Within the stark white, empty room.
The temperature had plummeted to an extreme, where even one's breath would crystallize into frost in the air.
The entire space had completely transformed into a world of ice and snow.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of ice, countless sharp icicles hung from the walls, and particles of ice dust, nearly visible to the naked eye, floated in the air.
Douma stood atop the massive Ice Lotus Bodhisattva, his multicolored eyes gleaming with a cold light.
His body was covered in purple wounds—marks left by Shinobu.
Even the regenerative abilities of an Upper Moon were insufficient to heal those injuries quickly, a testament to Shinobu's strength after her Demon Transformation.
"How truly surprising, Shinobu-kun," Douma's voice remained hollow and insincere. "For someone who temporarily became a demon, you've managed to injure me to this extent. What a pity... I can sense your time is running out, isn't it? The demon blood within you is fading."
Below, Shinobu's expression was grave.
The hand gripping her slender Nichirin Blade trembled slightly. The purple Demon Aura surrounding her had already begun to fluctuate erratically, and the patterns on her face flickered unsteadily.
Clearly, Douma had guessed correctly—the Demon Transformation Elixir could only maintain Shinobu's Demon Transformation for a little over ten minutes.
Kanae stood stubbornly by her sister's side, her pink Nichirin Blade covered in frost.
Her face was as pale as paper, and she could barely remain standing.
Sanemi shielded the two at the forefront.
Covered in blood, his left arm was almost impossible to lift, yet he continued to glare at Douma with eyes burning with rage.
"No words? Then I'll take that as your agreement~" Douma chuckled lightly, gently closing his golden war fans.
"In that case, I won't hold back. It's time to end this. Blood Demon Art: Glacial Burial~"
With Douma's movement, the colossal Ice Lotus Bodhisattva behind him spread its arms.
A terrifying wave of extreme cold surged toward the three like a tsunami!
Simultaneously, the frigid tide of ice, carrying countless ice-crystal blades sharp enough to tear through steel, swept down upon the three below!
The moisture in the air was freezing, making one feel as if even their blood was solidifying.
Gritting his teeth, Sanemi mustered the last of his strength to raise his Nichirin Blade, only to find he could barely muster the strength to grip it.
His left arm had completely lost sensation, and his right arm trembled violently.
The cyan glow on his blade flickered unsteadily, like a candle flame in the wind.
"Damn it... damn it!!!" Sanemi roared, yet he could only watch helplessly as the destructive tide of ice drew nearer.
This feeling of powerlessness drove him to madness, but what he found even more unacceptable was that his strength had been completely suppressed.
The extreme cold had stifled his Breathing Style; the ferocity of his Wind Breathing could barely manifest at half its usual power within this frigid space!
Kanae closed her eyes, summoning her last ounce of strength, determined to shield her sister.
Compared to Sanemi, her stamina had depleted even faster.
Her Flower Breathing had long ceased to function.
But at least... at least she could use her own body to buy Shinobu even a single second—to protect her little sister for one final moment.
However!
A figure flashed swiftly in front of Sanemi and Kanae.
"Shinobu...!"
A purple afterimage charged upstream, defiantly rushing headlong into the all-destroying tide of extreme cold!
"Shinobu!" Kanae's cry of alarm was stifled by the freezing air before it could even reach Shinobu's ears.
"Wait!" Sanemi's eyes widened as well, instinctively reaching out to stop her, but he could grasp nothing, only watch helplessly as Shinobu's figure charged forward.
Shinobu's silhouette moved against the extreme cold, purple demon aura blazing wildly around her—the final signal before the demon transformation potion wore off.
Her violet vertical pupils locked onto Douma atop the Ice Lotus Bodhisattva, her gaze devoid of fear or hesitation, only icy resolve!
"All focus to a single point! Insect Breathing: Dance of the Bee Sting—True Drag!"
Her slender Nichirin Blade transformed into a streak of purple lightning, pursuing the ultimate speed, concentrating all her strength, all her poison, all her will into one point!
The vibrations from her figure tearing through the air hummed, and for a fleeting moment, a phantom of a venomous bee seemed to manifest behind Shinobu—her slender Nichirin Blade its stinger.
Aimed directly at Douma!
For an instant, Douma's smile stiffened.
He hadn't expected this woman, who seemed utterly exhausted, to dare charge at him.
Even less had he anticipated that with her demon blood so diluted, she could unleash such a formidable strike.
"I underestimated you." Douma's golden paired fans swept down sharply, a surge of extreme cold splitting from the icy tide and pouring toward the purple figure!
But he still underestimated Shinobu's speed.
Thud!!!
The purple blade plunged fiercely into Douma's left eye.
Tremendous force pierced through the eyeball, shattered the socket, and burst out from the back of his skull.
Simultaneously, purple poison flooded like a breached dam, surging wildly into Douma's brain!
"Huh? Ah... it seems, this hurts a bit～"
Douma murmured dazedly, his kaleidoscope-like left eye instantly rupturing, crimson blood mixed with purple venom spraying out.
The sudden strike not only pierced his left eye but also instinctively forced his right eye shut, his body pausing momentarily.
The extreme cold tide lost control for a brief instant, veering off course and crashing past Sanemi and Kanae, freezing everything behind them into ice sculptures!
Sanemi and Kanae were swept by the aftermath, thrown heavily to the ground, their bodies coated in frost, but they were still alive!
As for Shinobu, she had no strength left at all.
In the throes of agony, Douma instinctively swung his golden paired fans, their sharp edges like the scythe of the God of Death, slicing brutally across Shinobu's abdomen.
Rip!
Her purple haori instantly dyed deep crimson, as a deep, searing wound tore open across her abdomen.
"Ugh!!" Shinobu grunted, her entire body flung backward like a severed kite by the force of the blow.
Shinobu's consciousness began to blur, the world before her spinning and darkening.
In her violet vertical pupils, Douma's twisted face grew distant, her sister's and Sanemi's horrified expressions fading.
Has the potion worn off?
She could feel the demon aura within her rapidly dissipating, the strength, speed, and regenerative power from the demon transformation receding like a tide.
In their place came endless exhaustion, excruciating pain, and... the chill of death.
"This feeling... is somewhat familiar..."
Facing death, Shinobu even found the mood to joke with herself.
But soon, another figure surfaced in her mind.
"Shinichi... at this final moment, it's a bit regrettable that I couldn't see you one last time."Her body fell limply through the air, blood tracing a tragic arc in the sky.
The wound on her abdomen was horrifying, blood continuously gushing out as her life slipped away with each drop.
It seemed someone was shouting something not far away, but those voices grew increasingly distant and blurred, as if separated by a thick layer of ice.
Shinobu closed her eyes, preparing to embrace her end.
However, just as she was about to plunge into the endless darkness—
A warm and powerful embrace caught her falling body steadily.
Immediately after, a vast and warm surge of life force, like the sunlight of spring, flooded violently into her broken body.
That power was so warm, so full of vitality, that it forcibly dragged Shinobu's fading consciousness back to reality.
Shinobu's eyes snapped open!
Reflected in her violet eyes was a pair of deep, night-sky-like black eyes.
Those eyes were looking at her, filled with concern, heartache, anger, and a hint of… an indescribable complexity.