Then, Dōma looked up at Tomioka Giyu, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile.
"It's getting dangerous, isn't it? Looks like my time's almost up."
"Guess I'll have to let them accompany you next time~"
"Blood Demon Art: Crystallization of the Child!"
The moment he finished speaking, Dōma opened both of his fans and flipped them six times. With each flick, a small ice doll — perfect replicas of himself — fell to the ground. All six rushed toward Tomioka Giyu with terrifying speed.
Seeing this, Giyu's expression darkened. "Damn it… Dōma's finally getting serious!"
There was no time to think. The mini Dōmas were already launching their assault. Giyu retreated quickly while shouting, "Kanae! You must hold on — no matter what, don't die!!"
"Tomioka!!"
Kochō Kanae's eyes widened in horror as she saw Giyu buried beneath icicles and dense ice mist.
Before she could run to help, Dōma appeared in front of her, his expression still cheerful.
"Forget about him. Why don't we just become one?"
As he spoke, Dōma slashed his fan toward the back of Kanae's neck.
Fortunately, Kanae ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding the blow and retaliating with a slash across Dōma's abdomen.
The cut was shallow — negligible to an Upper Rank demon like him.
"Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!"
Kanae immediately leapt back, knowing full well that she couldn't match Dōma in close combat. Distance was her only chance.
Meanwhile, Tomioka Giyu was fighting for his life.
He had used the Eleventh Form to shield himself from the first wave of attacks, but the relentless follow-up strikes forced him to rely on Flowing Dance to dodge.
While evading, Giyu desperately searched for openings to eliminate the mini Dōmas — but they were relentless.
"They're too strong… And this isn't even Dōma's full strength. Tch!"
Then, disaster struck.
One of the mini Dōmas caught Giyu off-guard and struck him hard, launching him several meters away and crashing him to the ground.
The sound drew the attention of both Dōma and Kanae.
"Tomioka!!" Kanae gasped and tried to rush to him.
But Dōma blocked her path in an instant.
"Oh do~ oh do~ don't run!"
"There's no point — he's going to die soon. And so are you~"
"But don't worry, I'll save you. We'll live together forever~"
Giyu, groaning, forced himself up with his sword. "A few ribs… broken. But no internal organ damage. I can still fight."
"Damn… I wanted to wait for Sanemi to arrive, but if I don't use it now, I may never get another chance!"
With that, Giyu centered his breathing. His aura surged — waves began forming around his body.
'Raise power to the peak. Abandon all defense. Deliver one decisive strike!'
The still waters of his soul turned turbulent. Muffled rumbles echoed like an incoming tsunami.
"Water Breathing, Twelfth Form: Wave of Suppression!!"
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Dozens of massive water columns burst forth from Giyu's body. The six mini Dōmas were shattered instantly, even as they tried to counter with their own Blood Demon Arts.
But Giyu wasn't done yet.
He leapt high into the air, stepping on a water column, and launched the remaining pillars directly at Dōma's position.
Below, Kanae took the opportunity to retreat further. The sheer power of the attack was immense — she didn't want to be caught in the crossfire.
For the first time, Dōma's smile faded. He looked up at the falling water pillars with narrowed eyes.
"You're getting presumptuous."
"Blood Demon Art: Mist Ice – Water Lily Bodhisattva!"
An enormous Ice Bodhisattva emerged, its hands folded in prayer. Behind it, dozens of ice lotuses bloomed, distributed evenly above and below.
Dōma stood atop one of them, watching coldly as Giyu approached.
When Giyu entered range, the Bodhisattva raised its arms and unleashed a blast of freezing mist.
Suddenly, all Giyu could see was a blur of white fog and the enormous hands crashing down on him.
Realizing the threat, Giyu immediately canceled his attack and landed safely below.
"I'm not foolish enough to challenge that head-on while it's at full strength."
The moment he hit the ground, the Bodhisattva's palms exploded with a thunderous crash, sending ice shards in all directions. Three gaping holes tore through its body — but the water pillars were gone too.
Giyu collapsed to one knee, propping himself up with his Nichirin Blade, chest heaving.
"This… this was the first time I used the complete Twelfth Form. It's more draining than I thought."
His wrists trembled. His lungs burned. Even his breathing was erratic.
Kanae rushed to him, her eyes full of concern. "Are you alright, Tomioka?"
Giyu stood shakily and gave a weak smile. "Sorry… I miscalculated. I didn't expect the recoil to be this bad."
Kanae shook her head furiously. "No! I should be the one to apologize — I couldn't help at all…"
Before Giyu could respond, she took a step forward and said firmly:
"Please… leave this place! That demon clearly has more interest in me. I'll hold him off — you need to regroup and call the other Hashira. The two of us alone can't win."
But Giyu refused.
He stepped beside her and said, "Can you stop trying to die for once? Don't worry — I already sent word to Sanemi before I came."
"I'm sure he'll be here soon. Until then, let's hold out. If we can't win, we run."
"Remember: survival is more important than anything else!"
Without waiting for Kanae to respond, Giyu rushed forward toward Dōma, who was now descending from the Bodhisattva's shoulder.
"We can't let him realize we're stalling. Keep the pressure on."
"No matter how tired I am… as long as I control my breathing, I can still move!"
"Water Breathing!"
A surge of speed and power burst from Giyu. A blue dragon coiled around his blade.
"Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
Dōma twirled his fans lazily and smirked:
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Leaf Ice!"