Rui, having regained his composure, looked down at Raiden and spoke slowly, each word heavy with disdain.
"I don't need friends."
"Yes, you do."
Raiden grinned.
In the next instant, he vanished from where he stood.
Brilliant arcs of lightning tore through the dark forest, illuminating the dense web of trees in sharp flashes. A crescent-shaped trail of electric light surged straight toward Rui.
Rui's pupils shrank.
So fast.
Before the words had even finished leaving Raiden's mouth, Rui felt a sharp, needle-like pain graze his neck.
The lightning had been a distraction.
The true strike was already there.
Rui reacted instinctively, commanding the surrounding spider threads to form a barrier.
Clang.
A dull metallic impact echoed through the forest.
Then another.
And another.
A relentless barrage followed, strikes crashing down like heavy rain. Rui was forced back step by step, his footing unsteady beneath the pressure.
Below them, Murata stood frozen, his mouth slightly open, his throat dry.
The sounds filling his ears were no longer the clash of steel, but a constant ringing.
What was he even witnessing?
A Kanoe-ranked swordsman overwhelming a member of the Twelve Kizuki?
No.
That was impossible.
This attack speed was far beyond anything he had seen, even among veteran members of the Corps.
And this man was supposed to be a newcomer?
Murata's face flushed as memories of his earlier accusations surfaced.
Raiden had not been spacing out.
He had been waiting.
Waiting for an enemy worthy of moving against.
And that enemy was a Twelve Kizuki.
Rui, driven back again and again, stared through the spider silk at the surging lightning, agitation growing in his eyes.
He was one of the Twelve Kizuki.
Chosen personally by Lord Muzan.
How could a human press him to this extent?
"Blood Demon Art, Murderous Eye Cage!"
The spider silk around Rui exploded outward. Dense threads surged from every direction, closing in as they attempted to imprison Raiden.
Layer upon layer of webbing piled together, forming an impenetrable black mass that swallowed the electric light whole.
The lightning dimmed.
But Rui did not relax.
This technique was never meant to end the fight. It was only meant to shift momentum.
With Raiden's speed, escape should have been easy.
The fact that he had been caught at all was unsettling.
Something was wrong.
The moment the spider cage sealed completely, a blinding golden glow burst from within, piercing through the webbing like sunlight tearing through clouds.
The light surged straight toward Rui.
"Damn it!"
Rui raised his arms as fine threads wrapped tightly around him.
Missing this chance would be fatal.
But then his instincts screamed.
No.
It's not in front of me.
A quiet chuckle sounded behind him.
"You really think I'm that simple?"
Raiden reappeared, his blade humming with electricity, lightning crawling along its edge like a living thing.
Breaking through the silk head-on was troublesome, but fights were not meant to be fair.
Speed was his strength.
And he used it without hesitation.
With a sharp downward motion, blade and lightning merged.
Boom.
The strike landed cleanly on Rui's neck.
The instant steel met flesh, Raiden felt resistance.
Not skin.
Not bone.
It was like striking solid iron.
The blade refused to move forward.
"Tough neck."
Raiden narrowed his eyes as a thin line of blood surfaced on Rui's skin.
The spider silk that had felt nearly unbreakable moments ago now seemed fragile by comparison.
Rui himself was far more resilient.
Hard to kill.
Which only made him more interesting.
Raiden's smile deepened.
"So? Thought about what I said?"
"This isn't like your fake family bonds."
Raiden withdrew his blade and stepped back, giving Rui time to regenerate.
The exchange had told him enough.
Rui was stronger than Kyogai by a wide margin, but still not beyond reach.
Raiden had only used Thunder Breathing First Form and a single follow-up technique.
If he fought seriously, Rui's neck would not withstand the storm.
But killing Rui was not the goal.
Not yet.
Rui's expression darkened.
Especially at the mention of false bonds.
"You deserve to die."
"Blood Demon Art, Engraved Thread Prison!"
Rui snapped his hands forward.
An invisible web surged toward Raiden.
Clang.
Raiden slashed instinctively, but the silk reinforced with Rui's blood was far denser than before. His strike landed like steel against hardened metal.
Forced to retreat, Raiden dodged as Rui pressed his advantage.
Threads lashed out relentlessly, even drawing upon the silk connected to the controlled Demon Slayer Corps members.
They wrapped toward Raiden from all directions.
Spider silk was nearly invisible.
Even a handful of strands could escape notice.
But here, the forest was drowned in it.
As far as the eye could see, white threads filled the air, slowly closing in like a tightening net.
"Raiden!"
Zenitsu shouted, panic surging through him.
This was not the same silk controlling the other swordsmen.
These threads sliced through trees and stone as if they were mist.
Trapped inside this, could Raiden survive?
Zenitsu drew his blade, desperately recalling the rhythm of his First Form.
But the remaining controlled swordsmen surged forward whenever he gathered focus.
Each interruption broke his breathing.
Frustration burned in his chest.
"Move!"
Zenitsu swung the blunt side of his blade, knocking them away instead of cutting.
As Rui advanced steadily toward the entangled Raiden, Zenitsu exhaled sharply.
Steam hissed from his body.
The sound caught Tanjiro's attention.
Something was wrong.
---