Tanjirou was bewildered by Inosuke's sudden movement, but he quickly understood the reason behind it.
That familiar, rotten fish-like scent had appeared again.
A demon.
Turning his body in mid-air, Tanjirou looked downward and saw a woman standing in the clearing below.
She wore a white kimono, her long white hair falling over her shoulders. Her face was filled with fear as she looked up at him.
The demon controlling the spiders...
The one hiding behind everything happening on Natagumo Mountain.
Tanjirou raised his Nichirin Blade.
"Water Breathing..."
The Spider Demon Mother saw the incoming attack and trembled. A look of terror appeared on her face.
But then, something unexpected happened.
The fear disappeared.
Instead, her expression softened into one of relief and happiness.
She opened her arms slightly, looking toward the sky as if she was welcoming something she had long been waiting for.
Death.
Seeing this, Tanjirou's expression changed.
This wasn't the face of a demon desperately clinging to life.
It was the face of someone who wanted to be freed.
His sword stopped for a moment.
Then, he changed his technique.
"Water Breathing, Fifth Form..."
"Blessed Rain After the Drought."
The Nichirin Blade passed gently across her neck.
There was no pain.
No hatred.
Only a feeling of warmth, like a gentle rain falling after a long drought.
The Spider Demon Mother's head separated from her body and slowly fell.
As her consciousness faded, she remembered her so-called family.
The Spider Father's cruel violence.
The children's constant ridicule.
No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she endured, she could never satisfy them.
She had spent so long pretending.
This wasn't a family.
A real family should have warmth, kindness, and understanding.
This was nothing more than a child's twisted dream.
As her body began turning into ash, Tanjirou watched silently.
He felt no anger.
Only sorrow.
Only pity.
---
Meanwhile, Cold Cry and Noe continued moving along the western side of Natagumo Mountain.
The atmosphere within the forest was heavy and suffocating.
Under the faint moonlight, countless spider webs covered the trees, stretching from branch to branch. White spiders crawled across them, moving silently through the darkness.
For most girls, spiders were already frightening enough.
For Noe, the sight was even worse.
She tightly held onto Cold Cry's sleeve, carefully following beside him.
After walking for some time, they arrived at an open area.
Both of them stopped.
Hanging from the tree branches above them were dozens of enormous white cocoons.
At first glance, they looked like giant eggs.
"What... what are those?" Noe asked nervously.
"Eggs?"
Cold Cry stared at the cocoons.
At first, he also thought they were some kind of creature's eggs.
However, he activated his temperature-sensing ability.
The information returned instantly.
His expression changed.
Inside those cocoons...
Were human bodies.
More specifically, Demon Slayer Corps members.
Cold Cry looked upward.
The Demon Slayer Corps had a ranking system. The lowest-ranked members were Mizunoto, while the strongest ordinary rank before becoming a Hashira was Kinoe.
Seeing so many Demon Slayers trapped here meant one thing.
The demon hiding on this mountain was extremely dangerous.
Cold Cry's expression became serious.
Their current strength was only around the level of Kinoe.
Could they really defeat the enemy waiting ahead?
Lost in thought, he failed to notice the strange presence approaching nearby.
After a moment of hesitation, he spoke.
"Let's continue."
He had accepted this mission.
Running away before even seeing the enemy was not something he could accept.
"Be careful. Something feels wrong here."
"I know."
Following the dim moonlight, the two cautiously continued forward.
They hadn't gone far when they heard voices ahead.
A man's desperate voice.
"Can't it be cut?"
A girl's mocking laughter followed.
"You think you can cut my spider thread?"
"My spider thread is thin, flexible, and strong. A weakling like you could never cut it."
The man was Murata.
After being separated from Tanjirou and the others, Murata had been ordered to protect the injured Demon Slayers.
However, a strange white-haired girl had suddenly appeared near the camp.
Because she wasn't wearing a Demon Slayer uniform and was clearly a demon, Murata immediately understood the danger.
To prevent the injured members from being attacked, he deliberately drew her attention away and fought alone.
But despite his efforts, he was eventually captured.
The white-haired demon released countless threads from her palms.
The threads intertwined, forming a large white sheet that wrapped around Murata.
Murata swung his Nichirin Blade repeatedly.
However, the spider threads were far stronger than they appeared.
They were thin, flexible, and extremely durable.
The more strands combined, the stronger they became.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cut through them.
Before long, more threads wrapped around him.
In an instant, Murata was trapped inside a giant white cocoon.
He stabbed repeatedly at the cocoon walls with his blade.
But the effort was useless.
The air inside was becoming thinner.
His vision began to blur.
If he didn't escape soon, he would suffocate.
The white-haired demon laughed from outside.
"It's useless. You can't cut my threads."
"And I added poison to them."
"It won't be long before your body melts away."
As she spoke, a green liquid began leaking through the threads.
When it touched Murata's uniform, the fabric immediately began corroding.
Murata's expression became desperate.
He continued stabbing.
But the cocoon remained intact.
Cold Cry and Noe witnessed everything from nearby.
Looking at the cocoons hanging from the trees, Noe suddenly understood.
Those weren't eggs.
They were Demon Slayers.
Her own comrades.
She looked at Cold Cry.
From his expression, it was obvious.
He already knew.
"You knew those cocoons contained Demon Slayer Corps members?"
Cold Cry looked at her.
"Yes."
Noe froze.
The answer was exactly what she expected.
Yet somehow, it still shocked her.
"Then why didn't you save them?"
Her voice trembled.
This was the first time she had questioned him like this.
She had always believed Cold Cry was cold and emotionless...
But not cruel.
"Why?"
Cold Cry stared at her.
"They're already dead."
His voice remained calm.
"Saving them now changes nothing."
Noe's hands tightened.
"How can you say something like that?"
"You already know what kind of person I am."
Cold Cry turned away.
"Instead of worrying about others, worry about yourself."
Noe couldn't respond.
For the first time, she felt a distance between them.
A distance she couldn't cross.
Their argument attracted the attention of the white-haired demon nearby.
She turned toward them and smiled.
"Two more Demon Slayers coming here to die?"
Cold Cry ignored Noe.
He drew his Nichirin Blade.
The demon's eyes contained no numbers or markings.
Not one of the Twelve Kizuki.
But still dangerous.
Cold Cry walked forward.
"After killing all of you, don't blame me for being tired."
The white-haired demon smiled confidently.
She raised both hands.
Two large bundles of spider threads shot forward like white snakes, attacking from both sides.
She expected him to become trapped instantly.
Just like Murata.
But the moment the threads reached him
He disappeared.
The demon's eyes widened.
"Too slow."
A cold voice sounded behind her.
"Ice Breathing Style: Fifth Form Swift Ice Thorn."
A freezing wave spread through the air.
Before the demon could react, Cold Cry's Nichirin Blade pierced forward.
The blade stopped just against her neck.
The white-haired demon froze.
For the first time...
She felt fear.
---
Want to Read ahead? Join my Patreon to get early access to 100+ advanced chapters!
patreon.com/cw/MexxyWave