Thunder

"Why does this place smell so bad?" 

Makomo could be seen standing on top of a tree branch looking over a clearing of trees. It had a house flipped on its side in the center with webs connected to trees holding it up.

There were also bodies dangling from the webs. They looked lifeless, if Makomo couldn't hear the constant groans they were making and them twitching from time to time she would have assumed they were dead. One of them even had their arms replaced with spider legs.

After she entered the area Shin sent her to, she noticed the increase of spiders and the bad odor that seemed to increase the further she went in. 

The surroundings were quiet, other than the yelling she heard earlier asking how something was possible there was nothing else.

Makomo looked towards the ground and shuddered. There were spiders with human heads that were big enough to fit on one's face crawling around below her. ''Is that what they're turning into?'

An eerie laugh resounded through the area snapping her out of her thoughts.

A head with red dots, pure white skin, and short white hair was looking out the door towards her. Their eyes had a dark red, almost black sclera with deep blue irises and pupils. "Hello there, are you joining the family by chance?"

"Nope." Makomo rejected without a second thought. 

She took out her sword as the head showed a disappointed look that Makomo could tell was fake before a sadistic grin took its place.

"Oh well, I guess that's that!" It began to lower itself out of the house that it was resigning in. 

Makomo couldn't help but look at the demon in disgust when she saw the rest of his body was that of a giant spider. 

He was hanging himself upside down on some string that was connected to the inside of the home.

He suddenly started to swing himself back and forth until Makomo was in his range. 

Makomo couldn't understand what the spider was doing but she prepared herself for whatever was to come.

The demon puffed out his cheeks and spat out a purple liquid towards her. Before it could land she quickly hopped to another branch.

Makomo looked back at the spot she once was only to witness the purple liquid the demon spat out eating through it while giving off a putrid smell. 

Because of this, she assumed it was some type of poison or acid, either way she wouldn't let it near her.

Suddenly those creepy spiders with human heads ran towards the tree she was on and began to climb it. 

The spider demon's sadistic grin widened as he watched the scene unfold, unlike what he expected of the girl in front of him; she remained calm and killed those that managed to reach her swiftly.

"Just despair already!" The demon yelled.

"Please just let me wake up from this nightmare!" The boy from earlier ran into the area screaming his lungs out.

Makomo and the spiders stopped what they were doing when they heard his shout. 

He frantically looked around until his eyes stopped on the giant spider hanging upside down in front of Makomo. "HAAAAHHHH?"

He turned around and tried to run away just like that. "I am not gonna have a conversation with whatever you are!" 

The spider demon laughed loudly, getting the reaction he wanted but couldn't get from Makomo. He turned towards the boy and began explaining his situation as if the demon girl had never existed.

The boy ran up a tree opposite of Makomo and closed his eyes. He put his hands on the side of his head yelling for the demon to shut up.

The spiders that were once coming to Makomo made a dash for the crying slayer holding his head. "Gyah! No! Don't come up here! Leave me alone! Just gimme a moment!"

His hands slipped from his head with yellow hairs between his fingers. He looked at them with a blank stare before his body became limp as a noodle on the spot and slid off the branch he was on.

Makomo wanted to facepalm but she held herself back, she had to focus on the demon ahead of her. 

She jumped from the tree she was on and landed on one of the strings below her. 

The string was pulled down like a bow by her weight and propelled the girl forward towards the demon. 'Water Breathing: First Form: Water Surface Slash!'

Makomo slashed towards the demon's neck as blood colored water rushed behind her blade, The demon swiftly swung itself to the right to avoid her attack and spat out its poison.

She easily maneuvered around it and flipped herself upside down midair as if she was flying. She landed on another line of string and like before it launched her back down towards the demon.

The spider shot more poison at her but before it could even reach she moved around him and cut off two of his legs.

She was sure that attack would have taken his head even with the poison coming for her but he had sacrificed them instead.

Makomo flew back down and quickly turned herself back over. She suddenly changed her footwork then launched herself in a random direction. 'Water Breathing: Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow!'

The demon was the one confused this time seeing her. "What are you doing now?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she moved her body and landed on something that propelled her forward like before. When she passed the demon she cut another of his legs off.

She did this repeatedly. Boosting her momentum on the surrounding threads and cutting off his legs until there was none left. 

The demon was only able to see nothing but a blur leaving blood colored water every step.

Makomo landed on a single string below the demon and put all the momentum she built up into it, the string was pulled down to the point of almost snapping.

The demon hurriedly crawled back into its home feeling a chill go down its spine and tried to defend himself, yet he was too slow. 

Makomo flew towards him and was just about to cut through his neck but-

*BOOM!*

A loud booming sound resounded through the area similar to that of thunder. 

A bright yellow light zigzagged around the house until it shot through the entrance and appeared on the other side of the spider demon.

When the light dimmed down something or someone appeared like lightning with a trail of yellow and blue electricity following behind them.

*Thwop!*

The two blades cut through the demon's neck like butter. The figure crashed through the wall up into the sky with their hand on their sword and the moon beaming behind him.

Makomo flew through the opening the figure made and backflipped onto the top of the building to gain her footing. The person fell next to her with a thud and tired eyes, it was the slayer who was crying earlier.

He looked almost dead yet when his eyes landed on Makomo the light slightly came back to his eyes. "Hey.."

Makomo tilted her small head and crouched down to hear what he had to say. After a moment the words finally left his mouth.

"Marry me please.." 

"..." 

Makomo was left speechless, she couldn't understand how he was able to ask something like that in the situation he was in and to a girl he had just met.

"I'll have to decline." She sheathed her sword and disappeared from her position, leaving the slayer laying there.

The last thing she was able to hear from him was to give his blood back to him.

Makomo ran down the mountain to where Shin had told her to go when done exploring.

As she made her way down she saw people who looked like medics moving towards the location she had fought with a girl wearing a short white cloak. 

When she made enough distance from where the battle was she heard loud footsteps coming towards her. A big headless demon with blades for hands stepped out before her with a woman on its shoulders.

Makomo raised her sword and took a breath, the woman quickly raised her hands before she could attack causing her to be slightly lost. "Are you the one he said to go to if I see them?" 

"He?" Makomo asked.

"A boy with black to red hair and a black fox mask on.." The woman went on to describe who she was talking about. Makomo could tell who it was just by the first thing she mentioned.

Makomo internally sighed hearing the woman would be another of her master's servants but remembered what he had told her before taking Susamaru. 'Don't worry, you'll always be number one.' 

"Alright let's go, master said to go back down the mountain once we were finished exploring our side of the mountain." Makomo gave the woman a calm smile.

"Mn."