Human and Demon

Tanjiro's sword strains against the obi-like flesh of Daki's neck, and the stubborn cloth forces him to break off and retreat before she can retaliate. As he tries to gather himself, Daki rushes him with a slashing attack, but he perceives her motions in slow motion, which gives him an edge. When her wild obi comes at him from many angles, he pins it all to one point, then charges while shearing through the bound cloth.

Flames from the Hinokami Kagura burn the obi away and carry him within reach of Daki. Just as he is about to take her head, he sees a vision of his sister Hanako pleading with him to breathe. His focus shatters, and he gasps for air after nearly crossing his body's limits. He drops to the ground, the pain he had been holding back finally hitting him, and his eyes start to bleed.

It becomes clear that Tanjiro had been running on anger, spending his life force to surpass his limits, and that Hanako's warning reached him before he could suffer fatal harm. Daki sneers down at his frailty as a human, mocks his wounds, and steps closer to finish him.

Before she can strike, a leg slams into Daki from behind and bursts her head apart. Nezuko stands between her fallen brother and the demon, seething with rage. Memories of the snowy night her family was killed sharpen her fury as she squares off against the demon. As Daki's face knits itself back together, she recognizes Nezuko as the demon Muzan had described. Nezuko's face begins to transform, her boundless anger pushing her forward, leaving open what a demon free of physical limits might do.

This chapter is part of the Demon Slayers versus Daki and Gyutaro arc. Tanjiro reaches his physical limit against Daki, and Nezuko enters the battle, setting up a new phase of the confrontation. It corresponds to anime episode 39 and is collected in Volume 10.