Chapter 32

## Pungent Odor

**Pungent Odor** (刺 (し) 激 (げき) 臭 (しゅう) , *Shigeki-shū*?) is the thirty-second chapter of Koyoharu Gotoge's Kimetsu no Yaiba.

## Summary

As she is beheaded, Mother notes that she feels as if she is being showered by a gentle rain. She experiences no pain whatsoever and she had never imagined her death to be so gentle. She then remembers when she had her eye injured by a hulking demon for seemingly no reason. Begging for mercy and unsure why he is angry, Rui coldly tells Mother it is her own fault for not realizing why. Behind a tree, another demon watches the scene and laughs that "*Dad's angry at Mom again!*". As the giant demon grabs Mother, another female demon sees the abuse from high in the trees, watching with a cautious look.

Mother looks at Tanjiro's eyes and sees they bore only kindness and are practically transparent, not hiding anything by sympathy. She remarks that when she was human, someone must have looked at her eyes with the same kind expression, though she does not remember who and wonders where they may be now. As thanks for bringing her peace, Mother tells Tanjiro that the Twelve Kizuki are on the mountain.

Tanjiro becomes shocked and questions her final words. He realizes that the Twelve Kizuki contain high concentrations of Muzan Kibutsuji's blood and that he would need to collect it in order to create a cure for Nezuko. He suddenly remembers Inosuke and runs back to meet him. Inosuke asks if he had defeated the demon, which Tanjiro answers that he had. When asked if he is alright, Inosuke proudly claims he is fine and will soon have a head harder than him. However, Tanjiro is dismayed at the extent of Inosuke's wounds and is saddened at being unable to save his fellow Demon Slayers.

He looks back at Mother's final moments and how she smelled so strongly of fear and suffering, enough that she wished for death. Tanjiro questions the mountain's nature, wondering why the Twelve Kizuki are present and if a family of demons lives within the forests, since demons do not group up.

Elsewhere in the forest, Zenitsu feels a pain in his hand while walking in the woods searching for Tanjiro and Inosuke. He is annoyed by the forest's stench and is additionally repulsed by the spiders' sound. Suddenly, something moves behind him and he demands it to stop, only to look down and see a giant spider with a human head. Horrified and confused, he sprints away and wonders if he is actually trapped within a nightmare due to his situation. He soon finds himself within a clear and finds threads strewn across the trees.

Hanging on them is a wooden house and attached to the threads are Demon Slayers transforming into spiders. Even more worried and now nauseous from the overwhelming smell, Zenitsu receives a bigger surprise when a giant spider demon emerges from within the suspended house. Zenitsu sprints away in fear but the demon unexpectedly tells he that he has already lost. Unwilling to talk to the giant spider, Zenitsu flatly denies what he had said only to be told to look at his hand.

To his shock, it appears bruised and swollen. The Spider Demon tells him that since he had been bitten by a spider, he will soon transform into one.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Spider Demon (Mother)
* Tanjiro Kamado
* Spider Demon (Father)
* Rui
* Spider Demon (Son)
* Spider Demon (Daughter)
* Inosuke Hashibira
* Zenitsu Agatsuma

## Events

* Mother and Rui come from a larger family of spider-like demons.
* The Twelve Kizuki are on Mount Natagumo.
* Zenitsu encounters Son of the Spider Family.
* Zenitsu Agatsuma vs Spider Demon (Son).