word count: 1826
<—>
"Another one has entered our home, Do you slayers never understand your lesson? Here, the only fate awaits you is nothing but pain and death." the woman declared, her voice dripping with arrogance.
Fujino Yuki stood firm, observing as the puppets and spiders gradually surrounded him. The puppets posed a greater threat, while the spiders seemed relatively harmless, lacking the strength to even scratch his skin due to his DUR.
His first plan was to slice through the puppets, but he hesitated. They were already dead, so he wouldn't be taking an innocent life, he knew that, but the thought of desecrating their bodies, already in such a gruesome state, left a bad taste in his mouth.
However, if he was forced to, then he would do it.
"Now, my sweet little dolls... Dance as you tear each other apart."
And with that the battle commenced.
One of the puppets charged first, swinging its blade down at Fujino, who dodged the attack. The puppet followed up with two lateral strikes, which he successfully blocked, sending sparks flying as their weapons collided.
He quickly glanced over his shoulder and noticed another puppet approaching stealthily, its sword raised for a downward strike. Fujino reacted quickly, turning his katana to deflect the puppet, sending it sprawling. He grabbed it by the collar and tossed it toward its ally, causing them to crash into each other and fall. He then severed the strings that controlled them.
Next, he sprinted toward two puppets behind him, applying pressure to the first one's swords and pushing him back. He delivered a swift kick to the shin of one puppet creeping up on him, then executed a high kick to the other, then cutting both of their strings in the process.
Turning to face the final three puppets, he prepared for their advance. Just as he was about to engage, he felt a tug on his katana. Looking down, he saw several spiders wrapping it in threads. He quickly shook them off just in time to duck under an overhead slash, extending his leg to sweep one of the corpses off the ground.
As he prepared to strike, a sudden pull on his sword disrupted his momentum, causing him to stumble and awkwardly jump back to avoid the incoming slash.
He glanced at his sword, noticing multiple strands of web shooting upward, realizing they were the source of the pull. Using his Inventory, he retrieved a knife and cut the threads, managing to block two attacks from the puppets and a thrust from a third.
'Ah, so the spiders are the ones who create these threads' he stomped more spiders that attempted to jump up on him.
[5XP]
[5XP]
[5XP]
[5XP]
[5XP]
To his annoyance, he saw the puppets he had already taken down beginning to rise again.
"This shit is getting boring."
<—>
A short distance away, a demon sat on a rock. With her pale skin, cascading white hair, and a face marked by red dots resembling a spider's web, she wore a striking white kimono that created an eerie yet captivating aura. Delicate threads flowed through her fingers, allowing her to manipulate the body of the fallen slayer.
"How long do you plan on keeping this up?" she asked, her fingers dancing as she directed the puppets to assault the lone hunter.
"The harder you struggle, the more tired you become, the more fun I have with you." she chuckled to herself, envisioning the ways she would play with him before his inevitable death.
"Mother."
All her joy vanished in an instant as she turned sharply toward the voice. A boy stood there, mirroring her appearance with white hair and skin, dressed in a white kimono, and sporting spider-like patterns on his face, with the kanji for "Lower" and "5" etched into his left eye.
"Rui..."
To an ordinary human, the "Lower 5" title would hold no significance, but to demons and slayers, it was a title of great importance and danger, something the mother demon was very aware of.
"Don't you think this is taking too much time? The human is still alive," he said in a calm, indifferent tone that sent chills down her spine, leaving her trembling in his presence.
"You can win, right?" he asked. The mother spider knew there was only one acceptable answer.
Any other response would lead to... severe consequences.
"Yes, Yes! I can beat him! You're my son and I'm you mother. A mother's duty is to always protect her child!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with anxiety and panic. Repeating the phrase that Rui engraved into her mind.
"Then hurry up... Or I will tell father."
That statement was enough to stir painful memories. Each time she failed to meet Rui's expectations, she faced punishment, and those involving "Father" were the most dreadful.
"No! I can do it, I can do it, all right?! There is no need to get father involved!" She pleaded.
Rui silently regarded his "mother." His gaze was steady yet piercing, the underlying threat unmistakable. Without hesitation, he turned and walked away.
The mother watched him go, her fear lingering even after he had vanished. She then redirected her focus to controlling her puppets, her movements frantic and disjointed as she pushed herself to kill the hunter.
"Die! Die! Just die already! Otherwise there is hell for me to pay!"
<—>
Fujino wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaning against a tree to take a breather. All the puppets and spiders had been defeated and were now in a chaotic heap. He had too much, only doing what was necessary to neutralize them.
Since they were manipulated by strings, he had gathered them into one large pile, ensuring they couldn't be controlled again without the threads linking them together, creating a tangled mess
Truly, an ingenious idea only thought out by Fujino.
However, he was still not out of danger.
Another puppet approached him, dragging the body of a slayer behind it. But there was something about this one that set it apart from the others.
[ —> Demon Slayer (Mizunoto)
Name: Mitsuko Fujikawa (Injured)
Level: 20
Health: 200/280
Stamina: 10/270]
She was still alive.
"No... Please, stop," she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks as she drew closer to the stunned Fujino.
'What the hell... This is seriously fucked up.' He braced himself as she came nearer.
"Run away, get off the mountain. Call someone of a higher rank, please!" Tears continued to flow as she was forced into a fighting stance.
"Sorry, I'm not with the corp. But don't worry, I'll help you,"
While it was true He was cautious of the demon slayers, especially given his abilities, but that didn't mean he wouldn't lend a hand. Whether she was a demon slayer or not, they were both human.
"Y-you aren—" The words Mitsuko was about to say were cut short as she suddenly lunged at him, attacking with a speed that surpassed the others.
Fujino found himself on the defensive, not counter attacking any of her slashes, not because she was stronger, but because of his own principles. He didn't want to hurt her, especially since he could sense her pain through his Observe skill.
He intercepted her thrust, their swords colliding with a shower of sparks as he faced her directly. Mitsuko's tear-streaked face met Fujino's scowl.
"I'm so sorry. I can't control myself. I wasn't this strong before," she whimpered weakly, even as she disengaged and aimed to decapitate him.
Fujino scowl deepened, he hated what he needed to do to save her.
"I'm sorry," he said, stepping aside as he delivered a high kick to her chin, sending her tumbling backward. He followed up with a kick to her legs, making her fall, and then he swiftly cut the threads binding her back, setting her free.
Mitsuko remained frozen on the ground, her face still tingling from the impact of the kick, but she was very much alive. She anticipated her body would move against her will again, but it didn't happen. Gradually, she lifted her gaze from the ground to Fujino's outstretched hand and took it gently.
And immediately pulled him in a bone crushing hug.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I really thought I was going to die!" she sobbed into his shoulder, overwhelmed with gratitude for his timely rescue.
Fujino stood there, flustered. It wasn't every day he received a hug like that—if ever—and he couldn't deny it felt nice. But that thought was secondary given the situation.
He returned the hug, trying to comfort her. "You need to get off this mountain; I'll take care of the rest, alright?" he said, to which she nodded before preparing to run away.
Only, Fujino leaped aside as a demon crashed down from above. They tumbled in the dirt until they came to a halt. He sprang to his feet, sword drawn, as a headless demon began to rise from the dust.
"Fuck. Get out of here! Now!" he shouted, and Mitsuko hastily nodded, sprinting away. Fujino's heart raced from the near miss.
When he got a good look on the demon, his surprise morphed into bewilderment as nticed how the demon was headless.
'observe,'
[ —> Headless Demon
Name: (N/A)
Level: 25
Health: 300/500
Stamina: 350/350]
'It's not regenerating? Interesting.' Fujino grinned at this revelation. With all the chaos from the dead bodies and puppets, he needed a distraction.
And what better way to relieve stress than by taking it out on this demon? Especially with a special ability at his disposal.
He charged at the demon, which was too slow to react to his approach.
"Precision Strike!"
<—>
Spider mother's hands shook uncontrollably. Her eyes were wide with panic and fear, struggling to grasp the scene that had just unfolded.
She had exhausted all her dolls in the pursuit of the human, and the last one she had was freed. This left her with no choice but to summon her strongest puppet. A demon, who had refused Rui's offer, met a gruesome fate at his hands. He was presented to her as a gift for "taking care of him."
Now, she had just witnessed a human brutalized a demon with nothing but their bare hands.
She was utterly defenseless. All her puppets had been drained by this one human, and her spiders couldn't even approach him.
And now he was coming to her.
What could she possibly do? Seek help from Rui? No, that thought was quickly dismissed. He would only punish her or worse, torture her before ending her life for her perceived failure. Call out to one of the children? They were too far away to assist. Fight him herself? If that demon, larger and stronger than her, had fallen in battle, what chance did she stand?
'Perhaps... this is for the best.' The threads slipped from her fingers. There seemed to be no escape from this predicament, and when weighing Rui against the human, the choice was painfully clear.
"Found you."
'Ah...' It appeared her time for atonement had finally arrived.
<—>
Taisho-era secrets!
The headless demon initially sought out Rui to challenge him to a bloody duel for his title, but he severely misjudged Rui's power and ended up losing his head the moment he turned down Rui's proposal.
<—>
Stay tuned for the auxiliary volume, as I'll be uploading Fujino's character sheet (Skills - Abilities - Status) along with quests soon.