Chapter 44: He is Counting

On Natagumo Mountain, there was actually a house. It was the residence of a family. It was hard to imagine a family living in such a remote and wild place, but it was the truth. What made this family different was that it was a family of demons.

Could demons have families? Maybe...

"Mother, weren't you supposed to be watching over my sister? She just joined us," said a young boy, the second smallest in the family. He was the youngest child in the household.

"No, Rui, listen to me. That swordsman was too strong, and that woman left the area I was controlling. By the time my spider threads could reach her, she was already killed!"

The female elder, the mother, spoke in a panic. Through the small animals she controlled with her threads, she had witnessed the scene—the outsider swordsman had decapitated the woman in an instant.

The demon boy named Rui spoke up, "Mother, she was my sister, your child. Why are you referring to her so coldly?"

"Rui, it's my fault. Please don't let Father punish me."

Rui didn't listen. "Father."

In this family, the father's attitude toward the mother was always the same—violence. To be precise, in Rui's memory, the father's role, aside from protecting the family, was to punish those who made mistakes. Rui never thought he was targeting his mother; it was just that his mother often made mistakes.

"Brothers and sisters, our new sister has been killed. I want you to avenge her."

"Understood."

Like subordinates responding to their superior, the sister demon and the brother demon answered in unison.

...

...

Li Mo hated Natagumo Mountain.

Because he had to deal with everything related to spiders around him.

He didn't remember what kind of Blood Demon Art the Lower Moon demon's siblings had. But it didn't matter. He remembered that almost all the demons here were related to spiders. If he couldn't figure out what was key, he would rather kill them all than let any escape.

Then, his footsteps came to a slight halt.

—Corpses.

Or rather, the shattered remains of corpses lay before him. He could even see the clothes on the remains. They were the uniforms of the Demon Slayer Corps.

He remembered what Kyoji Kuzuri had said a few days ago. Forced to recover from his injuries, Kyoji had no choice but to abandon the mission. The task of pursuing the demon had been handed over to another Demon Slayer squad. And that very night, the squad had caught up.

Unfortunately, they had met their end here.

"Didn't the Kasugai Crow report in time? Or did the crow die here too? Stupid bird, be careful up there."

After a brief pause, Li Mo continued on. If he had the time, he would have collected the remains of these fallen comrades. But now, he didn't have the luxury.

His Nichirin Blade was drawn again, slicing through the air. Thread-like objects fell to the ground.

"How did he notice...?"

A voice emerged. It wasn't Li Mo's. Using the sound to pinpoint the location, he moved swiftly, cutting through all obstacles in his path. In the next moment, the head of a petite girl was severed.

"Second one."

His gaze shifted, and several more figures came into view. It was a group of two females and one male, all pale white, as if they were part of the same family, bound by blood. Their appearances were similar, distinguishable only by their hairstyles and the patterns on their faces, like blue marks.

When their eyes met, the older female shouted, "Run!"

The three figures scattered, their speed impressive. Familiar with their surroundings, they quickly fled the area. Li Mo didn't chase them immediately. He watched as the demon's body at his feet turned to ash before he moved.

Demons, after their bodies were enhanced, could move incredibly fast. But Li Mo was faster. His physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary humans. Even the world's top martial artists probably couldn't withstand a single punch from him.

"Third one."

This was a young boy, also small and seemingly malnourished. The hardness of his neck was fragile. Li Mo's Nichirin Blade slid through it like water.

The fourth one was the petite female. Again, a single slash severed her neck.

The process of killing these two demons was surprisingly similar. Li Mo caught up to them and cut them down with ease. There was no difficulty. After all, how hard could it be to eat or drink?

The chase led to the western side of the mountain, where the terrain changed. Upon arriving, the last remaining demon stopped moving, as if it had some kind of trump card.

Li Mo could see a wooden house suspended in mid-air. Countless threads connected the house to the surrounding tall trees, keeping it afloat. Hanging from these threads were humans—or rather, humans gradually turning into spiders.

A fate worse than death.

The phrase crossed Li Mo's mind.

"Brother, our siblings are all dead!"

"Ah, what useless siblings. They couldn't even kill a single swordsman."

A conversation unfolded before Li Mo. The demon speaking to the fleeing female was suspended from the wooden house by a spider thread. At the sight of this creature, a sense of discomfort washed over Li Mo. It was as if a spider's head had been grafted onto a human body—a grotesque fusion.

"Whoosh—!"

Li Mo swung his Nichirin Blade around him, not moving from his spot, but the bodies of spiders began to pile up around him.

"Are you using spiders to poison me? Using conversation to distract me and buy time?" Li Mo asked.

The spider brother replied, "Of course—"

His words were cut short as Li Mo moved. In a blur, Li Mo closed the distance and appeared beside the spider sister. With a swift motion, his Nichirin Blade sliced through her neck, sending her head flying.

An ambush!

How was this possible? Why was this swordsman so fast? Damn it, how did that woman even make it here? No, she didn't come here on her own. This swordsman let her come!

The spider brother realized the truth.

"Fifth one."

In the blink of an eye, the spider brother heard the swordsman's voice again. The distance between them was almost negligible. The cold moonlight reflected off the Nichirin Blade as it entered his field of vision.

Too fast!

He didn't even hear the sound of his own neck being severed. All he heard was the sound of the swordsman's feet hitting the ground.

His head, no longer connected to his body, fell to the ground under the pull of gravity. As it hit the ground, it turned to ash...

Not even a speck of dust remained.

"Sixth one."

Li Mo counted the numbers.