MHGA Chapter 12 – Justice vs. Doma: Six-on-One Showdown!

"What a boring conversation. Do you really think the three of you can defeat me?"

Doma shook his head, his voice tinged with disappointment.

"I thought you were an interesting one, but now it seems you're just arrogant."

"Wrong."

Kairo Retsu shook the Wiggler Head atop his head and raised a full five fingers.

"It's five people."

"Feel honored. To make your death meaningful, I've carefully chosen five people just for you! And several of them are quite… intimately connected to you."

"If possible, I would've saved you for later, but for the sake of a perfect conclusion, we're starting with you."

He added, "And judging by the timing… my teammates should already be in position."

"I don't sense the presence of anyone besides you lot," Doma said, lightly fanning himself. Shards of ice sparkled into the air from the fan.

"One… two… three… Are you suggesting that two people are hiding their presence so well that I can't even detect them?"

"Two? No, no, no."

Kairo grinned like a man caught stealing chickens.

"The five people I mentioned? Clearly, that doesn't include me."

"And besides…"

He snapped his fingers.

"My friends are experts at hiding their presence!"

The moment Kairo's snap echoed through the room—

"Ahahahahaha! The Great Inosuke makes his dazzling entrance!!"

Only then did Doma realize—three more figures had appeared right before his eyes without him noticing.

A youth in a green cloak holding the severed head of a beautiful woman.

A boy wearing a boar-head helmet.

And a girl who was already mid-swing with her blade aimed at Doma.

"?!"

Startled by the ambush, Doma instinctively retreated, simultaneously activating the Blood Demon Art he'd been preparing during his earlier conversation with Kairo.

He felt a brief sense of relief—if he hadn't readied his Blood Demon Art earlier, these Demon Slayers might've succeeded in cutting off his head.

But just as Doma tried to dodge, he felt a strange resistance underfoot—

A subtle force disrupted his step. Ice crystals not of his own creation had formed beneath him, hindering his movement.

The culprit: Kazuma Satou, reaching his hand toward Doma.

"Die, you bastard who treats beautiful girls like food!"

Kazuma shouted, pouring his magic into freezing the floor under Doma.

Seeing that Inosuke and Kanao had a shot at breaching Doma's Blood Demon Art to land a kill, Doma panicked and forcibly dislocated his own legs to avoid their blades, barely escaping.

The Blood Demon Art he released earlier then exploded.

A powerful ice storm blew both Inosuke and Kanao away. Kazuma, having released his spell and already retreated with Tamayo's head, avoided the storm entirely.

"Kanao? Inosuke?"

Shinobu caught the airborne Kanao in surprise, while Inosuke crashed face-first into the floor beside Giyu.

"Hmm?"

Giyu blinked, realizing—should he have caught Inosuke just now instead?

"Damn it! He got away!!"

Inosuke yanked his head out of the floor and stomped furiously.

"I was so close!! He still slipped away!!"

"Hey hey, Grand Master!"

Kazuma called out.

"I may be here, but I've got no combat power, okay?! I still have to take care of Lady Tamayo!"

Tamayo herself looked exasperated.

She never thought she'd survive. Yet Kazuma had snatched her head right out of Muzan's grasp and carried it all the way here—dodging every threat along the way with bizarre, seemingly Blood Demon Art-level abilities.

He claimed they were his skills.

"What are you talking about, Kazuma?!"

Kairo clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a hero sent by the Goddess to save the world! A chosen one from another world! The Water Goddess's own favored champion! The future savior who'll one-on-one the Demon King himself!"

"BULLSHIIIIIIT!!!"

Kazuma screeched like a startled groundhog.

"You know the truth!! And what the hell is this future solo fight with the Demon King crap?! That sounds way too serious!!"

"Who the hell is this noisy guy?"

Inosuke tilted his boar-head, full of question marks.

"And what's with the weirdo wearing the goofy headgear…?"

"Goofy?! This is our Hunters' savior!"

Kairo shot back, defending his honor.

"It's the Wiggler Head—our guiding light, our battle-tested Lord of All Wiggling!"

"Everyone's finally here."

Kairo looked around.

"You were brought here by him, didn't even know it?"

Shinobu said with a resigned smile.

"Sensei… I'm so glad you're safe."

Kanao gripped Shinobu's hand tightly, clearly still shaken.

Shinobu had originally planned to poison Doma by being devoured herself.

"Careful. The demon is still standing."

Giyu drew his Nichirin Blade, his gaze fixed on Doma.

"I didn't expect you to be this capable…"

Doma's false smile finally faded as his legs regenerated.

"Looks like I'll have to take you seriously. I'll need… more children."

As he spoke, ice crystals formed around him, taking the shape of childlike figures—clones born from his Blood Demon Art.

The pressure from this group was real.

These people weren't playthings.

He understood that now. Any more missteps, and he would be the one to die here.

"Grand Master, his Blood Demon Art has a wide area of effect. The girls here…"

Shinobu looked toward the trembling cult survivors, concern in her voice.

"We've got no choice!"

Kairo replied.

"I can't protect everyone—so…"

"EVERYONE RUN!!"

He shouted to the Eternal Bliss cult girls:

"If you want to live—RUN FOR IT!!"

"Until we finish off this demon, it's up to you to stay alive!"

Kairo charged toward Doma.

"Fight for your lives! That's the only way you'll survive the Infinity Castle!"