The Last Kindness I Can Give

"Absolutely not!"

Even Inosuke behind them could not stand it anymore. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "You really are disgusting!"

"What's disgusting about it? I'm pursuing true love!"

Zenitsu's face flushed red, his expression screaming that his stance was unwavering.

Tanjiro and the others were utterly speechless.

Even more speechless was Lin Fan inside the blade. Who would have thought that a fine young man like me would one day be targeted by a pervert...

Forget about sword fighting...

But Lin Fan suddenly felt a wicked curiosity. How miserable would Zenitsu be if he found out that he was actually a man?

Just thinking about it was unbearably exciting!

Meanwhile, Zenitsu suddenly shivered.

He had the strange feeling that someone was watching him.

Tanjiro, standing in front of them, turned around and reminded the two of them.

"Mount Natagumo may very well be a trap prepared by Muzan Kibutsuji. If anything unusual happens and we need to run, make sure you stay close to me."

Inosuke and Zenitsu both nodded.

After Kamanue's attack last time, they understood just how important those words were!

Zenitsu especially. If Nezuko and Azuromaru had not driven him onward, he would never have gone anywhere near Mount Natagumo!

The Last Kindness He Could Give

The three of them jogged all the way.

They ran from sunrise until sunset, beneath the golden evening sky and into the falling night. Only then did they finally reach their destination.

Mount Natagumo.

But the moment they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they spotted a young man in a Demon Slayer Corps uniform lying on the path ahead.

The young man was clearly still alive. He raised his head, tears streaming down his face as he desperately begged.

"Save... save me..."

"He's from the Demon Slayer Corps!"

Tanjiro confirmed his identity as well, and the three of them immediately ran over.

At that moment, Lin Fan warned them.

"There's a special kind of thread on him. It's difficult to see with the naked eye. This may be a trap."

Tanjiro narrowed his eyes at those words.

Sure enough, under the moonlight, he noticed something unusual. There was a faint gleam behind the person lying on the ground. Looking closely, he could make out nearly transparent threads.

Without time to think, Tanjiro immediately drew his blade and swung it horizontally at the threads.

His blade flashed.

Every thread was severed.

Tanjiro hurriedly crouched down and asked, "Are you all right? What exactly happened inside?"

After confirming that he had truly been saved.

The Demon Slayer Corps member nearly kowtowed to Tanjiro. He hurriedly described what he had experienced inside.

"Our Kasugai Crow gave us the order. There were ten people in our squad, but after we entered the mountain for a while, the members suddenly started killing one another...

"I was at the back, and I only made it here because I ran fast... Don't go in. Unless it's a Hashira, no matter how many people come, it'll be useless!"

Tanjiro could smell the thick stench of demons in the air, but his expression remained unchanged. "We came to support you, so don't worry."

Inosuke stepped forward as well, drawing the twin blades at his waist and walking to the front. "I'll take the lead. You two can tremble and follow behind me!"

Compared to those two, who were eager for a fight.

Zenitsu had already been scared into crouching on the ground, his body trembling in fear. The man's words had clearly frightened him badly.

"This is terrifying... Can't we just not go in?"

"No."

Tanjiro rejected him immediately.

Even though he was terrified, Zenitsu still forced himself to stand up. After all, staying by Tanjiro's side was the safest option.

The three of them stared at the dark, dense forest ahead.

Without any hesitation.

Inosuke charged forward first, while Tanjiro and Zenitsu followed close behind.

Only the rescued Demon Slayer Corps member remained where he was, watching their departing backs.

After the three entered the dense forest.

Lin Fan's senses spread across a radius of a thousand meters. He immediately detected the presence of demons, though none of them were particularly strong.

For the current Tanjiro, they would be easy prey. Even so, Lin Fan did not lower his guard.

He immediately warned him.

"Tanjiro, keep moving straight ahead. You'll soon encounter a demon."

"Thanks for the warning."

Tanjiro hurriedly thanked him, then said to the two beside him.

"Straight ahead, there's a demon there!"

"I'm going to chop it into eight pieces! But there are way too many spiderwebs here. They're pissing me off!"

Inosuke looked at the sticky webs clinging to his hands and body, wildly shaking himself to fling them away.

Zenitsu, following behind them, still wore a bizarre expression.

This time, Tanjiro led the way. Along the way, they encountered a surviving Demon Slayer Corps member, but they had barely exchanged a few words.

When an unusual sound came from the forest.

Several Demon Slayer Corps members emerged from the trees. However, their movements were stiff and mindless. Clearly, their bodies had been controlled by some kind of ability.

Lin Fan did not waste words. He sensed a powerful demon approaching, so he immediately warned them.

"Ignore those controlled people. Kill the demon hiding behind the scenes first. There's going to be a fierce battle ahead!

"That demon is to your left!"

With that.

Tanjiro immediately understood. If Azuromaru called it a fierce battle, then it definitely would not be weaker than the Lower Rank Six demon they had encountered before.

Clearly, the approaching demon was also one of the Twelve Kizuki!

"I understand!"

Without wasting time, he immediately warned Inosuke and the others, "I'm going to kill the demon controlling these people. I'll leave this place to you!"

As he spoke, he pushed off with both legs and shot straight toward the left.

Everyone who blocked his path.

Had the threads on their bodies effortlessly severed with a single slash. They could not stop Tanjiro for even a second!

But along the way.

Tanjiro saw a girl controlled by threads. Behind and beneath her lay the corpses of several Demon Slayer Corps members.

Tears filled her eyes, and despair filled her gaze as she said, "Leave quickly. My body is not under my control..."

Before she could finish.

Her body moved on its own, gripping her blade as she rushed toward him.

Veins bulged on Tanjiro's forehead.

With just one glance, he charged forward with his blade in one hand. In an instant, he severed every thread on the girl's body.

He had no intention of stopping.

Ignoring the girl collapsing limply behind him, he continued rushing forward.

The deeper he went, the more situations like this he encountered.

Two more people appeared one after another, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles and their bodies drenched in blood.

"Someone who toys with lives!"

Tanjiro was furious. It was the first time he had felt such anger.

Lin Fan fanned the flames at that moment.

"Release your desire. Let all your anger out!"

Surprisingly, Tanjiro did not answer with words. Instead, he chose to respond with action!

His figure flashed, instantly tearing apart every thread on the two of them.

Behind them appeared a headless corpse. The body had clearly been modified, its hands replaced with two golden blades.

Its muscles were knotted, and its build was immensely powerful.

But Tanjiro merely held his blade in one hand, heavy breathing escaping his lips. "Water Breathing—Third Form—Flowing Dance!"

He burst forward with a special footwork, instantly dismembering the body along with its threads.

The female demon hiding nearby and controlling everything.

Was snow-white all over, with red spots on her face. Her kimono could barely conceal the murderous aura spilling from her chest. If Zenitsu had seen her.

Lin Fan could already imagine him spraying blood from his nose until he died.

But the female demon was already panicking.

"What do I do... What do I do? Why is this demon hunter so strong... Those earrings... Could he be the demon hunter that person wants dead?

"At this distance, I can't escape anymore... I'm dead... He's going to cut off my head..."

Her fear of death threw even her thoughts into chaos. But when she saw Tanjiro charging toward her.

Her mind suddenly became a little clearer.

"But if I die like this... then I should finally be freed from this hell..."

Remembering all the torment she had endured here, she raised both hands as though a great burden had been lifted, giving up all resistance.

She willingly accepted death!

Tanjiro's pupils contracted at the sight.

For a demon willing to be beheaded, the only thing he could offer was one final kindness. "Water Breathing—Fifth Form—Blessed Rain After the Drought!"

This time, there was no raging current around his blade.

There was only gentleness. The spray raised by the blade caressed her face like rain.

By the time Tanjiro landed.

The female demon's life had already reached its end, but she felt no pain as she died.

When her head fell to the ground.

Tanjiro turned around and met her gaze.

His eyes held nothing but pity and gentleness. There was no malice mixed into that gaze, only tenderness. It was so gentle that one could not help but sink into it.

It had nothing to do with anything else. It was simply his final pity for the female demon's tragic fate.

That successfully moved the female demon. Before she died.

She heard herself say.