Swish!!
The blindingly fast flash of a blade, like the swift tail stinger of a murderous hornet, closed in on Doma's throat in an instant.
"My, my~" A smile appeared on Doma's face.
Crack!
He suddenly clapped his hands together, his golden war fans moving so fast that only a golden afterimage could be seen.
Clang!
The sound of metal on metal rang out as Doma's fans blocked Shinobu's thrust. "You're really fast, but your strength seems a little lacking, little girl."
Shinobu, gripping her hilt with both hands and her body leaning forward, kept her head low, her expression hidden.
"Is that so?" a teasing voice sounded. "Insect Breathing, Scorpion Dance: Inverted Pendulum Sting!"
"Eh? Nani, nani?" Doma froze for a moment.
Krr-krr-krr!
The next second, the purple Nichirin Blade pressing against the golden fans began to spin violently.
As the sound of friction screeched, Shinobu instantly pulled back, but she didn't retreat.
Her small, lithe body bent low, and balancing on her left leg, she used the momentum to swing her right leg high, kicking at Doma's face like a scorpion striking with its tail.
Smack!
Doma's reaction was also extremely fast. He snapped his left golden fan shut and raised it, once again parrying Shinobu's attack.
"You fell for it!"
Swish!
A cold, purple glint flashed past.
Pfft!!
A blade coated in lethal poison, hidden in the heel of her shoe, shot out and plunged directly into Doma's colorful sclera!
At the same time, Kanae's blade arrived!
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
The timing of the sisters' coordination was flawless.
A large spray of blood burst from Doma's chest, and at the same time, the potent wisteria poison began to rapidly spread through his body.
Seizing the opportunity, Shinobu and Kanae flashed forward simultaneously, their two Nichirin Blades slashing ferociously at Doma, but…
BOOM!
A large cluster of ice lotuses bloomed explosively with Doma at the center, then expanded and shattered into countless sharp, fine ice crystals!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Ah~ what cunning little girls, blegh!" Doma, half of his face swollen like a purple eggplant, spat out a large mouthful of blood.
However, although he looked wretched, the damage he had sustained wasn't particularly severe.
The real battle was only just beginning!
...
"Awooo!! Get them!"
"Eat them!"
Throughout the complex and winding streets and houses of the Infinity Castle, twisted and deformed demons were practically everywhere.
They swarmed out from every dark corner like sharks that had smelled blood, madly charging at every Demon Slayer Corps member within the castle.
Tengen Uzui was covered in blood—not his own, but the blood of the dozens, even hundreds, of demons behind him.
Though drenched in gore, he stood like a flamboyant god of war, guarding the front of a building.
His dual Nichirin Blades danced like the wind, kicking up a violent storm that shredded any low-level demon that tried to approach.
Behind Tengen Uzui, more than a dozen Demon Slayers had formed a circle, tightly protecting their young master, Kiriya Ubuyashiki, and his sisters, Kanata and Kuina, in the center.
Tension was written on every one of their faces, but no one cried or panicked.
As time passed, more and more Demon Slayers, protecting the weaker Kakushi and members of the Butterfly Mansion, gradually gathered here.
"Sound Hashira-sama! There's movement on your left!" a Demon Slayer shouted as a reminder after beheading a demon in front of him.
"Dealing with it flamboyantly!" Tengen Uzui didn't even turn his head.
The chained blade flew from his hand, pinning a long-tongued demon that was crawling out of a crack in the wall.
"Tengen-sama! Are you alright?" Suma, one of Tengen's wives, asked worriedly from behind him, clutching a kunai.
Though breathing a little heavily, the light in Tengen Uzui's eyes hadn't dimmed in the slightest.
He flashed a confident smile. "This much is not enough to tire me out!"
The young Kiriya Ubuyashiki looked at the Demon Slayers protecting him, and at the constantly shifting Infinity Castle in the distance, from which all sorts of terrifying roars and explosions echoed.
Although he felt a sense of panic, he quickly forced himself to calm down.
"Kuina, Kanata! Help me. We must grasp the situation on the battlefield right now!"
...
"Sabito! Giyu!! The Master needs support here!" Kanzaburo, the Kasugai Crow, cried out in an old, hoarse voice as he flapped his wings.
Relying on scent, the elderly crow was desperately trying to find Giyu's location.
Within the intricate corridors and stairways of the Infinity Castle.
Sabito and Giyu were moving quickly along a long corridor.
A Kasugai Crow circled anxiously above their heads, guiding them in the likely direction of their master.
"Faster, Giyu! The Master's situation is unclear!" Sabito's face was grim.
Giyu Tomioka nodded, and his speed increased again.
Suddenly!
At a fork in the corridor ahead, a figure appeared silently on a floating staircase.
The person wore old-fashioned, dark blue hunting clothes with a water-blue haori over them.
On his face was a red Tengu mask, and in his hand, he held a Nichirin Blade of an ancient style, its hamon pattern still distinct.
What was heart-stopping was the cold, damp, deathly demonic aura emanating from the figure.
Sabito and Giyu stopped abruptly, their pupils shrinking.
This figure… this posture… and that familiar Tengu mask.
"Impossible…" Sabito's voice trembled with disbelief.
Giyu's hand tightened on his hilt, his knuckles turning white.
Even through the mask, even with the demonic aura the figure exuded, the sense of familiarity etched into the depths of his soul still washed over him like a tide.
The red Tengu mask turned slightly, facing the two of them.
A low, raspy voice slowly spoke, "Sabito… Giyu…"
"Master… Urokodaki?" Sabito forced out the name, his heart feeling as if it had been seized by an icy hand.
...
In the labyrinthine lower levels of the Infinity Castle, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were carefully navigating the complex terrain.
"This way! I think I smell Shinobu-san and the others!" Tanjiro's nose twitched nonstop, his eyes determined. Having pulled himself together, he was more focused than ever.
"Shut up! My gut tells me to go this way!" Inosuke brandished his dual blades, pointing in the opposite direction of Tanjiro.
"You two, keep it down! What if we attract a lot of demons!" Zenitsu's hand, holding his Nichirin Blade, trembled slightly.
The dense demonic aura within the Infinity Castle was too suffocating.
Just as the three were delayed for a moment arguing over which way to go, hurried footsteps and heavy panting suddenly came from around the corner ahead.
"Who's there?!" Tanjiro was the first to be on alert, immediately raising his blade to shield the other two.
A figure stumbled out from the corner.
It was Kaigaku, his face pale and his appearance disheveled.
He was clearly stunned to see the trio, especially Zenitsu, and a flash of disgust crossed his eyes, only to be replaced by a deeper fear.
"It's you?" Kaigaku panted, his tone hostile. "Get lost! Don't block my way!"
"Kaigaku?" Zenitsu said in surprise. But seeing his wretched state, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay? Have you run into any other slayers?"
"None of your damn business! Get out of my way, you piece of trash!" The agitated Kaigaku cursed, seemingly having no desire to interact with his junior.
"Are you deaf? I said move! I want to get out of this godforsaken place!"
Inosuke was instantly annoyed. "Hey! What did you just say?! You looking for a fight?!"
Tanjiro also frowned. "Kaigaku-san, what are you saying? None of us are familiar with this place, we should stick together…"
Before he could finish, something changed!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy, rhythmic footsteps, accompanied by a strange thumping sound, echoed from the darkness ahead.
A heavy, imposing demonic aura, like a thick thundercloud, slowly pressed down on them.
The four of them fell silent in an instant, their bodies tensing up.
A short, hunched figure leaning on a peach wood cane slowly emerged from the shadows.
He wore a tattered Demon Slayer Corps uniform and haori, his beard was white, and his face was covered in wrinkles and age spots.
But what was most striking was the wooden prosthesis that had replaced one of his legs.
When Zenitsu and Kaigaku saw the newcomer's face, they froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.
All the color drained from their faces, their eyes filled with utter shock and horror!
"Ma… Master?…" Zenitsu's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, filled with disbelief.
Kaigaku stumbled backward, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
The former Thunder Hashira—Jigoro Kuwajima.
The strict, old-fashioned man who had taught them Thunder Breathing.
Jigoro Kuwajima's cloudy eyes slowly swept over the four of them, finally landing on Zenitsu and Kaigaku.
He opened his mouth, and a dry, hoarse voice that was still recognizable emerged.
"Zenitsu… Kaigaku…"
"I… have come… to test… your… Thunder Breathing…"
Terrifying lightning erupted with a roar!
But it was no longer the golden flash that slayed demons, but a gloomy, death-tinged, dark purple thunder!
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