[Bite]
[Successfully added Lower Moon Five - Lei as a friend!]
[Detected: Intimacy level between Lower Moon Five - Lei and the host is only at acquaintance level. A random reward has been issued!]
[Skill Acquired: Blood Demon Art – Line Rotation (Superb)]
[Do you want to fuse Blood Demon Art – Line Rotation (Masterful) now?]
[No]
Lucas remained composed as he heard the system notification confirming Lei's addition as a friend. He scoffed lightly, curling his lips.
He wasn't someone who cared much for flattery. Instead, he always preferred getting down to business.
With a flick of his wrist, the Sun Blade spun, gleaming in the moonlight. Then, he slashed cleanly, cutting through all the spider silk threads that connected Lei's head to his body.
That final, precise strike severed the last thread of life in Lei, the Lower Moon Five of the Twelve Demon Moons.
As Lei's head disintegrated into ashes and scattered to the ground, Lucas sheathed his Sun Blade without changing his expression.
A cold silence followed.
Everyone nearby subconsciously held their breath.
Their eyes were all drawn to the man standing in stillness—Lucas, his figure calm and resolute as he put away his blade.
Murata's thoughts were completely disrupted. His mind could only repeat one overwhelming realization:
"Did... did he really kill one of the Twelve Demon Moons?"
Even if it was a Lower Moon, the Twelve Demon Moons were still infamous among Demon Slayers. Their strength was measured in corpses—each of them a walking disaster for the Corps.
Whenever one of the Twelve appeared, more than eighty percent of the time, it required the intervention of a Pillar to resolve the situation.
Any one of the Twelve could cause a full-blown crisis.
Even the lowest-ranking of the Lower Moons could inflict devastating casualties.
But now?
He had just witnessed the impossible. The terrifying Lei was decapitated in a single strike—by Lucas, a demon slayer who wasn't even officially a Pillar.
The image seared itself into Murata's mind, sending a chill up his spine.
Fear.
A deep-rooted terror gripped him.
He had initially thought that Lucas was in dire straits—that everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps present might be wiped out.
But then, out of nowhere, Lucas had turned the tide with a single, devastating blow.
He remembered what Lucas had said to Lei earlier.
Did Lucas attack because Lei refused his friendship?
Or was it because Lei hurt the yellow-haired boy, Zenitsu?
Or perhaps, it was both.
Either way, Murata knew one thing for sure now: if Lucas ever asked to be his friend...
He would nod instantly without a second thought.
---
"Damn that Lucas..."
Inosuke gritted his teeth once he shook off the shock.
He had known for a while now that Lucas had held back during their sparring matches. But even so, he never expected the gap between their strengths to be so enormous.
It wasn't just a difference—it was like comparing a single drop of water to a surging waterfall.
Inosuke didn't fully understand what the Twelve Demon Moons were, but his instincts screamed at him.
Had he approached the battlefield just moments earlier, he wouldn't have even known how he died.
The threat was that overwhelming.
---
"Mr. Lucas, the spider silk is no longer being controlled," Tanjiro said, looking at Lucas with shining eyes filled with awe.
Even the terrifying Twelve Demon Moons couldn't stand against Mr. Lucas.
Just how strong was he?
Lucas gave a small nod.
The spider ghost mother had likely been so terrified after witnessing Lei's death that she lost the will to keep controlling the threads.
He turned to face the dark forest, his voice soft but firm.
"Are you coming out on your own, or do I have to bring you out myself?"
Even before the fight with Lei had begun, Lucas had sensed another presence hiding in the shadows.
But the aura was so weak that he hadn't considered it a threat—probably just one of the ghosts with a shallow connection to Rui.
Behind the tree, the Spider Ghost Sister—Ayaka—covered her mouth in horror, trying to stifle her trembling breath.
He's dead…
Lei is really dead…
Wasn't Lei supposed to be the most powerful ghost on the entire mountain?
Ghost hunters had come here time and again, only to die at Lei's hands.
How could he be killed so quickly?
Ayaka's panic grew. Lucas's voice seemed to press against her skin, cold and inescapable.
If even Lei couldn't defeat him, what chance did she have?
I have to escape.
The thought took root and spread like wildfire through her mind.
She moved—barely a step—and then stopped, her blood freezing.
Up in the branches just ahead, a figure stood waiting.
Silver moonlight wrapped around the form, bathing him in a gentle glow.
The same figure that had just killed Lei.
Ayaka's heart stopped.
Then, the calm voice echoed beside her again.
"Make friends?"
Her eyes widened. Then she nodded frantically.
"Yes! I will! I want to—"
She spoke so fast that she stumbled over her own words, afraid that even a second of hesitation would lead to her death.
After all, Lei's fate had been a cruel lesson: if you rejected this man's offer of friendship, death was the only outcome.
[Bite]
[Successfully added Spider Ghost – Ayaka as a friend!]
[Detected: Intimacy level with host is only acquaintance. A random reward is issued.]
[Skill Acquired: Blood Demon Art – Dissolving Cocoon]
[Do you want to fuse Blood Demon Art – Dissolving Cocoon (Mastery) now?]
[No]
"Very nice."
Lucas raised his brows in mild surprise.
The only worthwhile thing Ayaka had was her Blood Demon Art—and he had managed to acquire it on the first try.
Two Blood Demon Arts in succession.
Lucas's mission on Mount Natagumo was already halfway complete.
All that remained was to wait for the arrival of the Insect Pillar and the Water Pillar.
Lucas's figure blurred and reappeared beside Tanjiro and the others.
Ayaka blinked, dazed, as she stared at the tree branch.
He's gone?
He really left?
So it was true—if you agreed to be his friend, you would survive.
Relief surged through her heart. She had played it smart again, just like always.
That had always been her talent—reading the situation and choosing the path of least resistance.
Now that she had survived, she had to get out of here.
She turned and tried to run down the mountain.
But something was wrong.
She was so... tired.
Her legs refused to move.
No matter how much she willed her body to run, it barely twitched.
Confused, Ayaka looked down—
And her world collapsed.
Her head had already been severed!
Panicked, she tried to reach out and hold it in place, but it was too late. Her body no longer responded.
Her vision spun, disoriented.
Through her fading sight, she saw her own decapitated body collapse to the ground.
Ah... so he never planned to let me live.
So friendship… was just a lie.
Just like her supposed "sister" who acted close to Lei.
Even if you don't mess up… you still die.
---
As for the remaining spider ghosts:
The Spider Ghost Father was impossible to communicate with.
The Brother's Blood Demon Art was too flashy and impractical—Lucas wasn't interested.
And Tanjiro had already headed toward their ghost "mother."
Lucas wouldn't make it in time for that one.
Besides, that particular ghost had already chosen to seek death.
Lucas's threats had ironically helped her along the way.
No, it was better to let Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke handle the rest.
Lucas, meanwhile, had obtained the Blood Demon Arts from both Rui and Ayaka—his trip to the mountain was a success.
Next on his list: making friends with the Pillars.
Once he was strong enough, those elite slayers would be willing to acknowledge him.
From there, building friendships would be far easier.
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