Transparent silk-like threads wound through the air, forming razor-sharp filaments that shot toward Giyu Tomioka's heart. Had nothing intervened, he would have become like Gyomei — drained entirely, turned into nourishment for Wang Xu.
Suddenly a slender white leg whipped through the air, delivering a powerful kick that stirred a fierce gust sweeping across the battlefield. Wang Xu's eyes narrowed. He raised his hand just in time, but then the ground beneath him cracked and collapsed violently, fissures spreading outward for nearly twenty meters. The tremor slammed his right hand against his own face, hurled him backward.
Nezuko's kimono fluttered. Her willow-patterned legs showed as she moved, and above, her snow-white chest rose and fell with exertion. Her face was pale, lips parted, veins bulging atop her forehead near a solitary demon horn. Her pink, blood-stained eyes burned with cold fury. She glanced toward Giyu.
"Nezuko," Giyu's body swayed, his face drained of color as he began to collapse.
Nezuko hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then she acted with swift resolve. She scooped up Giyu Tomioka, turned, and leapt onto a massive tree, sprinting away with fierce determination.
"I can't let you go," Wang Xu roared, launching himself forward like a cannonball. For a long time he had hunted Nezuko. He had absorbed a fragment of her blood during their previous clash, which allowed him to resist sunlight. His instincts told him that devouring Nezuko completely would grant him even greater power. Now that she had come to him willingly, he would not let her escape.
"Nezuko, leave me behind!" Giyu gasped, blood seeping from his wounds as life drained rapidly from his body. His chest was pierced — death loomed near.
Nezuko clenched her teeth and made a decision. "Become a demon, and get your revenge."
Without hesitation she sliced her finger, letting blood flow like water into Giyu's mouth. Then, cradling him in her arms, she dashed toward the forest, seeking the shelter of darkness — afraid that sunlight might reach him.
Behind them, Wang Xu pursued with unrelenting speed. Whenever he closed in, Nezuko unleashed her Blood Demon Art, Exploding Blood, creating a massive shockwave that knocked him back and bought them more time. Through rugged terrain and towering mountains, they fled until both parties vanished into the night.
---
At the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, the aftermath was grim. The Elder lay prostrate on the tatami mats, his face ashen, blood coursing from his nose and mouth. His breath grew faint — at any moment he might perish.
The dreadful news had reached him: Uzui Tengen, Mitsuri, and Shinobu Kocho had all died during the mission to Yoshiwara. On Mount Sagiri, Gyomei Himejima and Urokodaki had fallen as well. Giyu Tomioka was missing. The entire Corps had been decimated — only Serpent Pillar Obanai Iguro remained among the senior warriors. All hope seemed extinguished.
---
Twenty days passed in a haze.
Deep in the mountains, where rivers twisted through the terrain and ancient trees towered above, a single broad-leafed tree blocked the sun, its thick canopy casting a dark shadow across the forest floor. At its base, Enmu's body was pinned to the trunk by a kukri. His eyes, wide in fear, stared at the demon seated a short distance away on the grass. Though trapped inside a dream, Enmu dared not attempt escape. His fate had been sealed.
Around that tree, the scorching sun beat down on everything within a twenty-meter radius. Enmu knew there was no possibility of fleeing. For twenty days he had tried — countless plans, countless nightmares — yet all ended in failure. He was forced to obey; he used his Blood Demon Art to create horrific dreams, enabling the demon to cultivate his power.
In the first attempts, Enmu sought to trap the demon in eternal torment, hoping to escape or even kill him. But the demon was too wise. As soon as he sensed something amiss, the demon would commit suicide within the dream, wake up, and punish Enmu mercilessly. The slightest movement, even a breath out of rhythm, could earn him a brutal beating. Fear had reduced Enmu to trembling silence.
Now, in the dreamscape that night, Lucien Graves was standing over a nightmare-self — an exact copy of him, with all his abilities. As often said, the greatest enemy is often oneself. Over these twenty days, Lucien had fought himself countless times. Every time victory seemed within reach, the nightmare-self would die by its own hand, forcing Lucien awake — heart pounding, senses heightened.
Slowly, Lucien realized his spirit, his perception, even his "Ki" — his inner energy — had become far more refined. By day he would face the nightmare battle in his dreams; by night he trained his body. This dual cultivation strengthened both his soul and flesh. He feared Enmu's trickery by day, so he chose dreams as the battleground. At night, under the cover of darkness, he prepared his body for the next stage of power.
Lucien admitted to himself that he had been smart not to kill Enmu. Who else could provide such a relentless sparring partner? Now he could meditate and empty his mind all day if he wished — that was the greatest achievement those twenty days had yielded, not even counting the gains from constant dream duels.
As dusk settled, Lucien's eyes opened. In the fading light, he looked at Enmu's trembling form pinned against the tree. He stretched and rose. Night had fallen completely. Nearby, a bonfire crackled on the grass. Lucien had hunted two wild boars, three deer, and even a black bear. His appetite had become ravenous since he began cultivating Ki. He devoured the deer in minutes.
Enmu had finally regenerated his body. He sat upright, expression grave, gazing ahead. He had learned the hard way not to move. Even a slight twitch could draw Lucien's wrath — this demon found any excuse to strike him. Enmu looked like a frightened bird now.
---
Far away, under the ghostly light of moon and stars, the forest rang with horror. Four headless bodies lay in pools of blood, each with a straw-thin thread still embedded in the heart, sucking away life. The four Lower Moons — Rokuro, Gyū Mōo, Mukago, and Kamanue — had fallen. Their heads lay nearby. They watched in terror as their bodies withered cruelly.
They had come seeking Nezuko or Rui (Wang). But they never imagined they would face him — and lose within seconds. Even the most powerful among them had been struck down with effortless precision.
One of them gasped, disbelief trembling in his voice. "Rui, you cannot be this powerful."
They had been four strong demons, battling a single foe. Yet they had failed miserably. Such overwhelming power was not what Rui should possess.