Chapter 80: Reinforcements
Tomioka Giyu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back as an ice pillar tore a large gash into it, causing blood to flow freely.
This was the result of him concentrating fully on dodging.
But at least, Tomioka Giyu's objective was achieved!
The leftmost ice puppet, seeing Tomioka Giyu charging towards it, showed no fear and rushed to meet him!
What Tomioka Giyu wanted was precisely for it to do that; the moment the barrage was disrupted was his window of opportunity!
Tomioka Giyu did not attack the charging ice puppet but leaped high over its head, unleashing two Saber Qi slashes in mid-air!
Bang bang ——————
The targets of those two light blue Saber Qi slashes were the other five ice puppets that were about to use Blood Demon Art to stop him.
After landing steadily, waves surged around Tomioka Giyu, and the next second, water droplets fell.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm"
Tomioka Giyu's timing was perfect.
As he landed, the six ice puppets also turned around and simultaneously unleashed their Blood Demon Art.
But by this time, the Domain of Dead Calm had already expanded!
Whether the Blood Demon Art came from above, in front, or directly, without exception, all were completely shattered by Dead Calm!
The next second, a Water Dragon surged out of his Saber!
Tomioka Giyu certainly wouldn't let go of the momentary gap he had created with all his might!
That is, the blank period after the six ice puppets had finished unleashing their Blood Demon Art!
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
Tomioka Giyu no longer cared if he inhaled ice crystals; it wasn't long until dawn, and what needed to be done now was to fight with all his might and keep Kanroji Mitsuri alive!
Bang ——————
"One!"
Bang ————
"Two!"
When he was about to slay the third, Tomioka Giyu's shoulder was still grazed by an ice lotus, and a small part of his shoulder was instantly frozen!
But Tomioka Giyu didn't care at all; this kind of injury was nothing compared to his past ones.
Immediately after, Tomioka Giyu exploded forward with both legs, relying on his Red Blade and heavy Saber to shatter the lotus leaf ice released by one of the ice puppets!
Of course, the ice puppet itself could not escape, turning into ice blocks with this strike!
Bang ——————
"Three!"
Seeing the remaining ice puppets about to activate their Blood Demon Art, Tomioka Giyu unleashed several Saber Qi slashes in quick succession, forcibly interrupting them!
The next second, Tomioka Giyu leaped high into the air, gripping his Saber with both hands and bringing it down with immense force!
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
Bang ——————
"Four!"
The remaining two ice puppets still wanted to make a last stand, but Tomioka Giyu wouldn't give them the chance.
After quickly closing the distance, a wave-like slash killed two birds with one stone!
"Six!"
After doing all this, Tomioka Giyu did not linger; water splashed beneath his feet, and Kanroji Mitsuri's situation didn't allow him to stop.
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form: Water Surface Slash!"
————————————
On the other side, Kanroji Mitsuri's sweat dripped down her cheeks, one hand pressed against her abdomen, her expression showing complete exhaustion.
"You're amazing, Mitsuri, you've worked so hard!"
"Such a delicate girl, yet so capable."
"Look, all these exquisite slashes on me are the result of your desperate efforts."
"This is what makes humans excellent! Spend eternity with me, Mitsuri!"
But clearly, without Kanroji Mitsuri needing to reply, Tomioka Giyu's blade provided the answer for her.
"Do I need to say it again, Doma! Stop fantasizing about devouring Kanroji!"
Seeing his surprise attack dodged, Tomioka Giyu showed no surprise and quickly unleashed several consecutive slashes!
Doma was not to be outdone, rapidly waving his twin fans.
"Blood Demon Art: Withered Peach Snow!"
With almost no blind spots in his defense, Tomioka Giyu had no choice but to create distance and retreat to Kanroji Mitsuri's side.
"Can you still move, Kanroji? Your abdominal wound…"
Kanroji Mitsuri staggered to her feet and said firmly, "I'm fine, Mr. Tomioka, you don't need to worry about me, focusing on the battle is the most important thing!"
"The wound isn't very deep, I've already stopped the bleeding by using my breathing and muscle contraction."
Seeing her trying to be strong, a deep sense of self-reproach surged in Tomioka Giyu's heart.
He shouldn't have let Kanroji Mitsuri face Doma alone!
At this moment, Doma's Blood Demon Art activated again!
"Quickly give Mitsuri back to me, I want to merge with her while she's still alive!"
"Blood Demon Art: Vine Lotus!"
Tomioka Giyu's eyes narrowed, and just as he was about to meet the attack, five Wood Dragons soared into the sky behind him, each with power accumulating in its mouth!
Zohakuten stood atop one of the Wood Dragons, resentfully saying, "Damn humans!! Destroying my Physical Body again and again!"
"Detestable!! Hateful!!"
Facing this, Kanroji Mitsuri swung her blade, her voice filled with resolve, "Doma is up to you, Mr. Tomioka!"
But at this moment, an unexpected event occurred, perhaps due to inhaling ice crystals during her clash with Doma, or perhaps Doma was too powerful, or it could be due to her injuries.
In short, Kanroji Mitsuri's stamina was depleted, and her heart-patterned demon slayer mark also disappeared; she could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.
Tomioka Giyu's pupils constricted sharply, and he quickly stood by Kanroji Mitsuri's side.
The next second, Zohakuten's attack from the five Wood Dragons, along with Doma's Vine Lotus, all arrived!
Things happened too suddenly, and in his haste, Tomioka Giyu forcibly used that one form.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
Although it was used with difficulty, the Dead Calm in his demon slayer mark state still managed to block and destroy all incoming Blood Demon Art!
Fortunately, Doma didn't use any powerful Blood Demon Art; if he had replaced Vine Lotus with Ice Bodhisattva, after one strike, Tomioka Giyu would have been lucky to be severely injured and collapse.
Hiss ———— exhale ————
Tomioka Giyu was still regulating his breathing, trying to recover a little bit of stamina.
But Doma was already slowly approaching, a "happy" smile on his lips.
The five Wood Dragons were even faster, all smashing towards the two of them!
"Aah ah ah ah ah ———!! I can't do it!! "
"I'm sorry, I'm going to be killed, and I've dragged Mr. Tomioka down with me!!"
Tomioka Giyu was helpless and was about to comfort her when a magnetic voice reached both their ears.
"You won't die, Kanroji!"
"Serpent Breathing, Fifth Form: Winding Serpent!"
A serpentine slash instantly pierced through the heads of the five Wood Dragons!
Immediately after, the horizon brightened, and Zohakuten, who was still trying to attack, instantly turned to ashes, signaling Tanjiro's success!
A young man wearing a striped haori and with his mouth wrapped in white bandages landed steadily beside Kanroji Mitsuri, his eyes filled with concern.
"Your abdomen…"
"Eh? Mr. Iguro! Oh, my stomach, it's fine (◦ ˙ ▽ ˙ ◦)"
Indeed, Kanroji Mitsuri's Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai, had arrived on the battlefield just in time.