Transparent blood spikes shot out of the cracks in the stone, faster than Shinobu Kocho could react.
But a dark red membrane of light was faster still.
The membrane unfurled on its own from the fabric at Shinobu Kocho's back, spreading into a shield a tenth of a second before the spikes touched her ankles. The instant they struck it, their transparent surfaces shattered, exposing the dark purple demon blood beneath, which promptly carbonized in the dark red light and became a wisp of smoke.
Shinobu Kocho looked down and saw an intricate dark red cursed marking slowly fading from the fabric of her haori at her back.
She recognized its shape.
Before they entered the Infinity Castle, that man had stood with his back to her and traced one extra stroke in the air with his finger.
She had thought he was merely flexing his fingers out of habit.
He hadn't been.
Yaha did not look back at her. All his attention remained fixed on Muzan before him. But his left foot shifted two inches to the right, placing Shinobu Kocho directly behind his body.
Muzan withdrew his failed sneak attack from underground. His plum-red slit pupils narrowed slightly, his gaze leaving Shinobu Kocho and returning to Yaha's face.
"Interesting. You took precautions."
He stopped trying to sneak around behind him.
Nine barbed whips burst apart at once, splitting into eighteen, then thirty-six. Each was as thick as an arm, and their coverage expanded from Yaha alone to a twenty-meter radius centered on him.
An area attack. No more precision strikes-he filled the entire space instead.
Forcing Yaha to divide his attention.
Yaha held his blade across his body in his left hand, unleashing Cursed Technique: Dismantle in rapid succession. One slash, two, five, eight. Slashes flew from the