Just as Yuko severed the statue's head, a strange shadow burst out of the statue and clung to the ceiling.
Yuko landed lightly on the floor, looking up.
It was a demon with multiple arms, its twisted features enough to make one's stomach churn.
So that was it—its true body had been hiding inside the statue.
Yuko's gaze drifted to the shattered statue beside her.
The demon didn't attack immediately. Instead, it crawled along the ceiling and moved to the far wall.
"Aren't you even a little worried about those people's lives?"
Yuko stared at the demon expressionlessly. She swung her Nichirin blade across another statue nearby.
The statue cracked open, and the people bound inside tumbled out.
Yuko quickly scanned them: three women and a child around four or five years old, all covered in blood.
They stared at her in terror, but they were conscious.
Their breathing wasn't too bad, though they looked weak from long starvation.
Seeing how easily Yuko had discovered his hidden food, veins bulged on the demon's forehead, and anger twisted his face.
Its muscles tensed. It was about to attack.
"Stay where you are. Don't move." Yuko managed to warn them once before she swung her blade and chased the demon out of the main hall.
The sky had fully darkened now. Snow and wind still raged. The weakened women and the child would never make it down the mountain in this weather.
Driving the demon out of the hall, Yuko watched as it spat green mucus at her.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Her flowing, waterlike footwork avoided the arrow-like blobs of green mucus as she closed the distance.
When the demon dodged her attack, Yuko understood.
This demon wasn't ordinary. Its strength was comparable to the future Twelve Kizuki.
A demon of this level should be rare in this era. Was her luck good, or bad?
The demon flipped over the courtyard wall, dodging her strike, and sneered, "Weather like this must be tough for you, huh?"
The nighttime blizzard grew harsher. Even with the breathing techniques, the cold couldn't be fully negated.
Strange. Her lungs felt sluggish.
Was the blizzard affecting her that much?
Yuko's breathing grew heavier. The frigid wind stabbed at her lungs like needles.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
She didn't answer. Golden lightning crackled as she dashed at the demon again.
In weather like this, the longer the fight lasted, the worse it would be for her.
But the demon, even without showing many abilities, was incredibly fast—nearly matching Yuko using Thunder Breathing.
As soon as she initiated her charge, it slipped away like smoke.
Watching the demon's fading silhouette vanish into the snow-covered forest, Yuko realized that her body was trembling.
No—its speed wasn't the problem. Hers had slowed.
The harsh weather was dulling her senses.
The demon's shadow flickered between the trees. It hadn't gone far. It was deliberately using the weather to toy with her.
A demon with both strength and cunning.
Yuko gritted her teeth. Should she go back?
Inside the temple, she could still fight. But if the demon escaped now, it would be nearly impossible to find later.
She hesitated—then a sharp whistle cut through the wind.
Several blobs of green mucus tore through the storm toward her.
"Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon—Incessant!"
Countless fine golden crescents erupted from her purplish blade arc, cutting through the blizzard and momentarily clearing the air.
With the snowstorm blown aside, the demon's form became clear in her sight.
She couldn't delay any longer. It was risky, but—
Hiss—
A strange breathing sound escaped her lips.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
Sun Breathing wasn't impossible to learn—just extremely difficult.
A proper breathing technique controlled the flow of blood through the lungs and enhanced physical ability.
Using the wrong breathing style usually only wasted strength.
But Sun Breathing was different—using it without compatibility damaged the lungs.
A mutually-destructive technique, unsuitable for humans.
But right now, Sun Breathing was the strongest technique Yuko possessed.
Flames—bright orange-red—erupted in the darkness. A fiery arc widened in the demon's eyes.
A single strike severed half its body.
Off target?
Yuko blinked.
The demon froze. Her swordsmanship never went crooked. Even if her mastery of Sun Breathing was imperfect, her forms were precise.
Was the blizzard so strong that her fingers had gone numb?
Her fingertips… she could barely feel them.
The demon regained its senses late. Its pupils shook violently as it retreated in panic, staring at the wound.
Why? Its regeneration was slowing!
What kind of strange technique was this?!
The heat from Sun Breathing gradually warmed her lungs. Yuko spat blood but slowly regained some sensation in her hands.
She wasn't suited for Sun Breathing—it harmed her lungs. The cold weather merely neutralized some of its backlash.
If she used it again, her body would give out first.
She only had enough strength left for one more strike.
If she could decide the outcome in a single blow…
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Hal—"
But before she could finish the technique, a sudden, unbearable pain tore through her lungs.
"—gh!"
Her advance faltered, and she dropped to one knee, clutching her chest.
Sweat the size of beans dripped down her forehead.
Overusing Sun Breathing?
"Hehehe~" The demon's shrill laughter rang out through the wind.
"Haven't noticed yet? The poison in the air~"
Yuko's eyes narrowed. She snapped her gaze to her side.
The green mucus she'd dodged was releasing a faint green mist.
The blizzard hadn't blown it all away?
No… if not for the storm diluting it, she would already be on the ground.
In this harsh environment, she hadn't sensed a thing.
"This poison freezes your lungs," the demon said as it strolled toward her.
So that was it. She'd thought it was just the weather…
The world darkened. Her body chilled inside and out. She could barely feel anything.
She was going to be eaten.
And yet she felt no fear of death. Maybe that was her greatest improvement in the past two years.
The demon emerged from the storm as Yuko finally lost control of her frozen body and collapsed into the snow.
Her vision blurred… and suddenly she felt heat spreading through her body.
…
In the darkness, a faint light appeared. Yuko's eyelids twitched, opening slightly.
She saw two familiar figures—one clad in red, one in purple—both glowing faintly white.
Yoriichi looked at her gently, lips curved in a soft smile.
"Yuko, haven't you realized it yet? The breathing style that suits you best."
What?
Yuko looked at Yoriichi with effort. A death-vision?
Was she hallucinating?
Beside him, Michikatsu said coldly, "You're using Moon Breathing all wrong."
Damn lemon spirit.
Why could he still say something so annoying even in her death-vision?
White snowflakes floated down from the sky, like tiny points of light, softening the dark world around her.
Yoriichi's voice echoed warmly.
"It's a color as beautiful as white snow."
A snowflake landed coolly on Yuko's cheek.
…
The demon had no idea that the woman lying in the snow had basically activated a cheat code at death's door.
Just as it planned to chop off her limbs and take her back to savor the swordswoman's despair—
Hiss—
Yuko, still lying in the snow, suddenly inhaled deeply, ignoring the freezing air.
Was she insane?
The demon froze for a moment, then attacked, its hands forming blades aimed at her arms.
A stream of white breath flowed from Yuko's mouth as her wrist tightened around the Nichirin blade.
"Snow Breathing, First Form: Whirling Blizzard."
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+30 Chapters
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