At this moment, Koyuki and Umi did not panic. By their reckoning, the demon crows should already have reached Hakuji and Gyutaro, who must be on their way.
Kokushibō's expression was calm, indifferent.
"If your hopes rest upon those demon crows… I'm afraid they've already been crushed."
Before Mandō, a mirror appeared. From within it fell several mangled bird corpses—the very crows Koyuki and Umi had dispatched.
Their nerves tightened. Their one hope had been destroyed.
Kokushibō regarded them without emotion.
"It seems your strength has grown since our last encounter. And yet, you haven't consumed humans… Which means Ubuyashiki Yōsuke must have given you his blood. All the better—I shall test your abilities myself."
"Run, Umi!" Koyuki seized her hand and pulled her back. She knew all too well—against Kokushibō alone they stood no chance, much less with an Upper Rank Six beside him.
"Escape? Naïve. Mandō."
"Blood Demon Art: Mirror Domain!"
Dozens of mirrors surged upward, encasing them in a hemispherical cage.
"Unless you defeat me, you cannot leave. But… can you?" Kokushibō's tone remained flat, though full of disdain.
Umi, always shielded by Akaza and Gyutaro, faltered. "Koyuki-onii-sama… what should we do?"
Koyuki face was grim, but as Umi's pillar of support, she forced herself to stay composed.
"Don't panic, Umi. Even if we can't defeat them, that doesn't mean they can hold us here. If we work together, we'll break the mirrors first—then find a way to escape."
Her words steadied Umi's heart.
Trying to divert Kokushibō's attention, Koyuki spoke:
"For Upper Rank One and Six to be searching together… Whatever you seek must be vital to Muzan. Could it be—the Blue Spider Lily?"
Kokushibō saw through her ploy at once.
"Stalling for time? Futile. The night has only just begun. No matter how long you delay, it changes nothing. Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon – Evening Palace."
His speed was inhuman—before they realized it, Kokushibō was upon them, unleashing an iai slash. His blade left countless crescent slashes in its wake.
"Blood Demon Art: Hollow Ice Carving!"
An ornate ice wall materialized in front of Koyuki, but Kokushibō's strike shattered it instantly. His blade arced straight for her throat.
Umi desperately released ribbons from her body, dozens of them lashing forward. Though they could not block the slash, they slowed it just enough. Koyuki bent backward—her neck narrowly grazing the blade's edge, dodging the fatal strike.
"Blood Demon Art: Eight-Fold Ribbon Slash!"
Eight razor-sharp ribbons shot forth, sealing the space around them and striking at both Kokushibō and Mandō simultaneously.
Mandō vanished into the mirrors to evade, while Kokushibō calmly slashed through each ribbon. His swordsmanship alone—without a single breathing form—was terrifyingly overwhelming.
"Blood Demon Art: Prism Freeze Barrier!"
Koyuki thrust her palms outward, unleashing waves of icy air capable of freezing flesh in an instant.
"Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!"
This, Kokushibō's sole defensive form, required no draw. He spun, summoning a whirling vortex of blade-wind around his body, repelling the freezing air. Crescent blades whirled within the storm, roaring toward the sisters.
"Blood Demon Art: Frost Vortex Tempest!"
From Koyuki's body, a tornado howled outward, laced with countless razor-sharp shards of ice. The crescents were swallowed and dissipated within the storm.
"Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail!"
With a sweeping horizontal strike, Kokushibō unleashed an enormous wave of slashes, obliterating the icy vortex in an instant.
His six eyes glared coldly at them.
"Is this the extent of your power? Attacks that cannot even graze my robes… they wouldn't kill a child."
Koyuki and Umi exchanged a look, their eyes burning with resolve.
"Umi—use that technique."
"Yes, Onii-sama!"
"Blood Demon Art: Rampaging Ribbon Dance!"
"Blood Demon Art: Water-Traced Ice Engraving!"
Umi unleashed countless ribbons, and Koyuki coated them in crystalline ice. The ribbons retained their flexibility while gaining a freezing property—anything they touched froze instantly, even the very air.
"A futile struggle. Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon – Chains of Erosion!"
Kokushibō's blade released arcs of crescent-shaped slashes, joined by a storm of crescent blades of varying size, sweeping toward them.
But the moment the crescents touched the ribbons—they froze solid, falling shattered to the ground.
Umi's eyes lit with hope. She drove the frozen ribbons toward Kokushibō. If even a strand touched him, he would be encased in ice.
Kokushibō dodged swiftly, his body a blur, but each time he summoned his vortex of crescent blades, they froze upon contact. His blade itself was caught—frozen stiff—and cracked apart.
The ribbons closed in, brushing his robes. Ice spread instantly, engulfing him whole.
"We did it! Koyuk-onii-sama!" Xiaomei cried, trembling with exhilaration.
"Blood Demon Art: Flock of Frozen Pillars!"
Koyuki launched a volley of ice projectiles, like a storm of birds, straight toward the immobilized Kokushibō.
But just as they struck—Mandō appeared from a mirror, chanting coldly:
"Blood Demon Art: Mirror Reversal!"
A mirror manifested before Kokushibō, absorbing every ice projectile—and reflecting them back at Koisetsu.
She hastily raised an ice wall, blocking the barrage.
Cracks spread across Kokushibō's frozen body. In the next instant, the ice shattered. He emerged unharmed.
His breath spilled a cloud of frost.
"Impressive. To think you could momentarily freeze even my blood itself… But that is your limit."
He lifted his blade, Shūku Shinge (Hollow Cry God's Departure). The broken edge regenerated instantly, warping into an even longer, more grotesque form, sprouting twisted protrusions along its length.
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