The strong wind slapped the treetops, and the snowflakes danced with the gusts.
Crunch.
Aoki walked along the rugged mountain path, his stride as steady as if he were on level ground, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow.
Wow!
Next to his footprints, a patch of grass blanketed in snow shook slightly. From beneath it emerged a creature with the head of a human and the body of a spider. It fixed its gaze on Aoki's back, its eight legs tensed, and then it lunged forward.
Aoki spun around abruptly and slapped the creature.
Boom!
The human-headed spider shrieked, hurtling backward before crashing into a large tree.
Seeing his assailant clearly, Aoki frowned.
These human-headed spiders were grotesque and terrifying, but he knew they were once human. They had been transformed into these monstrosities by demon poison.
Crash.
Suddenly, human-headed spiders began to swarm from all directions, encircling Aoki.
Ignoring them, Aoki looked up.
Suspended in the air by nearly invisible silk threads was a wooden house. Hanging from threads connected to the nearby trees were several shrunken, half-transformed people, slowly turning into spiders.
Click, click, click.
A larger creature crawled out of the suspended house. It too had a human head but its spider body was much larger than the others.
This was one of the five demons of Mount Natagumo, known as Tired Brother, the cause of the human-headed spiders!
"A demon," Aoki muttered with a sigh.
The spider demon looked disappointed, opening its mouth to speak, "You..."
But Aoki didn't let it finish. In a flash, he was above the spider demon, bringing his foot down hard.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The silk threads snapped, the wooden house crumbled, and the spider demon was sent flying, crashing to the ground with a thunderous impact.
The demon's body was severed at the middle, spewing blood. It turned to look at Aoki, terror suddenly filling its eyes.
"A defector!" it gasped.
Defectors were those who had abandoned their allegiance to demons, possessing powers that could kill demons, feared even more than the Demon Slayer Corps!
"Don't waste your breath," Aoki growled, his expression one of utter disdain. "Your only purpose is to die quickly!"
He raised his foot and brought it down hard.
Poof!
The spider demon's head exploded, but its body, undeterred, began to flee frantically.
"The defectors are here, on Mount Natagumo. I need to find Rui! Only he can deal with them!"
As the air around Aoki shimmered and outlined his figure, the headless spider demon didn't notice and ran straight into him.
Aoki raised his foot again.
Boom!
The spider demon was sent flying.
Aoki caught up, his palms a blur, severing the spider's legs one by one. By the time the demon hit the ground, only its torso remained.
"How revolting," Aoki said, wrinkling his nose at the sight. For the first time, he felt a twinge of reluctance about killing, the thought of consuming this thing almost made him nauseous.
He sighed and extended his hand.
Now wasn't the time to be picky.
The spider demon's body began to writhe and soften. Just then, Aoki sensed something in the nearby jungle and turned his head.
"Ah!"
A plump female demon, draped in white clothing with hair to match, and a face caked in what looked like white powder, was sprawled on the ground, fear etched across her face. She scrambled to her feet and bolted.
"Is that Rui's 'Mother'?" Aoki mused aloud but did not pursue immediately. Instead, he glanced skyward.
Perched atop a tree was a black crow, observing the scene with curiosity, seemingly harmless.
Their eyes locked.
The crow's feathers flared in alarm, and it nearly toppled from its perch. Without hesitation, it took flight, rising into the sky.
As the ground and trees shrank below, the crow began to relax.
"There are demons here, and more than one. I must report this quickly…"
Suddenly, the crow felt an immense force restraining its body. Out of the corner of its eye, it saw what seemed to be a giant hand.
Before it could comprehend, darkness enveloped its vision, and it found itself back on the ground.
"Is this a Demon Slayer's Dark Crow?" Aoki asked, inspecting the bird in his hand with interest.
Dark Crows were the messengers for the Demon Slayer Corps, highly intelligent and each paired with a Corps member.
"I'm doomed! How did he catch me?" the crow despaired inwardly.
Aoki tossed the crow into the air.
"Go!"
The crow hesitated for a moment, then flapped its wings and flew upward, though it did not immediately flee. It watched Aoki warily and with suspicion.
Why would a demon let it go?
Its little brain struggled to comprehend.
Aoki had no intention of explaining.
"Go call for backup. Those human-headed spiders might still be saved."
The crow gave Aoki one last look, then sped off into the distance.
What a day. It had merely been passing by, curious about the fight it witnessed, and nearly met its end because of it.
"Defector…" the crow mused, noting the crucial detail. It flew faster, determined to relay this vital information.
Elsewhere, the demon mother was running as fast as she could, haunted by the image of the spider demon being destroyed and consumed.
"The rumors about defectors are true! They really can kill demons!"
Suddenly, her legs went numb, and she lost her balance, crashing into the snow.
Boom!
After tumbling several times, she came to a stop, her body covered in snow, but she paid no heed. She glanced back in terror, but there was nothing there.
Relief washed over her, but a strange male voice cut through the air.
"In my hometown, there's an old saying: better a live coward than a dead hero."
The demon mother's body stiffened, and she turned slowly.
On a nearby rock sat a figure with striking golden, vertical pupils.
Aoki regarded her calmly. "But if you're on a path of suffering, sometimes letting go is the better choice, don't you think?"
Should demons be exterminated?
From a human perspective, most certainly. Demons eat people, and that's an unforgivable crime.
If he were human, he would undoubtedly agree with their extermination.
But demons, in a way, were also tragic beings.
Not all of them chose to become demons. Many were victims themselves at first.
And many forget their humanity, turning into monsters driven by simple, primal urges like hunger, power, and survival.
"I…" The demon mother began, but darkness engulfed her vision, and her consciousness began to fade.
"Aoki Style: Funeral," Aoki intoned, appearing by her side. "Whatever you did before, it's all over now. Rest in peace."
"Ah, such peace," she murmured, her eyes closing slowly.
"So let's end it here."
The Funeral technique was Aoki's own creation, blending the swiftness of a "space shuttle" with deadly precision, designed to end his opponent's life swiftly and silently.
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T/N: There is a patreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 15 chapters.
Patreon link:- patreon.com/ANelite
And also give me some power stones!!
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