"It's him!"
A vein throbbed on Shinobu Kocho's forehead. This demon was the murderer who had killed her older sister. Ah, her anger kept rising. Whew... I need to stay calm.
I'm not fighting alone.
Even Kanao's face was filled with murderous intent.
Nothing inspired greater hatred than robbing someone of their happiness.
Especially when that was all they had.
"Stay calm. Stick to the plan."
The Sound Hashira noticed their emotions and spoke softly. He decisively drew the twin blades on his back. The golden blades were slightly broad and connected by a chain.
"I understand. Thank you."
Shinobu Kocho worked to calm herself and raised her slender Nichirin Blade. Its unusual shape resembled a needle more than a sword.
"Oh my, so many people. You're not all Hashira, are you? Ahahaha, just kidding."
Doma covered his mouth and chuckled, showing no trace of nervousness, as though he thought nothing of all these people.
"Behind you, I see mountains of corpses and seas of blood. I will never forgive you, demon!"
Murderous intent shone in the red-and-gold eyes of the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. He slowly unsheathed his Nichirin Blade and crouched, already poised to strike Doma.
"Hahahaha! Let the great Inosuke lead the charge! Upper Rank Two or whatever, he'll still lose to me!"
Inosuke shouted excitedly. After going around in circles for so long, they had finally found an Upper Rank. What a rare opportunity.
The Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho; the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku; the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui; Inosuke Hashibira; and Kanao Kocho.
This was the team Lu You had carefully prepared for Doma.
It showed how seriously he took Doma.
After all, sneaky bastards with gimmicky abilities like this were the hardest to fight.
Of course, he had his reasons. The main reason he had stationed five Hashira-level fighters here was that Doma really was difficult to fight, and they could easily suffer losses.
That also had to do with the nature of his abilities.
Ice and poison.
As everyone knew, crystal meth was extremely dangerous, and the combination of ice and poison was no different here.
Although Shinobu Kocho had prepared a trump card, in Lu You's judgment, destroying Doma while avoiding losses as much as possible, without requiring Shinobu to sacrifice herself, would take finesse.
Shinobu Kocho's purple eyes flickered as she recalled what Lu You had told her during a private conversation.
"Don't let hatred blind you. You and Kanao can both have a better future.
I imagine you must see her as both a little sister and a daughter. Shinobu, you wouldn't want Kanao to end up all alone again, would you?"
He was right. If she could take revenge without dying, she certainly wouldn't insist on sacrificing herself.
Of course, if things ultimately failed to work out so ideally, she would still choose to feed herself to the demon. Revenge came before everything.
So whether it was to clear the way to Lu You's battlefield or to exact her own revenge, she had to kill the demon before her!
"Your clothes look so familiar. I feel like I've seen them somewhere?"
Doma tilted his head in feigned innocent confusion as he looked at Shinobu Kocho.
Some memory seemed to flit through his mind.
"Kocho, there's no need to waste words on him. You know You is still fighting a hard battle!"
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, widened his crimson eyes slightly and barked, attacking first. His toes shattered the floor as he shot forward.
He was incredibly fast, his speed having made another qualitative leap. In an instant, he appeared before Doma.
"So fast! You really are a Hashira! Hahaha."
But Doma was faster. He swung his golden fan, and an immense shower of icy mist surged out, condensing into lotuses.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Ice."
Boom! The Sound Hashira scattered bombs, which exploded instantly. "Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar!"
The violent shock wave annihilated all the icy mist. A surging blast of heat swept toward Doma, while a blazing streak suddenly burst through the smoke and attacked.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
Enormous flames formed a roaring tiger. It trampled wildly, scorching the platform floor black along its path as waves of heat blazed. Doma narrowed his eyes.
The barely visible ice crystals he had scattered through the air had actually melted directly in the intense heat.
"Oh? Your abilities counter mine? How boring."
Doma pouted, dodging and weaving back and forth between the two Hashira.
For a time, the golden fans and Nichirin Blades clashed with crisp, ringing clangs, sending sparks everywhere.
"So you like fighting up close?"
Doma smiled and swung his fans again.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Clouds!"
An enormous quantity of icy mist billowed out for several meters around him, almost blanketing their entire field of vision. If they forced their way inside, it would be virtually impossible not to inhale the poison.
Both the Sound Hashira and the Flame Hashira recognized this.
They swiftly retreated.
Yet at that moment, a reckless figure burst through the frozen clouds, scattering them. Completely unconcerned about the poison entering his lungs, he laughed and slashed hard into the astonished Doma.
Does this fellow have no fear of death?
Doma was certain these people knew about his abilities. The proof was that they were all, deliberately or otherwise, dispersing and avoiding the icy mist.
In that case, what was with this fellow wearing a boar's head? Doma merely pondered the question, his heart remaining utterly unmoved.
He was a demon without emotions.
Even his astonishment and joy were feigned.
He was merely imitating humans.
His blood sprayed out, turning into icy mist again in midair. Inosuke ignored it all, clashing with Doma several times with resounding clangs of metal.
"Boar rush! Boar rush!"
Beast Breathing, Eighth Form: Explosive Rush!
Inosuke's frenzied attacks successfully drew Doma's attention. Taking things a little more seriously, Doma began to speed up, yet his opponent actually managed to keep pace.
This fellow doesn't seem any weaker than those Hashira.
Whoosh! In that instant of distraction, sharp whistles suddenly came from both sides. Someone was also charging at high speed from behind, while a cold glint overhead likewise signaled a formidable threat.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
"Sound Breathing, Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes!"
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!"
"Flower Breathing, Third Form: Shadow Plum!"
Doma narrowed his rainbow-colored eyes and murmured, "Ah, how mean... So many of you ganging up on one. In that case, I don't want to play with you anymore."
Boom!!!
A violent explosion erupted at the center of the platform. Doma's blood spattered as he tumbled through the air, instantly reaching the platform's edge.
Both his arms had been severed and were dripping blood.
To the Demon Slayer Corps fighters' regret, Doma had still broken through their encirclement and put some distance between them.
Doma's gaze remained indifferent. His arms instantly regrew, and he swung his golden fans, no longer holding anything back.
"Blood Demon Art! Frigid White Princess!"
"Blood Demon Art! Crystalline Divine Child!"
"Blood Demon Art! Rime: Water Lily Bodhisattva!"
He wasn't a close-combat demon like Akaza. He was the type Lu You found most troublesome: a mage!
In the original story, if Doma hadn't indulged his desire to toy with his opponents, and Shinobu Kocho hadn't precisely exploited that character flaw to trick him, he truly couldn't have been defeated without sacrificing two or three Hashira.
That was because Doma's ability to counter Breathing Styles was far too terrifying. Calling him their natural enemy would be no exaggeration.
Several small ice figures appeared beside Doma and began frantically spraying sharp ice spikes.
Directly ahead, two ice lotuses shaped like young girls opened their mouths and spat out freezing mist that blanketed the entire platform. Its extreme cold would freeze skin and even blood on contact.
Most terrifying of all, a towering Bodhisattva statue carved from ice was slowly rising behind Doma.
The five watched the scene solemnly.
What Lu You had told them was indeed true.
Yet they showed no sign of worry.
"It's time."
Shinobu Kocho spoke softly.
At once, Doma abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood. He froze, then couldn't help touching his face. His flesh was actually rotting.
How was that possible?!
Before you continue