"W-What is going on?!"
"I'm tied up?! So fast... this guy is so fast!!"
As Inosuke was shocked, he saw Tomioka Giyu walking further and further away, and he became even more anxious.
"Hey!! You stop right there!!"
Tomioka Giyu didn't even turn his head, and said indifferently, "Someone who doesn't even understand his own injuries should just stay put."
"I can't hear what you're saying!!" Inosuke only caught half of it before he couldn't hear anything anymore. "You're walking too fast, hey!!"
After finishing the battle here, Tomioka Giyu found a relatively large tree and leaped to its top.
Tomioka Giyu was not in a hurry; finding Tanjiro's location was simple: just look for the brightest spot.
Soon, just as Tomioka Giyu expected, a faint red light lit up in the distance.
Although it was very brief, Tomioka Giyu firmly believed that it must be the radiance of Sun Breathing!
Tomioka Giyu continuously lowered his center of gravity, and the large tree was gradually bent by him.
Immediately after, the force released, and Tomioka Giyu was launched directly in the direction of the red light.
At the same time, Tanjiro held his broken nichirin blade, his face full of disbelief.
Because at this moment, Rui was standing behind him!
"You thought you defeated me? How pathetic. Are you truly happy with your pathetic delusion?!"
"I used my own threads to cut off my head before you could chop off my head!"
Rui stopped, just watching Tanjiro, who was struggling and desperately crawling forward.
"Enough, I won't show mercy to you or your sister anymore!"
"I haven't felt this kind of rage in a long time!"
Tanjiro wasn't listening to anything Rui said; instead, he was drenched in sweat, trying his best to stand up, but he just couldn't.
"Unpleasant, truly unpleasant!"
As he spoke, Rui had already reattached his head.
"Someone made me this angry a long time ago, but I've forgotten what it was."
"Also, why didn't you burn up?!"
"My threads and I both burned up!"
"I don't know if this is your sister's power, but you really made me angry, and for that, I thank you!"
"I will shred you, who have no lingering attachments! Blood Demon..."
But just as Rui was about to unleash his Blood Demon Art, a magnificent azure Water Dragon, full of Aura, crashed down from mid-air!
With a loud "bang," Tanjiro, who was still desperately trying to stand up, was startled!
He instinctively turned his head to look, but behind him, dust was rising everywhere, and he had no idea what had happened.
As the dust slowly cleared, Tanjiro finally saw a familiar figure, "Tom-Tomioka-san?!"
Tomioka Giyu sheathed his nichirin blade, then said indifferently, "What Tomioka-san, you should call me Senior Brother!"
Tanjiro didn't respond to Tomioka Giyu's words; he stared in shock at the area behind Tomioka Giyu.
Because at this moment, Rui's body had completely vanished. Only his head remained.
Rui also looked at Tomioka Giyu, but his eyes were filled with confusion.
He seemed to still be stuck at the step of "unleashing his Blood Demon Art and killing Tanjiro."
Within a few seconds, Rui's head turned to ashes and drifted into the distance.
"Nezuko!" Seeing that it was finally over, Tanjiro immediately hugged his sister, checking her injuries.
Tomioka Giyu glanced over and said softly, "Don't worry, your sister is fine."
"She's just over-exhausted; she'll be fine after some rest."
Hearing Tomioka Giyu say this, Tanjiro immediately let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Tomioka..."
Realizing he had misspoken again, Tanjiro quickly corrected himself, "No, thank you, Senior Brother, for saving us!"
"Mm, you're welcome~" Tomioka Giyu nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Two years, and you've really grown a lot."
"No, it's not enough..." Tanjiro looked at Nezuko in his arms, his eyes filled with self-reproach.
"Watch out, Tomioka!"
Hearing the voice, Tomioka Giyu drew his nichirin blade with a backhand to block.
With a "ding," Kocho Shinobu, who was knocked back several meters, asked incredulously,
"What are you doing, Tomioka?! That's a Demon behind you."
"And the one on the ground, the one you're holding is a Demon, it's very dangerous, get away from her quickly!"
Before Tomioka Giyu could speak, Tanjiro quickly interjected, "No, that's not right! Ah... though it is."
"But, she's my sister, so..."
"Even so, she must be slain!" Kocho Shinobu ignored what Tanjiro said; what she cared about was Tomioka Giyu's thoughts.
"With Yae, you drew your nichirin blade without hesitation. What's wrong now, Tomioka? Don't forget, we are Pillars!"
"We must never let pity waver our resolve to kill Demons!"
"If you don't want to act, then get out of the way, I will!"
Kocho Shinobu's attitude towards Demons could never be like her older sister's.
Her family was slaughtered, and every year, successors also died at the hands of Demons.
Aoi and The three little ones too; if their families hadn't been killed by Demons, they would be living happily with their families now.
All of this fueled Kocho Shinobu's absolute hatred for Demons.
Seeing Kocho Shinobu about to rush forward, Tomioka Giyu quickly stopped her, "Calm down, Shinobu, let me tell you why."
"This young boy is my Junior Brother. Two years ago, I met him and his sister, Nezuko, who had already become a Demon."
"At the time, my thoughts were the same as yours; I was determined to slay her!"
"But Nezuko, who had already become a Demon and was in a state of hunger, made an unusual move."
"That is, her first instinct was not to eat her closest brother; instead, she protected him."
As he spoke, Tomioka Giyu glanced again at the sleeping Nezuko.
"Tanjiro, your sister definitely hasn't eaten any humans in these past two years, right?"
"Yes, that's right!" Tanjiro looked at Tomioka Giyu with great gratitude and continued, "For the past two years, she has been replenishing her energy by sleeping."
"Nezuko is different; she would never eat humans!"
Hearing this, Kocho Shinobu stopped, but her brows were still furrowed.
"But even so..."
Suddenly, several Kasugai Crows circled in the air, all shouting.
"Caw-caw-caw-caw!"
"Message!! Message!!"
"Arrest Tanjiro and Nezuko! Bring them back to headquarters immediately!!"
"Immediately arrest Tanjiro and the Demon, Nezuko, and bring them back to headquarters!!"
"Tanjiro has an injury on his forehead, and the Demon, Nezuko, has a bamboo muzzle in her mouth!!"