Faced with Doma's astonishment, Shinichi offered no reply.
His figure darted through the shattered ice crystals with blinding speed, closing the distance to Doma in an instant.
"Breath of the Forest, Fifth Form!"
The Nichirin Blade's blade glow transformed into a straight, verdant flash, like a bamboo shoot erupting from the earth, aimed directly at Doma's throat.
The strike was both impossibly swift and razor-sharp.
This attack made the colorful pupil of Doma's remaining eye contract sharply, and his golden fans whirred into motion.
*Crack! Crack!*
Clusters of ice crystals coalesced, instantly forming several miniature ice sculptures resembling Doma, each wielding tiny ice fans.
"Demon Blood Art: Crystalline Divinechild!"
More than a dozen ice crystal Domas swiftly surrounded Shinichi.
One was shattered by his attack, but the remaining figures seized the opportunity to swarm him.
"Lotus Leaf Ice!"
The miniature Domas waved their fans, unleashing lotus-shaped ice crystals in a relentless barrage against Shinichi.
The sheer range and ferocity of the assault forced him to defend.
*Clang!*
Just as Shinichi and Doma were locked in fierce combat, a dull thud echoed from behind Doma.
One of the floating ice crystal Doma clones hovering behind him had been shattered by a single slash!
Before Doma could react, a Nichirin Blade wreathed in azure wind surged violently toward his neck.
*Whoosh! Splatter!*
Doma barely managed to deflect the fatal strike, but at the cost of half his body being cleaved open from neck to left chest.
The massive wound revealed his pulsating internal organs in stark detail.
"Aiya, this is getting a bit tricky now," Doma murmured, covering his remaining eye as he staggered back.
His appearance was now truly gruesome: half his face was mangled, and his chest was torn apart.
Yet even in this state, Doma's expression remained largely unchanged, still wearing that trademark, insincere smile.
This was no act, though he sensed the imminent threat of death, his innate inability to comprehend emotions prevented him from truly understanding fear.
Shinichi and Sanemi, flanking Doma from the front and rear, exchanged a silent nod.
No words were needed.
Shinichi's gaze seemed to ask Sanemi, "Can you hold out?"
Sanemi responded with a slightly ferocious grin, "Of course! No problem!"
Almost simultaneously, Shinichi and Sanemi surged forward, giving Doma no chance to breathe. Their figures vanished, reappearing instantly at Doma's sides.
"Breath of the Forest, First Form: Iron Birch Slash!"
"Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash!"
*Bang!*
Though incapable of feeling fear, Doma mustered his remaining strength to retaliate with full force, unleashing several powerful ice-based Demon Blood Arts in rapid succession.
"Demon Blood Art: Scattered Lotus Blossoms!"
"Demon Blood Art: Midwinter Ice Pillars!"
"Demon Blood Art: Lotus Leaf Ice!"
In an instant, a storm of lotus-shaped ice crystals, petal-like ice shards, and razor-sharp ice pillars erupted wildly.
Shinichi and Sanemi's figures flickered through the onslaught, their green life force and azure wind waves shattering Doma's every attack.
Gradually, blades of light pierced through countless ice crystals, leaving Doma's body riddled with wounds.
Though shallow, each cut carried Shinichi and Sanemi's burning rage and battle spirit, slowly grinding away at Doma's demonic form.
As his body crumbled bit by bit, Doma felt a rare emotion stir within him.
Was it fear? Probably not.
Confusion and panic replaced his usual smile.
Was he truly going to die? The countless humans and Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen he had slaughtered had all cursed him to hell before their deaths.
Did that mean death led to hell?
'What would hell be like? How intriguing...'
One had to admire Doma's imagination, but fantasies aside, Shinichi and Sanemi's attacks grew increasingly relentless.
The Wind Breathing and Breath of the Forest techniques continued to strike Doma's body relentlessly, his blood quickly staining the vast expanse of frozen ground beneath him.
Trembling, Doma seized a brief opening after parrying Shinichi and Sanemi's attacks.
He lowered his head to examine his riddled body, the deep, gaping wounds now showing signs of failing to heal.
Was his regenerative ability as an Upper-Rank Demon finally reaching its limit?
"This... how is this possible?" Doma murmured, his expression finally dissolving into utter bewilderment.
"I'm Upper Rank Two. How could I possibly lose? This shouldn't be happening."
"It doesn't matter what rank you are! Today is your end!"
"Go to hell and repent!"
Shinichi and Sanemi roared in unison, launching simultaneous attacks.
A massive, emerald-green dragon phantom and a raging tornado converged from left and right, closing in to crush Doma.
"Subarashii! What a magnificent assault! I don't think I can dodge this. In that case..." Doma tilted his head back, gazing at Shinichi and Sanemi with a hint of admiration.
His nearly shattered body showed no sign of evasion.
*Buzz!*
*Boom!*
Doma tossed aside his golden fans, abandoning all concern for his ravaged body.
He recklessly burned his Demonic Power, channeling every ounce of his strength into his hands.
The surrounding space began to tremble violently as countless ice crystals peeled away from the floor, walls, and ceiling, converging behind him to form an enormous, colossal ice mass.
"Demon Blood Art: Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva!"
The ice coalesced into a solid form. Doma was using his last reserves of strength to unleash his most powerful Demon Blood Art once more!
As the colossal ice crystal Bodhisattva materialized, a bone-chilling wave of cold swept forth, and the Bodhisattva's mouth spewed countless razor-sharp ice crystals that sent shivers down anyone who dared to glance at them.
This was Doma's final act—a desperate, all-out assault!
Nearby, Shinobu and her sister Kanae, temporarily incapacitated, watched in stunned disbelief.
They never imagined Doma could muster such an attack in his weakened state.
Could Shinichi and Sanemi possibly withstand it?
However, the sisters' worries proved unfounded.
Shinichi and Sanemi stood firm, unfazed by the approaching blizzard of ice crystals and the towering ice crystal Bodhisattva.
Both sensed the hollowness beneath the Bodhisattva's massive, fragile shell.
*Buzz!*
The collision flashed blindingly.
When the light faded, Shinichi and Sanemi stood unwavering, blades steady in hand.
Before them, the colossal ice crystal Bodhisattva was riddled with cracks.
*Crack! Crack!*
With a final shattering sound, the entire ice crystal Bodhisattva crumbled like a house of cards, collapsing into a heap of icy fragments.
Doma's shattered body knelt beneath the crystalline Bodhisattva.
Not a single part of his body could move anymore, yet his remaining intact, seven-colored eye gleamed with a bizarre mixture of curiosity and delight.
"What a peculiar sensation... Is this what death feels like? Oh, oh! Could this be fear? I seem to see something very, very dark, and I really don't want to go there. Is this the fear of death?"
Even as his body crumbled into ash, Doma described his final sensations with a strange excitement.
Shinichi, Sanemi, and the Kocho sisters, who had just managed to stand with each other's support, watched as the loathsome yet undeniably powerful Upper Rank Two demon, Doma, disintegrated into ash.