Douma advanced with his fans spread wide, his rainbow eyes cold and calculating.
'Although I have seen Lord Kokushibo fight a few times, I have never seen him go all out. Essentially, I'm not facing Lord Kokushibo's full might.'
First, the snowflakes in his eyes spun, pulling Kokushibo into an illusion.
Crack!
Unexpectedly, a crack appeared on the snowflakes, then it shattered.
'Ah..'
Douma's eyes bled, then healed instantly.
"Looks like I can't use 'Snowflake' in an illusion, eh?"
He snapped open his fans, a sudden blizzard bursting forth. Snow and shards of razor-sharp ice howled toward Kokushibo like a storm unleashed. But Kokushibo's sword already moved.
Slash!
In one casual sweep, crescent arcs of transparent force tore through the frozen barrage. The ice disintegrated into glittering mist before it could even reach him.
"Ahahaha! Scary!" Douma laughed, twirling gracefully out of the way as Kokushibo lunged forward, blade trailing crescent moons of destructive energy.
Douma crossed his fans before him, summoning a massive lotus-shaped shield of ice.
BOOM!
Kokushibo's strike shattered it instantly, the shockwave sending Douma skidding backward, his sandals screeching against the obsidian floor.
"Such power! Even as a figment, you don't hold back, do you?"
He retaliated, spinning in midair. Dozens of razor-thin ice lotuses bloomed around Kokushibo before detonating in rapid succession. The explosion filled the arena with piercing shards.
For a moment, Kokushibo vanished within the blizzard.
Douma landed gracefully, his smile widening. "Hehehe… you're not that easy, are you?"
The answer came in a whisper of steel.
SLASH!
A crescent blade cut the mist apart, nearly carving Douma's face in two. He barely bent backward in time, the air above his nose splitting open. The strand of his hair drifted down in silence.
"Ah… close one."
Kokushibo advanced, movements impossibly precise, his six eyes tracking Douma with inescapable clarity.
Douma slid backwards, his fans a blur.
"Frozen Lotus—Thousand Petals!"
The floor beneath Kokushibo erupted with blooming ice lotuses, exploding upward like mines. The Upper Moon illusion moved like water, his blade severing the petals as though they were paper.
Douma's smile thinned. Such a monster.
He tried again. "Bodhisattva of Ice!"
Behind him, a massive construct rose—a towering Buddha of ice with countless arms, each wielding a fan. In unison, the deity unleashed a storm so dense that the entire void was filled with shredding blizzards.
Even Kokushibo slowed, his vision crowded by thousands of crystalline blades.
"Hm? Well at least that got you in a bit..." Douma grinned softly, his rainbow eyes locked on the demon.
But Kokushibo's voice finally broke the silence.
"Breath of the Moon… Sixteenth Form."
The illusion blurred. Dozens of crescent arcs materialized at once, layering over one another until they resembled a storm of moons devouring the sky. They ripped through the Bodhisattva, through the ice, through everything.
Douma's creation shattered like glass, leaving him alone once more.
The arcs closed in.
"Ahhhh~! So dazzling!" Douma spun desperately, fans deflecting some arcs, his body weaving through others. Still, crimson lines bloomed across his skin, each graze biting deeper than the last.
The blood froze over before spilling, then shattered in the air. His wounds disappeared like a lie.
"Blood Demon Art—Eternal Winter Mist."
An icy fog filled the surrounding in an instant, reducing visibility and increasing the harshness of breathing.
Kokushibo paused for a bit, eyes scanning for Douma. In the fog, several shadows moved, their figure unmistakably Douma's.
His six eyes moved from one silhouette to another, confused. Then, her responded.
"Breath of the Moon... Thirteenth form."
Blades of crescent arcs filled the surroundings like a wide ranged meat grinder, creating a whirlpool.
From above, Douma descended with both fans extended like blades. "Secret Lotus Art—Frozen Heaven Collapse!"
The fog solidified into ice, then shattered. The sound of breaking glass filled their demonic ears.
"Fall."
Douma whispered without a smile.
The shattered ice closed in on Kokushibo like a blizzard of glass. The light they reflected was attention-grabbing, pulling one's focus away from their danger.
Kokushibo didn't seem disturbed and calmly retaliated.
"Breath of the Moon... Seventeenth Form."
....
'Huh?'
Douma became confused for a moment. Why? Because he was back in reality, sitting before Shinobu.
Why had the illusion broken? Was it because Kokushibo's attack was too powerful that it couldn't be replicated in that illusory world?
Douma's analytical mind worked and he came to a frightening conclusion. Kokushibo was just too strong.
'Since I can't create illusions that can manifest his techniques, then I should use him as a Martial Arts dummy.'
He had no qualms with using the noble lady's fake form as a mentor
It wasn't like he was doing anything bad. He just wanted to train with a former colleague.
'Right?'
He doubted himself.
"Mm~ It seems Shinobu-chan would be out soon." He said with a perfect smile, his eyes holding a hint of twisted fondness.
Moments later, Shinobu's eyelids quivered before they opened.
"Mm? Shinobu-chan surely has great talents~"
He flattered with a flattering smile that made Shinobu's eyes twitch.
Why the repetition...
"Ugh! You're annoying."
She shot him a glare, annoyed and confused. She wasn't even sure what was reality any longer.
As if he didn't notice her confusion, Douma smiled brighter and produced a small ice sculpture of Shinobu.
"Shinobu-chan, take a look. Isn't this simply beautiful?"
The twitch on Shinobu's eyes grew stronger, almost turning into a popped vein.
"Am I in an illusion again?"
She asked, her voice carrying unmasked threat.
Douma's smile froze, then his excitement cooled. "Well, this is reality. How did the training go?"
His smile returned when he thought about the training Shinobu went through. For him, it was a pleasurable event, almost addictive. Surely it must have been the same for—
"Horrific."
Shinobu expressed her true feelings. The Douma she faced in the illusion wasn't a shell of his past self but a replication of his current self. She only managed to draw blood once—when he allowed it.
A melancholic smile crossed her face when she remembered the time Douma would allow her to stab him in exchange for a hug.
"Eh? Shinobu-chan, do you want a hug?"
Douma inquired with an incredibly cute expression. It was a look no lady... no, female would resist.
"Probably?"
Doubting herself, Shinobu didn't notice when he wrapped her in a warm hug unlike his usual possessive hug.
Unknown to her, a genuine smile appeared on her face as she fell asleep in his arms, mentally exhausted.
"Sleep well, my little butterfly~"