The Situation

Doma turned to look at Tengen Uzui lying on the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips as he instructed:

"By the way, if you want to continue, think about the people who are important to you! Is it really meaningful to keep going and die like this?"

After saying that, he turned and slowly walked towards the cliff.

Doma paused briefly at the edge of the cliff, gazing down into the valley below.

The two places with lights were exceptionally conspicuous in the valley, not to mention the constant movement and noise of people in those two places.

Well, it should still be possible to go now, right?

The thought Flash through Doma's mind, and the next moment his body tilted slightly toward the cliff.

Whew!!

The wind howled past Doma's ears. Looking down at the rapidly approaching ground, Doma's lips curled into a slight smile, and he gently unfolded the folding fan in his hand.

"Blood Demon Art: Rime — Water Lily Bodhisattva!"

As soon as he finished speaking, ice crystals began to gather and grow wildly at Doma's feet, and a Bodhisattva quietly took shape beneath his feet.

Then...

Boom--!

The Water Lily Bodhisattva landed on the ground.

The heavy object, weighing tens of tons, suddenly hit the ground, and an invisible shockwave rippled outwards. Trees that were close by were blown down by the shockwave, while trees that were further away were also tilted outwards by the strong wind.

Under the vast darkness of night, the Water Lily Bodhisattva stands silently in the valley.

On the head of the Water Lily Bodhisattva, Doma lay quietly, pain constantly emanating from his legs.

Despite the Water Lily Bodhisattva reducing the height somewhat, and despite him jumping up just as the Water Lily Bodhisattva was about to land, his legs still broke upon landing.

"Oh dear! Oh dear! It seems I should avoid doing this kind of thing next time!" Doma muttered to himself as he lay on the head of the Water Lily Bodhisattva.

He then used his hands to support his upper body on the ice, and with a quick movement of his thighs, his legs regained their footing, allowing him to stand up.

Doma walked towards the edge of the Water Lily Bodhisattva's head, but his mind was still on the Demon Slayer above.

I wonder if the Demon Slayer up there will choose to come down and die, or hide up there secretly?

Well, if he comes down, then it'll just mean I'll be a little late in killing him! It won't make any difference!

But what if he hides up there and doesn't come down?

Will I be punished by Lord Muzan when I go back tonight?

After all, a pillar was placed, but...

Sure enough, I still wanted to see him stay!

While he was pondering, Doma had already slowly walked to the edge of the top of the Water Lily Bodhisattva's head.

He snapped out of his reverie and looked toward the two places where the lights were on.

It seemed that the commotion caused by the Water Lily Bodhisattva landing was too great, and the noise in both places became louder than before.

Doma raised his folding fan and gently rested it on his chin, looking in two different directions.

"Hmm, Kotetsu said earlier that this place is a workshop and this place is a residential area, right?"

Doma looked in two directions. One place had sparse lights and less noise, while the other was brightly lit and much louder.

Even if Kotetsu didn't tell him, Doma knew where he should go.

only...

Doma turned his head from side to side, his gaze constantly shifting between the workshop and the living area.

"This seems a bit far! I wonder if it's far enough!"

In the woods.

Mitsuri sped along the winding road toward the residential area.

Her figure darted through the woods, occasionally turning her head nimbly, her gaze fixed on the enormous ice crystal statue that emitted a chilling light not far away.

The two were traveling in the same direction, just a short distance apart. With the same destination, the distance between them continued to decrease as they approached their destination.

From initially requiring one to jump onto a tree and peer into the distance to see the outline of the ice-sculpted Bodhisattva, now one can simply turn their head slightly to see the magnificent ice crystal statue.

but...

Mitsuri frowned slightly, bit her lower lip lightly, and a hint of worry appeared in her eyes.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the ice sculpture of a bodhisattva that was gradually approaching the residential area and would inevitably arrive before her, before she slowly lowered her head and stared at the Nichirin Blade she was tightly gripping in her hand.

She only realized later that her Nichirin Blade was specially made.

While other Nichirin Blade could be used temporarily, they certainly wouldn't be as convenient as a custom-made flexible sword, and would significantly impact combat effectiveness.

I don't know...

Can I hold out until reinforcements arrive?

Mitsuri took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and, gazing at the village that was already visible ahead, quickened her pace once more.

Inside the village.

After receiving the task assignment from Yamamoto Sato quickly found the remaining team members in the village and discussed the evacuation of the villagers together.

It was called a discussion, but in reality, it mainly revolved around planning the allocation of tasks among several people.

The arrangements clearly define who will start calling out to the villagers from which area, approximately how many households need to be notified, and then lead them to a safe location for refuge; who will be responsible for another area, and so on.

They dared not let everyone evacuate in the same direction, because if they did, and the ghosts rushed over, wouldn't they all be wiped out?

However, despite prior planning, the subsequent evacuation efforts did not proceed smoothly.

The villagers' reactions were varied: some didn't believe it, some were hesitant, some were sleeping... all sorts of questions arose!

If it weren't for the increasingly loud rumbling sounds getting closer to the village, the evacuation might not have even started yet!

Life in the Swordsmith Village is just too comfortable!

The fact that the country had never been invaded in a thousand years made it hard for people who knew about the existence of ghosts to believe that history had been broken today.

For these reasons, the evacuation of villagers has only just begun.

However, even after the evacuation began, it did not go very smoothly.

There were no drills these days; this was the first time they had ever experienced a village being invaded by ghosts.

All I knew was to run, and then run for my family; that was all I knew.

At this moment, Sato stood on the rooftop, looking down at the crowd below, which was becoming increasingly panicked by the 'boom', and shouted:

"Don't push, everyone!"

"Run separately! Run separately!"

"For those with elderly people or children, please help carry them or assist them!"

"Hey! Okamoto, don't just think of yourself when there's no kid around! Didn't you see the child? Hurry up and pick him up and run!"