Chapter 73: Bond

“Tired, so tired!”

“Mom was killed, Dad is dead too, and my brother probably…”

“What do we do? The demon slayer is right here—uh, let’s run away!”

The Spider Demon sister’s voice was filled with fear, and as she spoke, her appearance shifted slightly.

Lei turned to look at the Spider Demon sister’s form, his face brimming with revulsion.

He pulled out silk threads from his hands, slowly drawing closer.

“No…” The Spider Demon sister felt even greater terror, her whole body trembling.

Plop!

“Ahh!!!”

The Spider Demon sister let out a shriek and collapsed to the ground, her face now crisscrossed with fresh wounds, blood spurting out.

Fear and terror kept her from resisting; she covered her face and wept.

“You know, I hate it when your faces revert to their original forms!” Lei’s expression was blank, but his heart burned with rage.

“Ah!” A faint rustle came from behind a nearby tree—so slight, yet Lei, as a demon, could not miss it.

Seeing this, Lei spoke: “What are you looking at? There’s nothing worth seeing here!”

Realizing he had been spotted, the figure stepped out from behind the tree—it was Tanjiro.

Tanjiro had been flung by the Spider Demon father’s tree trunk to the other side of the mountain.

After landing successfully using Water Breathing Second Form, he heard the scream from this direction.

Curious, he rushed over to investigate.

That’s when he stumbled upon this scene.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you companions?”

“Companions? Don’t equate us with such shallow things! We are family, bound by deep emotion. And this… is between me and my sister. If you dare interfere, I’ll cut you into pieces!”

Yet despite his words, Tanjiro felt no trace of familial affection—only fear and terror radiating from the Spider Demon sister.

This was not what family should be!

“No—whether family or companions, any bond forged by deep emotion is precious! To call it shallow because there’s no blood tie? That’s absurd!

If emotion is true, trust follows. But all I sense from you is fear, hatred, and rage! Your bond is fake!”

These words made Lei even angrier; the silk threads in his hands tightened further.

“You… just now… what did you say?!!”

Lei’s aura instantly turned dark and oppressive!

At that moment, Tanjiro felt a crushing pressure settle upon him—even the air grew heavy!

“Inosuke, forgive me! I’ll come for you right after I defeat this demon! I’ll save you—I promise!” Tanjiro thought.

“You… repeat what you just said. Come on, say it again!”

“I’ll say it as many times as you want! Your bond is fake!”

Seeing this, Lei casually flung several silk threads toward Tanjiro.

Tanjiro raised his Nichirin Blade to block—but even this casual strike forced him back several paces.

Combined with his earlier battle, he was already exhausted.

“Listen, I won’t kill you outright! I’ll tear you apart limb by limb, then shred you into pieces!

But… if you take back what you just said, I’ll let you die instantly!”

Lei’s words did not make Tanjiro retreat; instead, they strengthened his conviction.

“I won’t take it back! I didn’t say anything wrong—the problem isn’t me… it’s you! You’re the one at fault! Your bond is fake!”

Shhh!…

The silk threads attacked again.

Tanjiro leapt upward, flipping to evade the strike.

The surrounding trees were instantly sliced into segments by the threads.

The pungent odor in the air faded significantly; Tanjiro’s nose regained its function.

Following the scent of the silk, he dodged each attack.

“I can! I can do this! At least… I can fight him like this!”

Lei hadn’t expected this demon slayer’s mind and movements to be faster than he imagined!

He didn’t falter from fear!

“Hmph… doesn’t matter. You’re dying anyway!”

The two locked eyes—Tanjiro struck first again.

More silk threads shot from Lei’s hands.

As Tanjiro charged, he leapt into the air to dodge the threads, then unleashed his technique.

Water Breathing First Form: Surface Slash!

“Hmph… overconfident!” Lei sneered, flicking a single thread from his fingertip to clash with the Nichirin Blade.

Ting!!

The thread cut through—the Nichirin Blade snapped in two!

The attack didn’t end. The thread, having severed the blade, whipped toward Tanjiro’s head, carving a gash across his forehead, blood spraying.

He landed, sliding several meters across the ground before stopping.

He stared at the broken blade in his hand—only the hilt and a small fragment remained—unable to believe it.

He struggled to his feet, facing the demon before him.

The Spider Demon sister and Lei stood nearby, watching him with cold, indifferent eyes.

As if what had just happened meant nothing to them.

Tanjiro did not retreat—even with his blade broken, he would still sever the demon’s neck.

“Forgive me, Master Rokujuro, Master Koyu—I failed in my training. I broke my Nichirin Blade.”

“But… I will never give up!”

Watching Tanjiro’s gaze, Lei felt a deep unease.

“I hate your eyes!”

Shhh!

Another silk thread attack came—Tanjiro dodged, and it struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

As he dodged the threads, Tanjiro thought rapidly, searching for a way.

“If I can’t see the threads… then I’ll close the distance and cut his neck!”

Shhh! Shhh!

The silk threads attacked one after another.

The plan sounded good—reality was cruel.

Lei’s threads moved like living things, never stopping!

Merely dodging them had already drained Tanjiro’s strength—how could he possibly close in to sever the demon’s neck?

“Well? Still not going to take back what you said?” Lei deliberately gave Tanjiro a moment to breathe, then asked.

“Say it as many times as you want! Your bond is fake!”

“...Is that so? Then I’ll tear you apart right now.”

Instantly, a spiderweb of silk appeared in midair—moving at blinding speed!

It surrounded Tanjiro, cutting off every escape route!

No retreat possible. No way to dodge.

Crack! Plop!

Blood sprayed everywhere.

But Tanjiro did not split apart as expected.

It was Nezuko!

The attack had struck Nezuko entirely.

The blood on the ground was hers—she had taken the blow to protect Tanjiro.

“Nezuko!” Tanjiro shouted, rushing to support her and dragging her to the nearby bushes.

As her brother, he had been protected by his sister. Seeing her wounds, he was filled with guilt.

Lei was equally stunned by this scene.

He had seen everything that just happened.

“A girl emerged from the box behind him… but she has the aura of a demon…” the Spider Demon sister said—but she noticed Lei trembling.

It was trembling with excitement and exhilaration!

“You… that… that girl… are you siblings?” Lei’s finger trembled as he pointed toward Nezuko beside Tanjiro.

“So what?!”

Though Nezuko was now a demon, the attack had nearly torn her apart—her wrist nearly severed!

Still trembling with excitement, Lei muttered to himself: “Siblings… siblings… your sister became a demon… yet you still chose to stay with her…”

“The sister stepped forward to protect her brother… That’s true bondage. I want it!”

The Spider Demon sister, however, thought differently—she screamed at Lei: “Wait! Wait a minute, Lei! I’m your sister! Don’t abandon me!”

“Shut up!!!”

BOOM!

Lei angrily flung three threads, slicing the Spider Ghost Sister into four pieces, severing her head from her body! A large patch of trees behind her collapsed, dust swirling everywhere.

“In the end, you’ve all failed your duties! Always, without exception!”

The severed head of the Spider Ghost Sister cried out on the ground: “Wait… wait… haven’t I, as an older sister, fulfilled my duty? Give me a chance to make it right!”

“Then go right now and eliminate every last one of those wandering fools in the mountains! If you can do it, I’ll forgive you!”

“I… I understand… I’ll go kill them right away…” The Spider Ghost Sister’s body regenerated completely, picked up her head, and sprinted swiftly down the path behind her.

Then Lei called out to Tanjiro, hidden in the nearby bushes: “Kid, let’s talk. Come out~”

“Kid? Talk?”

“I’m deeply moved! Seeing your bond makes my whole body tremble! There are no words in this world that can express this feeling.”

“But you must die by my hand—and that would be truly tragic!”

“What the hell are you trying to say?!”

“What I’m saying is: let’s make a deal! Give me your sister… If you hand over your sister, I’ll spare your life—I won’t kill you!”

Tanjiro immediately retorted: “How could I ever agree to that?! Nezuko isn’t an object—she has her own thoughts and will. I’ll never give her to you!”

“Is that so… but it doesn’t matter. I’ll teach her properly! Let her learn through fear what happens when she defies me!”

These words ignited Tanjiro’s fury. He roared: “Stop joking around!!! Binding someone with fear isn’t family bond! Unless you correct the error in your nature, you’ll never get anything you want!”

He dropped the wooden box behind him and stepped forward alone, facing Lei once more.

“I won’t give my sister to someone like you! I’ll cut off your neck first!”

“Heh… impressive spirit. But…” Lei pushed back the hair covering his left eye, revealing the characters 【Lower Five】 etched onto his eyeball.

He sneered: “If you think you can defeat me, a member of the Twelve Kiyotsu, then try!”

“Twelve Kiyotsu… Lower Five?!!” Tanjiro never imagined this seemingly childlike demon was one of the Twelve Kiyotsu!

He gripped his broken Nichirin Blade tightly, not backing down an inch despite facing a Twelve Kiyotsu demon!

“What a hateful gaze! Burning fiercely!”

“A father has his duty, a mother has hers! Older siblings protect the younger ones… and do you really think you can beat me?”

SHHH!

Lei manipulated his threads, snatching Nezuko from behind Tanjiro and pulling her into his arms.

“Nezuko!”

“See? I’ve already taken her. Have you fulfilled your duty?”

“Let her go!” Tanjiro charged forward with his broken blade.

Nezuko seized the moment and slashed multiple wounds across Lei’s face with her hands.

But these wounds were insufficient to harm a Lower Kiyotsu demon.

Within mere breaths, he regenerated completely!

He lashed his threads at Tanjiro.

Though Tanjiro pressed forward bravely, the overwhelming power gap soon left him defeated, collapsing to the ground.

When he looked up again, he saw Nezuko was gone from Lei’s arms.

Tick...

A torrent of blood dripped from midair onto his broken blade.

He looked up—and his eyes nearly burst from rage!

“Nezuko!!!”

Bathed in moonlight, Nezuko had been bound by spider threads and hung upside-down in midair.

Where the threads cut into her body, deep gashes bled profusely.

“This is the fate of disobedience. If she still refuses to obey, when the sun rises, I’ll let her… get a little roasted!”

“Let… go of Nezuko!!” Tanjiro charged forward again, ignoring the spider threads slicing his skin.

But the power of a Lower Kiyotsu demon was far beyond Tanjiro’s current level—the gap was immense.

Soon, Tanjiro was defeated once more, crashing to the ground.

Lei slowly approached and kicked Tanjiro hard.

Tanjiro flew into a tree trunk, then tumbled into the bushes, spitting blood…

But Lei had no intention of letting him go. He stepped forward and punched Tanjiro squarely in the face!

…………

On the other side, the Spider Ghost Sister sprinted wildly through the forest.

Recalling Lei’s cruelty, she trembled with fear.

But failing Lei’s order would be even worse.

Not long after, she encountered a demon slayer.

He wielded a scythe, his long hair pure white.

Without a word, she shot out a flood of silk-like spider threads, wrapping him into a ball.

“My threads are soft, yet unbreakable! You can’t cut—”

Before she finished, a breeze of fragrance passed, and someone appeared behind her.

“Is that so? Then you’re quite impressive~”

The sudden voice beside her ear made her shudder uncontrollably.

“What? When did this guy get behind me?”

Zero had already dodged her attack.

So fast, she thought her threads had struck him.

“Hey, little brat, you came down from the mountain, right? Over there…”

“Die!” The Spider Ghost Sister launched another volley of spider threads, catching him off-guard.

Zero seemed to have anticipated it—he dodged each strike with effortless grace.

In a flash, he appeared before her.

One hand clamped tightly around her throat. “Naive little brat.”

“Don’t kill me… please… please… spare me… I… I’ll do anything you say… cough… I’ll do anything…”

Her throat crushed, gasping for air, she begged.

And Zero’s gaze was so terrifying she dared not resist.

“Boring.”

CRACK!

He snapped her neck, then swung his Nichirin Scythe, decapitating her.

Then he followed the path she had taken down the mountain—upward.

…………