Chapter 73: Bonds

"Rui, Rui!"

"Mother was killed, Father is also dead, and Brother is probably..."

"What should we do? The Demon Slayers are already close at hand, that... should we just run away!?"

The Spider Demon Sister's words were filled with fear, and as she said these things, her appearance underwent some changes.

Rui turned to look at the Spider Demon Sister in this state, his face filled with disgust!

He pulled out spider silk with both hands and slowly approached.

"Don't..." The Spider Demon Sister felt even more fear in her heart, her whole body trembling.

Pfft!

"Ah!!!"

The Spider Demon Sister let out a scream and fell to the ground, several wounds appearing on her face, blood spurting out.

Fear and terror made her not dare to resist at all, and she covered her face and cried.

"You know, I hate it when your faces change back to how they were!" Rui was expressionless, but his heart was filled with rage.

"Ah!" A stir appeared behind the trees beside them; although it was small, how could Rui, who was a demon, not notice it?

Seeing this, Rui said: "What are you looking at? There's nothing to see here!"

Seeing that he had been discovered, the person who emerged from behind the trees was Tanjiro.

Tanjiro had been knocked flying to the other side of the mountain by the Spider Demon Father's tree trunk earlier.

After successfully landing using the Second Form of Water Breathing, he sensed the scream from this side.

Out of curiosity, he rushed over to investigate.

That was how he stumbled upon this scene.

"What are you doing? Aren't you companions?"

"Companions? Don't confuse us with such shallow things! We are a family, connected by deep emotions. And this... is a problem between me and my sister; if you dare to meddle, I will cut you to pieces!"

Although he said that, Tanjiro didn't feel any family affection from it; instead, he smelled fear and terror on the Spider Demon Sister.

That was not at all the kind of emotion that should exist between family members!

"That's not right. Whether it's a family relationship or a companion relationship, as long as it's a relationship connected by deep emotions, it's equally precious! Shallow because there's no blood relationship? That doesn't make sense at all!

If the emotions are deep, trust will be generated! But I only feel the scent of fear, hatred, and anger from you! Your emotions are fake!"

These words made Rui even angrier, and the silk threads in his hands pulled tighter.

"You... just now... what did you say?!!"

Rui's aura instantly became gloomy!

At this moment, Tanjiro personally felt a sense of oppression fall upon him! Even the surrounding air became extremely heavy!

"Inosuke, sorry! I'll rush over immediately after I defeat this demon! I will definitely save you! Wait for me!" Tanjiro thought.

"You... say what you just said one more time? Hey, hurry up and say it!"

"I can say it as many times as you want! Your emotions are fake!"

Seeing this, Rui casually threw a few silk threads at Tanjiro.

Tanjiro raised his Nichirin blade to block, but even though this was just a casual strike, it forced him to retreat a short distance.

Coupled with the previous battle, he was exhausted.

"Look, I'll say this first: I won't kill you in one go! I'm going to make you fall apart and then cut you into a thousand pieces!

But... if you take back what you just said, I can let you die immediately!"

Rui's words didn't make Tanjiro retreat; instead, they made his inner thoughts even firmer.

"I won't take back what I just said! I didn't say anything wrong; the problem... is you! You are the one who is wrong! Your bonds are fundamentally fake!"

Whoosh...

The silk thread attack came again.

Tanjiro leaped up, flipped over, and dodged the attack.

The surrounding trees were instantly cut into several pieces by these silk threads.

The pungent smell in the air dissipated a lot, and Tanjiro's nose could function again.

Smelling the scent of the silk threads, he dodged every attack.

"I can! I can do it! At least... this way I can fight him!"

Rui hadn't expected that this Demon Slayer's brain and movements were even faster than he had imagined!

He wouldn't be timid because of fear!

"Heh... it doesn't matter, you're going to die anyway!"

Both sides stared at each other, and Tanjiro took the initiative to attack again.

The silk thread attack shot out from Rui's hands again.

While sprinting, Tanjiro leaped into mid-air to dodge the silk thread attack, and then launched his sword technique.

Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!

"Heh~ overestimating yourself!" Rui looked disdainfully, flicked a silk thread from his fingertip, and collided with the Nichirin blade.

Ding!!

The silk thread swept past, and the Nichirin blade snapped into two!

The attack wasn't over yet; the silk thread, after snapping the Nichirin blade, swept toward Tanjiro's head, leaving a gash on his forehead, blood splattering.

After landing, he slid several meters on the ground before stopping.

Looking at the Nichirin blade that only had the hilt and a small section of the blade left, he was somewhat incredulous.

He climbed up from the ground with difficulty and looked at the demon in front of him.

The Spider Demon Sister and Rui stood not far away, looking at him with indifferent eyes.

As if what had just happened had nothing to do with them.

Tanjiro didn't retreat because of this; even if the Nichirin blade was broken, he still had to cut off the demon's neck.

"Sorry, Urokodaki-san, Haganezuka-san, it's all my fault for not learning well and breaking the Nichirin blade."

"But... I will never give up!"

Rui, not far away, saw the look in Tanjiro's eyes and felt very unhappy.

"I hate your eyes!"

Whoosh!

The silk thread attack came again, dodged by Tanjiro, and hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Tanjiro dodged the silk thread attacks while thinking quickly, trying to come up with a solution.

"Since I can't cut the silk threads... then I'll enter the range and cut off his neck!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The silk thread attacks came one after another.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Rui's silk threads were like they had a life of their own, swinging non-stop!

Just dodging these silk threads had already made Tanjiro physically and mentally exhausted, let alone getting close to the demon and cutting off his neck!

"How about it? Are you still not planning to take back what you just said?" Rui deliberately gave Tanjiro time to catch his breath and asked.

"It's the same no matter how many times I say it! Your bonds are fundamentally fake!"

"... Is that so? Since that's the case, I'll tear you apart now."

Instantly, a spider web composed of silk threads appeared in mid-air, moving at extreme speed!

It surrounded Tanjiro, and even his retreat path was blocked!

There was nowhere to retreat, and it was completely impossible to dodge!

Crack! Pfft!

Blood splattered everywhere, scattering around!

However, Tanjiro didn't end up as imagined, torn apart.

It was Nezuko!

The attack just now had all landed on Nezuko.

The blood on the ground was shed by Nezuko blocking the attack for Tanjiro!

"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouted, hurriedly supporting Nezuko and bringing her into the bushes on the side.

As an older brother, he was actually protected by his younger sister! Looking at the wounds on Nezuko's body, he felt incomparably self-reproachful.

Rui was also surprised by this scene.

He had seen everything that had just happened.

"A girl appeared from the box behind him, but she has the scent of a demon..." the Spider Demon Sister said, but she saw Rui trembling!

It was a tremble of excitement and thrill!

"You... that... that girl... are you siblings?" Rui pointed his finger at Nezuko beside Tanjiro not far away, trembling.

"So what if we are?!"

Although Nezuko was now a demon, the attack just now had almost torn her apart, and her wrists had almost snapped!

Rui, not far away, was still in a state of excitement and thrill, muttering to himself: "Siblings... siblings... your sister turned into a demon... yet you still chose to stay with her..."

"The sister stepped forward to protect her brother... this is a true bond, I want it so much!"

The Spider Demon Sister on the side didn't think so, shouting at Rui: "Wait... wait a moment, Rui! I am your sister! Don't abandon your sister!"

"Shut up!!!"

Boom!

Rui angrily threw out three silk threads, cutting the Spider Demon Sister into four pieces, her head and body separated! The trees behind her also fell in a large area, and dust filled the air.

"In the end, none of you completed your duties! No matter when, it's always like this!"

The Spider Demon Sister's head, which had fallen to the ground, cried out: "Wait... wait a moment... I performed my duties as a sister, didn't I? Give me a chance to make amends?"

"Then go and solve all those guys wandering around the mountain right now! If you can do that, I'll let it go!"

"I... I understand... I'll go kill them right now..." The Spider Demon Sister's body finished regenerating, she picked up her head from the ground, and ran quickly toward the path down the mountain behind her.

Afterward, Rui shouted to Tanjiro in the bushes not far away: "Little guy, let's chat, come out~"

"Little guy? Chat?"

"I~ am deeply moved! After seeing your bond, my body is trembling! I think there are no words in this world that can express this emotion.

But you can only be killed by me; if that's the case, it would be truly too sad!"

"What the hell are you trying to say?!"

"What I want to say is, let's make a deal! Give me... your sister! As long as you give me your sister, I'll spare your life and won't kill you!"

Seeing this, Tanjiro immediately retorted: "How could I possibly agree to such a thing! And Nezuko is not an object; she has her own thoughts and will, and I will not give her to you!"

"Is that so... but it doesn't matter, I will teach her well! A bond based on fear, let her know what the consequences of resisting me are?!"

This sentence completely enraged Tanjiro, and he scolded: "Stop joking around!!! Using fear to bind people tightly is fundamentally not a family bond! If you don't correct the errors of your nature, you will never get anything you want!"

Immediately, he threw the wooden box behind him onto the ground, walked out alone, and continued to face Rui.

"I will not give my sister to someone like you! I will cut off your neck first!"

"Heh... the momentum is not bad, but..." As he spoke, Rui lifted the hair covering his left eye, revealing the characters 【Lower Moon Five】 on his left eyeball.

He sneered: "If you think you can win against me, who is a Twelve Kizuki, then give it a try!"

"Twelve Kizuki... Lower Moon Five?!!" Tanjiro hadn't expected that this demon, who looked like a child, would actually be a Lower Moon demon among the Twelve Kizuki!

He gripped the broken Nichirin blade tightly, not retreating or yielding in the slightest because the demon in front of him was a Twelve Kizuki!

"Truly annoying eyes! Burning brightly!"

"Father has Father's duties, Mother has Mother's duties! Older brothers and sisters protect younger brothers and sisters... and, do you think you can win against me?"

Whoosh!

Rui manipulated the silk threads, grabbed Nezuko from behind Tanjiro, and pulled her into his arms.

"Nezuko!"

"Look, I've already obtained her! Have you completed your duties?"

"Let go of Nezuko!" Tanjiro held his broken blade and rushed forward quickly.

Nezuko also took the opportunity to use her hands to scratch several wounds on Rui's face.

But this was not enough to cause damage to Rui, who was a Lower Moon demon.

It only took a few breaths for him to complete rapid regeneration!

He swung the silk threads to attack Tanjiro.

Although Tanjiro rushed forward bravely, the disparity in strength still caused him to be defeated quickly and fall to the ground.

When he looked at Rui again, he found that Nezuko, who was in his arms, was gone.

Drip...

A large amount of blood dripped from mid-air onto the broken blade.

He lifted his head, and it made his eyes split with rage!

"Nezuko!!!"

Under the moonlight, Nezuko was seen tied up by Rui's spider silk threads, hanging upside down in mid-air.

Where her body was wrapped by the spider silk threads, many wounds and scratches had opened up, and a large amount of blood was flowing out!

"This is the consequence of not listening; if she still doesn't listen, then let's wait until the sun rises and let her... get roasted a little!"

"Let... let go of Nezuko!!" He rushed forward again, and even though he was scratched by Rui's spider silk, he didn't stop his pace.

However, the strength of a Lower Moon demon now was not something Tanjiro at this level could contend with; the gap was not just a little bit.

Soon, Tanjiro was defeated again and fell to the ground.

Rui slowly stepped forward and kicked Tanjiro flying.

Tanjiro, who was kicked flying, hit a tree trunk, fell into the bushes, and vomited blood...

However, Rui didn't intend to let him go just like that, stepped forward again, and punched Tanjiro in the face!

On the other side, the Spider Demon Sister was running wildly into the forest.

Recalling Rui's methods, she was especially afraid!

But if she didn't complete the task Rui had given her, it would be even more terrifying!

Not long after, she encountered a Demon Slayer.

He was holding a scythe and had long white hair.

He stretched out his hand and, without a word, shot out a pile of spider silk like silk ribbons, wrapping him up and forming a ball.

"My threads are soft, but very strong! You still can't cut..."

Before he could finish, a fragrant breeze drifted past, and he appeared behind the Spider Demon Sister.

"Is that so? Then you really are amazing~"

The abrupt voice fell into her ear, and her whole body couldn't stop trembling.

"What? When did this guy appear behind me?"

The attack just now had long been dodged by Zero.

Because the speed was too fast, the Spider Demon Sister thought her attack had hit him.

"Now, little demon doll, you just came down from the mountain, right? Over there..."

"Go to hell!" The Spider Demon Sister took advantage of his lack of preparation and shot spider silk from her hands again.

Zero seemed to have expected she would do this, dodging the attack nimbly every time.

His figure flashed, and he arrived in front of the Spider Demon Sister.

One hand tightly gripped her neck, and he said: "Naive little doll."

"Don't kill me... beg... beg you... let... let me go... I... I... I will listen to everything you say... cough, cough... anything... I... am willing to do..."

Her neck was gripped, breathing was difficult, and she could only beg for mercy!

Moreover, Zero's eyes were too terrifying, making her not dare to resist at all.

"Boring."

Crack!

He snapped the Spider Demon Sister's neck, then swung his Nichirin scythe and beheaded her.

Afterward, he followed the path she had taken down the mountain and went up the mountain.