A thick web of silken threads overlapped and enveloped every path around them, forming a suffocating labyrinth of spider silk. Even Ryuji—who'd seen much—felt a twinge of claustrophobia crawling under his skin.
Clearly, the owner of this place had been lying in wait for quite some time, and now that the prey had entered the web, it was time to kill.
"Looks like the scouts ahead didn't make it," Ryuji muttered, gently pushing the Demon Slayer whose arm he had just reattached behind him. As he'd suspected, the moment he had sliced through the silk strands, the surrounding web had begun to tremble violently—alerting its weaver that prey had arrived.
"Hey, was there anything about this in the reports?" he asked, already drawing two more of the backup katana.
He hated these swords. Katana weren't well-suited for his fighting style—they were too light, too fragile—but they were all he had.
Tengen dropped from his horse, glancing at Ryuji with evident surprise.
"Nope. According to the crows' reports, demons were encountered here, but all were slain. There wasn't anything about something like… this." He paused, then looked Ryuji up and down. "But your sensory ability is… insane. I didn't sense a thing until you cut that thread."
He genuinely seemed shocked. The fact that Ryuji had sensed the invisible threads before he had? That was no small feat.
"Maybe," Ryuji replied vaguely. His eyes narrowed. "But it's coming—something big."
With the perception of his "Observation Haki," Ryuji detected a massive presence rapidly approaching. Something enormous—at least three or four stories tall—was sprinting along the silken threads as if they were solid ground. The image was deeply unsettling.
A moment later, trees exploded outward as the thing burst into view.
It was a monstrous spider, resembling a grotesque black widow spider. Upon its forehead were embedded numerous half-melted human heads, their mouths gaping in agony, twitching as if still alive. Their eyes were partially liquefied, but they continued to blink, continued to stare, continued to scream silently—like prisoners in a waking nightmare.
At the very center of the spider's head was the upper half of a humanoid figure—twisted and corrupted. Around him floated several still-recognizable human heads, all etched with expressions of pure terror.
The entire thing writhed with life. Countless smaller spiders crawled across its hairy legs and abdomen. Wherever it walked, silk emerged from nothing—spinning midair threads that allowed the giant to float, impossibly, through the forest canopy.
From its body dripped thick greenish mucus and strange spheres that, upon hitting the ground, either hatched into swarms of baby spiders or corrupted the earth into a tar-like, gelatinous substance.
Ryuji didn't know what that goo was, but his instincts screamed: don't touch it.
He turned slightly, hoping one of the Demon Slayers might recognize the creature. But before he could ask, Tengen's startled voice cut through the silence.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
Right. No help there.
Ryuji looked at the massive creature, then at the weak katana in his hands—and made a rational decision: This is not the time for swordplay.
If his greatsword was still intact, maybe he could risk chopping off its legs. But as it was…
Time to play the mage.
Ryuji clasped his hands together, focusing the energy coursing through his body. With a quick twist and a powerful roundhouse kick, he unleashed a fiery shockwave straight at the approaching beast.
Flames seared through the air, lighting up spider silk like dry kindling. But Ryuji immediately realized his basic flames weren't hot enough—he would need dragonfire to fully incinerate this web.
As his foot hit the ground, he thrust both hands forward.
A violent stream of fire roared from his palms, engulfing the monstrous spider. The sizzling of burning hair and flesh filled the air—along with a chorus of screams.
Then, a singular voice rose above the others—a young, male voice, twisted by rage and madness.
"I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU!! You're not my family anymore! You murdered my family!!"
Ryuji couldn't see through the blaze, but the screams confirmed it: his fire was doing real damage. No need to waste the dragonfire—yet.
He inhaled deeply and stepped forward, pouring more power into his next blast.
This time, he employed some of Azula's techniques—subtle tricks that infused his fire with blue flame.
The forest roared with heat. Trees combusted instantly. The monstrous spider, once visible, was now little more than a flaming inferno—a walking bonfire howling in agony.
The boy's voice became hysterical.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!"
Still on fire, the giant spider lunged straight at Ryuji.
But he moved the instant the creature's muscles flexed. As it spit a thick strand of gluey web in his direction, he had already leapt away.
The massive thread slammed into the earth, blasting out a crater nearly a meter deep.
Ryuji felt a cold sweat on his back. Even with his strength and resilience, a direct hit would have been devastating. Dragonfire and his healing abilities couldn't instantly fix pulverized organs.
No time to think. More sticky threads hurtled toward him as the flaming spider charged, pummeling the forest floor with explosive impacts.
The other Demon Slayers could do nothing. They were far too weak. Their blades, their skills—useless against a monster this size.
But then—Tengen moved.
He darted like a phantom, leaping up the burning spider's limbs. Landing on a half-charred leg, he crushed the crispy bristles underfoot.
And immediately broke into a cold sweat.
The unburnt hairs glowed faintly. From their tips oozed a pale green slime—and the moment they touched his steel bracer, the metal began to corrode.
"...What the hell is this thing made of?!"
He realized it then: if Ryuji hadn't incinerated the spider's body first, he would have been dead already.
With no hesitation, Tengen launched upward again, twin blades spinning. He slammed them down into a joint.
With a sickening crack, the joint shattered. Acidic slime sprayed everywhere. Tengen flung off his haori to absorb the worst of it, then stomped to another leg and swung again.
But nothing happened.
His eyes widened.
His swords—his precious Nichirin Blades—had dissolved. Only the hilts remained.
Without missing a beat, he dropped the ruined blades and pulled two black balls from his pouch. He hurled them directly at another leg joint and bolted away.
The explosions that followed were deafening.
In seconds, the spider stumbled, crippled—two legs blown off, unable to balance.
"Nice work!" Ryuji shouted.
He twisted mid-air, drew two more katana, and channeled dragonfire into them.
Though the blades couldn't handle as much power as his greatsword, they were faster.
With a roar, he unleashed a metallic fire jet, piercing the spider's skull and the torso of the humanoid figure on its head—burning straight through them both.
There was no scream, no roar—only the staggering movement of a colossal body engulfed in flames, writhing in a futile struggle.
Ryuji didn't let up.
Even without the monsters from the 7 Days to Die world, he knew all too well that demons in this world possessed terrifying regenerative powers.
He had no intention of stopping his assault until his enemy was reduced to ashes.
Azure-blue flames surged from his hands, instantly igniting the spider's outer shell. But its thick internal fluids resisted combustion, slowing the fire's progress. Through his Observation Haki, Ryuji saw that the creature's head was already starting to regenerate.
Without hesitation, he commanded the Dragonfire to burrow into the monster's neck.
The scorching flames poured in, searing the creature from within. Jets of fire burst out from cracks in its armored carapace as it began thrashing wildly, spinning and turning in desperation.
But it was hopeless.
This was Dragonfire—a power that transcended any ordinary flame. No living creature could survive its wrath.
Within moments, the monstrous spider began to crumble to ashes.
Yet as its body disintegrated, those ashes transformed—into faint golden motes of light. The shimmering points drifted toward Ryuji and Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira.
Most of them—at least ninety percent—flowed into Ryuji, restoring his exhausted body to full strength and even granting him a faint surge of additional power.
Tengen watched in awe as his own injuries healed and even his corroded bracers were fully restored. He exhaled slowly, feeling the strength return to his limbs.
In that moment, they realized something important.
The golden motes of light would first prioritize healing their bodies. If there were extras—or if they were uninjured—those motes would instead enhance their physical strength. The fact that Tengen's bracer had been repaired meant he hadn't been parasitized or corrupted.
However, there was clearly a limit to this enhancement. Once that threshold was reached, the motes would then repair weapons and gear. Whether they could do more beyond that remained unknown.
After all, none of them had ever defeated such a massive monster before.
Moreover, there was a upper limit on how much strengthening a person could receive. For example, Tengen could only enhance himself by around ten percent before hitting a wall. But with some additional training, that cap seemed to reset, allowing further enhancements.
That was also why they had left Shinobu back at headquarters.
Throwing her into these dangerous battles without high durability would likely result in her death before any meaningful gains. She was far more valuable using her expertise as a healer and alchemist to support others.
In truth, this so-called "enhancement" was better described as unleashing latent potential.
They had all experienced it during their encounters with the otherworldly monsters, and they had learned to understand its intricacies. The way the light healed their bodies—and even restored damaged equipment—told them exactly how far they'd come. If the motes weren't used to further strengthen them, it meant they hadn't trained enough to unlock new potential.
But just as Tengen was reflecting on this, he noticed something unusual in the ashes of the spider monster.
Amid the swirling golden light, a human body appeared—alongside a massive greatsword!
This… was completely new to him.
The motes soon dispersed entirely, and the figure slowly rose to its feet.
And as the last specks of light vanished beneath the fading glow of sunset—
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
A gut-wrenching scream tore through the silence.
The figure screamed in agony, then disintegrated into dust before both Ryuji and Tengen's stunned eyes. Its body vaporized by the sunlight.
"…....."
The entire group fell silent.
Especially the members of the Demon Slayer Corps. They all recognized that scream, that way of death. That wasn't a monster or a spider.
That had been a demon.
Ryuji, unfamiliar with the deeper lore of Demon Slayer, was understandably confused. Instead of commenting, he turned his attention to the greatsword left behind.
His expression shifted.
"Wait a second… isn't this my old sword?"
He walked up and grabbed it.
The moment his hand touched the hilt, , a strange sense of understanding filled his mind. Information poured into him instinctively.
*Blade of Kinship:
A sword infused with the yearning for family. If your desire is power, the blade will transform into a fragile but extremely sharp katana. But If your desire is to protect family, its sharpness and durability will increase by 30%.
"…"
Don't think I don't get what you're trying to imply here!
Ryuji stared blankly at the sword, black lines forming across his face.
There was no doubt—this was his old sword. The same one he had customized, even the name he had carved into it remained untouched. But now, it had clearly been enhanced by World Power. Its weight was slightly increased, but it felt felt lighter, smoother to swing and more balanced in his hands.
Clearly, the sword now granted him additional strength.
This was no ordinary blade anymore. This was a proper magical weapon, leagues beyond the plain, unenhanced version from before.
He ignited it briefly with Dragonfire and discovered something even more astonishing—it now had enhanced heat resistance. After two or three seconds of direct flame, there wasn't even a sign of melting.
"Interesting… is this custom-made for me?"
He gave the sword a few practice swings, then activated his Observation Haki.
What he found surprised him even more—the sword's interior was flawless, completely free of any micro-cracks or air pockets. It was a perfect weapon.
Not only that—when he activated his observation haki, he noticed something else:
His three broken katanas had also been fully restored, lying quietly where he had discarded their broken hilts.
Clearly, those golden motes had repaired everything they considered useful.
But when he picked them up, he could tell immediately: there was nothing special about them now. No enhancements, no upgrades. The energy had simply restored them to their base state.
Apparently, World Power was smart enough to recognize what he really needed.
"Hm… maybe next time I should just bring some iron nails."
He muttered to himself, considering the idea. Maybe he didn't need expensive blades. With heatproof gloves, even improvised weapons could work.
"How mysterious," Tengen murmured. "I've never seen items just appear like that before… But it really does look like your old greatsword. This must be a gift from the gods. Truly divine."
Ryuji sheathed the greatsword on his back along with the restored blades.
To the Demon Slayers, these strange events could only be explained as miracles—gifts from the Gods to help them battle the sudden influx of powerful yokai.
It was this belief that kept morale high. That kept hope alive.
From their perspective, it was nothing short of a divine blessing.
Ryuji opened his mouth, wanting to explain that this was all just World Power at work—but then stopped.
He realized that for people living inside this world, the will of the world might as well be their god.
"…Yeah. You're right." he agreed quietly.
He flexed his wrist.
The influx of World Power had left him not only fully recovered, but even more refreshed than before. At this point, even if another giant spider appeared, he could handle it with ease.
But Tengen's gaze remained fixed on the spot where that boy had disintegrated in the sunlight. A deep sigh escaped his lips.
"But…Even with divine help, it seems the thing we feared most… has happened."
Ryuji turned to him. "What do you mean?"
Tengen's eyes narrowed, his expression solemn.
"Demons… have started fusing with yokai."
~~~~~~~~~~
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