"Shut up! I'll chop you into pieces!" Lower One's eyes bulged with rage. It hadn't done anything, yet it was being cursed at for no reason—especially when the guy was deliberately rubbing salt in its wounds.
Tendo finally stopped yelling and provocatively slapped his own rear, taunting with a smirk:
"Come on, come on! You still think you're one of the Twelve Demon Moons?"
His words weren't particularly damaging, but the humiliation was unbearable. Lower One snapped.
"You bastard! You're asking for death!"
It tore off its own right arm—but instead of blood gushing out, a brand-new limb rapidly regenerated, visibly restoring itself.
Gripping the severed arm at both ends, it pulled hard, and the limb began morphing like clay.
In an instant, Lower One was holding a massive white scythe, longer than its own body.
Its eyes gleamed with murderous intent, its features twisted in fury, itching to fly over and slice Tendo to pieces. But the island seemed surrounded by an invisible barrier—it couldn't step out.
Suddenly, its other two heads slowly lifted. Surprisingly, they bore gentle, kindly faces—one male, one female.
When Blue Spider Lily saw those faces, her mind went blank. Overwhelming grief surged through her—they were her parents, who had gone missing five years ago.
"Dad!"
"Mom!"
Her body trembled uncontrollably, tears flooding her vision. Ignoring the raging waters around her, she took a step forward without hesitation, heading straight for the island.At this moment, there was only one thought in her mind—to get closer to her parents, just a little closer.
"No!" Giyu yanked Lily back—that was a Demon, not her parents.
"I want to see Mom and Dad! Don't stop me!"
"Let me go!"
Lily struggled wildly, wailing uncontrollably. For five years, she had endured too much loneliness, waking countless times from nightmares to find her parents absent.
Yet she was just an ordinary girl, powerless to break free from Giyu's grip.
"Tsu... Lily... run... never... come back!"
The barely audible voices of the Anxia couple came from their severed heads, their mouths trembling weakly. Though fragmented, their words carried absolute resolve.
Ubume snarled impatiently, "Five years, and you two still cling to consciousness? I'm sick of it!"
Five years ago, it had devoured two humans—swallowing them whole was its preference. Yet, against all odds, the couple's consciousness had not dissipated. Instead, they had wrested partial control of its body.
For five years, Ubume had been locked in a struggle with their will. Otherwise, the villagers of Fishscale Village would never have had the chance to strike a bargain with it—it would have slaughtered them all.
But now, the Anxia couple's consciousness had reached its limit. Seeing their daughter had dissolved their lingering obsession, leaving them unable to resist the Demon's will.
Their love for their daughter had, against all odds, trapped a former Lower Moon in place for five years.
"Lily, run!"
"Live on!"
Even in their final moments, the couple could not let go of their beloved daughter. But time was up.
"Ahahahaha!"
Feeling the shackles that had bound it for five years vanish, Ubume clutched its forehead with one hand, laughing maniacally. Its withered arm trembled uncontrollably with each burst of laughter.
Still laughing, it tore off its other two heads—though the Blood Demon Art of those clones had been gained by devouring these very humans.
Its laughter intertwined with Lily's sobs, endlessly echoing through the cavern.
At this moment, ecstasy and despair played out side by side.
The laughter stopped abruptly. Ubume extended its withered, nearly broken claws toward Tendo and the others, its face twisted in madness. As it spoke, it clenched its fist.
"Die!"
Two syllables erupted from its throat. In an instant, the water around the raft began to boil, bubbles rising furiously.
Then, one after another, pale figures—fish-headed, human-bodied—leapt from the water. Their numbers were overwhelming, blotting out the sky. Faced with this horrifying sight, Tendo and the others had nowhere to flee.
Blood Demon Art: Prisoner's Frenzy.
Ubume's body parts could form clones—accumulated over the years. Previously suppressed by the Anxia couple, it now felt terrifyingly powerful.
The raft rocked violently, on the verge of capsizing. As it swayed, Tendo swung his blade.
In just a few breaths, he had slashed nearly a hundred times, each strike unleashing searing flames that formed blazing Blade Winds, shooting outward in all directions. His own body was enveloped in a faint crimson Fighting Spirit.
From afar, centered around Tendo, countless fiery Blade Winds took the shape of a great bird's wings, its feathers ablaze.
Way Breathing: Flame Form—Vermilion Bird.Faintly, a clear bird's cry could be heard as the Vermilion Bird shattered its white cage, each Blade Wind precisely striking down a clone.
Giyu, without hesitation, leaped into the seawater—after all, the raft was still some distance from the isolated island, and it needed a push.
Blue Spider Lily, on the verge of collapse, heard Giyu's calm, steady voice echoing in her ears.
"Watch closely. I'll avenge you."
Giyu didn't know why he said that. After all, seeing Tanjiro cry made him feel just as bad, as if he were witnessing his sister's tears all over again.
He didn't want her to cry, so he had to avenge her.
Under the water, Giyu swung his sword, activating Water Breathing: Sixth Form - Whirlpool.
He exerted all his strength to spin himself, creating a massive water vortex.
The force generated by the water vortex not only shattered the fish-headed monsters swimming nearby but also propelled the raft toward the isolated island.
After completing everything, Giyu leaped out of the water, stepping on the head of a clone, but he was followed by a dozen more. He paid them no mind, for he absolutely trusted Tendo.
Sure enough, a flash of lightning streaked across, and the enormous qilin devoured the clones beneath Giyu's feet in one gulp.
Then the two of them landed almost simultaneously on the rapidly advancing raft, no words needed; their understanding was instinctive.
Steel Scythe wore a look of disbelief, a grave expression emerging on his bony face.
Are these two guys Hashira?
No, no, no!
He immediately dismissed that thought, tightening his grip on the scythe. The clones were too weak; no matter how many there were, it was useless. He had to rely on himself.
I can take them both down, Steel Scythe encouraged himself.
The raft steadied as it reached the shore, and Tanjiro, slumped on it, watched the two boys charge toward the demon, toward her enemy. Giyu's words echoed in her ears.
"Watch closely; I will avenge you!"
She stubbornly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, fixating on Giyu's back, murmuring:
"I'm watching. Help me take revenge, thank you!"
At that moment, several clones leaped out from beneath the water behind Tanjiro, clawing and attacking her. Even so, her gaze never left Giyu Tomioka.
She wanted to see him avenge her; she feared nothing, even death