Zenitsu was so scared that he collapsed to the ground. The recent events had only confirmed his fears: this forest was extremely dangerous.
"They're dead! Did you see that? I told you this forest was dangerous. I... I don't want to go in. I don't want to go in," Zenitsu said, curling up and trembling.
Tanjiro was equally uneasy. The injured slayer had cried, "Why isn't it a Hashira?" Could there be a demon in this forest that only a Hashira could defeat?
The strong smell of blood mixed with a twisted stench assaulted them again, even stronger than before.
Tanjiro felt nauseated. After a brief internal struggle, he clenched his fists.
There might still be surviving slayers in the forest. The headquarters were several kilometers away, and even if they called for a Hashira, it would take two or three hours to arrive. By then, it might be too late for any survivors.
Having joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he couldn't back down out of fear.
"I'm going in."
"Hmph, I'm going first," Inosuke said, shoving Tanjiro aside and taking the lead.
Inosuke couldn't stand the idea of "Headbutt" being stronger than him. Whatever "Headbutt" could do, he could do, and even more.
"Inosuke," Tanjiro said, surprised.
"Hmph, you two can stay back and tremble in fear," Inosuke scoffed, quickly running into the forest. Tanjiro glanced at Zenitsu, said nothing, and followed.
Watching the two disappear into the forest, Zenitsu felt abandoned. "Am I being disliked? Aren't we partners? How could they just leave without saying a word? If they tried to persuade me, I might have gone with them."
The Kasugai crow, unable to stand Zenitsu's negativity, quickly said, "Stop whining. Aren't you partners? They've gone far ahead. Why don't you hurry up and follow them?"
Zenitsu sighed, "I envy you. It's so easy for you. You don't understand humans."
Hearing this, the Kasugai crow became annoyed and pecked at Zenitsu's hand, causing him to yelp in pain. He lamented that the crow wasn't as cute as Nezuko, who was a demon but still adorable.
Thinking of Nezuko, Zenitsu remembered that Tanjiro had run into the forest with the box on his back. Nezuko was still inside!
Struck by realization, Zenitsu dashed into the forest, cursing Tanjiro for being cruel and calling out Nezuko's name. However, he took a wrong turn and lost track of Tanjiro and Inosuke.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro and Inosuke followed the scent through the forest, eventually finding a surviving Demon Slayer at the base of a tree.
Tanjiro approached the slayer and gently patted his shoulder. The slayer jumped in surprise, his hand on his sword.
"Hello, I'm Tanjiro Kamado, a Mizunoto. I'm here to support you."
"Mizunoto? Why isn't it a Hashira? Mizunoto won't make a difference," the slayer said, despairing.
"No difference?"
Inosuke arrived and, hearing the slayer's words, became furious. He punched the slayer in the face and, ignoring Tanjiro's protest, grabbed the slayer by the hair and shouted, "You're the one who's useless! What's going on here?"
Terrified by Inosuke's boar head, the slayer hesitated but eventually relayed the Kasugai crow's message.
After understanding the situation, the three of them searched the forest for other survivors. Tanjiro learned that the slayer's name was Murata.
Using his keen sense of smell, Tanjiro led them toward the strongest scent of blood.
After some time, they heard a strange sound, like the twang of a tight wire.
Murata's face turned pale as he drew his Nichirin Sword, saying, "That sound… right after it, everyone went crazy and started swinging their swords wildly."
Tanjiro and Inosuke stopped and prepared themselves.
Soon, they saw several injured Demon Slayers walking into the moonlight with mechanical movements.
The slayers raised their swords and attacked the trio without hesitation.
Tanjiro avoided the strikes, calling out, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
But the slayers didn't respond, attacking relentlessly and aiming for vital points.
Inosuke, not as merciful as Tanjiro, kicked one of the slayers away, sending him flying to Tanjiro's side.
"Don't kill them, Inosuke. They're our comrades," Tanjiro warned.
Inosuke scoffed, "Hmph, don't tell me what to do!"
Murata was struggling against one slayer when another attacked from behind. Just as Murata despaired, Tanjiro and Inosuke arrived and knocked out the two attackers, saving him.
After the fight, Murata realized that Tanjiro and Inosuke were no ordinary Mizunoto.
The downed slayers began to stand up again. Tanjiro smelled something strange on one's back and realized they were being controlled by threads.
"Cut the threads on their backs, Inosuke."
"Got it."
Inosuke leapt over the slayers, slicing the threads and causing them to collapse.
Several white spiders scurried from the fallen slayers towards the bushes.
Tanjiro noticed that the spiders smelled like the threads. Someone must be controlling the spiders to manipulate the slayers.
"Inosuke, someone is using the spiders to control them."
"Ugh, I hate spiders."
Inosuke stabbed the spiders passing by.
"Forget the spiders, Inosuke. We need to find the controller. Otherwise, they'll be controlled again."
"Hmph, you're smarter than you look. Just what I was thinking. Wait here."
Inosuke did a 360° flip, knelt, and placed his hands on the ground.
"Beast Breathing, Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness."
The forest appeared transparent in his mind, and he found the controller in a nearby clearing.
A white-haired, white-faced woman sat on a stone, surrounded by webs. Threads were wrapped around her fingers as she manipulated spiders back into the forest.
"Rui, I will protect you," she murmured.