Yuko didn't know exactly how tall Shinobu Kocho was, but she was certainly not over 160 centimeters.
The person in front of her clearly was.
And also… that strange sword form—it didn't resemble Insect Breathing at all. It was light and drifting, with sword energy blooming like flowers.
Yuko couldn't help but quicken her pace by a few steps.
She finally saw the girl wearing the butterfly haori clearly—long, gorgeous hair, and absolutely not the Shinobu she remembered.
Her memory wasn't particularly strong, but as long as she replayed certain images in her mind, she could still recall them.
Still, this girl was definitely related to Shinobu. They looked undeniably alike, and she was even wearing Shinobu's haori.
Perhaps it had been passed down to her… as a keepsake.
As she drew closer, she heard Doma's infuriatingly cheerful voice.
"So hardworking~"
He was playing around.
The girl before him undoubtedly possessed Hashira-level strength—Yuko had no doubt about that. But her luck was terrible. She had run straight into an Upper Rank second only to Muzan himself—Doma—whose abilities were exceptionally suppressive toward Breathing Styles.
Over the course of more than a hundred years, Doma had risen from Upper Rank Six to Upper Rank Two.
Yuko hesitated for a moment and did not act immediately.
Upper Rank Two—second only to Kokushibo.
She had no confidence that she could kill him in a single strike. If Doma managed to take her information back to Muzan, then all her years of lying low would be wasted.
At the very least, she had to wait until Tanjiro had grown strong enough.
For now, all she could do was see if there was a chance to save the girl before her.
Since she had already decided to change something, she could no longer remain indifferent when faced with something like this.
Yuko glanced at the horizon.
Dawn was approaching.
Doma still looked completely at ease as he toyed with the girl before him.
To be honest, if the timeline were pushed back—back to before Doma became a demon—Yuko might actually have had a chance to set his twisted mind straight.
He was chaotic evil through and through—a pure thrill-seeker.
If he kept playing around any longer, Yuko would have to test whether she could keep him here.
The girl in front of him also seemed to realize this and took the initiative to speak.
"You… can't feel human emotions, can you?"
A nuclear-grade opening line.
Doma unconsciously froze for an instant, allowing the girl's sword to slash across his chin.
He leapt back, casually rubbing the already-regenerating wound.
"Many years ago, someone said the exact same thing to me."
"Come to think of it, you suddenly seem a bit like her." Doma looked at the girl with sudden interest. "You're both the type who can talk to me calmly."
"Much better than those demon slayers who lose their minds to rage the moment they see me."
"What a pity you're both women. Otherwise, I might've had two friends." Doma wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Yuko shuddered in disgust, goosebumps erupting all over her skin.
The girl adjusted her breathing and asked, "Did you eat her?"
Doma replied with a rather regretful tone, "Nope. Once she realized what my ability was, she escaped immediately."
His ability?
Wasn't it ice?
Though outwardly calm, the girl couldn't help feeling confused.
Her composure didn't fool Doma.
He smiled behind his fan, half-covering his face. "Your personalities are similar, but in terms of strength and perception, you're far inferior."
"Back then, I kept waiting for her to appear before me again. Unfortunately, more than a hundred years have passed, and that woman never showed up again."
"Perhaps she died somewhere in an unknown corner."
"Oh, by the way, Miss, could you tell me your name?" Doma said with regret on his face. "Not being able to learn her name back then bothered me for many years."
The girl, who had been about to give her name, decisively shut her mouth.
Doma gazed toward the horizon.
"It's almost dawn. I need to leave before the sun rises."
As he spoke, his emotionless eyes turned toward her.
The girl's pupils contracted violently, her entire body trembling.
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
It became dense. Suffocating.
This was… Upper Rank Two!
She was going to die.
Yuko's right hand rested on her Nichirin Blade.
"Blood Demon Art: Profound Wintry Icicles!"
Dōma swung his iron fan, and countless ice spikes blasted toward the girl like a torrential storm.
The girl pushed off with her legs, about to dodge—but her movement suddenly stalled.
Yuko's eyes narrowed.
The lung damage… it had kicked in!
Her breathing became labored.
The girl's vision swam, yet the ice spikes did not slow in the slightest.
Just as Yuko was about to intervene, her transparent vision clearly captured the change in the girl's eyes.
This was…
"Flower Breathing: Final Form—Equinoctial Vermillion Eye!"
The girl's pupils grew strange, the edges rimmed with blood-red. At an extreme limit angle, she dodged the ice spikes one by one.
"So amazing~ A form I've never seen before." Doma praised her even as he closed in at a speed unimaginable to ordinary people.
Too fast!
Those strange eyes caught Doma's movement, but he was simply too fast.
From this angle… she couldn't dodge.
...
No—there was still that move.
...
Suddenly, the girl's breathing rhythm changed.
Huh?
A trail of white breath escaped from her lips.
Yuko froze slightly.
At the moment Doma's iron fan brushed against the girl's pale, fragile neck, her own attack was unleashed.
"Snow Breathing: Eighth Form—Endless Snow."
An extremely fast white line grazed across Doma's neck.
The two figures crossed past each other.
Doma stared at the girl collapsing weakly to the ground, clutching his neck in surprise as blood continuously flowed through his fingers.
Too shallow.
Regret remained in the girl's eyes. Blood spilled from her lips, and the sharp iron fan had also cut her neck.
Doma didn't care about the wound on his neck. Smiling, he asked, "What was that just now?"
"A Breathing Style and sword form I've never seen before."
He wanted to ask more—but the girl no longer had the strength to respond.
Doma sighed and looked regretfully at the sky.
Can't eat her now.
After so many years, finally encountering another woman like this.
Can't kill her either.
Before the morning sun rose, Doma had already left.
Yuko watched the horizon. She had no confidence in stopping an Upper Rank Two who was determined to flee—unless she revealed the fact that she was immune to sunlight.
Fortunately, the girl before her could still be saved.
Just as Yuko was about to step out of the shadows, a petite figure rushed past her, leaving behind the scent of wisteria.
"Sister!"
The small girl arrived late, panicked as she helped her sister up.
It was Shinobu.
This time, there was no mistake.
Although she had not yet put on the familiar haori, her appearance perfectly overlapped with the image etched deep within Yuko's memory.
The Insect Hashira of the Taishō Nine Pillars.
Tears in her eyes, Shinobu supported her sister, Kanae. As a physician, she instantly recognized the severity of her sister's injuries.
Too severe.
"Who! Who did this!" Shinobu cried out in grief and fury, tears streaming down her face.
"Shinobu…" Kanae reached up to wipe away her sister's tears, forcing herself to speak. "Leave the Demon Slayer Corps."
"You work so hard… truly, so very hard, but…"
"Shinobu might…"
Lose to that demon.
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Currently at chapter 312 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08