As the dust settled, the faint, firefly-like blue light gradually dimmed before finally vanishing within the Infinity Castle.
Obanai clutched his chest and walked over to Shinichi, his mismatched eyes filled with disbelief.
"Is it over? Just now... it seemed like you didn't use a Breathing Style?"
Shinichi didn't answer immediately.
He looked down at his hands, which had returned to their usual calm.
Only a trace of the Soryu Style's martial intent remained.
That power had never been his; it was merely the human Hakuji repaying his sins through Shinichi's hands.
"It was Akaza's—no, Hakuji's own technique," Shinichi said softly. "I just helped him throw the final punch."
Obanai fell silent for a moment, not saying anything more.
Suddenly, a faint stir in the distance caught his attention.
He whipped his head around, a flicker of concern in his eyes, and quickly rushed toward a large patch of ruins not far away.
Amidst the rubble, Rengoku Kyojuro was struggling to prop up his upper body.
Although the deterioration of Mitsuri's injuries had been halted by Shinichi's life force, the piercing wound on her waist was too severe.
Coupled with the exhaustion from the prolonged battle, she was still in a semi-conscious state.
Her pale cheeks were beaded with fine sweat, and her brows were tightly furrowed, clearly enduring immense pain.
Rengoku Kyojuro was in slightly better condition.
The Flame Hashira's willpower and constitution were astonishingly resilient to begin with.
Furthermore, Shinichi had immediately used his life force to stabilize his shattered sternum and damaged internal organs.
While he couldn't engage in intense combat, he could now sit up against a broken wall, panting to recover his strength.
"Cough, cough... Umu, I've troubled you, Shinichi!" Kyojuro's voice was still loud, just lacking some of its usual force.
A dull ache emanated from his chest with every word.
"That guy... Akaza... is he dead?"
"He's dead." Shinichi crouched down, his palms once again glowing with a faint emerald light as he placed them over Kyojuro's chest and the wound on Mitsuri's waist.
Kyojuro was silent for a second, then nodded heavily.
There was no pity for the enemy in his eyes, only trust in his comrades.
"That's good! What's next? Although Upper Moon Three has been slain, our teammates must be fighting other Upper Moons elsewhere. We... we have to hurry and support them!"
Shinichi didn't reply right away.
He sensed Mitsuri's breathing gradually stabilizing and glanced at Kyojuro's weakness, which even his bravado couldn't conceal.
He quickly made a decision.
"For now, at least, you and Mitsuri are unable to continue fighting." Shinichi withdrew his hands and stood up, his gaze sweeping over Kyojuro, the unconscious Mitsuri, and Obanai, who was in good condition but physically drained.
"You all should stay here for now. Obanai, you should also take this opportunity to rest for a moment."
Obanai's expression stiffened.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on his hilt, his knuckles turning white.
"I don't need to rest!"
"But Kyojuro and Mitsuri need someone to protect them!" Shinichi interrupted, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable firmness.
"You too, Kyojuro. Although the fighting here has temporarily subsided, this Infinity Castle is a labyrinth. There's no guarantee there won't be stray demons or new traps. Obanai, you are their only shield right now. Besides, you have to admit, my Forest Breathing is better suited for support than yours, isn't it?"
Obanai fell silent.
He looked down at Mitsuri's pale, beautiful face and the ghastly wound on her waist, then at Kyojuro, who could barely get up.
The hand gripping his hilt slowly relaxed, then tightened again.
Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.
"...I understand." His voice was low but exceptionally firm. "I'll get them settled as soon as possible, then I'll go support you!"
Shinichi gave a slight nod, offering no further words of instruction.
Having fought side-by-side in the Demon Slayer Corps for so long, trust never required extra words.
"Shinichi!" Kyojuro suddenly spoke, his burning, golden-red eyes fixed on him. "No! I don't need Obanai's protection. Please, just take Mitsuri with you. Support our other teammates and Oyakata-sama in time. Don't waste your energy on a burden like me!"
How could he possibly agree to abandon a teammate?
Shinichi looked into Obanai's eyes and said one last thing.
"I'm leaving them to you."
Obanai didn't reply.
He simply sat down cross-legged beside Kyojuro and Mitsuri, placing his Nichirin Blade across his lap.
As he immediately began regulating his breathing to recover his stamina, Kaburamaru, the snake around his neck, also raised its small head high, its red tongue flicking in and out.
...
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Infinity Castle.
Within a frigid hellscape, the air was filled with countless ice crystals sharp enough to freeze one's lungs.
The ground was covered in a layer of crystalline ice several inches thick, the walls were hung with countless sharp icicles, and the ice pillars descending from the ceiling were like the fangs of a great beast, ready to fall at any moment.
Upper Moon Two, Doma, stood upon a massive ice lotus throne.
His rainbow-colored, glass-like eyes looked down with great interest at the three figures struggling in a bitter fight below.
A pair of golden fans opened and closed elegantly in his hands.
With every flutter, new ice crystals, new cold currents, and new Blood Demon Arts surged forth.
"My, my, what three tenacious people you are," Doma's voice was still gentle, but his tone was grating no matter how one heard it.
"Especially you, the Wind Hashira, right? Your Wind Breathing is truly impressive, blowing away so much of my ice. But you should know..."
Doma waved his fan lightly, and five ice lotus petals streaked through the air in beautiful yet deadly arcs, closing in on Sanemi.
"No matter how strong the wind, it can't blow away the entire winter."
"Cut the crap, you damn pansy!"
Veins bulged on Sanemi's forehead.
His silver hair whipped about in the fierce wind, the markings on his cheek burning hot.
He roared as he swung his blade, and emerald wind blades shredded all five ice lotuses.
Amidst the splashing ice shards, he charged forward like a cannonball!
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale - Sudden Gusts!"
Multiple tornado-like, emerald spiral wind blades howled as they slashed out, tearing the very air and producing sharp shrieks wherever they passed!
However.
Doma raised his golden fan, and a colossal ice Bodhisattva statue materialized with a boom!
Clang!
Ice fragments flew everywhere.
Sanemi's attack was deflected, and he lost his balance, stumbling back more than ten meters.
Immediately after!
"Blood Demon Art: Wintry Icicles."
An ice crystal maiden suddenly rose from the ice surface at Sanemi's feet.
Opening her arms, she spewed a frigid blast of air at him, cold enough to freeze anything!
Sanemi's pupils shrank.
He forcefully twisted his body, the airflow generated by his Wind Breathing spinning wildly around him, blowing away most of the freezing air.
But his left arm was still grazed by the remaining chill.
His skin instantly turned an unnatural bluish-purple, and his movements clearly faltered.
"Sanemi-san!"
Kanae's voice was tinged with alarm.
Enduring the needle-like pain in her lungs, she swung her pink Nichirin Blade with all her might at the ice crystal maiden.
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!"
The flash of her blade was like a shower of falling blossoms, slicing the ice crystal maiden in two at the waist.
However, the shattered ice crystals didn't fall.
Instead, with a casual wave from Doma, they transformed into countless sharp ice needles that shot back toward Kanae!
"Sister!" Shinobu's figure turned into a purple flash of lightning.
Her Nichirin Blade tapped repeatedly in mid-air, shattering most of the ice needles, but several still pierced through her defense, grazing Kanae's arm and cheek.
"Ugh..." Kanae let out a muffled groan and staggered back.
The frigid air quickly invaded her wounds, making her movements even more sluggish.
Ignoring the frostbite on his left arm, Sanemi turned to see Kanae get injured.
A more violent rage instantly ignited in his eyes.
"You bastard!!"
He was about to charge again but was stopped by a low shout from Shinobu.
"Calm down, Sanemi-san! He's deliberately provoking you!"
"What?"
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