Tanjiro
Tanjiro's heart pounded in his chest as the possessed Demon Slayer woman stumbled toward him, her movements jerky and unnatural—like a puppet being forced to dance by invisible hands. Her bones cracked audibly with every step, her limbs bending at horrifying angles no human body should endure.
"Ahhhhhh!" Her scream tore through the forest, raw and filled with unbearable pain. It wasn't the cry of a monster—it was the scream of a human trapped inside her own body, begging for release.
Tanjiro gritted his teeth, eyes darting between her and the silver threads that shimmered faintly in the moonlight. Those webs… they're controlling her. The realization struck him like lightning. The demon wasn't fighting directly—it was manipulating from afar, forcing this poor woman to attack them against her will.
"I have to stop her," he thought, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword. "But if I hurt her, she'll die. There has to be another way!"
He glanced around, taking in the twisted forest around them—the trees heavy with webs that swayed like ghostly curtains. Then, as the woman lunged at him again, mimicking every move he made, an idea flashed in his mind.
"If she's being controlled to follow me…" He took a deep breath, his expression hardening. "Then I'll use that against the demon."
He darted forward, weaving through the trees with lightning speed. The woman followed instantly, her body jerking violently as the webs forced her to match his movements. Her eyes were wide with terror and pain, tears streaming down her face even as her hands reached toward him like a marionette's.
From behind him, Inosuke's voice rang out, sharp and impatient. "What are you doing, Tanjiro?! Stop running around like an idiot! I'll take care of her!"
"Wait!" Tanjiro shouted over his shoulder, his breath coming fast. "Don't! She's still human! There's a way to save her without killing her—just trust me!"
Inosuke growled in frustration, his dual swords twitching in his hands, but something in Tanjiro's tone made him hesitate.
Tanjiro kept running, circling a massive tree again and again, each step careful, precise. The woman continued to follow him, her movements becoming more and more erratic as the threads stretched and twisted around the branches above them.
"Just a little more…" he thought, his eyes following the lines of the threads, tracing how they connected from her body to the trees high above. "If I can tangle them up—if I can trap the web—it'll break the demon's control."
He leapt over a root, spun behind another trunk, then ducked low as the woman lunged again. The webs around her glistened and caught on the bark, tightening, tangling. The forest itself seemed to close in as Tanjiro made his final pass, the threads looping and knotting like a snare.
Then—
Snap!
The tension in the air shifted. The woman's body froze mid-step, her head jerking back as the webs pulled taut, binding her completely. Her limbs twitched once… twice… then went still.
"It worked…" Tanjiro breathed, lowering his sword. "She's stopped."
Inosuke blinked, his boar mask tilting as he stared. "Huh… You actually trapped her," he muttered, his tone halfway between awe and disbelief. "Not bad, for someone who overthinks everything."
Tanjiro smiled faintly, exhaustion creeping into his voice. "She's still alive. If we can cut the control threads at the source, maybe—"
But his words stopped.
The woman's body suddenly convulsed, a sharp, awful crack echoing through the forest. Tanjiro's eyes widened in horror as her head twisted unnaturally, snapping around in a single, fluid motion. The light faded from her eyes, and she slumped to the ground, limp and lifeless.
For a long, heavy moment, silence filled the forest. Only the faint rustle of the wind through the webs broke it.
Tanjiro dropped to his knees beside her, his breath shallow. Her face was peaceful now, free of the agony that had consumed her moments ago. He bowed his head slightly, his fingers trembling as he reached out and gently closed her eyes.
"You were brave," he whispered softly. "You didn't deserve this."
Inosuke stood nearby, silent for once, watching Tanjiro's shoulders tremble.
After a few seconds, Tanjiro rose slowly to his feet. His expression was calm, but his crimson eyes burned with quiet fury. He didn't look back at the woman's body as he spoke.
"Let's go," he said, his voice low but steady. "We have to slay the demon who's controlling the humans."
Inosuke nodded, gripping his swords tightly. "Yeah," he growled, his tone uncharacteristically subdued. "Let's tear that monster apart."
~~~