"Now! Tomioka!"
Strike while the enemy is down. Asuka had no intention of kindly waiting for Doma to figure out what had just happened.
"Storm Breathing, First Form: Rending Sky!"
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
The two burst forward at once. Their Nichirin Blades descended with the sound of tearing air, fierce gale-force winds entwining with surging torrents as they launched a lethal strike at the kneeling Doma.
"Puah... how amazing... the poison is even stronger than the one you used on Rui's family..."
Doma coughed up mouthfuls of blood, yet he still turned those bloodshot eyes filled with bulging veins toward Shinobu Kocho.
"But I'm sorry... it seems I've already decomposed the poison."
Just before the blades could touch his skin, Doma's body slid backward. He avoided the attack while violently snapping open the golden folding fans in his hands.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Cloud!"
Whoosh!
A thick mist of icy fog burst forth instantly, completely engulfing the attack paths of Asuka and Tomioka Giyu.
This mist contained Doma's blood. Every tiny ice crystal was saturated with powerful demonic energy.
If the two of them did not retreat, the ice mist would be inhaled through their breathing techniques and enter their lungs. Even if it did not kill them immediately, it would place enormous strain on their bodies and rob them of all combat ability.
Facing the ghostly mist that twisted like a living creature, Asuka dared not take the risk. He and Tomioka Giyu both retreated at the same time, swinging their blades to disperse the fog.
"What a troublesome enemy," Asuka thought sincerely.
If the opponent were someone like Akaza who fought in straightforward life-and-death combat, he would not feel nearly as frustrated. But this one kept using wide-area demonic techniques that restricted every movement.
Should I try taking one deep breath and kill him as fast as possible without breathing?
No. If it fails, the moment I need to change moves, I'll fall right into his trap.
He ran a hand along the blade of Nugata and asked silently in his heart.
'Can you hold on for me? It doesn't matter if it hurts. As long as you can repair faster than I collapse.'
Nugata gave no response. He could only continue searching for an opening.
Having pulled away from Asuka and the others, Doma slowly stood up. The dark purple poison marks on his face were fading at a visible speed.
His rainbow-colored eyes swept across the two frustrated fighters before settling on the woman with the butterfly hair ornament.
"Eating poison is actually quite interesting. I'm almost getting addicted to it. Why don't you try a different poison? Maybe that one will work."
Shinobu Kocho sheathed her Nichirin Blade, subtly twisting it to refill the poison in the injector at the tip.
"Is that so? I'll satisfy you. After all, I expected that an Upper Rank wouldn't die so easily from poison."
"Shinobu, don't fall for his provocation."
Seeing Shinobu's anger rising again, Asuka stepped in front of her.
"Oh? So you saw through it?"
Doma closed his golden fans and lightly tapped them against his palm.
He looked at Asuka shielding Shinobu and smiled even brighter.
"You must be the strange one that Lord Muzan has been paying attention to. I heard your sword can eat demons. How terrifying. I definitely don't want to be eaten by you."
With a gentle flick of his fan handle, two crystal-clear sculptures appeared before him. They were beautiful women entirely formed from pure ice.
"Blood Demon Art: Frigid White Princesses... or if you prefer, you can call them Snow Women. That's what the locals call them."
Seeing Doma preparing his next attack, Asuka nodded to Tomioka Giyu beside him and spoke quickly.
"Tomioka and I will attack head-on. Shinobu, support when you find an opportunity. Remember, do not clash with him directly."
"Even though he looks like he's about to die, he's still Upper Rank. His strength won't be weak, and your blade won't be able to withstand it."
"Oh my, could you lower your voice when you're speaking badly about someone?"
Doma laughed as he commanded the ice-made snow women to unleash a fierce storm of frost toward the three of them.
These two ice puppets could continuously produce freezing mist that solidified the lungs, allowing him to deal with the swordsmen far more easily.
"Hold your breath!" Asuka shouted.
The three instantly scattered.
"Haha, that's the spirit. Blood Demon Art: Creeping Lotus!"
Several massive vines formed from razor-sharp ice crystals burst from the open fans in his hands. Each was covered in jagged barbs.
With ice lotuses combined with freezing mist, Doma's assault instantly covered the entire battlefield.
The battle was far more difficult than expected.
Asuka continuously used wide sweeping slashes of Storm Breathing to shatter the ice lotuses threatening his teammates while blowing away the surrounding frost so they could close in on Doma.
"Flowing Dance!"
Tomioka Giyu's Nichirin Blade traced arcs of deep blue ripples, sliding into the openings carved out by Asuka.
His swordsmanship was cold and precise, without a single unnecessary motion. Every strike targeted Doma's vital points.
But the opponent was Upper Rank Two.
Both his reaction speed and the power of his strikes were formidable.
The twin fans danced in Doma's hands like the wind, calmly parrying Tomioka Giyu's slashes while occasionally knocking aside Shinobu Kocho's sudden thrusts.
And whenever Asuka unleashed spiritual-pressure slashes, Doma slipped away like a slippery eel, clearly planning to deal with Asuka last.
After barely more than ten minutes of combat, the temperature in the courtyard had already dropped dozens of degrees.
Frost had formed across the eyebrows of Tomioka Giyu and Shinobu Kocho.
Maintaining Total Concentration Breathing under such restricted conditions pushed their lungs to the absolute limit.
Especially Shinobu Kocho.
Because she had inhaled small fragments of ice at the beginning of the battle, her lungs were already beginning to ache faintly. Every breath she took carried a strong metallic taste of blood.
This can't continue.
Asuka sensed danger.
He could feel that the demon was deliberately using this extreme environment to grind down their life force.
A stalemate like this had no meaning. They would simply be worn down and killed.
"Your alveoli are starting to rot. Breathing like that must be painful, right?"
Doma elegantly waved his golden fan while dodging another thrust from Shinobu Kocho.
"Actually, if you just stop breathing and obediently accept my salvation, you won't suffer anymore."
"Shut up! Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon!"
"Oh my, what passionate eyes. As if you want to devour me, little Hashira."
The slender Nichirin Blade transformed into a storm of afterimages.
Driven by her fury, the wisteria poison coating the blade hissed violently, the speed of her thrusts increasing even further.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of rapid strikes rang out.
Shinobu Kocho's figure turned into a streak of purple light before landing on the other side of the courtyard.
"So fast. Among all the swordsmen I've met, you must be the fastest."
Several bloody wounds blossomed across Doma's body, and the dark purple poison spread across his face once again.
"But unfortunately, that's about it. Your poison is starting to lose its effect."
Pshh!
Blood sprayed across the air, blooming like crimson flowers within the pale courtyard.
At the moment of their clash, the golden folding fan in Doma's hand swept across Shinobu Kocho's torso at a bizarre angle.
Even though she tried to evade at the last moment, Doma still shattered her ribs and left a gruesome frostbitten gash across her shoulder.
Her right shoulder split open, warm blood spraying out as her body staggered and nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Shinobu!"
Seeing her severely injured, Asuka rushed forward to rescue her.
But Doma pressed the attack without mercy, condensing several ice spikes to pierce through Shinobu Kocho's body.
"If you could cut off heads instead of using thrusts, maybe I really wouldn't have reacted in time. What a pity."
Buzz!
An uncontrollable surge of rage rose within Asuka.
His entire body felt like it was burning. Even the subzero temperature could no longer slow him down.
Slash! Clang!
In a flash, he appeared beside Shinobu Kocho, shattering every ice spike in the blink of an eye.
The freezing mist flooded into his lungs.
Jagged ice crystals tore through his airways, producing a heavy, rumbling breath.
On his right cheek, a crimson mark resembling burning flames rapidly spread across his skin, twisting and crawling beneath the flesh.
At the same time, Nugata—once glowing with blue-green arcs of light—began flashing intensely, emitting a scorching hiss as Asuka's aura surged.
"...I was too cautious. From the very beginning, I shouldn't have worried about the burden on my body..."
Asuka raised his head. A line of blood ran from his nose, and half his face was covered with the grotesque mark, making him look almost like a demon.
"Upper Rank... today, you will die."
##Discount##
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