The three-headed demon fled, the bouncing demon was killed in battle, and the remaining spider demon showed signs of fear. Under the combined constraint of Kimura and Akino, it led the remaining seven or eight demons retreating towards the hillside.
In terms of numbers, the contestants now outnumbered the demons. The contestants grew braver in battle, leaving the demons with no strength to counterattack. Some demons had already fled as soon as the bouncing demon died.
The spider demon also wanted to escape, but Kimura and Akino stuck to it relentlessly. It had no choice but to gather the remaining demons around itself, planning to concentrate all their strength and break through towards the hillside together.
With the bouncing demon dead, Nae joined the ranks of those slaying the other demons. She originally thought she would feel sad after killing the bouncing demon. However, when she pulled the hilt and severed the demon's head, she realized she felt nothing, as if she had done something trivial. Yet she knew that after this strike, she would never be the same as before.
With Nae joining in, the demons' defeat became more apparent.
The spider demon itself wasn't very strong, but it was small and hard to catch. Its six legs increased its mobility, and it used the blurry night vision to its advantage, making successful sneak attacks previously. Now, with Kimura and Akino tightly marking it, it found it difficult to launch effective ambushes.
Every time it found a suitable target and prepared to strike, Kimura and Akino would always appear to stop it, using their teamwork to attack and defend, leaving the spider demon flustered and forced to give up its hunt to focus on defense.
Over time, the spider demon realized their intention.
Watching its companions fall one by one, it became anxious to help but was always thwarted by the duo's attacks. When it tried to escape, the two blocked its way again.
Frustrated and annoyed, the spider demon let out a series of chaotic screeches.
One by one, three more demons escaped amid the chaos, completely tipping the battle in the contestants' favor. Initially, only Kimura and Akino were fighting the spider demon. With other demons either dead or fled, several more contestants joined in to capture the spider demon.
The spider demon grew increasingly desperate, twisting its agile body and darting around within the encirclement, trying to find a gap to escape.
At this moment, it finally felt the fear of turning from hunter to prey.
Someone in the crowd shouted.
"No, this damn thing is too agile. We can't hit it with our Nichirin Blades. We need to restrict its movements. If this thing escapes, we'd be letting down those who died."
"I'll do it. You guys hold it off. No matter what, don't let this thing escape."
A burly male contestant thrust his Nichirin Blade into the ground outside the circle, rolled up his sleeves, and squeezed into the ring, bending his body and spreading his arms, facing off against the spider demon in a stance suggesting he had training in sumo or wrestling.
Facing the male contestant, the spider demon bared its fangs and made threatening noises, its fear evident to everyone.
Recalling the scene when the spider demon first invaded their camp, everyone now relished the taste of sweet revenge.
The male contestant advanced slowly, testing the waters.
The spider demon made several threatening noises but, seeing that it couldn't scare away its opponent, began to feel cowardly.
It moved around, trying to maintain a safe distance from the male contestant while constantly looking for an escape opportunity, but each time it approached the outer circle, it faced a wall of shining blades.
Suddenly, the male contestant moved, seizing a moment when the spider demon turned its head. He lunged with open arms but missed.
The spider demon let out another string of warning sounds.
The male contestant made several lunges, but the spider demon easily evaded each one.
Though it dodged the male contestant's grabs, it couldn't avoid the Nichirin Blades from behind. In no time, the spider demon was slashed several times. If not for its amazing healing ability, it would have already fallen in a pool of blood.
The spider demon grew anxious, and so did the contestants around the outer ring.
"I'll help you." Another contestant stepped forward.
After observing for a while, many realized that the spider demon was just bluffing. Initially, it seemed formidable because of its silent hunting methods. Now that its true nature was revealed, many contestants were eager to challenge the ugly creature.
With two contestants working together and the interference from others on the outer ring, the burly contestant finally grabbed the spider demon from behind in a front-and-back pincer attack.
The spider demon was horrified, screaming and struggling frantically to shake off the contestant clinging to it. Its speed slowed significantly, and the surrounding contestants seized the opportunity to swarm.
Seven or eight people, each holding an arm or a leg, half their bodies pressing down on the spider demon's back, forced it to the ground. No matter how it struggled, it was to no avail.
Someone then rushed out and held down the spider demon's head with both hands. "Quick... quick, cut off its head."
Kimura raised his Nichirin Blade and slashed at the spider demon's neck with all his might, pouring all his resentment and unwillingness of the past seven days into the strike.
The scream was shrill, blood splattered, and as the blade cut through two-thirds of the spider demon's neck, it suddenly unleashed a burst of incredible strength, throwing off all the people pressing down on it. It grabbed the Nichirin Blade with its hands, risking having them cut off, and pushed, knocking Kimura over with the blade.
No one expected that even with its neck cut two-thirds through, the spider demon could still explode with such strength. Truly, the survival instinct of creatures is boundless.
With many now trying to control the spider demon, all thrown off, and the sudden change catching everyone off guard, the outer ring was understaffed.
The spider demon seized the moment, found a gap, and fled towards the hillside, clutching its nearly severed head.
"Don't let it escape, chase it!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Snapping out of their daze, everyone turned their attention. Emiko, having just beheaded the last ordinary demon, turned and saw the fleeing spider demon. She grabbed her blade and charged after it, followed by several others.
Some who were injured and couldn't run stayed behind, sitting on the ground, panting. Surveying the bloody scene around them, they all shared victorious smiles.
They had won! Yes, they had finally won!
Nae also intended to chase the spider demon but stopped halfway, realizing she had forgotten something. She turned back and noticed that the white-robed Hanzono was missing. She changed direction and headed into the forest.
Akino dropped his Nichirin Blade and walked over to Yuka. They looked at each other with tear-filled eyes, then hugged tightly, crying tears of joy.
"It's over."