"How is it? How is it? Isn't my figure perfect now? These scales are harder than diamonds, and the power and speed given by these soft and incredibly elastic muscles should make you feel ashamed, right?"
Having entered the second stage, Gyokko wrapped his snake-like tail around a pillar, opened his arms and fin-like hands, and boasted to Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji in an exaggerated tone.
"Feel honored, you are the third and fourth Pillars to see this form."
Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji gripped their Nichirin Blades, watching Gyokko intently.
Although they hadn't reached their limit yet, they had already used up most of their stamina.
And Gyokko still had a second stage, making the upcoming battle even more difficult, even to the point of a Pillar's death.
Just as Shinobu Kocho was contemplating whether to use the methods originally reserved for Upper Moon Two on Upper Moon Five, a male voice suddenly came from the other side of the street.
"No, actually there's a fifth, and there won't be a sixth after this."
Shimizu, carrying his newly acquired Nichirin Blade upside down, strolled towards them.
Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji couldn't help but show expressions of joy.
Now that Shimizu had come here, did that mean…
"Hmm? Another one?"
Gyokko looked at Shimizu.
"But you're all the same, if I accidentally take the heads of three Pillars, won't the others not get any heads?"
"You don't have to worry about them, they won't have a chance to take any heads, and…"
Shimizu sized up Gyokko's appearance and then looked at the porcelain pots on the ground.
"You are the ugliest demon I've ever seen, and your aesthetic sense doesn't seem to be very good either. The pots on the ground, no matter how I look at them, seem a bit asymmetrical, and the workmanship doesn't seem very good either."
Shimizu said, stroking his chin with his left hand, commenting.
For Gyokko, who considered himself an artist and had a narcissistic personality, such a comment was the most likely to break him.
Gyokko's eyes, which bore the characters for "Upper Moon" and "Five," widened.
"Your eyeballs are rotten! Where am I ugly! Where are my pots crooked!"
Gyokko was anxious, forgetting to attack for a moment, seemingly wanting to argue back with Shimizu.
"Hmm… your body… the proportions aren't very coordinated, and your face is very ugly. You have two mouths where your eyes should be, and your eyes have turned into mouths and foreheads. Ah, your eyes don't seem to have eyebrows either!"
Shimizu pointed out the strange features of Gyokko's appearance one by one.
He sincerely thought Gyokko was ugly.
"You're talking nonsense!"
Gyokko raged.
"I will cut off your head and offer it to Muzan-sama, then attach a beautiful fish head as a new work of art!"
Enraged, Gyokko stopped talking nonsense and jumped down from the railing, relying on his slender tail and the elastic muscles of his body, constantly moving quickly around, his speed was astonishing. With one swing of his tail, the ground was smashed to pieces, and gravel flew everywhere.
"Blood Demon Art · Array Kill Fish Scales!"
Mitsuri Kanroji and Shinobu Kocho hurriedly joined Shimizu's side, back to back, holding their swords forward, fully alert.
"What do we do? Shimizu-senpai! This demon seems to be crazy!"
Mitsuri Kanroji discovered that Gyokko's speed and power in this state had reached an incredible level.
"You don't need to do anything, I'll take care of it."
Shimizu said calmly, then reached out and gripped the hilt of his sword, gathering his muscle strength, a faint arc of electricity flickering in his arm.
Regardless of whether Gyokko had entered the second stage or still had the ability to escape into his pots, with the perception ability of the Transparent World and sufficient speed and explosiveness, he could easily cut off his head.
Just like now.
"Rage Breathing · Sixth Form · Rage Dragon Night Dance!"
In an instant, blue-green light flickered, like a dancing dragon, dazzling and mesmerizing.
This move was a newly developed technique of Rage Breathing, but not entirely.
After opening the Transparent World, Shimizu could more clearly perceive and control his body's muscles and cardiopulmonary activity, greatly improving both the utilization rate of his body and the efficiency of using Breathing Techniques, allowing him to use some moves that previously only existed in his imagination but could not be performed.
Shinobu Kocho and Mitsuri Kanroji were stunned.
Gyokko, who hadn't completely died, was also stunned.
"Damn it! How is this possible! How could a mere human cut off the head of Gyokko-sama! Damn low-level creature…"
As Gyokko continued to curse, the area below his neck continued to swell and wriggle, as if it were about to continue regenerating.
Shimizu frowned slightly.
Gyokko had become even uglier now.
When a demon is beheaded, if they harbor resentment and their obsession has not dissipated, they may break through their limits and continue to regenerate.
Demons who reach that point cannot be killed even if they are beheaded again; only sunlight can completely destroy them.
Gyokko seemed to be undergoing this process, but the powerful solar energy of the Crimson Sword slowed down Gyokko's regeneration speed a lot, but it was still regenerating.
Shimizu placed his hand on the hilt of his sword again.
He just needed to cut a few more times. Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Pillar who awakened his Demon Slayer Mark in the original timeline, saw Gyokko in this state after beheading him and simply cut his entire head into pieces, which finally killed Gyokko completely.
But before Shimizu could act, Shinobu Kocho threw the slender Nichirin Blade in her hand, piercing Gyokko's head.
The concentrated wisteria poison contained in the blade was injected, and Gyokko's head began to rot and fall off rapidly.
The speed of regeneration was once again restricted and far inferior to the speed of decay.
In just ten seconds, Gyokko's voice disappeared, and his head and body gradually turned into ashes and dissipated.
Shimizu felt the slight increase in weight of the syringe in his sleeve and nodded inwardly.
Another portion of Upper Moon blood obtained.
Mitsuri Kanroji looked at the place where Gyokko had disappeared, a cheerful smile appearing on her face.
"Great, Upper Moon Five was actually killed by us!"
The three of us are so amazing! We actually killed an Upper Moon demon!
Shinobu Kocho put away her Nichirin Blade and looked at Shimizu with her beautiful purple eyes.
"Shimizu, Upper Moon Two…"
"I killed him. He was quite strong, a very useful whetstone, but I need to be even stronger."
Shimizu said casually, his tone light.
