When Tanjiro refused, Rui didn't look angry at all.
What did refusal matter?
He could simply kill the boy and take the sister afterward.
It was a pity—he had even been willing to spare his life.
"It's fine. It's fine," Rui said softly. "I'm the one who creates bonds. Powerful bonds. Terrifying bonds. I'll teach her well what happens when she resists."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Tanjiro roared in fury. "Bonds built on fear aren't family bonds at all! Everything you're saying is wrong!"
Rui rubbed his ear as if annoyed by the noise.
They truly couldn't understand each other.
Tanjiro gently set down the wooden box he had been carrying and stepped out from behind the tree, gripping his broken blade.
"I will never hand Nezuko over to someone like you!"
Rui stared at him blankly.
In the end, the sister would belong to him.
All he had to do now—
Was kill the brother.
"Then try, little one," Rui said calmly. "If you think you can."
"I will! I absolutely will!"
Rui smiled faintly.
Up until now, he had merely been playing with his prey.
He hadn't shown his full strength.
He lifted his hand and brushed aside the hair covering his right eye.
There, carved into his iris—
Lower Five.
"Do you really think you can win?" Rui asked, his smile widening. "Can you defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki?"
Fathers had responsibilities. Mothers had responsibilities. Older siblings protected the younger.
"And what is your responsibility, little one?"
"Your responsibility is to hand your sister over to me and quietly disappear. If you can't do that—then you die. Because you can't win."
Tanjiro saw the characters etched into Rui's eye.
Lower Five.
His grip on the broken blade tightened.
He had to win.
For himself.
For Inosuke.
For Nezuko.
His eyes blazed.
"I hate that look in your eyes," Rui said coldly. "It's disgusting. You can't defeat me."
With a flick of his hand, threads shot outward—
And from behind the tree, Nezuko's body was suddenly yanked into the air.
"Nezuko?!"
Tanjiro's heart skipped.
When he looked back—
Nezuko was already in Rui's arms, threads wrapped tightly around her neck as Rui restrained her.
"See? I've already succeeded," Rui said lightly. "Have you understood your responsibility now?"
Tanjiro charged forward without hesitation.
He would never allow this.
"Let her go!!!"
Natagumo Mountain was vast.
Elsewhere, Shinobu had finished with the Spider Sister and was moving through the forest with Aoyama, searching for surviving Demon Slayers.
But Aoyama's heart was uneasy.
If Rui was still alive—
Then Tanjiro had likely already encountered him.
That was bad.
Very bad.
Aoyama stopped abruptly.
Shinobu, walking ahead, turned back with a smile.
"Is something wrong, Aoyama-kun?"
"It's nothing. The Corps has support divisions for rescue work. I'm not needed here. I have something urgent to handle."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and vanished into the forest.
He had to find Tanjiro.
Now.
The mountain was thick with overlapping scents. His sharp sense of smell was useless here.
If anything, the stench made him nauseous.
Behind him, Shinobu murmured softly to herself,
"Oh dear~ I forgot to ask him to remove his mask. I wonder what kind of face he's hiding."
Back on Rui's side—
As Tanjiro lunged forward, Nezuko struggled in Rui's grasp and clawed several bloody gashes across his face.
Tanjiro was almost within reach—
When suddenly—
Nezuko vanished from Rui's arms.
Before he could process it, threads lashed toward him.
He leapt back, narrowly avoiding being sliced apart.
Where did she go?!
Rui's threads now stretched upward.
Tanjiro looked up—
A drop of blood fell onto his broken blade.
Then another.
And another.
High above—
Nezuko hung upside down, bound tightly by threads, suspended in midair.
"Ne… Nezuko…"
Tanjiro's heart trembled violently.
Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain.
Blood ran down the threads in droplets—
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
The scratches on Rui's face healed steadily, the blood retracting back into his skin.
"So noisy," Rui muttered. "She won't die from this. She's a demon."
He lowered his gaze thoughtfully.
"Yes… I'll need to teach her properly. Let her lose some blood first. If she still refuses to obey me, I'll hang her until sunrise. Let her roast a little."
Tanjiro's mind snapped.
"Let her go!!!"
He rushed forward.
Threads danced around him, slicing the air.
The instant they tightened—
He was slammed violently into the ground.
Pain exploded through his body.
But that pain meant nothing.
He had to—
A foot appeared before his eyes.
Before he could rise, Rui kicked him hard.
Tanjiro's body flew into the brush, crashing heavily as blood poured from his mouth.
And above—
Nezuko's blood continued to fall.
To Read 100+ advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146