"Strange. You clearly never cut me, so how did you poison me?"
Doma tilted his head toward Shinobu Kocho and asked in puzzlement.
He could guarantee that during the assault just now, only the yellow-and-red-haired Hashira and the white-haired Hashira had cut off his arms.
Or rather, only those two had the speed and strength to accomplish anything in close combat against an Upper Rank.
"Idiot. Obviously, our blades are poisoned too."
Tengen Uzui looked at him as though he were an idiot, then took a pink pill from his pocket and gently slipped it into his mouth.
The others did the same.
"I'm finding it a little hard to breathe. The poison must have reached my lungs. This one really is troublesome."
Shinobu Kocho knitted her delicate brows.
"There's too much icy mist in the air. Even if we avoid it as much as possible, it's hard to keep from breathing any in. We need to take the medicine now, then finish him as quickly as possible."
Kyojuro Rengoku showed no pessimism whatsoever. With the specially made antidote in his mouth, he raised his Nichirin Blade again.
"Gahahaha! I'm invincible now!"
Pink flames rose from Inosuke after he swallowed the pill. The enormous amount of poison he had inhaled actually dissolved in an instant, and he was back to his lively self.
"It really works."
Shinobu Kocho silently thanked Lu You in her heart.
After learning about Upper Rank Two, Lu You had also suggested studying Nezuko's blood to create an antidote that could neutralize his poison.
Nezuko's Blood Demon Art could destroy demonic power. Once that power disappeared, the icy mist really was just icy mist-chilly at most.
Much like eating ice cream in summer.
"Huh?? That's cheating!"
This time, Doma truly felt it was a little unfair, and he puffed out his cheeks.
Why had these people studied him so thoroughly? Had some swordsman who fought him made it back alive?
Impossible. He was an Upper Rank!
He remembered no such thing happening.
Boom!
A boar shot toward him. Charging straight through the icy mist sprayed by the snow maiden, he reached Doma, his body spinning as his tusklike twin blades swept into sickle-shaped arcs.
"Beast Breathing! Tenth Form: Whirling Fangs!"
"What a shame."
The frost bodhisattva behind him raised a hand and casually sent Inosuke flying. Its power was terrifying; he rolled several times across the ground before crashing down in clouds of dust.
But although he had driven Inosuke back, the truly troublesome ones had only just arrived. Doma spat out blood, swiftly breaking down the poison inside him as he stared ahead.
The Flame Hashira and the Sound Hashira.
These two were the strongest ones present. Their auras alone were vastly different from everyone else's.
They were also the only two who had managed to hit him earlier once he got serious.
"So you secretly activated yours too, Rengoku."
"Uzui, didn't you do the same? Hahaha."
Tengen Uzui pushed aside the headband on his forehead, revealing a scarlet Demon Slayer Mark that seemed to blaze.
On the side of Kyojuro Rengoku's face, a dazzling yellow-and-red Demon Slayer Mark had taken the shape of a flame emblem, boldly displaying its presence.
Both men lunged, bending their bodies slightly.
Here they come!
Whoosh! A faint sound reached his ears. Doma raised his brows, locking onto their figures.
They were fast, like a flaming meteor and a cannonball ready to explode at any moment.
Boom! Boom!
The ice lotus bodhisattva raised its hands and attacked repeatedly, smashing broad craters into the platform, but the two evaded its strikes in perfect coordination.
"Sound Breathing-Fifth Form: String Performance!"
"Flame Breathing-Second Form: Flame Heaven Ascension!"
Deafening sonic booms and brilliant flames intertwined around Doma. The ice lotus bodhisattva scrambled to respond, while a graceful figure shattered the little ice figures almost unnoticed.
Kanao Kocho.
Her face was utterly serious.
"Ahahaha! You didn't think an attack like that could beat me, did you?!"
As Boar's Head returned to the battlefield, the pressure on Doma began to mount. He frowned, chiefly because the poison currently inside him was so difficult to break down.
The poison had reduced both his speed and his reactions. Otherwise, two or three Hashira with activated Demon Slayer Marks would pose no threat to him.
Speaking of poison, where was that woman?
Just as he seemed to realize something, a figure swept in behind Doma with a terrifying boom and drove her Nichirin Blade deep into his body.
Squelch! Blood sprayed.
"Oh my, even faster than before."
Shinobu Kocho's eyes were filled with hatred.
Her hands were steadier than ever. Several streams of wisteria poison, along with some unknown toxins, were now being rapidly injected into Doma's body.
"It's useless... fine, I admit it helps a little, but not enough. Ahaha."
Muzan smiled, raised his golden fan, and instantly slashed behind him.
Clang! At the crisp sound of impact, Inosuke let out a strange cry, leaping up to block the blow for Shinobu Kocho.
If there was one Hashira Inosuke liked best, it was certainly Shinobu Kocho. After all, he often ended up at the Butterfly Mansion with injuries, and she took good care of him.
Squelch... Shinobu Kocho's slender Nichirin Blade repeatedly pierced Doma's body, injecting poison, before she began retreating.
Whoosh! A cold flash instantly sliced off the upper half of Doma's head. Though it regenerated just as quickly, Doma twisted his whole body and swung back to meet the approaching Sound and Flame Hashira.
"He's slowing down."
"It's the poison. Finish him now!"
With Kanao and Inosuke keeping the ice lotus bodhisattva occupied, they actually drove Doma back again and again.
Yet Doma did not panic.
"Breathing in my icy mist so recklessly? How much longer will your medicine last?
"Oh dear, if you can't cut off my head before then, you're all going to be wiped out."
Without any shift in emotion, Doma continued smiling, as though life and death were no great matter, no different from a game.
"Really, demon? Do you think this fight is still going on?"
Shinobu Kocho's voice was icy and full of murderous intent.
Suddenly, Doma felt a moment of dizziness. His ice lotus bodhisattva actually began crumbling piece by piece.
Agony swept through every part of his body, a torment almost like being crushed to dust.
"This is... poison?"
"My poisons aren't limited to wisteria. Since we have a way to counter your poison, why would you think I wouldn't use it to make poison?"
Shinobu Kocho gave a cold smile.
Nezuko's blood was extraordinarily effective against demons. Given enough of it, they could create both an antidote to demon poison and a terrifying poison against demons.
This had also been Lu You's suggestion.
"How could something like that exist..."
Doma felt his body rapidly collapsing. He looked neither quite ready to cry nor quite ready to laugh, unsure what expression to make.
"Am I... going to die?"
For some reason, he actually felt a little... no, he still could not feel his own emotions.
How strange. He was about to die, after all.
"What a shame."
As Doma murmured those words, Kanao rushed in at tremendous speed and severed his head with a single strike.
Upper Rank Two, Doma! Dead!
"That's it??"
Inosuke shouted in dissatisfaction, only to squawk in pain when the Sound Hashira flicked his forehead.
"Of course! Look how many of us there are, and how much we prepared!"
Indeed, they really did have numbers on their side.
In the original story, Shinobu Kocho had fought desperately alone. Now, with their Demon Slayer Marks activated, the Sound and Flame Hashira were both at an exceptionally powerful Hashira level, while Kanao and Inosuke were no weaker than Hashira either.
Five people surrounding him, plus specially made poison-if this lineup still couldn't finish him quickly, what else was there to say...
Just hand it to you, then!
"Caw! Caw! Caw! Shinobu Kocho, Kyojuro Rengoku, Tengen Uzui, Kanao Kocho, and Inosuke Hashibira have slain Upper Rank Two!"
The Kasugai Crow swept past the towers of the Infinity Castle.
"Caw! Obanai Iguro and Mitsuri Kanroji have defeated Upper Rank Four! Defeated Upper Rank Four!"
"All personnel named above, proceed to provide support immediately! Proceed to provide support immediately!"
When Shinobu Kocho and the others heard that the Love Hashira and Serpent Hashira had finished Upper Rank Four, delight spread across their faces.
"Well done, Mitsuri. Well done, Mr. Iguro."
At that moment, they still had no idea just what kind of being they would face next...
Or how desperate the struggle would be.
On another battlefield, the Mist Hashira, Muichiro, panted, his whole body drenched in hot sweat. He stared fixedly at the terrifying figure strolling leisurely between the Stone Hashira and the Wind Hashira.
"Upper Rank One can actually regenerate even after his head is cut off!"
Before you continue