The next second, Giyu Tomioka slashed out with his sword!
In an instant, the dark world lit up, and a dazzling deep blue light blade, brimming with unparalleled momentum, blasted straight toward Kokushibo!
At almost the same time, Kokushibo raised his mutated blade high.
For some reason, he didn't dodge—he felt as if he were locked in place, as if no matter how fast he moved, escape was futile.
"Moon Breathing, Fourteenth Form: Devil's Metamorphosis — A Sky Full of Slender Moons!"
In an instant, countless massive circular moon blades spiraled outward, forming an almost seamless cutting space.
But then something happened that stunned Kokushibo—
His moon blades couldn't even block the deep blue light blade unleashed by Giyu Tomioka!
Slash, slash, slash—
All the moon blades along the blade's trajectory were destroyed without exception!
It moved so fast that within a few blinks, it had already reached Kokushibo.
He tried to counter with a sword technique—but it was too late.
Boom—!!!
The blue blade struck the ground with a deafening roar. The energy didn't fade—it exploded, forming a massive semi-spherical sea vortex.
From the outside, it looked as if a cataclysmic underwater tornado had formed.
Ten seconds later, silence fell. The buildings, trees, and ground within the semicircular area were completely annihilated.
It was as if a tsunami had struck—not from waves, but from overwhelming water pressure.
In the distance, Giyu Tomioka collapsed to one knee.
Were it not for his Nichirin Blade, he would've fallen completely.
The mark on his face had disappeared—his strength had reached its limit.
Tomioka stared at where Kokushibo had been.
"Did it… succeed?" he whispered.
He prayed to any higher power that this final blow had ended it.
But as the dust settled, Giyu's heart filled with dread.
Kokushibo remained—reduced to only his upper body, sword-arms protruding grotesquely.
Apparently, at the last second, he had used a demonic technique to resist the Abyssal Sea's annihilation.
His lower half had been obliterated—but as a powerful demon, Kokushibo could regenerate, given time.
And time was the one thing Tomioka didn't have. He was completely spent—his Fourteenth Form, his Demon Slayer Mark, the whole battle had drained him dry.
Haaah— Hssss—
Still, he refused to give up. He clenched his blade and fought to recover—
If he could move before Kokushibo fully regenerated, he still had a chance to finish it!
But how could a human's recovery ever match that of a demon, let alone one like Kokushibo, who had served Muzan Kibutsuji for centuries?
By the time Giyu Tomioka barely rose to his feet, Kokushibo had already regenerated completely.
He walked forward slowly, composed, as if the battle had only just begun.
The mutated blade in his hand had reverted to its normal form. He calmly slid it back into its scabbard.
"The outcome is decided. Giyu Tomioka is finished."
"If your last strike had been just a little more precise, you might have taken my head."
Kokushibo rested his hand on the hilt again, his voice tinged with admiration.
"I haven't met a swordsman like you in three hundred years."
"What do you say? I'll spare your life. Become a demon."
Tomioka lowered his head, refusing to meet his eyes. His grip on his Nichirin sword never loosened.
He had no idea when the other Pillars would arrive—or if they could. He didn't know what more he could do.
Despair crept in.
But then, the image of Shinobu Kocho surfaced in his mind.
"Damn it… Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
Boom—
A cloud of dust rose.
Giyu's slash wasn't aimed at Kokushibo, but at the ground beneath him.
Using the dust as cover, Tomioka turned and ran toward the forest.
He couldn't die here. Not yet. He had promised Shinobu Kocho he'd be okay. He still owed her a meal.
He ran through the trees, every nerve screaming in pain. His lungs burned. But he didn't stop.
'Shinobu… I'll come back. I swear I'll come back—there won't be—'
Bang—
A sharp pain hit his back. Tomioka fell forward.
Kokushibo had caught up, and now pressed a foot down hard on Giyu's back, right over his lungs, choking the air from him.
He unsheathed his blade once again.
"Disappear quietly."
But just as Kokushibo raised his sword to deliver the killing blow, he paused.
Tomioka noticed—but he couldn't move. He was suffocating under the weight.
Then Kokushibo gave a small nod, as if responding to an unseen presence.
"I see."
He released the hilt—and eased his foot from Tomioka.
"You're lucky. The master has taken interest in you. Consider it an honor."
He reached out toward Giyu's head.
It was a direct order from Lord Muzan: turn Giyu Tomioka into a demon.
Tomioka's pupils trembled.
'Maybe… becoming a demon wouldn't be so bad… I could live… I could survive…
Maybe I could escape Muzan's control. Maybe if I lived, Shinobu wouldn't be sad…
If I survived…'
But then, with a roar of willpower, Giyu Tomioka gritted his teeth and slashed upward with his blade!
To Kokushibo, the strike was no more threatening than a child's toy sword.
He dodged with ease.
"Still resisting?" he said with something like praise.
"With that kind of resolve, you'd make a fine demon…"
Pfff—
But then he froze.
Just a heartbeat after slashing, Tomioka hadn't run, nor attacked again.
He had driven the Nichirin Blade—a Sun Blade—into his own heart.
Blood poured out. His life drained quickly.
Yet he smiled at Kokushibo.
"No matter what, I will never become a demon."
"Tell Muzan this—I'll never be his puppet. And I will never be a burden to the Demon Slayer Corps."
***
Cool fight, but he should have ran as soon as he awakened the mark 😭