The Pure Black Nightmare (Forty-Seven) -- Gluttonous Doma!

Snowflakes landed on Giyu Tomioka's eyelashes.

Doma's eyes, like those of seven-colored glass, were filled with utter bewilderment.

He stared at the man who had appeared out of nowhere.

He was carrying an Upper Rank corpse (presumably) in his left hand.

His right hand... was gripping his golden fan, which could cut through iron like mud, in an extremely unreasonable way.

Fresh blood dripped from between the fingers of that hand, splashing onto the snow and spreading a small patch of red.

The owner of this hand didn't even experience the slightest muscle twitch.

What's this?

Catching a blade barehanded?

"Who are you?"

Doma asked the question instinctively.

Giyu Tomioka did not answer.

That perpetually expressionless face remained completely blank.

He simply tossed the unconscious Zohakuten, who was on his shoulder, behind him.

Upper Rank Four rolled twice in the snow and then stopped moving.

Then, Giyu took action.

He swung his right fist at Doma's handsome face, which was filled with astonishment.

This punch was delivered without any Breathing Style.

There are no flashy special effects.

Doma's fighting instincts are going off like crazy!!

He wanted to back away! He wanted to dodge!

But his speed, which he was so proud of, seemed to be held down by an invisible hand at this moment.

He could only watch as that ordinary fist grew larger and larger in his pupils...

"Bang--!"

Doma felt as if he had been hit head-on by a high-speed meteorite.

His handsome face, which he was most proud of, instantly distorted.

The bridge of the nose, cheekbone, and jawbone all simultaneously emitted a crisp cracking sound.

Upper Rank Two didn't even have time to let out a scream.

He was like a spinning top, flying backwards at high speed in mid-air and crashing hard into the mountain wall dozens of meters away, impossible to pry out.

The mountaintop was eerily quiet once again.

Himejima Gyomei, who was Gyomei Himejima with the Ice Crystal Divine Child, paused for a moment.

His eyes, brimming with tears, stared blankly in this direction.

What just happened?

Having done all this, Giyu Tomioka withdrew his right fist.

He didn't even glance at it again.

Turning around, those blue eyes fell on the figure lying in the snow, covered in blood.

Giyu quickly walked to Kanae's side and squatted down.

This time, a rare look of panic appeared in those eyes that were always as calm as still water!

He reached out, seemingly wanting to help her up, but he was afraid of touching her wound, so his movements were a bit clumsy.

"Can you... still move?"

Kanae was completely dumbfounded.

"Thump, thump!"

Her heart was pounding wildly.

My cheeks were burning hot, and I didn't even feel the pain from the wounds on my body anymore.

It's him!!

It really is him!!

In her most desperate and helpless moment, this man, who always kept everyone at arm's length, appeared before her like a god descending to earth.

Kanae's mind kept replaying the scene from earlier.

He grabbed the fan that could cut through steel with his hand.

Blood was everywhere.

She couldn't care less about answering Giyu's question, nor about her own serious injuries.

Instead, he struggled to reach out and grabbed Giyu's right hand, which had just been cut.

Your hand!!

Kanae's voice was trembling with tears.

"You're bleeding so much! Why were you so stupid?! Why did you try to block it with your hands?!"

She held Giyu's hand carefully, as if she were holding some precious treasure.

The gash slashed by the golden fan was so deep that you could see the bone; the flesh was turned inside out, and it looked terrifying.

However, the very next second that Kanae's tears, a mixture of heartache and emotion, fell onto her wound.

She froze completely.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Under her gaze.

That horrific wound was actually... actually healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The flesh and blood were writhing and twisting, the severed blood vessels were reconnecting, and the skin tissue was regenerating rapidly!

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

That hand, which should have been a bloody mess, was completely healed, looking brand new, without even the faintest scar!

If it weren't for the warm bloodstains still clinging to her palm, Kanae would have thought it was all just an illusion.

"This... this is..."

Kanae's mind went completely blank. She looked up, staring blankly at Giyu, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

Giyu Tomioka himself was looking down at his healed hand.

He didn't understand either.

Why?

Why did I instinctively reach out and block with my hand just now?

With her reaction speed, she could have easily drawn her sword or neutralized the attack with [Nagi].

But... the body made the most irrational and foolish choice.

In his mind, it was as if a voice was telling him.

He didn't want... he didn't want that fan to get even a millimeter closer to her.

This unfamiliar and uncontrollable instinct made Giyu feel so lost for the first time.

~~~

On the other side.

"Boom!"

Doma crawled out of the ruins of the iceberg.

Half of his face was broken, and he looked incredibly disheveled, but his injuries were healing at an astonishing rate.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Doma spat out a mouthful of blood.

Utter disgrace!!

He, the mighty Upper Rank Two, was actually sent flying by a human's fist!

Just as he was preparing to unleash an even stronger Blood Demon Art,

A strange, intoxicating fragrance suddenly wafted into his nostrils.

Doma's movements stopped abruptly.

He sniffed, a look of rapture on his face.

This taste...

It smells so good!

It was ten thousand times sweeter, richer, and more tempting than any Marechi maiden he had ever eaten in hundreds of years!

This is simply a gift from God!

His gaze fell on the golden fan that had just been taken back from him.

A few drops of Giyu Tomioka's blood, still wet, clung to the edge of the fan ribs.

That intoxicating fragrance, enough to drive even ghosts mad, emanated from those few drops of blood.

"What kind of Marechi is this?"

Doma's apple bobbed uncontrollably; his greedy desire instantly overwhelmed all anger and reason.

Without a second thought, he stuck out his tongue and licked the few drops of blood off the fan with utmost reverence.

The moment of entry

Doma's eyes narrowed happily.

An indescribable feeling of pleasure spread throughout his body along his taste buds, making him almost cry out in ecstasy.

However.

This exhilarating sensation lasted for less than a second.

The next second.

Doma's expression changed from pure ecstasy to extreme pain and contortion!

"Ughhh--!"

A piercing scream tore through the night sky above the mountaintop.

Doma suddenly clutched his throat, his body convulsing violently.

An unbearable, excruciating pain surged from his stomach, rushing wildly to every corner of his body!

Strange bluish-purple cracks began to appear on the surface of his skin.

His body tissues were dissolving and decaying at an alarming rate!

"Poison?!

How is that possible?!

How could there be poison in human blood?!

He knelt on the ground, frantically digging his fingers into his throat, trying to vomit up what he had just swallowed.

But his prized super-fast regeneration ability completely failed at this moment!

Those few drops of blood were like the most potent poison in the world, relentlessly destroying every cell in his body!

This sudden turn of events left everyone present stunned.

Just as Gyomei Himejima was about to rush over to help, he stopped in his tracks, his face filled with a huge question mark.

Kanae, who had just gotten up from the ground, stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered.

Giyu Tomioka watched as Doma writhed on the ground in agony, black smoke billowing from his body. A rare look of bewilderment appeared on his usually expressionless face.

???

Not a buddy

How can they eat anything?!