Hiss—
As soon as the fusion of the Blood Demon Art began, Lucas couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
The sensation of Lei's Blood Demon Art was entirely different from any he had absorbed before. It felt as though countless ants were crawling through his blood vessels and bones. The unbearable itchiness was accompanied by intense swelling pain, as if something new was forming inside his body.
Lucas's consciousness sank deep into himself, and he realized that a part of his body was experiencing extreme pain. From within his bones, flesh, and blood, a glowing white cocoon began to emerge.
"Spider silk?"
Lucas stared at the light cocoon in shock. He had expected the system to transform the fusion ability into a form more suitable for his own use, just as it had done before. But he never imagined spider silk would actually be produced inside his body.
The surface of the cocoon was as smooth as jade, and Lucas could clearly sense a deep connection between himself and the glowing mass—like an extension of his own limb. As the light from the cocoon intensified, fine threads of spider silk began to emerge, weaving and stretching as if alive.
These threads flowed slowly through Lucas's body, like an invisible undercurrent in the depths of a still lake. Throughout the process, Lucas's consciousness felt detached from the outside world. His senses were wholly immersed in the spider silk now flowing within him.
He could stretch and contract the threads freely, some thinner than a strand of hair, others stronger than steel. Lucas experimented, allowing the spider silk to move slowly under his skin, each motion registering vividly in his mind. It was as if his nerve endings extended into every filament of silk.
The fusion process was excruciating—but not impossible to bear.
Once the cocoon completely unraveled and the spider silk had become a part of his body, Lucas began testing it according to the method for manipulating Blood Demon Art embedded in his mind.
He raised a hand, pointing at an oak tree about three meters in diameter standing before him. Focusing his thoughts, he willed the spider silk to obey.
From the tips of his fingers, the spider silk flowed outward.
It danced in the air like glowing threads of northern light swirling in a dark sky.
Lucas's gaze sharpened.
Then, the threads that had been lightly fluttering suddenly shot forward like arrows, aimed directly at the oak tree. They moved so fast they were nearly invisible to the naked eye.
A faint hissing cut through the air, like the sound of wind being sliced apart.
The moment the silk touched the tree, it ceased to be delicate. It was now razor-sharp—like a blade forged for precision. Without pause, the threads pierced the trunk as easily as a needle through cloth.
Lucas twitched his fingers slightly.
The silk responded immediately, showing its power in full. Fine, hairline-thin slashes began appearing across the bark. As his thoughts guided the threads, the marks transformed and merged into an intricate, swirling pattern.
Satisfied, Lucas decided to test the full force of this new power.
The once nearly invisible silk suddenly thickened, like dozens of iron chains being pulled together at once.
BOOM!
The massive oak tree creaked—and then cracked.
With a sound like thunder, it split clean in half. The cross-section was polished and smooth, as if cut by a master craftsman.
The surrounding air fell silent.
The fallen tree seemed to serve as a monument to the devastating force Lucas had just unleashed.
He retracted the threads, his expression calm but satisfied.
As expected of the Blood Demon Art from a member of the Twelve Kizuki—this power was impressive. Even without a Nichirin Sword, Lucas could now unleash terrifying combat strength using this new ability alone.
And this was only the beginning. The current spider silk had yet to be infused with his blood.
Once he added his own blood into the threads, their power would undergo a fundamental transformation.
If spider silk could already cut through an oak tree without blood, how destructive would it be once enhanced?
Judging from the strength increase that came with every realm breakthrough, Lucas estimated that if he unleashed the full power of the Blood Demon Art—Grated Line Rotation—even a Pillar-level Hashira would struggle to take him down quickly.
[Do you wish to fuse Blood Demon Art: Dissolving Cocoon (Mastery) now?]
[Yes.]
With Grated Line Rotation already integrated, the fusion with Dissolving Cocoon was much simpler.
Lucas barely felt any physical change this time—the main alteration was the information downloaded into his brain, detailing the new usage of the Dissolving Cocoon. Essentially, it was another advanced application of the spider silk.
"Hmm, there seems to be a hierarchy among Blood Demon Arts..."
Lucas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He had now fused six different Blood Demon Arts, and Lei's was by far the most difficult and painful. But it had also brought the most significant improvement to his combat power.
Could that be because Lei's strength, and therefore his Blood Demon Art, was on a higher level than the others?
If a Lower Rank Five Demon's Blood Demon Art was already this powerful… what about the techniques from demons ranked even higher among the Twelve Kizuki?
Lucas's eyes glimmered with excitement.
His urge to make stronger friends was now burning more intensely than ever.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the mountain…
The Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho and the Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka finally arrived.
Their eyes swept across the scene and landed on the Demon Slayer Corps members. Though many were injured, their expressions were relaxed, even relieved.
The two Hashira exchanged confused glances.
According to their orders from the master, the Twelve Kizuki had appeared here, and the Demon Slayer Corps had supposedly suffered heavy casualties.
But now, standing here, they saw no signs of a major battle. There were no signs of extreme destruction, no overwhelming demonic energy.
The injured members weren't panicking or grieving. Instead, they seemed… strangely calm.
Could the intel have been wrong?
Had the Twelve Kizuki not actually appeared?
Maybe it was just a few unusually powerful demons? Had the situation already been dealt with by the corps before they even arrived?
While Shinobu and Giyu didn't want to underestimate their fellow swordsmen, they had never heard of any non-Hashira killing a Twelve Kizuki before.
Shinobu called over Murata, who was helping to stabilize the wounded nearby.
"What exactly happened here?" she asked gently.
Her voice was kind, but Murata still trembled as he turned to face her.
Shinobu Kocho was a Hashira—a member of the most elite group in the Demon Slayer Corps. There were only nine of them total, and each one was revered like a legend.
Even though her tone was soft, the pressure she exuded was tremendous.
Murata swallowed nervously and tried to speak through his anxiety.
"T-There were... Twelve Demon Moons on this mountain…"
"What?" Shinobu's eyes narrowed. "Where are they now?"
Interrupting Murata mid-sentence was rude, but this was not the time for manners. If a Twelve Kizuki had truly appeared, every second counted.
Behind her, Giyu silently placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to dash forward the moment Murata gave a direction.
The pressure was immense, and sweat poured from Murata's forehead. He was already nervous, and now these two elite warriors were staring him down.
"The Twelve Demon Moons... are dead…"
"...Dead?!"
Both Shinobu and Giyu were stunned. Their postures relaxed ever so slightly, but their expressions were filled with disbelief.
Dead?
Could another Hashira have passed through here before them?
No, that didn't make sense. If any Hashira had been dispatched to this mountain, they would've been informed.
Murata wasn't a Pillar. The remaining Demon Slayer Corps members weren't either. So how did they take down a Twelve Kizuki?
No matter how many of them there were, low-level swordsmen simply couldn't defeat a demon of that level.
The more she thought about it, the more Shinobu felt that something wasn't adding up.
Just what kind of person had appeared on this mountain before them…?
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