43: Lower Moon Five - Tired

Deep within the mall, the shadows were as thick as congealed blood. A figure identical to the "Mother" huddled within them, one hand clamped tightly over her mouth while the other clawed deep into the wall out of bone-deep terror, her entire body shaking uncontrollably.

"A monster... she is the true monster!"

Just moments ago, she had exerted all her strength to unleash her Blood Demon Art, spitting out poisonous spider silk as tough as alloy in an attempt to ensnare the rampaging behemoth in the center of the mall. This had once been her trump card, capable of snapping solid rock.

But to her utter horror, those threads capable of binding mountains were as fragile as ordinary cobwebs played with by a child before that monster, being snapped and shredded with casual ease! The absolute gap in power brought about a suffocating dread rooted in biological instinct.

"No... it's no use... we're going to die..." Her voice trembled like a candle in the wind, completely failing to notice a thin, small figure that had silently appeared behind her.

"What are you afraid of?"

A cold, emotionless voice pierced the back of her neck like an icicle.

Her body stiffened, and her trembling intensified. She slowly turned her head to see her nominal younger brother—who was actually the true master of their family—standing there quietly. He looked like nothing more than a frail youth, but the words "Lower Five" engraved in his left eye proclaimed his status as Lower Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki.

As a "Spider Demon" dispatched here by Lord Muzan, he had excavated caves and built a nest, wholeheartedly pursuing his goals. He maintained this fake "family" through violence, possessing the most twisted obsession with kinship—to pursue that illusory ideal of family, he had not hesitated to personally kill his biological parents and had forced other demons to play the roles of family members for decades.

"Rui... Lord Rui... no, brother..." The woman's voice carried an uncontrollable sob, "That monster... she's too strong, my silk couldn't even..."

"And so," Rui interrupted her, his voice as flat as if stating a foregone conclusion, "family members should protect one another. If even an elder sister shrinks back..."

He tilted his head slightly, his hollow eyes staring at her: "Does this family still need you?"

The sister's breath suddenly hitched. She followed Rui's gaze toward the center of the mall—the demon playing the "Elder Brother" was leading a swarm of spiders in a charge. Raging flames surged, and charred spider corpses fell like rain, while piteous wails of companions echoed through the thick smoke.

As far as the eye could see, dragon-breath-like flames flickered, turning the space sealed by spiderwebs into a burning Hell, with columns of thick black smoke rolling and rising. The ground was covered in the charred remains of spiders, and the pungent smell of burning was so thick it was almost suffocating, as if the dust of death had deeply permeated every inch of the air.

"It seems that, in the end, I must personally restore order to this 'family'."

He raised a bloodless hand, his slender fingers trembling elegantly in the air as if plucking invisible strings.

【Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Cage】

Before his voice had even faded, countless threads thinner than hair yet gleaming with a cold, metallic luster suddenly emerged. Like venomous snakes moving in the dark, they silently coiled toward the trio of Lin Luo from every corner.

The toughness of these threads was far beyond what the female demon playing the "Sister" could compare to. Even Tohru found it difficult to tear them apart for a moment.

"Watch out!"

Yukino Mifuyu's warning arrived simultaneously with her movement—she had already flashed forward to shield Lin Luo. The moment the threads touched her clothing, they made a tearing sound, carving fine bloody gashes across her body. She instinctively exerted force to struggle, but the threads coiled even tighter like living things.

Lin Luo channeled his spiritual energy to protect his body while simultaneously using a Divided Soul to loosen the bindings on Yukino. Tohru took the opportunity to seize a fleeting gap, her dragon scales grinding harshly against the threads with a tooth-aching, piercing screech.

Looking down from above at this struggle of trapped beasts, Rui's gaze was as cold as frost. With a slight movement of his fingertips, more threads answered his call, weaving into a celestial net that completely enveloped the three of them.

Suddenly, the mall's main doors burst open with a loud crash. A squad of soldiers clad in pitch-black armor, with only their eyes exposed, rushed in. Seeing Zhong Tao leading them, Lin Luo's tense heart finally relaxed. He took the opportunity to cut the spiritual energy links maintaining the protection of the survivors—the arrival of these reinforcements finally allowed him to reclaim his scattered spiritual energy and commit fully to the battle before him.

In fact, Lin Luo had sent a plea for help to Zhong Tao the moment the incident began. The reason the reinforcements had been delayed was precisely because of the Blood Demon Art 【Murderous Eye Cage】 covering the surroundings—this spiderweb barrier woven with the power of a Lower Rank demon had completely isolated the mall from the outside, turning it into a fortress wall that ordinary attacks could hardly shake.

It wasn't until the Rapid Response Force broke through the spiderwebs that the battle finally reached a turning point. The team members quickly escorted the survivors at the edge of the battlefield away one by one. As the last civilian left safely, the situation on the field suddenly reversed.

The tables have turned!

Previously, the three of them had fought to protect everyone; though they had the upper hand, they were ultimately constrained. Now that the shackles were gone, they could finally let loose.

The cicada song collection silently appeared in Lin Luo's palm, its pages turning without wind as dark purple energy surged out—at one moment turning into thousands of autumn cicadas pouncing on the spider nest, leaving nothing but endless hissing and total erosion in their wake; at another moment condensing into cold moonlight pouring onto the ground, causing the demons to sink into it as if entering a quagmire, making every step difficult.

Tohru let out a clear dragon roar toward the sky. Under the agitation of the sound waves, the spiders swarming from all sides shattered. Her figure was like lightning as she leaped through the air, closing in on Rui, who stood barefoot upon transparent spider silk. With a mid-air spin, her legs carried the force of a thousand tons, slamming Rui down from the heights!

That strike was faster than a visual afterimage; Rui didn't even have time to react before he smashed into the ground below like a falling star, a deep crater suddenly appearing amidst billowing dust.

Captain Zhong Tao's pupils constricted slightly as he looked in shock at the mutated girl with towering dragon horns and arms covered in scales—was her strength actually this formidable? His gaze shifted to the white-haired woman who had been guarding Lin Luo's side throughout. He saw her surrounded by chilling air, with ice blades floating and rotating, and jagged ice spikes rising from the ground; countless spider monsters had already been frozen into rigid ice sculptures, glinting with a grim light in the dimness.

"Is this the power of a Cultivator..." He was shaken to his core; though there was a hint of envy, there was no jealousy. Just because they were ordinary people didn't mean they would be helpless when facing evil.

The black armor on his body seemed to wake up, vibrating slightly. He gripped his long saber with his right hand and raised a specially-made firearm with his left; all team members had fully entered the combat sequence.

"Bang—"

A bullet fired from the black gun in Zhong Tao's hand, accurately hitting the head of a deformed demon. Having succeeded in his strike, he pressed the attack; the explosive power granted by the black armor allowed him to leap like a leopard, his long saber slashing directly at the opponent's neck!

"Speckled Poison Phlegm!"

The deformed demon suddenly looked up and spat out a highly acidic poisonous liquid.

*Sizzle—*

A golden light lit up just in time, blocking this fatal blow for Zhong Tao. Almost simultaneously, the deformed demon's spider legs thrust out like spears; Zhong Tao used the mobility of the black armor to dodge and weave, landing steadily back at Lin Luo's side.

"Thanks for just now." He looked at Lin Luo—that golden light had indeed come from the other man's hand.

Lin Luo nodded slightly: "These demons have extremely strong regenerative powers. The Demon Slayer Corps has special weapons to suppress regeneration, but you don't seem to be equipped with them. Be careful."

"Understood!" There was no time for more words on the battlefield; Zhong Tao immediately reorganized his stance and cut back into the fray. With the fire support of the Rapid Response Force, the situation had become nearly one-sided.

Lin Luo was about to turn and support Tohru when a spider cocoon suddenly dropped from above, instantly enveloping him. Yukino Mifuyu cried out and fired ice blades, but they were violently repelled upon touching the cocoon.

"Rather than worrying about him, you should look at your own situation first!" The speaker was the "Sister" who had previously been intimidated by Rui. She ultimately did not dare to defy the will of her "Brother"—this twisted "family" had not yet disbanded.

At the same time, the corpses of ordinary people who had died in the disaster were being manipulated by threads, swarming into the battlefield like Puppets. Although the team members could clearly see the flickering manipulation threads on them, their blades could not cut them in a single strike.

As soldiers, their blades could not strike their former compatriots without hesitation—even if they were now nothing more than remains.

The battle, which had already tilted, once again fell into a muddy stalemate.

*Tear—*

A wooden sword suddenly pierced through the cocoon. With a crisp tearing sound, the tough walls were easily broken open. Lin Luo leaped out, taking a few quick breaths of fresh air—the cocoon had been completely airtight; if he had been a moment later, he might have truly suffocated inside.

The Peach Wood Sword in his hand, wrapped in layers of yellow Daoist Talismans, looked plain and edgeless, yet it had easily sliced through the cocoon that even Yukino Mifuyu could not break.

Lin Luo's sudden escape clearly caught the female demon fighting Yukino off guard. Her momentary distraction was seized by Yukino—chilling air surged, instantly freezing her legs.

"No... don't! Please, don't kill me!" Extreme terror brought her to her knees, but what met her was the Peach Wood Sword in Lin Luo's hand.

The blade touched her neck; there was no sensation of a sharp edge cutting, yet it passed through as easily as melting snow. Her unfinished plea came to an abrupt halt, and her entire body turned into ash, scattering into the dim air.

Lin Luo's movements did not stop for a second; his gaze rapidly traced the Puppet threads. Bolstered by spiritual energy, he leaped down from a broken corridor, his figure covering the distance in a few bounds around a dark corner, finally stopping in a secluded spot in the underground garage.

The demon playing the role of "Mother" revealed herself—her appearance was almost identical to the one he had just slain. Upon seeing the human who had suddenly appeared before her, her fingers manipulating the threads suddenly froze.

Those eyes looking at Lin Luo seemed hollow, yet deep within them surged an unhidable hatred, fear, pain, and... a hint of relief.

Her fingers trembled slightly, and the coiled threads quietly slipped loose.

Lin Luo noticed the other's posture of surrendering resistance, but his heart didn't stir in the slightest. The Peach Wood Sword in his hand swung down steadily; where the blade passed, a very soft sigh echoed in the underground garage.

Simultaneously, the Puppets fighting the soldiers all froze, then collapsed like marionettes with their strings cut, turning into withered corpses.