Aoyama, who had been sprinting through the mountain, suddenly came to a halt.
Just now—he had heard Tanjiro's voice.
It came from…
His eyes swept across the forest.
Southwest.
Without hesitation, he shot off in that direction.
Tanjiro struggled to lift his head from the brush.
Rui had already walked up to him.
As Rui's fist came crashing down, Tanjiro rolled to evade—but the punch still grazed his face.
He staggered two steps before barely managing to steady himself.
"You… I doubt you're that foolish," Rui said calmly, "but do you actually think that just because you get close to me, you can cut off my head?"
"Fine. Then try it."
His tone was almost childish—like a boy boasting about a toy.
Rui spread his arms, utterly unconcerned.
To him, killing Tanjiro would take mere seconds.
Tanjiro dodged briefly, then spun and slashed.
The broken blade struck Rui's neck perfectly.
But—
It didn't sink in.
It didn't cut.
"Ah—?!"
Tanjiro's eyes widened in disbelief.
For the first time—
His blade couldn't bite into a demon's neck.
He pushed harder.
Rui simply stood there.
"See? I told you," Rui said slowly. "You can't defeat me."
He lifted his leg and kicked Tanjiro away.
Tanjiro's body slammed into the ground and skidded several more meters.
Rui calmly lowered his foot.
"My body is harder than any thread I control. You can't even cut my threads. Cutting my neck? Impossible."
Above them, Nezuko struggled violently.
Rui looked up, annoyed.
"So noisy. Be quiet for a while."
His fingers clenched.
The threads around her tightened brutally.
More blood poured from her body.
Nezuko's eyes widened in pain as the threads bit deeper, immobilizing her completely.
Rui's expression darkened as he looked up at her.
"Your brother is me now. Don't keep calling for him."
Tanjiro clenched his trembling arms.
He couldn't lose control.
If he let anger consume him, he would fall straight into Rui's trap.
At that moment—
Aoyama arrived.
Just in time to see Nezuko close her eyes as blood streamed down.
Something exploded inside him.
"Hey, kid," Aoyama's voice rang coldly through the clearing. "You touched someone you shouldn't have."
Tanjiro turned—
It was his masked senior brother.
"Ah, it's you again," Rui said lightly. "You're quite lucky. That useless one couldn't kill you."
He smiled faintly.
"But it doesn't matter anymore. I've already found what I want."
His gaze lifted toward Nezuko.
Aoyama slowly drew his blade.
As the sword slid from its sheath, a current of energy surged along the edge.
Power churned inside him.
Tanjiro, standing nearby, felt it—
A presence he had never sensed from Aoyama before.
Total Concentration Breathing.
Aoyama burst forward like a gale.
His blade dragged across the ground behind him, leaving a deep groove.
In the blink of an eye, he was upon Rui.
Rui's threads lashed out instantly, dozens weaving around Aoyama to block his advance.
"Hmph. You think you can approach me?"
His fingers curled tightly.
All the threads snapped taut at once, shrinking inward, closing in to shred Aoyama.
Aoyama's expression remained calm.
As the tightening threads converged—
He leapt.
"Total Concentration! Light Breathing!"
"Seventh Form—Swift Phoenix Feathers!"
In an instant—
Only a flash of blade light was visible.
The threads were severed into countless fragments.
As they fell—
White shapes drifted downward like feathers.
Rui's pupils trembled.
Feathers?
They touched the ground—
And vanished.
Tanjiro stood frozen in the distance.
He couldn't understand what he had just witnessed.
Was that Water Breathing?
There was no such form in Water Breathing.
The threads…
Had been cut so cleanly.
Rui's gaze sharpened.
So strong?
The first two times they met, this boy hadn't felt like this.
This was troublesome.
But then—
Rui smiled again.
"You think my threads are only this?"
Ten threads extended from his fingers.
Blood began to seep from his fingertips, flowing into them.
The silver threads turned crimson.
"Blood Demon Art—Cutting Thread Cage!"
A blood-red spiderweb expanded outward.
Compared to the earlier silver web, which looked hastily assembled—
This one was intricate.
Intentional.
Deadly.
"Senior Brother Aoyama! Be careful!" Tanjiro shouted desperately, taking two stumbling steps forward—
Only to collapse face-first, blood spilling from his mouth.
His entire body felt shattered.
He couldn't even lift his head.
He couldn't see what was happening.
Aoyama saw the blood-red web descending toward him.
He tightened his grip.
"Total Concentration! Light Breathing!"
"Fourth Form—Radiant Flash!"
His blade gleamed brilliantly.
When it met the crimson threads—
They snapped.
The descending web was sliced apart into tatters.
Rui's expression finally grew serious.
His blood-red fingers twitched rapidly, unleashing even more threads—both to defend and to kill.
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