The Bond You Speak Of Is False!

"Four of the Twelve Kizuki are lying in wait for you here. Be careful..."

With that, her body and head completely dissipated.

"Four?!"

Tanjiro froze.

Even Lin Fan within the blade was somewhat surprised. Only four Twelve Kizuki?!

There was a high chance that three of them were Lower Rank demons.

Muzan, who were you looking down on?!

With General Kamado Tanjiro at my side, I can slay the Twelve Kizuki!

But judging by the aura, one of them was already close. He just did not know who it was.

Lin Fan promptly warned him as well.

"Tanjiro, that guy is already close. It's right in front of you!"

Hearing that, Tanjiro came back to his senses.

He gripped his sword with both hands, his breathing deepening as he prepared to unleash a sword technique at any moment.

Once his nose caught that dangerous scent, a boy roughly his height silently emerged from the woods not far away.

Your So-Called Bond Is Fake!

His entire body was snow-white, especially his hairstyle, which looked like a spider clutching his head, and his cyan eyes wrapped in blood-red markings!

There was no doubt about who had arrived.

It was the current Lower Rank Five, Rui!

Lin Fan recognized him at a glance and immediately warned, "Tanjiro, this guy is much stronger than the Lower Rank Six we encountered before!"

Tanjiro deeply understood that as well.

Just from his scent and stance alone, it was obvious that this guy was terrifyingly strong!

Compared to the tense Tanjiro, Rui seemed more concerned about the dead female demon. He stared at the spot where her body had disappeared.

After pondering for a moment, he abruptly spoke.

"Mother, is she dead? Well, dead is dead... Still, she fulfilled her duty to protect the family..."

As he spoke, he turned around. His cold gaze swept over Tanjiro, and when he noticed the distinctive hanafuda earrings on his ears—

Rui's expression grew serious.

"These earrings... So you're the Demon Slayer that person said must be killed..."

The moment his words fell—

He raised his hand, and several invisible threads shot toward Tanjiro.

Sensing danger, Tanjiro immediately raised Azhulomaru and rapidly slashed forward several times, cutting every thread apart.

Rui's expression changed.

The threads had been cut?

After that brief exchange, both sides already understood how troublesome the other was. Rui had information about Tanjiro, but Tanjiro knew nothing about him.

At the same time—

After witnessing this scene, Muzan, who had been watching the battle, immediately issued an order.

The demons guarding the various areas of Mount Natagumo received the command. Once they confirmed the target had appeared, they all abandoned their territories.

They converged on Tanjiro and Rui's location.

This also drew the attention of the Hashira hidden along the outer perimeter, who began moving as well.

The entire Mount Natagumo was in motion from every direction!

At the center of everyone's attention—

Tanjiro angrily rebuked Rui, "Wasn't that your mother?! Why aren't you sad at all!

Aren't you family?!"

Facing the accusation, Rui spun threads from his hands and formed cat's cradle patterns with his fingers. Standing there, he answered unpleasantly, "We are family bound together by close ties. What could you possibly understand!"

The moment he finished speaking, Tanjiro fiercely refuted him.

"No one understands the meaning of family better than I do. You don't have the scent of the trust that should naturally exist between family members. When you looked at the place where she died, all I smelled from you was disgust!

Your so-called bond is fake!!!"

Tanjiro spoke with absolute certainty, with a conviction that could not be shaken!

It seemed he had struck a sore spot. Rui's eyes and hands trembled slightly, and he even clenched his teeth in rage.

"You... Say that again if you dare!" Rui was now venting the fury in his heart.

Killing intent filled the air.

Even Tanjiro, enveloped by that killing intent, felt himself tremble slightly. Yet even so, he had no intention of yielding.

"It'll be the same no matter how many times I say it! The bond between you is fake!"

This time, Rui could no longer suppress his rage.

"Don't expect to die well! I'll torture you to death little by little! But if you take back what you just said, I might kill you in one blow."

Even Lin Fan clicked his tongue at the sight.

Wasn't Tanjiro basically stabbing the guy straight in the heart?

You're more ruthless than I am.

At that moment, Tanjiro resolutely thought, Azhulomaru, please lend me your strength!

"Are you finally taking the initiative to ask for power? I told you that you could have as much as you wanted. Then as you wish!"

Lin Fan released his Demon Power into every part of Tanjiro's body, boosting his combat strength across the board!

Feeling power once more fill his entire body, Tanjiro's gaze remained unwavering. Holding his sword with both hands, he was ready.

"I won't take back what I said, because I was right. The one with the problem is you!"

The two locked eyes.

Then Rui decisively attacked. With a wave of his hand, threads shot forth, gleaming with chilling light beneath the moonlight, their killing intent laid bare!

"I'll slice you to pieces!"

Tanjiro stepped forward. A flash of his blade shattered the threads instantly. "You won't succeed!"

Watching his threads get cut apart again, Rui muttered, "Is the hardness of the threads still insufficient? But do you think this is all I can do?"

As soon as he finished speaking—

His hands underwent a change, rapidly stained by blood.

They became crimson and eerie, and the blood continued flowing from his fingertips into the threads, dyeing them as well!

This time, the threads were clearly visible.

Their toughness had also increased greatly, but when Rui swung the threads out—

Tanjiro still easily dispelled them with a single slash.

"How is that possible..."

Even Rui was shocked this time. His threads were stronger than steel; even Nichirin Blades could be easily cut apart by them!

But today, the situation had been reversed, and this blade had not suffered the slightest damage!

He recalled the information Muzan had given him.

It had indeed said that this blade was extremely sharp, but Rui had never imagined it could be this sharp!

But that was not the extent of his ability.

"Blood Demon Art—Silk Carving Prison!"

With one hand, Rui pulled hard. The surrounding threads that had originally spread outward suddenly drew back, weaving together in midair.

They formed a massive net that came crashing down.

Seeing that, Tanjiro held his sword in one hand.

"Water Breathing—Sixth Form—Twisting Whirlpool!"

Water erupted from the blade. As Tanjiro swung it, it formed a watery vortex around him, utterly annihilating the approaching web.

Only then did Rui truly begin to take Tanjiro seriously, treating him as an actual enemy!

The two exchanged no further words.

They simply continued slaughtering each other, their goals identical: to kill the other!

Before long—

Fierce sounds of battle echoed through the woods.

The surrounding trees were sliced apart, while countless cut marks appeared across the ground, all of them proof of how intense this battle was!

Inosuke and Zenitsu, who had rushed over, arrived just in time to see the two fighting fiercely.

Zenitsu's first reaction was to panic.

"W-We'll definitely die if we get close! Tanjiro will be fine on his own, so let's hurry up and leave. We shouldn't hold Tanjiro back..."

Surprisingly, Inosuke did not argue this time. After all, he could clearly sense the terrifying power of that demon.

If the two of them rushed in, they might be killed immediately. This was clearly no longer a battle they could take part in...

Inosuke gripped his twin blades, fuming with anger. "So all we can do is watch? This is really pissing me off!"

But soon—

The two noticed something strange.

Lin Fan had also sensed it long ago and had already informed Tanjiro of the situation.

"Demons are approaching nearby. The remaining three Twelve Kizuki are also on their way here, and several demons are about to arrive!"

Hearing that, Tanjiro used the moment after cutting through the web to glance at Zenitsu and Inosuke in the distance. He hurriedly called out.

"Zenitsu, Inosuke, demons are coming here. Please help me hold off the weaker ones!"

"You dare get distracted while fighting me?!"

Rui unleashed a large number of threads again, launching a surprise attack.

Meanwhile—

Zenitsu's legs went weak, and he was already preparing to run. "Let's just get out of here..."

Unfortunately, the moment he spoke—

Three demons had already appeared. They were all snow-white and dressed exactly like Rui.

The demons who had arrived were a young girl, a huge flesh-eating demon with a spider's head, and a demon with a human head but a spider's body.

The latter two had their heads and bodies attached in the wrong places.

The moment Inosuke saw the demons, he became excited. Waving his twin blades, he immediately targeted the burly one.

"Ahahaha... I'm going to rip you apart!"

"Inosuke, don't leave me behind..."

Zenitsu trembled in terror and tried to stop him.

But Inosuke had already rushed off.

The three demons also noticed what was happening here, and when they saw Inosuke—

The female demon was clearly stunned for a moment.