After an hour of travel, just a few hundred meters away from Mount Natagumo, Ryou encountered Giyu, Shinobu, Kanao, and a division of Kakushi. Despite the lingering tension in the mountain, the presence of the Hashira brought a reassuring calm to everyone.
"Ryou-sama!" The Kakushi called out his name respectfully, their eyes filled with admiration and respect for the Nature Hashira.
Ryou acknowledged them with a nod before turning his attention to the stoic-faced man beside him. "Long time no see, Giyu."
Giyu gave a slight nod in return. "It's been a while, Ryou."
Ryou then turned to Shinobu, his tone warm. "You've grown even more beautiful, Shinobu."
"Thank you, Ryou." Shinobu's eyes sparkled with amusement as she stepped closer and whispered, "My sister thinks about you every day! I don't know what kind of love potion you gave her."
"You mischief-maker... I know your sister well; she isn't one to be swayed by mere words." Ryou rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips. 'It's been some time since I saw Kanae...I wonder how she is?'
Finally, Ryou's gaze landed on Kanao. "And Kanao, you've grown as well."
Kanao gave a small respectful bow, her face expressionless as usual.
"Let's move quickly. If we waste time, there may be more casualties! I will deal with the Lower Moon, you guys take care of the minions," Ryou said.
Without waiting for a response, his figure blurred and disappeared into the dense forest of Mount Natagumo. Giyu, Shinobu, and Kanao immediately sprang into action, following him into the forest, while the Kakushi followed closely behind, ready to assist the injured.
Ryou activated his Nature Mode, instantly perceiving everything within a few-kilometer radius.
In the heart of the mountain, he sensed the fierce battle between the Lower Moon Demon Rui and Tanjiro. Without hesitation, he headed in that direction.
Meanwhile, Giyu headed off to assist Inosuke, while Shinobu made her way to help Zenitsu after receiving the distress call from his sparrow, just as it had happened in the original work.
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When Ryou arrived at the battle spot, he saw Tanjiro using Total Concentration to bring his breathing under control while his sister, Nezuko, was suspended mid-air, entangled by the silver threads of the demon while blood dripped from her wounds.
After a moment, Tanjiro dashed toward the Lower Moon demon. Seeing him approach, the Lower Moon demon Rui lashed out with his silver threads.
Tanjiro unleashed Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux, relying on rotation to gather force and slash through the threads that came at him. Suddenly, he found himself able to cut through the threads unlike before.
Seeing this, Rui sneered, "You don't think these threads are at their maximum strength, do you?"
'Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Cage!' The threads originating from Rui suddenly turned blood red, humming with more power than before. The threads formed a menacing cage of cutting red threads.
Tanjiro despaired at the sight, thinking, 'I'm going to die!' But at the last moment, he exhaled sharply releasing a white mist between his teeth while his breathing pattern changed.
The Water Breathing technique transformed into the fiery flames of the Sun Breathing style, "Hinokami Kagura Dance!"
The blood-red thread cage shattered as Tanjiro charged forward, slicing through the lethal threads.
Rui's eyes widened in surprise, and he sent several stronger threads toward the oncoming Tanjiro. In a flash, Tanjiro cut through some while sustaining injuries from others.
At that moment, the unconscious Nezuko woke up and activated her Blood Demon Art, triggering an explosion of reddish-purple flames. The blast distracted and injured Rui.
Everything fell into place as Tanjiro closed the remaining distance and sliced through Rui's neck with a decisive flame slash!
Tanjiro fell to his knees, every muscle aching from the strain. He had done it. He had killed Lower Moon Five—or so he thought.
Slowly, Tanjiro tried to crawl toward Nezuko to check on her. He was halfway there when he felt the menacing presence of the demon again. "How can he still be alive? I chopped his head off!"
"Did you think you defeated me? Poor kid! I hope your delusion brought you some joy," Rui said, his voice filled with anger. "I cut off my head with the threads... before you could chop it off.
"I haven't been this enraged in a long time. I will kill both you and your sister. Only that will satisfy me."
The demon reattached his head with the threads and began walking toward Tanjiro, who was still crawling toward Nezuko.
"I've seen enough! It's time to send this demon to hell," Ryou thought, stepping out from the shadows of the forest.
'Someone's here!' Sensing his approach, Tanjiro lifted his head, struggling to focus as he looked at Ryou. The overwhelming presence emanating from Ryou made it clear to Tanjiro that the person who came was exceptionally strong.
"Good fight, boy. I also thought you finished off the demon. Pity! Your strength still falls short of defeating a Lower Moon," Ryou remarked, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.
"Another human? You guys are like an endless stream of low lives getting in my way" Rui muttered in rage.
Ignoring the demon's outrage, Ryou squatted near Tanjiro and asked, "You are in pretty bad shape, boy. Are you okay?"
Tanjiro looked at Ryou in shock, wondering why he was exposing his back to the Lower Moon demon.
"Bloody Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!"
Without moving his gaze from Tanjiro, Ryou countered with a powerful back elbow slam. 'Bang!' The air crackled with energy, unleashing a shockwave that obliterated the incoming blood-red threads into mere wisps.
The power of his casual blow shocked both Tanjiro and Rui so much that their mouths fell open wide in astonishment.
'Impossible!' Rui thought, his disbelief evident as he unconsciously took a step back in fear. 'No human can possess this level of strength...'
"Such strength! Who is he? Is he also a Demon Slayer?" Tanjiro wondered.
"Ke-ke-ke... A mere Lower Moon demon dreams of hurting Ryou! Tsk. Ryou, finish off that demon. Show them our power," his Kasugai crow 'Kuro' cackled arrogantly, perching atop a nearby tree.
"Boy, do you like crow meat? I've got one who's grown rather arrogant lately," Ryou asked in a determined tone as if he was ready to kill the crow.
Hearing his tone, the Kasugai crow snorted and flew off.
At the same time, the Spider Demon Rui looked at Ryou with the fear evident in his eyes. Instead of launching another attack, he decided to flee. However, he barely managed to take a step before something whizzed past him.
Rui's eyes widened in shock as his head flew from his shoulders. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down. His body crumpled to the ground, turning into fly ash.
'I'm dying!' he thought. Within seconds, his presence completely vanished from the world. The once formidable Lower Moon Demon had died without even understanding how.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro watched Ryou in astonishment. One moment, Ryou was next to him; the next, he was in front of the demon, severing the demon's head with his Nichirin sword.
'So strong! I couldn't even catch his movements!' Tanjiro marveled.
At that moment, another presence appeared in the surroundings. In the blink of an eye, Giyu's figure stood before Tanjiro.
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