Chapter 6: Terrible Fate

"Looks like you took care of the demon for me, Junichiro." Kyojuro sighed. "Good riddance, I was starting to worry that she would kill more people if we let her loose."

"Considering how boring she was when I fought her, I wouldn't be surprised if she had gone hunting the weaker slayers. She must have been a young demon at best." Junichiro grumbled as he placed his collar back into his uniform. "Where were you anyway?"

Kyojuro frowned, which didn't go unnoticed by his fellow Pillar.

He glanced towards the webbing scattered on the floor from the past battle and back at him again. It didn't take long before he placed the pieces together.

Junichiro grimaced and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me…"

Kyojuro didn't say anything, what else could he say? Going into specific details would make even the most hardened men gag.

"I need a drink…" Junichiro said as he rubbed his temples. "Where are the bodies?"

"Just around the corner, follow me."

The two of them walked silently through the forest. They didn't dare to say a word as they both pondered about the brutality and cruelty of the world.

They had a long time on the job now, but recovering the bodies of innocent civilians was still the hardest part to swallow.

They arrived towards the clearing. The worn out pagoda that stood before was reduced into mere rubble, all that remained now were charred pieces of wood.

There were no more cocoons left, as Kyojuro had taken his time to get out every single one of them on his own, and get the people out of them safely… at least to the ones that survived.

They saw that two people were lying unconscious on the ground.

One of them was a woman with indistinguishable features. She had second and third-degree burns all over her body with her flesh being visibly torn apart. The decolored remains of her hair signaled that she had been inside of the cocoon for quite a while, with three days' top.

The second young man had a plain face and had short black hair. He managed to get the least out of the torture as he only lost his garments while being captured, instead of more important parts.

"These were the only people I found alive inside of the cocoons, while the rest…" he trailed off, turning his head towards the far east, to which Junichiro followed.

He immediately averted his gaze.

"Goddammit..." The Ice Pillar said through gritted teeth. He didn't seem in the mood to count the number of bodies that Kyojuro carefully placed on the ground.

The bodies had their skin melted alongside with their eyes and lips and only rotten tissue remained, leaving a horrific sight to behold. It spoke volumes at how unpleasant the deaths of these people were.

"Fourteen people died inside that building over the course of a week, and I suspect there were many more before we even got a whiff on this case. I suspect that they were kept inside of the cocoons as a means of… preservation." Kyojuro said, forcefully letting the last words come out of his mouth. It disgusted him just to think about it.

"It's not a suspicion, it's a fact, and I wasn't a big fan of it." Junichiro muttered as he clenched his fist.

The Flame Pillar nodded, so that's where the slime from his clothes came from.

Junichiro started to walk away, eyes flaring with fury.

"That's it, I'm going west, these guys are dead."

"Wait!" Kyojuro placed a hand on his shoulder. His grip stopped him in his tracks. "As much as I want to go with you, we have to treat the injured first! We cannot let them linger on this accursed place any longer!"

"Right, sorry, guess I almost went crazy right there." Junichiro said as he took a deep breath. "Lead the way."

"I doubt you can be crazier than you already are." He shook his head. He then walked towards the unconscious people. "Follow me."

They stopped when they got close to the bodies. The Ice Pillar stepped forward and kneeled down to check on the two people that were unconscious. The woman came to her senses first.

She took ragged breaths and spoke.

"I... want... to see... my little brother. Where... is he? Is… someone there?" she said, her tone weak.

Kyojuro frowned. This woman had a family that got captured towards this location, and she was the only survivor of the captured people of the Urawa village. It will be hard to tell her about their passing.

"Will she live, Junichiro?" Kyojuro asked, his voice soft.

"I'm not sure, I'm no expert in medicine, but it's a miracle that she's still alive even with those injuries. Look at her eyes." Junichiro said as he pointed to the woman's eyes. Her eyes were completely white, as if the acid permanently damaged her irises. He shook his head. "She truly lost everything, physically and emotionally."

Junichiro then took off his haori and gently enveloped the woman inside of it.

"D-Don't touch me! Just end me please!"

"Hey, it's alright. Everything is alright now, you're safe, calm down." Junichiro said as he tried to reason with the wailing woman, but she didn't stop. The pain from the wounds must be unbearable for her.

The crying stopped.

"She passed out from the pain." Junichiro said as he let out a sigh of relief. "Better get going, her case is urgent."

"What about the kid?"

"Hmm?" Junichiro perked up at Kyojuro's question and took a look at the black haired teen who was covered in the slime of the cocoon. The Ice Pillar went over to the kid to scan him and took notice about his ragged breathing and unresponsive behavior.

"Oh, I know this kid!" Junichiro said, cupping his hand on his chin. "I think his name was… Murata or something? Eh, at any rate, this kid is a recent one, only his clothes were vaporized by the acid, so he's probably in shock. He still needs treatment to see if any strange bacteria have entered his system."

He then took the woman with both of his hands and picked her up carefully, he didn't want to worsen her injuries.

"I'll need help with carrying them both. Wanna lend me a hand?"

"Of course!" Kyojuro shouted passionately. "You don't even need to ask."

A rustling in the bushes made Kyojuro's senses spike, his arms quickly went over through his sheath. Was there another demon in the vicinity? He didn't even sense it coming.

Junichiro narrowed his eyes and prepared to evacuate the woman if need arose. They couldn't risk leaving her in any more danger, the same could be said for Murata.

As the figure emerged, the Pillars prepared themselves to move. Without a word, they knew what they had to do, they were on their ranks for a reason.

The menacing creature had pointy ears and its yellow eyes stared intently at the two men.

It meowed.

No one dared to say a word as they processed what they saw. They expected to be a high level demon that managed to ambush the strongest men known in the demon slayer corps.

"Of all things that can spook us, it has to be a cat." Junichiro said after a long awkward silence.

"I… am ashamed of myself!" Kyojuro said after taking a long breath. "We're never talking about this again."

Junichiro nodded vigorously.

"Agreed."

The Flame Pillar narrowed his eyes on the cat, who started to lick its paw in a manner that seemed rather… cute.

"What is a cat doing here anyway?"

The Ice Pillar blinked and shrugged. "They're wild animals I guess?"

"But we've only encountered spiders here, right?" Kyojuro asked as he cupped his chin.

"Pretty sure animals can return whenever they want to their homeland. And now that we're controlling the matter around her, it would only be natural if they returned." Junichiro sighed. "Anyway, enough talking, we have lives to save."

The Flame Pillar nodded and started to walk backward towards the injured.

"Yeah, let's—"

The Pillars were about to leave until the cat sprinted towards them and stood in their way. They stopped, now more puzzled than ever. The cat then approached the Flame Pillar and started to press its paw into his feet.

Junichiro tilted his head.

"Okay, cats are not that smart, the hell does it want?" Junichiro asked, interested in the cat's odd behavior. The animal started to move away from them, looking back and forth as it pretended to leave.

"Does it want us to follow it?" Kyojuro mumbled until he took notice of which direction the cat was going. "Oh, isn't that direction leading to the west, where the rest of the slayers are fighting?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Junichiro hummed. A grin started to form on his face, one that Kyojuro was well aware of its meaning. "Kyojuro, you take this girl to the Kakushi, I'm gonna go to kill the dem-"

The Flame Pillar ignored the words of his friend and rushed behind the cat, who also ran forward. He could hear Junichiro cursing from afar, but he did his best to ignore him. That battle maniac will eventually catch up with him anyway.

Inosuke pointed out that he sensed that his friend 'Santaro' still fought the demons in a specific direction. When Kazuki asked him how he managed to locate his friend with such accurate precision, he just said that it was a trait that he gained on the mountains–while bragging about it on his face.

He didn't dare to ask any more questions.

They fought against the father demon for a while, so Kazuki hoped that this Santaro person would manage to hold his own until they arrived.

"I won't let you take my sister!"

That voice sounded familiar, too familiar… the word 'sister' only managed to narrow down his guess. Kazuki also noted that Inosuke confused his name pretty frequently, and he didn't seem to do it on purpose, the guy's memory skills were just lackluster.

Could it really be a coincidence?

"Hell yeah, Kentaro is still alive!" Inosuke laughed as he slashed the bushes that stood on his way. "Pick up the pace underling, we're almost there!"

Kazuki sighed. Apparently the name is Kentaro now, and it seemed that he was getting further with the names rather than getting closer to the real one. At this point, he'd rather see the person himself rather than guess.

He really should have refrained from his decision on giving Inosuke another pair of swords from the slayer's corpses. Stealing from the dead was already a taboo he had to cross to win, but using a rock to purposely chip the blades to one's liking was another story entirely.

The Boar Slayer knew no limits.

When they arrived at the source of the sound. Kazuki took notice of the person that fought against the demon, and it was none other than red haired boy, Kamado Tanjiro, who was fighting against one of the spider demons of this mountain. He took notice that Nezuko was tied up in the threads, and desperately tried to get out.

While the white haired boy wanted to curse this dreaded coincidence nonstop, he knew what he had to do.

"Hashibara, we have to free her!"

"I told you that I don't take orders from you!" the boy in question yelled and didn't waste any more time. He leaped towards the demoness. "Beast Breathing, Fourth Form: Slice 'n Dice1"

If those threads were capable of binding a demon no problem, then that means that they were stronger than the threads created by the lesser demons of the area. Kazuki himself couldn't cut them away. Luckily, Inosuke was all the brawn he needed to get the job done.

Inosuke's blades made contact with the web and pulled them in. He grunted as he pulled harder until the threads finally snapped untying Nezuko and freeing her from the bind.

The girl landed smoothly beside Tanjiro, who could only watch in awe at the Boar Slayer's performance. Inosuke landed beside her and Kazuki ran towards them.

"Monjiro, you're useless with just a broken sword!" Inosuke shouted as he picked up a sword on the floor. "Here is a sword that I conveniently found on this battlefield!"

Tanjiro could only frown when he grabbed the sword.

"But this is… this is not mine. I don't feel good about taking someone else's weapon."

"Sorry, but dying will feel worse than this, you'll have to get used to it." Kazuki said dryly. He was in no mood to deal with morality in this situation.

The brunette teen stood up with a resolute expression, blue sword ready at hand.

Nichirin Blades change color depending on the use of each breath, as they were bound to the demon slayers since the dawn of time. However, once a sword has gained its color, it cannot change to another one, hence why Tanjiro's sword remained blue instead of going to its usual black color.

"This sword belonged to one of the slayers that died fighting against this demon." Tanjiro said as he glared at his opponent. "I'll have to honor his memory by killing this demon with his sword."

"You laid hands on my property...?"

Kazuki flinched as he heard the chilly voice of the demon. It was anger, and it was so much anger that he could feel it with just the tone of his voice.

The slayers glared defiantly at the demon, not faltering by the number of threads he was creating from his hands, which prompted him to piss him off even more.

"I was going for the kid with the scar first but now all of you have legitimately angered me. I'm going to gut every single one of you, piece by piece!"

The threads of the demons started to change their color, turning from their pristine white color to crimson red.

"Dodge!" Tanjiro shouted on top of his lungs.

Every one of the slayers went on high alert and started to position themselves. Inosuke and Nezuko ran towards the bushes, while Kazuki and Tanjiro remained on the field and dodged the incoming attacks.

"You fought this guy before. Did you find a weakness?" Kazuki asked as he didn't break eye contact with the demon and gracefully dodged the threads. He started to sweat a little as he laid eyes on the kanji of his left eye. ""Lower Moon 5...?"

"That's right." Tanjiro said as dodging a thread that almost sliced off his forehead. "Rui is one of the Twelve Demon Moons, and it seems that his title isn't just for show. He doesn't have any weaknesses."

"Who said that you're allowed to talk?" Rui said as he waved his hands in an erratic fashion. The threads started to change trajectory, now aiming towards their feet rather than their upper bodies.

It changed yet again. It made it impossible to get a concrete pattern for the attacks.

Kazuki and Tanjiro started to surround the demon for a pincer attack.

Only for the white haired boy to throw himself on the floor after seeing a thread going towards his torso. He gritted his teeth as the attack barely grazed his shoulder. Blood started to drip off the wound.

He was flabbergasted by the fact that he was fighting one of the Demon Moons so soon. As a result, he got sloppy. He had to change that.

He wanted to complain that he isn't prepared for it, to just go back into fighting lesser demons, but there's no running from the heat of battle. He had to try with what he has right now.

Tanjiro placed himself in front of Rui and lunged at him. The demon moved all of his threads and surrounded him from all directions.

Kazuki gritted his teeth, what was he doing?! He's going to get killed at this rate, and he was pretty sure that the Kamado boy fought better than this.

The white haired boy took notice of a small glint in the bushes. The eye of a mask.

"You got cocky, human." Rui said stoically. "This is your end."

Tanjiro retained his gaze at the demon, not faltering from his taunt.

Suddenly, the ground started cracking and a small hand emerged from it, tightly gripping the demon's feet.

Nezuko popped out of the ground and pulled the demon's feet. The strength of the grip was so massive that she ripped the limb off, making Rui lose his balance.

The threads that enveloped Tanjiro started to move away from him, giving him ample room for him to go to the demon's head.

Rui quickly surrounded himself in a circle of threads which protected both his front and his back. Tanjiro gritted his teeth and backed off to avoid a lethal injury.

Nezuko wasn't fast enough and the crimson threads tied her up yet again. She started to bleed as the sharpness of the webs dug through her skin.

She wailed frantically to free herself but to no avail, they wouldn't let go. This time, Inosuke might not be able to free her.

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro yelled.

Kazuki wasted no time and lunged at the demon, and signaled Tanjiro by pointing his finger upwards. The elder brother picked up the signal and rushed towards Rui with all the speed he could muster.

"I thought I told you…" Rui deadpanned, waving his threads towards the boys. "Rushing me like that is just plain arrogant."

"And who are you to call me arrogant?!"

A figure jumped out of the branches and plunged into the demon. Inosuke placed his blades on the front as he laughed maniacally.

"The same trick won't work on me twice."

Kazuki's eyes widened. Crimson threads started to grow alongside the others and towards the falling boar slayer. The space between the threads was so small that it was almost impossible for a normal human to fit in.

A myriad of thoughts started to cross his mind as he tried to think of an idea that would save him, but it all happened too suddenly.

'It's no use, he's going to die!' Kazuki thought as he clenched his sword.

"Inosuke!" Tanjiro shouted, desperately trying to find a way towards the threads.

"Oh yeah? Dodge this you pale faced bastard!" Inosuke cackled as he waved his swords into an x-like position.

His bones started to crack in a horrifying way as the boar slayer's body started to deform. His shape started to change and his limbs bent into an unnatural position until his whole body looked as thin as a noddle.

Rui stumbled backwards, and his concentration broke. As brief as that moment of distraction was, it was enough for the slayers to close the distance.

"Water Breathing, First Form–"

"Beast Breathing, First Fang–"

"Ice Breathing, First Form–"

"You humans are getting on my nerves…" Rui said as his veins started to pop out of his forehead. The crimson threads started to withdraw faster than the slayers could blink until a small red ball ended up on his hands. He grinned sadistically.

"Time to die."

The ball on his hand blew up and sent off multiple thin spikes in all directions. The force of the attack pushed the slayers away, grazing almost every part of their bodies.

Kazuki got his cheeks and torso grazed by the attack, making him bleed slightly. He gritted his teeth and tried his best to suppress the pain, he couldn't let it get the better of him in this situation. If he takes more attacks, he will lose his balance. That can prove to be fatal on the field

Inosuke had a deep cut on his right shoulder. Blood started drip off his wi

Tanjiro seemed to be the most injured as he gained more grazes on his body and his.

Kazuki tried to help him up, but the boy was more than capable of standing on his own. A sense of relief came to the white haired boy, it looks Tanjiro still has more fight inside of him.

"Looks like your sister made Hashibara follow a plan…" Kazuki muttered as he bit his thumb. "I saw them on the bushes and thought that we could distract them until they landed a hit, but it looks like his neck is too sturdy even for him to handle."

That statement made Tanjiro's eyes widen.

"Nezuko managed to get Inosuke to follow a plan?" he sounded dumbfounded. "How?"

"I'm just as confused as you are in that matter…"

Kazuki took notice that Inosuke quickly recovered from the pain of the injury and charged back into the fray, seemingly not feeling pain at all. Either he has high pain tolerance or he's just insane.

"I ain't done with ya, not until your head falls off your shoulders!"

Most likely the latter.

"You pests keep coming over and over again..." Rui scowled as his hands trembled uncontrollably. His bloodshot eyes glared at the boys. "For many years you keep entering this forest to try and kill my family. We kill you, you come back, we kill you again, and you still come back. It's like you replicate like ants!"

"Kazuki, do you have a plan?" Tanjiro asked as he went back into his battle stance. Kazuki remained silent as he took a deep breath. "At this rate, he's going to eventually overpower us once we get tired."

"Tanjiro, he's been overpowering us from the start." Kazuki said flatly, but felt uneasy from the inside. "If his neck is that sturdy, then none of us can cut it with our current strength."

The Kamado firstborn started to tremble.

"So it's like I said before?" he muttered. "He has no weakness?"

Rui was more focused on keeping Inosuke off of him, which gave Kazuki ample time to think of a plan to counter him.

He felt that the trap trick he used against the father demon is going to be useless against the Lower Moon, partly because of his smaller size, but mostly because Rui was a sentient demon with average intelligence compared to his primitive 'father'.

His eyes brightened as an idea popped on his head.

"Not exactly…" Kazuki said as he cupped his chin. Tanjiro's eyes fixed on him. "If all three of us attack a specific spot on the neck simultaneously, then we could potentially kill him."

An awkward silence befell them. The plan sounded so unbelievably predictable and stupid, but ultimately, it made sense in this situation.

However, it is incredibly reckless to go through with it, as they were putting themselves in one position and could be butchered on the spot by the demon.

But Kazuki wants to win, and he will achieve his goal no matter the price he has to pay along the way.

"Are you up for it?"

Tanjiro gulped. "This sounds unbelievably reckless…"

"I know, but I don't have the tools to pull an underhanded trick on him… so brute force is our only option." Kazuki said. He then looked at Inosuke who danced around the threads. "Let Inosuke strike first, then we follow through. No matter what happens, just run and go for the neck…"

They looked towards the opponent and readied their blades. They knew what they had to do.

Kazuki took a deep breath and let it out.

"Now!"

They charged towards Rui, the demon started to focus his attacks at them, flailing his webs continuously. The demon set his sights on Kazuki and surrounded him with his crimson threads. It left no room for opening.

However, this was all part of his plan. Rui had made a fatal mistake.

Kazuki used his blade and pushed the thread on the side. He still couldn't fit in, but he wasn't the one that tried to use that path.

"Where do ya think you're looking at, eh?!" Inosuke yelled. "I ain't done with you yet!"

The Boar Slayer used his flexibility to move past the opening Kazuki had created and ran towards the Lower Moon. He stretched his arms and took a deep breath.

"Beast Breathing, Sixth Fang: Palisade bite!"

He struck Rui directly on his neck with both of his swords, making a slight cut to it, but the boar slayer wasn't done and tried to push the blade deeper.

Kazuki nodded and Tanjiro returned the gesture. Both slayers rushed towards Rui now that the attacks weren't focusing them. They pushed the threads with their swords and kept moving forward.

The white haired boy focused his eyes and took a deep breath.

'Doing this is very harmful to my body…' he thought as he felt the strength of his breath coursing through his veins. 'But I have to do this in order to achieve my dream, so I would no longer have any regrets.'

"Total Concentration: Ice breathing, Eight Form–"

A technique only meant for those who are gifted with natural power, something he did not possess. He gritted his teeth as he felt a burning sensation on his lungs, but his muscles increased in size in compensation.

'I have to do that or I won't be truly happy, right mother?'

"Spinning Icicles!"

He threw himself at Rui, spinning in circles and gathering more strength. He struck his blade above Insouke's and pushed forward.

The demon started to scream in pain as blood started to come out of neck. The blades were halfway through, they just needed one more push to finally put an end to him.

Just one more push!

Tanjiro followed suit and took a deep breath.

"Total Concentration, Water Breathing—"

His voice died down. Nothing came from behind.

What took him so long? They only needed one more push to take Rui down! So why did he stop at the last second?!

He briefly turned around to yell at him, but his voice died down as well. He couldn't believe what he saw.

His heart skipped a beat, his breath became ragged when he saw Tanjiro's catatonic state. Kazuki withdrew his sword from the demon's neck and rushed towards him.

Inosuke let out a silent gasp, a farcry from his loud nature. His hands trembled but he didn't let go from his blades. He couldn't contain himself any longer.

"TANJIRO!"

Everyone could see the fountain of blood coming out as Tanjiro's right arm fell to the ground, motionless, dead. The Kamado firstborn stumbled backwards and backed off into a tree before leaning into it. He looked at his bleeding arm with an emotionless face.

Kazuki started wheezing from the exhaustion of his technique and the emotional pain of his recent fatal mistake. The demon was supposed to be distracted from Inosuke's barrage, so much that Kazuki himself managed to land a hit on the throat, so why did Rui focus on Tanjiro?!

He knew that something like this might have happened, and Tanjiro agreed with it, so why did he feel at fault about it?!

'It doesn't make sense…' he thought as he fought the urge to cry. He kept running desperately towards the fallen Tanjiro. 'It doesn't make any sense!'

"You will not destroy our bonds!" Rui snapped. "I will take away your sister, even if it's the last thing I do!"

The demon shook Inosuke off him and waved his threads. The boar slayer grunted and pulled his blades off the demon's throat, but the attacks reached him and sliced his stomach and arms even further. He then blocked the attack with his swords and the force sent him away a couple of meters back.

He crashed into a tree and landed on the ground motionless.

"Hashibara!" Kazuki shouted. He wanted to help him even if he was on the verge of fainting, but he had to hold Tanjiro's wound so he wouldn't bleed out. He ripped off a piece of clothing and enveloped his amputated arm with it. He tightly clenched the wound.

It wouldn't stop the bleeding, but at the very least it will slow it down. He had to take him to a doctor before it's too late.

"I..." Kazuki tried to find the right words to say but he couldn't muster enough courage.. He tried to keep his composure but he was on the verge of breaking down. "Just please breathe, just breathe!"

No response. It's no use, he's in shock from the cut. Kazuki internally cursed himself, how could he had made such a stupid mistake?! Rui took Nezuko hostage for a reason and Tanjiro stood in his way. It's only logical that a proud demon like him will prioritize him for being that stubborn.

But it was too late to think that now.

"It's no use, he's going to die."

Kazuki felt a lump on his throat as he heard footsteps coming from behind. He turned around to see Rui, with all of his wounds regenerated, surrounding him and Tanjiro in a cage of red threads.

"If he just gave me his sister from the start, then all of this could have been avoided. What a waste, I wanted to make him suffer more, but it looks like he'll bleed to death." Rui said dismissively. Then glared at Kazuki. "You sure have gotten on my nerves, slayer. You're crafty, I'll give you that, but your luck ends here!"

"I will fucking kill you…" Kazuki growled as he grabbed his katana. "Even if it's the last thing I'll do!"

The demon merely let out a laugh, unbefitting of his past taciturn behavior.

"Please, getting angry at me accomplishes nothing. I'm afraid the world doesn't work like that." Rui said as a matter of fact. His brief glee died down and glared at Kazuki with intense hatred.

"You bore me, now die."

Kazuki prepared himself to lunge at Rui with the last of his strength. If he can't get peace of mind like this, then at least he will get it once he dies.

However, just as soon as he was ready to give his life, a powerful kick sent Rui flying a few meters back.

His eyes widened as he saw the figure of Nezuko, but vastly different from who she was before.

Her pupils were constricted, she began to drool uncontrollably and her hands crackled as she twisted them in an inhuman way. Her face presented notable veins on her forehead and her bamboo muzzle was nowhere to be seen.

The demoness no longer retained her bouncy, innocent demeanor. She was now a feral beast, ready to lash on her prey at any moment.

The white haired boy's mouth gaped. The girl seemed like a completely different person now. He didn't know if that was for the better or for the worse.

The feral demoness turned towards Kazuki and was ready to pounce at him, but she stopped at the last second when she saw that he was holding Tanjiro's wound tight, keeping him alive.

At least she retained a lick of common sense.

"You're not going to surrender even if your brother is on death's door…" Rui said as he let his wound regenerate. "Those powerful bonds, I want them all! I'll obtain them even if it means I'll—"

The demon's snarl felt short to Nezuko's own feral cry. She ran towards him with her immense speed that the Spider Demon couldn't react in time.

She grabbed his face and slammed him hard on the floor, shattering the ground on the impact. She started running while grabbing Rui's head, grinding it on the ground.

The Lower Moon screamed as his head slowly turned into paste from the immense strength of Nezuko.

Rui waved his hands and enveloped his red threads on Nezuko's arms, halting her advance. He used that gap to leap away from his enemy and quickly regenerated his wounds. He pursed his lips and couldn't contain himself any longer.

With a snarl, he launched every single one of his threads at her but Nezuko plowed through them with her brute strength. She nearly managed to close the distance, but the Lower Moon was faster, and created more webs from his hands.

The red threads surrounded every direction that the demoness could go through, creating a space akin to a labyrinth.

He trembled a little as he saw that Nezuko was getting even bigger, reaching a form of nearly two meters tall. She dashed towards Rui, stomping on every thread she passed through.

The Lower Moon used his threads to support him and his agility increased, dodging Nezuko's nails.

"Let's see you handle this, girl." Rui said as he used his threads and enveloped all of his limbs.

With a hard pull, he ripped off his arms, legs, and head. He bled profusely from each part, but as a demon, it seemed it didn't bother him at all.

Like David and Goliath, Rui surrounded the demoness with his superior speed, constantly severing her legs to halt her movement.

Meanwhile, Kazuki bit his lower lip. At this rate, it seems that this fight will be endless, as demons always regenerate the damage dealt to them unless someone cuts their heads or stalls them until dawn.

Inosuke is unconscious from blunt trauma, he himself felt like his lungs were about to collapse at any moment, and Tanjiro…

He closed his eyes and tried to think of an idea, but hard as he thought, there seemed no way to get out of this! He wanted to bash his head into a trunk, there has to be something he could do. Anything!

"I..."

Kazuki's eyes snapped open as he heard the weary voice of Tanjiro. He looked at him and saw his eyes no longer had that glitter of hope they always had. It reminded him of home.

"You won't die on me." Kazuki said, tightly clenching the cloth on the wound that it went from its clean white to dark red. "I won't let you. So please, breathe!"

"Kazuki, I can't feel my arm…" Tanjiro muttered, looking at his wound. He stiffened and started to tremble. "I can't see it, my arm, I can't…"

Kazuki grabbed Tanjiro's head and forced him to look at him. He was holding every stream of emotion inside of him to put a brave front.

"I know, look at me Tanjiro, right now, just look at me." Kazuki said as he looked at Tanjiro with a resolute expression. "Now breathe slowly, please."

The redhead started to do as he was told, and followed his instructions. He inhaled and exhaled at a reasonable pace. It didn't erase his fear but it slowed down the bleeding of his wound. Kazuki sighed.

"Good, keep it like that. As long as you keep breathing, the bleeding will be slower. This trick won't prevent the wound from getting infected though, so we must take you to a doctor fast."

"W-Where is Nezuko?" Tanjiro asked, his eyes scanning for any sights of the demon girl. Kazuki grimaced and moved to the side, which allowed him to watch the fight with his own eyes.

"...She went berserk," Kazuki muttered, not knowing how to feel about the events. He shook his head, right now he had to focus on his main priority. He stood up and tried to lift Tanjiro.

"It bought us some time to escape so lend me your good hand–"

"No,"

That stopped Kazuki on his tracks.

"What do you mean no?!"

"If Nezuko... remains like that... she will hurt someone... or worse," Tanjiro said through ragged breaths. "I… promised her..."

Kazuki gritted his teeth. Vows always ruin the lives of others, they make them stubborn and irrational!

"Idiot... how hard it is to think for yourself for a moment?!" Kazuki said as he clenched his fist.

It makes him act irrational as well.

He punched the ground in frustration. He silently tied up the wound and stood up.

"Stay here. I'll calm her down."

He felt a weak tug on his arm. Tanjiro looked at him with watery eyes.

"Promise… me…"

Kazuki scowled and shook his head.

"I'll find a way."

Without a word, Kazuki stormed off towards the fight, leaving Tanjiro to press the wound of his wound. He grunted as he felt the pain starting to increase drastically as he recovered from the initial hit.

He tried his best to hold it in, as there were more important matters in front of him.

Rui took notice of Kazuki from above and his murderous scent started to flow like a river.

"You again?!" Rui said through gritted teeth. "I will make sure to slice you piece by piece until you're completely erased!"

The threads of the demon launched towards Kazuki from all directions. The white haired boy blocked the attacks that were aimed specifically on his limbs, but that was all he could do. With how weak he was, the best he could do was stay on the defensive, and couldn't go for a killing blow.

He could only distract and dodge until reinforcements come, if they come. At this rate, he would be overwhelmed and get killed.

He didn't want him to die with that stench of anger and guilt leaking off him. It might be true that he lost his arm because of Kazuki's mistake, but still, he didn't hold any grudge or resentment towards him. That's not how he treats people.

He wanted to say something, that he could calm Nezuko down and take down the enemy. He wanted to reassure his sister that he was okay and could stay strong for her sake.

But he felt that any attempt at taking died the moment he took a look at his amputated arm, lying motionless on the floor. The only tool he could use to fight. Without it, he was useless, and even if he lived through this ordeal by some miracle, he dreaded what the future held.

Is it really hopeless? Will he never manage to turn his sister back to normal? Has he failed as a big brother?

He closed his eyes, he didn't even want to think about it. The mere thought about the consequences of letting Nezuko remain like that could be catastrophic, and the fact that he physically couldn't do anything to protect her gnawed at him from the inside.

Then everything went silent.

The sounds of the rambunctious battle had stopped, even the feeling of the air touching his skin was nonexistent.

He heard footsteps approaching him. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, maybe help had come to them and they took care of the battle better than he-

His eyes widened, his breathing stopped.

The battle had stopped completely. Rui was left with a look of fury on his face, and his threads were hanging in thin air.

Nezuko had her foot severed but the limb remained hanging midair. She didn't move from her spot.

Kazuki seemed to be on the verge of falling over, his face covered in blood as he had a big cut on his forehead. Had the cut been deeper, he would have been dead for sure.

But what surprised the Kamado firstborn the most was the fact that the person who approached wasn't present in the battle in the first place.

It was a woman taller than him. She wore a white smock over her pink kimono and had a piece of white cloth tied up on her head which covered a part of her jet black hair.

His eyes became watery eyes as he tried his best to hold the tears. This woman was all too familiar for him and she sat alongside him. She had a pleasant smile on her face which would make even the strongest men falter.

Tanjiro bit his lower lip and held the tears back as best as he could. And let out a soft but audible whisper.

"Mom…?"

Kie Kamado smiled and turned to look at Tanjiro. Her purple eyes staring directly into his dark red.

"Tanjiro, it's been a while, isn't it?"

He gasped and then gritted his teeth. He let out a groan as he tried his best to put up a strong front, but exhaustion finally caught up to him. The tears from his eyes finally leaked out.

"Mom…" he said weakly. "I-I'm sorry I didn't arrive in time to save everyone at home, I'm sorry that you have to see me in this sorry state and have to watch Nezuko die. I'm sorry that I'm such an idiot!"

Kie's smile faltered and her eyes softened. Tanjiro knew that look all too well…

It was a look of pity.

He was in such a pathetic sight right now, unable to protect the ones he loves yet again. How can he even call himself a big brother if he wasn't able to fulfill his role?

"I'm… sorry that you have to watch me like this, mother. I was a worthless big brother to Shigeru, Rokuta, Takeo, Hanako, and now I'm going to be even to Nezuko…" he said as he averted his eyes from her.

Kie extended her hand and placed it beside her son's cheek, which made Tanjiro hold his breath. He couldn't feel her touch, but he knew it was there, he knew that she has been watching over him.

He looked at his mother again, and he could see the soft motherly smile she always had when she comforted any of her children.

Any time one of his siblings got injured and went back home crying. Their mother embraced them with her endless amount of love while applying medical treatment.

And now, she was doing the same to him. That was what made her so special.

"Son, a small mistake doesn't make you worthless, it makes you human. I'm sure that Nezuko understands that as she's giving her all to protect the big brother she loves so much."

"But that look you gave me earlier… it was—" he said as he felt the urge to avert his gaze from her.

"That was a look of pity, yes." Kie said. Tanjiro gritted his teeth as he let the harsh words sink in. "Pity that you have let your spirit be crushed by this defeat."

"I'm supposed to be the one protecting her mom!" Tanjiro yelled desperately. He then closed his eyes as he sniffed. "And now, she's going to die or lose herself in her rampage. I can't, the thought of that is j-just…"

"I understand…" Kie said softly. She let go of his cheek and turned to look at her surroundings. "I just want you to look at the trees and tell me what you see."

He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the battlefield. Some trees looked completely wrecked by the attacks of the demon while some of them were tainted with human and demon blood.

"They're heavily damaged…"

"That they are, but they aren't dead yet." Kie said as she let out a sweet smile. "Those trees fight harder than anyone, never giving up until their roots are completely destroyed. They will regrow, and come back even stronger."

Tanijro blinked many times as he processed his mother's words.

"I-I'm failing to see the meaning of this, mom…"

Kie stared at the trees again, this time with much more focus.

"From the day you were born, you have always been the kind boy who loves his family no matter what. Just like the trees, you're pure, you're stubborn, and most of all, you're tenacious, never, ever, giving up."

Those words echoed around his mind like the resonance of a bell. It all started to make sense. Why did he decide to join the Demon Slayers? Why did he train in a hellish period of 2 years with Urokodaki?

Did he really go through so many hardships just to give up now?

"You might have taken a hit and you may feel like giving up… but no matter what ordeals you face, you always keep growing…" Kie said as she extended her hand and patted her son's head. "And that's why I'm so proud of the man you have become."

He gritted his teeth and used his only arm to wipe out the tears that were coming out of his eyes.

"Mom…" he whispered. He then looked at Kie with a smile that he nearly forgot after the loss of his arm. "Thank you… I needed that.

After a brief silence. He spoke again, this time with a little more vigor.

"We miss you mom, a lot."

Kie's smile grew wider, and Tanjiro swore he saw her almost get teary-eyed.

"I miss you too, my children."

They leaned forward for a little awkward hug, as Tanjiro couldn't touch Kie's body at all, but that didn't matter right now. He couldn't feel her embrace, but he could never mistake the smell of her love.

After a brief silence, they separated and the spirit of Kie started to fade away. He sent his mother one final smile, which she returned in kind.

"Protect Nezuko, Tanjiro. We're all counting on you."

Her body faded completely into the wind. It left Tanjiro alone in his thoughts.

Everything began to move again and he could see Nezuko groaning in pain, and Kazuki's forehead started to drip blood.

Even with these odds stacked against them, Tanjiro no longer felt frustration on himself, he no longer felt the need to cry out of despair, but out of happiness that his mom had given him the hope he craved.

'I'm sorry that I let you see such a pathetic display of myself mom…' he thought as he grabbed his blade and stood up. The pain of his severed arm hurt like hell, but he endured it with all of his might. 'I will not lose hope again; I will not give up again… for Nezuko's sake.'

He took a deep breath, and let all of the happy memories enter his mind. At that moment, he found one particular memory that he had forgotten a long time ago.

A memory about his father. The way he danced at a fluid pace, had monstrous strength, and wasn't fazed by any harsh blizzards that threatened to freeze him on the spot. It made it hard to believe that he had such a frail body.

Now he understood why, it was because of the dance that he had long forgotten. A dance he arduously practiced every single day before his family got murdered. He almost forgot it, what a fool he was.

"Dance of the Fire God–"

He's the sword of the Kamado family and he will always keep moving forward.

"Raging Sun!"

Adrenaline surged into his body, numbing the pain of his wound. He glared at Rui and dashed forward.

Kazuki's eyes widened as he saw him running towards the Lower Moon but didn't dare to say a word. The demon failed to notice his presence. It seemed that the white haired boy didn't want to blow his cover.

He jumped towards the floating Rui. The demon finally turned his head around and his stoic face shifted into that of panic. Just as Tanjiro got into point blank range, he pulled himself back with his threads and rejoined his body parts as fast as he could.

"You didn't bleed out?!" Rui shouted as he waved his threads desperately. "Why are you so stubborn, DIE ALREADY!"

He could see everything moved at a slow pace. Strings began to fall towards them as they began to form into little squares, but Tanjiro was faster, he found a small gap.

He will never let Rui escape again.

Tanjiro screamed as he swung the blade with all of his might and passed through the gap.

A loud clang was heard as Tanjiro managed to get a direct hit on the neck.

Rui plummeted into the ground as he tried to shake Tanjiro off him and tried to pull the sword out of his neck.

The blade didn't move further or backward. It could force a stalemate between them until Rui finally decides to cut him down on the spot.

Tanjiro gritted his teeth as he mustered all of his strength to push the blade for a fatal blow.

But It didn't budge one bit.

"You're faster, but you're definitely weaker with only one arm." Rui said as he surrounded himself in a cage of threads. "You ran out of luck!"

Not yet.

Not yet!

He will not die yet!

He can't die!

The cage of threads suddenly disappeared as a spinning tornado rammed them, breaking them instantly. Kazuki ran towards Tanjiro and spun again, this time with much more force.

"Ice breathing, Eight Form: Spinning Icicle!"

He landed a hit on Rui's neck and the wound began to open all the way to the half. Rui began to gurgle in his own blood. They destroyed the windpipe!

"T-Tanjiro, pull harder, we can kill him!"

Tanjiro did just that, he pulled the sword with all of his strength even if it meant that he would die of blood loss.

They just needed one more push!

Threads started to envelop his head and started to pull away. Tanjiro felt his breathing stop. If Rui managed to pull out his head, then all of this effort would have been for nothing!

A loud shockwave could be heard behind them. Tanjiro turned his head to see Nezuko charging towards them in a berserk manner, only for her to curve around them and grab Rui's head tightly, pressing it with her demonic strength.

"Not. Going. Anywhere!" he heard her speak through growls.

Kazuki started to wheeze, and his eyes started to close. The white haired boy tried his best to keep himself awake but it seemed

"Why are you humans so persistent!"

Threads started to come out of Rui's mouth and aimed directly towards Tanjiro's neck. He saw his life flash through his eyes, but still refused to let go, as this was the only opportunity to kill this demon.

Just as the threads were about to pierce his neck, a hand grabbed the threads and kept them in place. Even in her berserk state, Nezuko still had the mental fortitude to protect him.

A loud cackle was heard behind them, which Tanjiro recognized all too well.

"You can't kill me that easy spider boy. I even let you have the advantage by taking a nap, and you still failed, now I take your head!" Inosuke said as he extended his swords like a spear.

"Beast Breathing, First form: Piercing Fang!"

Inosuke's blades pierced directly at the center of the neck, shattering the demon's neck bone in the process.

Seeing this opportunity, Tanjiro pushed his blade with all of his strength and it finally made its move. All Rui could do was cry in pain.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

It passed through.

It seemed like a dream, but their blades finally passed through and decapitated the demon

The red threads started to slowly disintegrate as Rui's head started to roll on the floor. It stopped midway. His body stopped convulsing.

The head started to disintegrate alongside his body, and his face was nothing but full of rage. However, Tanjiro could smell the sadness leaking out from him, as he no longer seemed to be the murderous demon he was before, but a lost child.

"Please, tell me, why didn't you give up? Why did you drive yourself to this extent, WHY?!"

The question didn't seem to hold any malice, but instead, it held desperation. He could tell that from his smell and his voice crack.

Tanjiro took a deep long breath and looked at Rui dead in the eye.

"Because I didn't forget my real family."

A simple, yet concrete answer. The Lower Moon's eyes widened and he didn't say anything else. His head vanished completely off this world.

"He dead?" Inosuke asked as he tilted his head.

Kazuki kneeled and used his sword as support. He panted heavily.

"Yes, yes he is…"

Tanjiro turned to see Nezuko, who seemed to let go of her berserk state for a bit. Her veins retracted a bit and tears came out of her eyes. She didn't look towards her brother's eyes, but rather at the place where his right arm should have been.

He let out a genuine smile.

"Don't cry Nezuko. This… is only a scratch…"

His vision started to blur as he turned to see that the wound of his arm never stopped bleeding. The bleeding had slowed down due to the use of his breath but he still fought for a long time.

He felt lightheaded and his body felt numb. He saw Nezuko, Inosuke, and Kazuki running towards him as he started to lose balance.

Then everything went black.