Attitude - Discarding Self

AN: To differentiate between Kai's thoughts and memories, ~ is used. [ ~...xyz...~] -> memory. ['xyz'] -> thought.

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The blue pillar of suffocating Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) vanished, and the creature walked out of it with a majesty about its gait.

Akaza's head had grown back and now thin bone armor covered his head with two eye holes, behind which his eyes glowed blue and dark. The same bone armor had also covered his chest, his shoulders, and his knees. On his hands, there were gauntlets made of bones, too, and the part of the gauntlet over his knuckles had thorny protrusions.

Yet, it was the hole in his stomach that stood out the most.

Shinobu had told nothing more about this Resurrección to Kai, anyway. According to her, Kai recalled, it was the demons' way of copying the effects of Bankai, as they didn't have Sword Spirit. The only thing she had told him with certainty was that only the Upper Rank Demons could use it. And unlike the Hashiras, the mastery and power of this process increased exponentially with every rise of rank in the demon.

Akaza was ranked 3 among the Upper Rank Demons, and that meant his use of Resurrección was 4th, with the king of demons serving as a hideous benchmark.

But if Kai were to take the Resurrección from the bleach into account, then he could tell it boded nothing good for them even then. It was the only reason for Kai and her to plan to kill an Upper Rank Demon before they could use this power.

It was too late now.

"You are strong, Hashira!" Akaza's voice thundered around them. "Join me. Become a demon and live for eternity. Fight for eternity. Go beyond your limits. Everything else is nothing but waste."

Shinobu pushed herself to her feet. "Never."

One word was enough to show her resolve. And the demon seemed to have sensed it as well.

Akaza said nothing and took a martial pose. His knees bent as he put one hand on his waist and outstretched the other, his palm open.

With his bone-armored figure as the center, a grand blue-colored Reiatsu burst outwards, engulfing both Kai and Shinobu instantly. On the weather-beaten ground underneath, covered with snow and broken twigs and sodden leaves, a gigantic image of a blue snowflake appeared. This snowflake image was rippling rhythmically, and it had already covered hundreds of meters of area, with Akaza as the center.

Suddenly, ethereal blue vapors started to rise from the blue snowflake, ignoring the might of the rain, hail, and the tempest that was wreaking havoc around them.

"Marvel at my power, Hashira!" Akaza roared, laughing. "Technique Development - Resurrección Dimension!!!"

Shinobu popped out of existence, then. The entire area around Kai and Akaza, and even the space above them, got covered in purple zig-zag blurs. The sheer speed of this move was so grand that it could shatter well-built structures. Air howled and cicadas cried, as the fastest Hashira showcased her fastest move.

Insect Breathing - Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!

Even Akaza looked confusedly at the scene, his head bobbing here and there, trying to follow Shinobu's movement.

She appeared just above his head, her legs towards the sky, and the tip of her stinger almost kissing the bone helmet on Akaza's head.

It didn't seem like the demon could evade this sting.

It was then that Akaza vanished, and reappeared in the air with the same pose as before, but now his palm was almost touching Shinobu's waist.

'Oh, no!' Kai's heart sank. He didn't know how, but he could tell that this wasn't speed. Only a Contestant like him could tell the difference. They could almost feel it.

It was… Teleportation!

Akaza's fist, sitting on his waist, shot forward, a blue halo covering it with a destructive shockwave.

It happened so fast that not even Shinobu, assisted by her Bankai, could react.

Akaza's punch landed on Shinobu's stomach, and a supersonic sound thundered in their surroundings. A blue shockwave like a jet exploded out from Shinobu's back as though Akaza's attack had passed right through her.

The Insect Hashira's figure got sent flying, rolling on the ground, accompanied by a bone-snapping sound.

Kai rushed towards her, putting himself in her path.

She slammed into him with the force of a ram. Kai gritted his teeth, his feet and tail grinding on the snow to curb the momentum.

When they stopped, Shinobu coughed out a bucketful of blood, and her stomach had turned blue, black, and green. She was bleeding internally, Kai could tell. And this wasn't an injury they could ignore.

"Get up, Hashira!" Akaza roared, now standing on the ground with the same martial pose as before. "I can feel the fire within you. Let it burn! Hahaha! Show me your greatness, Hashira! Show me how far you can make me go."

Shinobu grabbed Kai's shoulder and pushed herself up, her breath slow and broken.

She faced Kai and saw the concerned look in his eyes. "Ara!" she almost giggled, touching Kai's cheek. "I can still dance..."

… one last time… three more words followed her sentence like ghosts.

Shinobu straightened herself, her eyes almost closed; her entire figure bloody and beaten.

Kai looked at her as she took a step, knowing well that her old injuries had resurfaced a long time ago. There was a chance for them if she had been in her peak condition. But now, with new and more hideous injuries piling over the old ones, it was a miracle she was even standing.

No wonder the Hashiras were known for their otherworldly willpower.

Even Kai was astonished and impressed. Her will to stand up and take that one step was already commendable in his eyes.

No matter how much and for how long she was to dance now, Kai knew she wouldn't live to hear the applause.

Kai sighed, seeing her taking another step. His hand moved like a bolt of lightning.

The butt of Afro's Tachi hilt struck Shinobu at the bottom-left part of her back. Kai knew the weakest point of her body. And why wouldn't he? It was he who had healed her, to begin with.

Shinobu, stunned and stupefied, looked over her shoulder at Kai with her widened gaze.

His gentle smile was the last thing she saw before losing consciousness. A purple mist exploded out of her, and her Bankai lost its form, returning to the appearance of the Stinger sword. Her old demon slayer uniform, now tattered and ruined, materialized as well.

Kai grasped her as she fell and laid her down on the snow, covering her with nothing but wind and rain.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Akaza roared, his emotions churning wildly as he saw a strong opponent getting ambushed. "You bloody fool! You weak! You shame of a demon!" he shouted, pointing at Kai. "I will flay you to the bones!"

Kai took several deep breaths, his ears ringing; his thoughts raging in his mind, and only known to him.

And then he burst out in a feat of laughter.

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Kai found it too funny. Now that the Facelessness 2nd Conversion had vanished, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, his crazy laughter intensifying with every next moment. "Shame of a demon?! Hahaha!"

Kai found it so funny that he grabbed his stomach and almost rolled to the ground. "Tell me, creature," he said, pointing Murasame at Akaza. "What kind of pitiful demon submit to others, huh? Look at you. You fucking pile of mutated meat and bones! You think you are a demon? Do you even know what a demon is?"

Despite the hailstorm roaring around them, the silence within the boundary of the blue snowflake over the ground was choking, to say the least. And in this choking silence, Kai laughed outrageously, the smile on his face mocking and condemning.

Akaza was a battle-crazed demon who believed in the "survival of the fittest"—the idea that certain people became powerful in society because they were innately better. He purposefully drew out fights to savor every moment of them, also complimenting his opponents when they unleashed powerful techniques or landed blows on him.

Akaza looked down on anybody he deemed weak, so much so that his skin would crawl at the sight of them. However, he genuinely respected those who were strong in his eyes, demanding to know their names, and would not stop until he found out; he remembered all the names he's committed to memory as a tribute to their strength.

In a sense, there was little difference between him and Kai. But this little difference was so deep that it only surfaced when Kai mocked Akaza.

To be berated by someone who he had already deemed weak and pathetic? It didn't anger Akaza but he did regard Kai in a new light. How could a weak person muster the courage to mock a strong one?

So it didn't come as a surprise when Akaza let go of his martial pose and asked with the world's voice, "What is a demon, then?"

It was a sincere question. Kai would never mock it. His laugh vanished, and he looked up, walking towards Akaza with slow, but steady steps.

"What is a demon?" Kai repeated, the storm failing to bury his voice. "The essence of a demon lies in being demonic! A demon has his own demonic path, principles, and promises. There is no one above that path and no one below. A demon and his demonic path are one in the foundational essence. Being demonic is not about outrageous abilities and power. Hell, it doesn't even have a form. It's a feeling. You ask me, what is a demon?"

Kai stopped and looked hard at Akaza, his gaze profound, and a thin smile playing on his lips. "Then let me tell you," he said, his voice booming. "I am a demon, and my path is demonic. Rest are bugs. All of them. You, your so-called king of demons, gods, and devils… all are nothing in my eyes. In this world, there is only one demonic thing…" Kai paused, his smile becoming a grin. "… my Heart!"

Arrogance!

Kai's entire figure was beaming with a light of bloody arrogance.

Only one path was demonic— His. Only one thought was demonic— His. Only one heart was demonic— His.

Killing with benefits, risks with reasonings, and family…

All these words brimmed with stupendous arrogance.

And only his arrogance was demonic.

"Hahaha!" Kai's demonic laugh oozed out of him like pus from rotten wounds. "You are not a demon, and you can never beat me. You know why? Because I represent the one thing you loathe the most. You loathe it as much as you desire it."

The bone plate on Akaza's chest moved up and down with angry breaths. Even then, perhaps he was the only one among the Twelve Kizuki who dared to ask, "What is it?"

"Freedom." Kai spat the word on Akaza's face. "Even a shackled demon is more demonic than you, Creature. And you will never become a true demon. Heh! Because your heart lacks the most needed quality to walk on a demonic path."

Kai's steps became a dash, his eyes planted dead on the creature in front of him.

Akaza appeared in front of him, his martial pose blooming with blue petals. Kai hacked, and the Afro's Tachi landed on the bone armor. An intense vibration coursed through his left hand, making him lose his grip on the sword.

Afro's Tachi spun in circles, almost going out of Kai's reach. He reached out with his mouth and bit on the sword's hilt, his teeth clenching the wood in a grinding grip. And then he hacked once more.

The sword landed on Akaza's neck, bringing out a drop of blood.

Akaza's punch came at this time, covered in a blue shockwave. It landed on the silvery armor on Kai's chest, and his chest caved in, bones shattering under his flesh.

Kai's eyes rolled in his head, profound darkness claiming his senses.

~… To achieve the State of Anatta, one must learn to discard, son…~

Kai's eyes snapped open with a bloody light. He gritted his teeth and forcefully made himself stay awake. Murasame landed on Akaza, steel screeching against bone armor like a dying howl.

Akaza's second punch landed on Kai's chest.

Everything became silent for Kai, his pupils shaking like marbles rippling over water.

The grin came out of nowhere on his face.

A white mist, speckled with silvery dust, burst out of the ground behind Akaza and pounced on him. Selene had woken up at the same time as him.

A fatal danger must have roared in Akaza's mind, for Kai saw the blue pupils of the creature behind his bone helmet shake in apprehension.

However, in the very next moment, Akaza vanished and reappeared behind the intangible form of Selene.

'This?!' Kai could scarcely believe it. 'He can sense Selene's intangible presence?'

Akaza not only had sensed it but he also exploded with a mountainous Reiatsu, pinning Kai and Selene's misty form at a place. No matter how Selene struggled to diffuse, she couldn't.

Akaza put both his fists onto his waist, and then punched, sending out a fighter jet-like shockwave.

It hit Selene first, making the silvery mist burst apart, and then it landed on Kai.

Kai felt as though a train had hit him, shattering his bones and rupturing his organs on the impact.

The blue-skinned demon got flying, his figure bumping, bouncing on the ground.

Akaza teleported above him, grabbed his tail, and then slammed him into the ground, making the snow, rocks, and rain explode.

Cough!

All the air got forced out of his lungs, his heart slowing down.

~… Son, you must learn to discard the world…~

The wooden box on Kai's back finally gave in, despite the unreasonable assistance from the Systems. Nezuko's tiny, sleeping figure got thrown out in the distance, and a timer of 10 minutes ticked like a death knell in the back of Kai's mind automatically.

Akaza ignored Nezuko and lifted Kai, the tail still in his hand, and slammed him into the ground once more.

Then again.

Again and again.

At the end of the 10th impact, the armor couldn't take anymore, and it shattered, becoming One half of the Sword.

Kai gulped down the last HP capsule and an MP capsule he had hidden in his mouth.

Blue watery light shone around him, and Kai fired a Hydro Pump at Akaza's face with pinpoint accuracy. They were too near for the Skill to miss the creature.

But Akaza teleported away this time as well.

No. Kai suddenly realized the horrific truth. It wasn't Akaza who had teleported away, but him.

Only now did he understand this Resurrección Dimension let the mutated creature control the location of all living objects in this space above the blue snowflake.

Akaza appeared above Kai and punched, his fist covered in a blue shockwave. The thorn-like bone protrusions went deeper than the last time in his stomach.

But, at this moment, there was no way for Akaza to teleport.

Kai grabbed Akaza's wrist, firing Afro's Tachi at him using Telekinesis. Blood spurted out, and in the next moment, Akaza teleported away. However, Kai went along with him, his fingers digging deep into the bone gauntlet over Akaza's wrist.

Afro's Tachi couldn't have teleported with Kai, but at the last moment, he had again bitten on its hilt.

Kai threw his head to the right, slashing at Akaza's neck again. From below, Murasame hacked at the creature's waist, landing on the bone armor.

"You!" Akaza breathed out furiously. He didn't defend, letting the attacks hack at him as they pleased. Instead, his left hand landed on Kai's face and almost shattered his jaw. Once again, Akaza punched, and the thorn-like bones landed on his right ear.

Kai's entire head buzzed, his vision becoming black.

Finally, his grip on Akaza's wrist loosened.

Akaza grabbed Kai's neck and threw him up in the air.

~… Discard the reasons…~

Akaza appeared above Kai, their figures looking tiny against the black, flashy background; a stray bolt of lightning thundered red somewhere.

The Upper Rank Three made a fist, and the air crackled around it. "If you weren't so weak," Akaza whispered, "then I would have asked for your name."

When the punch landed, no sound originated from it.

Kai's bent figure left behind a snowy trail in the hailstorm and then struck the ground with the force of a cannon.

Boom!

Akaza appeared like a bone ghost some hundred meters away from the pit Kai's fallen figure had created.

Inside the pit, Kai was buried under the rubble of snow and twigs, his life abandoning him with the passing of every fraction of a moment.

~… Discard the thoughts…~

Forgotten memories kept bombarding his mind nonstop.

'I am so hungry,' Kai thought under the bulging darkness. 'I am so cold.'

~… Discard the emotions…~

'Why am I here?' Questions birthed in his mind one after another. 'Who am I fighting? Why? Is dying so bad? I would just need to close my eyes, and it would be over. Yes. Perhaps I wouldn't feel so cold then.'

A single word surfaced in his mind, accompanying her smile.

~… Live…~

With a bang, Kai jumped out of the pit, his back straight, and his eyes barely open, but alive. And a tremendous wave of bloodlust exploded out of him, pinning down Akaza's powerful figure.

Kai outstretched his hands as he looked up towards the sky; in the distance, Akaza struggled to teleport, his knees trembling.

The sky looked not so dark to Kai. He felt every drop of the rain, every stray gust of wind, and the sound of the world.

"If the world wants me to die then I will discard it." Kai declared. "If my reasons hold me back, then I will discard them. If my thoughts are against me, then I will discard them. If my emotions are not in control, then I will discard them."

At this moment, a strange comprehension dawned on him, the forgotten memories and realizations becoming a tune of transcendent epiphany.

Kai closed his eyes, and his Advance Twin-Saber Style and Advance Slither Steps vanished, melting and fusing, becoming something more hideous, suited only to him.

"If my Will is not demonic, then I will discard it as well," Kai told himself, cutting himself with Murasame. "But first, I will discard my Self. I will name this…"

Facelessness 2nd Conversion let him assume a false Self. Now, Kai was using this to discard the sense of Self itself. His hair lengthened, becoming red, and cursed runic markings covered his broken figure. A bronze-colored spartan helmet appeared on his head as his eyes became red and his sclera black, both covered in cursed runic marks.

"… Total Concentration Selfless Breathing."

Hisss!

Kai clenched his teeth and breathed, a dense and abundant red-colored mist escaping his mouth in sheer joy. His skin wriggled as if millions of worms were wriggling under it.

Afar, Akaza sensed the doom bubbling out from the depths of hell, and he roared.

"Ahhh!" He shouted, forcing himself to move, and then threw his hands back. A tiny, blue-colored ball appeared in front of him, the air crackling, exploding around it. His blue Reiatsu vanished, getting consumed by the ball at an alarming pace. However, the ball kept becoming smaller and smaller.

And then, Akaza punched at the ball using his both hands, the very space rippling around him.

Blue Space Type - Cero!

A destructive blue jet of exploding Reiatsu got fired towards Kai, the earth shattering under it like bits of old paper.

The bloody mist escaping Kai's mouth had now covered his entire figure. It almost looked like he was burning with blood flames, his figure becoming illusory like the space above fire.

His arms shook, rippled, and flowed. When they stopped, four more arms seemed to have appeared below them, making the total six. Above the arms, his head rippled along with them, leaving behind mirage-like silhouettes. And when the mirage disappeared, two more heads were hissing along with the original.

The bloody mist exploded, and Kai's doom-like figure charged towards the incoming blast of Cero.

Selfless Breathing…

Six swords roared in disgusting pleasure, their appearance as evil as the look in the eyes of the three heads.

When the swords met the Cero, the blue blast disintegrated like shards of mirror.

Kai was a wraith, who looked like he was slithering in slow motion. But in the eyes of an average person, he was only a blood point, ripping apart everything in his wake.

The entire Cero became nothing but specks of light, and under the rooted and widened gaze of Akaza, Kai passed through him. It almost seemed like Kai had entered Akaza and then came out of his back, landing a few meters behind him.

A dong sound echoed everywhere, like the ring of a giant bell, and the snowflake-like pattern on the ground shattered.

Akaza stood up straight and looked up at the sky, the storm, and the world's thundering hatred. Behind him, Kai towered tall, covered in fuming blood flames.

"What is the most needed quality to walk on the Demonic Path?" Akaza asked, his words sincere.

A tongue of blood fire snapped towards Akaza and brought a word to him from Kai. "Attitude."

"Attitude… Attitude…" Akaza repeated, and then he smiled. "What is your name?"

Kai turned around, his three heads trembling behind the bloody curtain, and he sent his name directly to Akaza's mind. -/Kai Stormborn./-

Akaza nodded, and suddenly hundreds of blood lines, thinner than paper, appeared on his body. One moment he was standing, and in the other, he was a pile of several hundred pieces of flesh.

… First Transformation: Three-headed Vritra!!!

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-- Vritra ("enveloper") is a Vedic serpent, dragon or demon in Hinduism, the personification of drought, and adversary of Indra. Vritra is identified as an Asura and Danava. Vritra was also known in the Vedas as Ahi ("snake")