CHAPTER 57: THE JORŌGUMO YAKAI

The next morning, we set off toward the Nyx pack settlement. The group consisted of me, Roran, Kaelen, my mother, the warchief, the chief of the guardians, the caregiving chief, and the hunter chief. There were also a few other unnamed werewolves that followed us for protection.

All of us traveled north into the mountains where the Nyx pack lived. As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice a bit of tension in the air, so I decided to question Nyra, who was sweating a lot.

"Why does everyone seem so tense?" I asked.

"Hmm? Didn’t I tell you?" She said, placing her index finger on her lips and give an innocent smile. "You see, one of the reasons why the Nyx pack hasn’t been able to get to us was because of a monster that settled on a strip of land just outside our territory."

"A monster?" It was the first I’ve heard of it. "What kind?"

"It’s a yokai."

The moment I heard "yokai," I could feel a headache begin to settle. Those pests are the biggest squatters in the supernatural world. They usually settle in one area and rarely move. It’s a pain to get them to leave after they decide to settle somewhere. Once they take over your house or land, you have little choice but to leave.

"The problem is that we have to pass through that strip of land to get to the Nyx pack territory," Nyra explained.

Hmm... That explains everyone’s tense mood. This could pose a problem.

"Which yokai is it?" I decided to ask.

"It’s the Jorōgumo."

"Isn’t that the one that goes after men?" I asked, feeling a chill climb up my spine.

An evil smile rose on Nyra’s face.

"Yes, the beautiful spider maiden who tangles men in her webs. Then breeds with them until they eventually die. The children she gives birth to become grotesque spider monsters with the face of the man she sleeps with." Nyra laughed evilly as she spoke. "That yokai, the Jorōgumo."

"That yokai." Suddenly, it felt as if I was going to have a migraine. I certainly wasn’t in the mood to fight against a yokai. No wonder the others seemed tense. I would’ve rejected Nyra’s offer immediately if I knew I would have to go up against that thing. I had a sneaky suspicion that that’s why she didn’t tell me about the monster.

After hearing about the possibility of encountering a yokai, I kept my senses sharp. I made sure to keep track of every living thing I sensed.

"We’re entering her territory now," Nyra said after some time.

I gulped hard as I took the first step into her territory. The change was immediately evident as the entire area went from colorful to black and white. The world always takes on peculiar forms when you enter a yokai’s territory. It was a side effect of their killing intent.

This time, it was black and white, and all the trees in the area had withered away, and from their branches hung bodies wrapped in silky white webs.

"Typical Jorōgumo. She keeps her prey as trophies," Nyra said, shaking her head.

Everyone was in a panic as they saw the bodies wrapped up in webs, and I could feel their panic rising. My mother reacted and started to come closer to me. I figured she was trying to protect me in case anything went wrong.

I was happy. Having her protect me, then maybe I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. We continued through the desolated area until suddenly, a deep fog began to envelop the area.

"Be ready when the yokai tries to attack us," Roran commanded.

His bloodlust was pouring out of him in waves. I don’t know if he thought it made him look cool or something. Maybe it did, because everyone in the pack, except me, began bowing their heads to him. They didn’t dare look at him directly.

The fog continued to cover us, but the strange thing was that it was not only obstructing our vision; all our senses were being affected too. I couldn’t smell anything. Neither could I hear the heartbeat of the others. They all seemed to disappear. They could’ve been calling for me, and I wouldn’t hear because of this fog. Even Nyra who was just standing beside me was gone, her presence completely erased.

I continued to wander around aimlessly in the fog until suddenly, I felt the hairs on my skin rise. I immediately knew I was in danger and reacted quickly. I barely got out of the way in time before a black pointed object swung at me in a deadly arc.

Immediately, as the beast struck, the fog cleared, and I was left shocked at the monster that stood before me. It was a giant spider with the face of a human male. I felt a cold shiver climbing up my spine just looking at the abomination.

Seeing that its surprise attack missed, the beast screeched loudly before lunging at me again. Its pointed black legs whistled through the air aimed at my skull, but just before the monster got to me, Cerberus dove from my shadow in a flash of black energy and caught the monster by surprise.

The monster didn’t even have time to react before Cerberus’s sharp canines clamped down on its head and ripped it off. Cerberus dismantled the beast piece by piece, and when he was done, he brought me its heart.

I smiled and patted my companion on the head.

"Good job, Cerberus."

He growled softly and licked my hand. I then devoured the neon green heart in my hand.

[You have consumed the heart of an arachni.]

Before we even had time to rest, more arachni surrounded us. I didn’t want the hassle of dealing with them, so I summoned the rest of my shadow hounds to deal with them. The spiders tried their best to get to me, but they didn’t even get close as they were instantly killed by my shadow hounds.

A satisfied smile rose on my face as I continued on my way, but just then, I heard a blood-curdling scream. I immediately went in the direction of the scream. When I got there, I saw some of the werewolves who had accompanied us lying in a pool of their own blood.

They were lying naked on the ground, and their bodies looked like nothing but dried-out husks. Their skin took on a greenish tint. I looked at the bodies with a mixture of emotions coursing through me, and just as I thought things couldn’t get worse, I felt a hand grab my shoulder.