"That's a truly vicious thing to say. Still, thanks to you, I think I've finally begun to understand what anger is—"
As Doma's voice fell, countless razor-sharp ice pillars formed above Hiru.
"—Blood Demon Art: Winter Icicles."
"Do you really understand?" Hiru dodged the crashing spikes, using his Blood Demon Art once more to clear the ice shards from his lungs. "Or are you just stubbornly forcing yourself to react the way a 'normal person' is supposed to?"
"You're really awful~"
Doma raised his fan to cover the lower half of his face, looking at Hiru, who had fully entered his demon state.
"We're all demons here. Why say something so hurtful? You're going to make me cry~"
"I'm a little curious," Hiru said, watching Doma put on a hollow show of pity. "Did you have those eyes before you became a demon?"
"Nope~ After I became a demon, the only thing that changed was a patch of red appearing in my hair~ This is exactly how I looked as a human, you know? And that's why I can hear the voices of the gods~"
Vast white ice crystals began to spin around Doma as their center.
"The gods say today won't go well for you—Blood Demon Art: Frozen Mist: Water Lily Bodhisattva."
A massive, ice-white Buddha statue surged up from the ground. Dense frost mist spread outward from it, filling every inch of the room.
Hiru even heard the faint crackle of freezing as the mist brushed past his face. Looking down, he saw an extremely thin layer of ice coating his body. As he moved, it shattered with sharp cracking sounds.
"Good thing these clothes are made from special materials. Otherwise, that would've been trouble," Hiru said calmly.
"Your tactic of altering the environment is admirable—far better than my own combat finesse."
He shattered the remaining ice shell and leapt upward before it could reattach.
"But unfortunately, I don't plan on dragging this out."
The room was completely obscured by icy fog, but since it was created by his own Blood Demon Art, it didn't hinder Doma's perception—if anything, it enhanced it.
He immediately locked onto Hiru's position.
The ceiling.
Realizing Hiru's intent, Doma kicked off the ground and shattered through an ice wall into the corridor just beyond.
In the very next instant, a deafening roar shook the hall. The ornate dome overhead collapsed along with the solid ice, sending up clouds of dust.
But the moment the ice was touched by sunlight, it rapidly melted away, leaving only a faint haze of steam to settle the debris.
[So strong~ Should I be nervous now? I probably should, right?]
From the shadows, Doma looked up at the figure standing in the light, his grip tightening slightly around his fan.
[If it were night, it'd be manageable, but it's daytime~ This is really hopeless. I should retreat now~]
Just as that thought crossed his mind, another thunderous crash erupted behind him.
The exquisitely decorated corridor was forcibly smashed open from the side. Doma flicked his fan, scattering fine ice crystals that pressed the dust back down.
Looking at the now-open passageways before and behind him, he smiled again.
"Oh my~ What should I do? Looks like I'm trapped. Are you planning to do something to me?"
Hiru had already withdrawn from his demonized state. He stepped calmly through the ruins.
"Of course. You're Upper Moon One, after all. Muzan won't abandon you so easily."
"Oh~ So that's your plan?"
Doma gently waved his fan.
"How frightening~ But I won't just wait around, you know?"
"You mean that demon with the spatial Blood Demon Art?"
Hiru continued forward into the corridor.
"At this distance, he won't have a chance to take you away. Sending more demons would just be throwing their lives away."
"You shouldn't say that~" Doma's smile widened. "My dear followers wouldn't abandon their Cult Leader."
Hiru heard the commotion drawing closer. The demon markings on his body resurfaced once more.
"Indeed. A bit of a nuisance."
As his words fell, the Gokuraku Sect followers, drawn by the noise, finally arrived.
The woman who had guided Hiru earlier was at the forefront.
"There's an assassin! Protect the Cult Leader!"
"Take him down!"
"How dare he harm the Cult Leader! Unforgivable!"
"That man is a monster!"
"Kill him!"
"Hurry, get fire! Burn him to death!"
They all glared at Hiru with hatred, yet none dared to approach, intimidated by his inhuman appearance.
Facing the shouting crowd, Hiru let out a soft scoff.
"A crowd is the most powerless threat to me… That's why I really do like you."
Doma watched as eerie patterns crept up the side of Hiru's face.
The moment Hiru raised his hand, the followers seemed to lose their souls, standing dazed and empty-eyed. After a brief silence, they dispersed, their expressions bleak.
Doma tapped his head lightly with his fan, looking troubled.
"I didn't have high expectations to begin with, but your Blood Demon Art really counters me at every turn~ What am I supposed to do now?"
Hiru no longer spared the followers a glance.
He advanced toward Doma again, smashing through what remained of the walls as he moved, leaving only a small patch of shadow for Doma to stand in.
Watching Doma smile serenely despite being cornered, Hiru finally spoke.
"You're watching, aren't you, Muzan? Before the Kakushi arrive, let's talk."
"My lord is very busy. He wouldn't be watching me all the time," Doma replied from the shadows, tilting his head as he examined Hiru, his gentle smile unchanged.
"I even tried contacting Nakime earlier, but she didn't respond~"
"If you don't want to show yourself, that's fine. I'll talk. You just listen."
Hiru glanced up at Doma, then frowned and took a few steps back.
"I won't kill Doma for now. You can either come rescue him tonight despite the ambush, or wait until I turn him into my own demon and extract all your secrets to give to the Demon Slayer Corps."
Doma opened his mouth to speak, but found his body no longer under his control.
A familiar, cold voice emerged from his throat.
"Are you that eager to die?"
"No helping it," Hiru replied lightly, meeting Doma's eyes as they turned a deep plum red.
"As long as you're alive, it feels like ants are crawling all over me."
He smiled.
"We've hated each other for quite a while now. Still, I regret one thing."
"Oh?"
Doma's smile sharpened.
"You actually feel regret?"
"I regret caring too much about my brother's feelings back then and refusing to eat people," Hiru said with a shrug, his tone as casual as if speaking to an old friend.
"If I had, I wouldn't have let you escape the first time we met."
"Given my brother's temperament and the era we lived in, eating a few bandits or criminals wouldn't have been a problem…"
"Even though I no longer crave ordinary humans, relying only on animal blood when fighting you is still a bit of a strain."
"Hmph~ So you understand that humans are nothing but inferior trash, completely unworthy of comparison with us…"
Doma laughed, his smile far more arrogant than his usual feigned compassion.
"Then why help humans at all? Why not join me? If the two of us worked together, nothing in this world could stop us, don't you think?"
"That's why you have nothing," Hiru said softly, lowering his head and lifting a hand to hide the smile at his lips. His gray eyes looked at Doma with quiet mockery.
"You've lived for hundreds—thousands—of years, and yet you've left nothing behind."
"Oh, right. That's not quite true."
"You still have a few scars that never healed, the ones that make you suffer. You should really thank my brother for those."
Almost the instant his words ended, the force restraining Doma vanished.
"Oh my~"
Doma chuckled.
"Looks like you've fallen out of favor with him~"
"That's a shame. I was hoping to insult him a bit more,"
Hiru said, rolling his wrists and glancing up at the sky.
"It's still early. It'll take time for the Kakushi to notice something's wrong, and even longer for reinforcements to arrive…"
"Then why not chat with me?"
Doma smiled, utterly lacking the awareness of a captive.
"I'll listen very seriously, you know?"
"I have something more important to do."
Hiru looked at him and smiled faintly.
"So… leaving you with just your head should be enough, right?"
Doma: …?