"Senior Xander!" exclaimed Tanjiro and Inosuke as they ran up to Xander.
Xander smiled at them. "Everything is settled."
Tanjiro nodded happily. "Yes! Senior Xander defeated the demon, all the threads disappeared, and all the living members of the team are saved!"
"Why is it so cold here? What a disgusting feeling!" Inosuke grimaced, pulling in his neck.
Tanjiro explained: "That's because Xander's breathing technique is Icy Breath. After each battle, the temperature around drops significantly. You'll get used to it, Inosuke."
Xander said, "Tanjiro, the demon I killed mentioned that there are Twelve Demon Moons on this mountain."
Hearing about the Demon Moons, Tanjiro was taken aback, and then his expression became serious.
"Twelve Demon Moons?! The real Twelve Demon Moons are on this mountain! If we manage to get the blood of the Twelve Demon Moons, we can turn Nezuko back into a human, and the elixir can be prepared faster."
Inosuke noticed that Tanjiro seemed out of sorts and asked, "Twelve Demon Moons? What are they?"
Xander explained, "The Twelve Demon Moons are under the direct command of the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji." They can be considered the most powerful demons, aside from the Demon King himself.
Inosuke nodded as if he understood, swung his sword, and declared, "It doesn't matter who these Demons of the Moon are, I'll chop them all up!"
Xander smiled, said nothing, and continued on. Tanjiro and Inosuke followed him.
Soon, they approached a river, on the opposite bank of which appeared a small demoness in a kimono with a web pattern.
Upon seeing the demon, Xander did not intend to engage in a fight.
Inosuke looked at the demoness and shouted, "I'll chop you in half! Ugly demon!"
The little demon turned and tried to run away. Inosuke saw her running and leapt onto a rock protruding from the water to chase after her.
"Wait! Don't run!"
The little demoness suddenly turned around and screamed, "Papa!"
Inosuke, already splashed into the water, was a bit surprised by the sudden cry from the little demon. "Who's your papa?!"
Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over Inosuke. He stopped and saw a spider-faced demon leap out from the water.
Tanjiro shouted in concern, "Inosuke!"
Inosuke jumped back, using his legs to propel himself off the rock, dodging the attack from the spider-faced demon.
Then, the spider-faced demon instantly appeared in front of Inosuke.
"Don't come any closer! My family!"
As soon as those words were uttered, the spider-faced demon punched Inosuke.
Inosuke quickly dodged, and the rock he was standing on shattered from the impact, causing a huge splash of water.
The little demoness, watching this scene, indifferently said, "I'll leave this to you, Papa."
Then she disappeared into the forest.
The spider-faced demon caught up with the fleeing Inosuke and struck him again.
At this critical moment, Tanjiro appeared.
"Water Breathing! Second Form! Water Wheel!" Tanjiro swung his black Nichirin Blade, driving it into the spider-faced demon's arm, but he couldn't sever it.
The spider-faced demon extended his left hand to strike Tanjiro, but Inosuke managed to block the hit with his sword.
Then the spider-faced demon roared and sent Tanjiro and Inosuke flying back.
Tanjiro and Inosuke returned to Xander, and Inosuke couldn't help but comment, "Tough one, strong!"
Tanjiro stared intently at the spider-faced demon and seriously asked, "Xander, could this be one of the Twelve Demon Moons?"
Xander shook his head. "It's not a Demon of the Moon. The Twelve Demon Moons have words engraved in their eyes, this one doesn't."
Tanjiro looked at Xander in surprise. "It's impossible! Senior Xander! This is not one of the Demon Moons, even if it's so strong! Just how powerful are the real Twelve Demon Moons?!"
Xander turned and replied, "Didn't you use the God of Fire Kagura Dance before? If you work together with Inosuke, you can handle this demon without any problems."
"I'll catch up with that demon. She must have gone to look for the Twelve Demon Moons. When you defeat her, follow me. I'll leave a mark," added Xander.
"Understood, Senior Xander!" answered Tanjiro as he rushed toward the spider-faced demon.
Inosuke also swung his dual blades to attack the demon.
Watching Tanjiro and Inosuke fight the spider-faced demon, Xander leaped and disappeared into the forest.
Xander traced the path of the little demoness in the forest.
Suddenly, Xander heard a scream.
A smile appeared at the corners of Xander's lips.
"Found it"
Xander wrapped himself in icy feathers and slowly approached the source of the sound.
After taking a few steps, Xander saw the little demoness who had run off earlier and a weary man appearing on either side of her.
"Ah! Please, stop! Ah! U-u-uh..." The little demoness covered her face and cried bitterly, tears and blood mixing and continuing to drip onto the ground.
Suddenly, a tired voice was heard. "What are you looking at? It's not worth watching."
Hearing this, Xander no longer concealed himself and slowly emerged.
"You were able to sense my presence. I underestimated you," Xander stated.
"Mom couldn't get rid of you and let you escape. She's truly an incompetent mother," Ray said disdainfully.
"I didn't expect that you, one of the Twelve Demons, enjoy playing family games. You've never taken this fake family seriously, have you?" Xander noted while simultaneously placing his hand on his Sun Blade, ready for Rui's sudden attack.
Ray played with the web in his hand, and upon hearing Xander's words, glared at him with clenched teeth.
"You...
At that moment, a man in the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps appeared with a rebellious expression on his face.
"Oh! Isn't it fortunate? I can kill such a child too," he declared confidently.
"Hey!" Xander wanted to warn him, but the guy interrupted: "Get lost! I want to get a promotion! Once I get promoted, they'll pay me more!"
"Even though my team nearly perished, I can still come down from the mountain if I kill a demon like this!" the man proclaimed.
With these words, the rebellious Demon Slayer rushed at Rui.
Seeing that this guy was charging toward certain death, Xander did not stop him.
In an instant, the guy who rushed at Rui was sliced by a web, turning into pieces of meat of various sizes.
Rui slowly spoke in a grim voice, "Hey! What did you say?"
He turned, stared at Xander, and repeated each word: "You! Said! What! Just now?"
A strong sense of pressure descended upon Xander. Despite his body being fortified by various Elixirs, Xander felt a slight pressure, though it was only slight.
Rui's anger at that moment reached a peak. Just a little more, and it would completely erupt.
"You! Repeat! What you said! Hey! Speak faster!"
Xander slowly drew his white Sun Blade, without taking his eyes off Ray.
"Alright, say it as many times as you want! Your family and your connections—they're all a sham!"
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