Chapter 110: Beheading Upper Rank One

"The moonlight tonight is really strange, a blood-red moon..."

Zero looked up at the scarlet blood moon in the sky, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

Intuition told Zero that something big was going to happen tonight.

The moonlight tonight was extremely eerie, the blood-red moonlight covering the earth, and the quiet environment around looked even more eerie.

"Snow!" He summoned his Kasugai Crow and instructed: "Help me scout the situation around here, report to me immediately if there are any problems!"

"Yes, Master!"

After the Kasugai Crow, Snow, left, Zero still felt somewhat uneasy and released all the drones, activating stealth mode and flying to the surroundings to investigate.

The four swordsmen stared at Kokushibo, the distance between them as if it were an insurmountable chasm.

Kokushibo exuded an invisible sense of oppression, making people suffocate.

At this moment, they felt unprecedented fear; this fear did not come from death, but from a deep awe of Kokushibo's strength.

Even so, the four swordsmen still did not retreat in the slightest, tightly gripping their Nichirin Sword hilts, ready to fight at any time!

They knew very well that running was only a dead end!

Fighting, at least there was a glimmer of hope!

No matter how slim, it was worth a try!

Kaigaku stood at the back of the team, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to escape here when they went to attack Kokushibo!

Suddenly, the four swordsmen drew their Nichirin Swords simultaneously, launched their Breathing Techniques, and attacked first!

Everyone gave their all, not daring to be the slightest bit slack!

However, in Kokushibo's eyes, these attacks were as slow as a turtle, and he defeated them all with just a casual draw-slash!

And the attack trajectory was also attached with many small crescent moon blade auras; the four swordsmen were either dead or maimed!

The two swordsmen at the very front were directly cut at the waist!

Kaigaku saw this scene, his face instantly turning pale, and his body couldn't help but tremble.

His eyes were filled with fear and despair, and combined with that sense of oppression, he had to kneel on the ground.

Kaigaku, kneeling on the ground, looked even more spineless, his forehead tightly pressed against the ground, begging: "Please... please, don't kill me... as long as you are willing to let me go, I am willing to agree to anything you want!"

Kaigaku knew very well that running was only a dead end.

It was better to beg Kokushibo to let him live.

He had thought it through; if Kokushibo wanted him to take him to the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, he would definitely agree without hesitation!

Kokushibo looked at Kaigaku kneeling in front of him with great interest.

He had wanted to kill him together, but then he thought, now there were only two Upper Rank demons left, and he was in need of demons.

This guy might be a very good choice.

The leader of the swordsmen, who had fallen to the ground, saw Kaigaku being so weak and was so angry that he gnashed his teeth!

Using his last bit of strength, he roared: "Kaigaku, you useless coward! Trash! Being with someone like you only makes me feel ashamed!"

However, Kaigaku retorted: "Is it wrong for me to want to live?! You die if you want to die, it has nothing to do with me! Also, why should I work for the Demon Slayer Corps!"

Only then did Kokushibo speak slowly: "Are you... willing to become a demon... become more powerful... and work for... Lord Muzan...?"

Kaigaku didn't even think about it and agreed directly, answering: "I am very willing to work for Lord Muzan!"

Subsequently, Kokushibo cut his wrist and said: "Use your hand... catch it."

Kaigaku reached out, caught the blood dripping from Kokushibo, and held it carefully in the palm of his hand.

"This blood is very precious... do not spill a single drop... otherwise... your head and body will have to part ways..."

"But if you can also get... the approval of Lord Muzan... you will become our partner..."

"The stronger the swordsman... the longer it takes to become a demon... I don't know how long it will take for you..."

These words of Kokushibo fell into Kaigaku's ears, and his body trembled even more violently...

But thinking that he could become stronger, Kaigaku was occupied by a certain desire in his heart.

Thinking of that Pillar Zero in the Demon Slayer Corps, why could he become a Pillar without knowing Breathing Technique?

Why could he get the admiration of the Flower Pillar and the Love Pillar?

The more he thought, the more jealous he became, and just as he was about to swallow the blood, a fierce attack struck toward Kokushibo!

Seeing this, Kokushibo immediately drew his sword to block it!

And he was forced back a distance!

Ding!

The Nichirin Scythe spun back into Zero's hand.

Just now, the drone detected several life signs slowly weakening here.

So he rushed over to check.

From far away, he saw Kokushibo, as well as the swordsman kneeling in front of him.

Thus, he activated 【Transparent World】 and hid on the side.

Their conversation was heard clearly by Zero!

He didn't expect that there would be such a guy in this world; he was truly the scum of humanity!

"Lord Pillar Zero!" Kaigaku, seeing Zero, pretended to be very happy on the surface, but in his heart, he thought: You damn guy, you're a Pillar, couldn't you have rushed over earlier?

Kaigaku thought he was not wrong; the mistake was that Pillar Zero didn't rush over to save him in time!

If Pillar Zero had come over earlier just now, why would he have been so humiliated?!

Zero didn't pay attention to Kaigaku, swung the Nichirin Scythe, and cut off Kaigaku's hands!

Puchi!

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Kaigaku let out an extremely miserable scream, his palms hit the ground, and blood splattered!

"Trash!" Zero looked at Kaigaku with eyes like he was looking at trash...

No, he was not even as good as trash!

At least trash could be recycled and reused, but Kaigaku couldn't even be recycled!

Bang!

He used the end of the Nichirin Scythe handle to hit Kaigaku's head fiercely, knocking him unconscious!

"Lord Pillar Zero..." the severely injured swordsman on the side shouted.

"Rest assured, I will kill Upper Rank One."

"Yes... the Demon Slayer Corps... will definitely exterminate all evil demons!"

After speaking, his life had already passed away.

Zero's gaze swept toward Kokushibo, his face devoid of any emotion, only a plain and simple smile.

"Kokushibo, long time no see~ How is that shrinking turtle Kibutsuji Muzan doing in the Infinity Castle?"

"Zero... you are truly special..."

"Heh~ what's so special?"

"You are clearly human... yet you can live longer like a demon... possess such... powerful strength... are you really willing to live under... others' fences...?"

"Hehe~ My relationship with the Demon Slayer Corps is just a partnership, exterminating evil demons is just a convenient matter."

"Have you really... never thought about..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

Zero quickly drew the 【Dark Alloy Paralysis Gun】 hanging on his leg, aimed at Kokushibo, and fired several shots in succession.

Kokushibo was not only forced back again, but his body was also hit by several shots, and a sense of paralysis filled his whole body.

Subsequently, Zero tightly gripped the Nichirin Scythe, activated the Red Blade, and charged toward Kokushibo, a sense of determination revealing itself in his eyes.

The moment he approached Kokushibo, Zero swung a blade without hesitation.

The speed of this blade was extremely fast, like lightning, instantly crossing Kokushibo's neck.

Kokushibo's head rolled down, the cut smooth, as if it had been cut open by a sharp scalpel.

"Chattering is annoying! Listening to you talk is even more tiring!"

Zero looked at Kokushibo's rolling head and waved his hand impatiently, as if he were driving away flies.

Kokushibo hadn't even reacted to what had happened before his eyes?

He was just beheaded like this?

Various emotions were born, including unwillingness, anger, and jealousy, etc.

Just at the moment his head was about to disappear, his mind once again surfaced with the conversation with his younger brother Tsugikuni Yoriichi when he was still human...

At that time, he was still in his human period.

He asked Tsugikuni Yoriichi why, since there were no experts in this world who could rival the two brothers, he didn't pass down the Breathing Technique and the techniques honed through thousands of trials?

Tsugikuni Yoriichi just smiled and answered him that the two brothers were just grains of dust in the long history of humanity, not any great humans.

This world is not lacking in geniuses, but even geniuses will fall...

No matter when or where, one must bid farewell to the world without any attachments...

Every time he recalled these smiles of Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Tsugikuni Michikatsu felt very unpleasant in his heart!

On the contrary, he also felt very disgusted!

Not only that, this made him recall four hundred years ago, a certain night, which was also a night of the red moon like now!

Tsugikuni Michikatsu, who had become a demon and changed his name to Kokushibo, saw a fact that was unbelievable and unacceptable to him on the night of the red moon!

He saw his younger brother Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already become a white-haired, eighty-year-old man.

Kokushibo knew very well that those who opened the mark would not live past twenty-five, but Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already lived to be over eighty...

"How pitiful, Brother."

This was the first sentence Tsugikuni Yoriichi said when he met him for the last time, and also the last sentence...

The two sides unfolded their final contest...

Unexpectedly, even though he was old and weak, and had become ugly, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's strength was still exactly the same as in his prime!

Without the slightest decline!

Kokushibo touched his neck that had almost been cut open, blood gushing out.

This made Kokushibo even more jealous, and his hatred became deeper and deeper!

He had thought Tsugikuni Yoriichi would continue to use his next strike to make him die completely, but he discovered that Tsugikuni Yoriichi had already passed away in his sleep...

The hatred-filled Kokushibo directly slashed Tsugikuni Yoriichi, who had passed away in his sleep, into two sections.

And the small flute in Tsugikuni Yoriichi's arms was also split into two pieces at that moment and fell out...

Various memories made Kokushibo look ferocious!

First there was Tsugikuni Yoriichi, but now another Zero appeared.

An unprecedented power erupted in his heart!

His headless body suddenly erupted with countless sharp blade auras, and the upper body instantly grew many chaotic, intertwined blades.

Zero quickly opened the distance, turned the Nichirin Scythe, and blocked these blade auras!

The cut neck grew a new head again!

Kokushibo, overcame beheading!

However, Zero didn't have any surprise; he felt this seemed perfectly normal.

After all, even Akaza could overcome beheading, let alone a guy like Kokushibo.

But, this was only the beginning.

"I have overcome beheading; except for the sun, nothing else can kill me!"

Kokushibo roared and looked at Zero, as if looking at prey.

"Is that so? Then come and try!" Zero laughed instead of getting angry.

Since he couldn't be killed, then he would torture him mentally!

Dark Alloy Armor, arm!

The armed Zero began to fight the Kokushibo who had overcome beheading!

Bang!

He charged in front of Kokushibo, punched through his face, and then used a roundhouse kick to kick him in the chest.

The powerful force penetrated through Kokushibo's back!

Subsequently, taking advantage of Kokushibo not being able to react, he rushed up again and threw continuous punches at Kokushibo's body!

Fists like a violent storm landed on Kokushibo, and the power of every punch, accompanied by strong airflow fluctuations, penetrated Kokushibo's body!

He could even clearly hear the sound of Kokushibo's bones breaking!

The blades that grew on his body accompanied Zero's attacks, always breaking and regenerating, repeating like this!

Every attack was made with full strength, absolutely not giving Kokushibo any chance to react!

Gradually, because of the continuous regeneration, Kokushibo's physical strength was somewhat exhausted.

Roar!!!

At the final desperate moment, Kokushibo let out a roar, and his appearance changed once again.

Ferocious, with green face and fangs, and a pair of asymmetrical demon horns growing on both sides of his forehead!

The blades on his body all turned into tentacles, and two pairs of irregular tentacles covered in barbs grew on his back.

Zero grabbed Kokushibo's neck, lifted him up, and said: "How pitiful, Kokushibo, look at what you look like now, truly ugly!"

Ugly?

I... am ugly?

Kokushibo was somewhat puzzled.

But soon, Kokushibo knew what this sentence meant.

From the reflection on Zero's armor, he vaguely saw his current appearance.

"This ugly monster... is me?!"

Kokushibo didn't expect that this ugly monster was really himself!

Somewhat unacceptable, this was not what a samurai should look like!

Why did he become like this?

"Is Brother's dream to become the strongest samurai in the country?"

"Yoriichi..."

Kokushibo seemed to see the young Tsugikuni Yoriichi standing behind him.

"Then I'll become the second strongest samurai in this country~"

"How pitiful, Brother..."

"Yoriichi... Brother actually... just wanted to become like you..."

Kokushibo seemed to give up resistance, and Zero, seeing this, picked up the Nichirin Scythe again and beheaded him!

This time, Kokushibo did not regenerate, and his body gradually began to collapse, turning into ashes.

At the very last moment, Kokushibo looked at that blood moon, seemingly returning to that moment.

"Yoriichi, tell me, what on earth was I born into this world for..."

On the ground, only a purple samurai uniform remained, along with a small package.

Zero disarmed, picked up the small package, opened it, and it was a small flute broken into two pieces.

"..." Looking at this flute, Zero fell into a brief thought.

He took a lighter from the 【Nano Space】 and burned it.

"Now... time to settle the accounts!"

His gaze looked toward Kaigaku, who was still unconscious not far away, simply bandaged his wounds, then took out a rope, tied him up, and brought him back to the Demon Slayer Corps! ===== CHAPTER 111 =====