T/N:
Thank you to Sui for the tip.
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"Now this is quite surprising, miss. You wouldn't happen to be a Hashira, would you?"
Doma said with a look of astonishment.
The Demon Slayer uniform beneath Yuko's cloak naturally led Doma to that assumption.
Of course, it wasn't important—just a way to reinforce the impression.
Once they started fighting, her breathing style would reveal her identity anyway.
No urgency to engage in battle, his body relaxed without the slightest tension…
This demon… is incredibly arrogant.
Like greeting an old acquaintance, Doma said in surprise, "If it weren't for that unpleasant floral scent on you, I wouldn't have noticed your presence at all."
That was only natural. The Transparent World made concealing one's presence a basic skill.
As for the flower scent Doma mentioned, it came from the wisteria sachet tied at her waist.
It was used to mask the aura on her body.
Even if she had never eaten a human, a demon was still a demon—her aura would always differ from that of a human.
But Demon Slayer swordsmen were either killing demons or on their way to kill demons. It was normal for them to carry traces of demonic aura.
Combined with the scent of wisteria, her identity generally couldn't be confirmed.
Yet it was precisely because of that scent that her position had been exposed.
Originally, Yuko had planned to wait until Doma made a move before stepping in—only then could she shatter the girl's suicidal infatuation.
But appearing like this meant the girl hadn't witnessed Doma's true nature. Even if she woke up later, she would only become a brainless fan of his.
It seemed she had created a problem for herself.
Doma leisurely walked to the table and sat cross-legged, pouring a cup of tea and pushing it toward Yuko.
"Would you like some tea, miss?"
Yuko didn't hold back. She walked over, sat down in front of him, and drank the tea in one go.
Doma froze for a moment, blinking in surprise, then broke into a smile.
"So touching! You're the very first demon hunter who's ever accepted my goodwill on her own!"
"Ahhh~~ Miss, please tell me your name."
He swayed left and right as he sat cross-legged, clearly moved.
Yuko finished the tea in one gulp—it was just ordinary tea, most likely changed by the cultists.
For a demon, the taste was definitely nothing special.
She set the cup down and said flatly, "Tell me… are you really that moved?"
Doma stopped swaying, maintaining his smile.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Yuko looked at him calmly. "Your smile… feels a little fake."
When a normal person experienced emotional fluctuations, there would always be subtle changes in the brain. Demons were no exception.
But this one before her had only shown the slightest fluctuation at the instant she sat down and drank the tea.
With the Transparent World, no one could lie to you—unless their mental fortitude was monstrously beyond ordinary comprehension.
Or unless they could even deceive themselves.
Like a madman.
If he said he could fly, his mind wouldn't show the slightest abnormality—he would most likely truly believe he could fly.
"..." Doma's smile turned a little awkward. Looking into Yuko's eyes, he changed the subject.
"Miss, you have such beautiful eyes~"
"Just like mine."
"Maybe we'd actually get along really well~"
As he spoke, he playfully pointed at his own rainbow-colored eyes.
Since he himself also had unusual eyes, he didn't find anything strange about Yuko's.
Yuko said, "If you didn't eat people, maybe that could be true."
Doma looked regretful. "That might be a little difficult."
The regret vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement as he looked at her.
"Speaking of which, miss, you're exactly my favorite type."
"Gentle… strong…"
Yuko tilted her head. "Where did you see that I'm gentle?"
"The demon hunters I've met before—none of them ever spoke to me as calmly as you do."
Still smiling, Doma poured her another cup of tea.
"What should I do~ I'm starting to want to eat you more and more~"
"Hey, hey—let me eat you. That way, you can live forever with me."
Yuko lifted the teacup. "You seem to really enjoy this kind of exaggerated performance."
"Because you can't feel human emotions, right?"
The smile at the corner of Dōma's mouth faded. "I'm a demon. Isn't it normal that I can't feel human emotions?"
"I mean when you were human."
"Being unable to experience such feelings… that must have been very sad, right?"
Clang—
Without warning, a golden iron fan rapidly expanded in Yuko's vision, accompanied by Doma's suddenly icy expression.
But in the next moment, a hint of shock surfaced on that cold face.
At some unknown point, Yuko had already drawn the Nichirin Blade at her waist. The blade, along with the white cloth wrapped around it, pinned the iron fan down against the tea table.
So fast!
This woman… is truly not ordinary.
Doma thought to himself.
Yuko said calmly, "So you can get angry after all."
Doma froze.
Angry?
What had that just been…?
Before he could finish his surprise, the blue Nichirin Blade was already right before his eyes.
Doma swung his fan to block the blade, glanced at the water-blue steel, and said with some regret,
"So it's the Water Hashira. What a pity—I've already lost interest in Water Breathing."
"If you have no other tricks, miss, then I'll just have to eat you."
Yuko narrowed her eyes. So this demon was collecting information on swordsmen too?
"Don't worry. I have no intention of being eaten by you here."
She drew her blade.
"Water Breathing, First Form — Water Surface Slash!"
With her arms crossed, Yuko unleashed a powerful, clean horizontal slash—sharp and decisive.
"Blood Demon Art — Lotus Vines!"
Doma swung his iron fan, and several ice vines wrapped with frozen lotus flowers surged toward Yuko from all directions.
An ice-based Blood Demon Art?
Then she really did have quite a connection with him.
Yuko forcefully cut off her attack, leapt up by stepping on the ice vines, and soared high.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form — Waterfall Basin!"
Like a crashing waterfall, a powerful downward slash slammed toward Doma.
Doma retreated, crossing his arms and swinging both fans. A storm of fine, blade-like ice petals shot outward.
"Blood Demon Art — Scattering Lotus!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form — Striking Tide!"
Dense slashes flew continuously, shattering the ice petals one by one.
Powder-like ice crystals flowed into her lungs with her breathing. Yuko's movements stiffened slightly.
Huh?
Doma said in surprise, "You noticed?"
Such a sharp woman!
Yuko withdrew her blade and retreated, carefully sensing her body.
This cold air…
It's poisonous.
The toxin was damaging her lungs.
Yuko's eyelid twitched. She began to wonder if she was cursed to clash with this type of demon.
She had already suffered a harsh lesson from this kind of technique once before—how could she possibly fall into the same trap again?
Moreover, this toxin had very little effect on her now. Even as her lungs were being damaged, they were rapidly regenerating.
But the current situation was no longer suitable for continuing the fight.
Yuko swept her gaze over the utterly wrecked room.
The commotion…
was a bit too big.
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Currently at chapter 291 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08