19. Spiders

Despite all their efforts, they were still outnumbered by the controlled slayers.

"Dammit! What a pain in the ass! I'm gonna demolish them all at once!" Inosuke shouted, rushing forward.

"No! There has to be another way! Let's try not to hurt-"Hana's words cut off as a puppet lunged at her, but Murata blocked the strike, protecting her with his blade.

"Murata?" Hana asked, wide-eyed.

"Leave these guys to me and go ahead!" Murata called firmly.

"What kind of talk is that, Mr. Pissed-my-Pants?" Inosuke growled.

"I never pissed my pants, you stupid boar! I wasn't talking to you, so just shut up!" Murata retorted, halting another attack mid-air.

Hana slashed aside a thread as Murata continued. "I know that wasn't my finest moment back there, but I'm a Demon Slayer too! I'll hold them back. Now that I understand cutting the threads works, and these guys can only make the simplest movements... I'll watch out for spiders as well. Plus, the closer we get to the demon, the stronger its control. So you three-go on!"

Hana nodded, grabbing Tanjiro and Inosuke by their arms. "Understood. We appreciate this. Let's move!"

"Dammit! I'm gonna punch that guy if it's the last thing I do!" Inosuke ranted, running alongside Hana and Tanjiro.

"Stop talking like that!" Hana scolded.

"He called me 'a stupid boar,' okay, Lana?" Inosuke argued.

"It's Hana!" she snapped.

Suddenly, a girl appeared out of nowhere. Her arm trembled as though she could barely hold it up. Her eyes darted between Hana, Tanjiro, and Inosuke-wide with fear, silently pleading.

"Please... don't come any closer! You have to summon someone of higher rank... otherwise... everyone will get killed!" Her voice cracked.

The girl suddenly raised her sword. "Run!" she screamed. Tanjiro leapt back to dodge her attack. She swung violently, her movements jerky, unnatural.

"I'm being controlled! I can't move my own body! I was never this strong!" she cried before her arms were pulled back with a sickening crack.

A pitiful scream tore from her throat before she lunged again, threads forcing her body forward. Tanjiro's eyes narrowed in pity, but he twisted his blade away from her erratic strikes.

Hana's ears pricked at a sharp snap behind her. She turned to two demon slayers, twisted and disfigured, were being pulled upright by threads.

"P-Please... kill me!" one begged, his voice raw from agony. "My arms and legs-my bones are piercing my organs! Every time I move... the pain is unbearable! I can't take it anymore... either way, I'll die... Please, deliver the final blow!"

Hana froze. Her breath caught in her throat. But before she could speak, Inosuke growled-

"Sure! You got it!"

"Inosuke, hold up!" Tanjiro called, still dodging the girl's attacks.

"Stop, Inosuke!" Hana sprinted after him, heart pounding, but another puppet slayer lurched in her path.

"Hold up, will you? We gotta find a way to help him!" she shouted.

Inosuke snarled, jabbing a finger at them while dodging puppet strikes. "Both of you need to shut up! He's asking us to kill him, alright?! These guys are fast if we hesitate, we're the ones who'll die!"

"I know that!" Tanjiro barked, sweat dripping. "Just give me a second... Let me think!"

Hana's grip tightened around her sword. No one who's still human deserves to die like this...we have to find a way to save them.

Before she could speak, Tanjiro's eyes lit up with determination. I know!

"Hey! Hey!" Inosuke shouted as Tanjiro suddenly sprinted away, startling them both. The puppet girl staggered after him, pulled by the threads.

"Good she's following me!" Tanjiro thought, breath quickening with resolve.

"Why the hell are you running in circles?! Quit fooling around!" Inosuke snapped.

"No, Tanjiro knows what he's doing," Hana said firmly.

As if on cue, Tanjiro spun, grabbed the girl, and hurled her into the air with a surge of Water Breathing strength. Her body tangled high in the branches.

"All right! You're all tangled up just as I planned!"

"Good job, Tanjiro!" Hana's lips curved with pride.

Motivated, she dashed forward. Okay... just like Tanjiro. Run in circles, wait for the puppet to follow, then she glanced over her shoulder, enhanced her strength, and launched the puppet upward enough for it to snag a branch.

"What-" Inosuke froze, staring. "What's up with that!? I wanna do that too!" He laughed wildly, tossing a puppet into the trees. "You see that? I can do anything you can do!"

Tanjiro groaned mid-battle. "My bad...I kind of missed it?"

"What are you saying, Inosuke?" Hana asked, still focused.

"What!" Inosuke snarled.

"I mean...you can't really blame us!" Tanjiro retorted, deflecting a blow.

Inosuke snorted. "Ha! Look at this! I've taken down more than both of you!"

"Nice" Hana said sarcastically. "Right! One more to go."

"Okay. I'm gonna do it one more time, so make sure you watch!" Inosuke said, walking toward the puppet.

But before Inosuke could strike, the puppets' heads snapped back, lifeless-strings cutting their movements short.

All three froze in horror.

"We could've saved them.." Hana whispered, her stomach sinking.

"Damn it! Now they're all dead!" Inosuke roared.

Hana's expression darkened as she approached one of the fallen slayers. Her silence spoke volumes-anger radiating like heat. Even Inosuke felt wary.

"Let's go," Tanjiro muttered, low and dangerous.

"Yeah...good idea," Inosuke agreed quickly.

The three dashed deeper into the forest.

"This way! We're going to catch up to them soon!" Inosuke barked, charging ahead with Tanjiro and Hana close behind.

Now that the wind's changed direction, my sense of smell is returning... two more scents, Hana thought.

"Here!" she shouted.

"Inosuke!" Hana called firmly.

But the boar-headed boy was already gripping his blades. "I detected that thing before you did! I'm gonna hack its head right off!"

He dashed forward recklessly. Whatever it is...it's no match for me!

They burst into a clearing. A massive, grotesque figure loomed before them-headless, with blades for arms.

Without hesitation, Inosuke lunged, colliding with the demon's weapon.

That thing...has no head! Inosuke realized, skidding back from the impact.

Tanjiro arrived seconds later, panting heavily. Hana gasped sharply, freezing at the sight.

Suddenly, the demon charged. The earth split under its strike.

"MOVE!" Hana shouted, pushing Tanjiro out of the way.

They barely avoided being crushed.

"That thing's...got no weak spots!" Inosuke exclaimed. "What are we gonna do?! What are we going to do?!"

"Calm down!" Tanjiro snapped. "We'll inflict a Monk's Robe Cut on it!" He traced the strike in the air.

"Let's try slashing from the base of its neck on the right side to his left waist!" Hana added. "It's a lot to cover, and I'm sure it's really tough, but I bet we ca-"

Inosuke bolted before she could finish.

"Hold up! In union!" Hana called.

But spiders latched onto Inosuke, tightening their threads around him.

"Crap...I forgot about the spiders. I can't move!" he growled.

The demon struck. Hana intercepted, sparks flying. Tanjiro cut the threads, freeing Inosuke.

"Inosuke," Tanjiro urged, "let's fight together. Let's think together!"

Hana steadied Tanjiro. "Listen to your comrades. Stop charging blindly!"

"Damn you...Don't make me any giddier than I already am!" Inosuke snapped, but was grateful. "You're in my way!"

"Inosuke!" Tanjiro bent down, looking at the boy. "Launch yourself off me!"

"NOW!" Tanjiro shouted.

Inosuke launched off him with a roar cutting of the demons arm.

"WATER BREATHING! FORTH FORM: STRIKING TIDE!" Together Tanjiro and Hana's blades managed to cut through the demon's legs.

"NOW-THE MONK'S ROBE CUT!"

Inosuke twisted midair, blades crossing perfectly with Tanjiro and Hana.

The demon split into ash.

Panting, Tanjiro steadied himself. "Inosuke, you did it!"

Hana placed a hand on Tanjiro's shoulder. "Both of you... incredible."

"Inosuke?"

Inosuke roared as he walked toward Tanjiro, lifting the boy high into the air. "ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO TOO!"

"INOSUKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Hana shouted.

Tanjiro twisted midair, barely catching his balance when his nose twitched again. His pupils shrank.

This scent...!

From deeper in the forest, another presence stirred. Stronger. Closer. Far more dangerous.

'They got me! Even that doll... my last creation...was useless.' The demon manipulator thought.

She raised her arms and released the threads. Her eyes closed, serenity washing over her.

Tanjiro's eyes widened. Why does she look...peaceful?

He shifted midair. "FIFTH FORM... BLESSED RAIN AFTER THE DROUGHT."

The woman had now been decapitated, and she knew that, as her head slowly fell down to the ground, she felt hollow. Though, she was glad, that she no longer had to endure those gruesome abuse

Her last breath was a whisper "There's a member... of the Twelve Kizuki here..."

Tanjiro's gaze hardened. "There's a member of the Twelve Kizuki... here on this mountain."

Tanjiro looked at her in shock, but before he could question anything the demon had completely disappeared