The moonlight glimmered faintly over the trees as Tanjiro and Inosuke emerged from the dense thicket, stepping into the open air of a narrow river. The water ran shallow, the stones slick beneath their feet. They followed the current upstream, the pale ribbon of moonlight upon the surface guiding their steps.
Neither spoke of where they were going. Neither really knew.
Tanjiro glanced at his companion. The jagged wounds across Inosuke's shoulders and waist had reopened, the blood soaking through his clothes and dripping down his side.
"Inosuke," Tanjiro said quietly, "you should go down the mountain. Your injuries look bad."
The boar-headed boy snorted. "Hah? Why should I listen to you? You've already ticked me off enough with what happened earlier!"
Tanjiro remained calm, even as he pointed at the wound. "But we worked well together. We managed to defeat that demon. I just don't want your wounds to get worse."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Inosuke flexed his arms in defiance. "I'm not injured at all!"
Before Tanjiro could press further, a sudden crash thundered from the forest beside them. Both their heads snapped toward the sound.
"What was that?" Inosuke growled.
Tanjiro inhaled sharply, searching the air. "It sounded like… thunder?" But the scent of rain was absent, and the sky above them was clear beneath the full moon. Something wasn't right.
The woods trembled.
Without warning, a colossal figure burst from the trees, leaping high into the air before crashing down before them. Its shadow swallowed the riverbank.
At first, Tanjiro's mind raced to the only explanation—a gorilla? No ordinary animal could leap like that.
But when the dust cleared, his breath caught.
It wasn't an animal at all.
The creature towered more than two meters tall, its broad frame corded with muscle, its skin striped with dark bands. A grotesque spider's head sprouted from its shoulders, mandibles glistening, eyes gleaming with hunger.
Another demon.
Tanjiro's stomach tightened.
He had thought the pale woman they had defeated earlier was the main threat. But this monster—its presence, its aura—was far more oppressive.
With a roar, the Spider Father swung a massive fist toward the nearest target—Inosuke.
Inosuke stood precariously upon a smooth stone in the middle of the river. His instincts screamed not to take the blow head-on. He sprang backward, but the demon's strike shattered the boulder he had just stood on, sending shards of stone and a spray of water flying.
Fragments cut into Inosuke's skin. He shielded his face with crossed arms, wincing.
The Spider Father lunged again, his other arm sweeping down like a falling tree. A direct hit would crush bones, shatter organs.
"Water Breathing, Second Form—Water Wheel!"
Tanjiro darted forward in a blur, his blade singing as he spun, carving a circle of flowing water through the air.
The arc slashed across the demon's arm.
But instead of severing flesh, his Nichirin blade bit only an inch deep before halting against the demon's unyielding strength.
Tanjiro's heart sank. So hard… my blade can't cut through!
Still, his strike stalled the demon's assault, sparing Inosuke a fatal blow.
But now, the monster's yellow eyes locked on him.
The Spider Father roared and swung his right fist toward Tanjiro. The distance was too close—there was no time to evade.
Inosuke, still staggering from his injuries, saw it. His body moved before thought. With a furious bellow, he slashed both blades across the demon's other arm.
Metal screeched against sinew. Sparks burst. But even Inosuke's wild strength could not sever it.
"This thing's arms are too damn strong!" Inosuke spat, grinding his teeth. "We don't have enough power to cut them!"
The demon reared back, then swung both arms outward with monstrous force.
Tanjiro and Inosuke were hurled away like rag dolls—Tanjiro crashing onto the shore, Inosuke flung backward into the river's spray.
Tanjiro scrambled upright, breath ragged. We can't beat it head-on… not with its strength.
The Spider Father roared again, barreling after Inosuke. Its eyes fixed only on the boar-headed boy, Tanjiro almost ignored it in its rage. Perhaps the headgear had marked him as prey.
Inosuke fled upstream, splashing through the current. But no matter how fast he ran, the heavy footsteps drew closer, closer.
If this keeps up, he'll be caught…
Tanjiro's eyes scanned frantically.
Then they locked on a towering tree along the riverbank, trunk thick and sturdy.
His grip tightened. "Water Breathing, Second Form—Improved… Horizontal Water Wheel!"
His blade cut clean through the trunk, the massive tree groaning before it toppled with a thunderous crash. It slammed down upon the Spider Father, pinning the demon beneath the weight and plunging both into the river.
Water erupted upward in a great spray.
Inosuke halted, panting hard, watching as the beast writhed beneath the fallen tree. He turned, glaring toward the shore.
There stood Tanjiro, poised atop the severed stump, his eyes narrowed with resolve. His aura felt sharper, heavier—more intense than before.
He's… different.
Tanjiro seized the moment. With the demon pinned, there might be a chance. He tightened both hands on his hilt, inhaled deeply.
Air rushed into his lungs, filling every muscle, every vein. Even Inosuke felt the current shift as Tanjiro drew in breath, the forest itself bending toward him.
Then Tanjiro leapt.
"Water Breathing, Fifth Form—Blessed Rain After the Drought!"
His body twisted in midair, blade gleaming as it carved the arc of a river dragon, descending toward the submerged demon.
But the Spider Father sensed it. With a roar, it heaved upward, snapping the trunk apart, surging from the depths with rage. Its massive arms wrapped around the fallen tree, and with a swing, it hurled the timber upward toward the airborne boy.
Tanjiro's blade met bark instead of flesh. His form, his technique, shattered in an instant.
The tree slammed into him with overwhelming force.
"GAHHH!"
Pain exploded through his body. He was flung skyward, higher than the treetops, limbs numb from the blow.
This strength… it's overwhelming. Could he be… a Lower Moon?!
"Inosuke!" Tanjiro cried hoarsely, spinning helplessly through the air.
"That demon's one of the Twelve Kizuki! Don't die until I come back!"
His voice echoed as he plummeted.
Inosuke reached out, shouting, but too late. Tanjiro's body crashed downward, vanishing into the forest canopy.
Branches cracked. The ground rushed up.
But Tanjiro grit his teeth. I can't let myself break here. I have to return!
"Water Breathing, Second Form—Water Wheel!"
He twisted his body mid-fall, using the spinning form to disperse the impact, his momentum slowed by each rotation.
He struck the ground rolling, dirt and leaves scattering, until his body slammed into the base of a large tree.
Bruised, breathless, but alive.
Tanjiro groaned, forcing himself to his knees. His every thought burned with one goal—return, return, return to Inosuke's side.
But when he turned—
A boy stood before him.
White hair. White haori.
White, porcelain-like skin that glowed in the moonlight. His eyes, pale and cold, stared with indifference.
The resemblance to the white-clad woman they had slain earlier was uncanny. Yet this boy's presence was far darker, suffocating in its stillness.
And in his golden pupils, etched like a curse, were the words—
Lower Moon Five.
Tanjiro froze, every nerve on edge. His earlier assumption shattered. The giant spider-headed demon… had not been one of the Twelve Kizuki.
No—this child before him was the true Lower Moon.
...
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