Squelch!!!
As the purple claws tore out from Douma's chest, a massive spray of blood mist exploded once more in the freezing air, instantly condensing into fine crimson ice crystals that pattered down like rain.
The hypocritical smile on Douma's face completely froze, his rainbow-colored glass-like eyes revealing genuine shock and confusion for the first time.
He slowly looked down at the figure shrouded in demonic aura, disbelief coloring his voice as he uttered.
"You... how could you...?!"
Shinobu raised her head, her violet eyes now slitted with vertical pupils.
Delicate vertical patterns spread across her forehead and cheeks, but most terrifying of all was the slight upward curve of her lips, revealing two sharp fangs!
"Surprised?" Shinobu's voice had taken on a demonic quality after her transformation, carrying a hint of playful amusement.
"Upper Moon Two, still want to taste my flesh?"
Whoosh!
Douma didn't respond, instead instantly summoning a massive wave of ice crystal blades from behind him.
Shinobu smiled faintly, a flash of purple light passing by as her figure instantly vanished from the spot.
When she reappeared, she had already put over ten meters between herself and Douma.
Gently raising her hand, she looked at Douma's blood staining her fingers, a slight smile appearing on her face.
"Wisteria poison wasn't enough, so perhaps a demon's poison will be effective. Don't you agree, Upper Moon Two?"
"Shinobu!"
It wasn't just Douma who was shocked - Kanae stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that the sister before her was the same person as before.
"How could Shinobu... how could she become a demon again?! Didn't Ms. Tamayo already..."
Sanemi also struggled to climb out from the shattered ice, staring at Shinobu with wide eyes, momentarily speechless.
Douma clutched the slowly healing wound on his chest, his rainbow eyes fixed intently on Shinobu.
"How fascinating. Miss Shinobu, you've actually become a demon. That's wonderful - we can become true friends now."
"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in being friends with someone like you. However, I can send you to hell to find friends there!"
Swish!
The petite figure completely transformed into a stream of purple light as she charged toward Douma.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Infinity Castle.
Shinichi's figure moved swiftly through the complex structure of the Infinity Castle.
The various demons blocking his path could hardly withstand a single strike from his blade - along his path forward, at least a hundred demons had turned to dust.
However, the more areas he traversed, the heavier Shinichi's heart became.
Along the way, he hadn't just seen demons - he had also seen many slain Demon Slayer Corps members.
Demons were feasting on their corpses, and the Nichirin blades in the hands of many fallen comrades showed cracks and chips.
There were simply too many demons!
He had to resolve the source of everything as quickly as possible!
Just as Shinichi was growing anxious, a violent energy fluctuation and familiar Breathing Style aura suddenly erupted from somewhere ahead.
Shinichi paused mid-step, then accelerated forward, arriving at the edge of a relatively open broken platform.
What met his eyes made his pupils contract slightly.
Below on a shattered plaza, four figures were engaged in fierce combat with a short, hunchbacked demonic figure radiating terrifying dark purple lightning.
'Is that Tanjiro?'
And his teammates Zenitsu, Inosuke, and... a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman unfamiliar to Shinichi yet vaguely recognizable.
Their opponent is the former Thunder Pillar—Jigoro Kuwajima who now transformed into a demon!
That short-statured body now unleashed a terrifying power far surpassing his living days.
Dark purple lightning wildly danced along the pitch-black Nichirin Blade in his hand, each swing accompanied by thunderous explosions.
The ground was littered with charred craters and crisscrossing lightning scorch marks, the air thick with the stench of burning and blood.
Half of Tanjiro's face was drenched in blood, the red glow on his Nichirin Blade flickering unsteadily, his breathing ragged.
Yet he stubbornly held the front line, desperately blocking the attacks of the demonized Jigoro with his Hinokami Kagura.
A deep, charred wound marked his left shoulder, clearly struck directly by lightning, but the fire in his eyes never wavered.
"Hinokami Kagura—Dance!!!"
A crimson arc slash clashed once more with the dark purple lightning.
Tanjiro was forced back several steps, gritting his teeth as he struggled to regain his footing.
Inosuke roared and charged wildly from the side, his dual blades swinging furiously.
But the demonized Jigoro merely flicked his wrist, summoning a thick pillar of lightning that sent Inosuke flying into a crumbling wall, followed by a pained groan.
Kaigaku, Zenitsu's senior—cowered at the edge of the battlefield, face pale and trembling.
Though he held his Nichirin Blade, he had barely managed a proper strike.
His terrified gaze darted between the fight and the distant darkness, as if searching for something.
But among them, Zenitsu suffered the most brutal fate.
The usually timid blond boy now fought like a madman, charging repeatedly at the demonized figure, golden lightning crackling wildly around him.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Sixfold!!!"
Six golden lightning strikes erupted simultaneously, roaring toward the short-statured foe.
Yet.
A flicker of complex emotion seemed to pass through the demonized Jigoro's clouded eyes, but he showed no mercy.
The dark purple lightning arcing along his Nichirin Blade surged with even greater ferocity, meeting the golden lightning head-on.
BOOM!!!
The clash of thunder reverberated through the space!
The golden light was instantly swallowed by the dark purple lightning.
"Aaaah!!!"
Zenitsu was sent flying, body charred, blood gushing from his mouth as he crashed heavily to the ground.
Struggling to rise, his golden hair was mostly burned away, his face streaked with blood and tears.
"Mas...ter," he gasped, lifting his head with all his strength, staring at the figure who had once sternly taught him, now a demon.
Tears mingled with blood as they fell. "Why... Why did it come to this, Master... Please wake up!"
The demonized Jigoro's clouded eyes fixed on him, the dark purple lightning in his hand faltering for a brief moment.
Seizing that instant, Kaigaku—who stood not far from Zenitsu—moved.
But he didn't join the fight.
Instead, he turn around and fled madly toward the edge of the battlefield!
"Kaigaku...senpai?" Tanjiro stared in shock. "Where are you going?!"
"Shut up! Of course I'm running for my life!" Kaigaku shouted without looking back, his voice filled with fear and selfishness.
"That monster is the former Thunder Hashira! We're no match for him at all! Staying here means certain death!"
"You!" Tanjiro tried to stop Kaigaku from fleeing, but was forced back by a casual flick of lightning from the demonized Jigoro.
After running a dozen steps, Kaigaku suddenly tripped over something.
Stumbling, he looked back to see Zenitsu using his last bit of strength to grab his ankle.
"Zenitsu! What the hell are you doing!" Kaigaku cried out in shock and anger, kicking wildly to break free.
Zenitsu lifted his head, tears blurring his blood-stained face.
"Don't run, Kaigaku... Let's fight together... That's our master... We can't..."
"Get off me!" Kaigaku viciously kicked Zenitsu in the face, sending him tumbling away.
"Go die by yourself if you want! Don't drag me down with you!"
He struggled to his feet, ready to continue his escape!
Behind him, the demonized Jigoro's clouded eyes locked onto him.
In that gaze, there seemed to flash an indescribable complexity - anger?
Disappointment?
Sorrow?