The demon wasn't really a normal demon. My instincts were running haywire, and my brain couldn't handle how such a threat could be posed from what was in front of me. It was a- well, the best way to put it was a boy, a child. The boy drank from those poor bodies on the side of the road, and the anger inside me was replaced by subtle confusion, of course, none of it showing on my face. I was convinced I had lost control over my facial muscles; they wouldn't move, smile or even get angry, forever still.
The boy demon began to speak, and I saw. "My name is Rui. Who are you?"
"Filth does not deserve my name."
The boy chuckled, and I hadn't even noticed, but we had naturally begun to walk in circles. He looked at me, I mean properly, he was trying to find a weakness, of course, I had already marked his weakness, his longing and just about everything he felt in just one glance, even had a feel for what his blood demon art might be. I tried to think where I had seen this demon before and remembered him from the manga.
The spider demon, the crazy one that wanted a family, so he made a family of crazy demons. Shit. So where was the whole family?
"You're not alone, are you, boy?" I asked.
"I have a family," the boy seemed to flaunt it.
"Your kind took away mine," and with that, I left my spot.
Breath of Thunder: First Form: Thunder Clap and Flash, I soared to the demon who kept out of my range with ease. I turned and rushed in once more.
"Third Form: Thunder Swarm."
The technique required that I run in circles around the demon, each lap sending another slash of lightning towards the boy, but not a single attack hit and as I spun out of range, I stopped a few meters away from him and paused, sucking in air, "Sooooooooooooo."
Threads were flowing from his body, thick and red. The demon spoke once again.
"I underestimated you, traveller. Maybe when I'm done, you can be my first friend, yes, family friend, my threads alone can block your puny blades."
I finally remembered. Thread manipulation. So that was it. I remembered how Tanjiro killed him, but that was with the Hinokami Kagura. Before I could reminisce more, my deaf ears didn't catch it, but my instincts and eyes felt the threads racing towards me, and I moved backwards in an instant.
"Sixth Form: Rumble and Clash."
I raced backwards at speed before releasing multiple horizontal and vertical slashes that cut the threads and kept them clear of me, but they kept coming, I could do nothing but parry, I was swinging and slashing my katana like it was a claymore, there was nothing I coud do, Rui stood releasing thread after thread, this was where I had to be able to be fluid like with water breathing, snake breathing or even the hinokami kagura that Tanjiro would've used.
The only thing that I could have that was maybe even close to that would be, but I have never since tried it.
I bent my legs until I was nearly squatting, taking in massive amounts of air, filling my lungs before... disappearing, I became the shadows all around, the wind, nor the demon boy could sense me, I melted, and even though I didn't say it out loud, it was etched into every movement my limbs made...
Breath of Shadows: Fourth Form: Distorted Figures
I emerged from the boy's own shadow, an arc of destruction from stealth to speed. I surged upwards in a flash of thunder, "First Form: Thunder Clap and Flash!" Just as my blade surged upwards, it stopped, the nichirin blade striking a thread, inches away from the demon's throat.
"Tsk," it complained, "you're just like those slayer scum, using those weird styles," and whilst I struggled against that thread, another formed, whipping me back several feet, thudding and rolling back onto my feet. I was running out of ideas, and even more dangerously, energy.
Rui's threads sliced the air like whips, snapping against my arms and chest. One caught me square across the shoulder, tearing deep into muscle and forcing me to stumble. Pain lanced through my ribs—three cracked, maybe four—and my lungs protested with every ragged inhale. I gritted my teeth, forcing balance and focus, even as the taste of blood filled my mouth.
The boy demon laughed, a sound that grated against my nerves even though I couldn't hear it. His threads spun faster, thicker, converging into a near-solid wall of red. I ducked and rolled beneath a flurry of lashes, catching a few on the edge of my blade, sparks flying with the friction. My legs shook from exertion, every step feeling like I was running through water.
"Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!" I propelled myself forward, a high-speed orbit around Rui, blade spinning in a halo of electrical arcs. Lightning slashed across the threads, severing dozens, but still, more struck from all directions. One wrapped around my calf, yanking me off balance. I landed hard on my side, ribs screaming, teeth clenching against the pain, and pushed off the ground to roll back onto my feet.
Blood ran freely from my shoulder, my side, a deep gash opening along my thigh. My vision flickered at the edges. Each movement required calculation, instinct, and sheer force of will. Rui advanced, threads lashing with uncanny precision, cutting through the ground, splintering trees, even snapping the heavy rocks in our path. He was a predator, a master of manipulation, and I was the prey he thought he could toy with.
I inhaled, forcing air deep into collapsed lungs. My chest screamed with each breath, a knife-edge pain radiating through my broken ribs. My arms trembled; my grip faltered slightly, but I refused to stop. I couldn't.
"Breath of Thunder… Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!" I hurled myself forward, blade streaking in a wide arc, lightning trailing in my wake. This time I aimed not to parry, not to strike blindly—but to fracture his control. The arcs cut through his threads, shattering the web momentarily, sparks raining across the forest floor.
Rui's eyes flickered with surprise. Only for a heartbeat. His threads coiled and struck back with double the speed, lashing my arms, legs, and side. One thread slammed across my ribs, crushing them. Pain exploded, and my knees buckled. I fell, rolled, barely keeping the blade in hand as I twisted to avoid another strike. My shoulder bled freely, my lungs burning as I clawed for oxygen.
I rose again, almost collapsing onto one knee, sweat and blood slicking my body. But something inside me refused to yield. My eyes narrowed. Rui's movements were methodical, anticipating mine—he knew how I thought, how I moved. But he underestimated the depth of my instinct, the layers of training embedded in every muscle fiber.
"Breath of Shadows: Second Form… Rising Clouds." I vanished again, merging with the shadows, only to strike from multiple angles. I became streaks of lightning and darkness simultaneously, arcs of steel slashing through his threads, cutting, smashing, forcing him to dodge. But even this was not enough. Each strike was blocked, each afterimage met with precision.
Rui grinned, and I could see the hunger in his eyes, the joy of battle, the twisted satisfaction of testing me. He extended threads from his back like a thousand serpents, striking in perfect synchronisation. One wrapped around my thigh, another across my chest, yet another whipped my shoulder. I fell, gasping, every movement agony as cracked ribs jabbed into torn muscle, and the cold steel of his threads cut through skin.
Blood covered my blade, my body, my vision blurred. But I forced myself to rise, heaving, lungs burning, each breath a battle in itself. I clenched the blade tighter, muscles trembling under the strain, and felt the storm coiling in me.
"This ends now," I whispered in my mind, a mantra of steel and lightning.
I bent my knees, gathering every ounce of air, every pulse of electricity in my veins. My body screamed in protest, limbs trembling, lungs nearly collapsed, blood dripping from gashes along my torso and legs. And then I moved—a blur, faster than the eye could follow, faster than Rui anticipated.
"Breath of Thunder: Sixth Form… Rumble and Clash!"
Lightning surged, arcs of electricity tearing through the remaining threads. I slashed again and again, cutting into his defences, forcing him backwards for the first time. The forest around us exploded in chaos—trees splintered, rocks shattered, threads shredded, sparks flying. Rui's expression faltered for just a moment.
"Breath of Shadows! First Form: Shadow Slash!"
I pressed the advantage, blade a streak of pure blue-white fury. My arms burned, lungs screamed, ribs ached as though splitting in two, but I kept going, kept striking, until at last—I cut through his last defenses.
Threads snapped, the final one severed, and Rui's chest was open to me. I lunged, muscles screaming, lungs burning with every ragged breath, and drove my blade through him. He gasped, crimson threads writhing as his body convulsed.
And then—he fell.
Ash and blood spiraled into the night as his body dissolved, threads scattering like dying stars. I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving violently, vision swimming, limbs trembling. My lungs were raw, ribs shattered, muscles torn, blood soaking the earth beneath me. I had survived, barely, by a thread.
Silence fell.
I leaned on my blade, each breath a battle against pain. For the first time in months, I allowed myself to feel exhaustion—the true, crushing weight of combat. My hands shook, my body a ruin of lightning, steel, and blood.
I had won. But at what cost?
The night was still, the forest echoing with the absence of threads, the remnants of a battle that could have shattered mountains. The last thing I felt was soft hands on my forehead as I drifted into an exhaustion-filled sleep