Chapter 43: Clash |
It felt as if, standing between the two Hashira, the demon didn't feel the slightest bit of tension or impatience.
"I knew it, the elder sister is much stronger..." he remarked with a smile, lightly waving his fan. "I'll become stronger too, maybe even regain my position, if I feast on such flesh. By the way, you wanted to know about the shifts in our ranks, didn't you? Well, after all these years, Akaza finally succeeded and recently displaced me from the second position to the third. I'll admit, it stung a bit, but there's nothing shameful about a single loss to such a hard worker."
Doma wouldn't usually chatter like this before another Hashira or a man, but this was a special case—not only had he encountered two strong girls at once, but they also turned out to be sisters.
A one-in-a-million chance!
Besides, this information held almost no value, not to mention the fact that these girls would soon become demon food.
"So you used to hold the second rank," Kanae muttered.
"I said, it's your turn now," Doma replied with a grin.
"Kanae Kocho," the girl declared, slowly raising her shimmering Nichirin Sword. "Shinobu is a very sensitive girl, just like me... so I hope you'll peacefully accept a painless death from our blades instead of the terrible agony under the rays of the rising sun. It’s quite a ghastly sight, you know."
"Oh, what dreadful words from such a young lady..." Gradually, Doma's smile shifted into a predatory sneer, and his hand holding the fan stilled.
"Insect Breathing!"
"Flower Breathing!"
The sisters acted simultaneously.
Kanae created a mesmerizing radiance with a powerful swing of her Nichirin Sword, and a lethal crescent composed of a myriad of tiny petals streaked like lightning toward Upper Rank Three.
Shinobu merely flicked her Nichirin Sword, and countless tiny points blurred Doma's vision like a drifting fog.
"Perfect teamwork," he praised, not holding back.
However, Doma's voice now exuded a calm stillness.
Meanwhile, another fan appeared in the demon's hands, and he swung his arms in opposite directions, conjuring two gusts of freezing wind.
A terrifying pale-blue frost pierced the air, forming numerous ice lotuses within a radius of over thirty feet, which not only blocked the attacks but immediately counterattacked the sisters.
Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus!
Kanae and Shinobu had to swing their Nichirin Swords incessantly to block and shatter the numerous ice lotuses raining down on them from all sides.
At the same time, a single thought raced through their minds.
'How powerful he is!'
Shinobu was forced to retreat about thirty feet, nearly to the wall of the room, and even Kanae staggered back a couple of steps.
The Insect Hashira's anger and disgust toward Upper Rank Three vanished in an instant, replaced by tension and absolute focus.
The same applied to Kanae.
She had fought Akaza when he was still Upper Rank Three, but even then, she couldn't keep up with his speed, let alone his strength. Back then, she wouldn't have had a single chance of winning without Makomo.
Doma seemed no weaker than the Akaza of that time, while his long-range attacks were far more troublesome.
Once the Upper Rank Two...
He possessed extraordinary power.
Kanae was well aware that she could have suffered a crushing defeat in a battle against Doma if she hadn't become at least a third stronger over the past year.
Yet even now, she lacked any confidence in defeating Upper Rank Three, so her only option was to hold out until dawn.
There was no way left to retreat...
But the sisters had no intention of backing down anyway!
"Flower Breathing!"
"Insect Breathing!"
They lunged into the attack again without another word, demonstrating near-perfect coordination that was unattainable for other Hashira.
Insect Breathing originated from Flower Breathing, and most of Shinobu's dances were created not as independent techniques, but specifically to synchronize with Kanae's forms!
And right now.
The sisters' sword techniques displayed flawless harmony.
Amidst a myriad of petals, swift bees flitted here and there. This combination of flowers and insects was disorienting, making it impossible for the enemy to distinguish between the real and the illusory.
"Hmm..." This time Doma remained silent; the Kocho sisters' joint attack left even Upper Rank Three no room to relax.
In truth, Kanae had not yet reached the level of the strongest Hashira, not to mention the recently promoted Shinobu, but together they were in no way inferior to two of the more powerful pillars.
Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!
The demon swung his fans once more.
Even he could not see through the sisters' attack immediately, so he was forced to respond with a large-scale technique to cover everything in one fell swoop.
Instantly, the surrounding air froze and bloomed with incredibly sharp petals that rushed to meet the sisters' assault.
The consequences of this collision were far more devastating than one might imagine.
Boom!
The wooden floor instantly splintered into shards, the walls cracked on all sides, and the building itself shook until it finally collapsed with the sound of breaking timber!
Wooden debris and splinters flew in every direction.
Before long, an icy column rose above the ruins of the building, with Doma standing atop it, unscathed. He scanned the surrounding chaos in search of the Kocho sisters.
'Now, where did they go?' he wondered, narrowing his eyes.
And then, a sense of danger drifted from behind.
From the back!
Without hesitation, Doma swung his arms backward.
Simultaneously, two Nichirin Swords flashed behind the demon, gleaming dangerously in the moonlight. They coordinated perfectly, aiming for the demon's neck, but at the last possible second, they clashed against two folding fans.
"I think it's time to stop playing around," Doma stated coldly.
Individually, the Kocho sisters were certainly no match for him, but their duo proved to be far more dangerous than expected. At the very least, he needed to pull himself together and consider a proper strategy for the fight.