Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Bromega2477 - It's going to be a long journey for him and he's going to learn a lot. In this chapter, we will see him develop more and grow his legend more. Kessen is an interesting person; I based him on a character from the Skullduggery Pleasant book series. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Djinn - Thanks so much. All the demons in the series in the manga seemed to have some sort of tragic past, so I thought I would write one for this one as well. Thanks for reading.
FanSuperAnime - Thanks so much. I almost forgot about her, to be honest. Probably because she's only in a few panels. She'll appear in this chapter and…well, you just have to read on to find out. I hope you'll enjoy.
nexusplayer - Thanks, glad to hear it.
Spedyalarm - Ah, thanks for pointing that out, Funny the things you don't see. Thank you for reading.
wellingtonlucas282- No problem, I'm happy that you liked it.
danielsnow- I see that you reviewed quite a few times so I'll respond one at a time:
1 - Thank you and sorry. I don't have a keen eye to finding mistakes in my work.
2- I suppose, but I thought Wind Breathing would be more suitable with his disability.
3 - Of course she is. You think I would create a cute OC and not put her in the harem?
4 - That I'm not quite sure about since she plays a major role in the final arc. Also, good grief! I know it's a M rated story, but that's mainly because of the violence and death!
5 - I'm sure Michael would have quickly got annoyed with him after a while; if anything, he threw him away so it wouldn't be forced to kill him.
Whenever Angellos isn't busy or anything, Michael makes him send letters to Ami telling him how he's doing and reassuring her that he's taking care of himself while Ami will send back bentos and snacks. Angellos is slightly bitter about being treated like a common carrier pigeon, but Michael pays him with plenty of seeds.
Trust me, there's only three things on Michael's mind: demons, killing demons and hating demons.
Randomguy0110100100110 - Possibly. It could be less if I think it's a good idea.
GreatAsura - Thank you so much, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Thank you for all your reviews!
Chapter 10: The Web
Foot Of Mount Natagumo
Hooves thundered on the dirt country lanes; the wind whistled over and past them; and the night was slowly creeping in as Michael approached the mountain that Angellos had warned him about. They had been galloping across the countryside without a single stop in order to reach there on time; after all, it wasn't every day that Slayers are called for an emergency.
Michael gripped the handle of his blade before he used his senses to detect what was up ahead. In the distance, less than half a mile away, was a dark and tree-covered mountain. It loomed over the landscape like a giant; not a single rocky surface was revealed through its thick tree branches that were woven and twisted together. Judging by its remoteness from any settlement, the mountain shouldn't receive much visitors, so it was interesting to see a path that had been cut through the long grass and the bushes which presumably reached up to its summit; it was as if it was designed to attract travellers, baiting them with a secure passing when they were actually walking into the hungry jaws of the mountain. Shade from the sun, isolation from human activity, enough space for hunting and feasting; this is the perfect home to a nest of demons.
As soon as they were close enough, Michael pulled on Kaze's reigns and slowed him down to a halt. He used his senses and allowed the wind to show him what laid beneath the foliage's surface; however, he frowned in disappointment when the wind couldn't break through the trees' branches.
He had to go in blind.
He dismounted Kaze, retrieved everything he would need from the saddle bags before he turned his head up towards the mountain.
"There's only way in," he told his horse, "As soon as I cross their threshold, they will immediately know that I am here," he said before he gave a blood thirsty smirk, "Good. It saves me the trouble of introducing myself," he then turned his head back and sighed when he realised the Kaze had, once again, disappeared into thin air, "That it was one weird horse."
He headed up the path towards the mountain, but stopped short when he heard something up ahead. It was a voice, weakly calling out to him.
"Save...me...save...me..."
He used his senses and detected a young man crawling on the dirt path away from the mountain. He had short black hair, wide terrified eyes and wore the Corps uniform with his sword in his left hand. He looked to have been in some violent brawl, his face was scratched, there were deep cuts on his legs and torso and it looked as if his left arm had been dislocated; it looked as if he just barely escaped with his life.
Michael raised a single eyebrow, 'This doesn't look the work of a demon. It looks like he was attacked by a group of people.'
"Help me...please!" he yelped in panic as Michael ran up to him, "Before it...gets-"
Suddenly, the Slayer was snapped up into the air as if he had been snatched by an invisible hand and dragged back into the thick forest behind him.
Michael reacted immediately, took a deep Breathing and, as swift as the wind, leapt up and grabbed a hold of him as he was flying back and began pulling him down the ground. The Slayer screamed in terror and flailed helplessly as the unknown force kept pulling him back; Michael gritted his teeth as the force was starting to drag him to, but he dug his feet into the dirt path and pulled back with all his might; there was no way he was letting him go. The force pulled harder and so did Michael as they fought over dominance; neither of them wanting the other to win. Michael roared in anguish and used all his strength to take one step backwards...and then another...and then another until...
SNAP!
Michael stumbled slightly backwards as the force suddenly let go of the Slayer; he caught his footing and hauled the terrified man all the way back until they were on the grassy meadow and at a safe distance. He laid the Slayer, who was now in tears, on the grass and took a deep sigh in relief before he turned back to the mountain.
"What the hell was that? I swear I heard something snap and it let go of him,' he thought as he looked down at the Slayer, "Hey, you're safe. Quit your moaning."
The Slayer, with tears still in his eyes, looked up at him and held onto his dislocated arm, "I-I-I-I almost died."
"Congratulations, you live to see another sunrise. No need to thank me or anything," Michael muttered before he turned around and headed to the mountain path, "Stay there. I'll deal with this."
"Wait! You can't go in there all alone! It's dangerous!"
Michael stopped and glanced over his shoulder at him, "Oh really, so am I," he said before he drew his katana, "I'll be right at home," he said with a smirk.
Forest
This mountain was nothing like Yamamoto's mountain nor Mount Fujikasane.
Michael had to use his blade to cut through the low hanging branches in his way, slashing them into pieces with one flick of his wrist. The path had disappeared about ten minutes ago and he had now trek over muddy ground squeeze himself the tightly packed trees; he had to use his senses much more regular to avoid crashing into something. What made matters worse were the amount of spider webs spread across every single inch of the forest; he had never minded them or spiders before, but they were so thin they could barely sense them until he walked into them and stuck to his clothing. He would often feel the sharp prickle of a spider crawling across him, but he would knock them off with a brush of his hand. However, the further he went, the denser the forest was.
He swung another few branches in his way before brushing off a spider that had crawled onto his neck, 'I swear they're getting bigger,' he thought to himself.
He suddenly stopped when he sensed an usual flow of wind swirling past him; he followed the wind pillar as it twisted and turned until he found its source. Not too far away, there was another young man crouched in the bushes with a katana in his hand. He had short spiky hair, a round face, a thick eyebrows and, just like the one before, also wore a Corps uniform. He took looked as if he had been in some sort of fight, but, other than a few scratches, seemed uninjured.
Michael frowned and swiftly ran up to him; the Slayer had not noticed his arrival and so he cleared his throat to grab his attention. The moment he did, the Slayer gasped, turned around and looked as if he was going to slash at him until Michael reached down and grabbed his wrist.
"Don't dull your blade with human flesh when there's plenty of demons around," he growled down at him.
The Slayer stared up at him in surprise, "W-who are you? You're part of the Corps?"
"The name is Michael Timere. I was called in for extra support."
"M-Murata," the Slayer stuttered, "Are you Hashira?"
Michael tilted his head to the side, "I am not."
Murata's face filled with anger and horror, "Why the hell are you here then!" he shouted, "They need to send a Hashira! Not a lower ranking Slayer!"
He yelped when Michael grabbed him by the front of his collar and pulled him up until he loomed down at him; Murata gulped and cringed as he looked up at his menacing face and the bandages wrapped around his eyes.
"Are you saying that I'm weak...just because I'm a low ranking Slayer," he snarled darkly, "Listen here, you little shit, I came here to kill demons and help your sorry arse. So, you better start thanking me or else use you as demon bait," he released him and allowed him to drop to the ground, "Now tell me what's going on here."
Murata was shaken up by his treatment, but managed to give a response, "T-there were ten of us. We were sent on a mission to scout nearby demon activity on this mountain. But once we entered the woods...the other Slayers..." he shivered and swallowed deeply, "...they started to kill each other."
"Killing each other," Michael muttered before a twig snapping caught their attention.
They turned around to see another Slayer stagger limply out of the bushes; his arms swung at his sides, his knees were buckled and his head was bowed so he was staring at the ground. A trail or blood trickled from his mouth and his skin was deathly pale. Michael could sense that he was still alive, but his breathing was shallow and staggered as if he was just clinging on to his life. He was about to approach him when Murata grabbed a hold of the tail of his coat.
"Wait, stop. He's was the one of the people who turned on us," he whispered urgently.
Michael pulled the coat tail out of his hand and sheathed his sword, "Fine, stay behind me," he ordered before he approached the other Slayer.
He had only got halfway before the Slayer's awkwardly raised his sword hand and leapt at him as his swung his katana at his throat. Michael leaned back to avoid the swipe before he charged at him and grabbed his sword arm and kicked the blade out of his grasp. He sensed somebody behind him and ducked as another Slayer, who looked as unwell as the one he unarmed, swung his sword at him. He pushed the first Slayer to the ground and charged at the second Slayer; he grabbed his wrist, twisted it enough so it didn't break before he used his other hand to grab on his belt and flipped him over his shoulder. Both Slayers fell to a heap on the dirt ground and Michael grabbed the back of their necks to keep them pinned to the ground.
'What's wrong with them?" he thought to himself as he saw the Slayers wither and squirm under his weight, 'They're fighting an ally. Are they under some sort of hallucinogenic drug?"
That's when he suddenly sensed something that he had not realised before; they were far too thin for him to notice, but protruding from their backs were very thin wires. There were five of them on one body, one attached to the base of the neck, two attached to their arms and two attached to their legs. They were pulling their bodies; controlling them as if they were puppets. He swiftly retrieved his dagger and slashed the wires that were moving them. As soon as they disappeared, the Slayers stopped moving, falling unconscious on the muddy ground.
'Wires?' he thought before he remembered the earlier incident, 'That must have been the thing that was dragging that Slayer back into the forest,' he realised.
He sensed something prickling his skin and used his Breathing to detect a spider…no, two spiders, crawling over his arm to his hand. He frowned curiously at what they were doing when he suddenly felt his arm be yanked to the side; he hissed in pain but fought back against it by pulling his arm back to him. He noticed another of the thin wires attached to his wrist, just where the spiders had been, that was trying to pull him away and cut them through with his dagger, releasing his arm. He then turned to the spiders and stabbed them right through their thorax.
'Not wires. Spider silk,' he thought in realisation before he began to stab and cut more spiders that were attempting to climb onto him and the unconscious Slayers. He turned his attention to Murata and lifted the Slayers by their back of their uniforms, "Take them to the edge of the forest. If you see any spiders, kill them on sight. There's another Slayer down at the foot of the mountain; wait for him until I'll tell you it's safe," he ordered as he passed the Slayers to him.
"W-what about-"
"NOW!" Michael roared, making him jump in fright.
Not wanting to anger him more, Murata took the Slayers and dragged them into the forest as quickly as he could. Michael made sure they left safely before turning and swiftly sprinting deeper into the forest.
'Based on what Murata told me there were originally ten Slayers. I already encountered four so far, meaning there six more to account for,' he thought as leapt between the trees and the bushes, using more and more of his Breathing as guidance.
"STOP!"
He skidded to a halt at the sound of shout and sensed another Slayer a few meters away to his left. She must have been in her late teens with shoulder length black hair tied up in a ponytail, wide, dark brown eyes, fair skin and thin eyebrows. Tears were in her eyes as she seemed to stagger and amble like a puppet on a string out of the forest; one of her arms clutching the hair of a dead Slayer while the other held her sword that had pieced the throat of another Slayer as they laid dead on the ground. She turned her head up to him; panic and fear evident on her face.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed at him, "IF YOU DON'T! I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYBODY!"
Michael growled as he sensed the same silk wires attached to her back, pulling and manipulating her every movement against her will. She let go of the Slayer's hair and reared back her sword over her shoulder.
"RUN!" she shrieked as she lurched towards him and swung her sword at his throat.
She was so fast that even Michael was taken by surprise and only managed to avoid it by leaning back. He didn't have time to rest before she attacked him again, but he drew his katana in time and blocked it. She continued to unleash a barrage of attacks on him to which he narrowly repelled; not only was her power and speed were surprising, but her body seemed to twist in a way that should be impossible.
He managed to reach out and grab the hilt of her sword to prevent her from moving; the silk was resisting his restraints and began to tug at her painfully.
"I'm sorry…" she sputtered in agony, "I'm…not doing this…on purpose. Please, you need to contact a… Hashira. They're the only who can help."
"They're not here. So, you have to rely on me," he said.
Suddenly, he sensed something coming towards him and was forced to let go and leap back before another sword almost cut him. He sensed another Slayer, but it was clear that he had been dead for quite a while with only the threads holding him up. He held his sword up and backed away before he sensed to more figures coming out of the forest towards him. The two were also Slayers; they were still alive, but looked like they wished they were dead. One had shaggy shoulder length hair with a scratched and bruised face; both arms were clearly broken, with the bones piecing out of the skin, clutching two swords in each hand. The other had short hair and a long face which had a jagged cut which ran diagonally down it. His arms were shattered and twisted in impossible angles.
"Pl…please…k-kill us," the shaggy haired Slayer uttered through his pain, "our…bones…br-broken…organs…dest-royed…forc-ed to…move…rather…die."
Michael snarled at his, 'They are being controlled to the point that their bones break,' he turned his head towards the dead Slayer, 'And even controlling the dead. This is sickening.'
He heard movement and sensed the Slayers that were killed by the female Slayer began to rise to their feet; their heads rolled limply to the side and blood trickled from their cuts, but they were still forced into a battle stance like bloodied puppets. He sensed the Slayers start to surround him on all sides; six of them in total and half of them were dead.
SNAP!
The female Slayer screamed in agony as her arm twisted until it broke before she lurched her sword at him; he deflected it, but was forced to drop and roll out of the way of a slice from one of the dead Slayers. He stood up and blocked two swords from the two male Slayers at his front before twisting around a deflected a stab aimed for his chest. The attacks kept on coming; he was forced to go on the defensive since he was fighting his allies and he didn't want to risk injuring them further or killing them. However, he knew he couldn't keep it up forever.
He turned to one of dead Slayers and gritted his teeth in reluctance, "I'm sorry," he told him.
Michael deflected a powerful swipe from the dead Slayer before he twisted his sword around and sliced his hand clean off; he swung his body around and slammed his foot into his stomach, sending flying back into a tree. In one swift move, he picked up his fallen blade in his free hand and turned around in time to block two attacks; one from the female Slayer and the other from the other dead Slayer. He pushed the female Slayer back before he used his free sword hand to cleave the dead Slayer's hand off. He turned again and used the two swords to catch a blow from the last dead Slayer by crossing them into an 'X' shape. He slid the swords down past the hilt and cut off his hand as well; he then thrusted his sword straight through his gut and pushed him down onto the ground, making sure he was pinned by the spare sword. He picked up his fallen sword and back flipped onto the second dead Slayer's back, pushed him down and slammed the sword straight through his back and pinning him to the ground. Finally, he picked up his sword and, with a little help from the wind, threw it like a javelin at the first dead Slayer and staking him through the heart and pinning him into the tree behind him. Michael got off the dead Slayer and held his sword up confront the live Slayers that had surrounded him.
'Done the easy part…now the hard part,' he thought drearily.
He raised his word before him and got into a fighting stance; he inhaled deeply, allowing the wind to flow into his lungs and for the air to seep into his bloodstream. The controlled Slayers were about to attack him at the same time, but, to him, their actions were slowed down as if they were moving through molasses. Once he felt enough power build up within him and felt the wind around under his control, he exhaled deeply through gritted teeth.
"Third form," he growled before he rapidly swung his sword around him, creating several slashes with the wind, "CLEAN STORM WIND TREE!"
The wind slashes burst out from his attack and flew towards the Slayers, but instead of hitting them, the slashes cut through the silk wires that were keeping them up. All three Slayers fell to the ground as the wires were cut; sensing they were down, he held his sword above his shoulder, exhaled, and swung it around to form a ring of wind that zoomed out from him. The ring of wind sliced through the trees in the surrounding area in a ten meter radius, making them all collapse outwards but the powerful winds. Michael sensed the clearing circle he had just cut out; no tree, nor bush, not anything but the muddy ground was within it. He nodded in satisfaction before he sheathed his sword and dragged the first Slayer by the collar of his uniform to the centre of the clearing and checked him for any spiders. He did the same with the other injured Slayer before he picked up the female Slayer who, was still conscious, seemed to be in shock.
"You…you freed us," she uttered, as she held onto her broken arm, "I…I never seen such power before."
"Don't move," he ordered before he pulled a roll of bandages that he used for his eyes and began to make a sling for her arm. She hissed in pain as her arm was forced to move, but didn't complain, "You need to focus on the situation. We're in enemy territory. What's your name?"
"O-Ozaki," she stammered, "Mizunoe rank."
"Well, Ozaki Mizunoe rank, my name is Timere and I'm going to get all of you out of here and kill this demon. But I can't do that if I'm protecting you three from here," he grabbed her uninjured hand gently and placed his dagger in it, "This clearing should keep you out of reach of the spiders, but if you see anymore coming at you then kill them on sight."
Ozaki frowned in confusion, "Spiders…what spiders?"
He reached for her shoulder and plucked a spider off of her and held it between his thumb and index finger, "These ones," he told her before he crushed the spider in his grip and tossed it away, "Do you think you can do that?"
The Slayer stared down at the dagger in her hand and gulped in fear, "I…I…I…"
"Ozaki. Look at me," he said urgently, grabbing her shoulders, "I need you to compose yourself and focus. Your life and these two lives are in your hands. You'll be fine if you remember your training and keep calm. Once I return, I will come back to you and take you out of the forest. Do you understand?"
She looked up at his bandaged face; she was still shaken up from being controls and looked as if she was going to feint. Eventually, she took a shaky deep breath before she nodded.
"Right…yes. I understand," she said before she got to her feet and looked around her surroundings. Spotting a few spiders crawling towards them, she stabbed them through the thorax and stamped on them with her boots, "I… I got this. Please, be safe."
Michael gave her a confident smirk, "I'm not the one who needs to be worried."
He turned around, crouched down and sprinted into the forest once again, leaving Ozaki behind to look after the other two Slayers. He zigzagged past the trees, cutting as many spiders perched on their webs as he could. He ran deeper and deeper into the woods until he sensed somebody else…but it wasn't another Slayer.
The tall thing stumbled out from the shadows, its heavy feet shaking the muddy ground with every single step. It had rough dark purple skin, a muscular body with pulsating veins and wore rotting hakama trousers tied up with a black obi. It had two distinct features; the first was that it had no head; just a stump of a neck was all that remained. The second was his arms were two very sharp curved blades, resembling those of a spider's pincers. It turned its body towards him, the silk wires keeping it up became taut and ready to attack.
"And I thought I had it bad," Michael sighed, nodding at the headless demon. He raised an eyebrow when the puppet crouched low and raised its blade arms up, looking like a spider ready to pounce on its prey. However, the Slayer smirked from under his jingasa and unsheathed his sword, "Finally," he muttered, "A challenge. And just when I was beginning to get bored."
The headless demon launched at him and swiped his hand blades at him; he deflected the attacks with two hits of his sword before he swung his body around and attempted to deliver a blow from above. The demon rose his arms and blocked his attack and pushed him off him; Michael leapt back before he unleashed a flurry of attacks as he went on the offensive, his actions becoming a blur at how fast he was moving as the wind whipped around him. The headless demon not only kept up with him, but also sent out his attacks of his own aimed at his throat; the monster repelled one of Michael's attacks, twisted his body around and swiped at his face. Michael leapt back before the blades could hit him and got into a fighting pose.
He raised an eyebrow when he felt something on his cheek, he wiped his cheek and found a small cut from where the demon cut him. He growled and tightened his stance.
"I'm going to rip your lungs out," he snarled.
He sprinted at him and slashed upwards across its torso, but the monster caught it in its left blade arm and swung his other arm towards his stomach. Michael caught its powerful arm and pushed it away whilst using his sword to keep the other arm at bay. The two fought for dominance over each other; one slip up from either of them and they would be dead. Michael grunted by how strong the demon was as it pushed against him, making him push his feet into the ground to keep steady; was the demon strong or was it the wires that were making it powerful. Michael, knowing it was going nowhere, reared back his head and slammed the edge of his jingasa into the stump neck and split it in half slightly. It seemed to do the trick as the demon's muscles spasmed and awoke from its rigor mortis briefly, allowing Michael to raid his leg and stamp his foot into the demon's chest.
He jumped and flipped backwards onto a nearby tree before pushing himself and jumping to another; as quick as a flash, he leapt and jumped from tree to tree; not stopping for the headless demon to mark onto his position. In mid-air, he swiped his sword and made three wind slashes in the air which shot towards the demon.
"Claws-purifying wind!" he yelled before he leapt another tree.
The headless demon, to his dismay, dodged the attack before he zoomed towards him and swiped at his claws at him. He ducked out of the way, while the demon cut the tree was on in half, and rolled on the ground before turning back and getting into yet another fighting stance. The demon flew through the air by its strings, its blades raised above its head and ready to bring it down on him.
Michael took a deep breath before he unleashed a whirlwind of slashes toward him, "Clean Storm Wind Tree!" he bellowed as he forced the demon to give up on the attack and fall to the ground.
He grinned when he saw a few of the silk wire snap from his attack, indicating that the fight was almost over. However, it didn't last long when, almost immediately, the wire reformed, and pulled the headless demon back up again.
'Damn, the closer I get to the puppet master, the faster the wire forms,' he thought.
Using his shock against him, the demon sped towards him and slashed its blades at him. Michael had just got out of the way in time, but one of the blades did slice his left arm open, causing him to hiss in pain. He turned around and coughed his bleeding arm with his sword hand and growled menacingly at the headless demon. He took a deep breath before he got into another fighting pose; unknown to him, some of the blood that had got on his hand dropped onto his sword.
The headless demon charged towards him with its blades shimmering dangerously in the moonlight. Michael charged forwards as well, but instead of fighting him head on, he dropped and rolled to the side and, whilst turning in mid-air, slashed through the demon's left leg through its kneecap. He rolled back onto his knees, raised his sword and, with the demon's back to him, slashed downwards with all his strength from the top of his left shoulder to just under the right arm.
The top half of his body slid off and fell into the ground with a sickening thud; the wires did their best to hold on to the rest of the body, but, as the body slowly dissolved away, they became slack and eventually snapped off, allowing was what left to fall in a bloody, fleshy heap. Michael sighed in relief as he sensed the body breaking apart and held his sword to the side.
'Although it didn't have a head, severing the top half of the torso from the rest seemed to have down the trick,' he thought to himself with a sigh, 'Whoever is controlling them must be close. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent their strongest weapon in their arsenal.'
He was about to take off into the forest once again…when he suddenly noticed something unusual.
He sensed that the demon had all but disappeared except for one piece that laid on the ground. He waited for it too to disappear, but it wouldn't go. Curious, he picked up the remaining piece and rolled it around in the palm of his hand. It felt solid and warm, like a rock that had been under the sun. He knew it was a part of the demon's body, but something was strange about it; it felt like it was still living inside this one piece of petrified flesh.
Michael frowned curiously before he got an idea. He dipped his finger into the bleeding cut on his arm and gently dabbed the blood on top of the piece. Almost immediately, the piece began to grow hotter and heavier, steadily growing and regenerating just like the shadow demon from a couple months ago. Before it could get any bigger, Michael tossed it in the air and sliced it in half with his blade; it dropped to the ground with heavy thud before it too finally disappeared into dust.
'What was that?' he wondered, 'I definitely killed it, but it looked like it a part of it was still alive and sealed in the stone…and waited for it to be woken up by my blood,' his senses were drawn to his sword, he drew a finger up it and felt a trail a blood on the edge; his own blood that dropped down from his hand, 'Huh? I think I know what's going on. The power of the nichirin metal, which kills demons, was cancelled out by my own blood, which gives demons strength, allowing a piece to remain alive even after it had been killed,' he wiped away his blood from the blade with his coat, 'I have to make sure to keep it clean. I wouldn't want to leave any living demon samples behind.'
The thought of this new ability weighed in his mind and what it could mean until open felt something prickle the back of his neck. He reached around and grabbed the spider that was attempting to bind him and held it in its hand, however, instead of crushing it in his palm, he allowed it to spin its silk. It didn't take long for the silk wire to wrench his arm away from his body, trying to pull him off balance so it could trap him. Michael hummed and, with some effort, pulled the silk wire back until his hand was to his face and held strong. With one finger off his other hand, he reached up, plucked the wire. The vibration from the wire carried through to the air and the severed itself to the wind, echoing across the forest like one big trail all the way back to the puppet master.
"Found you," Michael simply said before he yanked the wire out of the puppet master's hand.
Forest Clearing
The demon gasped when her own thread was pulled out of her grasp; she would have fallen forwards off the boulder she was sitting on if she hadn't clung onto it at the last moment. She looked down at her empty hand with widened eyes and trembled in fear; this has never happened before.
The demon took the appearance of a curvaceous young woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties; she had long, waist-length snow white hair and pale skin, light blue eyes and red facial markings. She wore a layered kimono, with the lower layer being maroon and the outer layer white, and a patterned obi around her waist. Around her neck was a beaded necklace and anklet on each leg.
She called out to her spider underlings to try and find where the Slayer had gone, but she found, to her horror, that he was no longer in the forest; he had completely disappeared.
"No, no, no," she hissed to herself as she called out to her spiders once again, "He has to be somewhere. I need to find him before Rui finds out."
"Rui, huh? And who might he be?"
Her eyes snapped open and a chill ran down her spine as the dark voice spoke from behind her. She gulped in fear, fisted around and attempt to swipe the figure with her sharp nails…
Schlick!
She yelped in pain as her attacking hand was cut off with a single swipe of a blade and fell onto the ground with sickening thud. Before she could react, the figure had round house kicked her in the head, throwing her off her perch and landed in a heap on the ground. She looked up and trembled at the sight of dark figure of Michael looking over her with his katana in his hand; looking as if he was death itself. She began to crawl away using her other hand in fruitless bid to escape.
"Wait! Wait! Please!" she begged desperately, "I'm sorry! I promise I won't do it again!"
Michael slowly followed her as he kept his blade at his side, "Oh, you're sorry," he darkly mocked, "Funny how it takes the threat of death to finally get an apology out of you demons. I know where the threads are connected, you only need to flick your wrist and their necks would snap. Isn't that right?"
"I…I…err…I-" she suddenly cried out when, without her realising it, she had backed herself up onto a nearby tree, preventing her from going any further.
Michael pressed the tip of his sword at her neck, "Don't bother with a response. Lie or don't lie…I'll still have to kill you."
The demon looked down at the sword pressed to her throat, tears starting to form in her eyes, 'He's going to kill me,' she thought in dread, 'He's going to kill me.'
'Remember Mother," a sinister voice echoed in her mind, "If you care enough about your family then you will do anything in your power to keep it safe. A mother is supposed to protect their family; if you don't then your useless and worthless to have it. Fail again and I'll tell father on you. He won't be happy... I won't be happy.'
She knew she was weak, worthless and unworthy of the position she was given; he reminded her almost every time she did something wrong. Everything she did incorrectly or not to his pleasing, he would let that brute of demon beat her up until her bones break. Even the smallest things can anger him and she will be punished. She couldn't remember how long it had been going on…but it was definitely long enough to realise that this was her fate. She was sick and tired of it all; she only put up with it because she was afraid of disobeying him. There was no way of escaping the pain, no escaping the hurt, no escaping the hell that she was living in…but now the Slayer had provided her with one way of getting out…
…her death.
The demon closed her eyes and gritted her jaw tightly, "Do it," she muttered, "Kill me. If that's what it takes to get me out of here…then kill me."
Michael frowned slightly at the change in her tone; she seemed to switch to pleading for her life to asking for him to kill her at the drop of a hat. While he should be suspicious about it; he sensed no deceit in her words nor did it feel as if she was trying to drop his guard; she sounded genuine to him.
"Please, just kill me. I don't want to live anymore," she demanded, baring her teeth at him, "Do it before they find out."
Michael remained silent, contemplating what to do next. He would be happy to fulfil her wish…but something was holding him back. It probably wasn't sympathy, if it was then it only contributed a small part in his hesitation. It felt as if he should make use of this situation. [Police officer's name] echoed through his head once more and knew what he had to do.
The demon growled in anger and glared up at him, "What the hell are you waiting for!? Just kill-"
She gasped when Michael drew back his sword before closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, waiting for the sharp blow to her neck that would sever her miserable life.
THUNK!
She flinched suddenly at the unusual noise before becoming confused when she noticed that wasn't dead. She cracked open her eyes cautiously and saw his sword right next to her head, buried partially in the tree that was leaning against, it was so close to her that she could see her eyes reflected back at her in the bright steel. Her breathing became rapid as she turned her sights from the sword towards the front where the Slayer was still looming over her; his jingasa casting a dark shadow over his face in a menacing manner.
"Do you wish for salvation?" he calmly asked.
The demon blinked in confusion, "W-what?"
Michael crouched down until they were face to face, "What is your name?"
The demon gaped at him, not quite understanding what was going on, "I-I-I don't know. They just call me Mother."
Michael raised an eyebrow, "I'm…not going to call you that," he said, "I hope you don't mind me calling you Arachne."
"Ara-ne?" she repeated puzzlingly.
"How about Ara," he suggested, "I've killed many demons like you; while most of them were adamant at staying demon… some begged for their lives. You are the first one I am willing to give an offer to."
"What do you mean?" the now named Ara inquired, "what offer?"
"Either I slaughter you just like the others…or you will swear loyalty to me and abandon your demon ways. You are to give up on the murder of humans, no matter how hungry you are, and ask for forgiveness and in exchange I will give you my protection from everyone you fear and will live a longer life."
"Impossible!" she spat, "there's no way you can offer that to me!"
"Fine then," he said pulling his sword out of the tree and raising it above his head, "I guess it was worth a try. I was only trying to help."
"W-wait! Wait! Wait!" she yelped, holding up her newly regenerated hand up, "I'm sorry...I was just confused about what you said. I don't know what you mean."
"I mean that I'm giving you an offer to save you and hopefully cure your demonic life. I have an... associate who is investigating a way to turn demons back into humans. If you take my offer, you can live a proper life. You won't need to hide away from the sun. You don't need to feat on human flesh anymore."
"I like being a demon!" she snapped.
"That maybe so...but do you like being here on this mountain?" he asked, causing her fall silent and cast her eyes to the ground. Michael hummed in satisfaction and crouched down again, "You mentioned the name Rui. Who is he?" Ara flinched at the name, but remained quiet, "Is he keeping you here? It's not normal for demons to work together, meaning he must be pretty important or strong or both...and he's got you under his thumb, hasn't he?" he said before standing to his full height, "Accept my offer or not; I don't care. You can continue to be mindless tool, stuck on this mountain until I chop your head off and end your miserable life...or you can swear loyalty to me and I promise I will protect you and save you. It's your choice."
Ara scowled angrily at his proposal and tightened her hands into fists, "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Michael sighed casually, "Recent...events have made me rethink about how I can be a better Slayer. And for that, I decided to look at the bigger picture. My desire is to kill Muzan and anyone who associates with that monster and I will not stop until every inch of the island is covered in their blood and I will stand on his decapitated body in victory. However, I think I find it more pleasing, more effective, more devastating for that bastard if his own army, that he has spent centuries building, crumbles beneath him by my own hand; either by turning them against him...or by the sharp edge of my sword," he turned his head down at her and sensed the terrified look upon her face, "But... why you personally..."
He trailed off as he remembered the downtrodden expression on her face as she begged for him to kill her. She sounded fearful, weak, tired and all alone in this world; as if everyone has treated her so badly and so cruelly that she would rather wish for death than to take another breath. He knew that feeling well; the feeling of being alone, useless and weak with no chance of help from anybody...
...he knew that feeling very well.
"... it's because you are alone," he eventually finished, "And I want to help you. That's all," he said and, to Ara's surprise, he sounded genuine. Michael huffed and cleared his throat before he glared down at her, "Well then, what will it be?" he tilted his head to the side, "Do you wish for salvation?"
Ara stared at him in utter disbelief; not quite sure what to say, do or think. She eventually took a deep breath and looked down at the ground.
"Will you...really protect me? Protect me from Rui?"
"I promise," he firmly said.
She stayed silent for a few more seconds before she got on to her hands and knees and bowed deeply to him, "Please... I sweat loyalty to you...give me salvation."
A ghost of a smile passed on his lips, "I'm glad to hear that," he said before he thought to himself, 'How am I going to get her out of here? And where am I going to keep her? Morning will arrive soon and I have no time to build another box to keep her in. Not only that, but if I get caught smuggling her by the Corps than they slaughter me for treason,' his mind began to race as he thought of what he could do.
He suddenly remembered what had happened with the headless demon earlier. A combination of nichirin metal and his blood preserved him in a single fragment; what if he could do that again and regenerate her when it's safe to do so?
He reached for his wounded arm, dabbed his fingers into it before applying it on to his sword, making sure they were a layer covering it. Ara, by that time, had looked up from her position and frowned as he saw what he was doing, unintentionally licking her lips at the sight of the blood. However, it soon disappeared when he raised his sword over her neck, causing her to squirm in panic.
"No! No! Please! I'll be loyal!"
"I'm not going to kill you," he reassured her, "This is the only way I can get you off this mountain without one of us getting killed. You'll only go to sleep for a little while and then I'll wake you up when it is safe. All you have to do is to trust me."
"B-but I-"
"Ara," he firmly said, cutting off her stuttering reply, "I'm sorry, but you just have to trust me. Then all of this will be over."
Ara still looked unsure, but his firm tone was somewhat reassuring to her. She took a shaky breath before she bowed her head, gesturing for him to do it. Michael raised his sword and took a deep breath.
"I'll promise you'll be safe," he said before he swung his sword down.
Ara was surprised that it didn't hurt.
It didn't even make a sound.
She felt a gentle breeze flow over and then through her neck and that was it.
No pain, no hurt, just peace.
She was suddenly reminded of a summer's day and she, as a child and human, would sit on a hill and watch the clouds drift over her head. The harvest has been collected, her chores were all done and her mother finally allowed her to go out and have some fun for once. She smiled as the warm sun fell on her young face, the sweet smell of flowers wafting in the air, and, most of all, the cool breeze that flowed over her as if it was embracing her.
She was happy. Happier than she ever been in her life.
Michael sighed as he sensed Ara's head fall from her neck and tumble onto the ground followed by her the rest of her body. He made sure to make it as quick and as painless as possible; it wasn't his usual style, so he hoped he got it right. He cleaned his blood from his sword and sheathed while her body slowly decayed away into nothingness. He waited…and waited…and waited until all but one fragment of her body remained. He was relieved to sense the small fragment and reached down to pick it up; it was still warm in his hand, a sign that a part of Ara was safely concealed within this petrified piece. He was about to put it safely in his pocket when he heard a soft whisper that seemed to come from the fragment.
'Be careful,' the whisper warned, 'Rui is a part of the Kizuki.'
'Kizuki?' Michael thought in surprise as Ara's voice disappear, 'A member of Muzan's elite fighters are here,' he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and gritted his jaw, 'I must return to Ozaki and tell her to get out of here before I deal with the demon.'
He turned and sprinted back into the forest. He was too wrapped up by getting back to Ozaki to realise that there was somebody watching him from the branches of the trees.
Forest
He found Ozaki still looking after the passed out Slayers with her dagger tightly gripped in her hand; her eyes were locked to the ground as she kept watch for any spiders just like he had ordered. She gasped and held the dagger up as she heard somebody approaching, but relaxed when she saw that it was only Michael.
"Is it safe?" she asked shakily, "Is the demon dead?"
"That one is, yes," he answered half-truthfully.
"That one? There are more?" she asked in horror, "I…I don't think we can keep on fighting. We need to turn back and wait for a Hashira."
"We can't wait any longer," he told her, taking his dagger from her and sheathing it, "Can you take those two back with you?"
Ozaki gave him a look of disbelief, "Are you stupid or something? You not suggesting that you go in alone. One demon managed to take out our whole team like it was nothing," she marched towards him and glared up at him, flinching slightly at the sight of his bandaged eyes, "I don't care how strong you think you are; you are not going in alone."
"Then by all means, pick up a sword and join me," he firmly told her, making her wince at the idea of using her broken arm to fight. Michael stepped around her and inspected the injured bodies of the unconscious Slayers, "The Corp are unaware of the type of threat here. They are more likely to send more and more lower ranked Slayers until they finally realise that they are sending them to deaths. I need to subdue these demons before any more of our Corp is slaughtered, but at the same time you and them are not fit enough to fight," he stood up and looked over his shoulder towards her, "Take them to the foot of the mountain and get them to safety. Their lives are in your hands. While I will deal with the demons and make sure that they will never harm another person. I'm not going to allow anybody else to die on this mountain tonight."
Ozaki took a step back at his words; it was filled with such commitment and determination that it surprised her. With the moonlight seeping through the leaves illuminated him, he looked almost ethereal; as if the gods had sent down a warrior from heaven to combat evil. It was dazzling to see… and it made her heart skip a beat and her face turn a little red.
'Wow,' she thought in wonder, getting a little lost in her own world.
Michael sensed her heart beat speed up a little and tilted his head in confusion, "Are you alright?"
Ozaki snapped out of it and waved her hand out in front of her, "Y-yes, fine. I'm fine."
"You sound panicked. Is it your arm? Do you need me to tend to it?"
"N-no!" she yelped, "I'm good. I was just wondering how I'm going to bring them down, that's all! N-nothing else!"
'She couldn't sound any more suspicious,' he thought with a sweat drop.
He heard somebody quickly approaching from behind him and turned his head around to where they were. Murata burst out of the tree line and fell onto his hands and knees in exhaustion as he tried to get his breath back; he looked up and sighed in relief at the sight of them.
"Oh thank the Kami, you're still alive," he uttered.
"And hello to you too," Michael replied with a raised eyebrow, "I told you to wait at the foot of the mountain with the others."
"I...I was," he said, "But three more Slayers turned up."
"Hashira?" Ozaki questioned hopefully.
He shook his head, "No. Lower ranked. Two of them went in to the woods in search of demons to slay. I tried to stop and warn them, but one of them headbutted me in the stomach and knocked me out. When I woke up, they were gone...except for one of them who looked like he was having a panic attack. Even then, he yelled the name 'Nezuko' and charged into the woods..." he gulped in concern, "There are some weird people in this world."
"Describe them," Michael demanded, "I need to find them before the demons do."
"Well, one of the... really mean ones wore a boar's head as a mask... I hope it's a mask, anyway."
"Inoko?" he uttered in surprise, "She's here?"
"You know her?" Ozaki asked.
Murata hummed, "She was the one who headbutt me in the stomach. I think she might have cracked a rib."
"That's how she says hello. Who else?"
"Well, the one that looked like he was having a panic attack had blond hair-"
"If you don't mind not describing what colours they have, that would be great."
"Oh right! Sorry!"
"It's fine."
"Err...he looks kind of plain, a bit wimpy. He cried a lot."
"And the last person?"
Murata frowned a little as if deciding what to say, "He has a red birthmark on his forehead, spoke softly and apologised when the boar-headed girl headbutted me...he kind of had an honest face."
"An honest face?"
"Yeah, like a face you can trust and won't lie to you."
Michael hummed curiously at that, 'I think I recall sensing somebody like that at the Final Selection. The one that broke that arrogant boy's arm. There was another boy there who looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over. Didn't he receive a sparrow instead of a crow? I wonder if it's them?' he grunted and turned back to the other Slayers, "Ozaki, Murata. Take the injured to the foot of the mountain with the others. If anybody who isn't a Hashira turns up then tell them to stay away or else I'll skin them and turn it into a nice leather coat."
"R-right!" Ozaki said, a little too eagerly, "Please be safe... Timere-sama!"
"Sama?" Murata asked in confusion, but a glare from her made him shut up.
The two Slayers began to carry or drag the injured Slayers back down the mountainside towards safety with Michael, once again, using his Breathing to make sure they are not being followed or under threat. Once he was satisfied, he turned and headed up the mountain.
Suddenly, he stopped as the wind showed him something he had not picked up before. There was somebody watching down from him from the tops of the trees, being sure to stay pressed against the trunk to disguise themself from him. He took a deep breath, crouched down and leapt up into the trees; he jumped off of them, climbing higher and higher until he landed on the branch where the spy was, catching them off guard.
It was another demon that looked similar to Ara; long snow white hair, pale skin and red markings over her face. However, she took the appearance of girl in her early teens. She a double-layered kimono, the lower layer being a dark blue while the outer layer being pure white, as well as an obi with a spiderweb pattern on it. She looked around in shock as Michael stood behind her and watched nervously as he drew his katana from his sheath.
"There's no need to be shy," he said in a sinister tone, "If you want to say hello then you are more than welcome to do so," he raised his sword in front of him and grinned menacingly.
The demon threw her arm forwards and released a whip of spider silk towards him, intending to wrap him up in it. But with several slashes of his sword, he cut through the silk as if it was nothing. However, by the time he destroyed it, the demon had used it as distraction to get away, leaping from tree to tree deeper into the forest.
Michael sighed and shook his head, "Can't catch a bloody break," he muttered before he pursued the demon.
Michael continued to chase the demon through the forest, leaping from tree to tree swiftly and silently with his sword tightly in his grasp. The demon looked over her shoulder and grimaced in fear at the Slayer was catching up to her; she jumped down to the ground and continued to weave through the trees and bushes to lose him. However, Michael chased after her using the tree limbs until her was almost directly over her.
"There's no need to run!" he called down to her, "I just want to talk!"
"Just like how you talked to Mother before you killed her!" she yelled back furiously as she darted suddenly to the right when she came across a river, running across the bank, "I have to warn Rui that Chino Kami is here," she muttered to herself.
Michael frowned before he took a deep breath and sprinted across the trees and over took her; he dropped down and pushed himself off a trunk of a nearby tree towards the demon. She was so shocked that she didn't have time to move when Michael slammed his shoulder into her, sending her flying back and skidded to a halt. She tried to get up, but cried out as Michael slammed his boot into her stomach and pointed his sword at her throat; pinning her to the ground. The demon looked up and trembled nervously as the shadowy figure of the Slayer loomed over her.
"Tell me where the Kizuki is and I'll consider showing your mercy," he snarled darkly as she pressed the tip of the katana deeper into her throat.
The demon gritted her teeth before she screamed at the top of her lungs, "FATHER! HELP ME! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"
Michael growled in anger and was about to interrogate her more…when he heard thundering footsteps quickly coming towards him. He turned his head up and the sound before he was forced to leap away as a giant beast burst out of the tree line and attempted to slam his fist into him. Michael landed on the ground not too far away and rolled over to a kneeling position and observed the new demon.
The monster, apparently called Father by the other demon, was a giant muscular demon just over ten feet tall. His skin was purplish grey, his arms were as thick as tree trunks and were covered in the same pattern that Ara and the girl demon had on their faces; he had long, snow white wispy hair, but, by far the most terrifying of all, he had the head if a savage spider; with six grey eyes, sharp dagger-like teeth in a wide mouth and two pincers that hung just below his cheek. He was horrifying to look at; an abomination of nature itself and a monster. Michael rose to his feet and snarled when he noticed the other demon slip away back in to woods.
The Father Spider roared once again and charged at him, swinging his mighty fists at him; he leapt out of the way again before he could smash him to pieces and swiped at the base of his neck...
...only for his blade to sink into the tough leathery skin, but went no further.
"Damn it!" he shouted before he was swatted away by Father Spider's hand.
SNAP!
Michael backflipped in the air before landing on his feet, skidding to a halt at the edge of the tree line. He growled and raised his sword...only to be shocked when he sensed that it was snapped in half. He used his Breathing and sensed the other half still stuck in the monster's neck, meaning that it snapped in half when the demon swatted him away.
"Bastard," he cursed before he threw the hilt away over his shoulder and drew his dagger, "I'm going to make this as painful as possible!"
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Father spider bellowed as saliva spraying from its jaws.
"I don't give a fuck about your family," Michael spat.
He was about to leap and attack...when suddenly something slammed into his back.
"GET AWAY FROM MY PREY!" the thing yelled as it headbutted him right between the shoulder blades before jumping back.
Michael stumble forwards slightly before he turned his head around to sense what had rammed into him.
"What the hell!" he cried before he recognised the outline of the person who hit him, "Inoko?"
Inoko, the wild girl who wore a boar's head that he had met at the Final Selection, stood behind him with both of her jagged swords held up on either side of her. She snorted like an animal before she rammed her head into his stomach over and over again.
"I SAW THAT BASTARD FIRST! IT'S MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!" she shouted aggressively.
Michael, completely unfazed by her headbutting, sighed and pulled her up by the back of her mask and forced her to look at him, "Inoko, it's me."
...
...
...
"Huh?" she uttered in confusion.
"Michael Timere from Final Selection," he clarified.
...
...
...
"Huh?"
"I cooked you meals nearly almost every night."
...
...
...
"Huh?"
Michael sighed and raised his head up so she could see the bandages over his face.
"NO EYES!" she cried, finally recognising him, "Damn, you look different. Why are wearing a funny hat?"
"I happen to like it," he muttered, "What are you doing here?"
"Killing demons," she said with a shrug, "You?"
"Same as you."
"Oh, okay...WAIT! YOU CAN'T KILL THIS ONE!" she shouted at him as she stepped back away from him.
Michael raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"
"BECAUSE I SAW HIM FIRST!"
"You can't claim a demon you're going to kill. Besides he ran away from you to kill me. Obviously, I should be the one to kill him."
Inoko snarled and pushed her head against his, "NO WAY! FINDERS KEEPERS!"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS!" Michael yelled back as he pushed back with a growl, "I'LL DEAL WITH HIM!"
"YOU THINK I AM NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE THE PIECE OF SHIT ON! I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"
"YOU NEVER WON A SINGLE FIGHT AGAISNT ME! WHY DON'T YOU GO AND FIND ANOTHER DEMON, YOU HOG-HEADED BITCH!"
"YOU EYELESS BASTARD! YOU GO OUT AND FIND ANOTHER ONE!"
"NO YOU!"
"NO YOU!"
"Err..." the Father Spider hummed as he watched the two Slayers argue, "The one with the boar's head got here first so maybe..."
"SHUT IT!" they both yelled at him, silencing him.
Michael gave a sigh of annoyance and moved back, "Fine, since neither of us are willing to back down, why don't we both attack him."
Inoko snorted, "Fine, but whoever kills him first gets to become King of the Mountain and the other has to do what the other says."
"Why do you have to make everything into a competition," he muttered before the two Slayers turned to the Father Spider, their weapons gleaming in the moonlight and ready for demon blood.
The night was from over.
That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed it.
I've accidentally wrote myself into a corner. I wanted to save to save the Mother because she seemed like an interesting character and would be a good person to aid in Michael's growth throughout the story... and she's strangely kinda hot. Ahem…anyway, I was trying to find a way for her to get off the mountain without anybody noticing so I came up with a way demons can preserve using Michael's blood and nichirin metal. Send me a PM if you want to know more about my thought process, but essentially, you known on disinfect spray bottles it says that it kills 99.9% of germs, well, germs (under the right conditions) can regenerate and grow back.
My thought process on naming her Ara:
1) Ara; short for Arachne: a character in Greek myth who was turned into a spider.
2) Ara; Japanese girl's name meaning peaceful, good or excellent amongst other things.
3) Ara; when repeated is the sound a dummy thicc MILF when she spots a young man.
Hey! Who wrote that last one!? [Runs out of writing room] Edgar, stop messing with my author's notes and keep to your own story!
Thanks for reading :)
