Upper Rank Kizuki, Doma

**Swosh... Swosh... Swosh...**

Under the full moon's glow, accompanied by the chill of the night breeze, several figures raced down a winding narrow path. They dashed through mountains and forests. Haru led several other Hashira towards Doma's lair. Doma was the leader of a sinister cult known as the Eternal Paradise Faith Cult. Behind him, Shinobu, Rengoku, Tokito, and Mitsuri followed with serious expressions and determination.

Though it wasn't a large cult, it was easy for the demon slayers to investigate its presence within two months.

After nearly an hour of exhausting travel, they finally arrived at a small village nestled among the mountains. The village appeared quiet and deserted, yet a mysterious aura enveloped the place, sending shivers down their spines. This was the headquarters of the Eternal Paradise Faith Cult.

Without hesitation, they stepped toward the center of the village, where the cult's church stood grandly with striking yet eerie architecture. As they entered the church, an oppressive silence surrounded them, only broken by the sound of their footsteps.

They walked down a long, dark corridor, its walls adorned with strange and intimidating symbols. An unpleasant smell wafted through the air, growing stronger as they approached. After a while, they reached a large door made of aged wood. From behind the door, the stench of blood assaulted their senses.

Without hesitation, Shinobu stepped forward and kicked the door open. The sight that greeted them inside the room was horrifying. Doma was ravenously devouring the hand of a woman.

He was a tall young man with a slender yet muscular build. His skin was extremely pale, and his nails were long and sharp, tinged with a faint blue hue. His long platinum-blonde hair was split to the right, with the shorter part around his face flaring out to the sides, curving back, and one strand falling between his eyes, while the longer part flowed down his back in a tapering spiral. Due to his beauty, he had been elevated to the position of cult leader and was regarded as a god.

Beside him lay a helpless woman in a pool of blood, one hand missing. They all knew that the hand Doma was consuming belonged to that unfortunate woman.

"Pl...ease..." the woman uttered weakly upon seeing Haru and the others. However, before she could say more, her breath ceased, leaving her a cold corpse.

Witnessing this scene, Shinobu felt a raging fury within her. Her face paled, but her eyes shone with extraordinary anger. Doma turned to them, his sharp gaze scrutinizing the newly arrived Hashira.

"You...? You look familiar..." he said, observing Haru's haori and Shinobu's face, his tone calm as if he felt no threat.

Shinobu couldn't hold back. "Do you not remember? You killed my sister! She was the Flower Hashira you murdered years ago!!!" she screamed, her voice filled with emotion.

"Oh, so that's it. No wonder you look like her. What a pity, it was dawn at that time, so I couldn't devour that beautiful woman and make her one with me to reach paradise," Doma replied, his tone almost nostalgic for the lost opportunity.

Hearing Doma's words, an enraged Shinobu immediately attacked with incredible speed.

"Shinobu!!! Calm down!" Haru shouted, running to catch up with Shinobu for the attack.

"Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!" Shinobu closed in on Doma at breakneck speed, thrusting her Nichirin blade into him and injecting Wisteria poison. Doma didn't evade, knowing that Shinobu couldn't decapitate him, but he felt the painful sting of her sword piercing his body.

"Poison?" Doma said, seemingly unafraid; in just a few breaths, his body developed antibodies against the poison.

Seeing Doma dismiss her, instead of getting angry, Shinobu felt pleased and attacked again.

"Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon!" Shinobu launched another assault with six consecutive thrusts. This time, Doma parried her strikes, blocking three of them. However, three others hit their mark. Shinobu injected a different poison this time—not Wisteria poison, but aging poison and a remedy that could revert demons back into humans, debuffing Doma and lowering all of his strength stats.

As the poison coursed through him, Doma felt his power waning, his cells aging, and his regeneration abilities slowing.

"Fourth Form: Striking Tide!" At that moment, Haru's attack arrived, delivering several swift slashes toward Doma.

"Barren Hanging Garden!" Doma countered with ten consecutive slashes of his war fan, creating shards of ice that clashed with Haru's strikes.

Rengoku, Mitsuri, and Tokito were not to be outdone. They prepared to strike, uniting their strengths.

"First Form: Unknowing Flame!" Rengoku's slash swept through like a storm of fire, shattering Doma's ice crystals.

"Second Form: Love Pangs!" Mitsuri's Nichirin sword extended like a whip, attacking Doma from various intricate angles, aiming to slice him into pieces.

"First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!" Tokito attacked directly from the front with a powerful swing.

"Scattering Lotuses!" Doma leapt back, swinging his fan to create a sharp storm of ice petals. The petals struck Haru and the others, forcing them to leap back.

"Freezing Clouds!" Taking advantage of this, Doma generated a massive wave of cold wind, dispersing it with his fan.

"Be careful, don't breathe in that cold air!" Haru warned the Hashira to retreat.

"I'll confront Doma directly; with my recovery abilities, I can handle it even if I breathe in the cold air. You all will assist and prevent Doma from escaping," Haru said seriously.

"Haru, is that really okay?" Shinobu asked worriedly, knowing that Doma's cold air and ice clouds were natural enemies to their breathing techniques.

"Don't worry, Shinobu. Haven't you already weakened Doma's power?" Haru gently reassured her.

"Be careful," Shinobu said anxiously.

Haru summoned all his strength, gathering energy within his body, feeling every cell pulsating with the power of his breathing technique.

Doma, feeling pressured by the relentless attacks from the Hashira, moved his ice fan, creating a thick wall of ice between himself and Haru.

"Do you think you can stop me?!" he shouted challengingly, his eyes gleaming coldly.

"Don't let him escape!" Rengoku yelled, launching a powerful fiery attack toward Doma's ice wall. The slash shattered the ice barrier, creating ice crystals that enveloped the battlefield.

Shinobu, though slightly worried, continued to support them.

"Haru, focus on Doma! We will distract him!" she readied her sword, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon!" Shinobu launched her attack again, trying to confuse Doma with rapid, spinning strikes. Doma attempted to parry, but with his weakened body, he could only dodge partially.

Haru seized the opportunity, moving with incredible speed.

"Shunsin!"

He appeared beside Doma in an instant, his sword glinting under the moonlight that broke through the damaged roof from their battle.

"Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"

Haru swung his sword with full force, aiming for Doma's body.

Doma was startled, but with his sharp reflexes, he raised his fan to deflect the attack. However, the force of the wind created by Haru pushed Doma back several steps, slamming him against the remaining ice wall.

"Second Form: Love Pangs."

Mitsuri refused to fall behind; her Nichirin sword glided gracefully, creating intricate patterns as she aimed to slice Doma from various angles.

Doma, cornered, struggled to rise.

"Do you think this is enough?!" He used his cold powers to create a small ice storm around him, trying to fend off the Hashira's attacks.

"Freezing Clouds!"

Doma swung his fan, generating a wave of cold wind that swept through the Hashira. The wave hit them, forcing them back and making it difficult to breathe.

"Don't let him control the distance!" Rengoku yelled, gathering strength within himself.

"Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"

His rapid, circular slash created a vacuum zone that collided with Doma's ice storm.

Tokito, seeing an opportunity, moved forward.

"First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!"

He attacked with an impressive swing, aiming to reach Doma, who was still trapped in his ice storm.

Doma, feeling the pressure from all directions, tried to gather strength, but the poison coursing through his body hindered his abilities.

With all his might, Haru executed the shunsin technique once more.

"Second Form: Water Wheel!"

He appeared in front of Doma with incredible speed, exploiting every gap despite the cold air entering his lungs, causing them to suffer from frost. But thanks to his strong mokuton healing ability, his lungs wouldn't freeze, only causing slight pain while executing the breathing technique.

As Haru appeared before Doma, he aimed to slash at his neck with the fastest speed.

As his sword glided toward Doma, he raised his fan to parry, but it wasn't fast enough.

Haru's sword cut off Doma's right hand.

If Doma had been in normal condition, the severed hand would have quickly regenerated within moments. However, now he was affected by Shinobu's aging poison and the remedy that weakened his regenerative abilities, making it impossible for him to recover his hand for several minutes.

Doma jumped back, ignoring his severed hand. As he retreated, Mitsuri's attack came from afar, striking like a serpent from a cunning angle.

"Crystalline Divine Child!"

Doma created three miniature ice replicas of himself to counter Mitsuri's attack and hold off the other Hashira. Although they were not strong enough to kill the Hashira who had activated their marks, they were sufficient to hold them back.

"Rime - Water Lily Bodhisattva!"

Doma created a large Bodhisattva statue surrounded by lotus flowers made of ice.

The Bodhisattva opened its mouth and exhaled ice, freezing the floor around it, quickly enveloping the room in ice and cold air.

The frigid air made the Hashira's lungs, even though they were distancing from Doma, begin to suffer from frostbite.

"Shinobu, are you okay?" Noah asked as he approached Shinobu, who was shivering from the bone-chilling cold in her lungs.

"I'm fine," Shinobu replied defiantly.

Haru knew she was lying because even he, with his mokuton healing abilities, was starting to feel overwhelmed by the cold air.

"Scattering Lotuses!"

Doma counterattacked, taking advantage of the Hashira suffering from frostbite. He created sharp ice crystals that rained down on them like arrows.

"You all retreat and hold off Doma's clones; let me face him alone," Haru ordered.

"But..." Shinobu said worriedly.

"Trust me, I won't die that easily. We will come back together," Haru said softly, comforting Shinobu.

"Be careful." Even though Shinobu was anxious, she knew she couldn't assist Haru; Doma's blood demon art was too constraining for them.

Swosh... Bang.... Crack...

Haru fought against Doma with all his might, narrowly escaping death several times from the Bodhisattva statue's attacks. In this life-and-death struggle, as Haru's concentration peaked, he felt everything around him shift. He could hear the rhythm of Doma's heartbeat and see the flow of his blood. In this state, everything around him appeared different. He could see Doma's blood flow, his irregular breathing, and the tension in his muscles. Haru quickly realized that he had entered the Transparent World.

"It's time to end this battle, Doma," his voice was calm and filled with strong conviction.

He stepped forward, utilizing extraordinary speed and agility. In the Transparent World, Haru could see every attack Doma was about to launch.

"Fourth Form: Striking Tide!" He swung his sword gracefully, targeting the weak points in Doma's movements.

Doma, already cornered, tried to lift his ice fan to deflect, but Haru was already within striking range. With perfect precision, he slashed at Doma's joints, severing the power that controlled the fan. Doma staggered, losing his balance.

Haru pressed on, feeling Doma's blood flow begin to constrict. He moved swiftly, using the Shunsin technique to close the distance once more.

"Second Form: Water Wheel!" His sword glided with unimaginable speed, targeting Doma's neck.

However, Doma did not remain passive. With the last of his strength, he created a wall of ice in front of himself. But Haru had already seen this movement before it materialized.

With agility, Haru leapt to the side, evading the ice wall that sought to block him.

In an instant, he reappeared beside Doma.

"Third Form: Flowing Dance!" He swung his sword, targeting the unprotected parts of Doma's body.

The attack hit its mark, forcing Doma to retreat again, feeling a sharp pain. He attempted to create his ice replicas once more, but Haru did not give him the chance. With a profound understanding of Doma's movements, Haru attacked relentlessly.

"Crystalline Divine Child!" Doma shouted, invoking his technique and creating three ice replicas to hold off Haru's assault. However, in the Transparent World, Haru could see the flow of energy within each replica. He knew which was real and which was merely an illusion.

"No more tricks, Doma!" Haru said calmly, attacking with incredible speed and accuracy. He sliced through one replica and quickly switched to the next, destroying all of Doma's illusions.

Doma, increasingly pressed, conjured a larger ice storm. But Haru was ready. Using the Shunsin technique, he moved again, attacking from various angles and exploiting every opening.

"First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze!" Tokito shouted, supporting Haru. The attack helped divert Doma's attention, giving Haru further opportunities to strike.

Haru capitalized on the chaos.

"This is the end for you!" He attacked with one incredibly swift motion, slashing precisely at Doma's joint.

Doma fell, looking weak. He tried to rise, but Haru knew this was his final opportunity.

With deep calm and focus, Haru gathered all his remaining energy.

"Tenth Form: Constant Flux!" He unleashed his final attack, crashing down like a ferocious dragon and severing Doma's head. There was no fear or panic as he faced death, for Doma held no feelings.

In an instant, all the cold powers and ice surrounding them began to dissolve along with Doma's demise.

Haru stood there, catching his breath. Utilizing the Transparent World had drained him, as maintaining all his senses at such extremes took a toll; he couldn't use it for long without risking permanent damage to his body.

With Doma fallen, he turned to look at the other Hashira. Rengoku, Mitsuri, and Shinobu all appeared breathless, but they had managed to hold on.

"Are you okay, Haru?" Shinobu asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Yes, I'm fine. But we need to leave here quickly," Haru replied, feeling the cold's effects beginning to fade from his body.

The other Hashira nodded, knowing that staying in this place was dangerous, as Muzan might send other Upper Ranks to ambush them while they were exhausted.