Chapter 97: He Kills with a Smile, Devouring People with Gentleness
The edge of that golden fan, flickering with a cold glint, was less than half an inch from his throat.
He wanted to swing his blade to parry, but the ice mist inhaled into his lungs caused a fatal lag in his movements.
The flow of Water Breathing was interrupted at this moment; it was a desperate tenth of a second.
"Flower Breathing, Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!"
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Butterfly: Caprice!"
Accompanied by two feminine shouts, two graceful figures abruptly charged into the battlefield.
"Clang—!!"
"Ding ding ding ding ding!"
At the critical moment, two nichirin swords were positioned with pinpoint accuracy in front of Tomioka Giyu.
One was a nichirin sword with pink flower patterns; its blade collided with the golden fan,
erupting in brilliant sparks and forcibly blocking that lethal horizontal slash.
The other was a peculiar nichirin sword, shaped like an insect's poisonous stinger, with a blade only at the tip.
At an extremely high frequency, it continuously stabbed at the joints of the golden fan's ribs,
using exquisite finesse to deflect the remaining force of Doma's killing blow.
Doma was forced back a distance by this sudden double strike,
a flash of surprise crossing his rainbow-colored eyes.
The ice mist dissipated slightly.
Kanae Kocho held her nichirin sword,
turned her head, and said to Tomioka Giyu:
"Tomioka-san, are you alright?"
Tomioka Giyu looked at Kanae Kocho with a deadpan expression that showed no ripple of emotion.
He didn't immediately offer thanks, but instead coldly stated a fact:
"I'm fine. However... didn't you defect from the Demon Slayer Corps?"
He wasn't accusing or mocking; he was simply, literally, confused.
In his understanding, Kanae Kocho had defected from the Demon Slayer Corps to protect an evil demon named Tatsu.
For Tomioka Giyu, who viewed "slaying evil demons" as the sole criterion and strictly followed the corps' rules,
Kanae appearing here and even stepping in to save him was a logically incomprehensible matter.
He simply asked the question in his heart directly,
without considering at all how, in this moment and this scene,
this sentence sounded harsh and inappropriate.
A bright red cross of a popping vein instantly appeared on Kocho Shinobu's forehead.
"Tomioka-san!"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?
My sister and I just risked our lives to save you!
Can't you even say a basic 'thank you'?
Is your head filled with nothing but Salmon with Daikon?
No wonder you're always disliked by everyone!"
Tomioka Giyu was slightly stunned by Shinobu's roar, his dull nerves finally seeming to react a little bit.
He blinked, seemingly having some instinctive resistance to the phrase "disliked by everyone."
He silently retorted in his heart, "I am not disliked,"
then looked at the angry Kocho Shinobu and the still gently smiling Kanae,
saying seriously, in an extremely flat tone that lacked any emotional fluctuation:
"Mm, thank you both."
Perfunctory! Extremely perfunctory!
It was as if the line had been forcibly squeezed out of him while someone held his head down.
The corner of Shinobu's eye twitched wildly; she felt a nameless fire rush straight to her head, so angry that even her Breathing Style was about to become messy.
She took a deep breath and gripped her sword hilt, preparing to use even more vicious words to give this Water Hashira a proper lesson,
teaching him what human social etiquette meant.
"You guy, do you even understand the situation..."
"Alright, Shinobu."
Just as Shinobu was about to explode, a hand was gently placed on her shoulder.
"Now is not the time for this."
Kanae turned her gaze toward the chillingly powerful aura ahead.
"Regardless of our stance, regardless of whether I am a member of the Demon Slayer Corps,
as a human,
facing such an evil demon that harms living beings, it is only natural to draw one's sword.
Let us first slay this demon and protect everyone, then talk about the rest."
"Exactly! Kanae-dono is right!"
A tall figure walked over from the nearby ruins.
Rengoku Shinjuro casually wiped away the blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.
He walked to the side of the three; although he had just been sent flying by Doma
and suffered significant internal injuries, his heroic aura had not diminished in the slightest.
"Regardless of whether you are still in the Demon Slayer Corps, at this moment, we are comrades fighting side by side!"
Shinjuro roared with full vigor,
"A godsend opportunity!
Since the Flower Hashira, the Water Hashira, and I, the Flame Hashira—three Hashira-level swordsmen—are gathered here,
then this evil demon will surely die tonight!
We will use the sharp blades in our hands to seek justice for those innocent lives that have died!"
"Oh my, oh my..."
A burst of laughter, slightly playful and somewhat cloying, interrupted everyone.
Doma tilted his head slightly, his rainbow eyes marked with the characters for 'Upper Moon' and 'Two'
locking firmly onto Kanae Kocho and Kocho Shinobu.
"This is truly wonderful! Simply marvelous!"
Doma's breathing became a bit rapid,
he used his fan to cover half his face, looking as if he were moved to tears,
"I didn't expect that on such a night, I would not only encounter two strong gentlemen,
but also meet such beautiful, fresh, and delicious girls!
And two of them!
Oh my, is this a gift from the gods to me?"
"That lady wearing the pink butterfly hair ornament..."
Doma's gaze greedily roamed over Kanae's graceful figure, his tone as gentle as if whispering to a lover,
"Your eyes are truly so gentle; your blood must be filled with a sweet taste.
And the little sister next to you, as fierce as a little chili pepper,
though your body is petite, that vibrant anger of yours will surely taste fantastic.
Come, stop making useless resistance,
let me eat you, let you become one with me, and let us go together to that painless Paradise!
I will love you both dearly~"
He was a monster born without emotions,
he didn't understand sadness, anger, or love.
All the emotions he displayed were merely false pretenses he performed clumsily to imitate humans.
He killed with a smile and devoured people with gentleness;
in his view, he was truly performing acts of kindness.
"Shut up! You disgusting monster!"
Kocho Shinobu could no longer endure this nauseating provocation.
She was already suppressing a belly full of fire because of Tomioka Giyu's perfunctoriness,
and hearing Doma's insane remarks now, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Sister, I'm going first!"
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!"
Shinobu's petite body instantly erupted with amazing speed.
Like an angry hornet, her feet slammed against the ice,
and her whole being transformed into a purple lightning bolt, charging straight at Doma.
The specially made nichirin sword in her hand pointed directly at Doma's eyes, the tip glinting with the light of wisteria poison.
"Shinobu! Don't be impulsive!"
Kanae was pale with fright; an Upper Moon demon was extremely strong,
and with Shinobu's current strength, rushing in like this was no different from a moth flying into a flame.
But it was already too late to stop her.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
Kanae followed without hesitation, her nichirin sword carving nine beautiful sword auras in the air like peony petals,
sealing off Doma's retreat from all directions to cover for her sister.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Rengoku Shinjuro and Tomioka Giyu also displayed the amazing coordination of Hashira-level swordsmen.
Shinjuro turned into a bursting fireball, launching a frontal assault with thunderous momentum.
While Tomioka Giyu's figure slid rapidly across the ice,
launching a continuous attack like crashing waves from the flank.
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