They sure got here fast!

After offering the villagers his suggestion.

Everyone boarded the long, loaf-shaped flying bus Aba had transformed into, then headed straight for the distant castle.

As for Kirara? She stayed in the Village.

Little Kirara was keenly sensitive to large concentrations of demonic energy.

With her there, if a horde of demons gathered to attack the Village, she could warn the villagers immediately. That would give them more time to evacuate everyone.

This was the best way Li Xia could think of to cover both fronts.

At Naraku Castle.

The five-person team of Demon Slayers had just made contact with the Castle's guards.

Then, led by the Castle Guard, the five met with the Lord of the Castle.

"Demon Slayers, you've come at just the right time. That giant spider attacks this Castle every night, and it has already eaten dozens of people in town! Everyone is terrified! Are you certain you can deal with it?"

"Rest assured, if you can get rid of it, I won't stint on your reward... The money and provisions are already prepared!"

The Lord of the Castle dangled a generous reward right from the start, bringing smiles to the faces of Sango's father, the Village Chief, and her two uncles.

"Rest assured, my lord. Leave that spider demon to us. In response to your invitation, I selected several experts from our Village to accompany me. We will not disappoint you!"

Sango's father spoke respectfully, kneeling on one knee.

The others all obediently knelt on both knees, demonstrating their reverence for authority.

"Experts? Are you certain everyone you brought is an expert?"

The Lord of the Castle looked down at them from his lofty seat.

In his eyes, one was merely a woman, and another was just a little boy. They called that experts?

At those words, the middle-aged Village Chief raised his bowed head.

"Please forgive me, my lord. These two are my eldest daughter and youngest son!

Though they are young, both are exceptionally skilled! My eldest daughter, Sango, is even one of the strongest fighters in the Village!

Please see their skills for yourself tonight!"

The Village Chief's words brimmed with pride and confidence.

"Very well. Let me broaden my horizons, then..."

The Lord of the Castle smiled and raised his cup.

What no one noticed was that his shadow had just flickered, several legs sprouting from its human outline to form the silhouette of a spider.

Just then, the sky abruptly darkened.

"My lord, that spider demon is coming..."

"Demon Slayers, that's it! Destroy it!"

The Castle Guard scrambled to protect the Lord of the Castle.

Sango and the others nodded.

"Leave it to us!"

They immediately split into three groups and took up ambush positions around the courtyard, waiting for the demon to arrive.

Demonic clouds gathered overhead, the demonic energy growing ever denser. A pair of scarlet, lantern-sized eyes lit up first within the spiraling mass of clouds.

Yet despite its menacing approach, the demon could not withstand even a single coordinated assault from the four experts.

Before eleven-year-old Kohaku even had a chance to attack, the giant spider demon had been swiftly knocked to the ground.

"That giant spider we struggled so hard against before was defeated just like that?"

"Those Demon Slayers work together so smoothly..."

"That woman is incredible..."

The Castle Guard watching from the sidelines all exclaimed in admiration.

Of course, whether the middle-aged Village Chief had arranged it deliberately or not, the one who stood out most in this battle was not him, the Village's strongest fighter, but his daughter Sango.

"All right, finish this demon off!"

The Village Chief and the two uncles began delivering the finishing blows with practiced ease.

That was an excellent habit.

"Okay, I'll help too!"

Young Kohaku had hardly been able to help from the rear, and he could not help feeling disappointed. Seeing that his uncles had already killed the giant spider, he eagerly stepped forward to lend a hand gathering the more valuable materials from its body.

He failed to notice a seemingly harmless strand of spider silk drifting down from above and landing squarely on the back of his neck!

Beside the giant spider, Sango frowned slightly.

"That was far too easy!

Aside from being a little larger, this spider was weak in every respect. Especially its demonic energy-it didn't feel anything like a demon capable of terrorizing an entire town..."

As the girl pondered this, disaster struck.

For some inexplicable reason, her younger brother Kohaku closed in and suddenly attacked her father and two uncles! Their necks were either pierced by a Sickle forged from demon bone, or their hearts were run through with a sharp Bone Blade!

No one would guard against their own companions without reason, especially when Kohaku was the Village Chief's son and their own family. They had even less reason to take precautions against him.

Caught completely unprepared by the fatal attacks, the three died on the spot in bewilderment and shock.

"Kohaku, what are you doing?!"

Sango tried to save them, but it was already too late. She stared blankly at the bodies of her father and uncles, disbelief written all over her face.

"Why? Why would you do this?"

She had never imagined anything like this would happen.

Kohaku remained silent throughout, his eyes vacant as he relentlessly charged forward to attack his own sister.

Every move was meant to kill.

"Kohaku! Don't you even recognize me?"

Sango was overcome with grief.

The hundred-odd guards were utterly baffled. Why had they suddenly turned on each other? Surrounded by layers of soldiers, the Lord of the Castle happily sipped his wine and watched this spectacle of family slaughtering family with a knowing look. He also stopped anyone else from stepping in.

In the courtyard.

After a bout of close combat.

Sango only defended, never attacking, and held back at every turn. Just as she gradually fell into a dangerous disadvantage, her intense concentration allowed her to notice the strand of spider silk attached to her little brother Kohaku's neck.

It was a strand of spider silk ordinary people could not see.

The strand hung down from the sky, disappearing into the clouds overhead, and there was another just like it! Who else could that second strand be attached to but the Lord of the Castle, watching them with an amused expression?!

The Lord of the Castle here was actually a demon in disguise?!

"Damn you! It was you! You did this!"

Roaring in fury, Sango kicked her little brother away with all her strength, then picked up Hiraikotsu from the ground and hurled herself at the Lord of the Castle.

She would kill him.

She would avenge her father and uncles.

But what greeted her was a surprise Flying Blade attack from Kohaku after he landed, and dozens of arrows from the guards.

She used Hiraikotsu to block the entire frontal barrage, but she failed to stop the Flying Blade launched from behind by her own flesh and blood. Or rather, out of habit, she had never guarded against him.

And so the Bone Blade, honed from demon bone, easily pierced her back.

She followed in her father's and uncles' footsteps.

Blood streamed from the wound, staining her inner garment red in an instant.

"Kohaku..."

As she lay dying, she saw her brother suddenly regain his senses and run toward her in tears.

Then countless stray arrows pierced him, turning him into a porcupine.

"Are we still too late?"

"Save them, now!"

Through the haze, the girl heard voices descending from the sky that sounded like heavenly music.

"They sure got here fast!"

Deep within the Castle, the young Lord of the Castle, Hiten, narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he looked in the direction Li Xia's group had departed.

Before this, he had already arranged for a group of his little pets, the Saimyosho, to intercept them en route.

As expected, the unexpected happened.

Unaware of how dangerous the Saimyosho were, Miroku opened his Wind Tunnel and swept up the whole lot. He did not leave a single one behind. Well, the main reason Miroku had gone that far was that everyone was hundreds of meters up in the air! Little Kirara, their aerial fighter, had not yet joined the team, while Aba was a weak little demon who could not possibly handle a swarm of Saimyosho.

If they did not get rid of the Saimyosho, they would have to contend with the danger of a free fall from hundreds of meters in the air.

For everyone's sake, and his own, Miroku had no choice but to take the risk!

Afterward, the poison laid him low.

His face turned black and purple.

Fortunately, Li Xia always carried several Antidote Potions specially made by the Li Family.

They were highly effective at suppressing and neutralizing many potent poisons.

Without those potions, the monk Miroku would have gone straight to an early grave.

And that delay along the way had made them several quarters of an hour late.