Chapter 119: We Meet Again, Gohachiro.
...
Soon.
Butterfly Mansion.
"...Caw! Caw!"
The crow, panting, flapped its wings and swayed, swaying to the sky above the Butterfly Mansion, unconsciously muttering to itself:
"Help..."
The heavy wings finally fluttered.
This was almost the fastest it had flown in its short life.
Seeing the open window on the second floor in a daze, it rushed in:
Bang!
"Caw!"
It suddenly stuck behind Tanjuro, who was sitting on the mat!
Just as Tanjuro opened his eyes from his memories, intending to stand up and take a deep breath, he was unexpectedly ambushed.
Staggering forward, he turned his head.
The crow collapsed behind him, its breath weak, its voice intermittent:
"Tokito... That Spider Mountain... Upper Rank..."
Upon hearing this.
Tanjuro was taken aback, he raised his head, his gaze passed through the window, looking towards the direction outside the Butterfly Mansion.
Whoosh!
His entire body turned into an afterimage, disappearing on the spot.
At this moment.
Creak——
The door of the room was pushed open, Shigeru peeked in, rubbing his eyes:
"Dad, it's time to eat——"
After seeing that there was no one in the room.
"...Eh, he's not here?"
Shigeru stood dumbfounded at the door, scratching his head in confusion.
Bang, bang...
The open window was blown by the breeze, making a noise.
...
...
At the same time.
In the Spider Mountain.
"What is all this?!"
Inosuke had no time to react, was bound tightly by the spider silk, and was once again hung under a tree, he twisted and struggled, shouting angrily:
"Damn it!!"
After struggling for a while, he calmed down as if resigned, looking down at the [elder sister] who was twisted and gathered into a human form under the tree.
After making eye contact with the tear-filled eyes of the elder sister.
"?"
Inosuke.exe stopped running.
...
On the other side.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Rui kept waving his hands, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, the white spider silk was pulling and moving everywhere.
Boom!!
The spider silk bombarded the ground, stirring up waves of dust, and the surrounding trees were constantly cut down and fell.
He looked at the Tokito trio who were handling it with ease, his eyes becoming increasingly impatient.
He had been promoted to Upper Rank for some days now.
Yesterday, he had advanced to a higher number, his strength should have become even stronger.
Why——are these guys so troublesome?
Whoosh!
The sharp spider silk instantly rushed towards the Tokito family!
Zing——!
Bright sparks bloomed between the sword and the spider silk, emitting a harsh scraping sound.
Illuminating the dark surroundings.
"It's so heavy!"
Muichiro leaned back, using his sword to curl the incoming spider silk, pulling hard on the hilt.
——The sword was entangled!
Looking at the sword entangled by the spider silk, he gritted his teeth and turned his head to look around.
"I'm running out of patience."
Rui stood in front, his fingers slightly twitching, looking coldly at the resisting father and sons.
[Blood Demon Art·Cutting Thread Cage, Prison]
Whoosh——!
He pulled his arm back hard!
Whoosh!
The densely woven spider web was formed from the treetops, directly covering Muichiro's direction!
The sharp reflection of the spider web was reflected in Muichiro's pupils, he was slightly taken aback.
Muichiro's breathing became rapid, he instinctively wanted to take a step back.
His gaze looked not far to the side.
His father had easily broken free from the spider web's shackles.
His brother practiced swordsmanship every day, and at this moment, he seemed to be handling it with ease, and could even occasionally speak out, making the white-haired demon across from him panic.
Although he had also been practicing swordsmanship, Moon Breathing and Hinokami Kagura, his body's flexibility and strength had improved, but he had not mastered either of them.
——Only he, is the weakest.
So, did that guy choose to deal with him first?
Muichiro concentrated his attention highly, the time around him seemed to slow down a bit, allowing him to have reaction time.
The positions of his father and brother were deliberately distanced by that guy with spider silk.
He withdrew his gaze, his pupils slightly contracted, looking at the spider web that was constantly approaching in front of him.
If he got cut, he would definitely be like the female demon just now, instantly turned into chunks of meat.
In his mind, for some reason, he thought of the past at this moment.
The laughter and joy in the Butterfly Mansion.
Shigeru, Takeo, Tanjiro...
Muichiro was absent-mindedly in a daze, holding the hilt of his sword entwined with spider silk, his pupils slightly dilated for a moment.
"Muichiro."
That was the voice of Tanjuro from his vague memory.
He said:
"Remember the rhythm of your breath in the gap of your sword swing."
The next moment.
"Hiss——!!" Muichiro came back to his senses, he took a deep breath, his eyes widened, and he gripped the hilt of his sword.
He stared intently at the rapidly approaching spider web in front of him.
Memories of past practices kept flooding his mind, the familiar rhythm of breathing fluctuated in his chest.
His pupils contracted sharply, his eyes were firm.
Move!
Whoosh!
The sword in his hand entangled with the spider web twisted, two decisive flashes of the sword quickly flashed, and the spider silk entangled with the sword was instantly broken!
At the moment of freeing the sword, Muichiro slightly stooped, he raised his head.
Facing the sharp spider silk that had already forced him to the front.
He opened the corner of his mouth, and white mist overflowed.
[Sun Breathing·Fourth Form]
[Raging Sun---Retsujitsu Kokyo]
Then.
In Rui's field of vision.
Whoosh!
[The spider web decisively and swiftly swept across Muichiro's body, the other party instantly lost the ability to move, standing in place in a daze.]
But.
Creak...
Rui pulled his fingers, the moment the spider web swept across Muichiro's body, he did not feel the actual sensation.
What his eyes saw was indeed cut.
——Did I use too much force?
Just as Rui was puzzled by this.
"Muichiro——!!"
Yuichiro widened his eyes, looked at the position where Muichiro had just stood in horror, and shouted hysterically.
It was too far away, just now being entangled by the spider silk, he couldn't run over!
His eyes trembled, and he unconsciously reached out towards that direction.
His vision was vaguely shaking, he looked at his motionless younger brother incredulously.
He only felt a chill rising from the bottom of his throat.
There was a roaring dizziness in his brain.
Buzz——!
This is the sound of tinnitus.
The called "Muichiro" did not respond, he seemed to just stand there.
Yuichiro couldn't imagine what had just happened, his brain was blank at this moment, and he even had some difficulty thinking.
He blinked in panic:
"Ah...ah...! How...!"
Why——why was Muichiro swept by the spider silk.
——Why didn't he resist.
Why——
—
—Why couldn't I rush over.
In his field of vision, the hand stretched out towards Muichiro's direction was somewhat blurred.
His pupils trembled violently, and the tinnitus became more intense:
"Hee ah ah ah!!"
He screamed hysterically.
He didn't even hear the loud shout of his father turning his head next to him.
Yuichiro was breathing rapidly, his lungs were heaving like a broken bellows, and he unconsciously muttered a few words in his mouth.
The hand holding the hilt of the sword clenched tightly.
The gaze of his lowered head was fixed on the sword in his hand.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
He quickly cut off the spider silk around him with two swords, drooping his shoulders, then turned his head with a hollow gaze, staring at Rui's direction.
Bang!
A deep footprint was imprinted under his feet!
[Total Concentration·Moon Breathing]
He clenched the sword in his hand, turned into an afterimage, and rushed straight towards Rui!
"What are you shouting about?"
"It's just that you didn't fulfill your obligations."
"It seems that the bond between you is just to this extent."
Rui said flatly, watching Yuichiro, who had turned into an afterimage and disappeared in place, he was slightly puzzled.
——The speed has increased, what's going on...
Just thinking about raising his hand to lay a spider web in front of him.
The corner of his eye suddenly caught a glimpse.
Not far away.
That "Muichiro" who was standing still.
Turned into a phantom afterimage, slowly fading and disappearing.
"——Disappeared?!" Rui couldn't believe it, staring at the disappeared Muichiro, he shouted in surprise.
Taking advantage of the moment when Rui was shocked and stunned.
Step!
Yuichiro suddenly accelerated, appearing instantly at his side, the Nichirin Sword in his hand hanging down, the sword facing up.
His face, clenching his teeth, suppressed his emotions.
Almost regardless of the consequences, Yuichiro's whole body muscles tensed, his eyes turned white, and anger was boiling in his heart.
Full force.
[First Form]
He gripped the hilt tightly and thrust upward fiercely!
The clear yellow moonlight suddenly lit up on the sword.
Splat!
The sword instantly swept across Rui's arm! Severed from the joint!
"Pu... cough... ah!!" Rui's body staggered backward, his pupils shrank, his gaze moved, looking at Yuichiro who appeared at his side.
——This speed?!
Creak...
Another hand quickly moved its fingers, a dense white spider web instantly condensed at his side!
The spider silk formed a sharp net! Blocked Yuichiro's next attack!
"Damn it!!"
"Give me back my brother..."
Bloodshot spread in Yuichiro's eyes, veins bulged on his face, he gritted his teeth, almost squeezing out syllables from the bottom of his throat:
"...Give him back!!"
Hiss!
Just as he disregarded everything, his flesh was carrying the sharp spider silk and he wanted to continue forward.
"Brother!!"
Muichiro's excited voice came from above:
"I did it!!"
——?
Yuichiro suddenly froze in place, he looked up at the top.
Whoosh!
Muichiro jumped down from the tree, his hair was blown up by the falling wind, his somewhat dirty face had an excited smile:
"Hinokami Kagura! Taught by Kamado-san!"
"I did it!"
[Fourth Form·Raging Sun——Retsujitsu Kokyo]
——Use high-speed movements and spins to leave afterimages in place.
——The better the eyesight, the clearer the afterimages seen.
In the moment just now when he quickly dodged the spider web, Muichiro shot straight to the top of the forest in one breath.
As for what Rui and the others saw, they were all afterimages left in place.
Below, Yuichiro looked up at Muichiro's intact figure, his eyes blinked in a daze.
——Alive?
"He... cough... cough!!"
His rapid breathing also quickly stopped with the bewildered emotion, and he even choked a bit.
At this moment.
"Ah! It fell!"
Muichiro exclaimed in surprise, a small flute fell from his body:
"The flute!"
In its rotating fall in mid-air.
Whoosh!
A slender spider silk flashed by, quickly splitting the flute in half from the middle!
Plop! Crimson blood overflowed from the flute, sprinkling in mid-air.
In the crystal clear blood droplets, Muichiro's surprised expression was reflected.
...
...
Tamayo's residence.
"So, your visit this time is for..."
Yushiro quietly watched Tsugikuni Michikatsu drinking tea.
Suddenly.
Tsugikuni Michikatsu's originally closed pair of eyes, suddenly opened with force, almost filling his entire face.
His six eyes stared straight ahead, sipping tea.
As Yushiro was speaking, he suddenly felt a chill under his feet.
He subconsciously looked down, but found nothing.
When he just raised his doubtful eyes.
Plop.
In front of him, Tsugikuni Michikatsu had disappeared.
Only the empty teacup was left on the table, slowly spinning, making a hollow sound.
Yushiro forced his expression, only his temples were faintly throbbing.
...
...
Plop.
Muichiro landed on the ground, he looked somewhat dazed at Yuichiro who was even more dazed.
The first thing he did was to bend down and pick up the flute that had been broken into two pieces on the ground.
"You... just now...!" Yuichiro stared at his brother in a daze, his mouth was choked and opened, but he didn't say anything.
At this moment.
Drip, drip.
Blood drops on the fallen leaves.
"...Enough."
Rui's face darkens, his head drooping low. His severed left arm regrows rapidly, and a rare emotion known as anger clearly appears on his face:
"I don't need a family like you."
He mutters under his breath, slowly raising his hand, his elbow starting to turn a deep red.
He lifts his head, his eyes fierce:
"Die!"
Blood oozes from the tips of his fingers, instantly soaking the pale spider silk.
[Blood Demon Art·Cutting Thread Rotation]
Creak——!
The blood-red spider silk weaves in mid-air, like a giant vortex, a red cocoon forms between his hands.
The next moment, it's about to be fired at the nearest Yuichiro!
The two brothers stand together, looking at the huge crimson spider silk coming at them. The already exhausted pair can't react in time.
Tadaichiro runs from behind the two, reaching out his hand.
Just as he prepares to sprint with all his might, disregarding the consequences, using the First Form.
At that moment!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two black shadows sweep across the ground, carrying a gust of wind, almost instantly passing Tadaichiro.
Step!
The two figures arrive at the side of the Tokito brothers at the same time.
The red Haori and the snake-patterned Haori flutter in the wind.
Tanjuro lifts his head, standing in front of Muichiro.
He glances sideways at Tsugikuni Michikatsu, who is standing near Yuichiro.
The two men, their eight eyes meet.
Click.
The crisp sound of two sword guards colliding rings out.
What follows is the sound of dense swords cutting through the air like the wind.
Whoosh——
The crimson spider silk loses its support, slowly falling from mid-air, and turning into ashes halfway.
Muichiro opens his eyes, he stares blankly at the figure in front of him, then looks at the person in front of his brother.
He suddenly shouts out loud:
"Six-eyed Uncle!"
Then, his face turns white, and he quickly covers his mouth with his hand.
In front of several people.
"...Eh?"
Rui blinks, he looks at his own head held between two swords, and asks in confusion:
"What happened..."
Thud!
The body without a head sways weakly twice, then slowly falls to the ground.
When Rui looks around in a daze, his gaze suddenly focuses on Tsugikuni Michikatsu in front of him:
"Upper Rank...!"
He slowly widens his eyes, his gaze moving between Tsugikuni Michikatsu and the Tokito family, muttering:
"Demon...human...the same bloodline..."
"Even after becoming a demon, you still protecting your descendants...you! This is..."
A light called desire flickers in Rui's eyes, his mouth corner trembling:
"The real family..."
"I really want it..."
Rustle...
As he speaks, ashes rise from Rui's face.
Tanjuro holds Muichiro's Nichirin Sword, he uses the sword to hold Rui's head, without making a sound.
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