~Being Watched By Spiders~

After the fiasco with Reaper Princess who wasn't actually female, the group continued, searching for their next stop. However, a feeling of uneasiness was setting over Lizzie. When they had first entered the forest, the entire group was feeling like they were being watched. However, it disappeared, and it never came back. But now, it was back, but only Lizzie seemed to feel it.

"Um, guys, I think we're being watched again."

Sieglinde took this an opportunity to look around. "I don't sense anything unusual. I don't sense anything at all, actually."

"But, I'm pretty sure that something is here, watching us."

"Lizzie, it is most likely just your imagination." Ciel said.

Lizzie, knowing she would probably never be able to convince them otherwise, only sighed, and the group moved along. Ever since their encounter with the Queen of Red, Lizzie had been so shaken and unsettled, because she looked so much like her dead aunt, who got killed in such a tragic way. She was starting to think that there was more to this forest than it was letting people think. Then again, she could have been wrong, and the similarities between the two could have just been a major coincidence.

It was all so unsettling and she didn't know what to think. She couldn't tell the rest of the group because they would only think that she was paranoid. Maybe she was, and that was the only explanation. In her defense, who wouldn't be paranoid in a forest like this one? It would have been enough to drive some people mad.

Just as she was passing by a tree, she could see eight red, glowing eyes staring at her. She yelped a little and caught the attention of the rest of the group. "What is it?" Alois asked.

They were able to see the glowing eyes as well. However, upon further inspection, it was revealed to the group that the creature was, in fact, a spider. "Relax Lizzie, it's just an average spider. It's not supernatural at all. Believe me, I would know."

Lizzie sighed. "Oh, alright."

After that, the group moved on. Little did they know however, that spider was of the supernatural sort.

After they had all left, the spider had purposely dropped to the ground, and once it did, it started to glow with a bright purple light, and it slowly transformed until it was in the form of a tall, handsome man in a tailcoat with spiky dark hair and glasses. The man looked in the direction the group left in with a stoic expression. "I have to report this to the Alpha Demon." He said to himself.

However, he was considering that the best option would be to observe them first, and then he would go to the demon long before the blood moon. The reason that the young witch could not sense his presence before was because he had a barrier around his soul, an trick that demons typically used to hide themselves. He couldn't release it right now, because then he would be discovered and the plan would be ruined.

"Fancy seeing you here, Claude."

The Spider Demon turned to see the same demon woman that the group had encountered earlier. "Hannah." Was all that he said as his greeting.

"Are you planning on taking these children to the demon?" She asked, a stoic expression on her face that rivaled his.

"Of course. All spirits of the forest must notify the demon if there are any new souls in the area. But you wouldn't do that, now would you?"

"There are only minor spirits in this forest. Leave them out of this."

"You are only a minor spirit as well."

Hannah nodded. "That I am, but you have no more power than I do. You are only a minor demon, nothing compared to the power and status of the Alpha Demon."

The demon, Claude, scoffed at this. He absolutely hated being reminded that he had no more power than the forest demon. "Be that as it may, I am still the Alpha Demon's right hand. He chose me to bring him souls, and that, I will do."

Hannah clicked her tongue. "You are pathetic. I pity the pour soul that has to take orders from that tyrant. Oh wait, it's you."

Claude gritted his teeth. "You had better watch what you say! You can be sent back to the spirit world for all eternity!"

"Don't get so defensive. Honestly, it's pathetic."

All of a sudden, the triplets appeared from the shadows. "My lady, it's time for us to move along now."

Hannah didn't turn around to acknowledge them, but instead she clicked her tongue at Claude. "Pathetic."

She then turned around and walked off into the darkness with the triplets, leaving Claude behind in the shadows.

The Spider Demon sped through the darkness, trying to catch up with the group of friends. Once he caught sight of them, he stopped at a nearby tree, and with a glowing light that they didn't seem to notice, Claude turned back into what seemed like an ordinary spider. He couldn't help but notice that the blonde female of the group kept looking back, feeling like she was being watched. Well, she was.

"Lizzie, are you coming?" One of them asked.

That got her attention, so she nodded and went ahead with the group. Little did that spider know, in that tree, he wasn't alone. A long snake slithered over to confront the spider, and this time, the snake didn't need a translator, because demons usually spoke fluent snake.

"Why would you give their souls away to the Alpha?" The coral snake, Emily, asked.

The spider glared. "You know why. No soul is to ever go without getting eaten by him."

Another snake appeared behind him. "Y'know, with this form yer in, we could swallow ya' whole."

Emily looked at the spider with devious intent. "That sounds like a great idea, Oscar."

The spider knew what was coming. Both snakes lunged at, but the spider swiftly evaded, shooting over to the next door tree like a bullet. The snakes decided to have a little fun with this, so they whiplashed themselves across and unleashed their jaws, ready to devour the spider whole. Without hesitation, the spider dropped to the ground and transformed back into a man.

"See if you can eat me now. You can't even inject enough poison that would be to kill me."

Oscar tilted his head to the side. "Aww, our dinner got away."

"It will be alright Oscar. We will kill him another time."

Claude adjusted his glasses. "Just try it." He then ran after the group like a bullet in the night.

The group of four kept on walking, hurrying off to their next stop. The night still had a while, before it ended, and midnight still had a while before it came. Claude had already transformed into a spider and was watching the group as they had stopped to take a break. "How do you think we should advance next? Should we go left or right?" Alois asked.

"You're the one leading. You decide." Ciel answered.

"Come on everyone, I know that I'm the king, but I can't make all the decisions by myself."

"Oh? What happened to you being all Mr. High and Mighty?"

"Don't go holding that over my head."

As the spider watched what was going on, he figured that he could observe them for a while. It would be easier with them sitting down than with him trying to catch up with them as they walked on ahead. Their break soon came to an end and it was back to trying to catch up with them. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, since he constantly had to switch forms.

As a spider, he couldn't get far, so he had to switch out and move from tree to tree. His Soul Barrier had a better chance of coming undone in his human form, so being a spider was his better option. However, something prevented him from continuing. A giant, snarling werewolf stood behind him. There was no way he could make a quick escape in this form.

The wolf clenched the spider in it's jaws. Then, a light came from inside the wolf's mouth, and Claude, in his human form, used all the strength he could to push it open. One he had an opening wide enough, he slipped out and quickly evaded the wolf, following the group, who's trail he had lost.

If Claude didn't have to deal with any more angry spirits, then he could quickly complete his mission without fail. He couldn't turn human too many more times, or else his Soul Barrier might break, and the witch of the group would be able to sense his presence and his cover would be blown. Whenever somebody new entered the forest, Claude always made sure to do enough research on them beforehand, so he would be able to know what he was dealing with.

Because he knew that the witch could sense spiritual presences, he had to prepare himself for it. However, since the blonde female, Lizzie he remembered, had noticed that someone was watching them from the shadows. However, she didn't have spiritual powers, so she couldn't sense him like the witch could. He was starting to wonder is his Soul Barrier was starting to break already. Either that, or it was just a gut feeling that she had.

Either way, she was aware that something was going on. He couldn't break his Soul Barrier, because that would only confirm her suspicions, and he couldn't have that. The Spider Demon still had plenty of time left to spy on them and observe them. He could point out their weaknesses and avoid their strengths if he needed to. He knew that Lizzie had a sword, so he could easily remember to avoid it, because in both human and spider forms, he was vulnerable to attack.

The only way he could avoid getting hurt was in his demon form, and transforming into that would definitely break his Soul Barrier. He exceled at speed and silence, hiding in the shadows like a ninja. In the past, he had been severely punished by the Alpha Demon because he had failed to collect all the souls. There were some that had gotten away, and that infuriated the forest demon. As much as Claude really hated to admit it, he was much stronger than him, and there was no way that he would ever win in a fight against him.

The simple fact infuriated Claude to no end, but still, he had to put up with it for the sake of the forest and himself. The forest spirits didn't like him at all, because he willingly fed souls to the demon, but they didn't realize that he was doing it, so the forest would be spared the demon's wrath. They didn't seem to care about what the demon would do to them, however.

Even so, Claude would continue to do this so that they would at least have trick-or-treaters to begin with. It wasn't necessarily something that he agreed with, and if he could change anything, he would have the Alpha Demon removed.

However, this was the situation that he, and the rest of the forest, were in, so this is what he would have to deal with. The souls of the trick-or-treaters would have to be delivered this year with absolutely no fail. He would have to take the souls of each and every one, in order to save the forest for another year.