Chapter Nineteen: Do You Want to Dance?
『ＲＹＯＮ 』
Enjoy~~~
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Yukihara Ren stood on the wooden balcony floor, now drenched in the blood of demons who had fallen in the "tournament" Doma had held.
The air around him had turned to ice. His breath escaped in thick, broken vapor, and his emerald eyes—once shining with childish intelligence—had transformed into a glowing crimson red.
This was not mere killing intent. It was the effect of the "Yoriichi Template," which had begun to overflow through his veins in response to the immense pressure emanating from the being standing before him.
Doma watched Ren with a gaze that mixed curiosity and mild irritation. He tilted his head left and right, his golden fans gleaming under the moonlight.
"You know, boy," Doma began, his voice carrying an annoyingly childish tone, "I was thinking… if the one standing before me now were a beautiful young girl, perhaps with tear-filled eyes, her insults would sound like music to my ears. I would drink her blood with a smile and tell her that everything would be fine inside me. But you?"
Doma paused, his pupils shrinking. "You're just a narcissistic, arrogant child with terrifying eyes that don't suit your small face. Calling me 'ugly' doesn't make me sad—it makes me want to crush that pride of yours."
Ren didn't respond. Instead, he tightened his grip on his crimson sword. He felt horrifying cold creeping up from beneath his feet as ice began to crawl across the wood, turning the place into a frozen battlefield. Suddenly, without any warning, Doma vanished from his spot.
Doma's fans moved at lightning speed, releasing the technique "Withering Frost." Fine icy dust spread through the air—dust designed to shred the lungs when inhaled.
Thanks to his enhanced senses, Ren perceived the danger instantly. He held his breath and activated "Anaerobic State," moving through the lethal fog.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form – Thunderclap Flash!"
Ren shot forward like an arrow, trying to close the distance between himself and Doma—but the Upper Moon only laughed.
With astonishing ease, Doma dodged Ren's thrust and, with a smooth flick of his fan, slashed Ren's shoulder. It wasn't a deep wound, but the cold transferred from the blade instantly numbed Ren's arm.
Ren retreated, but Doma gave him no time.
"Oh? Is that all you've got?" Doma said as he waved his other fan, unleashing "Flying Ice Blades." Dozens of sharp shards flew toward Ren like nails.
Ren was forced to use his sword to deflect them. The metallic clashes filled the hall like a bloody symphony.
"Damn it, he's too fast," Ren thought as warm drops of blood slid down his shoulder.
"It's not just his physical strength—this ice… it's slowing my movements and freezing me little by little."
Ren jumped high to avoid a ground attack of icy claws, but Doma was already waiting for him in midair.
With a brutal punch from Doma's fist, Ren was sent flying into one of the tower's massive wooden pillars. The pillar shattered under the impact, and Ren fell to his knees, coughing up a large amount of blood.
His body trembled—not only from pain, but from the temperature, which had dropped far below freezing. Ren looked at his hand; it had begun to turn blue.
"I was wrong," Ren whispered to himself as he wiped blood from his mouth. "I thought 16% of the template and my current Hashira-level skills would let me hold out easily. I was truly arrogant. This monster before me… is the embodiment of death."
Ren struggled to his feet. Doma stood a few meters away, opening his fan to cover half his face, his multicolored eyes shining with sadistic delight.
"Are we done?" Doma said. "I'm a bit disappointed. I thought the tenth Hashira would be more entertaining."
"Hmm… has information already reached Muzan and the Upper Moons?" Ren thought as he let out a genuine, pained breath.
At that moment of despair, Ren summoned the system interface in his mind. The window blinked clearly:
[Unassigned Stat Points: 180]
He had saved them for a critical moment—and there was no moment more critical than this.
"System, allocate all points immediately. 80 to speed, 60 to strength, and 40 to endurance!"
The instant the command echoed in his mind, Ren felt an explosion of energy within his body. It wasn't pleasant—it was as if molten lead were flooding his veins.
The restraints imposed by the cold shattered. Adrenaline surged violently. The trembling left his body, replaced by a terrifying calm. The crimson in his eyes was no longer just a color—it emitted a faint glow.
Ren let out a short, cold laugh, causing Doma to stop speaking.
"What's so funny, little one? Did fear finally drive you insane?" Doma asked with genuine curiosity.
"No," Ren replied, raising his crimson sword, which began to glow with heat from his tightened grip (trying to add logic 😂). "I was just thinking… how fun it'll be to see the look on your face when I cut off that ugly head."
At the same time, Doma summoned one of his favorite techniques: "Ice Clones." He created two smaller copies of himself from solid ice and sent them to attack Ren from both sides while he prepared a long-range attack with his fan.
"Go on, play with him a little," Doma said cheerfully.
The clones rushed forward at incredible speed—but to the current Ren, their movements looked like slow motion.
With speed that even an Upper Moon's eyes couldn't fully follow, Ren vanished. Silence fell for a brief moment, followed by the violent sound of shattering ice.
Doma clicked his tongue in annoyance as he saw Ren appear behind one clone, shredding it into fragments with a single sword strike. In the very next instant, Ren sliced the second clone clean in half before it could even raise its icy fan.
"What?" Doma muttered, his smile fading for the first time. "That speed… it doubled all of a sudden?"
Ren didn't stop there. He charged straight at Doma's true body. The floor beneath Ren's feet cracked from the force of his dash.
Doma tried to unleash "Hanging Garden of Ice" to block him, but Ren twisted through the air like a storm, dodging every icy blade by mere millimeters.
"Breath of the Storm, Final Form: Crimson Cyclone!"
Ren roared. A vortex of wind and flames erupted around his sword. The blade collided with Doma's fans, which he raised to defend at the last possible moment.
The impact was so immense that the tower's ceiling began to collapse. Splinters of wood and shards of ice flew in every direction.
Doma was pushed back several meters, his feet carving deep grooves into the floor. He looked down at his golden fans—they were glowing red-hot, and small cracks had begun to form.
"This boy…" Doma thought, feeling something he hadn't felt in centuries: unease. "That glow in his eyes… the heat from his blade… it reminds me of that Hashira in Lord Muzan's memories. Yoriichi… the swordsman with the Hanafuda earrings. Could it be? Is he from his lineage?"
Doma looked at Ren, who now stood calmly, his sword dripping demon blood that burned upon touching the blade. Ren wasn't panting. He didn't look exhausted.
He looked like a small warlord.
"That mark…" Doma whispered as he noticed a small pattern forming on Ren's forehead beneath his messy hair. "The Demon Slayer Mark… he awakened it at this age?"
Ren wasn't interested in Doma's thoughts. He felt the Yoriichi Template's power reach 18%. The world around him became transparent. He could see blood flowing through Doma's body, muscles contracting, and the weak point on his neck with absolute clarity.
"Uzui-san and the others are finishing things downstairs," Ren thought coolly. "I need to keep this ugly bastard busy—or maybe… I can end this here."
"Come on, Doma," Ren said, his voice carrying an echo of Yoriichi's. "Show me the true power of Upper Moon Two. Or are you only good at hiding behind ice dolls?"
Doma's rage exploded, and his aura completely changed. There was no room left for playfulness.
"Very well, brat… you asked for it. Demon Blood Art: Lotus Ice Bodhisattva!"
The hall erupted as a massive ice statue emerged behind Doma—a statue with dozens of arms and a warped sense of divinity.
This was Doma's strongest attack. The battlefield turned into a white hell. Yet Ren, with a cold smile and glowing crimson eyes, didn't step back even once. He knew the real party was only just beginning.
"Oy, oy, oy… Doma," Ren smiled as he advanced step by confident step.
"Do you want to dance?"
He said it mockingly as he vanished from his spot, declaring the true start of the battle.
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End of Chapter Nineteen.
Since we've reached Chapter 19 without stopping daily uploads (ahem… sorry), I'm asking for comments and useful ideas for the novel.
What do you think about the chapter and the fight between Doma and Ren?
Do you expect Ren to defeat Doma on his own, or barely survive until the other Hashira arrive?
Thank you for your interaction!