"Uh…" Tomioka Giyuu really didn't mean to mock Sanemi.
He didn't say anything—just focused on breathing deeply to recover his strength.
He knew very well that although Sanemi Shinazugawa had grown immensely stronger over the past year, he wasn't strong enough to bring down Douma, Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki.
Douma was a natural enemy of all breathing techniques. If he couldn't be overwhelmed quickly, his blood demon art would inevitably wear down and kill even the strongest swordsmen.
'Almost time.' Tomioka Giyuu stood up silently. He didn't charge in immediately—he waited for the right moment.
Finally, Sanemi was hit. Douma's tessen fan slashed across his chest, tearing skin and spilling blood.
At that exact moment, Douma's eyes fixated on the sight.
'Now!'
Tomioka surged forward, legs coiling with explosive force as his blade became a surging dragon.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
He didn't target the neck. Instead, he struck at Douma's abdomen—not to kill, but to immobilize.
He needed only to open the opportunity. The killing blow would come with Wind Breathing.
With a wet splatter, the attack cleaved Douma in half.
Sanemi had already leaned into his attack when Tomioka made his move—blade drawn to the left, eyes burning.
Sanemi only knew one strategy: relentless offense.
"Wind Breathing, Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist!"
But Douma wouldn't fall so easily. Even severed, his blood demon art surged forth.
Sanemi grinned like a madman. "How do you like the scent of my blood, you demon scum?! Tempting, isn't it?!"
"Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws—Purifying Wind Claw!"
Gales cut through the ice fog like knives, disrupting the concealment.
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow Turbulence!"
Giyuu charged in, carving through the mist as Sanemi closed in at nearly the same time.
But Douma had already gained distance again, using the fog to slip away.
"Blood Demon Art: Ice Mist—Water Lily Bodhisattva!"
A towering ice construct erupted between them, forcing separation.
The Ice Bodhisattva's massive form blocked both Sanemi and Giyuu's paths.
They struck in tandem, but even their combined force couldn't finish it off in one strike.
Sanemi snarled and burst forward.
Bang!
He leapt into the air, blade swirling with slicing green wind.
"Wind Breathing, Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash!"
The Bodhisattva's arms shattered, and a gaping slash split its torso.
Tomioka followed up with precision: third and fourth forms in quick succession—cleaving the head of the ice giant.
Sanemi didn't even glance at it. He trusted Tomioka. He charged straight at Douma.
"Don't even think about escaping. Accept your death!"
"Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind!"
His fastest technique—fast enough that most demons wouldn't even react.
But Douma wasn't most demons.
"Escape? You misunderstand, child."
In a blink, Douma vanished from in front of Sanemi—reappearing just behind him.
"You thought you could kill me?" Douma's tone dripped with mockery.
"I was going to be merciful. But no—bad children must be punished."
"Blood Demon Art: Ice Lotus Mandala!"
The ground froze outward from Douma's position. Crimson lotus-shaped flowers bloomed along the ice, releasing shimmering, deadly mist.
The entire battlefield was soon shrouded in a thick, frigid haze. Douma's form vanished within.
Tomioka and Sanemi retreated quickly.
They weren't fools—they could barely endure the freezing mist even from several meters away.
It was a trap designed to sap their stamina and kill them slowly.
Fifty meters…
Tomioka estimated the distance they'd retreated, but the mist kept creeping toward them.
"Got any bright ideas?" Sanemi snapped. "This is only getting worse."
"You're right," Giyuu muttered. "The further we retreat… the closer we are to death."
"I've reached my limit. I can maybe hold on for another ten minutes."
"Kanae should still be holding out too, but… the ice crystals in the air are hard to defend against."
Sanemi nodded grimly. He'd already inhaled some of them himself. His body felt heavier than usual, his strength draining at an unnatural pace.
The icy mist finally stopped spreading, but the danger hadn't passed. They were simply being boxed in.
And then—a light.
A faint glow from the east.
Dawn.
The butterfly sisters noticed it too from their safe distance. They weren't out of danger, but the sight rekindled hope.
"Sanemi, above you!"
Tomioka snapped the warning, yanking his sword free and thrusting it into the fog.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
The recoil of impact launched him backward, gaining distance just in time.
"So this was your plan…" Douma's voice echoed eerily. "Stalling for dawn?"
"I won't give you another chance~"
Six miniature clones of Douma burst from the mist along with his true body.
All of them activated their Blood Demon Arts at once.
A final, sweeping attack—one meant to annihilate everyone.
Including the Butterfly Sisters.
Tomioka's mind raced.
Then, a flash of inspiration—Sanemi's technique.
"Sanemi! Use your Seventh Form—link it with my strike!"
Sanemi didn't hesitate.
Whether because he trusted Giyuu… or had no better option…
He launched forward, blade spinning.
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale—Sudden Gusts!"
"Water Breathing, Twelfth form: Waterfall Basin!"
WHOOOSH—!
Wind and water surged in unison.
Tomioka's technique sent giant pressurized columns of water spiraling upward.
Sanemi's gales wrapped around them, turning them into towering whirlpools of death.
The wind added rotational speed and force.
The water granted momentum and weight.
A perfect combination—blades of wind-laced water spiraling like a storm.
***
For a moment, Douma was unable to react at all. He was still preparing to activate his Blood Demon Art in defense against the incoming assault.
Bang! Bang, bang, bang…
Several water jets rained down in quick succession, blasting the ground apart with immense force.
A massive crater was gouged out where Douma had just been standing.
In the distance, Tomioka Giyuu, having used the Twelfth Form of Water Breathing once again, was completely spent.
He half-knelt on the ground, leaning heavily on his Nichirin Blade, eyes fixed on the impact zone.
Sanemi Shinazugawa, in stark contrast, was still in relatively good condition.
Clutching his wind-scarred Nichirin blade, he stood tensely beside the crater, ready to strike at the first sign of movement.
But when the dust settled… Douma was gone.
Suddenly, a terrified cry rang out — the voice of Kocho Shinobu.
"Kanae! Watch out !!!"
Startled, Tomioka instinctively turned to look — and his eyes widened.
Douma was hurtling toward Kocho Kanae at terrifying speed.
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be too much of a problem.
But Kocho Kanae had nearly depleted all her stamina. If she took Douma's attack head-on now — she could be crippled… or worse.
"Sanemi! Hurry—"
Tomioka's words caught in his throat.
Because he saw Sanemi already bolting toward him, roaring something unintelligible—
"Move it, dumbass!!"
Before Giyuu could even react, he felt an overwhelming chill descend from above.
This was it. He was going to die.
But Giyuu didn't look up. There was no point.
His gaze remained fixed on Kocho Kanae, burning with a single thought:
'At least let her live. I can't let this be for nothing.'
Just then—
"Stone Breathing, First Form: Serpentinite Bipolar!"
BOOM!
The icicles poised above Giyuu's head shattered into shards, obliterated by the sheer force of a meteor hammer and axe.
It wasn't over.
Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, used the recoil from the hammer's impact to leap high into the air.
In the next instant, he hurled both weapons with bone-crushing force straight at Douma, who looked up, curious but alert.
"Stone Breathing, Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice!"
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
The sheer sound of impact made Giyuu flinch even from a distance.
Just the meteor hammer alone weighed over 500 kilograms.
To be struck by it, over and over again — even Giyuu wasn't sure Douma would survive.
When the assault ended, the battlefield was in ruins.
But Douma was gone again.
Gyomei landed, scanning the area. He muttered under his breath, "Gone? Or already—"
Sanemi, blade in hand, also searched frantically, ready to strike should Douma reappear.
Then, Douma's cold lilting voice echoed from above:
"Dawn is almost here. I'll stop playing with you for now."
"But I'll remember you well."
"Next time, I'll make you part of my body."
BOOM—
Gyomei didn't hesitate. The moment he located Douma perched on a tree, he hurled the meteor hammer toward him.
But it was too late.
Douma, Upper Rank Two, vanished into the morning light.
If an Upper Rank demon like him truly wished to flee, even Hashira couldn't stop him.
At this point, only Gyomei remained at peak condition.
Sanemi was halfway spent, and Giyuu, along with the Butterfly sisters, were in no shape to fight.
The sun slowly rose, golden rays washing over the bloodstained battlefield.
Tomioka Giyuu collapsed onto the ground in a starfish sprawl, sighing in relief.
"It's over. Kanae's safe… But the cost… yeah, definitely half a month in the Butterfly Estate."
Yet even in this moment of peace, Giyuu couldn't ignore the truth: he was not strong enough.
He had thought that with his current strength, he could last a night against Douma — maybe not kill him, but survive.
He was wrong.
If not for Sanemi and Gyomei, he would've died… or worse, left Kanae behind.
"Still too weak. There are four years left before Tanjiro's final selection. I need to grow stronger… strong enough to awaken the Mark."
While Giyuu daydreamed, the Demon Slayer Corps logistics squad — the Kakushi — arrived in droves.
Their job was to clean up.
The battle had taken place in a village, now nearly obliterated. Only a few houses on the outskirts remained untouched.
Most villagers had fled early.
But some hadn't been so lucky, perishing in the wake of Douma's wide-range Blood Demon Art.
Laid on a stretcher, Tomioka felt his eyelids grow heavy.
He finally gave in to exhaustion and sank into a deep sleep.
***
Some time later…
Giyuu slowly opened his eyes. The wooden ceiling overhead was familiar.
Pain wracked his body, but his senses sharpened.
"This is… the Butterfly Estate?"
A soft, gentle voice reached his ears:
"Oh my, you're finally awake, Tomioka."
He didn't need to turn his head. He knew that voice.
Kocho Kanae stepped to his bedside, smiling brightly.
"Seems like you're recovering well, Tomioka."
"Yeah… I'm not really injured, just exhausted."
But then her smile faltered.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help you at all. Thank you… for saving me."
Giyuu waved his hand weakly, signaling it was fine.
After all, saving Kanae had been part of his mission — not just to atone, but to prepare for the final battle to come.
The next day, the master of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, came to visit.
"Rest well, Giyuu. Your danger sense is exceptional."
"Compared to even my own insight, yours is not lacking. You're worthy of the title Pillar."
Giyuu flushed inwardly but remained composed.
"Thank you, Oyakata-sama. It's my honor to serve as a Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps."
The following weeks were as Giyuu had predicted.
He remained in the Butterfly Estate for nearly a month to recover.
During that time, he grew close to the Butterfly sisters.
Kocho Kanae was warm and kind.
Kocho Shinobu, surprisingly, began to treat him like a hero — thanking him multiple times for saving her sister, and even apologizing for having once doubted him.
For now, peace had returned…
But the threat of Douma — and the battle yet to come — still loomed.