"Mother is dead too!"
An indifferent voice echoed from above.
"I thought you'd try to save her!"
Aoki remained calm as he looked up.
A young man with white hair and dressed in flowing white robes hovered in the air. His long hair obscured one eye, and a spider web pattern adorned his robe.
It was Rui, one of the Lower Moons, and the ringleader of the spider demons on Mount Natagumo.
"Parents who can't protect their children don't deserve to live," Rui said coldly, his gaze fixed on Aoki.
This defector was indeed capable of killing demons.
Boom!
Large snowflakes swirled as two more demons descended from the sky.
To Aoki's left stood a female demon with long, tied-back white hair and a cute but sinister face. To his right was a tall, muscular figure with a massive spider's head.
These were Rui's "sister" and "father."
Aoki ignored them, his eyes still on Rui. This demon was a twisted individual.
Demons typically didn't live in groups.
According to Tamayo, this was because Muzan Kibutsuji feared they might band together and overthrow him.
It sounded absurd, but given Kibutsuji's tyrannical nature, it was plausible.
Yet, Rui had been granted an exception.
Kibutsuji had sympathized with Rui due to their similar pasts. Both were born frail and sickly, often confined to bed. Kibutsuji's special care for Rui was evident.
After becoming a demon, Rui had killed his own parents and sought to create a false family to fill the void in his heart. Unable to comprehend human emotions, he maintained his "family" through fear and strength.
Anyone who disobeyed him faced severe punishment, often being exposed to the sun to die painfully.
As he grew stronger, Rui's human memories faded, leaving him even more hollow.
Pathetic, pitiful, hateful, and absurd—this encapsulated the essence of most demons.
Of course, with the exception of Muzan Kibutsuji.
"Before we begin, I have a question," Aoki said. "What happened to Lower Six and Lower Four?"
"They failed and were executed by Lord!" Rui's voice was icy.
Aoki frowned slightly. Kibutsuji's cruelty was unrelenting.
He wasn't concerned about the fate of the demons themselves, but the absence of two significant threats made his mission more complicated.
"Has Kibutsuji appointed new Lower Six and Lower Four?" Aoki inquired further.
"How dare you speak of Lord by name!" Rui roared, his voice laced with fury. He swung his arms, and five transparent threads slashed through the air, creating a sharp whistling sound.
"Such trivial tricks won't work," Aoki said, his expression unmoved. He swept his arm in a broad arc.
Boom!
The threads snapped.
"You've grown stronger, I see. Show me what you can do," Rui sneered, his fingertips oozing blood that seeped into the threads, turning them crimson.
"Don't harm my family!" the demon father roared, charging at Aoki.
"Get lost!" Aoki snapped, delivering a powerful kick.
The demon father raised his arm to block, but Aoki's leg struck his neck, sending him sprawling through the snow.
"What an opportunity!" The demon sister's eyes gleamed as she raised her palm to cast a web.
But then she froze. Aoki's golden, vertical pupils locked onto her, radiating a cold, murderous intent.
Before she could react, a fist filled her vision, growing rapidly larger.
Boom!
Her head exploded in a shower of blood and flesh.
Clearing out the weaker enemies before facing the boss was standard practice.
Aoki's gaze was ice-cold, and his hands moved like blades.
Swish, swish, swish!
The demon sister's body was shredded into pieces, scattering across the ground in a heap.
At that moment, countless red spider threads materialized, surrounding Aoki from all sides.
Rui wove the spider silk into a web with his hands and looked at Aoki with detached indifference. "Blood Demon Art: Killing Web Cage."
"Aoki-ryu: Storm!"
Aoki became a whirlwind of destruction, tearing through the blood-infused web with brutal force.
His fists were torn and bloody, his body covered in bruises.
But within moments, his wounds healed completely.
Rui's eyes narrowed with alarm.
This defector had grown incredibly powerful!
Rui slashed his hands through the air, and ten blood-red threads crisscrossed towards Aoki.
Aoki grinned fiercely, reaching out to grab them.
Snap!
His left hand was severed instantly, and his right hand was sliced in half. But he managed to clutch two of the threads tightly.
"Not good!" Rui's face twisted with fear.
Before he could react, Aoki yanked hard on the threads, pulling Rui off balance and hurtling him towards Aoki.
Aoki bent his knees, the snow beneath his feet exploding as he launched himself into the air.
In an instant, the distance between them vanished.
Rui flicked his fingers, rapidly spinning another web to defend himself.
Aoki ignored the web, his body coiled like a spring, and his fists shot upwards like cannonballs.
Boom!
Half of Rui's head exploded, spraying blood as he was sent flying.
Aoki landed lightly atop a tree, crouched, then kicked off and propelled himself towards Rui again.
Rui flailed in mid-air, struggling to regain his balance. He flicked his fingers desperately, sending more blood-soaked threads to pull himself back.
Aoki leaped off a strand of spider silk, using its elasticity to launch himself back at Rui.
This time, the roles were reversed. Aoki was above, and Rui was below.
"Aoki-ryu: Death Calamity!"
Aoki's punch was like a hammer, bearing down with relentless force.
Death Calamity was a technique that adapted to the opponent's movements, becoming stronger with each successive blow.
Rui was no stranger to combat. Despite his reliance on his spider silk, he was a formidable fighter up close.
They clashed fiercely, but Aoki soon gained the upper hand, his relentless assault breaking through Rui's defenses.
With each hit, Aoki's attacks grew more powerful, culminating in a switch to his Storm technique.
Boom, boom, boom!
In rapid succession, Rui's body was battered and torn, blood spraying and staining the snow red.
As they plummeted towards the ground, Aoki prepared to deliver the final blow. But a shadow darted in from the side.
"Don't hurt my family!" the demon father roared, slamming into Aoki and sending him sprawling.
Seizing the moment, Rui pulled himself free, gathering his blood threads into a massive vortex-shaped cocoon.
"Get out of my way!" Aoki snarled, breaking free from the demon father's grip. He grabbed the demon father's head but hesitated, his eyes flicking towards Rui.
Rui's hair was disheveled, and his single visible eye, engraved with the words "Lower Five," blazed with fury.
Since becoming a demon, he had never been so humiliated.
"Blood Demon Art: Engraved Line Rotation."
The vortex-shaped cocoon exploded in a flurry of blood threads, like a macabre rainstorm.
Aoki threw the demon father into the path of the threads.
The demon father was pierced through and through, the blood threads continuing their deadly trajectory.
Aoki braced himself, deflecting as many threads as he could, but several still found their mark, peppering his body with holes.
For him, these were mere scratches.
As the last of the blood threads dissipated, Aoki looked towards Rui's previous position, but the demon was gone.
Just like before.
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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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