Suddenly, the boy's eyes turned cold. He threw a transparent web at a large tree, causing it to crash to the side. Behind the tree stood a Demon Slayer Corps member holding a sword.
Just as Tanjiro felt relieved, thinking someone had come to rescue him, the next second, the member's head suddenly shattered into pieces, and his entire body crumbled into chunks, scattering all over the ground.
The intense smell of blood hit him like a cloud of dust, making Tanjiro nauseous. He gagged, retching on the ground.
"Did you really think he came to save you?"
The boy toyed with the spider silk in his hand for a moment before coldly saying, "No one can save you today." He flicked his fingers in Tanjiro's direction, the sharp sound of something cutting through the air echoing in the forest.
Though Tanjiro couldn't see the spider silk, the approaching sound made his skin crawl with goosebumps.
From the boy's ruthless killing of the member, Tanjiro had experienced his disregard for human life. He didn't believe the boy's flick was meaningless. Without thinking, he dove to the ground.
Just as he moved, he heard a "crack" behind him. The tree he had been in front of was sliced in half.
Terrified, Tanjiro looked at the tree, cold sweat pouring down his back. He was grateful for his quick reflexes, or he would have been the one cut in half.
Tanjiro tightened his grip on his sword, watching the boy warily.
The boy's two attacks made him realize he needed to find a way to track the spider silk's movements. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to dodge, let alone counterattack.
He quickly thought of using his sense of smell.
Previously in the forest, he had used his keen sense of smell to detect the spider silk controlling his teammates. The spider silk had a different scent from the boy.
If he could clearly track the spider silk, the fight wouldn't be as one-sided. At least he could dodge the attacks.
Tanjiro felt a glimmer of hope.
The boy glanced at Tanjiro, surprised he had dodged his attack. Assuming it was a fluke, he flicked a sharp thread of spider silk at Tanjiro.
Using his keen sense of smell, Tanjiro tracked the silk's movement and dodged with a 360° flip, another tree being cut in half behind him.
The boy finally realized Tanjiro could track his silk, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"You can track my attacks. But don't think that means you can escape. If you're so good at dodging, try this."
The boy spread his fingers and flicked, producing a sharp, piercing sound.
Tanjiro smelled five strands of spider silk shooting towards him and swung his Nichirin Sword to block them.
Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation on his cheek. The Nichirin Sword blocked one strand, but the flexible silk curved, cutting his face and leaving a bloody wound.
Tanjiro couldn't risk blocking anymore and rolled backward, putting distance between himself and the boy.
The boy sneered, clenching his fist.
Seeing this, Tanjiro had a bad feeling. He looked around and saw two webs closing in from both sides. He had seen the webs cut a member into pieces.
There was no time to dodge.
Tanjiro's mind went blank. Just as he thought he would be sliced into pieces, the box on his back opened. A slender figure jumped in front of him and pushed him away.
A scream echoed. Both Tanjiro and the boy froze.
Nezuko stood in front of Tanjiro, her right arm sliced into pieces, flesh scattering.
"Nezuko..."
Tanjiro shouted, scrambling to his feet and rushing to Nezuko, hugging her.
The boy's face showed excitement as he slowly approached. "I didn't expect you to have such an interesting companion."
Tanjiro picked up Nezuko and ran into the forest, hiding behind a large tree.
Looking at Nezuko's pained expression, Tanjiro pressed her wound to stop the bleeding.
He never expected Nezuko to shield him, losing her arm in the process.
"Nezuko, are you okay?"
Nezuko closed her eyes, groaning in pain.
"What do I do? What do I do?" Tanjiro's eyes filled with tears.
Just as he felt hopeless, Nezuko's wound miraculously grew a new arm, the injury disappearing as if it never happened.
Tanjiro was both surprised and happy. He looked up to see Nezuko's bright eyes gazing at him warmly.
But his relief was short-lived.
The eerie boy approached, cutting down trees with his silk.
"Interesting, very interesting. Why would you protect a human? You and I are the same. Come to me and be part of my family."
The boy's words were directed at Nezuko.
Nezuko's eyes filled with defiance, and she made muffled sounds.
Tanjiro patted her hand, trying to comfort her.
Suddenly, the forest fell silent. The sudden quiet made the atmosphere even more eerie.
After a few seconds without any movement, Tanjiro nervously peeked around the tree. The boy was gone.
He knew the boy hadn't given up. He was either searching or lying in wait.
Tanjiro gripped Nezuko's cold hand, forcing a smile.
"You are different. I'll have to kill you to make her follow me." The boy's cold voice came from above.
Tanjiro looked up in shock.
The boy stood on crisscrossing spider silk, reaching out a hand.
Tanjiro recognized the gesture. Before he could react, several strands of silk wrapped around Nezuko.
With a scream, Nezuko was pulled towards the boy.
Sharp silk cut into Nezuko's skin, blood dripping to the ground.
"Nezuko..." Tanjiro stood, shouting her name.
The boy landed on the ground.
Tanjiro held his sword, pointing it at the boy, shouting, "Let my sister go."
"Sister?"
The boy's smile was mocking. "What right do you have to be her brother?" He spread his hand and swept it towards Tanjiro.