Tanjiro twitched his nose as a scent far stronger than Zenitsu's usual one drifted into his senses. His heart tightened.
He wanted to help Raiden, but the Demon Slayer Corps swordsman controlled by spider silk would not give him an opening. If Zenitsu faltered now, the entire battlefield would collapse.
"Thunder Breathing First Form, Thunderclap and Flash!"
As Tanjiro's worry peaked, a brilliant streak of lightning tore through the dense forest once more.
It was not as overwhelming as Raiden's lightning, but it was still fast, still deadly.
Clang!
Zenitsu's full-powered strike slammed into Rui's neck.
The impact sent a dull shock through Zenitsu's arms, his hands trembling as they gripped the Nichirin blade. A sharp crack followed, and the blade snapped cleanly at the point of contact.
Zenitsu stared at the broken sword in disbelief, his mind going blank.
So this is how hard a demon's neck really is… No wonder Raiden couldn't cut through it earlier.
Rui slowly turned his head, cold eyes locking onto Zenitsu.
The same breathing technique as that man?
He touched the shallow wound on his neck. It was nowhere near fatal, but the fact that Zenitsu had even managed to break his skin irritated him deeply.
Are they disciples of the same style?
Rui's lips curled.
Perfect. That man mocked his bonds as false. Then what about theirs?
With a flick of his fingers, the world spun violently around Zenitsu.
When his vision cleared, he found himself hanging in midair, bound tightly by spider silk.
"Now let me see how real this so-called bond of yours truly is," Rui said calmly, looking down at Raiden, who was still wrapped in layers of webbing.
His fingers twitched again.
The silk constricting Zenitsu tightened.
"Heh."
The sudden sound of laughter froze Rui.
Raiden was laughing.
Rui frowned. He had imagined screams, despair, regret, anything but laughter.
Is he insane, or just pretending?
Rui narrowed his eyes and commanded the thick, nearly white spider silk to close in on Raiden completely.
This time, Raiden did not raise his Nichirin blade.
He did not resist.
He simply stood there.
The spider silk advanced, closing the distance.
Then, when it was less than a meter away, the silk suddenly fell apart.
Not torn. Not cut.
It was as if something invisible had dismembered it, the strands dropping lifelessly to the ground.
Rui's pupils shrank.
What was that? A draw? An unseen strike? Another form?
His expression darkened as he clapped his hands together. All the spider silk lying in wait surged forward at once.
The forest filled with writhing threads, like pale serpents lunging for their prey.
Raiden still did not move.
No matter how the silk twisted, wrapped, or pressed inward, it could not cross the invisible boundary around him.
Not even by a single step.
Rui stared, unease crawling up his spine. Compared to Raiden's terrifying speed earlier, this strange, untouchable presence unsettled him far more.
"What makes you think you are qualified to threaten me?" a calm voice said from within the web.
Rui's heart skipped.
The figure inside the spider silk was gone.
His instincts screamed danger. He snapped his head around, scanning the battlefield.
"What are you looking for?"
Rui turned sharply, and Raiden's face filled his vision.
Calm. Cold.
Zenitsu was beside him, free of the spider silk.
When did he free him? Why did I feel nothing when the threads broke?
Raiden's eyes no longer carried warmth.
Earlier, his restraint had come from a desire to befriend Rui, to reach him. But Zenitsu's sudden outburst changed everything.
Even if it caused no real damage, it proved something important.
Zenitsu could now use Thunder Breathing First Form at will.
That was enough.
Raiden exhaled softly.
Perhaps his patience had made Rui think he could be controlled.
If kindness was mistaken for weakness, then there was no point continuing it.
Raiden had boundaries, and Zenitsu stood firmly within them.
Zeng!
The sharp sound rang out, and Rui felt a suffocating sense of death wash over him.
Fresh, blood-infused spider silk instantly wrapped around Rui's entire body as he reinforced his defenses.
Even then, the danger did not fade.
Rui stared at Raiden, confusion creeping into his fear.
Why does it feel like he is waiting for me to defend?
A gentle breeze passed through the clearing.
The Raiden he was staring at vanished.
No, not moved.
Vanished.
Rui froze. Even before, he could track faint afterimages.
Now, there was nothing.
Then lightning roared into existence.
Time seemed to stop.
In Rui's vision, there was only the approaching flash of thunder. He tried to move, to escape, but his body refused to obey.
"Chila."
A soft sound, followed by rolling thunder.
Raiden's Nichirin blade sliced cleanly across Rui's neck.
Blade met blood-hardened silk, and the outcome was immediate.
Using his full power, Raiden cut through it like paper.
Rui's head nearly separated from his body in a single strike, held together only by a few trembling strands of spider silk.
They swayed weakly, as if ready to snap at any moment.
Throughout it all, Raiden's expression remained calm, his gaze steady, as though he were closing a book whose ending he already knew.
He had struck with precision, delivering a fatal blow without fully ending Rui's life.
One last chance.
Raiden crouched and lifted Rui's head, his grip firm.
"This is the last time I ask," he said quietly. "Do you want to be friends?"
There was no smile this time, only a cold pressure that seeped into the bones.
Rui's eyes were empty, his mind still reeling from defeat.
As he stared at Raiden, the image overlapped with a figure from his memories, a presence he had once feared while lying helpless on a sickbed.
Muzan.
The same overwhelming pressure. The same unquestionable dominance.
Rui nodded instinctively, as if compelled.
"I....am willing…"
____
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