"What? What nonsense are you spouting?"
After miraculously regaining his balance, Akaza shot back in a dangerous tone.
Unfortunately for him, he couldn't pursue or harm Doma in his current situation.
Muzan tolerated no outside interference, before or during a Blood Battle.
The Upper Moon could only grit his teeth and swallow his frustration.
As he observed the throbbing veins on Akaza's face, a genuine smile finally spread across Doma's.
He was satisfied.
Akaza didn't know why, but the urge to slap Doma's face intensified.
Yet, from the outside, the ice demon's smile hadn't changed.
A martial artist's instinct was no joke.
Still, he pulled himself together after glancing at Muzan's position.
"I'm not here for you…" he said, regaining his composure.
"W-what? But you didn't even show up to Gyokko-sama's Blood Battle for a rank change," Doma replied, feigning confusion.
During Doma's ten years of training and routine, the Lower Moon Gyokko had decided to challenge an Upper Moon.
Perhaps it was instinct or fate, but Gyokko had never dared to challenge Doma for his spot.
Instead, he challenged an unknown demon Doma nicknamed "Cactus Head" due to the spines covering its body.
As for the outcome of the fight? Gyokko won and devoured his prey in his jar.
A tragic end that Doma didn't regret.
Recalling those events, Doma let out a disappointed sigh at his former superior's performance.
"I didn't go because it was a fight between weaklings," Akaza retorted, crossing his arms as if it were obvious.
"Oh? So I'm strong by Akaza-sama's standards, then?" Doma declared, snapping open his fan.
Faced with Doma's words, Upper Moon Three chose silence.
Akaza hated lying, but there was no way he'd acknowledge Doma's strength.
"Akaza-sama's playing tsundere again…" Doma shook his head, as if disappointed by his interlocutor's immaturity.
An annoying reaction that only irritated Akaza further.
Yet Doma's verbal assault wasn't over.
"Once I become Upper Moon Two, I'll be able to 'ask' Nakime-san for your location anytime," Doma said in a teasing tone. "Aren't you touched, Akaza-sama? I could train with you, haha."
Doma's laughter thundered in Akaza's mind: he'd forgotten that detail.
The only reason Doma wasn't actively harassing him, as he did with Nakime, was his current position as Upper Moon Six.
But if Yuri lost…
'Damn it, I should've listened to Muzan-sama,'Akaza cursed mentally, aware of this grim future.
"Muzan-sama is finally making a move."
At that moment, Nakime's calm voice sounded behind the pair of Upper Moons.
Muzan stood behind a wooden door, his gaze cast downward, his face expressionless.
Yet his plum-colored, cat-like eyes watched Doma with barely concealed expectation.
"Then, let's begin," he said in an icy tone after a brief pause.
A massive arena rose from the ground, the surrounding buildings receding into the distance, giving the impression that the entire area had transformed into a vast coliseum.
The scene reminded Doma of Magnolia from the manga Fairy Tail.
Doma smiled, waved at Akaza, and was the first to leap into the expanding arena, showing no signs of nervousness as he saw Yuri slowly approaching.
Yuri was as she always was: her entire body wrapped in tattered white silk ribbons.
Her graceful, voluptuous silhouette moved mechanically, like a machine.
Only a pair of scarlet and black eyes, marked with the pattern "Upper Moon Two," was visible beneath her hood.
(Image)
Doma couldn't make out her expression, but he caught a glimpse of a strand of green hair peeking out from the bandages.
Beyond her appearance, Yuri exuded an aura of death.
Everything about her screamed danger, somewhat like Kokushibo, but more unstable and chaotic.
She had no control over herself.
'Indeed… I always feel like Yuri is a walking puppet.'
Doma tilted his head, a confused expression on his face, as he thought about his own case.
Three things set them apart: he was still self-aware, could feel emotions (rarely, or thanks to the Paradise of Vanity), and had never unleashed his power without reason.
'According to Kokushibo's memory, Yuri's Blood Demon Art is plant-based, and she devours her victims' vitality,'he analyzed, sifting through his senior's memories.
The black flowers on the bodies of the afflicted were her trademark.
That's how Doma quickly understood the severity of Kikyo's condition.
The priestess was slowly being overtaken by black flowers that consumed her vitality.
"What a bizarre existence…" he murmured.
But all the spectators, with their superhuman senses, heard Doma's comment on Yuri's strangeness.
This statement sparked strong reactions from Kokushibo and Akaza.
But Doma ignored their remarks and Akaza's insults.
'A demon who's lived for a hundred years, but…'
For over a century, Yuri had sown epidemic after epidemic, reaping countless lives.
An act whose reasons remained unknown, even to Kokushibo.
But for Doma, the worst wasn't just her crimes.
'Yuri didn't even eat her victims,'he thought, frowning slightly.
Their corpses were consumed by her Blood Demon Art.
Her actions were like a plant scattering its seeds: they germinated, grew, bloomed, and withered, with no connection to the main body.
In short, she was a weed wasting the planet's resources.
Doma intended to uproot this evil.
"Yuri-sama is truly an interesting person," Doma declared, once again flashing a polite smile.
As always, he tried to pierce his opponent's mind with his words.
"It'd be such a shame if she died here, wouldn't it?"
Only silence met his rhetorical question.
"Hmm… I know! Muzan-sama, may I try to control Yuri's madness? Of course, after my victory."
Doma's question sparked murmurs among the unranked demons and Lower Moons.
The Upper Moons, like Kokushibo, weren't surprised by his audacity.
"Oh, and if I lose and get eaten… well, there's nothing I can do, haha. It'll be my fault."
Doma raised his fan to cover his mouth, laughing nonchalantly.
"Doma, stop wasting time and start!"
Muzan officially announced the fight, ignoring the demon's remarks.
This decision from the Demon King was silently appreciated by all his subordinates.
"Yuri-sama, I humbly ask that you take good care of me!"
Bowing like a refined martial artist, Dōma immediately snapped his fan open and struck at his opponent.
A shameless opening move—but Dōma couldn't care less. Muzan had declared the fight begun… so it began.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus Petals!"
"Blood Demon Art: Vector!"
The two techniques fused, erupting into a single Blood Demon Art—Blizzard.