The cold air from the Wintry Icicles of the White Princesses froze everything in its way.
Having already understood the principles of Douma’s Blood Demon Art, Kanae naturally didn’t meet it head-on.
She used agile footwork, quickly leaving the range of the Blood Demon Art like a butterfly.
“Useless, useless!
Blood Demon Art: Winter Icicles!”
As Douma spoke, a large number of sharp icicles appeared above Kanae’s head and then plummeted from mid-air toward her.
However, the current Kanae using Equinox Vermilion Eye was incomparable to her former self.
Facing the icicles falling from the sky, Kanae, who had pushed her reaction speed to the limit, easily found the gaps between them and dodged with her agility.
“Still trying to run?
There’s still half an hour until dawn; no matter how much you stall, it’s useless.
Blood Demon Art: Freezing Clouds!” Douma said with a distorted expression, then used his dual fans to scatter a large amount of ice crystals that looked like mist.
“…”
Kanae did not respond.
At this moment, her lungs had already suffered severe damage, and she could no longer use her Breathing Style.
She could only rely on the super-enhanced dynamic vision from Equinox Vermilion Eye and her own agility to dodge Douma’s Blood Demon Art.
Although her chances of survival were slim, she still wanted to try—try to survive the battle.
She couldn’t imagine what kind of life her younger sister would lead after her death.
Like a dancing butterfly flying through a blizzard, though she was already faltering, she was still striving to live on.
Five minutes later, accompanied by pain from her optic nerves, Kanae’s vision began to blur.
She could no longer perfectly dodge Douma’s attacks; her shoulders, legs, arms, and abdomen were all injured.
But she still didn’t give up; the image of her sister was her greatest motivation to persevere.
At this moment, everything from the past flashed before her eyes: she was born into the Yakushi family and lived a happy life with her parents and sister, but everything changed with the arrival of a demon.
Her parents were killed and left this world.
Just as she and her sister were about to be killed by the demon, Gyomei Himejima arrived just in time to save them.
After that, they joined the Demon Slayer Corps to protect others from experiencing the same tragedy.
Then, one day while passing over a bridge, she saved a young girl, named her Kanao Tsuyuri, and took her in as her Tsuguko.
Warm scenes flashed before her eyes, but it seemed she might never see them again…
“Stop your futile resistance.
Wouldn’t it be better to obediently merge with me and head toward the path of eternal life?” Seeing the heavily injured Kanae before him, Douma couldn’t understand.
In his view, wouldn’t it be better to just die when facing such immense suffering?
You wouldn’t have to feel your own pain—how wonderful!
Red tears of blood flowed from Kanae’s eyes.
Her increasingly blurred vision caused her to stumble and fall to the ground.
Though she desperately wanted to stand up, her severe injuries no longer allowed it.
“Am I going to die?”
Watching Douma walk toward her step by step, such a thought arose in Kanae’s heart.
But facing her imminent death, she felt no regret, only worry about whether her sister would try to avenge her later.
“Whatever you do, don’t come for revenge, Shinobu.
This demon’s strength is not something you or I can handle.”
Just then, a voice came from behind Douma.
“Bakudo 61: Six Rods Light Prison.”
“Nani?
What is this?” Douma shouted.
When Rukia arrived in this world, she saw a man and a woman fighting, and the young girl was already bleeding from her eyes, collapsed on the ground and unable to get up.
The man was still shouting things like ‘let me eat you’ and ‘merge with me on the path to eternal life.’ One listen to his words and she knew he was a pervert.
How could Rukia allow a pervert to murder a young girl?
She immediately discarded the incantation and used Six Rods Light Prison to pin him in place.
Six beams of yellow light slammed horizontally into Douma’s waist, pinning him where he stood.
Immediately, a black figure appeared between Douma and Kanae.
A swift quick-draw strike was executed.
A snow-white blade light flashed across Douma’s neck.
Douma’s eyes widened, and with an expression of disbelief, his head separated from his body and fell to the ground.
Rukia ignored the decapitated Douma and gently picked up the heavily injured and unconscious Kanae, quickly leaving the battlefield.
“Tsk, these injuries are really severe.
I can only use Kaido to briefly stop the bleeding for now.” After a quick check of Kanae’s injuries, she found that aside from some basic blood-stanching work, she was powerless.
As she spoke, a green light glowed from Rukia’s hands and covered Kanae’s body.
Some of the minor wounds on her body slowly healed, and the severe ones stopped bleeding, but there was nothing she could do about the internal injuries.
Meanwhile, Douma, whose head had been cut off, did not die.
He grabbed the light shards at his waist with his hands and then, with a “crack,” actually snapped them.
Controlling his body, he picked up his head and reattached it.
“Demon Slayer, based on your Breathing Style, you must be the Flower Hashira.
Come out now.
You can’t run far.
And that unknown person, don’t let me see you again, or I’ll make you suffer.”
Douma believed that if he hadn’t been pinned by that unknown thing and unable to move just now, how could he possibly have had his neck cut by a human who wasn’t even from the Demon Slayer Corps?
He followed the scent of blood all the way toward Rukia’s direction.
Sure enough, after a short while, he saw Rukia treating Kanae’s wounds.
“Why are you Demon Slayers all so stubborn?
Wouldn’t it be better to merge with me and head toward the path of eternal life?” Douma looked at Rukia in her black shihakusho and asked, “And who are you?”
He didn’t die even after being decapitated?
Rukia turned her head to look after hearing the voice, and then it dawned on her after hearing his question.
So it’s a demon; no wonder he didn’t die from decapitation.
Seeing that Kanae’s wounds had been mostly treated, Rukia stopped her Kaido and stood up, saying:
“It’s not important who I am.
What’s important is that this isn’t eternal life.
You’re just lusting after her body—you’re despicable!”
“What did you say?
None of you are escaping today.
Although it’s almost dawn, this time is enough for me to deal with you.
Carrying a burden like her, what do you have to fight me with!” For the first time in hundreds of years, Douma, who had lacked human emotions since childhood, finally experienced what anger felt like.
“Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Divine Child!”
The enraged Douma no longer held back his strength, directly creating five small ice dolls.
Four of them rushed toward Rukia, while the last one charged toward Kanae.
“Too naive.
Did you think I’d let you have your way?
Bakudo 73: Tozanshō.” A large number of ropes made of reishi extended from the nearby trees, weaving together to form an inverted triangular pyramid defense array that protected Kanae, then rose into the air.
The Ciweimao website was under maintenance this morning, and I couldn’t log into the author platform, so I could only post this after getting home tonight.
I don’t know why ‘killed by a demon’ is a sensitive word; I’ve been editing it for ages.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”