As Kanae exhaled, a faint mist escaped from her nose due to the cold air around. Suddenly, her figure vanished in a flash of lightning-fast movement, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared before Doma, unleashing a precise slash.
It all happened in an instant.
But as her Nichirin sword decapitated Uppermoon Two, Kanae sensed something was wrong. Very Wrong. Her instincts screamed in warning, urging her to leap back.
There was no time to react. Time slowed down in her eyes as she noticed that the form she had slashed was a fake body made of ice. The next moment, Doma's clone turned into an ice shell, shooting out jagged spikes from all directions.
One of the spikes went straight for her heart, but she could do nothing to evade. Though she knows what's happening thanks to the focusing technique, her body couldn't keep up. For a split second, she saw death.
At that moment, Kanae suddenly felt someone grabbing her Haori, and the next moment, a powerful tug yanked her backward. The ice spike missed its target by mere inches.
She escaped unharmed and landed on her feet, sliding slightly on the frost-covered ground. Her heart pounded wildly, escaping death at hair's breadth.
It took her a second to come back to her senses and react. She turned around and saw a young man, roughly her age. Relief swept over her as she confirmed he was human.
But there was no time to chat or inquire. Kanae's eyes returned to the Upper Moon demon. On a nearby rooftop, Doma sat gracefully, fanning himself with an amused smile.
'When did he create a clone? I didn't even notice it.' Kanae thought, tightening her grip on her sword. Only then did she notice her hands were trembling and drenched in sweat.
'This isn't good!' She exhausted her strength and couldn't use her breathing technique because of the biting cold. 'I have to warn him not to breathe the air as it's contaminated with cold.'
At that moment, Doma also switched his attention to Ryou and grinned, "My, my! Another one came! Are you a Demon Slayer too? Tonight just keeps getting better."
After saving Kanae Kocho from a life-threatening injury, Ryou glanced at the sky and calculated the time. The Sun would rise in three to five minutes. 'I can do it!'
Unsheathing the sword 'Ikazuchi' from his back, Ryou stood tall, his eyes sharp, his presence radiating pressure. His instincts were at their peak, ready to be unleashed.
He would not make the mistake of underestimating an Upper Moon demon like Doma. With explosive force, he launched forward, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
"Natural Breathing, Fifth Form: Lightning Storm!" Ryou shouted, his sword cleaving forward like a thunderclap.
Unlike how he played with Kanae, Doma didn't seem to hold back this time. With a swift move, he raised his gold-plated war fan to block the strike. Weapons collided in mid-air, creating sparks of blue arcs!
"Oh my, you've got some strength," Doma remarked playfully. "And that sword, it looks threatening. Where did you buy such a fancy thing?" With a flick, he swung the fan in his other hand.
A fan hurtled toward Ryou, fast and merciless. Knowing he won't be able to evade it, Ryou muttered under his breath, "Tekkai."
The blow struck him square in the chest, sending him flying backward, the way he came from. The strike froze his torso.
Before he could crash into the ground, Kanae caught him, his face landing squarely against her breast. The unexpected softness surprised him. He didn't expect Kanae to be hiding such huge ones behind her loose-fitting uniform.
"Are you okay?" Kanae asked, her voice filled with concern. She'd seen him take a hit that could've easily been fatal.
"No, I am fine. It's completely worth it." Ryou said, rubbing his chest. Cheekily, he leaned into her again, feeling the softness.
'Worth it? What is he talking about?', Kanae blinked in confusion. Then she felt where his head rested.
"You... you Rogue!" she yelled, shoving him aside carelessly, no longer caring about his injury.
"Ahh!" Ryou groaned in pain, hitting the ground while a drop of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Though he activated Tekkai, it had only reduced the strike force by 50 - 60% as it's only at the intermediate level. He was still in pain.
On the other hand, Kanae was fuming. She hadn't expected the young man who saved her to turn out to be such a shameless pervert. 'How can he act like this while fighting Upper Moon Two?!'
Doma narrowed his eyes, watching the play before him. His grin had long disappeared. "You are a gutsy one. Snatching my prey... ruining my snack time!'
In that moment, Ryou and Kanae felt a chill crawl down their spines while a chilly breeze swept through the area, heavy with killing intent.
Then, suddenly, it was gone as if it had never existed. But Ryou knew. He had crossed a line. He had truly angered the Upper Moon demon.
He cursed his perverted mind and lousy mouth. This was the first time he'd ever behaved like this around a girl, and he doesn't know how it happened. What the hell came over me?
Shaking off the distractions, Ryou stood tall again and looked straight at Doma. "Hey Doma, before we fight, let me ask you a question. I know you like devouring girls, but what kind do you really prefer?
I mean young, middle-aged, old, plump, slender, or something along those lines? I'm curious."
Suddenly, Doma's figure vanished and reappeared behind Ryou. One of his fans aimed at his head, ready to blow it.
Though Ryou failed to react to Doma's speed, he instinctively reacted and launched a back kick. 'Swish!' Doma's body took a step back under the impact while his fan missed Ryou's head by a centimeter.
Using the kick as a springboard, Ryou jumped back and kept his distance from the demon. Fighting the Upper Moon Demon at close range with his current strength is nothing but suicidal.
Unfazed by Ryou's blow, Doma rushed at him. With a twirl of his golden war fans, he unleashed a storm of razor-sharp ice shards shaped like lotus petals—'Scattering Lotuses'.
Facing Doma's attack, Ryou's breathing calmed and shifted to its natural state while his hand tightened the grip around the sword hilt.
'Nature Breathing: Second Form, Current of the Ocean.'
Ryou swung his sword in a circular motion. Suddenly, a massive volume of water formed around him before billowing outward in the form of a monstrous wave over ten meters high.
The wave surged forward with ferocious speed, carrying powerful currents. Upon impact, it shredded through the incoming ice petals as though tearing through paper, overwhelming Doma's technique with sheer strength.