Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
-Location: Butterfly Mansion-
"...Caw! Caw!"
A breathless Kasugai crow flapped its wings unsteadily, wobbling its way through the air above the Butterfly Mansion.
"Reinforcements..." It unconsciously keeps muttering to itself.
Its heavy wings gave one final flutter.
This was almost certainly the fastest it had flown in its short life.
Vaguely spotting an open window on the second floor, it dove straight in.
Thump!
"Caw!"
It crashed hard into the back of the meditating Tanjuro, who had just finished another round with Yoriichi.
Tanjuro had just opened his eyes from the memory and was about to stand up and take a deep breath when he was caught off guard by the sudden bump.
Stumbling forward slightly, he turned his head.
"Tokito... Natagumo Mountain... Upper Moon..."
The Kasugai crow lay collapsed behind him, its breath faint, its voice intermittent.
Tanjuro froze. He lifted his head, his gaze piercing through the window towards the direction outside the Butterfly Mansion.
Whoosh!
His entire form dissolved into an afterimage, vanishing from the spot.
Creak—
Just as the room door was slid open by Shigeru, who peeked his head in.
"Dad, time to eat—"
Only to see an empty room.
"...Huh? He's not here?"
Shigeru stood dumbfounded at the doorway, scratching his head in confusion.
While the open window rattled in the breeze.
---
Back to Natagumo Mountain.
"What is all this!?"
Inosuke was bound tightly by spider silk and strung up under a tree again as he was unable to react in time. He writhed and struggled furiously. "Damn it!!"
After struggling for a while, he seemed to accept his fate and calmed down, looking down at the twisted, reforming mass that was the Eldest Sister below the tree.
And making eye contact with her tear-filled eyeballs.
"???"
Inosuke.exe stopped working.
...
Swish! Swish!
Rui continuously waved his hands, frowning as pure white spider silk pulled and moved everywhere.
Boom!!
The spiderweb slammed into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Nearby trees were continuously sliced in half and toppled over.
He watched the three slayers handle themselves with ease, his expression growing increasingly impatient.
It hadn't been long since his promotion to Upper Moon.
Yesterday, he had advanced another rank, so his power should be even greater now.
So why...
Why were these guys so troublesome?
Swish!
A sharp spider silk shot towards the Tokito family in an instant!
Screech—!
Brilliant sparks blossomed where blade met spider silk, accompanied by a piercing scraping sound.
Illuminating the pitch-black surroundings.
"So heavy!"
Muichiro leaned back, using his blade to parry the incoming silk, gripping the hilt tightly.
His blade is caught. Seeing his sword entangled by the spider silk, he gritted his teeth and looked around.
"I've run out of patience."
Rui twitched his fingers, watching the struggling father and sons with cold eyes.
[]—Blood Demon Art!—[]
[]—Kokushirō!—[]
Whoosh—!
He jerked his arm back sharply.
A densely woven spider web instantly formed from the treetops, plummeting straight toward Muichiro.
The sharp reflection of the web gleamed in Muichiro's pupils. He froze for a moment.
Muichiro's breathing quickened. Instinctively, he wanted to step back.
He glanced sideways.
Where his father had already effortlessly broken free from the spider silk's restraint.
And his brother, who practiced swordsmanship with him daily, also seemed to be handling things with ease, occasionally even taunting the white-haired demon across from them into a frenzy.
Although he himself had been practicing swordsmanship, Moon Breathing, and Hinokami Kagura, improving his flexibility and strength, he hadn't mastered either one.
He was the weakest.
So, the demon... chose to target him first?
Muichiro focused his attention intensely. Time around him seemed to slow slightly as his brain processed information at lightspeed.
His father and brother had been deliberately distanced by Rui.
He looked away, his pupils contracting slightly as he stared at the rapidly approaching web.
If these things cut him, he'd definitely end up in chunks just like that female demon earlier.
In his mind, for some reason, memories of happier times chose this moment to surface.
The laughter and joy at the Butterfly Mansion.
'Shigeru, Takeo, Tanjiro...'
Muichiro unconsciously spaced out, holding the hilt of his entangled blade, his pupils dilating for a moment.
"Muichiro."
In that hazy memory, it was Tanjuro's voice.
"In the space between swings, remember the rhythm of your breathing." He advised.
The next moment.
"Hah—!!" Muichiro snapped back to reality. He took a sharp breath, his eyes widening, gripping the hilt tightly.
Staring intently at the rapidly approaching web.
Memories of past practice surged in his mind. The familiar rhythm of breathing rose and fell in his chest.
His pupils contracted sharply, his gaze firm.
Move!
Swish!
He twisted the blade entangled in spider silk. Two decisive flashes of light quickly severed the threads binding it!
The moment the blade was free, Muichiro crouched slightly and looked up.
He was facing the razor-sharp web now upon him.
He parted his lips, white vapor escaping.
)—Sun Breathing Eleventh Form!—(
)—Gen'nichi Kō!—(
In Rui's field of vision.
The web swiftly and decisively passed through Muichiro's body. Slicing him to pieces instantly.
But.
Creak...
Rui pulled at his fingers. The moment the web had passed through Muichiro's body, he hadn't felt any actual resistance.
His eyes had clearly seen the strike land.
"Did I use too much force?" He wondered internally.
"Muichiro—!!"
Yuichiro's eyes flew wide open. He stared in terror at the spot where Muichiro had been standing, screaming hysterically.
Too far! The spider silk had held him back; he couldn't reach his brother in time!
His eyelids trembled. Instinctively, he reached out a hand, clawing at the air in that direction.
His vision blurred and shook. He stared in disbelief at his motionless younger brother.
He felt only a chill rising in his throat.
His head spun, filled with a roaring dizziness.
The "Muichiro" he called out to didn't react, simply standing there.
Yuichiro couldn't comprehend what had just happened. His mind was a complete blank, barely able to think.
'Why—why had Muichiro been hit by the web?'
'Why hadn't he fought back?'
"Why—"
'Why couldn't I reach him?'
In his vision, the hand reaching out towards Muichiro's direction was blurry.
His pupils shook violently, the tinnitus growing stronger:
"Haaaaah—!!"
He let out a hysterical scream.
He couldn't even hear his father shouting, turning his head nearby.
Yuichiro gasped for breath, his lungs heaving like a broken bellows. Unconscious murmurs escaped his lips.
His grip on the sword hilt was bone-white.
He looked down at the blade in his hand, his eyes vacant.
Swish! Swish!
Two quick cuts severed the silk around him. His shoulders slumped. Then, with hollow eyes, he turned his head and fixed his gaze on Rui.
Thump!
Yuichiro stomps hard on the ground, enough to leave a deep footprint.
)—Moon Breathing Total Concentration!—(
He gripped his blade tightly, transforming into a blur as he charged straight at Rui!
"What are you yelling about?"
"You failed to fulfill your duty."
"Seems your bond is only worth that much."
Rui muttered flatly.
Watching Yuichiro vanish into a blur, he felt a flicker of confusion.
"His speed has increased. What's going on?'
He raised his hand to weave a web before him.
When his peripheral vision suddenly caught something.
The motionless Muichiro...
...faded into an illusory afterimage, slowly dissipating.
"What?!" Rui stared in disbelief at the vanishing Muichiro, exclaiming in shock.
Seizing the moment of Rui's distraction,
Stamp!
Yuichiro accelerated, appearing instantly at his side. His Nichirin blade was lowered, the edge facing upward.
His gritted teeth barely contained the surging emotions within.
Disregarding all consequences, Yuichiro's every muscle tensed, his eyes rolling back slightly, rage blazing and boiling in his heart as he swung his sword.
)—First Form!—(
)—Yamizuki – Yoi no Miya!—(
He gripped the hilt and swung upward with all his might!
A pale yellow moonlight glow illuminated the blade.
Thunk!
The blade instantly sliced through Rui's arm, severing it cleanly at the joint!
"Gahk—!!" Rui stumbled backward, his pupils contracting sharply. He shifted his gaze to Yuichiro.
'Such speed?!'
Creak...
His other hand flicked his fingers rapidly. A dense web of white spider silk gathered beside him.
The silk formed a sharp net, blocking Yuichiro's next attack.
"Bastard!!"
"Give my brother back..."
Yuichiro's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his face. He ground his teeth, forcing the words from the depths of his throat.
"...GIVE HIM BACK!!"
Shing!
Just as he was about to recklessly push forward, letting the sharp silk tear into his flesh,
"Big Brother!!"
Muichiro's excited voice came from above. "I did it!!"
'Huh?'
Yuichiro froze mid-step. He looked up.
Whoosh!
Muichiro jumped down from a tree. His hair was swept up by the wind of his descent. His slightly dirty face beamed with an excited smile.
"Hinokami Kagura! Kamado-san taught me!"
"I used it!"
The eleventh form, fake rainbow, is a technique that uses high-speed movement and rotation to leave an afterimage.
The sharper one's vision, the clearer the afterimage appears.
In the thick of dodging the web earlier, Muichiro had shot straight up to the top of the forest.
What Rui and Yuichiro had seen were merely afterimages left behind.
Yuichiro looked up at Muichiro, completely unharmed. He blinked dazedly.
'Alive?'
"Hah... cough!"
His rapid breathing quickly calmed down along with his bewildered emotions. He even choked slightly.
"Ah! It fell!"
Muichiro exclaimed in surprise. A small flute had slipped from his person.
"My flute!"
As it spun mid-air, falling to the ground,
Swish!
A thin strand of spider silk flashed, cleanly slicing the flute in two.
Snap!
Crimson liquid spilled from within the flute, scattering in mid-air.
The crystalline drops of blood reflected Muichiro's shocked expression.
---
Tamayo's Residence.
"So, the reason for your visit this time is..."
Yushiro watched quietly as Michikatsu sipped his tea.
But Michikatsu's normally closed upper and lower pairs of eyes suddenly snapped wide open, filling his entire face.
His six eyes stared straight ahead, unblinking, as he sipped his tea.
Yushiro was mid-sentence when he suddenly felt a chill at his feet.
He instinctively looked down but saw nothing.
Just as he lifted his suspicious gaze,
Click.
Michikatsu had vanished!
Only the empty teacup remained on the table, slowly spinning with a hollow sound.
Yushiro maintained his composure, though a vein at his temple pulsed faintly.
---
Thump.
Muichiro landed on the ground. He blinked dazedly, exchanging a look with his even more dazed brother, Yuichiro.
His first thought was to bend down and pick up the flute, now broken in two.
"You... just now...!" Yuichiro stared blankly at his younger brother. His mouth opened and closed speechlessly, but nothing came out.
"Enough."
Rui's face darkened. He hung his head low. His severed left arm rapidly regenerated. For the first time, an emotion clearly recognizable as anger appeared on his face:
"I don't want a family like yours anymore."
He muttered quietly, slowly raising his hand. Crimson began to spread from his elbow.
He looked up, his gaze fierce.
"Die!"
Blood seeped from his fingertips, instantly soaking the pale spider silk red.
[]—Blood Demon Art!—[]
[]—Kokushi Rinten!—[]
Creak—!
Crimson spider silk wove in the air, joined into a massive vortex red cocoon between his hands.
It would launch towards Yuichiro, who was the closest target!
The two brothers stood together, watching the enormous, blood-red spiderweb bearing down on them.
Exhausted, they couldn't react in time.
Soichiro ran up from behind them, reaching out a hand.
Just as he prepared to recklessly unleash the First Form at full speed to intercept,
Swish! Swish!
Two dark figures streaked across the ground, accompanied by a sudden gust of wind, practically flying past Soichiro.
Thump!
The two figures arrived simultaneously beside the Tokito brothers.
A russet haori and a snake-patterned haori billowed in the wind.
Tanjuro looked up, standing before Muichiro.
He glanced sideways at Michikatsu standing near Yuichiro.
Their eyes met.
Click.
Two crisp sounds of sword guards knocking together rang out.
What followed was an intensive, windy sound of blades slicing through air.
Whoosh—
The crimson spider silk lost its hardness as it drifted slowly down from mid-air, turning to ash as it fell.
Muichiro opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the back of the person before him, then at the person before his brother.
He exclaimed in shock.
"Uncle Michikatsu!"
Then, paling, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
"...Eh?" Rui blinked, looking at his own head, held aloft between two blades.
"What happened..." He voiced his confusion.
Thump!
His headless body swayed weakly twice, then slowly crumpled to the ground.
As Rui looked around dazedly, his gaze landed on Michikatsu before him.
"Number One!"
His eyes slowly widened. His gaze darted between Michikatsu and the three Tokito family members.
"Demon... and human... identical bloodline..." he murmured.
"Even after becoming a demon, you still protect your descendants... You! This is..."
A light called desire flickered in Rui's eyes. The corners of his mouth trembled.
"True bonds..."
"I want it so badly..."
Rustle, rustle...
As he spoke, ash began to rise from Rui's face.
Tanjuro held Muichiro's Nichirin blade, using it to support Rui's severed head.
He remained silent.