Chapter 96: Oh My, What a Fierce Tiger
Doma's golden fan in his left hand snapped open, spinning rapidly in front of him,
forming an airtight shield of ice.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Clouds."
A thick mist of ice gushed out from Doma's surroundings, instantly enveloping a ten-meter radius.
Tomioka Giyu's "Striking Tide" slashed against the ice shield, producing a series of dense "crackling" sounds,
shredding a large amount of ice, but it remained unable to harm Doma's actual body.
Even more terrifying was that this ice mist not only blocked vision but also carried a strong freezing effect.
Tomioka Giyu felt his breath hitch; the air inhaled into his lungs felt as if it had turned into countless tiny ice needles,
stinging his respiratory tract.
His movements, which were originally as smooth as flowing water, actually showed a trace of imperceptible lag
under this extreme cold temperature.
In a clash between masters, even a delay of 0.1 seconds is fatal!
"I've caught you, Mr. Water Hashira."
The corners of Doma's mouth curled into a cruel smile. The golden fan in his right hand, carrying a bone-chilling wind,
slashed straight toward Tomioka Giyu's throat.
The sharp blades at the edges of the fan's ribs flickered with a terrifying cold light.
"Watch out!"
At this critical moment, a fiery red figure swept in once again.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
Rengoku Shinjuro swung a powerful upward slash from below.
The red blade, carrying blazing flames, slammed heavily into Doma's golden fan.
"Clang—!!!"
Shinjuro's heavy blow not only successfully parried Doma's lethal strike,
but also took the opportunity to force Doma back, rescuing Tomioka Giyu from danger.
The two quickly retreated, standing back-to-back, gasping heavily for air.
After only a brief exchange, they had already deeply experienced the terror of this Upper Moon Two before them.
Doma's Blood Demon Art was not only immensely powerful and wide-ranging, but more fatal was that pervasive, extreme cold air.
This cold air would not only freeze their bodies and slow their speed,
but would also enter their lungs through their breath, directly destroying the "Total Concentration Breathing" they relied on for survival.
For a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps, once their Breathing Style is sealed, they are no different from lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Tomioka, this guy's Blood Demon Art is very troublesome!
You must absolutely not inhale those ice crystal powders at close range!"
Shinjuro wiped the trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, staring at Doma with eyes like torches as he warned,
"We must use the high temperatures of our Breathing Styles to counter his cold air. Don't give him a chance to breathe!
Suppress him with continuous attacks!"
"Understood."
Tomioka Giyu coldly spat out those two words.
He took a deep breath, pushing his Water Breathing to its limit,
and a layer of white water vapor faintly rose from his water-blue nichirin sword.
"Oh my, what a touching display of camaraderie."
Doma lightly clapped his hands, the smile on his face still pure and innocent,
"However, in the face of absolute strength, no matter how moving the bond, it is all in vain. Since you want to play so much, I'll be a bit more serious and play along with you."
Doma slowly raised the two golden fans in his hands.
"Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!"
As his words fell, countless sharp ice shards shaped like lotus petals shot out from his fans.
These ice shards shimmered with a mournful beauty under the moonlight.
Like a violent storm, they swept toward Shinjuro and Giyu, covering the sky and earth,
nearly sealing off all their space to dodge.
"Here it comes! Together!"
Shinjuro roared, charging into the sky full of ice shards without flinching.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
He brandished his nichirin sword, forming a massive vortex of fire in front of him.
The blazing flames melted and evaporated the approaching ice shards one after another, carving out a path forward for the two of them.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
Tomioka Giyu followed closely behind. He leapt high and delivered a powerful downward slash like a pouring waterfall.
The immense impact of the water flow not only shattered the remaining ice shards,
but also bore down on Doma's head with the momentum of thunder.
However, Doma's strength was simply too great.
No matter how hard the two fought, Doma always remained at ease.
His Blood Demon Art seemed inexhaustible; every swing of his fan brought a wide-range ice and snow attack.
He could not only easily neutralize their joint attacks at extremely close range,
but also launch lethal counterattacks with room to spare.
As the battle continued, Shinjuro and Giyu's stamina was depleting rapidly.
Their bodies were already covered in wounds of various sizes, and blood stained their uniforms red.
Worse still, the temperature in the surrounding air had dropped to a terrifying degree.
Even though they desperately pushed their Breathing Styles, they couldn't completely resist that bone-deep chill.
Their movements began to grow sluggish, and their breathing became heavier and heavier,
as if countless small knives were cutting through their lungs.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? Out of energy already?"
While easily dodging Shinjuro's slashes, Doma mocked them in that infuriatingly lighthearted tone,
"My dear Hashira, your movements are getting slower and slower.
If this continues, your internal organs will all freeze solid.
Sigh, the human body is truly fragile!"
"Shut up! Even if I die, I will slay you, you monster!"
Shinjuro's eyes were bloodshot as he recklessly squeezed out the last of the strength in his body.
His originally golden hair was now coated with a layer of frost,
but his gaze remained as hot as fire.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
A massive tiger condensed from blazing flames roared and charged at Doma, the ground along its path scorched black and cracked.
"Oh my, what a fierce tiger."
Doma smiled slightly, crossed his arms over his chest, and swung both golden fans simultaneously.
"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Children."
Instantly, five ice clones that looked exactly like Doma but were only half a person tall appeared before him.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Clouds."
These five ice clones actually raised their small golden fans at the same time, releasing Blood Demon Arts with nearly the same power as the original!
"Boom—!!!"
Five ice and snow storms collided violently with the flame tiger.
After a brief stalemate of a few seconds, the massive gap in strength caused the flame tiger to let out a mournful cry,
before being completely frozen and shattered!
The powerful impact sent Shinjuro flying backward.
He slammed heavily against a stone wall, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
"Rengoku-san!"
Seeing this, Tomioka Giyu immediately wanted to rush over to the rescue.
"Your opponent is me, Mr. Water Hashira."
Doma's figure instantly appeared before Giyu,
the golden fan in his hand slashing mercilessly toward Giyu's chest.
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