Chapter 205: 205 Kochou Shinobu’s Nemesis
When Rengoku Kyoujurou found himself alone and transported to the combat arena, facing Akaza head-on, there was another person among the Nine Pillars who also encountered an Upper Moon demon alone.
This person was Kochou Shinobu.
"East! East! Head to the east!"
Karasu cawed above her head, trying to guide Kochou Shinobu to join the others.
But Kochou Shinobu didn’t comply.
Instead of heading east, she slowly walked in the opposite direction as if drawn by some invisible force, arriving silently at the edge of a lotus pond without a word.
This place, too, was at odds with the architecture of the Infinite City.
It was here that the existence Kochou Shinobu had been searching for with such difficulty finally appeared.
"Ah, welcome, welcome."
He was standing on the wooden bridge over the lotus pond, holding a pair of iron fans, draped in a black cloak, with a priestlike hat on his head, and greeted Kochou Shinobu with a smile, looking like a clergyman.
"What a pleasure to encounter a lovely girl first. It makes waiting here worthwhile," he said as he removed his hat and bowed politely to Kochou Shinobu.
"So, welcome to my lotus pond. I am Douma, the leader of the Eternal Bliss Sect and, of course, an Upper Moon of the Twelve Kizuki. My number is ’Two’, you know?"
This person was none other than Douma, the Upper Moon Two.
"......"
Kochou Shinobu, unusually for her, did not wear a smile, but silently stared at the top of Douma’s head and then at the fan in his hand, followed by a blue butterfly pattern emerging on her collarbone.
A horrifying killing intent was released from Kochou Shinobu’s being, causing Douma’s eyes to widen slightly.
"Oh, what formidable killing intent. I see, you’re no ordinary member of the Demon Slayer Corps!" Douma clapped his hands and cheerfully said, "I get it now. You’re a Pillar, right?"
"Ah, such good fortune. I didn’t expect the first girl I met to be a Pillar, that is really..."
Douma sounded as if he was thanking heaven for this serendipitous encounter, his laughter especially joyous.
"...You really like girls?"
Kochou Shinobu watched Douma with a cold gaze and, for some reason, she voiced that question.
Douma, as though he felt nothing, simply nodded again and again.
"I do like them, after all, women are creatures more valuable than men," he stated.
This was Douma’s long-standing belief.
Upper Moon Two enjoyed consuming women.
Just from this point, he might seem to share a trait with the former Upper Moon Six, Daki, as both liked to eat women, yet their motivations were different.
Daki merely found ugly things distasteful and therefore preferred to eat beautiful women, much like humans feel an increased appetite when they see exquisite food but lose appetite at the sight of overcooked dishes.
Douma was different.
He believed women had more nutrients than men, which was why they could nurture a fetus inside their wombs.
With this belief, Douma was convinced that by eating more women, he could become stronger faster.
Therefore, Douma liked women, especially those who were strong, serious, and hardworking—he genuinely cherished them.
Regrettably, there was no trace of the emotions that humans should possess.
Kochou Shinobu sensed this, and her grip on her sword tightened.
"Upper Moon Two, Douma." Kochou Shinobu suppressed her emotions and murmured, "Do you remember that long ago, you once fought with a female Pillar?"
"Hm?"
Douma tilted his head, appearing not to understand.
"Several years ago, when there weren’t as many Pillars in the Demon Slayer Corps, there was one swordsman among the Pillars who was a master of the Flower Breathing technique."
Kochou Shinobu didn’t wait for Douma’s reaction and started talking on her own.
"She was the Flower Pillar, a genius who had developed the derivative Flower Breathing style from the Water Breathing technique."
Kochou Shinobu’s Insect Breathing was derived from Flower Breathing, the fundamental breathing technique of that Flower Pillar.
"But she died, killed by a demon," Kochou Shinobu stared intently at Douma, stating each word clearly: "Before she died, she described her murderer to me."
"It was a demon whose head looked as though it was splattered with blood and whose weapon was a pair of golden iron fans."
There was no need for further explanation as to who that demon was.
"That Flower Pillar was my sister."
Kochou Shinobu managed to force out these words from her throat.
Hearing Kochou Shinobu’s words, Douma at first looked puzzled, then his face lit up with realization.
"I remember now, there was such a person." Douma smacked his palm, suddenly enlightened, and said, "That female swordsman was strong, not quite at an Upper Moon’s level, but far stronger than the lesser ranks. I’d intended to consume her, but the sun came up before I could. She hadn’t completely died; even left some last words, huh?"
"You’re her sister? Really?" Douma said, seemingly astonished: "To think that both sisters would become Pillars? You’re truly remarkable!"
Douma, speaking thusly, showed no awareness of being the cause of someone’s death, instead oddly moved and happy as if he had met an extraordinary person, heard an epic tale or seen something marvelous, expressing his genuine admiration.
With that alone, it was clear that this man lacked any emotions one would expect of a human, even lacking sensitivity, merely masquerading them with his rich tones and language.
Kochou Shinobu could no longer suppress the emotions in her heart.
"Swoosh!"
All of a sudden, Kochou Shinobu’s figure burst forth like a bullet fired from a chamber, shooting violently towards Douma.
Her speed was incredibly shocking, not even leaving an afterimage in the space, as she appeared before Douma in an instant, her Sun Wheel Blade unsheathed without notice, like a bee ready to sting, aiming for Douma’s eyes.
"...!?"
However, before she could strike Douma, Kochou Shinobu, as if sensing something, changed her expression slightly and without thinking, retreated explosively.
"Boom!"
Almost at the same time, a cold wind blew past, bringing with it whirls of frost, slamming down onto the spot where Kochou Shinobu had been just a second earlier.
Under the assault of the icy wind, the wooden bridge began to ice over, and the lotus pond was frozen, with ice crystals falling from the space like rain, causing the temperature here to plummet by a dozen degrees.
"Ice, huh?"
Kochou Shinobu rapidly retreated to the edge of the lotus pond, looking at this scene with flickering eyes.
"You dodged it?" Douma looked somewhat surprised and said with enthusiasm, "Seems like you’re a lot stronger than your sister, even though you look so delicate."
Douma was a demon of ice.
His demon blood art allowed him to freeze his own blood, turning it into a mist of ice crystals and dispersing it with a fan.
The ice crystals held a deadly power, not only could they freeze objects, but if one were to come into contact with them, their skin would freeze upon touching the ice crystals, and if the ice crystals were inhaled into the lungs, it would not only cause breathing difficulties but also cause the alveoli to necrotize.
With the use of such a blood demon art, Douma had an abnormally powerful ability to dominate space. Once the ice crystals were spread throughout the space, no person could possibly be his match.
But Kochou Shinobu, relying on her sharp intuition and strong physical abilities, dodged all of the ice crystals.
In the past, Kochou Shinobu couldn’t have achieved such a feat.
"...Thanks to a terrifyingly powerful man, I have acquired the strength I possess now," Kochou Shinobu calmed down but still fixed Douma with a hateful gaze and said, "Originally, I planned to kill you with poison. Too bad, because of that man, this strategy fell through."
Kochou Shinobu had actually prepared a way to deal with Douma long ago.
Her sister died at his hands, and Kochou Shinobu thought of revenge at every moment.
Therefore, even before Reiger had appeared, Kochou Shinobu had already prepared a means to deal with Douma, a method that could ensure they both perished together.
No one knew that Kochou Shinobu had actually been ingesting wisteria flower toxins all along.
Based on the information left by her late sister, Kochou Shinobu knew that the demon who killed her sister was obsessively fixated on consuming women.
As a pillar, not only was Kochou Shinobu a female, but she also had an excellent physique. If she encountered that demon, without a doubt, he would devour her.
Based on this reasoning, Kochou Shinobu spent over a year continuously ingesting the wisteria poison, ensuring that her blood, internal organs, and even the tips of her fingers, were saturated with a high concentration of the wisteria poison.
If a demon were to consume such a Kochou Shinobu, it would be equivalent to ingesting a dose of poison proportional to Shinobu’s body weight.
Such a dose of poison was already 700 times a lethal dose.
Kochou Shinobu had prepared herself in this way, determined to kill the demon that murdered her sister, even if she wasn’t his match, she was ready to drag him down to hell with her.
But two months ago, the treatment by Reiger ruined Kochou Shinobu’s plans.
In the treatment by Diya Flatel, not only were Kochou Shinobu’s injuries fully healed, but even the poison inside her body had been cured.
Fortunately, Kochou Shinobu gained new power.
"Tch..."
As Kochou Shinobu gripped the handle of her blade tightly, her Sun Wheel Blade began to turn red.
"Although I was unable to unlock the Transparent World in the end, with these markings and my red blade, I will definitely be able to kill you, Upper Moon Two!"
Kochou Shinobu no longer concealed her hatred and screamed out loud.
"Oh dear..."
Douma squinted his eyes, just about to say something, when he was interrupted by another voice.
"Then let’s add me to the mix."
A heavy voice sounded, and a monk holding a broad axe and dragging a meteor hammer slowly walked into the lotus pond area.
"Himejima... Himejima Gyoumei...!?"
Kochou Shinobu was surprised.
"I’ve come to join forces with you," Himejima Gyoumei turned to Kochou Shinobu, and although his eyes were blind, they still reflected a hint of sorrow as he said, "I never expected to encounter the killer of your sister here."
Naturally, Himejima Gyoumei knew Kochou Shinobu’s sister.
After all, Shinobu and her sister were both children he once saved and had acted as a referee for.
"Now that’s good, I can do something for you sisters," he said.
The arm of Himejima Gyoumei was covered with rock-like patterns, and his temples bulged with veins symbolizing his rage.
"Oh dear..."
Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from Himejima Gyoumei, Douma finally broke out in a cold sweat.
"This really is bad..."