The female demon was surprised to discover that when Rui appeared again, there were two more people beside him.
She did not understand what had happened, only that the auras of these two people filled her with fear.
And when she faced Rui again, the female demon felt an even more uncontrollable terror.
She noticed that Rui had brushed his hair aside himself, no longer letting it cover his eyes.
The newly appeared words "Upper Rank" and "Six" made the female demon tremble all over.
"I..."
Rui looked at the trembling female demon and smiled:
"Don't worry. As long as you're willing to become my family, I can still protect you."
"It's just that your role will have to change."
In the woods of Mount Natagumo, Rokuro said indignantly:
"Why?!"
"That guy was only Lower Rank Five!"
"Even if that lord wanted to fill the Upper Ranks, he should have..."
Koyuki seemed frightened and hurriedly reached out to cover Rokuro's mouth:
"Stop talking!"
"If that lord made this decision, of course he had his reasons!"
"Besides, he's already an Upper Rank. We can't defy him."
"Just think of it as... staying here and playing house with him..."
After saying this, Koyuki curled up silently in a corner of the woods.
Before, they had all been Lower Rank demons, and her own rank and Rokuro's had even been higher than Rui's.
But Koyuki had no intention of questioning that lord's decision in the slightest.
Or rather, she did not even dare entertain the thought.
Rokuro opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something more, but ultimately chose silence too.
Of course he knew what was special about Mount Natagumo and Rui.
After a pause, Rokuro said quietly:
"He's already an Upper Rank. His control will only grow stronger."
"Doesn't that mean we'll be trapped here forever, never able to leave?"
Koyuki gave a bitter smile:
"Look on the bright side. At least we won't have to worry about those Demon Slayers hunting us down."
"Especially those people called 'Hashira'!"
"I really don't understand. They're only humans, so how can they hone that kind of strength!"
"Even when they're injured, or their companions beside them have died, they won't retreat. Instead, they keep fighting."
"So let's just think of ourselves as being like those other demons, coming here to seek protection."
After those words, both Rokuro and Koyuki fell silent.
They looked at the clothes they had changed into, similar to those worn by the demons here, and both could not help sighing.
Demons like them were normally restricted from gathering together.
And unless that lord personally gave the order, they were forbidden from acting together.
Yet many demons still chose to band together for mutual support, driven by the pressure to survive and their fear of Demon Slayers.
The former Lower Rank Six, Kyogai, for instance, had a Drum Mansion.
However, both Koyuki and Rokuro knew that the so-called "Drum Mansion" was tiny in scale, with only two or three demons.
But Rui was different.
He had established a fairly large "family" on Mount Natagumo, recruiting many demons to play his "family members."
Rui also required those demons to change their appearances and clothes to resemble his own, and to obey the "family rules" he established.
Yet that lord had not punished him for it, instead tacitly permitting such behavior.
Just then, Koyuki and Rokuro raised their heads and looked a short distance away.
The female demon they had met upon arriving was standing there, calling to them nervously:
"It's time to eat."
"He... little brother told me to call you to dinner."
Koyuki looked at the female demon and noticed that she, too, had changed her clothes, and her hair color had also changed.
Judging by what she had said, had Rui given her the new role of another "older sister"?
Koyuki nodded and pulled Rokuro to his feet:
"Let's go. At least... let's not anger him right now."
Rokuro gave a low snort:
"If this is what life is going to be like from now on, I'd rather have a Demon Slayer cut my head off. At least that would be a release."
Koyuki and Rokuro arrived at the dilapidated mansion.
They saw several demons sitting stiffly at the table, all with their heads lowered.
Rui played the youngest child in the entire "family" and was sitting at the end.
But until he spoke, no one dared make any unnecessary sound.
Just then, Rui suddenly looked toward the foot of the mountain, and a smile seemed to appear on his face:
"I was worried I'd only be able to serve some ordinary dishes to welcome our new family members today."
"To think someone from the Demon Slayer Corps would actually come in here all alone."
"To welcome you new family members, I'll go to a little trouble as the 'child' and fetch the ingredient myself."
At the foot of Mount Natagumo, a swordsman with center-parted black hair was warily observing his surroundings.
This swordsman was Murata.
He drew the Nichirin Blade at his waist, muttering under his breath:
"Something's wrong here. Very wrong!"
"Ever since I received the Kasugai Crow's message and entered this mountain, I've kept hearing a strange rustling sound."
"That sound... just hearing it makes me think of bugs with lots of legs crawling around."
"But a moment ago, that sound suddenly vanished!"
"What happened?"
Murata cautiously continued forward, only to find that the feeling beneath his feet was growing increasingly strange.
He lowered his head and discovered that the ground beneath him was covered in spiderwebs.
No, not just beneath his feet!
As he ventured deeper, spiderwebs covered both the branches and the spaces between the trees.
His body was already covered in spiderwebs too.
At that moment, a chill suddenly rose in Murata's heart.
Just looking at his surroundings, he could already picture spiders everywhere around him.
If that were all, Murata felt he could grit his teeth and bear it.
But what frightened him now was that he could not see a single spider on any of these webs.
All he could see now were empty spiderwebs!
"Where did all the spiders go?"
"I keep feeling like something's coming..."
The instant that thought appeared, Murata's heart clenched.
He instinctively looked up, only to see a boy wearing white hair appear above him!
Murata was just about to react when he discovered that he had lost control of all four limbs.
Only when searing pain and numbness came in alternating waves did Murata realize what had happened.
Many thin, tough strands of spider silk had already pierced his body before he could react!
Murata's heart filled with terror, and a thought involuntarily arose:
If only a Hashira could come save me...