Shinobu rushed forward.
Insect Breathing, Dance of the Bee Sting — True Flutter.
Her body vanished in a blur. In a single instant, she closed the distance, her speed reaching a level that distorted the air itself. Using the momentum of her dash, she reinforced a single thrust and drove her blade straight toward Doma's eyes.
Doma lifted his hand a bit too late.
"Oh," he said pleasantly, almost impressed. "That was a nice stab. I couldn't stop it with my hand."
In the next instant, he countered.
Blood Demon Art — Frozen Lotus.
Doma swung both fans horizontally. The motion released a forward slash that erupted into razor-sharp ice shards, blooming with several ice lotuses as freezing mist scattered violently through the area. The temperature plummeted in an instant.
Shinobu leapt back.
The frost brushed past her, close enough to numb her skin. She barely managed to escape the freezing air as she landed lightly at a distance.
"Hmmm," Doma hummed, smiling. "You really are fast, huh? But it's just too bad."
He raised a finger slightly, as if giving advice.
"It's the neck you've got to go for. The neck."
Shinobu said nothing.
And the stab to Doma's eyes healed instantly. And there is no visible poison reaction appeared either.
Normally, her poisons would have shown signs by now. But with Akira's help, the poisons she was using this time produced no visible reaction at all, and more importantly, they were not lethal on contact.
And Shinobu didn't say a word about poison.
Because Akira had told her.
"Please don't say anything about poisoning to your enemy. Upper Moons can decompose it. Let them stay blind for a while, until it takes full effect."
And not just that.
Since Rengoku didn't die, and with Akira's arrival changing everything, Shinobu had not poisoned her own body like in the original story. Her entire strategy for this battle had changed.
Right now, she had only one goal.
Inject him with as many poisons as possible.
Buy time for the others to arrive.
And unlike before.
She still had one more card to play.
Shinobu inhaled deeply.
Her lungs burned as she steadied herself, and the Demon Slayer Mark bloomed across her face, taking the shape of a delicate butterfly. Its presence sent a sharp surge through her body.
Yes, she might not be the strongest among the Hashira.
But with Akira's medicine and the effects of the induction oven, she had managed to awaken it.
Her breathing stabilized.
Her movements sharpened.
And then, she attacked again.
Insect Breathing, Dance of the Dragonfly— Compound Eye Hexagon.
She surged forward, unleashing six rapid, precise thrusts in succession, aimed at his neck, heart, torso, and multiple vital points. Each strike carried a dose of poison, designed to stack and compound.
She was faster than before, fast enough to evade Doma's counterattacks.
Doma turned toward her, eyes widening slightly in recognition.
"Huh," he said lightly. "You're the poison girl from Rui's mountain, right?"
He smiled, clearly amused.
"You're fast. Probably the fastest Hashira I've ever met."
Then his smile widened.
"But you won't kill me. And your poisons have no effect on me."
This time, the poison did show a visible reaction, only for it to be neutralized almost immediately.
But that was the bait.
While the weaker poison was being processed and destroyed, the real one remained completely silent, buried deep within him.
Undetected.
Untouched.
And because of that.
Doma still stood there, calm and confident, completely unaware that something far more dangerous had already begun working inside him.
Shinobu thought calmly.
"So, Akira was right. Demons really do have a way to share information."
Before she could act on that realization, Doma spoke lightly.
"Blood Demon Art—Cold White Princesses."
At his command, two female humanoid upper bodies formed at the ends of blooming ice lotuses. Their faces were serene, almost beautiful, until they opened their mouths.
A violent blast of icy air erupted forward.
The wind was so cold it instantly froze the surrounding wooden bridges and water, ice spreading outward in jagged patterns.
Shinobu leapt backward at once.
She barely avoided the brunt of the attack, but even as she retreated, she realized something immediately.
"It's broad… and the range is long."
There was no safe angle.
The wide-area attack surged toward her again.
And then.
A black figure crashed down between her and the freezing gale.
Six swords flashed at once.
With a single sweeping motion, the figure cut through the ice, shattering the frozen air and lotuses alike as if they were glass.
The attack was completely destroyed.
Yes, it was Yoriichi Type Null Unit: Alpha.
It had finally arrived.
Doma's eyes widened in recognition.
"Oh," he said cheerfully. "It's the thing that defeated Gyokko."
Before the moment could settle, more presences burst onto the battlefield.
Lightning cracked.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form—Thunderclap and Flash!"
Blades howled.
"Beast Breathing, Second Fang—Slice!"
Petals danced through the air.
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form—Crimson Hanagoromo!"
Zenitsu.
Inosuke.
Kanao.
All three arrived at once, their breathing techniques unleashed at full force.
They had reached this place faster than expected, thanks to the Type Null units clearing their path, and because Kaigaku had never turned into a demon, Zenitsu was here as well.
Doma looked around at the gathering fighters, his smile widening with genuine delight.
"Ahhh," he said happily. "How exciting."
Dōma laughed lightly, his voice echoing through the frozen corridor.
"So many guests all at once."
He lifted both fans.
"Blood Demon Art—Barren Hanging Garden."
In an instant, eight to ten successive fan slashes erupted outward. Each swing generated expanding waves of razor-sharp ice shards, layering over one another like overlapping petals. The storm of frozen blades formed a defensive garden, completely shielding Dōma while simultaneously forcing everyone back.
Before anyone could recover, he spoke again, almost playfully.
"Blood Demon Art—Lotus Vines."
Several ice lotuses bloomed across the ground, and from them stretched long frost vines, snaking outward with terrifying speed. They extended Dōma's reach, lashing toward everyone at once, attempting to bind and capture them.
The group scattered immediately, retreating to avoid being caught.
Dōma didn't stop.
"Blood Demon Art—Scattering Lotuses."
He swung both fans in a wide arc.
A blizzard of long-range, razor-sharp ice shards, shaped like lotus petals, filled the air, slicing toward them from every direction.
Before the attack could reach them.
Alpha moved.
The Type Null unit rotated two of its arms at high speed, like a mechanical General Grievous, its six blades forming a spinning shield. Ice petals shattered on contact, exploding harmlessly into frost around them.
Inosuke snarled in frustration.
"I CAN'T GET CLOSE LIKE THIS!"
Zenitsu, still awake, eyes sharp, expression serious, gritted his teeth.
"…There's no opening."
Kanao turned quickly.
"Shinobu-sama, what should we do?"
Shinobu's eyes stayed locked on Dōma.
"He has a wide range," she said calmly. "And don't breathe in that ice mist either. It's dangerous."
Kanao blinked.
"Is breathing it bad?"
"Yes," Shinobu replied at once. She could already feel it, the cold biting at her lungs. "Avoid it."
She paused, thinking.
"…If only there was someone who didn't need to breathe, we could…"
All eyes turned at once.
To Alpha.
Yeah.
Robots don't breathe.
Shinobu nodded sharply.
"Alright. Alpha should push him."
She raised her sword.
"Everyone else, back it up."
Alpha gave a short mechanical nod and charged straight at Dōma.
Dōma's ice attacks weren't enough to freeze the solar reactors inside Alpha.
Even as shards of frost shattered against its body, Alpha pushed forward relentlessly, and the others followed in its wake, pressing the attack.
Dōma smiled.
"Oh? Since there are so many of you," he said lightly, "I guess I'll need some help."
He spread his fans.
"Blood Demon Art—Crystalline Divine Child."
Six small ice dolls, each shaped like Dōma himself, materialized around him. Their expressions mirrored his, gentle, cheerful, and utterly unsettling.
Inosuke scoffed.
"Oh, these are just puny…"
Before he could finish.
All six dolls moved at once.
"Blood Demon Art—Scattering Lotuses."
The Dōma dolls swung their fans simultaneously, unleashing a blizzard of long-ranged, razor-sharp ice shards, lotus-petal-shaped blades flooding the corridor. The overwhelming storm forced everyone back, scattering their formation.
Dōma glanced over his shoulder, tone casual.
"Then I'll leave them to you. I need to get somewhere."
A telepathic message from Muzan had reached him.
He had been summoned.
Inosuke screamed after him.
"WAIT! DON'T GO!"
But it was useless.
Everyone was pinned down, kept busy by the relentless assault of the ice dolls.
Dōma waved lightly.
"Then later."
He turned to leave.
But before he could take another step.
Alpha leapt at him.
Ignoring the damage being dealt by the ice dolls entirely, the black metal body surged forward, blades raised, closing the distance in an instant.
Dōma turned.
"Sigh… I guess I'll have to break you first."
He raised his fan, preparing to strike.
But the instant his eyes met the red, glowing gaze of the rushing Alpha, something went wrong.
He froze.
His body refused to move.
No pain. No warning. Just an unknown sensation, a feeling he had never experienced before, locking him in place. His mind screamed at his limbs to move, but they wouldn't respond.
Alpha closed the distance.
Steel flashed.
The slash came down.
At the very last second, Dōma managed to raise his hand to block it.
Even so, the impact launched him backward, chunks of his body sheared away, pieces scattering across the frozen corridor.
Everyone stared in shock.
Even Dōma himself. "Wha… what happened?Why didn't I move?"
For the first time, confusion crept into his expression.
Across the battlefield, Shinobu smiled.
Her poison had finally begun to take effect.
Alpha didn't stop.
It surged forward again, relentless, forcing Dōma to stumble backward as the pressure mounted. Each step felt heavier than the last, his movements sluggish, delayed.
Just as Alpha raised its blades again, ready to finish the next strike.
Dōma reacted on instinct.
"Blood Demon Art—Barren Hanging Garden!"
He unleashed a defensive barrage, eight to ten successive fan attacks erupting outward, expanding ice shards, tearing through the space between them to halt Alpha's advance.
At the same time, one of the ice dolls caught up, slipping into position and blocking Alpha's path, forcing the clash to a sudden standstill.
Dōma was panicking as his thoughts spiralled. "What is this thing?Why is it so strong?I have to do something. I have to do something.I need to get away."
His thoughts spiraled, overlapping, refusing to settle.
The black metal monster standing before him, no, advancing toward him, felt more terrifying than anything he had ever faced. Stronger than Hashira. Stranger than any Blood Demon Art. It didn't hesitate. It didn't slow. It simply kept coming.
For the first time, Dōma felt it.
An emotion he was never meant to have.
An emotion that should not exist within him.
Fear.