Chapter Summaries

Doma spent the evening with Sae, gave her a necklace she had admired, and watched her happily go home. Alone afterward, he questioned her emotions and considered leading her to salvation so she could live forever with him.

• Doma watched a girl walk away, then suggested that he and Sae buy takoyaki.
• Sae and Doma ate takoyaki and walked hand in hand to her home.
• As Sae was about to go inside, Doma gave her the necklace she had chosen earlier that day.
• Sae hugged Doma, let him fasten the necklace, kissed his cheek, and went inside.
• After Sae's door closed, Doma's smile vanished as he wondered why she had been happy and considered making her live forever with him.

Kanae finished a demon-slaying mission in Mine City after dismissing a missing girl’s disappearance as an elopement. She then recognized the girl’s white-haired companion and discovered that he was Doma, Upper Rank Two.

• Kanae read a newspaper notice about Sae Tahara’s disappearance and learned from Mie that Sae’s family had wanted her to marry a politician.
• Kanae recalled seeing Sae with a white-haired man and set aside her suspicion that a demon was involved.
• Later that night, Kanae killed a demon with Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach, and prepared to return to the Wisteria House.
• Kanae spotted Sae’s white-haired companion, chased after him, and asked whether Sae was with him.
• The man put on a hat and revealed the words Upper Rank Two in his rainbow-colored eyes, identifying himself as Doma.

Kanae Kocho confronted Doma, Upper Rank Two, and learned that he had absorbed Sae Tahara. Realizing she could not defeat him, she fled as Doma let her go.

• Kanae's Kasugai Crow recognized Doma as an Upper Rank and flew away to call for reinforcements.
• Kanae challenged Doma and accused him of eating Sae Tahara.
• Doma admitted that he had made Sae part of his body, claiming he had spared her the hardships of life.
• Kanae argued that Sae had the right to choose her own fate, while Doma dismissed life as meaningless.
• Kanae recognized the characters for Upper Rank Two in Doma's eyes and ran from him.

Kanae Kocho tried to escape Doma, Upper Rank Two, but found him waiting at the edge of Mine City. Knowing she could not defeat him, she fought his ice creation to stall for time, and the battle took an unexpected turn.

• Kanae fled through Mine City for about twenty minutes, believing Doma had stopped following her.
• Doma appeared at the end of the road, and Kanae drew her Nichirin Blade and decided to stall him rather than try to escape again.
• Kanae and Doma exchanged names, but Doma attacked when she refused to continue talking.
• Doma used Blood Demon Art-Crystalline Divine Child to create a small ice figure and sent it rushing at Kanae.
• Kanae fought the Divine Child to a stalemate, holding back as she tried to buy time until dawn.
• A sudden change made Kanae's pupils contract as she prepared to swing her blade again.

Kanae fought Doma’s five ice figures while trying to decide whether to attack him or stall for time. After inhaling the cold mist left by his Blood Demon Art, she realized she had fallen into his trap and confronted him about his inability to understand human emotions.

• Doma created five ice figures that attacked Kanae with coordinated strikes and Blood Demon Arts.
• Kanae weighed whether to clear away the ice figures and charge Doma or keep holding out, while fine ice powder spread through the air.
• The icy mist made Kanae cough and weakened her defense, but she used Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum to repel the attackers.
• Kanae recognized that inhaling Doma’s cold mist had damaged her lungs, and Doma told her she had noticed too late.
• Kanae stared at Doma and said he could not understand human emotions.

Kanae fought Doma despite the cold damage to her lungs, but his relentless Blood Demon Arts overwhelmed her. As Doma sent ice spikes to finish her, Kanae resolved to survive and began her Final Form before an unknown voice called out with Wind Breathing.

• Kanae confronted Doma about his lack of human emotion, then attacked after realizing she could no longer stall until dawn.
• Kanae destroyed Doma’s little ice figures with two Flower Breathing forms, but coughed blood as the cold continued to damage her lungs.
• Kanae charged Doma with all her strength, but he blocked her Nichirin Blade with a folding fan and drove her back.
• Doma attacked Kanae with ice petals and lotus crystals, forcing her to fight while inhaling the harmful ice mist.
• As Doma prepared to kill her with ice spikes, Kanae drew resolve from a memory of Shinobu Kocho and began her Final Form.
• An unknown speaker announced, “Wind Breathing,” as Doma’s ice spikes flew toward Kanae.

Teiichi rescued the badly injured Kanae from Doma’s ice attack and insisted on facing Upper Rank Two while she watched from a distance. He left Kanae beside a tree, and she urged him to be careful as he prepared to fight.

• Teiichi used Wind Breathing to shield Kanae from Doma’s icicles and pulled her away from the poisonous freezing mist.
• Kanae warned Teiichi that Doma was too powerful to defeat and urged him to escape while she held the demon off.
• Teiichi refused to abandon Kanae and told her to run, but she insisted they should face death together.
• After Doma interrupted them, Teiichi persuaded Kanae to watch from the sidelines and join only if he was in danger.
• Teiichi settled Kanae beside a tree, and she caught his trouser leg to tell him to be careful.

Teiichi faced Upper Rank Two Doma after refusing his offer to become a demon, then launched a surprise attack that severed Doma’s arm. Doma retreated and Teiichi realized that defeating him would take a much harder fight.

• Teiichi approached Doma while Kanae warned him to be careful, and Doma celebrated the chance to kill two Hashira.
• Doma offered to turn Teiichi and Kanae into demons, but Teiichi refused.
• Doma decided to cripple Teiichi and force demon blood into him, then invited him to strike first.
• Teiichi attacked with Wind Breathing, Seventh Form-Gale, Tengu Wind, and forced Doma to block with his folding fan.
• Teiichi’s blade severed Doma’s arm, but Doma retreated before Teiichi could cut off his head.

Teiichi fought Doma, countering his Blood Demon Arts with Wind Breathing while searching for a way to overcome the demon’s ranged attacks. The chapter ended as Teiichi shattered Doma’s Frozen Lotus, only for hidden ice vines to strike through the falling shards.

• Teiichi kicked his severed arm, carrying Doma’s folding fan, far away and denied Doma the chance to retrieve it.
• Doma attacked with Scattering Lotus Petals, and Teiichi used Wind Breathing, Third Form: Clean Storm Wind Tree to defend himself before dodging the relentless ice barrage.
• Teiichi charged through the petals with Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter, and clashed blades with Doma, who said Teiichi lacked the strength to kill him.
• Doma abandoned their contest of strength and launched Frozen Lotus at Teiichi.
• Teiichi shattered Doma’s ice crystals with Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind, but concealed ice vines shot through the falling shards toward him.

Teiichi fought Doma in a fierce clash of wind and ice, but turned aside to save a nearby civilian when Doma attacked him. Doma used the distraction to retreat several dozen meters, leaving Teiichi facing an even harder battle.

• Teiichi dodged Doma's ice vines and launched a Wind Breathing attack, forcing Doma to meet his Nichirin Blade with his folding fans.
• Teiichi and Doma exchanged rapid blows as wind and ice battered the battlefield, while Doma struggled to create distance from the sword's threat.
• A drunken man emerged from a nearby house and shouted at the fighters, prompting Doma to send an ice spike at him.
• Teiichi destroyed the ice spike with a Wind Blade and shouted for the man to return indoors.
• The frightened man crawled inside and bolted his door, while Doma used the distraction to retreat several dozen meters from Teiichi.

Shinobu Kocho rushed toward Mine City after learning that her older sister had encountered Upper Rank Two. Teiichi and Doma traded ranged attacks until Teiichi realized Doma was using the spreading blue mist to frostbite his lungs, then Teiichi prepared to use Wind Breathing.

• Shinobu Kocho raced toward Mine City, urging herself to reach her sister before it was too late.
• Teiichi reflected that the ordinary person he had saved had disrupted his plan to keep Doma at close range.
• Doma used Winter Icicles and Crystalline Divine Child to keep Teiichi at a distance while Teiichi repeatedly charged and cut through the attacks.
• Doma prolonged the fight and spread deep blue mist across the battlefield, intending to weaken Teiichi with frostbite.
• Teiichi noticed mild frostbite in his lungs, remained unconcerned, and began Wind Breathing.

Teiichi’s Wind Breathing tornado failed to stop Doma’s towering Water Lily Bodhisattva, and Kanae urged him to flee while she held Doma back. Teiichi chose to stay and face Doma, leaving Kanae resting behind him.

• Teiichi unleashed Wind Breathing’s Ninth Form, Idaten Typhoon, and cleared the icy mist from the battlefield.
• Doma summoned a forty-two-meter Water Lily Bodhisattva, which shattered Teiichi’s tornado with a single chop.
• Teiichi tried to carry Kanae away, but she warned him that fleeing would leave nearby ordinary people in danger.
• Remembering the people he had failed to protect, Teiichi decided to stay and fight while Kanae rested.
• Kanae agreed to remain seated, and Teiichi walked toward Doma’s ice bodhisattva.

Teiichi returned to face Doma and fought the demon’s enormous ice Bodhisattva, testing its abilities while dodging its attacks. The Bodhisattva’s crushing hand chop missed Teiichi, and the fight continued.

• Teiichi admitted to Doma that he had tried to flee, but returned because he wanted to make a different choice.
• Doma used the ice Bodhisattva to spread freezing air across the battlefield, but Teiichi countered with a triple cast of Wind Breathing’s Ninth Form, Idaten Typhoon.
• Doma cut through one of Teiichi’s tornadoes with the Bodhisattva’s ice arm and sent the giant statue charging toward him.
• Teiichi circled the Bodhisattva to gauge its strength, drawing it close despite having the speed to escape.
• Doma commanded the Bodhisattva to strike with a massive hand chop, and Teiichi evaded the blow just before it smashed into the ground.

Teiichi severed the ice Bodhisattva’s wrist, but Doma quickly regenerated it and battered the battlefield with the sculpture. Teiichi launched a surprise attack after riding the raised arm, then sensed Doma had lured him into a trap and stopped his strike at the last moment.

• Teiichi used Wind Breathing to cut off the ice sculpture’s wrist, but Doma rebuilt its hand with cold air.
• Doma repeatedly slammed the ice arm into the ground, while Teiichi hid in the dust and rode the rising arm toward him.
• Doma summoned the Cold White Princesses, whose freezing breath wounded Teiichi as he charged through it.
• Teiichi descended toward Doma’s neck, then realized Doma’s lack of defense meant the attack was bait.
• Teiichi interrupted his sword form and shifted his body in midair before his blade reached Doma.

Teiichi continued fighting Doma atop the ice bodhisattva, thwarting his attacks and destroying the ice figures before they could support him. As Doma made the sculpture move, Kanae saw it approach her and fled despite her injuries.

• Doma attacked Teiichi with icicles from the ice bodhisattva, and Teiichi dodged them before countering with Wind Breathing.
• Teiichi destroyed Doma’s three Crystalline Divine Child figures with curved wind blades before they could finish forming.
• Teiichi and Doma resumed their clash atop the ice bodhisattva as Doma sought a way to break their stalemate before dawn.
• Doma made the ice bodhisattva move while Teiichi kept fighting and watched for its attacks.
• Kanae saw the ice bodhisattva turn toward her, then picked up her Nichirin Blade and ran despite coughing blood.

Teiichi fought Doma while trying to keep him from controlling the ice Bodhisattva and attacking Kanae. Doma escaped Teiichi’s strike, and Teiichi abandoned the chance to pursue him so he could avoid the Bodhisattva’s descending arm; as dawn spread, Teiichi was left knowing he had saved Kanae.

• After hearing the ice Bodhisattva’s strike, Teiichi realized Kanae was in danger, then took wounds while dodging Doma’s icicles.
• Teiichi intensified his Wind Breathing and attacked Doma with Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon, forcing Doma to defend himself at close range.
• As Teiichi’s blows grew faster and stronger, Doma decided he needed to escape the close-quarters fight.
• Teiichi severed part of Doma’s head, but Doma sank into the ice Bodhisattva and emerged again as its enormous arm swung down.
• Teiichi jumped from the Bodhisattva’s head to avoid the arm, giving up his chance to kill Doma that day.
• Seeing dawn spread across the horizon, Teiichi concluded that saving Kanae was an acceptable outcome.

Teiichi fought Doma’s ice Bodhisattva to keep it from reaching Kanae as dawn approached. Doma disappeared before sunrise, and the Bodhisattva stopped moving in the morning light.

• Doma made the ice Bodhisattva attack Teiichi, who blocked a sideways strike but was hurled through trees and injured.
• Teiichi recovered, resumed dodging the Bodhisattva’s knife-hands, and stalled it rather than risking a prolonged fight before dawn.
• Teiichi noticed the Bodhisattva’s attacks slowing and suspected Doma had left, but continued to evade its strikes.
• Sunlight spread across the battlefield, and the ice Bodhisattva stopped moving as Teiichi stood panting nearby.

After defeating the demon, Teiichi carried the unconscious Kanae into the sunlight and recovered until Shinobu Kocho arrived to treat them. At Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki waited anxiously for news, and a Kasugai Crow arrived just as Amane Ubuyashiki was about to prepare breakfast.

• After the battle, Kanae collapsed, and Teiichi caught her and confirmed that she was breathing.
• Teiichi carried Kanae to a sunny tree, then used his Breathing Style to ease his own injuries while she rested.
• A Kasugai Crow guided Shinobu Kocho to Teiichi and Kanae, and Shinobu checked Kanae's breathing before treating her.
• After Shinobu treated Kanae, she examined Teiichi, and members of the Kakushi arrived with two Kasugai Crows.
• At Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki agreed to eat breakfast while waiting for news, but a sudden burst of wingbeats interrupted Amane Ubuyashiki.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki learned that Kanae and Teiichi had survived their battle with Upper Rank Two, prompting him to foresee better fortunes for the Demon Slayer Corps and call a Hashira Meeting. The news reached Giyu Tomioka and Tengen Uzui, who prepared to attend the meeting in seven days.

• Kagaya Ubuyashiki heard from the Kasugai Crow that Kanae and Teiichi were injured but alive after Teiichi held off Upper Rank Two until dawn.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki shared the news with Amane and said his premonition showed the Demon Slayer Corps would fare better, possibly defeating the demons in their generation.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki learned that Kanae was unconscious and seriously injured while Teiichi could move, and that Shinobu had arranged their treatment at the Butterfly Mansion.
• Kagaya Ubuyashiki ordered a Hashira Meeting in seven days to share intelligence about the Upper Ranks.
• Kanzaburo interrupted Giyu Tomioka's training to announce the meeting, while a Kasugai Crow informed Tengen Uzui that Kanae and Teiichi had survived an encounter with Upper Rank Two.
• Tengen Uzui reacted excitedly to the battle and regretted that he had not taken part in it.

Kyojuro told Shinjuro about the upcoming Hashira Meeting and the Flower and Wind Hashira surviving an encounter with Upper Rank Two, stirring Shinjuro’s fears that Kyojuro might awaken a Demon Slayer Mark. Kanae woke at the Butterfly Mansion, learned Teiichi was recovering nearby, and began recovering from severe frostbite to her lungs.

• Kyojuro asked Shinjuro to attend the Hashira Meeting, but Shinjuro refused and dismissed the news about the Upper Rank Two encounter.
• After Kyojuro left, Shinjuro privately wondered whether the surviving Hashira had awakened Demon Slayer Marks and whether Kyojuro might awaken one too.
• Gyomei Himejima heard the Kasugai Crow’s report and wept as he thought of Kanae and Teiichi’s ordeal.
• Shinobu Kocho woke when Kanae began coughing and told her they were back at the Butterfly Mansion and Teiichi was resting in another room.
• Kanae learned that Teiichi had no serious injuries and that her lungs had suffered severe frostbite, then heard Shinobu recount his brief version of the battle.