Sasuke sped through the forest.
His figure was like a shadow melting into the darkness, making not the slightest unnecessary sound.
In his crimson right eye, two tomoe slowly revolved.
In his vision, the crisscrossing threads, invisible to the naked eye, formed a map leading to hell.
And he was following that map, heading straight toward its center.
Soon.
He stopped.
Ahead lay a forest clearing, where pale moonlight barely illuminated the scene.
A beautiful female demon in a white kimono knelt in the center of the clearing.
She was "Mother."
Countless crystal-clear threads extended from her ten fingertips, disappearing into the surrounding darkness.
She was the puppeteer controlling those Demon Slayer Corps members.
At that moment, her face held none of a ruler's composure.
Only endless terror.
"What do I do... what do I do..."
She clutched her head, her body trembling violently with fear.
"So many... so many threads have been cut..."
"If this keeps up... if this keeps up, Rui... and that person will definitely punish me..."
"No... I don't want to... I don't want to be locked in that wooden box again..."
She muttered to herself in despair.
Fear had completely devoured her reason.
Just then, she seemed to sense something and abruptly raised her head.
She saw Sasuke.
She saw the black-haired boy standing quietly at the edge of the darkness, as though he had been there for a long time.
"It was you... you cut my threads!"
In an instant, her terror turned into hysterical madness.
She had to kill this intruder before Rui found out, to make up for her failure!
"Die! Just die!"
She screamed, her ten fingers dancing frantically.
Rustle, rustle-
Around the clearing, dozens of long-dead Demon Slayer Corps members, their bodies already rotting, suddenly rose from beneath the ground