Crimson Eyes of the Other Shore

Douma strolled leisurely toward Kanae Kocho, like an old man out for a walk. What he feared most now was that she might die.

Kanae Kocho's situation was indeed terrible. Several of her ribs were broken, and she was coughing up blood in great mouthfuls. She could not move at all, completely wedged into the wood.

Fortunately, the wood had already rotted, so it had not pierced Kanae's body. The hand holding her sword trembled without stop. Perhaps there was a reason no Hashira had ever killed an Upper Moon.

Kanae knew he still had not used his full strength. Maybe he looked down on her. She wondered if she could use that to hold out until reinforcements arrived or dawn came.

Kanae Kocho knew reinforcements would take a long time to arrive. She truly did not want to die now. She would regret never seeing Shinobu marry Kuuga.

She also wondered how heartbroken her sister and Kuuga would be if she died. Though she knew that, as a Demon Slayer, this day would come sooner or later.

Thinking of her family, Kanae Kocho's trembling hand stilled. She gripped her sword again. No matter what, she had to kill the evil demon. That was the duty of a Hashira.

After using her breathing to stop the bleeding temporarily, Kanae Kocho adjusted her condition once more. Then, aside from her pink pupils, her entire eyes turned red.

Yet this change only added to Kanae Kocho's beauty. This was the Flower Hashira's strongest state—Thorn Rose.

This was Flower Breathing: Final Form, Crimson Eyes of the Other Shore. By pressurizing her eyeballs, it pushed her dynamic vision to its limit, making the movement of everything around her seem slow. But because it overloaded her eyes, it came with the risk of blindness.

She would not normally use it unless driven into a corner, but now, this was her only option.

Douma still wore that gentle, false smile when a figure suddenly flashed past him. One of Douma's arms flew away.

But Douma did not care about the arm; it would grow back soon enough. Instead, he turned around curiously to see what had happened.

The first moment Douma saw Kanae Kocho, he noticed that she had become even more beautiful.

Resting his chin in both hands, Douma stared at Kanae Kocho. "So beautiful. Truly beautiful!"

Yet no emotion could be heard in Douma's voice. Even when faced with something that excited him so much, he remained unchanged, because he was someone without feelings.

He was the kind of person who had felt nothing even when watching his parents die before his eyes, forever wearing only a false smile.

But in the next instant, Kanae Kocho swung her sword at him. In that fleeting moment, a huge gash appeared across Douma's chest.

Douma realized her speed had increased. How interesting. As expected, girls were still the best to eat.

Douma simultaneously used Blood Demon Art: Winter Chill Pillars and Lotus Ice. Faced with the Ice Cones falling from above and the ice lotuses charging at her head-on, Kanae Kocho handled them with ease.

While shattering the ice lotuses, she also dodged the Ice Cones. But her eyes hurt even more. She knew she had to finish Douma quickly; she could not hold on much longer.

Yet Douma refused to indulge her. As he used Blood Demon Art: Crystal Royal Child, three Ice Crystal Figures identical to him appeared, though they were only half his height.

After Douma pointed at Kanae Kocho, the three figures attacked her at once. What Kanae Kocho had not expected was that the Ice Crystal Figures could use the same Blood Demon Arts as Douma.

Kanae Kocho soon became entangled in battle with the little figures, while Douma simply found a place to sit and quietly watched the fight.

But in Kanae's eyes, every Ice Crystal Figure was always a step slower than her. Because of this extreme vision, they could never touch her.

Kanae quickly shattered one of the figures and broke out of the encirclement, charging straight toward Douma. But before entering within one meter of him, she stopped.

A corner of her clothing drifted into that range. In an instant, it turned into shattered ice. Kanae was grateful she had not rushed in, or she would have ended up like that piece of cloth.

Through Crimson Eyes of the Other Shore, Kanae saw a layer of tiny red ice crystals floating within a meter of Douma.

"So you noticed. As expected of a beauty!"

"These little ice crystals are my burning-hot blood. Not only can they freeze you, but if you accidentally breathe them in, you won't be able to use your breathing anymore!" Douma reminded her.

"By telling me, your ability is useless against me now!"

"It's fine. Miss Kanae is a beauty, after all. And honesty is my only virtue!"

Kanae swiftly swung her sword. The airflow produced by the blade scattered the ice crystals while also cutting them apart.

And so Douma continued battling Kanae. He did not know why, but every time he was about to hit her, she dodged. He was always just a tiny bit short.

At Headquarters.

Kanae's Kasugai Crow cried anxiously through the sky, "This is bad! This is bad! The Flower Hashira has encountered an Upper Moon and is in grave danger! Emergency rescue!"

The moment Shinobu Kocho heard the news, she collapsed into Tsugikuni Kuuga's arms. No Hashira who encountered an Upper Moon had ever survived.

Just then, Sanemi Shinazugawa rushed into the Butterfly Mansion with an anxious expression.

"Move! We have to save her!"

Sanemi then rushed out. Kanae's Kasugai Crow did not rest, instead flying ahead to guide them. It did not want to lose such a gentle and kind master either.

"Shinobu! I promise you, your sister will be fine!"

"Trust me. Stay here and wait for your sister and me to come back!"

With that, Tsugikuni Kuuga was about to rush out as well, but Shinobu Kocho grabbed the corner of his clothes.

"I'm going with you!"

"But an Upper Moon is very dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you too!"

"But what if something happens to you?" Shinobu Kocho burst into tears.

They were both the people closest to her. She would not be able to bear losing either of them.

Then Shinobu Kocho ran out ahead of Tsugikuni Kuuga. Kuuga followed after her, and the two soon caught up with Sanemi Shinazugawa.

Kanae, you have to hold on. Wait for me. Sanemi Shinazugawa looked at the Kasugai Crow flying overhead and increased his speed again.

The three of them used their sword techniques in order to reach the scene as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, on Kanae and Douma's battlefield, much time had already passed. The sun would rise in two hours.

But Kanae was covered in wounds, her uniform riddled with tears. Her vision had begun to blur, and she was clearly no longer able to keep up with Douma's speed.

Douma still smiled. Aside from a few holes in his clothes, he looked no different from when he had first appeared.

"I didn't expect Miss Kanae to hold on for so long. As expected of someone I have taken a liking to!"

"Mr. Douma should worry about himself first!"

Kanae swung her sword straight at him, but the vines extending from Douma's Blood Demon Art: Winding Lotus immediately trapped her. She wanted to break free, but she had no strength left.

"Oh my! We've played long enough. It's time to eat, so I'll have to make you temporarily unable to move!"

Douma kicked at Kanae. She raised her sword horizontally to block it, but the blade shattered in two, and she was sent flying. She also sprayed a mouthful of blood onto Douma's face.

Kanae Kocho fell to the ground, completely unable to move. Her vision was so blurred that she could no longer see clearly.