A/N: So, I'm mostly numb to things that happen to me now but uh, time's have been pretty rough and I don't want to abandon this story, but I want to do a rewrite.

Like there are so many plots I had written 2 years ago that I don't have in any documents or in my current timeline, so many little things that just pile up, like not having each iteration of the System written down to compare stats.

The further I go on the more things compound, a bit of an open plot here, some interaction or wording there. Things that were meant to lead somewhere but never did. I want this story to be more compact, and not a scrabble of a thousand chapters, because honestly that's just absurd. For me to write and for everyone else to try and read, it'll be like that One Piece fanfic that's been going on for 2 decades and has 4.9K chapters, last time I checked at least.

So, I'm gonna do a poll, and all  of you can vote if you want a rewrite, and what things you think it could improve on. Because, truth be told, there's a lot to improve on.

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*Asura's POV*

 

"It is about time the fool managed to lead you here. I would suffer no more harm to my family from wretches like you." He said in a voice that sounded soft but colder than ice.

 

Rui was a child. That was the first realization that hit me, what should've been a 7 year old kid was a flesh eating demon.

 

"And who might this fool be? The monk?" Kenji asked, being the first to get his bearings together.

 

"Monk is it? You call that creature a Monk? I find it unsurprising that you harm my family, foolish creatures who do not understand the difference between hellspawn and monks." Rui said bitterly and all three of us gave each other space to draw our blades.

 

"And do you not fit the title of hellspawn yourself? Are you not lower moon 5? Have you not destroyed and devoured countless lives to feed your thirst for power?" Kenji shouted back equally, as bitter.

 

'It seems my senior does indeed have emotions. Or Rui managed to get on his nerves.'

 

"Let's end this farce, I do not wish to talk with you anymore." Rui said and all of us drew our blades and ran straight for him.

 

*Wraith steps*

 

I quickly overtook both Kenji and Tanjiro in a mad dash and If Rui was surprised at my speed he didn't show it.

 

*Crimson Slash*

 

Igris went straight towards his left hand.

 

*Clang*

 

"Grr." I grunted as I was pushed back.

 

'Why did I expect this would be that easy?' I chuckled and straightened my feet.

 

*Eye of Hermes*

 

My left eye blazed with a blue tint as I looked all around the Demon, spider threads were all around the trees, in a web of white silk that all traced itself back to Rui.

 

‘Well I certainly won’t do this fight without my Skills.’ I thought darkly, considering the possibilities.

 

Kenji and Tanjiro were walking much more slowly trying to corner Rui, their blades held forward and over their shoulders respectively, Ready for any sort of attack.

“He has small webs all around him, you won’t be able to see them until they’re very close.” I said and they both nodded.

 

Rui seemed surprised before snorting with disdain.

 

All of us held our breaths, waiting for who would approach first. We already had the Lower Moon here, everyone else would be relatively safe as long as we kept him here. Not that it would be easy by any means.

 

*Swish*

 

The webs trailed through the air slashing through it without sound but reflecting in my eyes clearly from the moonlight, a falling leaf would be diced into innumerable pieces before ever reaching the ground and Rui was barely moving his fingers at all.

 

‘Wraith Steps’

 

I raised my blade over my head in a defensive posture before rushing in a powerful gust towards the demon.

 

*Slash*

 

My hair fell loose as one of the strings managed to cut through them yet it was much easier to get closer to Rui. Strong steps mixed with light footwork brought me ten feet in front of him.

 

“Die now.” The boy said before all of his fingers twitched and I found myself being surrounded by threads of white ready to render me to ribbons of meat and bones.

 

I jumped.

 

The action surprised Rui whose eyes widened at my action as he saw me rise halfway to the treetops in a single leap, before he clawed at his left hand ready to bring me to death midair.

 

Before he could do that though Tanjiro’s blade clanged against his right side, the motion of the blade a bright blue as it came down in a wide arc.

Rui was forced to jump backwards even as Kenji’s blade began to come at him from behind and I threw a Kunai at him that he dodged by moving his head, even then I could see the faint trail of blood going down his face and the slightly nicked flesh of his ears.

 

‘He can only use those threads in wide arcs and not more than two with his hands, as nimble as his finger may  appear.’ I considered as I braced my knees to land on the ground, hitting the damp soil with a heavy thud before rushing back into the fray.

 

Me and Tanjiro managed the offensive, getting in slight nicks and cuts while Kenji harassed the demon’s backside whenever he overcommitted to attacking us in his annoyance.

 

‘Crimson Slash’

 

I brought my blade down in a downward arc and chipped off another nick of the demon’s ear.

 

Rui gave a wordless scream as he brought his hand to the side of his face, clearly angry as he huffed in heavy breaths.

 

“I’ll make you suffer for that.” he said even as the wound visibly healed.

 

I in turn brought my blade downwards, its tip pointed to the earth as I looked at him.

 

“No, you won’t. By night’s end the world will lack in suffering, and for that it’ll be you who must suffer first.” I said even as I dodged wide arcs of thread, becoming increasingly erratic yet ever more dangerous.

 

‘Okay, shouldn’t have acted like a hero, he seems even more angry now. Why do I even bother.’ I almost wished to roll my eyes but that would’ve left me very dead.

 

Quietly Kenji brought down his blade at Rui’s back, ripping it to shreds before retreating even as the demon howled at the moon.

 

*Drip*

 

I smelled human blood, strong in its metallic scent. All of us had taken wounds but this was a fresh one, and clearly a deep one so I looked at my companions only to find Tanjiro grunting with my Kunai stuck in his right wrist.

 

I did not think, I ran straight to cut the string attached to the Kunai but Rui drew it back, rolling the Kunai in the air via the string attached to its end. He seemed pleased at the wound caused but recoiled at the Kunai.

 

“What kind of horrible cleaning do you do that your blade drips blue? Are you an apprentice to that poison Hashira?” Rui asked, now clearly more amused as he felt himself back in power, almost touching the liquid at the tip of the kunai before thinking better of it.

 

My answer was to throw a small red vial at Tanjiro which he held with his uninjured hand before upturning the contents into his mouth and down his throat.

 

I grunted through the pain, making sure to keep myself at the edge of the clearing,

Rui was slow in his playfulness, pushing all of us back with his newfound toy that was my Kunai, keeping us at a distance by using its blade like a weight to draw his strings.

 

Tanjiro was kept behind me and out of sight.

 

“Why? Afraid I’ll slice through your friend first? I promise to go for the old man first, I wish to see you companions struggle till the end.” Rui spoke, gloating as he threw the kunai  in wide arcs.

 

We stalled each other for minutes, as I did my best to avoid taking even glancing strikes. Rui was becoming too curious about my lack of injuries.

 

“Why do you not bleed? Do you eat demons like that other disgusting creature I’ve heard about? Is that you? No he was clearly much more ugly and taller of frame.” Rui said with leisure, considering possibilities.

 

I nodded slightly at Kenji who gave a sharp thrust at Rui’s back even as he took a hit on his shoulder for doing so, Rui angered at the interruption and threw his kunai first backwards to keep Kenji off,

 

‘Wraith Steps’

I readied myself to rush into the web of threads and Rui seeing it hurriedly threw the knife straight at me.

 

I sidestepped to avoid it as Tanjiro came up from behind me with his blade and cut straight at the Kunai, deflecting it to my front.

 

‘Wolf Claws.’

 

My nails hardened and elongated as I severed the thread connecting the Kunai to Rui before it could be tugged back, the now weightless Kunai was put straight into my inventory while Rui looked confused at Tanjiro before drawing an angry glare at me.

“You first then.” He said before he dug his own nails into his forearms, bleeding bright red under the moonlight.

 

The blood flowed unnaturally fast to the strings attached to his fingers and suddenly there was a web of crimson thread wherever I looked, the strands more visible than they had been before as they turned fast from white to red to crimson.

 

From each tree or spot on the ground there hung a thread connected to another and then another and finally all of them brought themselves back to Rui standing in the middle, with a wound on his arms that bled continuously and flowed into the thread connected to his fingers, a web of crimson silk with him at the center.

 

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A/N: Read ahead at Patreon.com/Ashara.

Hope everyone has a nice Day/Night.