"Oh, alright," the Kakushi replied, then hoisted Inosuke onto his shoulder, intending to take him back to Butterfly Mansion.
I couldn't do anything… By myself, I couldn't even defeat a single demon… Maybe I'm not that strong…
Inosuke, who was being carried on the Kakushi's shoulder, hadn't lost consciousness. His experience facing the demon tonight made him realize his shortcomings, causing a shift in his mindset. Especially when that half-haori guy tied him up and hung him while he was still talking, it made him realize how weak he truly was.
...
Because saving Inosuke took some time, when Musashi arrived at the front, he found Kochou Shinobu engaged in combat with a demon.
No, rather than combat, it was more like teasing. The demon was completely at Kochou Shinobu's mercy, utterly powerless to resist.
Kochou Shinobu pinned the female demon beneath her and said to it with a smile, "You must receive your proper punishment, then be reborn, and then we can get along well. If those who take others' lives are not punished, then the murdered people cannot have their revenge."
Kochou Shinobu then used her hand to pry open the female demon's eyes, still smiling, and said to it, "Like digging out your eyeballs."
Afterward, she drew a vertical line on its stomach with her finger.
"Or cutting open your stomach and pulling out your internal organs. The more people you kill, the more I will interrogate you. Once you endure that pain, your sins will be forgiven. Let's work hard together!"
After saying this, Kochou Shinobu clenched both her fists, making a cheering gesture. With her smiling face, she looked very cute, but combined with her words, it was clearly a bit terrifying.
"It's okay, Miss, you are a demon after all! You won't die and you won't have any lasting effects!"
Listening to Kochou Shinobu say such terrifying things with a smile, Musashi felt a chill.
The female demon clearly couldn't take it anymore, cold sweat broke out on her face, and she screamed.
"Don't joke around!"
The female demon flipped up to a sitting position, and Kochou Shinobu also leaped up, breaking free from Kochou Shinobu's restraint. The demon stretched both hands towards Kochou Shinobu and yelled, "Die! You bitch!"
Then, its hands released a large mass of spider silk towards Kochou Shinobu. At the same time, the impact pushed it to the ground, where it rolled for some distance before getting back up.
"Shinobu-nee-san, let me test the power of the Bright Red Nichirin first."
The spider silk shattered, and Musashi spoke to Kochou Shinobu.
Since entering Mount Natagumo, he hadn't encountered any living demons, so he had no way to test the Bright Red Nichirin. Giyuu hadn't been encountered for so long, Musashi guessed that he might have already taken the lead and slain the Twelve Kizuki here. This demon might already be the last one here. If Kochou Shinobu killed it, he wouldn't be able to test the Bright Red Nichirin's power this time.
"Alright then, since this young lady doesn't intend to get along with me, there's nothing for it. After you've tested it, remember to kill this young lady, after all, it's her own choice," Kochou Shinobu said to Musashi with a smile.
"Yes, I will," Musashi replied, slowly walking towards the white-haired spider female demon. The Nichirin Sword in his hand slowly turned crimson under his grip.
"Bastard! You die too!" The spider female demon felt extremely shocked and enraged at this moment and immediately waved its hand to attack Musashi.
However, its attacks were completely useless against Musashi. A flash of a blade, and the thick spider silk shattered completely. At the same time, the spider female demon's two arms were also cut off by Musashi.
"Ah!" The spider female demon let out a miserable scream of pain.
Then Musashi kicked it to the ground, and his Nichirin Sword pierced its stomach, pinning it to the ground.
From Kochou Shinobu's conversation with this demon just now, Musashi learned that this demon had already eaten over eighty people. For such a wicked demon, he would show no mercy.
It hurts so much…
A burning pain emanated from the wounds severed by the Nichirin Sword and the spot where the Nichirin Sword had pierced. The fear in the spider female demon's heart grew continuously. She only wanted to escape now, even if it meant disobeying Rui's orders, but it was too late now.
After piercing the spider female demon's body with the Nichirin Sword, Musashi released the Nichirin Sword, wanting to see if it could still regenerate limbs quickly.
Seeing Musashi's hand leave the Nichirin Sword, the spider female demon immediately tried to regenerate her arms to pull out the Nichirin Sword. However, the next moment, the bone-chilling burning sensation struck again. As a demon's most basic ability, it was unable to perform it at this moment.
"It seems the Bright Red Nichirin can indeed suppress a demon's regeneration." Seeing that this demon had not been able to regenerate its arms, Musashi confirmed that the Bright Red Nichirin could indeed suppress a demon's regeneration.
After all, in this situation, regenerating its arms, pulling out the blade, and escaping was its only chance of survival.
"Alright, you can now go to hell to atone for those eighty-plus people." Musashi pulled out the Nichirin Sword. The Nichirin Sword, which had turned black after leaving his hand, once again reverted to a fully crimson Bright Red Nichirin.
Freed from the Nichirin Sword's restraint, the spider female demon did not flee. Instead, it knelt before Musashi, crying, and said to him, "Please, let me go! I'll do anything you want if I can just live! I promise I won't eat humans anymore. All those past deeds were forced on me by other demons. I'm so weak, I couldn't disobey them! Please…"
The spider female demon's tearful plea was not yet finished when Musashi's Nichirin Sword had already sliced across its neck.
From its conversation with Kochou Shinobu, it was already evident that this creature was a sinister and cunning demon, skilled at gaining others' sympathy. Having already learned this, how could Musashi be deceived by it?
Its head rolled to the ground, and its body collapsed. The spider female demon gradually began to turn into ash, and some past events slowly emerged in its mind.
Being chased by a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman, escaping to Mount Natagumo, then being saved by Lower Moon Five Rui and drinking its blood to play its older sister. Another demon, unwilling to continue playing house with Rui, discussed escaping Mount Natagumo together with it. Leaking the secret to Rui resulted in the other demon, whom Rui regarded as its younger sister, being tied to the rooftop and dying in the morning sun…
By choosing to betray Rui, it did not receive good treatment either. It was arbitrarily beaten and scolded. Although it would not die, the pain it endured would not lessen.
They were all just roles that Rui could replace at any time, not so-called family. It seemed to have never fully understood this point, though perhaps it merely wanted to rely on a strong individual.
I did nothing wrong… I just… wanted to survive…
Its last thoughts dissipated, and the spider female demon completely turned into ash and vanished into the world.
Sheathing his blade, Musashi found that Kochou Shinobu had already left.
She must have gone to Giyuu-san's side, then I should hurry over too…