Chapter 57: Tanjiro and Nezuko |
On the slopes of the snow-covered mountains.
A boy, breathing heavily, trudged through the forest carrying a blood-stained girl.
'Hang on, Nezuko...' Tanjiro rasped.
Although his legs trembled and threatened to buckle after carrying his sister down the mountain, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep moving forward.
Last night, his entire family, save for Nezuko, had been murdered under mysterious circumstances. Upon returning home from the town, he had been met with a horrifying, blood-soaked scene.
In a single night, Tanjiro had lost everyone except for his sister.
He was searching for a doctor, desperate not to lose her as well.
However...
Near the end of the descent, Nezuko suddenly let out a chilling howl and began to struggle violently.
Scrambling to his feet, Tanjiro's first thought was of the sister who had been on his back. He jerked his head around, but found no one there.
Looking around frantically, he spotted Nezuko's silhouette nearby. She was unrecognizable, her face dark and twisted into a feral snarl.
"Nezuko, are you okay?" Tanjiro cried out, rushing toward her instinctively.
But his sweet younger sister met him with a vicious snap of her jaws.
"Wraaaah!" Nezuko snarled, lunging to bite him.
He managed to dodge by a hair's breadth and grabbed her by the arms, the two of them collapsing together into the snow.
"Nezuko, what's happening to you? Nezuko!" Tanjiro wailed at the sight of his transformed sister. Childhood horror stories about demons that hunted humans at night flashed through his mind.
Was Nezuko really one of those demons?
No! That was impossible!
She was born human.
Yet a foul, alien scent emanated from her. It was the same scent that belonged to the creature that had mercilessly slaughtered their family—the one that had likely turned Nezuko into whatever she was now.
Nezuko didn't stop her attempts to bite him. The demon blood surging through her gave her more and more strength until she began to slowly overpower her brother's trembling hands.
Even as he felt her strength, the boy refused to accept the truth or give up.
"Nezuko, get a hold of yourself... you're not a demon! Come on!" Tanjiro roared, and his voice seemed to reach the lingering fragments of Nezuko's humanity.
The girl's movements gradually slowed until she went still. Her bloodshot eyes cleared slightly, focusing on her brother above her. Even though she was no longer fully human, tears welled in her eyes.
And just then...
Swish!
A muscular man with silver hair and a hideous scar across his face appeared—the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa!
With a fleeting glance at the siblings, the Hashira immediately lashed out with his Nichirin Sword, aiming to end Nezuko with a single, precise stroke.
The lethal gleam of the blade closed in instantly.
Whoosh!
However, at the final second, Nezuko's human will triumphed over her demonic instincts. Wrapping her arms around her brother, she rolled several meters to the side just as a deep gash was carved into the snowdrift where they had just been.
"Hm?" Sanemi paused, taken aback.
It wasn't the fact that the girl had dodged that surprised him, but rather that she was protecting the boy. In all his years of killing demons, he had never seen one defend a human.
But the Wind Hashira quickly cast aside his doubts. His Nichirin Sword hummed through the cold air once more.
Slash!
This time, Sanemi unleashed a barrage of lethal strikes that sliced through the thick snow like a hot knife through butter.
Nezuko seemed to have no strength left to evade the Hashira's next assault, and Tanjiro could only watch helplessly as the strikes closed in.
But at that very moment...
Clang!
Another Nichirin Sword descended from above, accompanied by a turbulent torrent of water that blocked the Wind Hashira's series of ranged attacks.
Then...
A young man with messy black hair landed gracefully in front of Tanjiro and Nezuko, pulling his Nichirin Sword from the snow.
"What are you doing, Tomioka?" Sanemi growled, frowning at the Water Hashira who had prevented him from executing the demon.
"Haven't you noticed they're different?" Giyu countered, glancing back at the children behind him.
"So what?" Sanemi snapped. "A demon is a demon, no matter how strange she acts."
"I've never heard of, let alone seen, a demon protecting a human. There's no doubt this is an anomaly that requires careful study," Giyu insisted.
"Get out of my way!" Sanemi barked, raising his Nichirin Sword, done with talking.
"Sigh..." The Water Hashira sighed helplessly, but he didn't budge.
"Hmph!" Sanemi smirked combatively and lunged forward without a word. He had been looking for an excuse to give the annoying Giyu a thrashing.
But a moment before they collided...
"What on earth are you two doing? Oyakata-sama will be quite upset when he finds out you're wasting time like this while everyone else is searching for Muzan," a gentle voice drifted down from a snow-laden tree nearby.
Flutter!
An elegant female silhouette fluttered down from the branch like a butterfly.
Shinobu Kocho.
The three of them had been following the trail of blood left by Muzan's victims.
"Hmph!" Sanemi skidded to a halt, grunting in irritation as he finally sheathed his blade at the sight of the softly smiling Shinobu.
The Water Hashira followed suit.
"Excuse me... may I ask who you all are?" Tanjiro spoke up, slowly rising to his feet as he regained his senses. He tried to remain respectful despite the attempt on their lives.
"We belong to an ancient organization dedicated to the extermination of demons. By the way, might I ask who this girl is?" Shinobu asked, her smile turning even warmer.
"Nezuko? She's my sister..." Tanjiro replied.
At that moment, Nezuko also scrambled to her feet and instinctively stood in front of her brother, snarling threateningly at the Wind and Water Hashira.
Sanemi's brow furrowed at the sight. Giyu looked on in confusion, while Shinobu's mouth parted slightly in surprise as she scanned Nezuko from head to toe.
'Siblings, then? Despite turning into a demon, she managed to overcome her instincts to protect her brother... I've never seen anything like it,' Shinobu murmured thoughtfully.
Unlike the Wind and Water Hashira, she possessed advanced medical knowledge and had spent years studying demons, which allowed her to better grasp the absolute uniqueness of the situation.
Usually, a demon's mind is instantly consumed by an uncontrollable bloodlust and a craving for human flesh as soon as the Progenitor's blood spreads through their body.
Even the most strong-willed and resilient people break.
According to her theory, a person would need an exceptionally pure heart and soul for the Progenitor's blood to fail in amplifying their dark thoughts and driving them to devour flesh.
They would also need an unshakable will focused on a specific goal—like Nezuko's desire to protect her brother.
And most importantly...
One must break free from Muzan's control!
Until now, she had never encountered a demon not under the Progenitor's control. However, there were records in the organization's secret archives suggesting such a being had existed long ago, though the details were scarce. It was impossible to say if that demon was still alive today.
Simply put...
Nezuko's case was exceedingly rare!