Rumble—!!!
The ground trembled violently as massive layers of ice surged upward like a living creature.
A gigantic seated Bodhisattva statue formed entirely from ice rose from beneath the earth, centered on the figure of the demon. It ascended with a thunderous roar.
The icy Bodhisattva sat in solemn serenity, head slightly bowed, hands pressed together in prayer. From it radiated a chilling aura capable of freezing the soul, along with an overwhelming pressure.
Its enormous form occupied nearly half the mountaintop. The shadow it cast swallowed Asuka, Giyu, and the heavily wounded Shinobu completely.
Seven-colored streams of light flowed across the statue's surface—manifestations of the demon's highly condensed power. Within every strand lay an absolute cold capable of freezing steel solid.
Before such a colossal creation, Asuka and Tomioka Giyu appeared painfully small.
This was the demon's strongest Blood Demon Art. It required tremendous power to perform, and he would never have used it unless cornered.
"Honestly, you're quite impressive, black-haired swordsman."
The demon drifted lightly down onto the Bodhisattva's palm, looking down at everyone from above while the torn wound in his neck slowly regenerated.
"Even though I rarely say things like this... would you consider becoming a demon?"
"...Is that your last words?" Asuka said coldly as he stared at the massive ice Bodhisattva before him.
"How unromantic."
The crystal Bodhisattva slowly raised its enormous palm and brought it down like the collapsing sky.
"Giyu, take Shinobu and go! Now!"
Under the overwhelming pressure, Asuka could only think about surviving first.
An attack of this scale meant that even the aftermath of a single movement would be lethal.
Shinobu's lungs were already severely damaged, and the wounds covering her body were horrifying. Even a single breath of the ultra-cold air radiating from the Bodhisattva could suffocate her instantly.
Giyu gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly. A trace of conflict flashed across his usually cold face.
As the Water Hashira, his duty was to fight demons to the very end.
But when he looked behind him and saw Shinobu's pale face and fading life, he knew Asuka had made the correct decision.
"...Don't you dare die."
Without another word, Giyu vanished in a flash, lifting Shinobu in his arms and racing away through the shattered gate of the shrine.
BOOM—!!
The moment he left, the Bodhisattva's strike descended.
Even before the palm arrived, the pressure alone shattered the frozen ground beneath it into countless cracks as the air compressed to its limit.
In the demon's view, that single strike would be enough to crush Asuka into paste.
"Roar—!!"
With his comrades gone, all restraints vanished. Asuka no longer held back.
The blazing Nichirin blade in his hands began to change.
The patterns along its surface twisted like living creatures, writhing savagely and emitting a terrifying howl that seemed to shake the soul itself.
Under the shadow of the massive palm, the long blade transformed into a crimson streak surging upward against the falling strike. The molten patterns along the blade crashed violently into the descending ice hand.
The slumbering beast had finally smelled blood.
Sizzle—!!!
The Bodhisattva's palm was pierced straight through.
From the demon's shocked perspective, Asuka unleashed a vast storm of black-and-crimson fighting spirit. Every strand resembled a rabid hound come to life, biting viciously into the palm of the ice Bodhisattva.
They had no fixed trajectory.
No unified target.
They simply attacked with pure madness.
But when they converged together, even divine punishment falling from the heavens would be devoured alive.
"...What is this?"
The demon's rainbow-colored eyes narrowed slightly.
Something beyond his understanding had appeared.
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Asuka vanished from where he stood.
Clang! Slash!
Like a phantom, he passed through the hole in the Bodhisattva's palm and appeared directly before the demon.
The demon barely managed to block with his fan on instinct alone, the blade slicing a deep gap through the fan's surface.
"You're really impressive. It feels like I might not be able to handle you alone."
"Come then, my children. Dance with this troublesome guest."
Dodging Asuka's strike, the demon's fan began to glow with the light of a Blood Demon Art.
The freezing air atop the mountain intensified suddenly.
Several highly condensed ice figures erupted from the ground.
Their appearances were identical to the demon himself. Each held a golden fan formed from ice crystals, and each radiated a cold yet powerful demonic aura.
This was his Blood Demon Art—Crystalline Divine Children.
Every one of these ice puppets possessed roughly half the strength of the original.
The moment they formed, five ice puppets attacked simultaneously from different angles.
Their movements were lightning-fast, their coordination flawless.
"Die... die..."
All five spoke at once. Their overlapping voices echoed through the shrine, eerie and hollow.
Massive clouds of frost erupted from all directions, attempting to freeze Asuka in place.
Dense lotus-shaped ice blades spun through the air like rotating saws. Freezing mist obscured vision and choked breath. Thorn-covered ice vines lashed forward like giant serpents. Razor-sharp ice pillars erupted from both ground and sky. Frost slashes crisscrossed into a deadly net.
It was an absolute killing technique.
A prison of ice and death.
Combined with the Bodhisattva above, the demon was confident he could slaughter all nine Hashira at once.
Bang! Bang!
The blazing Nugata pierced straight through one puppet's chest, devouring the core of demonic power within and shattering it instantly.
With a backhand slash, the blade cut another puppet in half and consumed it.
But every time Asuka destroyed one, another immediately condensed in its place. The Crystalline Divine Children attacked without pause.
He had to dodge the Blood Demon Arts and the Bodhisattva's attacks simultaneously while searching for a chance to strike at the edge of death.
Asuka could only stay close to the demon himself, attempting to close the distance and compensate for his disadvantage against such large-scale attacks.
Slash—!!
"You're awfully clingy. Do you want to dance with me?"
The demon's ribs were split open by Asuka's blade, yet the wound showed no sign of healing. His voice carried faint irritation.
According to his calculations, the swordsman should have collapsed long ago.
Why was he still breathing?
What the demon did not know was that the demonic power devoured by Nugata was flowing back through the blade into Asuka, repairing the organs damaged by the freezing mist and sustaining him in battle.
And Asuka sensed something strange.
Deep within his soul, a set of invisible shackles seemed to be breaking apart.
He could not describe the feeling.
But every time he fought on the brink of death, every time he seized new power from his opponent, the sensation of breaking free grew stronger.
And his power grew with it.
When he had once faced a Lower Rank demon, the howling hounds unleashed by Nugata could only scatter shadows and wound the enemy.
But after bloody battles with Akaza and now this demon, the power of Nugata had grown heavier, stronger.
After devouring stronger demon blood, Nugata itself was evolving.
If he were to face that Lower Rank again now, a single strike from one of those spiritual hounds would devour it completely.
"You know what, I'll take back what I said. You definitely shouldn't become a demon."
The demon's expression had finally turned serious.
This time he wasn't joking.
"If you became an Upper Rank and came looking for me in a Blood Battle... I might actually be scared."
"Enough of your lies."
Asuka sliced apart the demon's golden fan, white breath spilling from his mouth with every word.
"You don't have any emotions at all."
"Hm?"
"Your heart is completely hollow. The spiritual pressure of your emotions is like that of a corpse."
Dodging a stabbing ice pillar, Asuka let out a cold laugh.
"You can't feel joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. Yet you clumsily imitate the emotions of others."
"I don't understand who you're pretending for."
"So why do you even exist in this world?"
"..."
The demon's cheek was cut by the wind of Asuka's blade, blood pouring down his face. Yet his expression showed no pain.
He looked at Asuka coldly.
"You really are a mean person. Why would you say something so cruel?"
With that, he discarded the damaged weapon and drew two new golden fans, spreading them open with even greater force.
Was he truly angry?
Perhaps only he knew.
BOOM—!!!
Just as their battle reached its most intense point, both covered in wounds—
A figure burst upward like a violent storm.
With a single kick, he shattered the enormous palm of the Bodhisattva that was about to strike Asuka from behind.
Both fighters turned in surprise.
The newcomer was bare-chested—an odd sight atop the frozen summit of Mount Fujikasane.
A boar's head mask covered his face.
With several punches, he shattered the distant ice puppets launching ranged attacks, his body radiating an extremely terrifying aura.
Inosuke?
Asuka froze for a moment.
But he quickly realized something was wrong.
Why was there such heavy demonic energy coming from his body?