Ashen Demon

13

"Tell me what you know, now." Byleth instantly questions the demons after healing the wound on her forehead with Mend. She also did the same for Douma, despite that he can regenerate it on his own. But she figured it is the least she can do, since he was attempting to wake her up. Though headbutting isn't the way to go.

"The humans suddenly within a deep slumber and not waking up... this is definitely Lower Moon 1's handiwork." Rui remarks while glancing at the ropes each of the passengers have. This made Byleth look at the rope that is coiled around her wrist, and following it as it leads outside to the top of the cart.

"That would explain why no one managed to made it out alive. Now as for how they are suddenly gone..." Douma trails off, appearing deep in thought with a fan tapping his chin. In all truth, he and the other Upper Moons never paid much attention to the Lower Moons since they were constantly changing. So learning the new faces and hearing their abilities aren't needed to know, if they even cared that is.

Nezuko looks between them with a dot-eye expression.

"I think-"

The scream of Tanjiro had them whip their heads over, seeing the older Kamado springing up from his place in a sheen of sweat formed on his temples with wide eyes. He just sat there as he trembles a little, before sensing he was being watched. He looks over, and sees the four looking at him.

"B-Byleth! Are you and the others okay?!" Tanjiro asked while getting up and wandering over to them.

"Yes, we are." Byleth remarks, before looking at the rope on her wrist with furrowed brows. "But with that aside, we should focus on getting everyone out of their dreams. Perhaps if we cut them, that will do the trick."

"I see! Nezuko! Rui! Douma! Burn and cut the ropes from the passengers!" Tanjiro said towards the three demons.

"I don't recall taking orders from-"

"Do it, Douma." Byleth gave an appointed glare to the Upper Moon, seeing that Rui and Nezuko are doing what Tanjiro tells them to do. Except Douma, who was giving the wine-eyed male a look that a moody teen would give to their parents. With Byleth giving the push, Douma happily joined the two demons.

Though he slashed the rope on Byleth first before doing so. Though with the ropes burned from Nezuko's Blood Demon Art and sliced off from either of the Demon Moons, the passengers showed no signs of waking up. This made the mint-haired woman click her tongue in irritation, wondering they'll only wake up if the Lower Moon 1 is slain.

"They're not waking up!" Tanjiro exclaims in frustration.

When Byleth looks over to him, her eyes went wide at seeing a girl rushing towards him with a syringe in hand. Seeing she has ill-intentions, she pushes Tanjiro out of the way, who was startled at the turn of events, as Byleth instantly disarms the girl with a swift kick to the wrist. She cried out in pain, before Byleth chopped her in the back of her neck to knock her out.

"What was that?!" Tanjiro questions.

Then suddenly, there were some passengers starting to wake up. But these were children who looked like they were not getting the rest they deserved, each of them glaring at the two and the demons with them while armed with sharp objects. When she looks at their sunken dulled eyes, she was instantly reminded of Dimitri's condition when he was plagued by nightmares.

"Douma. Rui. If Lower Moon 1's Blood Demon Art revolves around dreams, they can also create nightmares right?" Byleth questions the rainbow-eyed demon and the spider boy.

"Of course, Byleth-chan~" Douma smiles over to the woman, with Rui nodding in confirmation.

Which means Lower Moon 1 is using that as a means to torture whoever he forced to work with him, such as these children. She can almost see that they are desperate to be free in wanting to sleep, lost within perfect dreams without having to be induced by nightmares all the time. And from the looks of it, it seems he is also fooling them.