"Is this your brother?" Tanjiro asks.
"He… Isn't our brother… Our brother was wearing yellowish brown clothing…" Shoichi says.
Tanjiro knelt beside the frightened siblings, his voice gentle. "Is this your brother?"
Shoichi shook his head quickly. "No… our brother wears yellowish-brown clothing. That's not him."
Willow exhaled softly and stood, brushing the dust from her haori. "Then we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's go."
Just as they turned to leave, Tanjiro placed his wooden box beside the children. "This will protect you," he said, his voice firm yet kind. "No matter what happens, stay close to it."
Willow followed his lead, unslinging her own box and setting it beside Tanjiro's. "Mine too," she added. "If it makes any noise, don't be afraid. It won't hurt you."
The two Demon Slayers turned and entered the looming mansion, Zenitsu reluctantly dragging his feet behind them.
Once inside, Zenitsu looked between Tanjiro and Willow with visible anxiety. "You two are strong, right? You'll protect me, right?"
Tanjiro hesitated. "I'll do my best… but I have fractured ribs and a leg. I'm not at full strength."
"What?!" Zenitsu shrieked. "You're injured?! Then why did you come into a demon house?!"
He turned desperately to Willow. "You! You look stable! You'll protect me, right?"
Willow looked at him calmly. "I will if I can. But there will be times I won't be able to. You have to trust in yourself, Zenitsu. You're stronger than you think."
Zenitsu's face crumpled. "That's a lot to ask right now…"
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from behind.
"Wait!!" Shoichi and Teruko burst into the house.
Tanjiro's eyes widened in alarm. "You can't be in here!"
Shoichi clutched his sister's hand tightly. "The box you left behind—i-it rattled… and we got scared…"
Tanjiro's face softened, but his tone remained firm. "I understand. But that box is more important to me than my own life. You can't leave it behind."
Before anyone could respond, the entire house shuddered violently. A deep BOOM echoed as a taiko drum was struck.
The floor lurched.
"WAAHHH!!" Zenitsu screamed, flailing in panic.
In the chaos, he tripped and shoved Tanjiro and Willow. The momentum sent him tumbling with Teruko into a side hallway—and Willow stumbled backward through a different sliding door just as it slammed shut behind her.
Another BOOM —and the world turned sideways.
The rooms shifted violently, walls moving like sliding panels in a puzzle box.
Willow regained her footing in a completely different room, alone, heart thudding in her chest. " Tch… so it begins, " she muttered, drawing her blade.
The mansion was being controlled by Former Lower Moon Six.
And they were all separated.
Minutes had passed. Willow crept through the shifting mansion, blade drawn, senses sharp. The air was heavy—tainted with blood, sweat, and the scent of something… wrong.
A shadow darted across the hall.
Her eyes narrowed. She moved swiftly, catching the blur just as it leapt from the ceiling—a spindly demon with jagged limbs and a long, flicking tongue. It hissed, claws slashing toward her throat.
Willow twisted and ducked under the attack, spinning on her heel. Her katana flashed in the gloom, cleaving clean through the demon's neck. Its head tumbled through the air as its body dissolved into ash, a final screech fading into the walls.
She exhaled and pulled up her stat window:
-[Level Up]- Level: 10/90 +1
Strength: 65 +2
Speed: 56 +3
A smirk twitched at the corner of her lips. " Nice. "
Just as she sheathed her katana, the entire mansion quaked again. A thunderous roar of energy surged through the walls.
A powerful presence—then silence.
A floorboard beneath her gave way.
" Wha—! "
Willow was flung through the air, crashing through a paper screen and tumbling out of the mansion, landing hard on the grass below.
She winced, propping herself up. " Tanjiro must've taken down the demon, former Lower Moon Six. "
A loud slam reached her ears.
She looked up and froze.
Zenitsu was on the ground, curled protectively over both wooden boxes. Inosuke was punching and kicking him relentlessly.
"Inosuke," Willow whispered—recognizing the scene immediately. But watching it unfold in real time made her heart twist painfully.
"HEY!!" she shouted, standing up. "What do you think you're doing?! Get away from him!"
Inosuke turned toward her. "Huh? He's protecting demons. If you're gonna get in my way—then I'll fight you instead!"
In an instant, Inosuke charged.
Willow met his attack, parrying the incoming strikes with her katana. "I'm not going to fight you!" she snapped.
"Oh, I get it," Inosuke said with excitement. "Bare-handed it is!"
Willow's eyes widened. " Oh, crap. "
Inosuke launched a furious barrage of punches. She ducked, weaved, and raised her arms instinctively to block like a boxer, absorbing hits and keeping him from striking her head or gut directly. The ground kicked up beneath their feet from the sheer impact of his strikes.
Just as Willow began to falter under the relentless assault—
Tanjiro stepped out of the mansion, with him is Teruko and the missing brother. His eyes locked on the scene before him, horror dawning on his face.
Zenitsu looked up weakly. "Tanjiro… I protected the boxes… Willow… she protected me…"
Tanjiro's expression hardened. "STOP!"
He dashed forward and, without hesitation, drove a solid punch into Inosuke's ribs with a sickening crack.
Inosuke stumbled back, clutching his side. "Huh?!"
"We're all demon slayers!" Tanjiro shouted. "Why are you doing this?! Are you enjoying hurting people? That's despicable!"
Inosuke blinked, momentarily stunned. "Oh, Sorry! Then I'll fight you instead!"
Tanjiro scowled. "You don't get it at all."
The two boys clashed—fists and feet flying. Willow knelt beside Zenitsu, examining his bruises.
"You did good," she said softly. "Thank you for protecting the boxes."
Zenitsu sniffled. "I think I have internal bleeding…"
A loud CRACK echoed through the clearing.
Tanjiro had headbutted Inosuke.
Everyone froze at the sharp collision.
Zenitsu's mouth dropped open. "Their skulls sounded like they cracked a tree in half…"
Inosuke's boar mask popped off from the impact.
There was a beat of silence.
Zenitsu squinted at the now-unmasked fighter. "WAIT A MINUTE. You—you have the face of a woman?!"
Inosuke blinked, his delicate, almost ethereal face unmarred despite the brawl. His wide blue eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?! You got a problem with my face?!"
Willow blinked too, stunned by the contradiction. "That… I was not expecting him to have a face that pretty. "
Zenitsu shrieked again. "It's not fair!! Why does a crazy guy like you have such a pretty face?!"
Inosuke cracked his knuckles. "I'll mess up your face next."
Tanjiro sighed, rubbing his temples.