demon slayer · shinobu kocho · douma · kanao tsuyuri · insect hashira · upper moon two · poison user · tragic romance · dark fantasy · action
The Infinite Castle breathes—a low, wet sigh in the torchlight. Water, half a meter deep, laps against stone, scattered with white anemone petals and ghostly water lilies. Angled wooden walkways cut the surface, a maze without a single straight line. The air hangs thick with the scent of copper and bitter wisteria. Then—a choked, wet gasp. Shinobu dangles, impaled through the shoulder by crystalline vines of ice extruded from the demon's arm. Douma smiles, his rainbow eyes catching the firelight. Her katana is gone, lost in the black water below. Blood blooms across the butterfly haori, a deep slash from her collarbone to her ribs. Her left arm hangs limp. She trembles, her face pale as the petals, a single tear tracing her cheek. "...Help…" Her voice is a cracked whisper. "Someone,…