The Mist Clears, the Blades Sing, and the First Missions Begin

On the morning of the fifteenth day, a subtle silence hung over Mount Sagiri.

In the clearing before the cabin, fallen leaves spun as the mountain wind swept them up and let them fall again.

Giyu and Sabito stood side by side beneath the eaves, looking toward the mountain path.

Both wore neat Demon Slayer Corps uniforms, with Wisteria family crests glimmering on their shoulders in the morning light.

Footsteps approached from afar.

Their visitor was a short, stout middle-aged man wearing a Hyottoko Mask with an exaggerated expression. He carried two long, slender cloth bundles on his back.

His steps were steady and firm, sounding clearly against the stone path.

"Disciples of Lord Sakonji Urokodaki?"

The voice beneath the Hyottoko Mask was a little muffled, but it carried a craftsman's characteristic directness.

"Yes."

Sabito stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"Sorry for the trouble of coming all this way."

The masked man waved a hand, took the bundles off his back, and carefully undid the cords.

His movements were slow, marked by an almost reverent care.

"I'm Kanamori from Swordsmith Village. I was responsible for forging your Nichirin Blades."

He introduced himself briefly, then drew out the first sword and presented it to Sabito with both hands.

"I adjusted the proportions to suit your Breathing Style and physique. See how it feels."

Sabito took a deep breath and accepted the sword.

Its scabbard was a plain dark brown, and its guard bore a rippling water design.

He gripped the hilt and slowly drew the blade—

"Shing!"

The moment the blade left its scabbard, the air seemed to ripple.

Starting at the guard, a clear sky blue spread along the steel like flowing water, soaking into it until it covered the entire blade.

Fine, rippling temper lines ran near the spine, seeming to flow slightly as the angle changed.

"Beautiful!"

Sabito couldn't help exclaiming.

He tried a few swings, and the blade cut through the air with a light, sharp sound.

Kanamori nodded and turned to Giyu. "Yours."

The second sword was brought out.

Giyu accepted it, and the moment he gripped the hilt, a strange resonance reached his fingertips.

"Shing!!!"

He drew the blade slowly, slowly enough to see every inch of steel emerge into the air.

Its blue was deeper and darker, almost the color of the deep sea at midnight.

Its temper lines formed a more intricate, natural pattern of flowing water, like marks scoured by a rushing mountain stream.

Kanamori's eyes lit up behind his mask.

He leaned closer for a better look, even reaching out to touch the blade lightly without regard for etiquette.

"This... this texture... I've never seen anything like it."

"The affinity between you and the tamahagane is so high that it goes beyond forging. It's more like... a natural choice."

He stepped back, studied the sword in Giyu's hand, then looked at Sabito's before finally shaking his head.

"Both are top quality. But yours..."

He pointed at Giyu's sword.

"It's already approaching the level of a [Hashira]. It's just a shame..."

"A shame about what?" Sabito asked.

"A shame it isn't red."

Kanamori's tone held a craftsman's characteristic regret.

"In my thirty-seven years as a swordsmith, I've always wanted to witness a 'red blade' with my own eyes."

"Legend has it that when a user's body temperature exceeds ordinary human limits, or their Breathing Style reaches a certain realm, their Nichirin Blade turns a blazing red. It's a color that can suppress a demon's ability to regenerate."

Giyu looked down at the deep-blue sword in his hand and, unusually, spoke without being prompted.

"A red... Nichirin Blade?"

"Just a legend."

Kanamori waved a hand.

"I've only ever seen it mentioned in an old swordsmith's notes."

"They say a swordsman who used Flame Breathing awakened a red blade a hundred years ago, but the details have been lost."

He gathered up the cloth bundles and cupped his hands toward the two of them.

"The swords are finished. May fortune favor you both in battle."

"May these two water-colored blades slay all the evil demons in the world."

With that, he turned and headed down the mountain, his steps as steady as ever. He soon vanished into the morning mist.

As soon as the masked man disappeared around a bend in the mountain path, two crows arrived as promised.

Sabito's Kasugai Crow, Qingliu, landed on his shoulder and affectionately rubbed against his cheek.

Giyu's crow circled overhead three times, looking thoroughly unwilling, before finally landing on Giyu's right shoulder.

"Giyu! Giyu Tomioka!"

Kanzaburo called in a coarse voice.

"A mission! You've got a mission!"

Almost at the same time, Qingliu spoke up.

"Sabito! Mission orders! A village fifty li southeast, suspected demon activity, three people missing!"

Both crows pulled small message tubes from their leg bands at the same time.

Giyu and Sabito took them and pulled out the slips of paper inside.

The writing on the slips was terse and cold.

Location: Southeast, Inaba Village

Situation: Three people missing over three nights, suspected demon attack!!!

Priority: C

Assigned to: Giyu Tomioka

Sabito's slip contained similar information, except the location was another village to the southwest.

The missions had begun...

Their first real missions as swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Expressionless, Giyu folded the slip and tucked it inside his clothes.

Then he gripped his Nichirin Blade's scabbard and secured it at his waist.

His deep-sea-blue eyes looked southeast, where there were things he needed to slay and people he needed to protect.

Nearby, Sabito read his slip, took a deep breath, and turned toward Urokodaki, who had been standing silently in the doorway.

"Master..."

Sabito's voice trembled slightly.

Urokodaki said nothing. He simply opened his arms and embraced the disciple he had raised since childhood.

His Tengu Mask rested against Sabito's shoulder. A long time passed before his deep voice came.

"Come back alive."

"I will!"

Sabito nodded hard, and his tears finally spilled over.

But he quickly wiped them away and showed his usual radiant smile.

"I still have to come back and eat your cooking, Master!"

Giyu walked up to Urokodaki and bowed slightly.

"Master, I'm leaving."

Urokodaki looked at him, this disciple who was always quiet and reserved, yet more steadfast than anyone.

He reached out and patted Giyu on the shoulder.

"Giyu."

Urokodaki's voice was soft.

"Remember, your sword slays demons, and your heart protects people."

Giyu nodded. "I understand."

The morning light had fully dispelled the mist, and birds sang clearly among the wooded mountains.

The two checked their equipment one last time in front of the cabin.

Swords, medicine, water, rations, and the fox masks at their waists.

Then they set off in different directions.

Sabito looked back and waved, his smile shining in the sunlight.

Giyu did not look back. He simply raised a hand with his back to the cabin and waved gently.

Urokodaki stood in the doorway, watching his two disciples' receding figures until they finally disappeared around a bend in the mountain path.

He raised a hand and removed his mask, letting the morning breeze brush his scarred face.

His pale gray eyes held reluctance and worry, but more than that, pride and anticipation.

Fledglings must leave the nest and eventually soar on their own.

And all he had to do was trust that they could fly high enough and far enough.

Giyu followed the mountain path down toward the plains to the southeast.

The morning light grew brighter, a little warm against his face.

Once he left the mountains, the landscape suddenly opened up before him.

Rice paddies stretched into the distance, their golden ears rippling in the morning breeze.

On the ridges between the fields, farmers who had risen early were already at work, bending to transplant seedlings and pull weeds, their movements slow and regular.

Farther away, wisps of cooking smoke rose from village rooftops, and the faint sounds of crowing roosters and barking dogs could be heard.

Giyu slowed his pace.

He walked along a narrow path between the fields, with waist-high rice on either side.

An old farmer came toward him with a hoe over his shoulder and paused in surprise when he saw Giyu.

The stern-faced youth in a red haori, with a long sword at his waist, looked entirely out of place in this pastoral scene.

The old farmer's gaze lingered on Giyu's face for a moment, then fell to the Nichirin Blade at his waist.

The old farmer seemed to recognize something. A flicker of awe crossed his eyes, and he bowed slightly as he stepped aside.

Giyu nodded in greeting and continued on.

He gazed at the scene around him.

Farmers worked, women cooked, and children played at the village entrance.

Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, birth and death, weddings and funerals.

Ordinary and mundane, yet real and peaceful.

He had once lived a life like this.

When his sister was still alive, in that little home, through those quiet, ordinary days.

An unfamiliar emotion welled up in his chest.

Not sadness, not nostalgia, but... envy!!!

He envied these people for being able to worry about the harvest, about marriage, about what they would eat tomorrow.

The greatest troubles in their world were no more than natural disasters, illness, and making a living.

Not demons!!!

Giyu stopped and closed his eyes.

A gentle breeze brushed his face, carrying the fresh fragrance of rice and the scent of earth.

He breathed deeply, filling his lungs with those scents.

Then he opened his eyes, his gaze firmer than before.

It was precisely because demons existed that such an ordinary life was so precious.

And precisely because it was precious, someone had to protect it.

He tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

Just then, a weight settled on his shoulder.

Giyu frowned slightly and turned to look.

At some point, Kanzaburo had landed on his shoulder and was leisurely preening his feathers with his beak.

"..." Giyu stared at the crow.

Kanzaburo stopped and tilted his head at him.

"What is it?"

"You can fly." Giyu stated the fact.

"Can't I rest just because I can fly?!?!"

Kanzaburo was unapologetic.

"Besides, I'm your Kasugai Crow! Of course I can stand on your shoulder!"

"Those are the rules! Do you understand?!"

Giyu fell silent for a few seconds, then decided not to argue with a bird.

He turned back and continued walking.

Kanzaburo shook his feathers proudly and steadied himself on Giyu's shoulder:

"That's more like it. Keep heading southeast, and you'll reach Inaba Village before evening."

"The mission is simple, only a C-rank. It's probably just a little demon..."

Kanzaburo chattered on while Giyu listened in silence.

The narrow path along the rice paddies stretched ahead, waves of rice rippling on either side. The morning light cast his shadow long...