The decaying leaves and mud underfoot felt like they were soaked in blood, sticky and slippery.
The dense demonic aura in the air made one dizzy and disoriented, losing all sense of direction.
Mukago had been running through this mountain for three or four days already.
Suddenly, a disturbing scent reached her, and she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Looking up, several strands of pale white spider silk, almost merging with the thick fog, were silently descending from above.
Although they looked light and airy, Mukago knew that if that stuff entangled her, lacerated flesh and torn skin were unavoidable.
"Tch...."
She spat in irritation, clumsily hopping backward to avoid being entangled by those threads.
These past few days, she had been like a lost moth, circling within this mountain of never-dissipating fog, struggling to evade the omnipresent insect-catching nets.
It all stemmed from her own curiosity.
A few days ago, she had encountered the miserable Rokuro in the Fukushima countryside.
Seeing that old guy who always put on airs being dealt with like a stray dog, Mukago felt some schadenfreude inside.
As for his warning, to her ears it sounded more like an old man's nagging, like Rokuro was having a relapse of some old ailment. Probably just bullying her for being newer to the game, trying to hide something good again....
Come on, we've both been demons for less than a hundred years. Who do you think you are, the old-timer, Abe no Seimei?
Plus, Rokuro specifically mentioned that this Lower Rank Five was especially favored by their master. That made her a bit jealous.
"So what if he's Lower Five? I'm Lower Four!"
And so, she came.
But her lighthearted arrogance was quickly shattered by a little boy in a white kimono with strange, long white hair.
"Are you... lost?"
He appeared abruptly in mid-air amidst the swirling fog, sitting on a thick strand of spider silk, gently swinging his legs.
A pale face, hollow, lifeless eyes, lips devoid of color.
Mukago had to admit, the moment this little boy appeared, she felt immense pressure.
'Compared to Rokuro-senpai, this one's aura was far stronger!'
'Who was he?'
"I said, have you come here... are you lost, Lower Rank demon?" He spoke again, his voice even carrying a childish innocence, but his tone was enough to send chills down one's spine.
Mukago was startled. Although uneasy, she still raised her head, striving to maintain the dignity of a Kizuki:
"D-don't be ridiculous! I am Lower Rank Four! How could I be lost?"
"I... I'm just taking a walk. Don't mind me..."
She tried to bypass the boy's field of vision, but was stopped by a net woven from strands of spider silk:
"Lower Rank Four.... Are you strong?"
The little boy parted the bangs of his long hair, revealing cyan eyeballs like glass marbles.
[Lower - Five]
As expected! It was the Kizuki of the Lower Moon… Rui!
Seeing the other's gloomy gaze, Mukago spoke with a lack of confidence: "Of course! I... I'm far stronger than a little brat like you!"
Rui nodded, speaking in a light tone: "That's really wonderful... Would you like to become my family?"
"Father protects mother, mother protects child, older sister protects younger brother.... Since you're strong, be my older sister, okay?"
'Eh? Family? Older sister?'
The last time Mukago heard that word was decades ago, when she was the young mistress of a wealthy family.
'But those stupid people weren't worthy of being my family. Only a strong and beautiful man like Muzan-sama was the kind of family I wanted~'
'But come to think of it, what did this brat mean... Did he want to be friends? Or something?'
'He did seem quite strong... plus... he was favored by Muzan-sama. If I got closer to him, could I get a piece of the benefit?'
At the very least, Mukago wanted to know why Rui was valued by Muzan.
"Alright." She hesitated for a moment, then agreed. "Two Kizuki being family together... doesn't sound bad?"
Rui's hollow eyes seemed to brighten for an instant, but it quickly disappeared.
"How wonderful...." He lightly jumped down from the spider silk, landing in front of Mukago. "Then let's play a game, older sister...."
"A game?" Mukago was startled again.
"Mm, hide-and-seek." Rui nodded, a kind of chilling anticipation appearing on his pale face. "You hide, and I'll come find you... If I catch you..."
He tugged at the spider silk in his hand. The ominous aura emanating from it made Mukago shiver:
"....I'll peel off your face and make you just like me, older sister."
Mukago's heart skipped a beat. She felt she might have really misjudged Rokuro....
But before she could think further or refuse, Rui's figure had already weirdly blurred, dispersing like mist in the wind, leaving only those light words echoing through the forest:
"The game has begun, older sister. Hide well...."
From that moment, the nightmare began.
At first, Mukago still harbored some contempt. How hard could a little kid's game be?
She activated her Blood Demon Art, sprouting vines beneath her feet that carried her swiftly through the forest, trying to flee this area.
Her ability was to manipulate and vitalize plants, and release lethal or beneficial toxins. Her body was far stronger than ordinary demons.
However, no matter how fast she ran, no matter which direction she chose, the forest had become an enormous, infinitely looping corridor. No matter how she tried, she could not leave.
The omnipresent spiderweb traps were extremely sharp. If she so much as brushed against them, even her Kizuki skin would be cut!
She could only rely on her demonic physique and perception of plants to precariously dodge through the increasingly dense web maze, growing more and more miserable.
'Was this kid really Lower Rank Five? Why was he so strong?'
"Older sister.... Where are you?"
A childlike, innocent call drifted from the depths of the mist, tinged with a strange eeriness. It came from left, then right, then front, then back, as if right in her ear, yet also far away, making Mukago's spine tingle.
But whether God is seeing her or Muzan was protecting her-
Starting yesterday, the scents of many humans had begun to appear in this mountain, one after another.
'Were they Demon Slayer Corps? Or ordinary hunters entering the mountain?' Mukago didn't know, but it definitely reduced the pressure on her.
She could feel that Rui's attention was divided. The encirclement of these spider threads was becoming less dense.
Perhaps compared to tormenting her, a fellow Kizuki, dealing with intruders was more necessary....
Dodging another trap, Mukago suddenly plunged into a patch of thick bushes, evading Rui's now less attentive search.
'Had I escaped danger?' Her tense nerves slightly relaxed.
'No, I had to leave quickly. This place was indeed a bit twisted....'
.... But fate seemed determined to toy with her.
Before she could find a direction to flee, a sharp aura brushed past the plants she sensed and headed straight for her.
'Eh?' She turned around, and an emerald green blade light was already before her eyes!
Shing!!
Mukago struggled to dodge. The blade tip grazed her cheek, leaving a wound that cut deep into the flesh!
Crimson blood gushed out. Mukago was scared out of her wits. She scrambled to her feet and looked at the one who swung the blade.
The colorless blade shone in the moonlight. The man holding the sword fixed his gaze on her body, like looking at a dead thing.
"You dodged?"
He shook the demon blood from his blade, and powerful breathing once again surged from his mouth and nose—
"Wind Breathing: First Form...."