A frigid storm raged atop the Mount Sagiri.
The door to the wooden cabin was pushed open.
Kanae Kocho, wielding her Nichirin Blade, charged into the battlefield.
The snow and ice that filled the sky seemed to pause for a moment.
In the air not far away.
Doma was preparing to use dozens of thick icicles to Gyomei Himejima into a hedgehog.
But his eyes, like seven-colored glass.
The moment I caught sight of Kanae, I froze.
He almost dropped the golden fan in his hand.
For a demon who has lived for hundreds of years and whose greatest pursuit in life is to eat beautiful women.
Kanae's appearance was a complete game-changer.
The white Demon Slayer Corps uniform clung tightly to her tall figure.
The large haori fluttered in the wind, perfectly outlining her slender waist.
And those full, voluptuous curves, so captivating that it was impossible to look away, rose and fell slightly with her rapid breathing.
Add to that her exquisitely beautiful face, radiating both compassion and determination.
Doma felt his DNA being violently stirred.
"Oh dear~"
Doma immediately pulled his gaze away from Gyomei's muscular body.
He curled his lip in obvious disgust.
"Fighting and killing are really boring."
"Compared to this stiff old monk, this beautiful young lady is definitely more captivating."
The fake smile on his face instantly turned into undisguised fanaticism.
This is the ultimate deliciousness.
Eat her.
To incorporate this unparalleled beauty into one's own body.
"Hey big guy, why don't you play in the snow by yourself for a while?"
Doma did not hesitate to abandon his suppression of Gyomei.
He made a smooth turn in mid-air.
Two golden fans drew magnificent trajectories in the air, bringing a biting cold wind that rushed straight towards Kanae.
"My beautiful lady, your flesh and blood smell so sweet."
Facing the overwhelming Upper Rank Two.
There was not a trace of hesitation in Kanae's eyes.
She took a deep breath.
My lungs were instantly filled with icy air.
"Flower Breathing - Second Form - Honorable Shadow Plum!"
She gripped the hilt of the knife and flicked it upwards.
Several illusory pink peach petals formed from sword energy exploded out of thin air.
"Clang clang!"
The extremely cold icy blade that Doma was precisely deflected by the sword energy.
Kanae touched the ground with her toes, her body as light as a butterfly flitting through a whirlwind.
She not only dodged Doma's extremely oppressive close-range grab.
She was still flexibly twisting her waist in mid-air.
The blade traced an arc, aiming straight for Doma's neck.
"Oh dear, that's so fierce."
Doma casually parried the attack with his golden fan and then drifted back a few steps.
But his gaze toward Kanae became even more intense.
"Her skills are superb too. This fighting spirit, carrying a faint floral fragrance, is truly intoxicating."
Just as he was about to continue flirting...
Namo Amitabha Buddha!
Gyomei Himejima finally caught his breath from the extreme cold that had been suppressing him.
He suddenly exerted force with his arms, which were thicker than his thighs.
The heavy meteor hammer, accompanied by a whooshing sound, slammed down from Doma's blind spot.
"Careful!!"
Kanae immediately changed position, using complex footwork to block Doma's retreat.
One is firm, the other gentle; one is heavy, the other light.
At that moment, the two formed a strange yet tacit understanding.
Each of Gyomei's attacks carried earth-shattering power, forcing Doma to be on guard.
Kanae, on the other hand, is like a dense, impenetrable pink net.
"Flower Breathing - Fourth Form - Crimson Hanagoromo!"
Pink sword shadows danced around Doma.
They specifically targeted the openings in his defenses when he changed his moves or exerted force, aiming to strike him.
This was Kanae Kocho's shining moment.
She didn't possess the superhuman strength of Gyomei, capable of smashing a mountain with a single punch.
It also lacks extreme burst speed.
But she has amazing dynamic vision and incredible physical flexibility.
The tiny ice spikes released by the Doma were so small that ordinary people couldn't even see them.
Kanae, however, was able to predict the trajectory in advance and use the blade to precisely deflect it time and time again.
Not only did he protect himself, he also managed to shield Gyomei from several deadly arrows.
As Gyomei brandished his weapon, his heart skipped a beat.
This young swordsman possesses such courage and skill.
"This is so annoying."
Doma dodged Gyomei's sweeping attack.
He hovered in mid-air, the smile on his face instantly losing its warmth.
"Instead of staying put, you have to disturb other people's lovemaking. How inconsiderate of you!"
Doma felt a little annoyed by the current two-against-one situation.
He suddenly spread his arms wide, crossing two golden fans in front of his chest.
"Blood Demon Art - Crystalline Divine Child!"
Five tiny ice and snow figures, each about half a person's height, instantly condensed in the air.
These little figures look exactly like Doma, and they also hold small ice fans in their hands.
The next second, these five little guys immediately launched an indiscriminate bombardment.
The sky was filled with ice lotuses, ice vines, and cold air, pouring down like a flood.
Because of his enormous size, Gyomei was immediately entangled by three of the tiny ice and snow figures.
His massive body was caught in a fierce battle, and he was unable to break free to support Kanae for the time being.
The remaining two ice figures, along with Doma himself, completely surrounded Kanae.
The situation deteriorated instantly.
Kanae was already panting heavily.
Upper Rank Two's Blood Demon Art is too unreasonable.
Every breath was accompanied by the excruciating pain of ice crystals entering my lungs.
Even with the constant regulation of Flower Breathing, her physical strength was still rapidly depleting.
The hand holding the knife trembled more and more uncontrollably.
"This beautiful lady seems tired."
Doma seized on Kanae's momentary lapse in breathing.
He completely ignored the tip of Kanae's blade and charged straight at her, braving the sword's energy.
"Then let me feed you some dessert~"
The golden fan trailed a trail of afterglow.
It slashed hard across Kanae's shoulder and side.
"Tear."
The uniform was neatly cut open.
A deep, bone-revealing gash instantly split open on Kanae's body.
Before the blood could even splatter, it was frozen into dark red ice crystals by the extreme cold.
A tremendous force surged into his body.
Kanae is like a red butterfly with broken wings.
He was violently sent flying.
"Cough."
A mouthful of hot blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Her beautiful face instantly lost all color.
The excruciating pain left her barely able to stand up again.
The Nichirin Blade also slipped from his hand and fell into a nearby snow pit.
"It's so beautiful~"
Even when injured, she's so adorable!
Doma landed lightly in front of Kanae.
He looked down at the stunningly beautiful girl shivering in the snow.
His eyes held a morbid longing.
"The pain will be over soon! Your beauty will finally be forever etched in this world!!"
He raised the golden fan, sharp as a knife.
Aiming at Kanae's fair, slender, and defenseless neck.
Without hesitation, he swung it down.
Kanae bit her lip tightly.
Is it ending...?
I wonder if my sister and the others have managed to develop an antidote yet.
A sudden change occurred.
A blue streak of water, without warning, tore through the swirling snow.
Not a single unnecessary sound was heard.
Not even a trace of murderous intent leaked out.
"Snap."
The deadly golden fan stopped abruptly.
It was less than a centimeter away from Kanae's slender neck.
Doma's perpetually composed expression finally turned to surprise.
He even found it unbelievable.
He tried to pull out the golden fan, but found that it seemed to be welded shut.
It remained completely still.
Looking along the golden fan ribs...
One hand was gripping the edge of the fan, which was as sharp as a blade of iron, in an unreasonable manner.
Fresh blood was dripping from between the fingers of that hand, falling onto the snow.
A small patch of red spread out.
But the owner of that hand didn't even flinch.
Continue looking up from that bleeding arm.
Giyu Tomioka's perpetually expressionless face was now less than half a meter away from Doma.
There was no emotion in those blue eyes.
The way they looked at Doma was no different from how they looked at stinking garbage on the roadside.
What's most outrageous is...
This man appeared out of nowhere, like a ghost.
He was also carrying a huge object in his left hand.
That thing, beaten beyond recognition, unrecognizable even to its own mother, and completely unconscious.
It was the Upper Rank Four – the Zohakuten.