"He's using his ultimate move already?"
Aoki frowned slightly, tapped his toes, and shot into the air.
Two giant ice lotuses sat on the ice Buddha's shoulders. Doma sat on the right lotus.
Aoki flew towards the lotus, punching at Doma's damaged head.
As the fist neared, the lotus under Doma suddenly closed.
Boom!
The lotus shattered, but Doma was gone.
A shadow fell. The ice Buddha swung its hand, striking down at Aoki.
Freezing mist swirled around.
Ordinary people would be frostbitten just by getting close.
Aoki spun in the air and kicked out his right leg like a whip.
The ice Buddha's hand shattered, but the mist spread and it instantly healed.
Aoki vanished and appeared behind the ice Buddha's left shoulder. He swung his arm, and cold light flashed.
"Aoki Style, Funeral!"
Bang crack!
The ice Buddha's right shoulder was sliced into pieces, revealing Doma inside. His injuries had healed. He asked curiously, "How did you find me here?"
At the same time, the ice Buddha turned its head and spewed deadly freezing mist.
How did he find him? With the Transparent World, of course.
Aoki stepped lightly on the ice Buddha, twisted his body, and punched repeatedly.
Thump thump thump!
The attacked area didn't break, but the ice Buddha trembled, cracks appeared, and ice shards flew.
Vibration Fist. Aoki had been inspired by Akaza's techniques.
Doma reappeared on the other lotus, waving his fan. "Blood Demon Art, Lotus Ice."
Ice lotus crystals formed.
Aoki frowned slightly, flashed, and returned to Kanae's side.
"Looks like this is all for today. What a shame!"
Doma smiled and vanished. The giant ice Buddha shattered, turning into ice crystals on the ground.
"Couldn't you stop him?"
Kanae leaned against the wall, her weak voice filled with regret.
"Not enough time!"
Aoki also looked regretful.
As he spoke, golden sunlight pierced the sky, shining on the world. He quickly stepped back into the shadows.
Doma was hard to kill.
Aoki's biggest advantage against demons was Devour Demon, which put them in a situation where "my attacks do no damage, but yours are critical hits."
But Doma's Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva largely negated this advantage.
Doma hid inside the Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva, like piloting a Gundam. He could move freely, making it hard to hit his real body.
The Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva was made of Blood Demon Art and wasn't affected by Devour Demon.
Also, Doma was a mage. His attacks were mostly wide-range ice attacks.
The advantage of the Transparent World's senses and prediction was greatly reduced.
Most importantly, there wasn't enough time.
Upper Moons were definitely hard to deal with.
He had met three Upper Moons so far, and only successfully killed the weakest, Upper Moon Six.
Aoki shook off his thoughts and looked at Kanae. He was about to speak when he stopped and turned his head.
A small figure raced along the road. Her haori fluttered as she ran, like a beautiful butterfly.
"Sister! Please be okay!"
Shinobu's face was serious, filled with worry.
After their parents died, she and her sister had relied on each other.
If something happened to her sister...
She gritted her teeth and ran faster.
Buildings lined the road. As she passed an alley between two buildings, Shinobu stopped suddenly.
In the alley, a familiar figure leaned weakly against the wall, barely breathing, blood everywhere.
"Sister! Huh? That's... a demon? Did he hurt my sister like this?"
Shinobu's eyes widened, and anger burned in her heart. She gripped her sword hilt and shot out like an arrow. "Bastard! Scum! Die!"
As she prepared to draw her sword and strike the demon, she heard her sister's urgent voice.
"Shinobu, stop!"
"Huh?"
Shinobu frowned, confused, but stopped.
"Sister?"
She kept her hand on her sword hilt, watching the demon in the shadows warily.
Kanae sighed in relief, her face even paler. "He's not the enemy, Shinobu. Don't you recognize him?"
Shinobu paused, looked at Aoki carefully, and gasped when she saw his golden vertical pupils. "Mr. Aomura?"
Kanae smiled weakly. "Mr. Aomura didn't hurt me. Upper Moon Two did!
If Mr. Aomura hadn't arrived in time, I might have been eaten by Upper Moon Two."
Aoki shook his head. "Dawn is coming soon. You wouldn't have been eaten even without me."
After confirming he wasn't the enemy, Shinobu ignored Aoki and rushed to Kanae's side, looking at her helplessly.
"Sister, you, you're bleeding so much."
"She's dying!"
Aoki looked at Kanae. Through the Transparent World, he could clearly see how severe her injuries were.
Ignoring the external wounds...
Inside her body...
Her lungs were riddled with holes, and her other organs were severely frostbitten.
Kanae's heartbeat was weakening rapidly.
His appearance might have helped Kanae a little, but it hadn't changed the situation much.
Shinobu glared at Aoki.
Kanae took her hand. "Shinobu, Mr. Aomura is right. You can see it too, right?"
"No! No! There must be a way! I, I brought medicine..."
Shinobu's eyes turned red, and she frantically pulled out a pile of medicine.
Kanae stopped her. "It's no use, Shinobu. I know my condition. I want to say some things before..."
"Cough cough cough!"
Aoki interrupted her last words and took out a porcelain bottle. "Wait, try this first!"
The Butterfly sisters looked confused.
Aoki didn't waste words. He opened the bottle, took out a red pill, and tossed it over.
Shinobu caught it clumsily.
A strange fragrance spread, refreshing her.
"What is this?"
"Medicine," Aoki said.
He had taken out the Qi and Blood Pill.
He had thought about the Qi and Blood Pill before.
Humans could drink demon sake, so they could probably eat Qi and Blood Pills.
For him, the Qi and Blood Pill was a special food, or a supplement, that quickly restored his depleted energy.
For humans, it would be a powerful tonic.
Maybe it could help a critically injured person hold on.
With a Pillar's physique, if Kanae could just stay alive, she could probably be saved.
---
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