Chapter 106: Kanae Kocho

The Spider Sister stood in the eerie silence of the night, her gaze fixated on the flickering flames that danced in her palm. Her face, once a canvas of terror, was now a battleground of emotions, oscillating between fear and determination. The fire's glow illuminated her features, casting a haunting light on her eyes that held a glimmer of newfound resolve.

For decades, she had been a puppet, her strings manipulated by the cruel puppeteer, Rui. He had forced her into a grotesque parody of a family, a twisted game where she was made to play the role of the obedient sister. But now, the tables had turned. The puppet had the chance to cut her strings and crush her captor.

"Sister, you... you'll protect me, right?" The chilling voice of Rui echoed through the silence, a ghostly reminder of the past. His upper body lay on the ground, severed from the rest of him, but his voice still held the power to send shivers down her spine.

Her face hardened, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the gruesome fate of those who had dared to defy Rui. They were either sliced into pieces by his razor-sharp spider silk, left to die under the scorching sun on a spider web, or, like their father, stripped of their sanity and turned into a monster completely obedient to Rui.

A wave of terror washed over her, her resolve wavering. Years of fear had conditioned her to obey Rui, even though she knew he was destined to be killed by the monster before her. But the Ghost Rider had a different plan.

"How about this!" The Ghost Rider's ominous voice echoed through the night, a sinister promise hanging in the air.

With a snap of his fingers, the flames in her hand began to spread across her body. She was instantly engulfed in an indescribable heat, the flames licking at her skin, searing her flesh.

"Aaaah—!" she screamed, her voice piercing the silence. The agony was unbearable, the heat threatening to consume her.

The Ghost Rider continued, his voice a chilling whisper in the wind, "Kill him, or the hellfire on your hand will slowly consume you entirely!"

The spider sister, writhing in immense pain, heard the Ghost Rider's ultimatum. To end this torment, she had to kill the one who had oppressed her for so long. It didn't seem like a difficult choice.

With a newfound determination, she turned her gaze towards Rui, her face twisted with rage. "It's all your fault... all your fault..." She snarled, her voice filled with venom. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be suffering like this. Die, just be gone!"

Rui's face turned from shock to terror. "What are you doing?! I'm your brother, you're supposed to protect me! Kill the one who destroyed our home!"

Aaaaaaagh!

But his pleas fell on deaf ears. To stop the Hellfire from consuming her, the spider sister lunged at Rui, transferring the flames onto him. His screams echoed through the night, a symphony of his demise.

"See how fragile your so-called bonds are? Your chosen sister, to avoid a bit of suffering, didn't hesitate to kill you. You were born a bastard, unloved by anyone!" The Ghost Rider's voice echoed, a cruel mockery of Rui's pleas for protection.

The Hellfire continued its relentless dance, consuming Rui's body while the Ghost Rider's words gnawed at his soul. The dual torment of body and spirit was a spectacle of agony, reducing Rui to nothing more than a pile of ashes.

[Ding! Side mission updated: Eliminate the Twelve Demon Moons, gain 600 penalty Points, current progress 3/12]

[Ding! Soul Sacrifice Function used successfully, soul exchange completed, you got 200 penalty Points]

After the spider sister had fulfilled her part of the bargain, her arm was completely consumed by the Hellfire. She turned to the Ghost Rider, her voice desperate, "I did as you said, now take back the fire!"

"I never said I'd take back the fire if you killed him," the Ghost Rider murmured, his voice as cold as the night. With a snap of his fingers, the Hellfire spread across Kanae's body. She was consumed by the flames, her screams echoing through the night until nothing was left but ashes.

[Ding! Side mission completed: Eliminate at least ten ordinary demons, gain 800 penalty Points]

[Ding! Soul Sacrifice function used successfully, soul exchange completed, you got 50 penalty Points]

With the eradication of all the demons on Spider Mountain, Jon, the Ghost Rider, retracted the Hellfire and returned to his human form. He stood amidst the ashes, the remnants of the battle that had just taken place.

His thoughts turned to the group of ordinary people poisoned by the Spider Brother. He didn't have the ability to cure them. Was he just going to leave them here?

Jon recalled the original plot. He remembered that in the original story, it was the Kakushi who came to deal with these matters, and the one who cured those poisoned by the spider was Shinobu.

"In that case, I don't need to worry about these matters. The crow should have already reported the situation here to the Demon Slayer Corps." Jon thought, his mind at ease.

He then prepared to descend the mountain. As he started down, he saw many figures dressed in black, wrapped up like Japanese ninjas, slowly approaching.

"They're here, as expected," Jon muttered to himself. They were members of the Demon Slayer Corps' Kakushi division.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the night, "Wait, there's someone ahead!"

The members of the Kakushi division halted in their tracks, their attention riveted on Jon. Whispers filled the air, their words carried by the wind.

"Is that him, the strangely dressed demon slayer?"

"I'm not sure, but he fits the description. He's much younger than I imagined~"

"Why don't we just ask him?"

One of the members, a tall figure with a stern face, stepped forward and addressed Jon, "Excuse me, are you... Jotaro Kujo?"

"Huh?" Jon was taken aback, then remembered that he had indeed used the name Jotaro Kujo before.

"Yes, are you from the Demon Slayer Corps?" Jon replied casually, his voice echoing through the silence.

The Kakushi member nodded and said, "Yes, we're here to clean up the battlefield. I hope you can tell us about the situation on the mountain."

Just then, another voice chimed in, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

"You guys go to the back mountain, let me ask him~"

It was a gentle and graceful female voice, as soothing as a clear spring, bringing peace to those who heard it.

Jon looked over to see the Kakushi members parting to make way for a beautiful young girl with black hair, purple eyes, green butterfly hair clips on either side of her long hair, and a butterfly-patterned haori.

This was a character who was supposed to die in the original story, Shinobu's sister, the Flower Pillar Kanae Kocho. Due to Jon's spacetime travel, the main storyline was distorted and pushed back by four years, so somehow Kanae was still alive.

"You're Jon-san, right? Thank you for saving Shinobu last time~" Kanae smiled. In fact, her face was always adorned with a gentle smile, and her voice was equally soothing.

After Jon had sent Mitsuri and Shinobu back to the headquarters last time, they had learned his real name. However, most of the Demon Slayer Corps still thought his name was Jotaru Kujo, as Jon had always existed in the Corps as a rumor.

Jon nodded and replied, "Hey, you're Shinobu's... sister, right?"

It was easy to guess based on her appearance and attire.

She smiled and replied, "Yes, I'm Kanae Kocho, the Flower Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps. I look forward to working with you, Jon-san~"

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(A/N: The new world after Demon Slayer will be American Horror Stories!)