Chapter 201: Sorry, Shinobu-chan
Under the moonlight, the battle beside the mountain path showed no sign of letting up.
’Insect Breathing: Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!’
Six flashes bloomed in unison. Neurotoxins, coagulants, myotoxins, corrosives, mixed compounds, and the initial wisteria pierced Douma’s body from six different directions.
The demon staggered.
Purple lines surfaced simultaneously on his face, neck, and arms, but he didn’t fall. He spread his fan and a gust of icy air forced Shinobu to fall back.
"Six kinds at once this time~" Douma regarded his blackened palms without losing his smile.
The pigmentation dissipated at a staggering speed: three seconds, two, maybe one.
"Impressive... But your poison is about to become useless against me."
Kanao burst in from the right flank. The pink glow cut straight at his neck.
’Flower Breathing: Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!’
In a single breath she unleashed five consecutive slashes on the same spot.
Douma didn’t take them; he tilted aside and clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, blocked each slash with his fan.
"Your sword is too slow...," he murmured.
One swipe of the fan unleashed a column of ice that struck Kanao full-on, sending her flying and disarming her in the process.
Shinobu panted with difficulty.
In less than three minutes she’d switched toxins six times, combining them, but the effect was minimal.
The demon’s body generated antibodies almost instantly. It wasn’t a lack of potency in the poison, but a ridiculously superior regeneration.
Worse still was his Blood Demon Art. The invisible ice crystals mixed into the air with every gust, eroding their lungs.
Knowing his ability from the reports wasn’t enough to neutralize it: as humans, they needed to breathe, and every inhalation became torture.
"Kanao, are you okay?!"
"I’m fine, sensei!"
Watching them struggle for a little air, Douma laughed softly.
"Looks like you’re just about at your limit. Though it’s only natural—my Blood Demon Art must be the biggest headache for those who depend on breathing..."
He scratched his head. "Tsk, even though I cut the amount of ice crystals down as much as I could, you’ve already hit your limit anyway...? How boring, young ladies~"
Ignoring Douma’s sense of dissatisfaction, Shinobu tried to force the ice out of her lungs, but the crystals had already embedded themselves in the alveoli like needles.
In this state, they couldn’t even think of fighting; staying one more minute meant lung collapse and certain death.
Douma savored their agony.
He didn’t seize the advantage to chase them down.
He simply stood there smiling, like a cat watching a mouse trapped in its claws.
Shinobu inhaled one last time, barely containing the stabbing pain in her lungs, and tightened her grip on her katana.
"Kanao!"
"P-Present!" Kanao’s answer came from the other side, hoarse and broken.
Though she was acting as support, her condition wasn’t much better after facing the frozen environment head-on.
Even so, she recovered her katana and rose to her feet firmly.
Faced with such a situation, Shinobu could only give one order.
"Run!"
"S-Sensei?!"
"Go to Yoshiwara! Find Marcus—he won’t dare chase you all the way there!"
But Kanao didn’t yield a single millimeter. "No!"
"That’s an order!"
"I won’t obey it." Kanao crossed her blade in front of her chest. "You taught me that you never abandon your comrades."
"I also taught you to obey!"
"And Marcus-kun taught me to follow what my heart dictates!" Kanao looked at her with absolute stubbornness. "I’ll never leave you alone!"
"..."
Shinobu opened her mouth, but found no words to counter her.
"What a beautiful relationship~!"
Douma was genuinely entertained.
"But I can’t let you escape, or Muzan-sama is going to get very angry. He specifically asked me to bring you back alive."
Swish! Swish!
Spreading both fans, Douma leapt into the air, striking a theatrical pose, like a ballet dancer.
"Time to finish this."
’Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!’
Countless petals of ice, sharp as razors and laced with poison, sprang from his fans, covering the sky to engulf them both.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Back to back, Shinobu and Kanao swung their katanas desperately to repel the deadly rain.
The pulverized crystals formed a fine mist of bluish glow beneath the moon; beautiful and dreamlike, but lethal.
It not only kept them from breathing, but also blotted out their vision. Meanwhile, Douma descended in absolute silence.
One of his fans slid between the two, going for the back of Shinobu’s neck.
Both of them detected it, but the lack of oxygen and the accumulated exhaustion had slowed their reflexes.
With no time to turn her head, Shinobu sensed the frigid air behind her ear and tried to dodge.
At that distance and speed, it was impossible.
Helplessness overtook her completely.
’I’m sorry... sister. I think I’m going to fail you...’
Thud!
Accompanied by a heavy blow, Shinobu dropped to her knees and immediately brought her hand to the back of her neck.
...She felt no pain.
Turning around, she saw a hand suspended in the air, halting the fan cold.
Douma tilted his head, thrown off. "A... hand?"
And before he could process it, the floating limb vanished. In its place emerged a colossal demonic claw, with thick fingers and sharp nails, followed by a sinister silhouette that surged out of nowhere.
"Sorry, Shinobu-chan, I’m still not used to the demonization and it took me a little while."
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