The death of Hantengu cast a heavy shadow over Doma and Nakime.
Facing the Demon Slayers who had awakened their Marks, only the three of them working together could barely hold their ground.
According to their plan, the Marked Swordsmen—though empowered with overwhelming strength—were still human. Eventually, their stamina would run out, and if they could just buy enough time, victory would ultimately belong to the demons.
However, Hantengu had grown careless. Normally timid, tearful, and excessively cautious, his newfound strength made him reckless—and as a result, his head was taken by three mere humans.
With that, the balance was shattered. Now, facing the Marked Swordsmen, Doma and Nakime found themselves in dire straits.
"Blood Demon Art: Withered Garden, Falling Snow!"
Sitting atop a crystalline lotus, Doma swung his twin fans, sending forth a freezing storm toward Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, who were all exhausted.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
Giyu Tomioka appeared just in time, stepping between them and the attack, neutralizing all the icy blasts within his range.
"Sound Breathing, Fifth Form: String Performance!"
Tengen Uzui spun his dual blades in a dazzling motion, striking toward Doma.
Several ice walls instantly rose before Doma, intercepting the attack. When Uzui's blades struck the ice, a thunderous explosion erupted, shrouding the area in smoke and debris.
From within the haze, Nakime plucked the strings of her biwa. Countless eyes embedded in the instrument fired beams of light like lasers, piercing through the smoke toward the Demon Slayers.
Everyone responded with their Breathing Techniques, clashing against the waves of Nakime's assault.
With heightened caution, Doma and Nakime adopted hit-and-run tactics, continuously draining their opponents' stamina. Even with Hantengu gone, the stalemate remained.
Nakime amplified Doma's Blood Demon Art with her spatial manipulation while firing her laser-like attacks to disrupt the Demon Slayers' coordination.
All they needed to do was stall until Muzan Kibutsuji and the "Priest Master" finished their battles—then victory would be theirs.
Rengoku Kyojuro and Hakuji joined forces, launching a storm of flaming whirlwinds and destructive blasts toward Doma and Nakime.
Once again, Doma summoned ice walls before himself and Nakime to block the onslaught.
But midway through forming the barrier, the ice walls suddenly crumbled into dust.
Doma and Nakime's expressions twisted in pain and disbelief—they could feel something unnatural happening within their bodies.
"It's finally taking effect!"
Butterfly Shinobu's eyes lit up with excitement as she shouted:
"Before the battle began, every single Nichirin Blade here was coated with a dose of Wisteria poison—over seven hundred times the lethal amount! The more you use your Blood Demon Arts, the faster the toxin will spread through your bodies!"
Poisoned by the concentrated Wisteria extract, Doma and Nakime could no longer maintain their forms.
The crystalline lotus beneath Doma's feet shattered, the Buddha-like apparition behind him fading into nothingness.
Nakime's biwa—scarlet as fresh blood and covered in eyes—melted into a pool of crimson liquid.
Desperate, Doma tried to summon another Blood Demon Art, but doing so only accelerated the poison's effect. His right side began to corrode, melting into sludge.
"Everyone! While they're still unable to neutralize the poison—cut off their heads!"
Kanroji Mitsuri's voice rang out—no, it was Kanae's sister, Kocho Kanae, her eyes shining crimson in her Crimson Mirror Eyes, observing closely as Doma and Nakime's decayed flesh began slowly regenerating, a sign that they were overcoming the toxin.
Closest to Nakime, Giyu was the first to strike.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Piercing Rain Drop!"
The fastest thrust among the Water Breathing forms—his blade cutting in from an angle, rippling like water—pierced clean through Nakime's body.
"Insect Breathing, Bee Dance: True Flutter!"
Shinobu Kocho followed up, her Nichirin Blade slicing unexpectedly toward Nakime's neck.
Unable to move and never a formidable combatant to begin with, Nakime's head was severed instantly.
With Nakime dead, only Doma remained among the Upper Moons.
"Stone Breathing, Second Form: Upper Smash!"
Himejima Gyomei anchored his flail's chain with his foot and hurled the spiked iron ball straight at Doma's head.
Doma, enduring the agony of the Wisteria toxin, barely tilted his head aside—avoiding a fatal blow—but half his body was crushed by the impact.
"Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash!"
"Serpent Breathing, Third Form: Coil of the Snake!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa and Obanai Iguro attacked in unison, their Nichirin Blades striking toward Doma's neck.
But when the blades met his skin, instead of slicing through, a metallic clang rang out—Doma had coated his neck in a layer of ice as hard as steel.
Even with all their strength, the two could only cut slightly into it.
"Destructive Death: Annihilation Type!"
Hakuji's fist slammed against the spine of Iguro's blade, boosting the force of the strike.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
Rengoku's fiery blade followed, slashing down onto Sanemi's sword.
The blazing heat softened Doma's icy armor, while Hakuji's immense power drove the swords forward. The crystalline layer shattered—and three Nichirin Blades sliced clean through Doma's neck.
"We… we did it!?"
Inosuke and Zenitsu rubbed their eyes in disbelief. The three mighty Upper Moons—defeated?
Hantengu and Nakime's bodies had already turned to ash, scattering into the air.
Doma's severed head fell to the ground.
Yet instead of silence, laughter erupted.
"Ha ha ha! So this is the fear of death? How exquisite! I don't want to die—I want to feel more… more emotions!"
Doma's headless body stood upright, the gaping wound at his neck writhing as a new head began to regenerate.
"Tanjiro!" shouted Kokushibo's brother, Yoriichi's descendant. "It's broken its limits! Only the Sun Breathing can finish it—only you can!"
Tanjiro, his shoulder wounded and body drained, felt his lungs burning like fire. But through sheer willpower, he forced himself to his feet.
"I will sever this chain of sin… once and for all!"
"Hinokami Kagura: Flame Dance!"
The blazing arc of his sword sliced through the air—Doma's newly formed neck was severed once again.
"Damn it! No… I haven't lost yet! I want to live… live!"
But the sun-breathing flames clung to his body like a curse, consuming him completely until nothing remained—only ashes carried away by the wind.
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