The Flames Bloom!

"This guy should be human, right? Dad, I'll leave this one to you. I'm going to help my brother..."

With that, she left ahead of him.

The demon with the spider's head chose to confront Inosuke head-on.

Watching the two fight, the remaining spider demon with a human head gave a sinister smile and set its sights on the trembling Zenitsu.

"It's too late to run now. Are you ready to die?"

"Ah?!"

Zenitsu turned and bolted.

The spider demon followed close behind, shooting spider silk from its rear and swinging through the air.

They had each chosen their opponents.

On Tanjiro's side, the female demon's arrival also caused him some trouble. She always ambushed him at crucial moments.

Blazing Flames!

"Deal with that female demon first! The other three Twelve Kizuki will be here soon!" Lin Fan reminded him. At the same time, he could sense the auras of the other three Twelve Kizuki drawing closer.

Tanjiro also understood that he could not drag this out any longer.

Holding his sword in one hand, he unleashed his strength.

"Water Breathing—Third Form—Flowing Dance!" His body shot forward, and like surging water, his blade flashed in an instant.

The female demon's head separated from her body.

She did not even have time to react. Rui had no intention of saving her either, instead taking the chance to ambush Tanjiro.

The threads successfully left several bloody wounds across Tanjiro's body. Fortunately, Lin Fan used Demon Power to heal his injuries.

"So even non-demons can recover from injuries so quickly..." Rui muttered, seemingly confirming the accuracy of the information.

But at that moment.

Lin Fan warned, "They're here!"

Tanjiro turned around, his nerves stretched to the limit.

The next moment.

A white-haired little girl with two beast horns on her head appeared. The Lower Rank Four etched in her blood-red eyes revealed her identity.

She was Lower Rank Four, Mukago.

After appearing, she looked at Tanjiro with interest and said in a slightly playful, cute voice, "So this is the demon slayer that person wants dead?"

As soon as she finished speaking.

Another demon emerged from behind. He was a scruffy middle-aged man with countless black cracks across his face.

There were numbers in his eyes as well.

The newcomer was Lower Rank Two, Rokuro!

His lifeless voice rang out like a funeral bell. "Rui, why haven't you killed this demon slayer yet?"

Rui had no intention of responding. Right now, Tanjiro was the only one in his eyes. He wished he could immediately make Tanjiro take back his denial of their bond!

But only three demons had appeared so far.

Tanjiro frowned in confusion and sniffed the air. All he could smell was that pungent scent, which greatly interfered with his sense of smell.

Fortunately, he had Lin Fan as a radar.

"There's another one hiding in the third tree to your left."

With the warning, Tanjiro immediately turned to look. Sure enough, he could vaguely make out a blurry figure.

They had clearly already surrounded Tanjiro.

Seeing that everyone had arrived.

Lin Fan did not take these demons seriously at all. Even if Demonified Tanjiro could not defeat them, escaping would definitely not be a problem.

Besides, Lin Fan was there to back him up.

He could fight this battle however he wanted!

Since Lin Fan had not mentioned running away, Tanjiro subconsciously assumed he could defeat these demons. He immediately raised his sword and took his stance.

The demons across from him were also somewhat surprised.

He was not running even now? Was he always this brave?

"Move aside. He's mine!"

Rui struck first, crimson threads sweeping toward him like a storm.

Not far away.

The playful and adorable Mukago rested her chin on one hand and giggled.

"Not necessarily."

As soon as she spoke, a dark green vine several meters tall suddenly sprouted from beneath her feet. An enormous flower bud grew at its tip.

The vine seemed to possess a life of its own.

Like a giant serpent, it twisted and coiled as it charged toward Tanjiro.

As for the other two demons, they did not attack immediately. They seemed to be observing.

Tanjiro frowned.

Facing the threads and vine, he gripped his sword tightly. "Water Breathing—Fourth Form—Striking Tide!"

He surged forward, swinging his blade like an incoming tide.

In an instant, he sliced the threads into several pieces. Even half the vine's flower bud was cut away.

But at that moment.

A rope made of wood suddenly shot from a tree behind Tanjiro and looped around his neck.

It dragged him backward, while the tree became shackles carefully prepared for him. If he were caught, he would completely lose his chance to resist.

Fortunately, Tanjiro reacted quickly and immediately tried to cut the rope around his neck.

But the demon that had been hiding in the shadows chose to reveal himself. A shuriken flew straight at him, piercing into the flesh of Tanjiro's left arm.

The dark green liquid on the shuriken caused the flesh it touched to rapidly wither, turning into something like a dried corpse.

Anyone else would have been doomed in that situation.

Unfortunately for them, Lin Fan was supporting him. One healing spell was enough to bring him back as long as he was not completely dead!

His flesh regenerated, and at the last moment, Tanjiro cut the rope. Only then did he escape disaster.

But he also understood that he could never defeat them with his own strength alone.

If there was a first time, there would be a second.

"Arjuro Maru, lend me all your power!"

"Then as you wish. Unleash your desire and wipe them all out!" Lin Fan also put on a fitting performance.

At the same time, he activated Tanjiro's Demonification ability.

This time, however, it could last for four minutes. He had Kamanue to thank for that, since Kamanue had helped Tanjiro increase his strength.

Thanks for being there!

Demonification activated.

Light purple markings once again covered one side of Tanjiro's face. One of his eyes was similarly stained, and his entire aura changed.

When he looked at the four demons, the corners of his mouth rose.

"Let's begin round two!"

Had he activated that special state?

All four demons present knew about this ability. Once it was activated, Kamanue had practically been killed instantly.

They all became serious.

Mukago was the first to move. Three vines sprouted from beneath her feet again, their flower buds blooming to reveal densely packed spherical fruits inside.

"Blood Demon Art—Flowerburst Barrage!"

The fruits sprayed out in huge numbers like bullets. The vines could also move rapidly, dodging and taking aim.

The fruits were immensely powerful, easily piercing through tree trunks as thick as an adult's waist.

Tanjiro shot forward at incredible speed.

The vines could not even lock onto him.

Fortunately, Rui released a spiderweb to restrain him. With a pull of both hands, a giant net descended and covered the sky.

Tanjiro merely turned coldly and cut it apart with one slash.

But Rui had seized the opportunity, weaving cat's cradle strings with both hands.

"Blood Demon Art—Killing Eye Cage!"

Countless crimson threads rapidly rose from beneath Tanjiro's feet, sealing off every direction and completely surrounding him.

Tanjiro swung his sword to cut through them.

The other demons also took the opportunity to unleash their Blood Demon Arts.

For a moment.

Countless fruit bullets, more than a dozen shuriken, and two wooden shackles growing from the ground bound his legs.

There was no longer any hope of dodging.

He might die in the next instant.

At the very end, he only had time to cut through the spiderweb. Tanjiro's gaze became despairing and unfocused.

"Is this the end? Am I going to die... I'm sorry, Arjuro Maru... I let you down..."

When all the attacks struck, a massive cloud of dust billowed up, obscuring everyone's vision.

Lin Fan's mind within the blade had also tensed to the limit in the previous instant. If Tanjiro had not comprehended the Dance of the Fire God.

Then he had to make sure he could heal him immediately!

As long as Tanjiro did not die instantly, there would be no problem. Even though Lin Fan was absolutely confident, this was still a gamble!

"It's over!"

Seeing the scene before him, Rui confidently declared the result.

Mukago beside him followed with a playful remark, "Then who exactly gets credit for killing this demon slayer?"

"That person will decide."

Rokuro crossed his arms over his chest, looking extremely seasoned and composed. He clearly believed it was over as well.

A demon also stepped out from the shadows.

He looked like a young man, with three vicious scars across his face that looked as though they had been left by shuriken.

There were numbers in his eyes as well.

Lower Rank Three, Wakuraba!

Only he instinctively felt uneasy. It was the feeling he had possessed back when he was a ninja, one born from countless moments between life and death...

In the instant before all the attacks struck him.

Tanjiro seemed to fall into a flashback, looking back on the past.