Rokuya stood up and strode toward Tanjiro, who was still crying.
"Stop immediately." Rokuya's voice was cold and stern, carrying an unquestionable note of command.
Tanjiro froze for a moment, then turned to look at Rokuya.
"Mr. Rokuya, Nezuko..."
"I saw." Rokuya cut Tanjiro off and reached out to grab his shoulder. "There's no time to celebrate. Take Nezuko and come back to the main battlefield with me right now."
Rokuya's grim expression startled Tanjiro.
He wiped the tears from his face and hurriedly pulled Nezuko behind him.
"What happened, Mr. Rokuya?" Tanjiro sensed something was wrong.
"Muzan already knows." Rokuya lowered his voice, his tone carrying a bone-deep chill. "Just before Hantengu died, Muzan saw Nezuko standing in the sunlight through its eyes."
Tanjiro sucked in a sharp breath.
Of course he knew what that meant.
Muzan had created demons to find a way to overcome sunlight.
Now that very solution stood alive before them.
"Muzan will go mad." Rokuya quickly took off his haori and wrapped it tightly around Nezuko.
Even though Nezuko no longer feared sunlight, Rokuya still needed to conceal every trace of her presence.
"He'll focus everything on Nezuko." Rokuya spoke rapidly as he adjusted the haori. "From this moment on, Nezuko is the most dangerous bait in the world. Muzan will send every Upper Rank, and may even come himself to seize her."
Tanjiro gripped the hilt of his Nichirin Blade tightly.
"I'll never let him lay a finger on Nezuko," Tanjiro said through gritted teeth.
"Determination alone is useless. We need to move immediately." Rokuya stood up and, after making sure Nezuko was properly wrapped up, glanced around. "Muzan could launch a large-scale attack here at any moment. We have to regroup with Kanae and the others right away."
The two hurried through