"This guy sure can run!"
Lin Jiu muttered while chasing Doma. He had traced him back to Tokyo once before heading north again.
Of course, part of the reason was that Lin Jiu would check if the area was a hotspot for demons to earn some extra world source along the way. So far, the demons along his path had been completely wiped out.
In the world of Demon Slayer, demons act alone as per Muzan Kibutsuji's orders. Unlike ghouls that gather in groups, killing a bunch at once, these demons act solo.
This distribution has its pros and cons. The downside is that Lin Jiu's efficiency in killing demons is very low, especially in this era without planes or high-speed trains. The upside is that Lin Jiu doesn't have to worry about being ambushed. Instead, he only has the option to ambush demons himself!
As he entered a bustling town, Lin Jiu's eyes immediately locked onto the largest building in town.
He casually pulled a passerby over.
"Is this where the Eternal Paradise Faith is?"
Surprisingly, the passerby's eyes lit up. "You know about the Eternal Paradise Faith? Where did you hear about it?"
Lin Jiu thought his luck was pretty good and smiled.
"I once met the leader of the Eternal Paradise Faith. I've been tracking him ever since and ended up here!"
"You should address him as the Great Leader from now on! Our Eternal Paradise Faith keeps its number of followers within a certain range. Normally, people can't just join us. But seeing how sincere you are and considering our fate, I'll introduce you!"
Murai Yoshito said, looking at Lin Jiu, who appeared like a samurai.
He felt that Lin Jiu was destined to join the Eternal Paradise Faith. Even his smile was similar to their Great Leader's! What fate! When the Great Leader sees such a high-quality follower joining, he will surely praise him and take him to the Land of Bliss in the future!
Doma's praise aside, Lin Jiu was already very appreciative of Murai Yoshito, who was ready to lead the way. Your leader will surely be very moved when he finds out!
On the way to the Eternal Paradise Faith, Lin Jiu kept listening to Murai talk about the cult, constantly promoting it.
The Eternal Paradise Faith is a religion that has been around for over a hundred years. It was particularly prominent during times of war and disaster when many refugees sought psychological comfort from the cult.
Its doctrine is to live a stable and comfortable life without having to do hard and painful things. (Is this Axis Order!)
This doctrine extends from Buddhist culture. It promotes a beautiful world, which is very attractive to the poor during times of disaster.
This is not modern society. In this era, life itself is painful for the poor. Many can't bear the hardships of life and turn to the Eternal Paradise Faith, becoming its followers.
Having lost hope in this life, they long for the Great Leader, who they believe can communicate with the gods, to ensure they no longer suffer in the next life, finding solace in this belief.
Like the Buddhist teaching that good deeds will be rewarded in the next life, the Eternal Paradise Faith teaches that serving their Great Leader well is the ultimate form of good.
Lin Jiu looked up at the sky. The stars were twinkling; it was late at night. Hunting demons during the day often resulted in empty-handed efforts, so nighttime was the best opportunity.
The Eternal Paradise Faith's building was brightly lit, seemingly full of followers.
"Yoshito, don't you know the Great Leader favors young girls more? Is this the man you plan to introduce to our cult?" someone asked.
Murai replied, "What do you know! This brother here has met the Great Leader once and came here specifically!"
Hearing this, the surrounding followers immediately gave Lin Jiu a friendly looks. As long as you're devoted to the Great Leader, we're all friends! But will they still be smiling later?
Doma sat in his leader's seat, a luxurious room filled with religious artifacts. This was the heart of the Eternal Paradise Faith!
Behind him stood a gold statue of Bodhisattva, similar to his Water Lily Bodhisattva.
A high-ranking follower respectfully entered the room.
"Great Leader, a believer has brought someone who is said to be closely connected to you to join our cult."
"Oh, connected, you say? Let him in quickly! Let me see! Wait, let me put on my hat first," Doma said, reaching for his leader's hat. As soon as he put it on, his demeanor changed.
Bang!
The door was kicked open, stunning the followers next to Lin Jiu. Lin Jiu smiled and looked at Doma sitting on the platform.
"Long time no see, Great Leader!"
"It's you!"
Doma's face showed a hint of unnaturalness before he quickly put on a smile.
"What a rare guest. Thanks to you, I've experienced such interesting emotions. Life suddenly feels meaningful again~"
"Your trial card has expired. I'm here to collect!"
Lin Jiu drew his katana and instantly charged at Doma.
Doma maintained his smile, waving his fans to scatter lotus-shaped ice crystals.
"Blood Demon Art: Frozen Lotus."
Aside from the visible ice lotuses, Douma's Blood Demon Art also released invisible freezing air. This freezing air, made from his blood, worked like poison. Inhaling it would gradually freeze and tear apart the lungs of the inhaler.
Lin Jiu was extremely sensitive to changes in the air and dodged the ice lotuses, holding his breath as he passed through the freezing air. In a flash, he was in front of Doma.
Doma, learning from experience, didn't dare clash his freshly repaired fans with Lin Jiu's weapon. He immediately sidestepped and leaped off the platform.
Lin Jiu's sword left a crack in the giant golden Bodhisattva statue, indicating he hadn't struck Doma. Without pausing, he leaped off the statue.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines."
As Doma dodged the strike, several ice vines entwined with ice lotuses appeared out of thin air in front of him, reaching to bind Lin Jiu.
The strike missed, and the shadow in front of the Bodhisattva statue disappeared. Doma suddenly felt a sharp aura and looked to his left; the blade magnified in his eyes.
Doma manipulated ice vines to block in front of him, but they were cut down by Lin Jiu. The blade left a deep wound on Duma's chest, but it healed within seconds.
"Haha, still resorting to such an ordinary sword! Your blade isn't even fully forged yet, and you come after me!"
Doma laughed as he saw the familiar weapon in Lin Jiu's hand. He thought Lin Jiu had come with a fully forged Nichirin Blade from the Demon Slayer Corps, but it turned out Lin Jiu was just that confident!
The followers outside were in chaos; some fled, while others debated whether to help their leader. But none dared approach the battle area. After all, these followers were just ordinary people, never having witnessed such a scene!
Neither Doma nor Lin Jiu paid any attention to these followers. Doma didn't care about their lives, as he intended to consume many of them anyway. Lin Jiu, not being a pure Demon Slayer Corps member, was indifferent to the lives of the people in this world.
"Blood Demon Art: Black Winter Ice Pillars!"
Sharp ice pillars appeared above Lin Jiu, descending from mid-air. Lin Jiu's gaze remained fixed on Doma as he dashed forward, the falling speed of the ice pillars unable to catch up with him.
"Blood Demon Art: Freezing Cloud!"
Seeing Lin Jiu approach, Doma couldn't help but recall the fear of being dominated by a slap and the anger of having a footprint on his face. Although these emotions felt novel, he certainly didn't want to experience them again.
Doma waved his fans, instantly dispersing a large amount of ice crystals, forming a mist-like cloud. The ice fog enveloped his figure, obscuring the view!
Lin Jiu closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and heightened his senses. The ice fog was denser than air, slowly descending after it appeared. Within the ice fog, an object was blocking part of the fog's descent.
Doma's position was very clear to Lin Jiu. He charged towards that spot and delivered a powerful kick!
Bang!
The kick landed solidly. But Lin Jiu didn't pursue further and immediately retreated from the ice fog. He felt the texture was off, somewhat hard, not like flesh and blood, more like ice.
Sure enough, as he left, a large number of sharp ice flowers fell where he had been.
Doma saw the ice sculpture girl summoned by his Cold White Princesses get kicked and shattered into pieces. He couldn't help but praise his cleverness!
Lin Jiu felt Doma was beyond saving; with his personality, it was no wonder he was destined to die! Seeing Doma staring blankly at the shattered ice sculpture, Lin Jiu decided to take advantage of his distraction.
When Doma snapped back to reality, he was shocked to find Lin Jiu already close. He quickly realized that Lin Jiu's weapon couldn't harm him, so what was there to fear?
The next moment, Doma felt an excruciating pain from his foot.