Clearing Spider Mountain

Find someone strong to lean on! I had to!

Murata resolved to latch onto the "big shots" around him. He did not need to shoot straight to the top; he just wanted to survive this mountain.

Meanwhile, although Chinatsu and Tanjiro had cut the spider threads attached to the controlled people, the threads wound around them again within seconds. Chinatsu severed them almost the instant they reattached.

"A demon is controlling these spider threads. We need to kill the demon behind them. Let's split up and deal with whatever's happening around here as quickly as possible."

"Okay. Be careful too, Sis!"

Chinatsu and Tanjiro decided to split up and eliminate the demons in the surrounding area as quickly as they could.

Seeing that Chinatsu and Tanjiro were about to go their separate ways, Inosuke and Zenitsu hurried over from beside Murata, making it clear that they were not about to be left behind.

In the end, Zenitsu followed Tanjiro, while Inosuke followed Chinatsu. The two pairs began "clearing" the surrounding area, leaving only a thoroughly bewildered Murata behind.

He had wanted to follow them too, but Chinatsu and the others moved far too quickly. By the time Murata reacted, they were already too far away for him to catch up.

Trembling, Murata gripped his Nichirin Blade and warily surveyed his surroundings, terrified that someone else might pop out and slash him.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu stayed close behind Tanjiro. Using his almost unfairly keen nose, Tanjiro picked up the scent of demons and soon located the one controlling people with threads.

Tanjiro: "Found her!!!"

Zenitsu: "F-found her? Where? Where?"

Tanjiro leaped forward, using the trees as footholds for a series of jumps, and reached the female demon perched on a large tree branch with astonishing speed.

A single horizontal Water Surface Slash, a plain, unadorned strike, and her head fell just as plainly. The female demon never even had time to react. Had she been fully alert from the start, she might have lasted a move or two, but she had underestimated Tanjiro far too much.

As the female demon's head fell, the spider threads controlling everyone nearby went slack on the spot. One after another, people collapsed to the ground with heavy thuds, getting mouthfuls of dirt.

Chinatsu noticed it too. Inosuke had been about to deal with a controlled Demon Slayer Corps member in front of him, but he had barely raised his blades when the man dropped as though trying to fake an injury, startling him.

"Hey! I haven't even swung yet!"

"Looks like Tanjiro succeeded."

Chinatsu glanced around, deciding she needed to pick up the pace as well. Her target was not one of the minor demons on this mountain, but Rui, Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki.

He was the mountain's true ruler. Although he was only fifth among the Lower Ranks, he possessed considerable potential and had caught Muzan's attention. Given more time to develop, he might even grow strong enough to rival Lower Rank One.

That was why Chinatsu had decided to use him to test exactly how strong she was now.

Speak of the devil. Just as Chinatsu thought that, a sharp thread suddenly flew toward her from afar. Fortunately, her reflexes far surpassed an ordinary person's, or it would likely have left a cut across her cheek.

"Don't interfere with our family's life. But judging by your abilities, Mother probably can't kill you. I'll have to do it myself."

As the voice rang out from a distance, Rui appeared in midair. Taut threads stretched beneath his feet, allowing him to stand suspended above the ground.

Seeing that someone in this world could actually show off so brazenly, Inosuke immediately sprang up, intent on giving the show-off a slash with each blade.

Standing atop his threads, Rui gave the Boar's Head Boy an indifferent glance, then widened his eyes. The Boar's Head Boy abruptly stopped, trapped in midair by spider threads rushing in from every direction.

"Who are you?"

With an ostentatious flick of the back of his hand, Rui sent Inosuke flying with a bang! He rolled thirty or forty times across the ground before finally coming to a stop, then lay there coughing hard several times.

S-so strong!

Beneath his boar's head mask, Inosuke's eyes widened. He had encountered several demons since leaving his mountain, but not one of them could compare to the demon before him.

This pressure... Big Sis!!!

Inosuke barely managed to get back on his feet. Enduring the intense pain, he turned to look toward Chinatsu. Rui looked slightly surprised at the sight. He had delivered that blow with the intention of breaking the bones in Inosuke's chest. Forget standing up; the boy should have been unable to move, wracked with agony.

While Rui wondered how the Boar's Head Boy could be so tough, Chinatsu reached down and drew the Nichirin Blade at her waist once more.

The Nichirin Blade was a clear azure blue. As she drew it, Rui's attention shifted from the Boar's Head Boy back to Chinatsu.

Water Breathing was the most widespread Breathing Style in the Demon Slayer Corps, and he had seen countless blue Nichirin Blades that went with it. Yet none had been as... beautiful as the one before him.

"It would make a fine addition to my collection!"

Rui raised both hands, and supple, razor-sharp threads swiftly formed and wound around his palms.

Chinatsu breathed steadily. She did not switch to Hinokami Kagura, instead using Water Breathing to face him.

Rui remained confident. He did not believe Chinatsu could defeat him. In the world of demons, he was still only a "baby" and had never witnessed the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest fighters. As far as he knew, its members were all weaklings who died after a few casual blows or a tug of his threads.

Chinatsu planted her foot, and Rui prepared to fight at the sight. He spread his hands, sending countless threads rushing toward her.

Yet after planting her foot, when she would normally have leaped, Chinatsu did the unexpected and stayed down. She held herself back, even closing her eyes.

Sitting on the ground in the distance, the Boar's Head Boy, Inosuke, watched Chinatsu's actions with an exaggerated expression beneath his mask. He involuntarily waved an arm and shouted, "Open your eyes!"

What was she trying to do?!

Had she given up on living? Was she trying to get herself killed?

Of course not. Chinatsu simply wanted to conduct an experiment, to see whether Rui's spider-thread attacks could draw out her potential and allow her to enter the "Transparent World." Even brushing against that realm would be enough.

All right!

Let the experiment begin!

Facing Chinatsu's closed eyes, the incoming spider threads swept toward her, closing in at tremendous speed!