13 Chapter 13. Natagumo mountain ark (Part 1)

Afternoon,

On a road,was a black haired youth,wearing a black haori,walking towards a certain village.

This youth was undoubtedly Harada,currently he was going to the village just 5km south from where he was.

"I've walked 15 km in just a few hours,but I think I should have been faster,I mean,I'm nkt even that much fatigued,or am I?" Harada pondered.

"But really,I think I might get addicted to using the Seventh form,stabbing a demon is much more satisfying than cutting thier necks"

Last time,to kill the fish-like demon,Harada had continuously used seventh form of water's breadth to stab the demon to death.

The reason he was able to do that was because the demon himself was very weak on the ground,not much stronger than a regular human.

As he was thinking this,he heard his crow.

"Harada,Harada,something important happened!"

"What is it?" I inquired.

"The demon you were assigned to kill has left the village and now is in the forest near the village,he had changed his location during the night" the crow said.

"Ok,the forest it is then" Harada said as he started running as fast as he could.

"I'll kill that demon as soon as I see him" He thought.

In a forest,killing tens of demons who are attacking you and killing one demon who has inttellect are compeletly different things.

After a few hours,

In the Evening,

Harada knew that he must kill that demon as soon as he saw it.

But he had arrived at the forest by the evening,not even dusk,but by the evening.

So fast.

Since he now had enough time to spare,he thought he would go to the village and rest.

........

At dusk,

"Now that I have rested quite a bit,all the fatigue is now gone." Harada said while stretching a bit.

He had gone asleep under a tree.

The thing is that,ever since he became a demon slayer,he didn't get enough sleep at night,thus making him feel a bit drowsy.

But now that he had rested,he felt as if his body was 2 times lighter than before.

"Now that It's going to be nighttime soon,I think I'll got to the forest.The demon changed it's hideout,he can also do it again." He thought.

In a forest,

A black haired youth,wearing a black haori and dark blue blade,was slowly walking here and there.

He had hid his Nichirin blade in his haori,so that the demon thinks that Harada is just a normal humans travelling in the forest at night.

Harada didn't hear anything,there was no voice at all.

That's why he was ready to use "water's breadth:second form,Horizontal slash".

He didn't hear anything nor did he see a demon or even a trace lf it,but he felt that something,someone was watching his every action from behind.

He took a deep breadth

Readied himself.

And turned around!

Yet there was no one there,there was nothing at all.

In that instance,a demon pounced at Harada from behind,aiming for his head.

Harada had guessed what this demon was upto,and thus,he immediatly used "Water's breath:Second form;water wheel vertical slash"

*shii*

He cut the demon in two halfs in just one strike.

"Too easy,I think I should look around for a while,maybe there another demon around here"

Just as he was thinking about trying to find if there was any other demon,he heard his crow's voice.

"Harada,Harada,you have completed your third mission,now go to the mountain called Natagumo mountain" he crow said in it's unpleasant voice.

"Ah,that mountain in which there were a lot of demons,and the olace where Tanjiro used Fire god"s breadth for the first time in the anime" he thought.

"Okay,I'll go there,but in which direction should I go?" I asked the crow.

"It is not far away from here,just 4 to 5 km in east" the crow said and pointed in the east direction.

I started running at full speed in the east direction.

"If I remember correctly,the natagumo mountain battle was a bloodbath,tens of demon slayers were killed mercilessly" Thinking that I shiever from...excietment.

Yes,I was thrilled,anticipating the great life or death battle as I made my way to Natagumo mountain.

And just like him, Tanjiro,Zenitsu,Inosuke and Murata were making their way to natagumo mountain.

........

"Argh,oi monjiro,these webs are very annoying,why did I even come here" Inosuke grumbled in an irritated tone.

"Inosuke,since you decided to come with me to this mission,it greatly motivated, and is motivating me to finish this mission alive" Tanjiro said in a gentle tone.

"....Hmph,of course,you should be honored that the great Inosuke-sama is your friend and is here with you in this mission" Inosuke said,seemingly embarrased.

"Hey,Inosuke,why are you being so loud? What if the demons hear us?" Zenitsu said in a low voice.

"hmph,what a scardy cat are you!" Inosuke said in a loud voice.

Tanjiro,of course,ignored them,not because they were too annoying,but because he could smell that this place is filled with demons.

"Hey,wait!" Sunddenly someone shouted at them.

It was Murata.He was also a demon slayer who used water's breadth.

"Who are you?" Tanjiro asked.

"My name is Murata,I am also a demon slayer,let's team up,it can increase our survival chances" Murata introduced himself as he suggested to team up.

"hmm,okay,Murata san" Tanjiro agreed as he didn't mind increasing the chances of success.

.....

After a few minutes,

Tanjiro,Inosuke,Murata and Zenitsu saw tens of demon slayers.

Their bodies were being controlled.

Their bones were seemingly broken.

They were in agony.

"Argh,please kill me!" a demon slayer cried.

They could see the threads in the air.

They also tried cutting them yet they jist repaired themselves.

"Mojiro,I can track the demon who is doing this so stall them for me" Inosuke said as he sat on the ground and started breadthing in a certain rythm.

In an instant,Inosuke could feel the entire area in his 500m radius.

He pinpointed the demon who was controlling these threads.

He told Tanjiro the direction and Tanjiro ran as fast as he could,he after running for over a minute,

He jumped with as much strength as he could muster to strike at the demon which was supposed to be infront of him.

In front of him,was the mother demon.

There was a demon named Rui on this mountain and he had created his minions and gave them names like mother,father,brother and sister.

The mother demon was,of course a human once,but one day,due to a misfortune,she became a demon and humans tried to hunt her,she fortunately,or more accurate would be ,unfortunately,she met Rui and became his minion.

But ever since she got turned into one of Rui's minions,she had witnessed horror,they had to obey every single one of Rui's commands,if they didn't then they'd be left outside,in the sunlight to burn.

She had seen it happen a lot of times.

Tonight,a demon slayer had come so close to her neck,she saw it as a way to get freedom,freedom from this hell.So she didn't defend herself and prepared herslf for a sword strike.

Witnessing the Mother Spider Demon accept her defeat, Tanjiro changes the grip of his Nichirin Blade and uses the Water Breathing: Fifth Form - Blessed Rain After the Drought on the Demon, beheading her mercifully.

"Poor demon" There was a hint of pity in Tanjiro's eyes.

.....

At another place in the forest,

Zenitsu and Chuntaro journey together through Mt. Natagumo in search of Nezuko and Tanjiro.

He even seperated from Murata.

Zenitsu was constantly being frightened by the spooky, dark, and forested area.

He even got picked by something and started to get annoyed he can't find Tanjiro or Inosuke.

"Where are you Tanjiro-san,Inosuke-san?!"

The loud demon slayer also got irritated by the foul odors, multiple pathways, and the sounds of spider's rustlings around his feet.

Suddenly,he heard a noise behind him.

"It must be Chuntaro" he thought

After hearing another noise behind him, Zenitsu turned around to tell chuntaro to stop and was shocked to see a Spider with a human face.

Spooked, Zenitsu started running away at full speed screaming for his life. He arrived at a small house suspended by spider threads. Caught in the webs are several humans who have been poisoned by spider venom.

A pungent odor filled the air and a giant spider with a demon's head lowers himself from the house.

"Hey,human,I have something to tell you"The spider demon said.

Zenitsu refused to talk to the scary monster and tried to flee.

The spider demon said "Human,you have been struck with my poison,you will now turn into a half-human half-spider monster in an hour or two hehehehe."

"Wha-What did you say?!" Zenistu asked in disbelieve.

To terrify the weeping demon slayer, the demon walks him through the agonizing details of the transformation minute by minute.

A swarm of spiders with human faces crawl at Zenitsu, spooking him into fleeing again.

He ran and climbed a tree.

"Human,it is pointless."The spider demon said.

The cowardly boy ignored the monster.So the Spider Demon threatened to give him an extra dose of poison so he deforms into a spider sooner.

Hopeless, Zenitsu attempted to hide from the demon. Zenitsu recalled his Master disciplining him for running away.

That's how he got struck by lightning and ended up with yellow hair.

"I don't wish to be a coward." he thought.

Zenitsu wanted to be more competent but he believed he's too weak and was trying his best,even now.

"What is he doing? Isn't he supposed to kill me and not run away?"The demon was confused by his opponent's strange wailing and sends his minions crawling up the tree.

Zenitsu paniced and realized that not only is he in trouble, but his hair is falling out as well. He meets the Spider Demon's glare and passesd out from the fear.

"..."

"What kind of demon slayer is he?"

Even more confused, the demon wondered if Zenitsu is really a demon slayer. The spiders reach the branch Zenitsu was laying on, but his body fell off.

The demon believed Zenitsu is going to fall on his head.

"Hmph,such a trash won't be worth adding to my collection." the demon scoffed.

Suddenly,

The sleeping hunter took a deep breath, smoothly fliped over,

"Thunder Breathing: First Form's stance."Zenitsu propeled himself off the tree and soared toward his enemy.

The Spider Demon counters with Poison Sputum, a blast of poison shaped like a web. Zenitsu twists his body in mid-air, impressing his opponent.

Moving like a new man, Zenitsu tooks his stance again.

The demon ordered his spider minions to swarm his enemy, interrupting the demon slayer's stance.

Zenitsu evades their attacks and assumes the stance of Thunderclap and Flash. The demon fired more poison at him but the sleepwalker jumps back to evade it and reassumed his stance.

This made the Spider Demon believe Zenitsu can only utilize a single technique in battle.

Zenitsu was dreaming of his master, who reminded him that he must master a single thing.

All Zenitsu's hellish training paid-off, his electric aura rises as he recalls his sensei's powerful words of encouragement.

The old man was hard on Zenitsu because he wanted to beat out his impurities and forge him into the most durable blade of all !!

The Spider Demon spewed more venom and although Zenitsu dodges, he got surrounded by the swarm of spiders. Memories of Zenitsu's encounters with his Sensei's other pupil flashed by. He also remembered that having no parents meant no one cared about him. However, his Sensei was always there to believe in him no matter what. Zenitsu managed to avoid the poison stingers from the spider's but coughed up some blood as a result of getting bitten earlier.

The largest swarm of spiders with human faces all jumped on Zenitsu and appear to consume him.

Suddenly, Zenitsu's electric aura exploded and sent all the spiders flying away. The sound of thunder echoed through the area and the air vibrated from the intensity resonating from the demon slayer.

Determined to make his master proud, Zenitsu opened his eyes and assumed the stance one final time.

The Spider Demon landed on the ground and watched in fear as his opponent charges up Thunderclap and Flash.

The lightning resonating from the Zenitsu broke the ground and it grew even stronger when he multiplied its power Sixfold!

Afraid of Zenitsu's ferocious aura, the Spider Demon retreated upward and spit poison at the electrified hunter. Zenitsu vanished in an instant and dashes around the surrounding area with lightning-speed.

Unable to track his enemy's movements, the demon retreats back into the house. Zenitsu appears and propels himself off one of the wires. In a lightning-fast series of six dashes, Zenitsu follows the threads until he cleaves the demon's head off.

As he killed the demon,he collapsed,yet he was still partly conscious.

To be continued...