"I know, I want to be a Demon Hunter too from now on. Uncle, you're Dad's friend, and you're a Demon Hunter too, right? Can you teach me?"
The little girl blinked and leaned closer to Kurozawa, whispering. She looked like she'd just heard a big secret and was afraid of others hearing, so she didn't dare speak loudly.
A ray of sunlight shone on Kurozawa's face, while half of his body was in the shadow of the eaves. In the interplay of darkness and light, Kurozawa smiled slightly, "Yes, but you have to wait until you're a little older."
"Your grandpa is taking care of you, right? Don't mention these things in front of him. When you're able to be independent and still feel this way, come to the foot of Mount Sagiri."
"Then, I'll teach you how to become a Demon Hunter."
Sticking out her pinky finger, the little girl was so happy she almost jumped up, "Then let's hook pinkies."
Kurozawa watched her joyful expression, gently hooked pinkies with the little girl, and made the promise.
As the sun set in the west, the sky gradually darkened. Kurozawa walked unhurriedly along the mountain path, looking up at the large mountain that lay prostrate like a spider.
Mount Natagumo.
This mountain wasn't tall, but its area was vast. From a distance, it looked like a giant spider, which is how it got its name.
Perhaps it was because terrifying rumors often came from within the mountain, but there were very few travelers on the mountain path of Mount Natagumo. Walking along, Kurozawa only encountered one or two people who were hurrying along.
Due to its shape, Mount Natagumo could cause some psychological pressure. It was normal for people passing by not to want to stay. Humans also have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid harm, and perhaps they subconsciously sensed the threat of Mount Natagumo.
"A large number of swordsmen have gone missing. I just don't know how large 'large' is."
The trees in the mountain were dense and lush. From a distance, without excellent Pupil Power, one could only see a dark and deep mountain. Apart from the sounds of birds, beasts, insects, and the rustling of the night wind moving the trees, there was no other sound on Mount Natagumo.
Kurozawa looked at the silent Mount Natagumo, recalling the Kasugai Crow's mission about the large number of missing swordsmen.
Chewing on this sentence carefully would send chills down one's spine.
Without venturing into the mountain impulsively, Kurozawa stood still, bathed in the bright moonlight outside the mountain, and pondered deeply.
The word "spider" gave him a vague sense of familiarity. When he first heard the term Mount Natagumo from the Kasugai Crow, Kurozawa didn't react, but thinking about it later, he had a feeling of déjà vu.
In the original work, the plot he was very familiar with had already passed. His remaining understanding of this world came from some posts he had stumbled upon unintentionally. Rummaging through his memories, Kurozawa finally got some impressions.
This process was very painful. The feeling of being just on the verge of remembering, always falling short by a hair, scratched at his heart, making him inexplicably irritable. Thankfully, when he thought of the word "spider," Kurozawa had a flash of inspiration and remembered.
"Spider... Rui?"
Kurozawa had read about the Twelve Kizuki. Of course, only the more famous characters were described at length, and among them was a Lower Moon. Kurozawa's first impression of that Lower Moon was that he looked like a spider.
After the flash of inspiration, familiar memories flooded into Kurozawa's mind like a breached river. He finally remembered the deeds of Rui.
"Mount Natagumo, that's right. It really is as Master said, I've encountered a Kizuki."
"My luck is truly as good as ever."
In Mount Natagumo, if Kurozawa remembered correctly, the fellow who caused the large number of missing swordsmen was a Kizuki who liked to play role-playing games, Lower Moon Five, Rui. His Blood Demon Art seemed to be related to threads.
That's all Kurozawa remembered. He had forgotten the rest because the memory was too distant, and he hadn't paid much attention to the Lower Moons when he saw the post back then.
"Could it be that these swordsmen were captured by him to play house? Maybe they can still be saved."
Kurozawa wasn't surprised by the opponent's Kizuki status. When he figured out the opponent's identity, he felt a slight excitement.
After dealing with the Snake Demon on Hachijo Island, Kurozawa returned to Mount Sagiri and sparred with his master. Without using Sword Forms, Sakonji Urokodaki was no match for Kurozawa at all.
Sakonji Urokodaki said that Kurozawa's strength was already close to that of the Lower Moon Demons he had previously slain, only lacking the toughness and infinite regeneration characteristic of Demons.
When sparring with Sakonji Urokodaki, Kurozawa used Total Concentration, and his average physical stats reached over 0.8, indicating that the physique of a Lower Moon was also around this level, with fluctuations likely not differing much. What was troublesome was their Blood Demon Art.
Looking at the over five hundred Potential Points accumulated in Gray-White, Kurozawa was full of vigor and dashed into Mount Natagumo with a leap. As long as he had enough Potential Points, he was fearless.
In Mount Natagumo, much of the moonlight was blocked by the dense trees. Only a few scattered patches of bright moonlight fell on the ground, providing Kurozawa with some visibility.
Due to his strong Constitution, Kurozawa's Pupil Power was no longer what it was when he first entered the Ruined Shrine. With just weak moonlight, he could see everything around him, even spiders the size of a human head crawling on leaves dozens of meters away.
"It's almost like night vision. Fighting at night, even without light, won't affect my combat power."
Kurozawa gave himself a thumbs-up for his current Pupil Power.
But suddenly, he sensed something was wrong.
"Wait, a spider the size of a human head? What the hell?"
The figure, which had been speeding through the mountain like a black lightning bolt, came to a sudden halt. Kurozawa was about to turn his head to look at the location of the spider he had just seen, but his visual perception detected intense malice.
A faint sound of something cutting through the air came from behind. Kurozawa frowned, turned around, and simultaneously reached out to grab the creature attacking him.
Squeak, squeak, squeak... He squeezed hard, and juice splattered from his hand, a slippery and disgusting sensation, accompanied by sounds like a mouse squeaking.
After withdrawing his hand, Kurozawa raised an eyebrow as he looked at the struggling little thing.
"Its appearance is way too unique and grotesque..."
Firmly gripped in Kurozawa's large hand was a pale human head. The head had no hair at all, and its eyes were wide open, bloodshot.
Where a neck should have been, there were several limbs that looked like spider legs, struggling wildly.
"Wait, why does its appearance look somewhat familiar?"
The Human-Headed Spider went mad, opening its mouth to reveal densely intertwined sharp teeth, wanting to bite Kurozawa. But because the distance was too far, it squeaked impatiently.
Kurozawa remained unfazed, frowning as he carefully observed the face on the human head.
After practicing the Breathing Technique, his memory was excellent. Many people he had only seen once on the roadside were clearly stored in his memory, hidden away but recalled when needed.
"On Mount Fujikasane, I think I saw a swordsman who looked like this..."
After just a few breaths, Kurozawa's eyes narrowed, and he knew the source of his familiarity.
The face of the Human-Headed Spider was difficult to recognize because its hair had fallen out and it was now pale and frantic, but some similar details still made Kurozawa remember.
Its appearance, in its details, was extremely similar to a swordsman who had participated in the same Swordsman Trial as Kurozawa.
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