Muzan: My daughter can't be that weak!

Doma landed back on the ground, and he smiled broadly.

"Blood Demon Art: Winter Ice Pillar"

Countless giant ice pillars fell from the sky.

His real purpose was to create obstacles, create distance, and overwhelm the opponent with ranged attacks.

The priestess moved swiftly within the ice pillar, her pale hand pressing against the incoming ice pillar, which immediately began to weather and disintegrate from the point of contact.

But new icicles kept appearing, and even more troubles followed.

"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Leaf Ice"

Doma's voice came from afar.

The next second, the temperature of the entire space plummeted, and countless ice crystal petals condensed in the air.

Each petal is absorbing heat.

The priestess's speed noticeably decreased.

Her ethereal suit can withstand direct attacks, but this indiscriminate environmental change is gradually eroding her mobility.

"Senior's Blood Demon Art is very strong, but it seems to require close contact and is very physically demanding."

Doma's voice was filled with concern, "You've been maintaining that bone armor since the start of the battle, right? Now you also have to focus on fighting my lotus leaf ice. How long can you hold out?"

He was right.

The priestess sensed that the energy required to maintain the Void Cloak was increasing.

Doma's tactics were very clever.

Instead of aiming for a fatal blow, the strategy is to wear her down with a continuous barrage of attacks.

As a demon, Doma has consumed far more people, and the total amount of Blood Demon Art she possesses is probably greater than hers.

This situation must be broken.

She stopped and formed a mudra with her hands in front of her chest.

The bone dust exploded and spread from her center, and everything the ice pillars touched began to weather at an alarming rate.

This is not for attacking, but for clearing the area.

When her vision cleared again, Doma saw her make a strange gesture: her hands were clasped loosely in front of her, as if she were holding something invisible.

"A new technique?" Douma's eyes widened with curiosity. "Let me see!"

Between the priestess's hands, a pale, almost blindingly white bone lotus slowly bloomed.

It is eerily beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful.

"Blood Demon Art: Eternal Lotus of Silence"

She pushed it out gently.

The bone lotus floated towards Doma at a slow speed, but Doma's demonic instincts screamed throughout his body.

Avoid it, absolutely do not touch it.

He retreated without hesitation, waving his golden fan repeatedly:

"Blood Demon Art: Scattered Lotus"

"Blood Demon Art: Snow Hanging Over the Withered Garden"

Ice crystal storm and freezing breath simultaneously bombarded the bone lotus, but all attacks began to disintegrate on their own when they were three feet away from it, turning into harmless ice dust that dissipated.

The bone lotus continued its journey.

Doma frowned.

He realized the terrifying nature of this lotus flower; it was constantly consuming everything around it to sustain itself, including his Blood Demon Arts.

Attacking it will only make you its nourishment.

"That's a truly foul-level ability..." he murmured, his eyes growing brighter. "However,"

He suddenly stopped all his evasive maneuvers.

The priestess's eyes flickered slightly.

Is he going to take the hit head-on?

"Senior, do you know what the core of my Blood Demon Art is?" Douma asked with a smile, his arms outstretched.

"Ice can regenerate, and clones can be recreated, as long as my blood hasn't dried up."

He cut his hand, and blood gushed out, but it froze and shaped the moment it left his body.

"Blood Demon Art - Mist Ice - Water Lily Bodhisattva"

A gigantic ice bodhisattva rose from the ground.

Instead of attacking the bone lotus, it opened its arms and embraced it.

boom.

The moment they made contact, the Ice Bodhisattva's chest began to weather and disintegrate at an alarming rate.

But at the same time, new ice is regenerating wildly from the wound, creating a tug-of-war with the rate of decay.

Douma stood on the Bodhisattva's shoulder, his face slightly pale from blood loss, but his smile remained: "Look, which is faster, my rebirth or your decay?"

The priestess gritted her teeth and poured even more power into the bone lotus.

The Ice Bodhisattva disintegrated at an accelerated rate, with half of its body turning to ashes. However, the regenerating ice crystals, stained with blood, became even more resilient and faster.

This is a war of attrition.

Doma's health is higher than hers.

The priestess felt a long-lost sense of unease.

For the first time in centuries, an opponent had broken her moves in this most direct way, risking his life to do so.

But the children's mill can afford it.

Perhaps it's because he eats a lot of food and isn't afraid of dying.

The Ice Bodhisattva eventually disintegrated completely, but the Bone Lotus also shrank, and its light dimmed.

Douma fell from the sky, covered in blood, his golden fan shattered, but he landed steadily, and when he looked up, his eyes shone with an astonishing light:

"I almost died... The shrine maiden is really strong."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "However, it seems your lotus flower has reached its limit?"

The priestess remained silent.

He was right.

Maintaining the Eternal Lotus consumed far more energy than expected, and she no longer had enough power to activate it again.

Doma slowly straightened up, and beneath his tattered kimono, his wounds were healing at a visible speed.

"Well then, it's my turn," he said softly, clasping his hands together. "To show my respect for you, Miss, I will use my strongest form."

He closed his eyes and slit his wrist again.

This time, the blood did not freeze, but instead turned into a blood mist that permeated the entire space.

"Blood Demon Art - Mist Ice - Water Lily Bodhisattva".

Not a single one.

Three ice bodhisattvas rose from the ground simultaneously, forming a triangular formation that surrounded the priestess in the center.

The witch tried to move, but her feet were frozen to the ground.

The Void Cloak was resisting, but the combined chill of the three Bodhisattvas made the rate of decay unable to keep up with the rate of freezing.

The first Bodhisattva slapped down with his palm.

The priestess raised her hand to meet the attack head-on, and a piercing corrosive sound erupted from the point where the ethereal robe touched the icy palm. The ice crumbled, but new ice immediately filled the gap.

The second bodhisattva attacks from the side.

The third figure attacked from behind, and she simultaneously resisted the absolute zero impact from three directions, causing cracks to appear on the surface of her Void Cloak.

"It's no use."

Doma sat in the center, chin in hand, watching her struggle. "The energy of these three bodhisattvas is shared. If you corrupt one, the other two will immediately replenish it. Unless you can cause all three to collapse instantly at the same time..."

He laughed: "But that lotus flower you just created already used up most of its power, didn't it?"

He's right. Maintaining the Void Cloak requires power, and the priestess's power is dwindling.

Ice began to seep through the cracks and touch her skin.

Icy.

Then comes numbness.

She could feel her body freezing, spreading from her limbs to her core.

"How beautiful." Douma walked up to her, wanting to reach out and touch the ice crystals spreading across her face. "The way the shrine maiden turned into an ice sculpture."

The witch looked into his eyes, which held no emotion.

She suddenly realized: this lunatic was a complete empty shell.

His smiles, his praises, his fighting spirit—all were mere imitations of human performance. His inner emptiness was even more profound than her death.

At least, she still longs for an end.

But he didn't even have any desire.

The ice spread to my chest.

Strength rapidly dissipated, and consciousness began to blur.

In her final moments, the priestess did one thing: she dispersed all resistance, gathered her remaining power inward, and poured it into her core.

"Hmm?" Doma sensed something was wrong.

The priestess's body was not completely frozen. A pale light shone from her chest within the ice crystals.

Then she broke down.