. I'm so glad that I get to see another blood battle~"

The pink haired Eclipse was vibrating in place. Her excitement was overwhelming and it was for a good reason. "It's really happening! My first time seeing one!" A demon for only a couple years but aside from her Eclipse parkour in rank, she hadn't seen anything major like this before. And she was getting really excited over it!

Muzan held his head against his hand expectantly and heard a string of words in that language he still didn't understand. "Andrea…" Said foreign 'demon' appeared on the wall beside Muzan's balcony with his notebook in hand. "You were the last one to show up. Don't you have to make sure your contender wins?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Well I've given him enough freedom to remember some more of his skills. Regardless of the outcome."

*Strum

Everyone heard the louder strumming of the biwa and saw that the massive room now had two occupants on the empty floor. A monk with a calm demeanor stood tall in the future battlefield. "Please Lord Hantengu, show some more dignity." Shuradai had his hands together in prayer while his Moon crawled with his wrinkly body low and close to the floor.

"Such malevolence… Ill will and intent… It's horrifying!" Hantengu was shaking in fear and based on his standing as Upper Rank Four it was for good reason. "Fear is right in this situation even if I wasn't a coward, we're still being pinned against another Upper Moon!" Long and squared nails clacked against the wooden floor.

*Strum

Namika's eyes widened once she saw a door open on the floor, since only one person- Well two people could come out of that door. A blur of red came from the doorway and with several flips he landed right on the floor, then the sounds of warping flesh and bone lead to Ume being perched on Koujo's back.

"It's already been a month." She clenched her alabaster white hand into a fist and her sash started coming to life around her. "We can take these two down." Ume's stance changed and her sashes started whipping towards Shuradai without any warning. "We'll- Huh?" The monk being right in front of her wasn't part of the plan.

"A sad attempt." A powerful palm strike to her stomach followed by a blitz of hits to her head, shoulders, and lastly a devastating kick to her chest. "Please yield. You don't have the-" Shuradai looked at his arm, the lack of one, and then the three belts that yanked him across the floor towards her.

Ume stood up with the damage done to her healed, and an angry smile on her face. "Please yield my ass. I'll tear you apart!"

The Eclipses had their business and the Moons had theirs. Andrea lifted his hand and that same dark red energy pooled in his palm. 'Some freedom of your mind for you. Better moves for you.'

Koujo's eyes dilated and focused on the elderly demon. Then a red blur closed the distance. "You're wide open." The floor cratered under a crazy strong stomp, but there wasn't any sign of Hantengu. "…" He looked to his right to see a cowering Upper Four. 'He dodged that so fast… I barely even saw it.'

"Even with such a sluggish attack… it's terrifying!" The fearful demon used his full body to evade another blow, launching into the air and landing on the ground in a scurry. "Scary! Scary!"

And now things were getting irritating. 'He's surprisingly fast for someone so scared.' A circle of water came to life under Koujo's body, the refreshing tide was going to be his focus. He rushed him down and tried to grab the cowardly demon but once again he came up short…

"Eep!" Just barely. Hantengu avoided that by the skin of his messed up teeth. "Even more scary! Getting even faster against a poor thing like me!" Koujo dropped into a low stance and then vanished in rapid splashes of water. Upper Four leapt back once he felt danger again and- "Oh no!" He was just a little too slow, a hand was gripping his ankle and it slammed him into the floor.

A foot stomped into, not onto, into Hantengu's back and pinned him down to the floor. "Yamidzuki Yoi no Miya." (Dark Moon Evening Palace). A powerful draw slash with his pure strength and nichirin sword, no moon blades backing it. He separated the coward's head right from his body with a single slash. "His neck was tough but not tough enough." He jumped off the headless demon, sheathed his sword, and looked at the clash between Eclipses.

Layers and layers of whipping sashes surrounded Shuradai, and he was displaying the difference between himself and Ume. "Long ranged attacks with your obi." His hands moved gracefully, dancing like a flowing river and shredding each belt that came towards him. He was still ever calm, his experienced attacks wouldn't let any of the sashes pierce his defense. "These aren't much against my skill, I recommend submission." He wasn't mocking. He was truly suggesting that she quit for her own good.

"I don't need your stupid advice!" Ume flung more and more sashes, watching each one turn soft right before Shuradai deflected them with his movements. "I can fight just fine without your help." Her sashes getting pushed away like nothing was saying otherwise. Unlike her preemptive strike from before not one of the obi were hitting their mark.

"Untrue." He ducked and swerved around the obi effortlessly then clapped his hands… hard enough to make a shockwave that repelled each sash near him. "Our combative experience is not the same. Despite me being your junior in age, you have not been in as many-" Something cracked. The floor under him broke to reveal two sashes that coiled around his legs.

"Talking shit when I'm not Daki anymore won't help you!" The sashes started to absorb his legs into them and his response was fast, he chopped his legs away with his hands then grew the limbs back fast enough to evade another barrage.

Shuradai looked at Koujo and bowed his head. "It seems that Lord Sekido would want me to get more serious." He put half of his kasaya robe around his waist to expose his full chest. "Please excuse me."

Sekido… Who was Sekido? The only people here were him, Hantengu, Um- "Damn it all…" Upper Six turned his head and saw a figure standing up… in Hantengu's kimono? "A brat like him actually cutting the head off. Unacceptable." A young demon with elvish ears stood up with a khakkara staff in his grip, and he looked angry.

"Hey it's no big deal. This just means things last a little longer." Koujo's head snapped in the other direction to see another demon that also looked around his age. Shirtless with nice hakama pants and some accessories. "It's gonna be pretty fun too." He had a maple leaf uchiwa fan as a weapon.

Koujo looked between the two and quickly figured out that the fight was definitely not over. "Let's just deal with him." He tapped that staff onto the floor and a blast of purple lightning shot out from that single spot, covering both the staff demon and the uchiwa demon instantly and going right to Koujo. The crimson demon was lucky to have jumped back for distance, otherwise he'd have been even more stuck by the powerful shock he was getting.

Koujo's body convulsed violently just from the outer edges of the lightning hitting him. 'So powerful… Avoid the lightning.' The horrible pain dulled by the time he figured out a game plan and he stood strong against the raging element. Then he crouched and got ready to pull the same full force tackle from before.

"Woah you're gonna go for that again?" He spun his uchiwa with a smile on his relaxed face. "I wonder how well that's gonna go with us in two like this?"

The staff demon growled and pointed his staff straight at Koujo. "Quit wasting time with words Karaku! Kill him!" Another streak of purplish lightning barely missed the charging demon and Karaku just groaned.

"Yeah yeah Sekido…" Koujo appeared right in front of him with a fist reeled back. "I'll deal with it!" He swung his fan, at the same time as a fist slammed against his jaw. A blast of wind launched the red haired Demon straight into the ceiling of the massive room, smashing the wood and making a crater with his body imprinted in it. "Dang! I'm seeing triple!" A couple knocks to his head and Karaku's vision went back to normal.

"His fists are shockingly hard, so don't mess around and get hit. That goes for the sword too." Sekido looked up and saw that their enemy was starting to pull away from the ceiling. "Here he comes again. Quit messing around and kill him!" Karaku shrugged and swung his fan again, launching an air cannon blasting upwards and demolishing more of the ceiling.

"He dodged it, now what do you want me to do?"

"Dodge!"

"Dodge wha-"

Karaku had the pleasure of feeling a zori sandal slam onto his head, obliterating his skull like rotten fruit against a wall. That was a temporary chance to capitalize and Sekido took his chance to stab his staff straight into Koujo's back, and let loose another burst of lightning that pinned the Demon in place.

"Didn't I tell you to dodge?" Karaku stood up and his head slowly healed back from the devastating stomp. "Getting hit by someone weaker than you is embarrassing! But here you are so willing to let blows like that just happen. It's infuriating!"

The uchiwa wielder just waved it off with a freshly healed smile. "It's fineee. Just like Douma says, we gotta let the weak have a few good hits so they feel better." He walked around the Demon stuck with a khakkara through his body, an eased smile on his face. "Honestly I don't get how he beat Gyutaro if he's this weak. How's Shuradai doing?"

'Her obi are layering more and more with these attacks.' Shuradai had no issue pushing the endless belts back with his greater skills, and Ume was having issues making an opening. "If you truly have no intentions of quitting then I suppose I'll have to put more effort in." Another clap of his hands and her sashes were forced back, long enough for two more sets of arms to come from his shoulders. Then another face emerged on the left side of his head, and then on the right. "Prepare."

She did. The warning was enough for her to use her blood demon art to make a shield that managed to protect her from the sudden force that hit her like a bomb, sending the whole sphere careening across the floor. "So strong!" Ume opened the barrier and used her obi to stop herself. She didn't have a chance to do anything before a hand wrapped around her neck and four others started pummeling her body, breaking off chunks of her flesh. 'It's like he just put three of him into one!' Luck was on her side long enough to slip a belt in front of her, and she absorbed two of his arms into it.

"If this is the extent of your ability then it was just a fluke how your Moon overpowered Gyokko." One last hit with three arms to send the harlot flying away, minus part of her face and torso. A casual look with his six eyes and he saw that the koma-geta she wore were on the floor in front of him. "Sad."

Namika looked genuinely concerned about the fight so far, namely the fact that the younger Hantengu bodies… needed a better name for that, completely dominated Koujo with just three moves. Not to mention how Ume had no chance against Shuradai just based on the last few minutes.

"They're really having trouble?! But- But Koujo said that they were gonna win!" Namika didn't show displeasure often but she was upset over her besties getting ragdolled like this. "Is Hantengu really that strong?"

Douma patted the young demon's head with a smile on his charismatic face. "Well Lord Hantengu and Shuradai have so much more experience~ It does make sense that they would have an advantage, but I must admit that Ume and Koujo seem a bit… off at the moment."

"Off?" Katachi didn't quite follow. "They both look normal to me."

"Then you're missing the obvious." Kokushibou's many eyes were squinting in judgement, but not towards the fight below them. He was looking up at the foreigner who was holding his hand out towards the fight… 'No, this isn't a fight yet… I can tell that something's wrong through their actions so far.' That damn foreigner, what was he doing?

Andrea was… pissed off. He was rightfully pissed off. 'What the hell is going on?' He was willing more of Koujo's mind out but it wasn't taking! 'He should be acting differently! Why is he still so calm?!' Another will of his power and glow of his hand but Koujo was still stuck in place with lightning shooting from the staff lodged inside his body.

Muzan was holding his cheek in his hand, then he let out a sigh at the results. "Well it's clear that he's not going to move from that spot, so now we just need to wait for Daki to be dealt with."

Shuradai's arms were back and he was slowly walking up to a recovering Ume, blank looks on each of his three faces. "And now we can bring this to an end." He was right in front of her and saw each vein on her face ready to burst. "You shouldn't be angry at me. Be angry at your moon for thinking either of you stood a chance."

Ume looked furious and her mouth started to move, but then she stopped and looked entirely calm. Focused. The pink flower on her face turned blue and she stood up with her sashes pulling towards her back.

"A last stand? Well if you truly want this then I can't stop you." He took his fighting stance with each of his arms ending in a graceful open hand. Each of his faces looked surprised when the sashes formed into four swords of her flesh, patterns and all. "Hm."

"Shi no kata." Ume launched herself forward and water started coursing her swords. Shuradai started deflecting the slashes as they curved and winded in multiple spots, but from four swords at once? "Uchishio." (Striking Tide). He lost two hands and part of his neck before he could stop the onslaught and push her back again.

"Since when could you use a sword?" His new hands clashed with her swords again, streams of water following each focused slash against him but his skill was showing with how he parried and redirected each of her attacks. None of them could blindside him since he didn't have any openings, and that alone got rid of her advantage of surprise. 'I won't let Lord Hantengu down.' Shuradai grabbed each of the swords then slammed his foot against Ume's stomach, tearing the flesh weapons away and sending her away like nothing.

"Damn it! That was- Huh?" She looked up in time to see a flurry of hands grab onto her body, but the real problem was them starting to pull and twist at her limbs. 'He's trying to tear me apart!' Ume felt herself get lifted off the floor as those arms started to make progress ripping her apart. "I'm not letting you do this you gross freak!" One of her obi formed another sword and with a grab she twisted her body in two directions, powerful currents sliced into Shuradai's body took an arm, and a set of his eyes. "Nejire Uzu!" (Whirlpool).

Kokushibou's eyes squinted at these attacks. 'Breath of Water… She wouldn't know how to do that just by watching some demon slayers come after her… Oh. I see.' He looked closer and knew exactly what was going on now. So now all he had to do was wait.

"And now you're putting up some of a fight. Surprising with how much of a brat you always are."

Ume stood there with a smile and a sword with a flower motif in her hand. "Aw, not being so nice anymore?" Her obi started rushing out in numerous strikes but it was seconded by Ume closing the gap herself with that sword swinging too. "I'll cut you up for all that shit talk you gross bug!"

Now there was a constant rush of sashes that Shuradai had to keep away, mixed with the whore demon's annoying sword slashes. He still had a better field of view and watched every single movement she made. Each slash, cut, and strike with water trailing that sword. 'She's not moving efficiently. There are so many wasted motions in her attacks.' He grabbed one of the obi for his plan. 'Too sloppy. She didn't train for this… it's just being done for the first time.'

Obi caught his legs and locked him firmly in place, and then another few grabbed one of his arms and tore it off. "Ichi no kata." A straight slash just to take his head off so she could bind him! "Minamo Giri!" (Water Surface Slash). And her sword- "What?"

Her sword hit the softness of her own belt. Shuradai used her own belt to grab her sword… then he yanked the idiot forwards and used his hands to grab her face, and with a powerful show of his grip he crushed her face into a messy pulp. "You were too eager for that attack, so much that you overextended."

"Shuradai!" Sekido called out to his subordinate. "Stop playing around and finish this!"

"Yes, Lord Sekido." Now his arms started finishing the job from before, he ripped both her arms off and held her up like a trophy. "Yield. Your submission is the only thing dragging this on."

Ume grit her teeth and tried her best to stop old habits from bleeding through… But it didn't last. "This isn't faaaair! You haven't won yet! We aren't done!" She was crying like a little girl and screaming about the situation.

Karaku scoffed and smacked a head of red hair playfully. "It looks pretty done y'know! He can't even move and you're the only one standing. I mean, you don't gotta give up but I don't see you beating Shuradai and us alone."

Sekido grumbled in agreement. "Idiotic as he might be, he's right. You aren't going to win. Give up and maybe you two could beat Gyokko and Kinmachi for Upper Five."

That was… unacceptable. Koujo wanted them to move up to Four. She wanted to help him as an Eclipse should! It wasn't fair! "I don't care what you have to say! We can still win this! I know that my best isn't much- But I'm still trying hard!"

"Aw I really guess it's over~ And here I thought they could pull it off! Oh well." Douma shrugged and looked to see Namika gripping the railing hard enough to crack it. She wasn't as accepting as he was apparently.

Katachi watched her birthday twin stuck in place for some minutes now, unable to even lift his sword arm, and she felt bad. This fight was a mountain going against an anthill it seemed. 'Perhaps it was too big a jump from Six to Four.'

"Well Andrea, maybe you didn't have him ready enough. I suppose disappointed isn't the exact word for how I feel, this was the more likely outcome after all." Muzan was unabashed but his wellspring of experience and knowledge would know very well that this was the more probable outcome of this fight. He just humored it for the sake of the experiment.

"I wouldn't say things are over yet…"

Kokushibou's statement made both Muzan and Andrea glance at him then right back down towards the Eclipses.

"You really went down to crying… This is sad, this is over now." He put another hand on her neck and started squeezing… hard. "If I pop your head right off then-"

"Kooooouujooooou!" Her shriek echoed through the massive room but Shuradai didn't even have to turn his head to see that the aforementioned wasn't going to save her. Not now, and not in time for them to somehow manage to turn this in any-

"Shuradai move damn it!"

"Woah that's new!"

"Wait…" Her shoulder started moving! Shuradai pulled his arms back for another barrage of-

"Kien Banshō."

A burst of flames in a single arcing slash. Shuradai barely processed what happened in that instant but he knew very well that he just got half his body cleaved like meat. Eyes locked onto it, it was right there plain as day. With another powerful swing Eclipse Four was sent away with another major slash across his chest, and Ume wiped her tears away once she felt the presence in front of her. It was comforting and boldening to know that things weren't over yet, and now she could give it even more than her all!

"You alright?"

"I am… I tried using a sword as best as I could! I know I'm not the brightest but I tried!" She stood up and created another sword from her flesh, her fighting spirit was put back in place now. "What's our plan from now on?"

Andrea finally felt that familiar pull and quickly understood exactly why it wasn't taking effect until now. 'He split himself into two halves, this one must be where the fire memories are. When did he do this? How didn't I notice him doing this?! Questions for later.'

Kokushibou's mind was having its own internal monologue about what he was seeing from his student. And he was equally impressed as he was disappointed. 'Managing to equally divide your strength into two separate demons isn't anything impressive, even Hantengu can manage that… however taking your enemies off guard is commendable to an extent. How will you fare from here?'

With the old hairstyle that went to his upper back, but the same outfit of a sleeveless kimono top and tapering pants like the corps. Koujo held a flesh sword with flame designs on its blade. "Free me and then we win." A spiral of flames and he was right in front of a smiling Karaku.

"Now there's two of you? You copying us or something 'cause that's awesome!" The two of them dropped low with their weapons primed. "But are you just as bad at taking a hit with this?" He swung that fan upwards at the same time as a beautiful arc of flames curved upwards.

"Nobori en ten!" (Rising Scorching Sun). There was no great gust of wind since the uchiwa got sliced in half before it reached an apex. Now Koujo started a simple defense of swinging and stopping Karaku from either making a new fan, or letting him get a good swing with what he had.

Sekido started grinding his teeth together as he formed a new khakkara. "Another weakling that I have to deal with since Karaku's incompetent!"

"Hey."

"Shut up! Seinaru Ikari!" (Holy Wrath). Koujo watched seven balls of purple lightning fly through the air towards him and the annoying fan demon.

"I'm still here too, y'know it's a little rude to ignore someone." The uchiwa swung and Karaku was glad to finally get another hit, but more flames started following Koujo and he shifted around the rising fan and spun to deliver a high stance strike with his sword. "You dodged that? Nice!"

"Shiranui!" (Unknowing Fire). Karaku lost the hand holding his fan, and the fan, but paid back the loss by kicking Koujo's wrist and blowing his hand off, making him drop his sword. The balls of lightning were too close so Koujo grabbed Karaku's chopped off hand and threw it at one, then he watched as it made that ball of lightning cancel out. The other six still impacted his arms and clothes but only left large burn marks.

Shuradai stood back up in time to see Ume swinging that sword again like she knew what she was doing with it, but Shuradai still saw that her motions were sloppy compared to actual swordsmen he'd seen. 'Unless she suddenly progressed fifty years she still isn't much of a threat since it's apparent that despite using a sword, she's still used to her long range attacks.' A quick redirection and he tripped Ume up without a problem. "I'll just separate you from your head." He chopped his hand downward but only felt the soft feeling of an obi against his hand, she turned her neck into an obi!

"Ha! Now you're messing up!" Four sashes shifted into swords, droplets rippled across the air before she stabbed them into Shuradai's body. The flower patterned swords tore into his body and stuck into his flesh, then Ume righted herself with her sword in hand. "Takitsubo!" (Waterfall Basin). Right then is when she fully realized the physical difference between her and Koujo. 'I barely made it through his shoulder? It's just swinging a sword down.' Naive woman, but she was doing some real damage now.

The long haired Koujo leaned back to avoid another ball of lightning, then he stomped his foot into the floor once Karaku came back. "No way you're gonna just take this?" He swung and another air cannon started pushing Upper Six backwards, but his planting a foot down made sure he didn't go far. "You're pretty tough!" Another swing would probably-

Rapid slashes that formed a fiery feline. "Enko." (Flame Tiger). A flaming tiger tanked through the air pressure and pushed hard against it, putting a smile on two faces. "I think I finally woke up! I feel strong again!" The tiger broke through the wind and slammed into Karaku. 'But it's no good being at full strength as half of me.' Deep slashes on his chest, face, even across his tongue. Flame Koujo noticed something after that last part. 'Hey, I know you hear me. He's healing slower now? Oh!'

The uchiwa demon didn't even have the chance to praise the attack that damaged him. A flaming cross slash chopped Karaku's hand off, and in it was his uchiwa. 'He cut my tongue and he took my fan? That's not half bad.' It went from half bad to- Half good? Whatever best explains that Karaku's head separated from his body in a burst of flames, and Koujo took the hand still gripping the maple leaf fan.

Now it was theory testing time. 'If your idea is right…' Now he was in front of Sekido with two weapons against one staff.

"Get the hell away from me!" Before his staff could touch the floor and send more lightning across the ground- "Damn it! That uch-" Koujo swung the fan and Sekido went sailing into the air, like a butterfly with holes in its wings.

He looked at the other half of himself and stabbed his sword into the floor so he could take Karaku's hand off the fan. "It's his ability and one of his hands, so that means-" He used the hand to grab the staff… and didn't get shocked to hell! "So his body doesn't get shocked!" He pulled the staff out and, for lack of better words, threw it the fuck away. Mohawk Koujo stood up and rolled his neck. "Now there's two of us and two of them."

"Wrong…" Even though both halves were up and ready there was still a big problem. "There's more than two of them." Flapping wings. The heavy sound of flapping wings and they saw yet another Hantengu duplicate with wings on his back, bird talons as his hands, and his legs also ending in large talons.

Flame Koujo pulled his sword out of the floor and pointed it towards the newcomer with a flourish. "The one with a fan, now one with wings."

Two crescent swings of a nichirin sword and a flood of azure moon blades caught the blast of lightning that Sekido sent at them. "Enkidzuki Tsugari." (Loathsome Moon Chains). "And the angry staff one. I'll deal with him, hold off the other two."

"Right!"

The dual Upper Six went in two separate directions with the same goal, and Sekido used all of his brain to coordinate between his own group. "Urogi! Karaku! Don't play around with him!" He had to stop to jump upwards with a stream of purple lightning going towards the moon breather. "I've already pinned you down once! What makes you think it won't happen again?!"

No verbal response. Three overlapping slashes in a defensive set of movements, accented by a barrage of crescents that intercepted the lightning. 'Shuka no Rōgetsu.' (Pearl Flower Moongazing). Moon Koujo slipped through and struck his sword against Sekido's staff with a calm face. "I'm not making the same mistake twice." He kicked the staff demon out of the clash and fell downwards towards him.

Sekido clenched a fist hard enough to draw blood and flung the crimson fluid into the air, and then the air started to vibrate from the sheer power he was charging. "Yūdaina Chi Arashi!" (Majestic Blood Storm). The purple lightning gained a red tint but it shot through the air in a powerful way nonetheless. All Koujo could do was guard against the powerful technique as he fell, some moon blades pairing with his protective swings.

Flame Koujo sprinted in and crossed his weapons. 'Best thing to do is blow the bird guy away and deal with the fan one.' He swung the uchiwa and- 'He's quick!' Just one flap of those wings and he dodged the air cannon entirely, and now he was coming in fast!

"Nobody's ever turned that fan on me before! You're pretty good as Upper Six!" Those talons were fast and they cut pretty hard, but it was an eye for an eye. Koujo lost the uchiwa and his forearm while this guy was missing a bird leg. "Woah, nice reflexes."

Karaku formed a bigger uchiwa and picked up the old one in his running. "Now I wanna know if you find a way to deal with the two of us!" He swung the smaller one first, and Koujo leapt upwards with flames around his flesh sword with a new hand gripping the hilt.

"Kien ban-"

"NICE TRY!"

Urogi shrieked, and not like an annoying child. It was like a train falling off its rails but ten times stronger… at least that's how it felt when it hit Koujo and sent him back downwards, right into the bigger uchiwa's swing. A massive air cannon slammed into him and sent him straight into the ceiling but that just gave him a second to think.

'What do we know so far? The lightning can be stopped by their body parts, we can use the fan, and the Urogi guy can fly and yell. So… if he's a bird then- I got an idea.'

He dropped back down with a new confidence and once he hit the floor he shot off towards Karaku. "I know Sekido said not to mess around, but this is pretty fun!" He swung both his fans at the same time but that's exactly what Koujo wanted. "Oh?" The red haired Demon flipped into the air and exhaled bright flames, then he changed his grip and threw his sword like a spear!

The weapon blew right into Karaku's tongue but he couldn't praise his idea being right since Urogi was flying towards them fast! "Oh man! You figured out our secret? Nice!" The harpy crashed into Koujo and grabbed onto him with those talons, his superior mobility would be a massive problem. "If I fly you to Sekido then he can paral- Woah!" Their flight was cut short by their course changing for the floor as Koujo started thrashing about.

'He's not that heavy! Birds are light to fly and so are you!' Well that was the idea and when Koujo sent the two of them falling with a strong pull it gave him the chance to grab onto one of those talons as they fell.

Sekido was being pressured now, with those moon blades combined with the actual knowledge of what his lightning did… 'It's actually bothersome! I'll have to overcharge and- Damn it no!' The staff in his hands got sliced into pieces, but that wasn't the end of it. A diagonal slash in a near circle chopped Sekido's head clean off!

"Yakkyō Dzukibae." (Mirror of Misfortune Moonlit). Three moon blades launched from the whirling slash and managed to strike the uchiwa demon, while the others chaotically struck walls and ripped into the wood. Calm Koujo landed back on the floor with his sword in his right hand. "I'm willing to say that you're going to make another you from this."

Something slammed into the floor beside them and the sudden flapping of large black wings trying to pull Urogi into the air, away from the Demon holding onto his talons. "Let's have fun you bird bastard!" He slammed the bird demon into the floor, sending wood and slivers into the air. But that wasn't the end of it. "Scream at me and try to make my head explode?!" Again, Urogi was slammed into the floor but he started pulling back into the air with a grin.

"I've never had someone-" He got his face smashed right back into the floor, battered and bloody but still smiling. "Throw me around like this!" Urogi opened his mouth and let loose another shriek downwards, blasting Koujo's body with that powetful sound. "You really are cool!"

Yet again the harpy demon slammed into the floor face first, then Koujo spun and threw Urogi away. 'If I ever do this again I'm not splitting like this aga- Wait why did we split anyway?' Speaking of splitting, Sekido just regenerated his head and another demon grew from his old head, then stood up with a jūmonji yari in hand. Dressed in a kimono with hakama pants, a mix of Sekido and Karaku's outfits.

"Oh… I guess I'm here as well." Yet another tall young demon with two horns and cracks under his eyes. "They're… all hanging on well aren't they?"

Sekido stood up, clenching his khakkara hard enough to give off a light cracking sound. "All the way to four! Unacceptable! Inexcusable! But with Aizetsu here, we aren't going to take any more of this from you! Karaku, Aizetsu!"

The red haired Demons snapped their eyes to see the named demons throw their weapons to- Shuradai? Each set of his arms held a different weapon from his Lord. "Now things are going to be over soon." The maple leaf started moving as Shuradai swung it.

Ume's first response was to send two of her sashes away, and her next was to make a barrier of the durable accessories. "He can use those too?!" Her sashes went rigid against the air cannon blasting against her dome of wriggling obi. She let the barrier go once she felt the air weaken, and Ume jumped towards the multi-armed demon. "Mizu no kokyu…" (Water Breathing).

Shuradai's first pair of arms spun the khakkara around while each of his faces watched as Ume tried to throw his attention off with more wayward sashes to, what would be, his blind spots. "Simple tricks that won't work."

Ume's footwork started changing and her movements were giving off trails of water as she advanced. "San no kata…" (Third Form). Graceful movements with her obi moving recklessly trying to get past the other two weapons.

Shuradai was using the spear to rip holes in her sashes with rapid thrusts and slashes. Each strike was timed with relatively gentle swings of the uchiwa. 'She hardens them against the air and softens them against the spear. I can't cut her belts when they're soft and the air cannon doesn't do anything when they're hard.' The simple deflections and counters of the obi were nothing, and then he slammed the khakkara onto the floor. Purple lightning erupted towards Ume in a display that clearly wasn't at Sekido's level, but it would work.

Graceful motions and movements that were slowly getting more and more skilled as she progressed. Ume was just barely avoiding the lightning's course towards her but it was working enough to close the gap between them! "Ryūryū Mai!" (Flowing Dance). Each of her footsteps brought Ume closer to Shuradai and her sword was flowing like a rushing river.

"She's actually keeping away from the lightning." A pair of his arms spun the jūmonji yari around, but the real attack were the five consecutive thrusts from the weapon. "Up close you can't soften anything fast enough to be useful." The first four spear strikes ripped into Ume's sashes like knives through wet paper, and the fifth thrust stabbed straight into the whore's throat. Stopping her in her tracks and making her drop the sword. "I'm sorry to keep up this constant back and forth, please let me-"

The two sashes that went off to who knows where finally came back, and when they did she reached into one and pulled out a- "How about a taste of your own wind?"

'That fan!' There wasn't much else he could do other than block the blast of air, although it didn't help much in the face of the massive air cannon. Shuradai flew through the air and crashed back onto the floor with his acquired weapons scattered around him. "When did she manage to get one of the uchiwa?" He got up and looked at the writhing obi around the Eclipse with a fan in one hand and her sword in another.

"It's a real problem when it's against you. You can't do anything against these weapons!" Her smile would've split her face if it was just a bit bigger. Ume inhaled and felt her blood rushing through her body, the sound of her breath was like a loud whistle to Shuradai's ears. "This breathing is making me feel so much stronger, but I can't get carried away."

The flower marks on her body went from bluish pink to an outright blue color against her white skin. Each of her obi whirled around like gentle currents of water, calm but could quickly turn aggressive and dangerous.

"That breathing. Breath of Water." He slammed the staff down to which another current of purple lightning erupted towards Ume. 'Outspeed her then.' Shuradai's uchiwa reeled back for whatever the tramp would do… and then he was surprised when Ume jumped upwards, her obi digging into the ceiling and holding her there upside down.

Douma covered his face with his tessen and smiled behind it, but this was deserving of some praise. "Young Koujo is really doing well to put so much pressure on Lord Hantengu~ He split into four different versions of himself even though each one has had some advantages, especially long range!"

"It's a surprise to see this." Katachi spoke up in this lull of combat, and while she wasn't as experienced in direct fights she did still have plenty of experience whenever Kokushibou got caught in a… Can't call it a fight since nothing's ever pressured him. Slaughter, whenever Kokushibou commit a slaughter. "Up until now Koujo maintained distance, some control over the fight. On the other hand, Ume suddenly using breathing techniques put her on a similar level to Shuradai."

As she handed out that eloquently, her closest person stood beside her with that ever stoic mood present in all six of his eyes. "…These leaps and bounds in both their skills, impressive." He was always terse with his words and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Andrea stood by Muzan with a strained expression on his face. If you were close you'd hear his teeth grinding against each other like someone smashing rocks. 'All that freedom I gave him went straight to- AH! Hijo de puta madre!' Two halves with one of them actually having much less of his mind restricted?! That wasn't what he needed to show off what he could do for Kibutsuji! 'Hmm… This may not be bad, especially if the two of them are acting separately against those four.'

A certain pinkette was jumping for joy in her spot right beside Douma. All her happiness being shown so easily in her happy movements. "Yay! You can do it Koujo! You can do it Koujo! Both of you can do this! Take those guys down!"

Koujo stood back to back with… Koujo. The pair of them looked up to Namika, one with a smile and the other with a focused expression. "Looks like Namika thinks we can do this."

"It would be a shame if we proved her wrong." He had their bright red flame blade in his left hand with Karaku and Aizetsu holding new weapons in their hands, a standoff of calm personalities.

Flame Koujo created a new sword, smiling right towards Urogi and Sekido as he did. "Let's prove our favorite bubbly demon right." For a second their minds saw the image of a girl smaller than them, and something about the color blue? "That was weird. Let's go."

"Alright."

Both the red haired Demons burst towards their respective fights. Urogi smiled and took off into the air, laughing like a giddy child. "Oh it's so great to go against someone like you!" His talon hands swiped for the crimson Demon, and raked through the floor like it was rice paper. "You're quick!"

A fast rising slash in a powerful burning arc separated that dangerous arm from Urogi's jovial face. "Nobori En Ten!" (Rising Scorching Sun). The burn of that slash made the bird demon's smile fade for a second when it connected, but his joyous expression came back fast and he flew back high. "Nothing for you to smile about bird bitch!"

His claw grew back in the second it took for him to stop flying. "That's what you think, but there's lots of fun to have in these fights!" He swept back down with that joyous smile on his face and clashed his powerful claws against Koujo's hard flesh blade, but being lightweight to fly made it so this was a one sided clash. "Woah!" A push of his sword and a blazing downward slash pinned Urogi onto his back, then Koujo's foot slammed onto his face and shattered his jaw.

"I guess you being so light isn't a good thing is it? It makes it easier to slam you around!" The emotions running through his mind felt great! Koujo was like a burning flame with how expressive he was right now! "But there's still-" The instant he looked at Sekido and saw his staff arcing with purple lightning, a talon locked around his leg. Urogi tore through his pant leg and sunk his talon into the flesh of his calf.

"Gotcha my guy! Let it rip Sekido!" Their plan worked perfectly to keep him in place, so now it was Sekido's turn. Crackles and sparks of that purple lightning were in the air, then they gathered above the two with a reverb of power. Then sparks of electricity flicked against one of Koujo's legs, and he saw one of the loops from the khakkara in Urogi's other claw. "Buckle up my guy."

"Tsuyoi Dendō." (Mighty Conduction). A connection between the two points of intense lightning and a bolt of purple plasma struck down, striking Koujo and sending his body into a seizing fit. "It's helpful when we work together as if we all have half a brain!"

"Hey!" Urogi pushed up and grabbed Koujo's neck in his lower talons, tearing through his flesh and nearly ripping his head off his body. "I've got half a brain you know, not everyone is so serious like you Sekido~" Then he screeched again and blew the, now headless, Demon away.

"It's my seriousness that's gotten us this far at all. If it were up to anyone else, save Aizetsu, we'd have died a century ago!"

Another air cannon- "Please be careful with that. It would be embarrassing if you hit me by mistake." Aizetsu easily avoided the blast of wind and created another jūmonji yari, taking up a stance with the tip aimed straight at their mohawked enemy in the air. The best time to strike was when your enemy couldn't counter and Aizetsu unleashed rapid thrusts of his spear, long range projectiles pierced through the air.

The moon breathing novice was already lucky enough to dodge the blast of wind, but in the air he had less options against those spear thrusts. "Hikisaki, Mikadzuki Seichō." (Ripping Tide, Waxing Crescent). A rapid upwards swing created two crimson trails with countless azure moons clashing with the spear thrusts, but the spears were stronger and some managed to pierce Koujo's body and set him up perfectly for the relaxed clone.

"That was pretty good Aizetsu, I got him now." Karaku took an uchiwa that was twice the size of the first and this time- This wasn't an air cannon, it was a devastating blast that obliterated the very ceiling once it landed. Nakime sighed as she repaired the damage done to another part of the fortress from that attack. "Awesome hit! I told Sekido that we had this." A thud behind the two alerted them to something and once they turned, lo and behold, the crimson Demon.

"Roku no kata." Koujo was dashing towards them with his nichirin sword in his hands and Aizetsu was faster with the response, he wasted no time in launching even more rapid thrusts of his spear.

'He's moving with more grace than before. Gekirui Shitotsu.' (Weeping Spears). Larger projectiles, faster travel speed, overall lethality increased. Aizetsu was somber but serious when it came down to it. "Karaku, use your uchiwa now if you can." A polite command that the relaxed clone saw as a request, even as Koujo managed to defend and weave through the projectiles with only lighter damage to his body.

Karaku swung again with a smile. "Not a problem." This time he used a smaller fan and sent another one of his straight cannons of air, but the Demon stabbed his sword into the floor and held tight. Tanking the few remaining spear thrusts that gouged out his flesh. "He really did that again? I'm impressed."

Koujo thought about how much damage he'd taken already. 'They're more than a step up from Gyutaro. Other than some scrapes I was fine then, but other me just lost his head and I'm-' A jūmonji yari stabbed through his side and then into the floor. Aizetsu grabbed his head and then ripped it off with an expression that made it seem like he was actually sorry.

Karaku was having a mellow laugh over that sudden extreme display. "Didn't expect you to pull one like that on him. Not bad at all."

Aizetsu turned to reply to his other self. "It's not something I wanted to do. Sekido and Urogi have already managed to greatly inhibit their enemy. I'm already distraught over us having to go this far, but it would be heartbreaking to have-"

"Tokoyo Kogetsu Muken." The clones couldn't even turn around in time to respond to the onslaught of crescent slashes that tore into them, and those were just the base sword attacks. The barrage of blue moons only took the damage and made it sixfold to overwhelm both Karaku and Aizetsu in an instant! (Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon Incessant).

His headless body grabbed his falling head and put it back on his neck to close the wound instantly. "They're all slightly stronger than Gyutaro alone. But there's four of them, maybe more if we take their heads off again." Moon breathing was powerful enough on its own but the moon blades added onto the damage he could cause. Aizetsu and Karaku picked themselves up with limbs and parts of their bodies slowly reconnecting. "I'll hold them back while he heals."

Karaku's tongue got diced by the moon blades so he was still putting himself back together while Aizetsu took up a stance with his spear. "That was quite uncomfortable, painful even, please don't put me through that again." He charged and started exchanging long slashes and violent jabs with his jūmonji, but Koujo kept up his defense and delivered fast crescent shaped slashes to parry those spear thrusts.

Karaku recovered fully and leapt into the fray with a grin. "Save some for me guys." One swing. A base air cannon that pinned Koujo in place on his feet. Aizetsu's spear came towards him but missed the mark of rupturing his enemy's chest again, instead puncturing his shoulder because of a simple shift.

Aizetsu pulled but made no progress in releasing his weapon. 'He's locked it in his shoulder, how dreadful.' He slammed his foot through the junior Demon's stomach and then pulled it out, but for his attempt in dislodging his weapon he got his leg severed and a hand around his throat. "You've got full intent of harming me, as much as I hate to say it- Karaku, hit the both of us!"

"Say no more!" This time he reeled both fans back and really put his back into this one! Instead of two separate blasts, Karaku sent one devastating squall straight for the immobile demons. "Don't be mad at me for this one Aizetsu!"

All the spectators leaned in with interest at this one. How were either of the two in the way of this going to-

"Hm!" A tabi slammed into the floor and a sword rose with a haphazard slice to make things easier. Koujo jumped into the air with a chunk of his body, namely the shoulder that had a spear through it, missing. His arm burst back into existence as he watched Aizetsu barely evade the colossal wind blast. "Tsuki no kokyu: Go no kata." (Moon Breathing: Fifth Form).

The sight of a red haired Demon flipping upside down was already amazing, but Aizetsu took the chance to spin gracefully and unleash a slash in a giant arc towards the airborne swordsman. "Hitsūna Zangeki." (Sorrowful Slash).

Even with an oncoming strike that seemed just as strong as the ones that overpowered his moon blades before, Koujo was calm and ready. Layered curved slashes over one another, creating a tornado of sword slashes and crescent moon blades that descended straight towards the spear wielder in an awe inspiring display. The chaos of the moon blades crashed into the singular slice and exploded in a show of raw power... but the power of moon breathing shone through and continued through the violent clash. And then the tornado of slashes and blades reached Aizetsu and surrounded him in a whirlwind of sharp attacks.

Kokushibou's many eyes squinted in thought as he witnessed that… unorthodox method that his student just used. 'Even I never considered using the fifth form in such a manner. His battle creativity is somewhat impressive, for a whelp.'

Karaku rushed in once the redhead landed on the floor and he shrunk his uchiwa down to be better in this direct confrontation. "Turning Aizetsu into ribbons like that, impressive man!" This time his weapons came around with fields of swirling air around them and they looked dangerous.

The water surged around Koujo's feet and he skillfully avoided the whirlwind fans with grace. 'I can feel the wind scraping even though he missed.' Another dodge and counter with a powerful crescent slash, no moon blades behind it, and in that single strike he sliced through both Karaku's tongue and cut off half his jaw. A high kick and the fan wielder- 'Oh great.' Karaku dodged the kick and then swung his uchiwa as his jaw reformed.

"Kaze no Kizu." The opposing whirlwinds crossed and a high pitched wail ruined the moon breather's focus. An explosion of wind in several violent bursts slammed into the Demon, shredding through his clothes and tearing into his body. (Scar of the Wind). Then Karaku jumped up and crossed his fans before pushing them both out, sending another attack like the prior one straight onto the swordsman from above. "Guess I have to be 'serious' according to Sekido, ugh, and here I was having fu-"

A single slash in a red crescent with a storm of azure moon blades following it. "Gng!" The speed from the sudden attack blitzed Karaku and dealt two major blows, the first being both his hands getting severed, and the second was him flying away from the volley of moon blades. (Dark Moon Evening Palace). The damage he took from the wind scar was gone and the calm look behind his eyes was slowly fading away to a bright flame.

"I'm getting very angry, how's other me doing?" A look over towards his other self and- Oh boy. Urogi was laughing like a giddy little boy and Sekido was looking at him as if he just threw trash straight at his house… and the figure of his other self slowly regenerating his head was also an interesting image.

"It's the funniest shit I've ever seen Sekido! I blew his head right off! I'm not sure if we've ever pulled off a combo like that before really."

"What matters is that he stays down. Let's finish the job so this can be over!"

"Bah, what's it matter if we finish it now or not?"

Sekido's anger almost subsided for a second and now his eyes just read, 'really?' Towards his compatriot. "What kind of a dumbass question is that?"

"I don't think it's a dumbass question."

"It's a question coming from a dumbass, that means it's a dumbass question." Bickering. They were bickering like this in the middle of their fight.

Urogi's smile was still ever present as he landed beside Sekido with his arms stretched upwards. "Maybe I was just asking a dumbass why we should bother letting the fun end too soon-"

"Maybe the dumbass shouldn't be asking anything at all! I'm not going to indulge you, just know that you're an idiot."

Urogi chuckled with a casual flap of his wings, no takeoff just a flap. "Well I'm an idiot but you love getting to-"

Fury. Rage. An ear splitting roar echoed through the entire battle room and drew the attention of everyone. Muzan looked with a raised eyebrow, Andrea folded his arms with a judgemental gaze, Kokushibou commented with a simple, "I see." Katachi and Douma leaned in for a better view. Namika was like a kid in a sweets shop, wide eyed and absorbing every detail. Even Shuradai took his attention away from Ume on the ceiling, and Ume smirked.

"Now you pissed him off."

His mouth and jaw were roaring in unmatched fury while his head reappeared in veins, bone, and skin. Hate filled eyes came back into the world, veins on his face and red hair suddenly growing back to upper back length. He took a single step during his roar and a bright yellow-orange flower appeared under him, four petals blazing with his anger. The roaring stopped and now there was a furious demon standing across from the emotion clones.

"Woah! Sekido, that was a loud yell huh? You think he's gonna do it again?" Urogi was still messing around… pissing Sekido off.

"If you would quit talking like a dumbass then he wouldn't even have the chance to scream like a newborn." The angry clone kept his gaze firmly locked on Koujo while Urogi laughed his statement off.

"You're so damn happy-go-lucky it pisses me off!" Demonic was the only way to describe his voice.

He was so enraged that his skin was even reddish in some spots, Sekido clenched his khakkara in preparation for-

"Now now now~ If it pisses you off then you might just turn into Sekido here!" Aforementioned demon put his angered gaze onto his jovial partner. His heated glare hoping it could just burn through-

"Why can't you just shut the hell-" He wouldn't get to finish that question since a sword stabbed through his tongue and a foot crashed into his chest, sending him out of the way of the rage train. Urogi turned in time to raise one of his talons to block a- A bite?!

"Hey my guy! You just tried to bite me?" He was still happy and it was still irritating. "Wait." Tried turned into has. Teeth sunk through the scales on his arms and met bone. "Oh man! You're just getting feral on me now!" Urogi went to claw the other Demon with his free hand, but realized that Koujo was aware enough to grab that talon mid-motion and furrow his brow even deeper.

The crimson haired Demon pulled his head back and spat Urogi's meat out like it was poison. "I'm gonna fucking destroy you."

…

"Heh. Hahaha! Damn that's a really good one." The instant he finished that sentence is when a head bashed into his nose, repeatedly. Koujo was slamming his head into Urogi's like he was a living hammer, but that was just a start. His blood sprayed into the air. Shards of his skull flew out. As fast as Urogi healed, his vision disappeared with the next headbutt he took… and yet- It did. Not. Stop. "Holy shi-" A hand grabbed the bird demon's face and flung him straight onto the floor, splintering the wood around him.

Koujo popped his neck with a scowl then exhaled bright red flames. "You keep pissing me off being so happy in a fight, and I'm gonna wipe the smirk off your ugly ass face."

The avian demon sat up and started flapping his wings with a grin. "Yeah sure!" Urogi took off and slammed straight into his enemy, taking the two into the air on a wild ride. "I'm just trying to have fun!" He raised his legs and ripped a kimono top, and Koujo's torso, to pieces. "What's wrong with that?"

Despite the talons holding his upper biceps so he couldn't punch, Koujo wasn't out of options and he showed that by crashing his foot into Urogi's jaw! "Cause if you keep that shit up…" The second of Urogi's grip loosening is what Koujo used to grab on and pull the both of them back towards the hard floor. "I'll fucking kill you." They crashed down, skidding along until one of them stopped and got a firm hold on the other, then started swinging the other around like a rag doll… and Koujo was the one giving the unforgiving treatment.

Urogi's face was being slammed into the floor over and over, different directions and angles from the constant assault. His lightweight body was only making this an easier process but he snapped out of it long enough to start flying upwards again. "I gotta admit! That really hurts!" His smile wasn't as vibrant but it didn't matter with- "huh?" It was a quiet exclamation but it was there. He got pulled back down and slammed into the floor again. "The hell? My wings?" The moment he started lifting himself up he got pushed right back down, but the worst part was the hands holding onto his wings.

"I hope they're not important!" Koujo started pulling… hard. Flesh tearing, tendons ripping, muscles separating, and feathers falling out. Urogi turned his head all the way around and unleashed a powerful screech, but one of those wings was used like a shield and he blasted his own feathers off. "It's just a game right?" Koujo pulled even harder with more sickening rips and tears of those muscular wings.

"Get off!" Urogi was flapping wildly but each time he started making progress he got stomped back down to the floor. "Get the fuck off!" Now he wasn't smiling. Now he was getting just a little serious over the wings that would regrow… but it would probably hurt like hell to lose them. Another screech, much faster this time, and Koujo was hit dead on… only to endure having his ears explode, his skin peel, and his eyes bleed.

"I thought there was fun in a fight?!" To hell with the meticulous approach, he let go of one wing and started pulling the other with both hands. Ligaments tore like paper and the wing separated from Urogi's back with a growl of pain from the avian demon. "Aren't we having fun?!"

"Fuck off!" Another screech that almost blew Koujo away… almost. That other wing was still attached but just one would have to work since it'll grow back in a few seconds at most. "Son of a b- leghh?!" A hand reached into his open mouth and grabbed his marked tongue.

Koujo yanked out the tongue in his hands then crushed the slippery organ in his fingers. The sudden cruelty was… unexpected. "If you were serious then this wouldn't be going on, my guy." Once again the red haired Demon grabbed him and slammed him into the ground, and then spun and threw him right towards a freshly recovered Sekido. 'Ume…'

Her obi were keeping Ume planted in the ceiling like a spider but she still had Shuradai to deal with. "Uneven terrain… Ku no kata." The awkward vantage of the ceiling all the way to the floor was a perfect surprise for her next attack. Splashes of water showed her route, across the ceiling and down the wall, rotating like a giant whirlpool as Shuradai traced her movements with each of his faces. "Suiryu Shibuki." (Splashing Water Flow).

'I'm seeing what happens when I underestimate her.' His back left face looked at both the Upper Four contenders as they fought against Lord Hantengu's clones, deceptively holding their own for now. His intuition knew exactly what was going on here. 'Despite her weakness it seems like she's consistently useful in a team… so long as a strong demon takes control of her. But they're preoccupied.'

Shuradai finished his quick thinking and thrusted his jūmonji out once Ume appeared in front of him with her little sword. The softness of her obi stopped his attack in its tracks but she was still in front of him and well within range of the uchiwa. "I commend you for keeping this pace so long." First he tapped the khakkara against the floor and-

Ume stabbed her sword into Shuradai's neck and reached at one of her sashes while purple sparks started coming from the staff. "Maybe I'm just getting better? Or you're just not that good!" She pulled out a- Another khakkara?! She stabbed it straight into the floor and the two staff fired off a bright surge of lightning. Ume froze on the spot, seizing and shaking from the power. Shuradai grit teeth from each of his mouths and pulled the sword from his throat.

"I'll give you the credit of improving-" He stabbed her own flesh blade into her chest and swung his uchiwa, adding insult to injury by taking the staff she used against him. "But experience trumps luck." He reeled back and threw the extra staff like a javelin.

Ume slammed into a wall with the guided force of the air cannon but she couldn't even pull herself free before lightning coursed through her again, forcing her to shake violently until she fell onto the floor again. 'Damn it! If it wasn't for that stupid staff!' It took all her willpower and strength to grab the staff and pull it out of her body only to see Shuradai right in front of her.

"Every time you resist you end up on the losing end. Stop prolonging your loss. Even if your Moon won, you wouldn't be going upwards with him. Your best just isn't enough."

None of that was with an insulting air. Shuradai was being honest and truthful about their entire fight without even trying to demean her… it was just a byproduct of the honesty. Ume really hadn't done too much on her own, it was only with some outside help that she really stood out. Her eyes started feeling heavy, leaky even, but she stayed strong.

"That's not true. I'm better than I was!"

"But not good enough."

She stood up with her sword in hand again. "That's not up for you to decide, and I'd rather be weak without being shitty like you!" Having three faces definitely wasn't nice to look at but Shuradai was above petty jabs. He just made eye contact with mohawk Koujo with that back right face.

The silence was almost as annoying as Karaku's fans, but seeing Shuradai do something with all three of those weapons made him feel bad. 'He's gonna do something to-'

"Gekirui Shitotsu." (Weeping Spears). With his guard down for even a moment it made it easier to take advantage. Aizetsu had enough focus in him to actively attack when he could, and he did. "I'm sorry to attack you when your back was turned, but the opportunity was too good to avoid."

The projectiles flew at Koujo's unprotected back but he was more concerned with Ume literally being backed against the wall. "Not good. This went on long enough, we have to merge again. Go help Ume." Flesh warped and Aizetsu saw movement from the Demon's back.

Blood red scythes whipped out from Koujo's back, clashing with the spear thrusts and slicing into the floor in a noxious display of… Karaku recovered from that iai slash mixed with moon blades and he had a further view of what just happened. "Hey hey. Coulda sworn you were dead after losing your fight."

Muzan stood up indignantly with bloodshot eyes. Gyutaro should be dead. Gyutaro is dead! The very space around the Demon King was filled with bloodlust as he focused on the figure of a no longer emaciated demon pulling himself out of his project's back. 'Keeping things from me is not acceptable!' The railing broke from the simple closing of his hand on it. 'I knew that not being connected to you was an issue. Too unpredictable to account for.'

Andrea was scribbling in his notebook again while Muzan fumed over seeing the slim demon stand up with sickles in his hands. "Interesting developments, no?" Kibutsuji was too busy to respond but that was inconsequential. Andrea liked what he was seeing, more power, more chance.

The dome of blood sickles kept up until the last spear projectile was gone. "Bakku Chōryō!" (Rampant Arc Rampage). His body was more filled out, he looked more… human. His skin wasn't rough and coarse but instead he looked more lively, and his black splotches were gone. Instead he had small flower markings on different parts of his skin, much more pleasing to look at. Even his hair looked clean. "Feels good to let loose again y'know…?" Gyutaro went to scratch his neck but stopped at the last second. "I didn't even think you were gonna let me out in the first place boss… So which of these-" Brotherly instinct. "Ume!" He saw his cornered sister and remembered his command, bursting off to go help her.

"Big brother!" That callout would've distracted someone who didn't have three-sixty vision, but Shuradai blocked a sickle aimed for his neck without even moving his body.

"Gyutaro? This doesn't make any sense!" The ever solid composure of the monastic demon cracked for just a second and he raised his voice with a loss of his cool character, but he pulled it back together fast. "You being here doesn't change anything. Lord Hantengu is doing better as a whole."

Despite it being a back and forth on both sides there was a minor difference in this fight so far. The separation of damage wasn't in anyone's favor since both sides were hurting each other, but there was a minor difference… The Hantengu clones managed to pin down both halves of Koujo, but neither version of Koujo was able to pin down both the clones they were against. So far their best damage was done by pushing back one clone and attacking with most of what they had against the remaining duplicate… and Shuradai wasn't the only one who knew that.

"Gyutaro, your presence is welcome. Your whore sister might be able to-"

In a sudden burst of red, blood scythes spiraled from Gyutaro's arms in a long ranged cyclone. The noxious smell took Shuradai by surprise but the actual attack started to rend his flesh before he could defend himself! "Enzan Senkai Tobi Chigama!" (Rotating Circular Slashes: Flying Blood Sickles). "Don't talk about Ume like that!" His voice was less scratchy and warped but his aggression was still there. "My sister wasn't always bright… but she's way less dim than she was!"

The toxic blood didn't have the same effect that it would on a human, but it was still a devastating attack. Shuradai's wounds closed and one of his faces regenerated. "That… You've gotten stronger haven't you? At least that means I don't need to restrict myself." Each of his three faces contorted to expressions of anger mixed with some excitement behind them.

"Ni no kata!" Ume shot up with water tracing some of her obi. She was breaking the general and unspoken rule- "Yoko Mizu Guruma!" (Lateral Water Wheel). Ume just interrupted Shuradai during whatever little power boost he just tried to give himself, and her whipping sashes sliced into Eclipse four's body. "You looked pretty bad before, but now you're turning into an ugly bastard!"

That taste of getting an insult tossed at him made Shuradai seethe and grab one of the obi cutting into his body. "I'll obliterate you!" He raised his khakkara and blasted lightning all around him. "Both of you!" The demonic siblings felt lightning run through their bodies, forcing them to stop dead in their tracks… but it didn't last long. Shuradai dropped the staff once something punctured the hand holding it. "A sword?" The sword that the second upper six had!

Flame Koujo just flung his sword at the weaker multi persona demon and ran towards his other self fending off Aizetsu. "Let's get this-" A surge of purple lightning struck him and made him convulse in anger. 'Sekido! I'm gonna punch your head off!' The threat was immediately given a response by a powerful screech blasting into his back, sending him careening towards- Well at least he was going towards his other half.

Urogi was smiling again but there was obviously malice behind it now. "I'll be a little serious but I hope you can keep up!"

An upward rising slash with ripping crescents tearing towards the two demons keeping him from himself. "Hikisaki, Mikadzuki Seichō." (Ripping Tide, Waxing Crescent). Countless moon blades streamed towards Aizetsu and Sekido, but Koujo was too busy turning around and leaping towards the other him. "We can merge back now."

Flame Koujo got up and ran towards his moon half with a hand outstretched… it was more poetic than it really should have been. "Back to full strength!" Their hands touched and then flame was brought closer into moon, their outfits letting them fuse right together until only moon was left. Flame was absorbed entirely into… Koujo, Koujo was one again.

For a second it looked like his nichirin blade looked a little more red. His outfit was somehow even more perfect. He felt so much better this way… "Even though we only split a week after I beat Gyutaro." The feeling of his sword in his right hand- It felt right. "Now I'm at a hundred and ten percent!" He smiled and swung his sword a few times just to get a good feel of it again.

Sekido ground his teeth right beside Aizetsu who looked mournful over what just happened. "This may have just turned our odds upside down."

"Aw man, well it's nothing we can't handle you know. We've got plenty of experience on him right?" Karaku's relaxed demeanor gave him a simple standpoint on this. "Plus we saw both his little sword styles, so now we can counter them. Especially with him being one guy now."

Urogi landed by them with a grin proudly on his face, he sharpened his claws and laughed. "This is just gonna get even more fun!" Urogi was just about to take off towards Koujo when a hand grabbed his wing and stopped him. Sekido was scowling, nothing new, towards Koujo.

"Don't underestimate him. Now that he's at full strength he's more troublesome!" He accented that by slamming his staff down and surging lightning towards Koujo, who was still giving his sword some tentative swings. "No more mistakes from us!"

Karaku swung his uchiwa. "Yeah, okay!" This time the air cannon was even more powerful, compact but filled with sheer force.

"RIP IT UP!" Urogi's sonic screech joined the assault and Aizetsu was last with rapid spear thrusts. Their unified attacks made a wailing crescendo of sure death… Death for anything human that got in the way, but even a demon would be devastated by this attack! A normal demon at least.

Douma watched an explosion shake the entire room with a gleeful smile on his face. "Oh my oh my~ That was an amazing display!" His multicolored eyes showed happiness at that cataclysmic display, but Namika was- Well she didn't look happy.

"Lord Douma! Koujo just got blasted!" Her emerald eyes were focused on the massive cloud of smoke and wood slivers. "I didn't know Hantengu was so strong!" She wasn't speaking in awe of Hantengu. Namika was speaking in worry for her best friend. "No... Unfair." Right now the four clones weren't normal demons to her. They were just scribbles of black, nondescript and all the same in their lack of features. "That wasn't fair."

Katachi's gloomy aura started spreading outwards once everyone saw Koujo get blown apart. "That's disheartening. He's been so tenacious up to now too."

The smoke started to clear and everyone on their elevated platforms started seeing- "I wouldn't count things done yet~" Douma was more than able to see things from the start. Kokushibou was also in the know from the beginning. Andrea and Muzan? Didn't even need to be said that they knew.

Sekido watched the smoke dissipate and… "Again!" There was a rare unison between them, every clone attacked again with just as much murderous intent… but this time their attack landed much farther to their collective right, and closer than it should have. "Damn it all… Merging back did this?!"

Sekido's staff was surging with lightning. Aizetsu backstepped and slashed with his jūmonji. Urogi's screech matched his flapping wings, getting some air might help with landing the attack this time. Karaku swung two uchiwa and sent curved wind cannons in a pincer attack. Once more, a massive explosion of force in their mixed attack. Each of the clones was on a hair trigger, the slightest waft of air, bit of movement, anything, they'd do it again.

Kokushibou broke his aloof silence. "Don't blink… their match has officially started."

Something went from the new smoke cloud to the ceiling and back down right between the grounded clones. Each of the clones got some distance fast but their opponent seemed more focused on making sure he was seeing things correctly. "Haven't caught all the way up. And… my head is killing me. Who's… Tanji-" His personal musing was cut off by Sekido yelling.

"Urogi! Aizetsu!" The demons rushed in at full speed with their weapons ready. Urogi's claws and Aizetsu's jūmonji were both devastating in slashing attacks.

"I apologize for this."

"I don't!"

Two slashes and they were behind him. It was so fast that it took them a split second to turn their bodies around… By that it means their bodies had to turn around. A burst of flames was still up and once it finally died down, everyone saw Koujo clear as crystal. "Shiranui." (Unknowing Fire.) Those flames were somehow brighter than before. A quick exhale of flames with a shimmering mist and Koujo raised his left hand… with Urogi and Aizetsu's heads in his grip. The long slice along his chest and the three gashes on his face closed as he tossed their heads back to their bodies.

Karaku didn't bother with praise; he just ran in and swung one fan on the ground, then flipped up and swung the other in the air. "Sekido!"

A spray of the angry demon's blood went into the air and his purple lightning arced across each droplet. "Yūdaina Chi Arashi!" (Majestic Blood Storm). The very air vibrated with power and red tinted purple lightning shot out towards him in an all encompassing attack.

"Seitōna Tensei: Hibana Bara." (Rightful Reincarnation: Ember Rose). He bounded backwards with his burning flower underfoot, seven petals- Eight. There were eight that he noted as he avoided the bolts of lightning. "I'm burning up." A backflip to avoid the air cannons that blasted the floor in another pincer, trying to cut him off? Amazing plan but came up just too short. "This fight is really something." He turned to block a spear thrust and traded slashes with the mournful Aizetsu.

'His speed and attack rate are so much higher now. Sekido was right to call him troublesome.' His logical mind and masterful strikes were keeping him just on par with the attacks coming for him. "Karaku." Surprisingly enough the relaxed demon actually sent another air cannon downwards with a smile.

Urogi swooped in from another open angle and started screeching as he came in. A choking attack that forced Koujo into one spot. This was the power of Hantengu when his duplicates acted as one team… but-

Bright orange and yellow flames spiraled in a series of sword swings made to cover a wide area. "Sei En no Uneri!" (Blooming Flame Undulation). Aizetsu's arms and head were taken from his body in a burning attack. The air cannon and Urogi's screech landed but the defensive attack nulled the damage. Koujo skidded along the floor but recovered fast to avoid another surge of lightning, but talons gripped his shoulders and slammed him into the floor face first.

"You already know what to do! Let it go guys!"

Sekido created another bolt from up high and Karaku used his constant airtime, brought on from the repelling force of his fans, and swung yet again. "Is this the teamwork you wanted Sekido? I think we're doing good!"

"Until we win I don't want your lip! Tsuyoi Dendō!" (Mighty Conduction). "Our teamwork is best when we're each just as efficient!" A powerful strike of lightning straight downwards zapped Koujo dead on, and the air cannon that forced him even deeper into the floor beneath Urogi added onto the damage.

The harpie demon was holding back the urge to laugh but he still had to get a taunt in. "All the build up but this isn't too fun my guy!" A hand grabbed his leg, then he felt the air shift. "Ooh! This could be-" It was interesting. A flood of blue moon blades filled the air and pushed Urogi off Koujo's back. Even with the air cannon still pushing him down, he pushed and got himself to a kneeling position.

The semi-pinned Demon started unleashing multiple curved slashes layered over each other, back to back and with crescent moon blades rising upwards with them. He made a vortex of destructive power and it was going straight up towards Karaku! 'Geppaku Saika!' (Moon spirit Calamitous Eddy).

Karaku's first instinct was to try and push this attack back down… then he used more of his brain and decided to swing an uchiwa towards a wall and send himself out of the way entirely. "That would've diced me all the way up man. Can't deal with that right now, this is really fun." He fell back down and hit the floor between Aizetsu and Koujo… and he stepped aside.

"Hitsūna Zangeki." (Sorrowful Slash). Aizetsu's attack landed and started cutting into Koujo's left shoulder. "You should try that now."

"Never saw if it works, might as well." He started fanning with his dual uchiwa and made small gusts of wind, but then he swung them both full force and created a tornado of tearing wind currents. Even the spectators could feel themselves having to actually stand firm to avoid getting pulled right into this one!

Sekido was pushing his khakkara into the floor to stand firm against… his other self doing reckless things. 'It better pay off!' This attack was something they never actually had a means to test… and so far it pissed Sekido off on two levels. 'We actually had to use this on a brat like him, not to mention that it's annoying to be drawn in like this!'

Urogi was flying hard against these winds and saw Shuradai holding onto the floor with every arm he could spare, but Gyutaro and whatever-her-name-is-now were fine with her sashes keeping them planted in. "Psh! Cheaters! Woah! Gotta focus." He almost got sucked back into the tornado.

Aizetsu stabbed his jūmonji into the floor and grabbed Karaku's arm. "Perhaps I should have factored in your recklessness."

Koujo finally recovered from the cannon pushing him down just to be introduced to a tornado ripping the room apart just to get to him. His firm and breathing switched, orange and yellow flames came from his mouth. "Go no kata…" (Fifth Form). He dashed straight towards the twister and started slashing his sword with fervor. "Enko!" (Flame Tiger). A massive burning feline rammed straight into the twister. Hot flames against a whirlwind sending debris everywhere and trying to take in everyone present… The burning tiger pushed harder and the two attacks exploded.

"Okay that was cool!" Urogi had the best view for it but he also saw that he should move back in to help.

Karaku saw movement and had just enough time to see a reddish blur. "Yamidzuki Yoi no Miya!" (Dark Moon Evening Palace). A single slash that took Karaku's head off and then sent moon blades at Aizetsu that ripped his head into mincemeat. Then the Demon kicked Karaku's body into Aizetsu's and spun with his sword moving in a circle. "Yakkyō Dzukibae." (Mirror of Misfortune Moonlit).

Urogi barely dodged the circular attack aimed for his wings, and he unleashed a screech once he managed to avoid the three moon blades as well. He got his chance and he took it to fly towards the others and grab them in his talons, flying back to Sekido with Karaku and Aizetsu in his grip.

Sekido looked… more calculating than angry oddly enough and it was warranted. Everything was fairly even until Koujo's skin turned that shade of red. Then he blasted apart Karaku's tornado and blitzed half of them before they could react… not to mention him letting them regroup like this. "Whatever all out we were going before, double it."

The sound of wings flapping put attention on Urogi and his talons that were locking on Koujo's left shoulder and right wrist. "That's enough sword stuff my guy! Sekid- O!" The feeling of feet punching through your stomach would stop you mid sentence, and Urogi was no different. "Damn, wouldn't even let me finish a sentence?"

Two crescent slashes separated Urogi's talons from Koujo's body. "Nope." He pulled his bloody zori free and the instant he landed is when Urogi started deflecting moon blades with his claws. "Tokoyo Kogetsu Muken!" (Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon Incessant). A wild barrage of slashes and moon blades that the harpie demon couldn't hope to deflect each of, but he let the damage come in face of their plan. "Hm?" Koujo ducked below a spear thrust from behind and rose his foot towards Aizetsu's chin.

"He avoided that without warning?" Even with his attack thrown off Aizetsu still had sense to try and attack again with another Sorrowful Slash, and it worked. Though he aimed for Koujo's body but chopped off the foot that came for him. 'He shifted himself around quickly.'

"Nobori En Ten!" (Rising Scorching Sun). A gorgeous arc of flames in an upwards slash took off Aizetsu's left arm, then a regenerated foot hit his jaw and followed through to fling him towards Sekido. A sonic blast crashed into his back and made him skid forward towards Karaku's uchiwa.

"What happens if I make a tornado on top of you?"

"We'll never find out."

His sword swung downwards through one of the fans in a bright burst of flames. "Kien Banshō." (Blazing Universe). Then he swerved to avoid Karaku's other uchiwa and delivered two slashes to his neck and to his abdomen, no moon blades needed at this range. "Enkidzuki Tsugari!" (Loathsome Moon, Chains). Another decapitation and he turned to see Sekido almost snarling in his anger.

This wasn't going according to plan. The emotion demons were being treated like pet toys now. "This is so wrong! Bullying us in a way like this! It's okay. It's alright. The kidoairaku demons are powerful. Our rank is perfectly safe like this."

"Safe like what?"

Koujo was kneeling down and looking at the mouse sized figure that was slowly looking up at him in horror. The tiny person was actually a centuries old being with an unknown amount of kills to his name, and he was currently cowering in fear at Koujo's sword being lifted up.

"I knew you were here the entire time, but… I was distracted with fighting the other you's." The red glint of his sword made the tiny demon tremble in fear. "So what happens if I chop your head off?" Flames. He swung his sword towards that little demon's neck with absolute aggression! "Huh?" He missed.

"Aaaaiaeeeeee!" Hantengu was fast! He already covered a massive distance in the two seconds he had to run away!

"Hey! Get back here you little coward!" He stood back up to feel four presences right on top of him. "Oh right."

"Wow man, didn't take you for a bully." Karaku.

"Get away from him you pissant!" Sekido.

"Get back to having fun with us!" Urogi.

"It's preferred that you leave him be." Aizetsu.

All four of the emotion demons were converging on him with brutal intent. Stopping Koujo from doing anything to Hantengu was their sole purpose after all. "Roku no kata." (Sixth form).

'That sixth form again!' Sekido held back and charged up his strongest attack to overpower those mad slashes, the visage of a purple dragon appeared in the air right over him. "Kamowakeikazuchi…" In a great surge of purple lightning, he fired a massive dragon that made the walls melt from the sheer heat behind its power. "No kami!" (Great Raging Thunder God).

The other three clones were in awe that their leader actually chose that attack. Namely because of the one issue behind it. 'THAT HURTS US TOO!' Aizetsu could only scream that in his mind since each of them was fully paralyzed from the massive dragon running through them, charring their flesh and making them convulse like leaves in a windstorm.

"Making us go this far! Once the others can move I'll- Why is everything shifting?!" Sekido's view just changed and now he had to look further up to see things. "He- He cut off my head?!" Sekido's severed head was sitting in his lap with a burning pain running through his neck. Those accursed flames were in the air and- "He tricked me! He used another sixth form and faked us out!"

A spiral of flames was in the air. Like a dance through the room from demon to demon… to demon again. "Nenshō Kōjō!" (Burning Deduction). Predicting every single motion and reacting by slicing off each demon's head before they could fully react. Even as the lightning dissipated and their movements came back, the kidoairaku demons had to recover from the damage they just took first… and Koujo already caught up to Hantengu.

"AHH!" A red sword hit the little demon's neck and the pain made him yelp in anguish.

'His neck is so tough! It's barely an inch thick but I can't cut it!' He pulled back and his flaming breaths turned to shimmering mist. 'I'll just swing harder!' A powerful crescent slash in a single quick draw. 'Yamidzuki Yoi no Miya!' (Dark Moon Evening Palace).

"AAAAAAIIIIEEEEEEE!"

And now there was some progress! Even if it was just a few millimeters, his sword was cutting through!

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"That voice! Quit crying so much!" He was trying to follow through with his attack but that annoying voice just kept yelling so loudly. It made him waver in his attack and that was something that helped him stop… but there was something worse. 'That-'

That presence. It was choking.

Koujo sensed a presence behind him. 'Who is that? It's not one of the emotion demons.' He looked over his shoulder and saw a totally different figure right behind him, not to mention the raw power coming off them in waves. 'I felt it. That angry one, Sekido, he pulled the others in and- Then his aura changed!' He didn't see it but he sensed every part of it while he tried to experiment with Hantengu. Then he felt the ominous figure behind him start to move an arm.

Koujo turned with his sword swinging to see whatever this new demon could-

*Tonk*

The wood on the floor broke apart to reveal giant dragons made of… "They're wood?!" Wooden dragons ripped through the floor and slammed into his body, sending him into the air. Some carefully brought Hantengu away from the crimson Demon and towards the newer demon. "Sei En no Uneri!" (Blooming Flame Undulation). Multiple slashes to try and sever the wooden constructs, but they were much more durable than they looked. 'Back up plan!'

Koujo slammed his foot into an encroaching dragon and got more distance away from this new blood demon art. "Giant wooden dragons… Tough, giant wooden dragons." He landed and looked to see a very ominous, baleful, hate filled stare looking at him. 'He looks like all of them in one.' Black sleeves that hugged muscular arms. Dark hakama pants with an ornate waistband and a white cloth. He was shirtless but had a piece of golden armor around his neck and covering his upper chest. The biggest detail was that this demon was even younger than the others and looked like an outright child in appearance, but the ring of drums floating behind him with the kanji-

"Unpleasantness…" His body was tensing in a new emotion. "Unhappiness…" He stood up with those furious eyes centered on the Demon that just landed before him. "Extremity… You are a villain!" All his rage was conveyed straight ahead towards the vile and wicked villain across from him.

"Villain…" His thoughts went quiet for a moment. The fog in his mind covered up everything but… for a second he could see something. "Am I a villain?" He looked at those drums and saw what they had written on them. "…Zohakuten…"

"You are!"

*Tonk*

Another strike of that drum and the wood holding the tiny Hantengu moved upwards, reaching towards the ceiling and enveloping him in a protective ball of those durable tree trunks. Zohakuten clenched a tokkosho in his hand, scowling in his explanation. "Bullying someone so small that he could fit in your hand! That's diabolic!" Two more hits to those drums and five dragons erupted through the floor. "Tormenting the weak is something only a villain could ever do!"

Villain. Tormenting the weak. Bullying. Evil. "You… You think I'm a villain?" He had to think about that and… it didn't add up. "Maybe… Maybe you're just a pussy who doesn't like anything that doesn't agree with you." The fog in his mind was letting up for a bit, making some things clear to him and giving more of- "You're Upper Four, you've killed and eaten lots of people. I don't kill anyone to eat them. You're the one who bullies the weak. You're the villain that preys on the weak…" He smiled in the face of an unyielding rage, and he insulted it like he meant it. "A pussy that doesn't like opposition."

Zohakuten looked ready to explode after all of that. "Only the wicked would try to throw blame like that. You need to be purged!" He slammed both his tokkosho into two different drums and let his rage vent through his attacks.

The five dragons blasted towards Koujo, faster than anything that size should've moved, and he evaded with a backflip. Bounds and leaps to avoid the ridiculous aspects of wood that tried to bite him to shreds. 'These things are fast!' Avoiding one left him open to another, another flip in the air and he used one to run along and get even further away. 'There's a limit somehow.'

His evasions showed him more and more about these dragons. Each of them was very long and very fast, but they were still made of wood and bound by some basic rules… namely that while these dragons were almost snakelike in movement, wood is only so flexible and another dragon would swoop in to attack him if he completely outmaneuvered one.

'They're only sixty meters long. This room is at least four hundred meters, I can get some distance from them and use Moon Breathing!'

Koujo evaded another snapping dragon and jumped away before flipping upside down in the air. "Tsuki no kokyu, go no kata." (Moon Breathing, Fifth Form). He was outside of their range like this so the three dragon heads opened towards him couldn't react to this. "Geppaku Sai- Hold on!" Each of those big dragons started spewing a smaller dragon out of their mouths! So on and so forth until three arm-width dragons were gripping onto Koujo. "They can make smaller dragons to reach me!"

One of his arms was free and that was all he needed. His nails went from being blunted to sharp and he used them to scratch the dragon holding his sword hand, slicing its thinner state without even trying. Then he cut himself free and repeated himself. Turning upside down and starting to deliver layered crescent slashes to the dragons while unleashing a barrage of azure moon blades. "Geppaku Saika!" (Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy).

Splintering wood and severed dragon heads. The fifth form of Moon Breathing tore through the trio of Zohakuten's dragons but there were still two more to worry about, and one was stretching through smaller dragons while the other was there with its mouth wide open. This time a small dragon head bit Koujo's arm and- 'It's retracting!' He started getting pulled in but a smashing kick and he demolished the little dragon. "That big one is coming next. Hono no koky-"

"GYAAAAH!"

A sonic blast that sent him flying. The dragon just screeched the same way Urogi could! "These things can use their blood demon arts too?" Another dragon head appeared above him and fired a stream of purple lightning, barely missing him. "That's even more to deal with! But… I'm a Demon, and I can keep up with these trees just fine!" Spirals of flame and rapid slashes appeared along the massive wood dragon.

Zohakuten started hitting his drums again. Spawning more wood dragons and making them use the kidoairaku powers. "Kyōmei Rai Satsu!" (Crazed Cry of Thunder Death). Four dragons rushed towards Koujo and started roaring with different effects. Flames rose and danced along a dragon screeching with explosive sound waves, avoiding the booming attack. Crescent slashes deflected piercing spear thrusts while chaotic moon blades ripped into the dragon. An air cannon blasted the ground and left a maple leaf shaped imprint, but missed the Demon it was targeting entirely. Purple lightning shot out of a dragon mouth only to stop when a downward slash severed the head in a burning arc.

Zohakuten watched his attack be either avoided or outright be destroyed by the various attacks that the vile bully used. 'He managed to make his way through that onslaught? Then I'll use my own ability to subdue him!' Rapid slams to each of his drums and a myriad of dragons appeared, with dragons growing off them and out of their mouths- A cornucopia of wooden beasts. "Someone as wicked as you can't evade all of these!" So many dragons of different sizes but the same appearance all poised and focused on a single target. "Muken Gōju!" (Countless Striking Trees).

Easily dozens of those trees in his way with only more spawning from one another, and while Zohakuten's power was great… Koujo gripped his sword with no trepidation. He lunged forward and started delivering mad slashes towards each of the dragons that dared to get close to him, tearing through each one as it came. "Tokoyo Kogetsu Muken." (Perpetual Night Lonely Moon Incessant). Chaotic moon blades and massive dragons met only to have one lose ground much faster. The crescent slashes were tearing through the dragons and once there was an opening, Koujo took it. Another leap upwards and he moved closer to Zohakuten.

'He wants to make this close ranged? Fucking idiot.' With more beats to his drum, Zohakuten commanded two more dragons to rise and open their mouths to unleash a dual wind blast. Koujo had nowhere to go midair since he destroyed the dragons near him, so he went upwards and crashed into the ceiling again. Only to have another dragon slam into him and unleash a sonic blast with him almost in its mouth. "As if I'd let someone evil approach me!"

The dragon just… bulged. Then it's throat started moving, until a bright light tore through it. "Nagareboshi!" (Falling Star). With a sun practically behind his downward strike, Koujo cut through one of the dragons that sent him into the ceiling and fell right towards Zohakuten. "You got sloppy!" He landed and twisted his body to deliver a slash from under the young looking demon's neck! "Shiranui!" (Unknowing Fire).

Miscalculation. 'Kyōatsu Meiha!' Zohakuten's abilities weren't solely with his dragons and Koujo paid for making that mistake. (Compressed Sound Waves). A screech that made all of Urogi's look like child's play, at point blank range. Even for a Demon it was ridiculous to take such power so close, and he was completely stunned. 'His body kept its shape this time? Right. With himself as one again he would be more durable, and that rose under him is something like Akaza's. He's been able to misdirect my attacks from where I wanted them to land.' Zohakuten raised a fist with one of his weapons in it. "I'll bash the wicked right out of you!"

Namika was about to object yet again but she wasn't given that chance.

"Exactly what I wanted!" A sword collided with Zohakuten's tokkosho. "No dragons! Just us!"

"I hope you aren't so retarded to think you have an advantage!"

"Try me."

A flurry of sparks from their weapons colliding. Sword slashes clashing with tokkosho slashes and timed jabs with intent to cleave flesh away, their barrage moved around in a near blur as they tore into the floor with their constant scuffle. A tear to a kimono top, a scrape to a black sleeve, gouge to the torso, nick to golden armor. Continuous attacks that showed their differences once Zohakuten got more and more enraged.

"Someone who preys on the weak could never hope to beat someone strong!" His gilded weapons were tearing into Koujo's body while the junior Demon struggled to land any meaningful hits, Zohakuten's power far eclipsed the kidoairaku!

'Each of his movements-!' A rising crescent slash with moon blades erupting forced the smaller demon back. 'He's even stronger than when he first emerged! He was already stronger than all four put together and doubled! Fine.' Koujo jumped forward with enough force to destroy the floor now behind him. "I'll just move faster!"

Zohakuten got ready for the next assault and watched as Koujo made several shifts and changes in his approach, moving so quickly that he left after images right behind him. 'You reached your apex already, the corrupt have no right trying to be so powerful!' A few rapid hits to his drums and smaller wooden dragons emerged to follow his attacks.

Koujo was moving so fast that it looked like he was attacking every side of Zohakuten at the same time! Each dragon that backed Hatred's attack moved even quicker than the last, fully protecting him from any damage. Despite Koujo giving it everything he had… it wasn't enough. "Hachi no kata." (Eighth Form). He reappeared in front of Zohakuten and delivered a massive slash in a longer crescent than any of the others he knew. "Getsuryu Rinbi!" (Moon Dragon Ringtail). Not only was the direct attack a menace but the countless moon blades were a concern… However, Zohakuten's wooden dragons took the aftereffect just fine.

"You're just a waste of time!" He opened his mouth for another screech but Koujo jumped into the air to avoid it. 'Exactly as planned.' Another dragon moved in fast and slammed the Demon back down into the floor. 'Even if you can detect an attack, it doesn't matter if you can't move faster than it!' He hit another one of his drums and a second dragon bashed right down into the same crater. "Donaru Sakebi Satsu!" (Bellowing Cry of Death).

Wind and compressed sound waves. An echoing boom reverberated through the room and drew even the attention of Shuradai, who was barely able to glance at what he just heard with Gyutaro added into the fray. 'He's a direct Upper Rank level! I'm not meant to fight this!'

"Tobi Chigama!" (Flying Blood Sickles). A will of his blood blades and hits from his sickles was all it took during that slip. "You're really not that strong on your own, are you…?"

Shuradai didn't like how close the brother demon got and slammed his khakkara down to- "You!" It wouldn't do any good since it was chopped to hell. "This doesn't matter. Your moon is done." The whore and the not-so-ugly demon paid closer attention and saw a short statured demon standing in front of two massive wooden dragons in a crater. "Give up."

Gyutaro started scratching at his neck in irritation. "That looks really bad huh? On one hand I almost wanna agree with you…" He crossed his sickles and ran in to clash them with Shuradai's jūmonji. "But for some reason I'm feeling a lot more reckless!"

Ume appeared with graceful spiraling movements. "As if someone like you could convince us to quit! Ju no kata, Seisei Ruten!" (Tenth Form, Constant Flux). A dragon of water appeared with her rotations, the force of her attack only increasing with each one she made all the way until she reached Shuradai's neck. "You're ours!" Her sword struck his neck and with a push of her own strength she cut right through!

---

The fog was so dense. There might've been something to see but it was all hidden, trapped behind the mist that covered everything here. He couldn't try to venture in it since he was shackled, but the idea crossed his mind so often that-

"Huh?"

His chains broke and he fell to the ground. Not even enough time went by for him to stand up before a clinking of metal in front of him got his attention. A sword landed in front of him, beautiful in design, and he tentatively reached out to grasp the hilt of it.

"This is… Something."

Rapid footsteps. He turned and used that new sword to deflect an attack from something. A figure made of pure darkness just tried to attack him with their own sword, equally shadowy in appearance. Then it jumped back once he swiped at it with more force than he thought he had.

"I feel… hotter…"

Like he was a fire. His very being was warmed up but the shadowy figure just stood there in wait… then a fire appeared in front of him. Slowly, carefully, and with such hesitation of being burned did he reach out and touch it. And then he felt so different! Refreshed and like he could take on whatever this shadow was. Like his heart just set ablaze!

"I'll burn through everything you throw at me."

"Try me."

---

Andrea felt some weird tingle down his neck but he shook it off in the moment. Seeing his project get pinned down by the demon of trees made him sigh in irritation. It was impressive how much Koujo kept up so far, but he still needed work it seemed. More humans would have to be sacrificed for his strength to grow then. "Maybe more of the sweet bloods will help him get to a proper standing in time?" That notebook made its appearance again and so the foreign man started taking down his notes to-

"Wait what's that?" The melancholy demon noticed it before he did? That wasn't expected.

Douma… he actually looked surprised. "I'm not sure. It looks like- Are those dragons backing up? Lord Muzan hasn't called it yet but I suppose Lord Hantengu sees it's done."

Everyone could plainly see that the dragons were lifting up after that coup de grace attack. It didn't take someone with multiple eyes to know that things were done after an attack like that.

Kokushibou gave a single slow nod of his head and everyone near him accepted that as the sign. The match was done and Zohakuten was-

"I'll burn through everything."

Somehow that voice was loud enough for each of them to hear. Even Muzan stood up to get a better look. "Hantengu's attack should've ended that. What else did you do to that boy?" He looked at Andrea but saw an equal amount of- Not surprise but… more like, they genuinely thought it was done.

Everyone could see it now, and believing it was another story. The distinctive red to the outfit was all it took to know exactly how the dragons were moving up and away, then they went back just a bit faster. Two huge slashes with a deep red shade sliced the wood dragons in half, and a storm of azure crescent moons tore through the rest. "Hikisaki Mikadzuki Seichō." (Ripping Tide, Waxing Crescent).

'That's not possible…' He didn't hesitate to start pounding his drums and cause four more dragons to converge on that point. "Kyōmei Rai Satsu!" (Crazed Cry of Thunder Death). Another very loud boom on that point and yet another crater right-

"What were you hitting? I don't remember seeing anything interesting there."

Zohakuten's fury was reaching a very new level. He turned and saw a very annoying person sitting on one of his dragons. "How did a fucking twisted villain like you get behind me?!"

Right there on that alder dragon was a Demon with rustic red skin, red eyes, a red kimono top and tapering hakama, even red hair to complete it… but now that red hair? It was ending in bright yellow tips. Even some of the shaved sides had yellow tints to it.

"I dodged." He stood up and grinned. "What? Are you so pure and good that you expected me to stand still?" A cocky and taunting smile beamed at Zohakuten. "Or…" He put a finger by his chin in thought, pondering his next words. "Maybe…" Dragging out every little part of his words and starting to tilt his head sideways.

Zohakuten had enough of this little game of 'what could it be?' And he aptly let his anger show. "Or what?! Maybe what?! You're sitting up there and acting so innocent now!" He blinked.

"Or maybe you're so much of a pussy that you need things to stay still so you can win a fight?"

There was over twenty yards of space between them. Not counting the fact that Koujo was placed behind multiple winding wood dragons and was fifteen meters up higher, no, that all just added onto how impressive it was. In the blink of an eye that annoying smile went from being on one of his dragons, to being right in his face.

*Tonk Tonk Tonk Tonk*

Dragons with different attacks charging in their mouths erupted from the floor and barreled towards Koujo with full showing of Hatred's ire. Several defensive slashes with an onset of moon blades for added effect, the dragons crumpled in the face of his attack. "Shuka no Rogetsu!" (Pearl Flower Moongazing). It felt much easier to deal with those now, but they were still an issue.

Two more dragons appeared and sent a volley of spear strikes with a follow up of a devastating air cannon. There were some holes blown into Koujo's arms but the air cannon pushing him into another dragon was more pressing. "Whatever you just did won't matter! Your bullying stops here!" The dragon thrashed and flung the Demon off, then chased him with an open maw.

"Nobori En Ten!" (Rising Scorching Sun). He sliced the dragon's head cleanly in half and grabbed onto its body, sliding down until he had a foothold. "You sure are quick to call anyone else a bully, but maybe you're the bad guy?" He sat down again and rested his head on his left hand. "Maybe you call everyone else a bully so you feel right in being so evil? Maybe you're really the nicest person in the whole world. Or maybe you're a bitch that runs away from any responsibility!" That last one was so lighthearted that it didn't feel like an insult at first… then it sunk in.

A quick tap to a drum and a much smaller dragon pushed out to wrap around Koujo's arms and torso, but then it extended further and slammed him into a wall. "You're babbling about things you don't fucking understand! Someone as misguided as you wouldn't see the innocence that we have!"

"Does that make your Eclipse innocent too? Or did he get caught up in your lies?" He was still grinning as he looked over at his Eclipses standing over a properly separated Shuradai, Ume's obi keeping his parts separate.

Zohakuten's baleful eyes landed on the demons giving Shuradai a wildly unfair fight, though it was more like a finish now. "You both think you're so great bullying someone like that? You're dogshit in my way!" A wooden dragon erupted in front of him and he leapt on it, his namesake of hatred bleeding into the air. "I'll fucking destroy all of you and burn you under the goddamn sun!" The wood dragon roared as Zohakuten buried his tokkosho into it as a grip, and it shot off towards Ume and Gyutaro.

Koujo watched the massive dragon blitz towards his partners and grit his teeth together to tear and splinter the wood of the slim dragon wrapped around his body. 'Taking his attention off me when it's our fight?' He rushed and picked up his sword, burning flames spiraled after him in his dash. "He's got some guts!" New goal, stop Zohakuten from getting to either of his partners!

The screeching of a giant wooden dragon drew attention from the demon siblings. Gyutaro's arms were laced with spiraling blood scythes and Ume raised her sword. "He's really coming right for us huh?"

"We're a team, and we can stop that somehow." Her hope made it seem a little less hopeless… even with Zohakuten scowling at them.

Purple lightning charged in the dragon's mouth and its rider slammed his free hand on his chakram. "The whore and the ugly bastard can get blown away together!" A bolt of purple lightning shot out and destroyed… the ceiling? Zohakuten felt the dragon go slack and looked back to see a red crescent slash sever his dragon. 'This dragon was more than a meter thick! He just cut right through it?!' Justified anger but it didn't matter since he could still control it! His hand drummed against his chakram again and another blast of lightning started charging up.

Gyutaro held his arms out and gnashed his teeth together. "Enzan sen-"

"ZOHAKUTEN!"

The aspect of hatred turned to see sharp nails digging into the end of his dragon, along with bulging veins along the arms holding onto it. The sudden stop turned into pulling and the merged Hantengu clone's eyes went wide. "You pigheaded bastard!" The whole dragon started moving backwards and Zohakuten went along for the ride!

"GET OVER HERE!"

He ripped that dragon away from its targets and jumped up to meet his target halfway. Two dragons arrived and opened their mouths at the same time as Zohakuten did, and all three unleashed a combined wave of compressed sonic force. Stopping Koujo in his tracks and sending him careening, but not knocking him out. The Demon got up with a smile and went right for it again, but this time he used another dragon to leap towards the wall.

"Yakkyō Dzukibae!" (Mirror of Misfortune Moonlit). Three moon blades went towards his targets and Zohakuten's response was to pound one of his drums, making the dragons fire puncturing spear attacks to disperse the few moon blades.

"His hair turns a little yellow and he's suddenly matching me?!" He was bleeding his namesake into the air and in that moment of distraction- "Tch!" He turned to feel heat and see flames. A low strike from behind his neck with a proud stance. 'That won't be enough!' He moved one of his hands to hit a drum and the other to use his tokkosho to stop the attack. 'You're overreaching from right there! You can't actually hit my neck that way!' Then he saw Koujo's stance shift.

"Yamidzuki Yoi no Miya!" (Dark Moon Evening Palace). That draw slash missed Zohakuten's neck but the moon blades still collided with his wrist, severing it and throwing him off.

'He switched styles at the last second! He wanted me to think he was overreaching!' The two collided in separate attacks with Koujo doing his best to bring his sword against Zohakuten's neck and the aspect of raw hatred regrew his hand to hold back the sword coming for his neck. "Get those dirty things off me boy!"

Koujo gripped Zohakuten's other wrist and broke his tokkosho out of his grip. "We're just having some fun aren't we, Hatred?" He raised his foot up and slammed it into the baleful demon's jaw to give himself space only to fall victim to a close range sound wave. It hurt but that was just life! Koujo recovered then gripped his sword hilt with both hands. "Getsuryu Rinbi!" (Moon Dragon Ringtail). A long slash in a massive crescent with dozens of moon blades landed across Zohakuten's chest, slicing into his golden armor at the same time as a dragon sent an air cannon and blew Koujo away.

The two contenders recovered from their damage and stood up with differing expressions. One of them was scowling with the hate of ten generations… and the other was grinning. Zohakuten decided then and there. He started slamming his drums until he created one, two, three, then five of his largest dragons. All of them pointed directly at his villainous adversary and charging up their elemental attacks.

"Ohh. You want me gone that bad?" For some odd reason. He started slipping into a stance that… felt oddly right to him. A wide stance with his sword placed over his shoulder… then- Pressure. The entire room saw and felt his flames around him. He was burning up down to his very soul! "Ku no kata."

Each of Zohakuten's dragons were primed and ready. There wasn't a proper name for whatever this was but that didn't matter. "Die!" Once those dragons released what they had. Projectiles. Purple lightning. Air cannons. Sonic waves. All of those at once, converging on one point? It would guarantee his victory over this scum!

Koujo watched the attack surge for him and then he responded. Dashing across the floor in a blast of flames! The blazing missile that he was moved so fast with such pressure and heat behind him that it surprised everyone even more than they were! "Rengoku!"

The flaming missile crashed into the barrage of dragon crying attacks, explosions ringing out just from their meeting! But the two pushed at one another until they both kept giving way, neither staying ahead long against their opponent. The elemental and audio based combination holding strong and the missile of pure heat and swordsmanship doing the same! It was an awe inspiring sight to witness both demons giving their all to prove who really was evil, who really deserved the rank, but really they were proving who was better. Zohakuten's stare of pure hate watched… as his attack got overcome. "What?!" That flaming missile blew through his screeching dragon death cry and it rammed into him next! "This isn't done!" He used the time he had to slam his drums and command dozens more dragons to emerge from the floor, the walls, ceiling, each other! Everything!

The burning missile veered off course towards a secure ball of dense wood to Zohakuten's displeasure. "Damn it!" Even more dragons, more compressed sonic screams, more blasts of purple lightning, more air cannons, more spear attacks! Everything to protect the weak and innocent! After that small detour with the addition of more firepower after them, the blazing missile crashed into a wall with countless dragons following in a massive cloud of smoke and explosions of incomprehensible elemental power. Every one of the non Upper Ranks was speechless, even Kokushibou looked somewhat surprised, but his calm expression returned fast. The multi-eyed demon took a moment to see what actually transpired. "It's no surprise he's a part of that line. Though I'm not sure I've seen one of that caliber… But it was still disappointing." He turned and walked away from the scene with Katachi looking between the colossal smoke cloud and him… only to decide on seeing the outcome.

Muzan sat back down with Andrea shaking his head and taking more notes. "Hm. Well. That was interesting to see I suppose."

---

Inosuke just entered the kitchen of the Bug Lady building and grabbed a few of those tasty rice balls to cover his hunger as the king of the mountains! 'As long as the blue girl doesn't see me, I'll get off scot free!' He pulled his mask back down and started to leave the kitchen, but then he felt a familiar presence and watched as a blue girl came in with blood stains on her clothes. "Hey!"

Green eyes met green eyes, at least she knew that his were green under the mask, and she looked at him with a rice ball still in his hand. "Oh, hey Inosuke!"

He was doing his trademarked point with some of his fingers curled. "And where the hell have you been underling?!"

Haia looked at her bloody clothes, to the gun in her right hand, and imagined that there was still some dried blood around her mouth. So she mustered up all the truth that she could easily tell her untamed friend.

"Out."

Inosuke looked her up and down and saw that she'd definitely been out with how she was looking. "Hmm. I suppose that's true, but next time tell the great Inosuke where you're going! I worry about all my underlings you know."

Haia smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "I know you do Inosuke, and I'm really glad that you do! Whatever you need help with as the boss, you can count on me to be there." That was when Haia saw it firsthand. Inosuke's very aura changed and he looked like he was blushing under that mask.

"Quit making me feel all fuzzy inside! Where's Jikon at? I wanted to ask him to fight me later!"

Haia… had absolutely no idea where the young Hashira could've been. "Uhm… let's ask around together! I'm sure somebody knows." She stepped aside and held a hand out. "You lead the way boss!"

Once again Inosuke was blushing beneath his boar mask. "Yeah! I'll lead the way underling!"

---

Author's Notes: Honestly I'm just so sorry that this took so long to deliver, I wanted to make it so perfect that I stressed over every detail and even then it's still not good enough. Till next time.