The Myriad Forest Poison Domain Rises, Blade and Flame Light the Perilous Path

The first light appeared on the horizon, dispelling the last shadows of night from Inaba Village.

Giyu Tomioka crouched beside a stream outside the village. Icy water flowed over his wrists as he splashed it onto his cheeks.

Kanzaburo fluttered down onto a nearby rock and tilted his head at him.

"Mission complete! The Inaba Village hinoe-rank mission is complete!!"

"Nice work, Giyu... even if you still have that annoying cold face."

Giyu ignored the Kasugai Crow's muttering and straightened up.

Just then, another Kasugai Crow tore through the morning mist, diving toward him at astonishing speed before hovering precisely in front of him.

Its cries were sharp and urgent, carrying an alarm that immediately signaled something serious was about to happen.

Kanzaburo fell silent at once, his feathers standing on end as he grew serious.

"Emergency request for assistance!! Defiled Wood Mountain area!! More than ten members entered to investigate, one after another, and all contact has been lost!! A powerful demon is suspected to be present!!"

"A [Hashira] has been ordered to the scene! Demon Slayer Corps members are urgently needed to proceed immediately to the outskirts and edge of Defiled Wood Mountain, conduct a preliminary investigation, and gather as much information on the demon as possible!!! Assess the threat and search for survivors!!"

"Mission rank: provisionally high kinoto!!"

"Extreme danger!!! Repeat, extreme danger!!!"

The message was brief and grave.

More than ten people missing, a [Hashira] dispatched, a high kinoto ranking... every word meant deadly danger.

Giyu nodded, accepting the mission.

The messenger Kasugai Crow said no more and beat its wings, shooting back into the sky, apparently continuing on to deliver the message to other areas.

"Defiled Wood Mountain... is that way."

Kanzaburo pointed northeast with his beak. There, the outlines of the mountains looked dark and indistinct in the gradually brightening sky.

"It's a little far, and... it sounds like a deadly place."

Giyu had already secured his Nichirin Blade back at his waist.

He took one last look at Inaba Village, now peaceful again, then turned and set off toward the northeast.

A narrow path wound through the woods, and morning dew soaked the hems of Giyu's trousers.

He moved quickly, but his steps remained steady as he maintained the most efficient breathing rhythm.

Even as he traveled, his mind kept working.

Most Demon Slayer Corps missions were like this.

A Kasugai Crow brought a message: "There's a demon somewhere."

Then the swordsmen had to go.

As for what kind of demon it was?

A newly turned one?

How many people had it eaten?

Could it use a Blood Demon Art?

What kind of Blood Demon Art did it have?... They knew none of it.

The information was often pitifully vague. Most of the time, all they had was the number of missing people and an approximate location.

It was like a cruel blind-box game, with their lives on the line for each draw.

With good luck, they would draw a demon that had only recently turned, one that was ignorant and weak, and could easily kill it and survive.

With ordinary luck, they would draw a demon that had already harmed people, knew how to use its strength, or had even begun to awaken a Blood Demon Art. Then they would face a bitter fight with life and death hanging in the balance.

With the worst possible luck, they would draw one of the Twelve Kizuki... and that was almost certain death. Escaping with their lives would count as extraordinary fortune.

It was precisely because information was so scarce and uncertain that the casualty rate among ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members remained at that frighteningly high level.

Every mission was a gamble against heaven.

Giyu felt neither anger nor sorrow; he simply recognized the fact clearly.

The blade in his hand was for slaying demons, but also for carving out another chance at survival for himself and others in this cruel blind-box game.

On this trip to Defiled Wood Mountain, even learning a little more about the demon might make things much easier for the [Hashira] arriving later, and spare the other members some bloodshed.

He quickened his pace.

There was still a long way to Defiled Wood Mountain.

While Giyu hurried onward at full speed, another Demon Slayer Corps squad had already arrived at the foot of Defiled Wood Mountain.

The squad had seven members in total.

Their leader was a swordsman of about thirty, lean and capable, with a composed face, a sweatband tied around his forehead, and eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

He was Akamatsu Enjirō, a kinoe-rank member, experienced and steady in his approach.

Behind him were six mizunoto-rank members.

Murata looked somewhat pale as he gazed at the mountain shrouded in strange, pale green mist, his palms growing sweaty.

His experience on Mount Fujikasane had made him wary of any unnatural, godforsaken place.

"Mr. Akamatsu, this mist..." a young member said uneasily.

"The color's wrong, and so is the smell."

Akamatsu Enjirō spoke in a low voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over the drifting mist.

"Everyone, stay on maximum alert. Stay close to me and watch your breathing. Report immediately if you feel unwell."

"Our mission is preliminary reconnaissance and gathering information, not fighting to the death. Understood?"

"Yes!" everyone answered quietly, but the tense atmosphere refused to lift.

Under Akamatsu's lead, the squad cautiously entered the green mist.

As soon as they stepped inside, it was as if the world had been cut off by a layer of gloomy gauze.

The light grew dim and distorted, visibility dropping sharply until everything a few meters away was a blur of green.

The surroundings were frighteningly quiet, as though every living thing had fled or died. Only their own footsteps and restrained breathing echoed around them.

Even more unsettling was the ever-present feeling of being watched.

It was as if countless pairs of eyes were hidden deep in the mist and behind the twisted shadows of the trees, coldly observing their every move and sending chills down their spines.

Murata's heart beat faster and faster.

He kept looking from side to side, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of his sword.

The surrounding trees were all strangely shaped, their bark mottled and peeling, their branches twisted like struggling arms. The whole place felt sinister.

After they had walked for a while, Murata suddenly felt a slight dizziness, and the edges of his vision seemed a little blurred.

He shook his head, thinking he was simply too tense.

But immediately afterward, a member beside him stumbled and caught himself against a tree trunk.

"Strange... my head's spinning..."

"Mine too, a little..."

"I'm seeing... double..."

One after another, all six members except Akamatsu, their leader, developed similar symptoms:

Dizziness, blurred vision, and weakness in their legs. They were like drunks, and their reactions had slowed as well.

Akamatsu Enjirō stopped abruptly. He had noticed the subtle changes in his body before the others, but had been suppressing them with his stronger physique and willpower.

Now, seeing the state of his squad, he understood instantly. His expression changed drastically, and he roared:

"Quick!! Cover your mouths and noses!! The mist is poisonous!!! It's a poison miasma!!!"

The warning came, but it was already too late.

The poisonous mist had long since entered all their bodies as they continued to breathe.

Of the seven-person squad, only Akamatsu was barely left standing in an instant.

He too felt intense dizziness pounding through his head, and his lungs burned with pain.

But he gritted his teeth and forcibly used his Breathing Style, trying to dispel the poison as he looked anxiously at the squad members sprawled on the ground.

Just as Akamatsu tried to wake his squad members or find a way to neutralize the poison!!!

Rumble!

The earth beneath their feet shook violently without warning, as though something enormous had awakened underground.

The sickly trees around them, which had been motionless until then, suddenly let out loud, teeth-grating creaks and cracks!!

Their bark peeled away in great sheets, revealing knotted, writhing interiors like wooden sinews, as though the trees had grown flesh and blood.

Their outstretched branches hardened, lengthened, and split. Their tips sharpened into countless wildly dancing wooden claws or whip-like tentacles covered in barbs.

In the blink of an eye, the forest clearing shrouded in green mist seemed to become a living forest demon domain filled with boundless malice!

"Heh heh heh... another batch... of fools walking right into my trap..."

An aged, hoarse voice came from the mist.

It was filled with undisguised pride and cruelty, and the mocking amusement of a predator savoring its prey's despair.

"Human demon hunters... always so impatient... catch the slightest scent of blood and fear, and you come rushing here one after another... to become my nourishment..."

The demon's voice flowed slowly, carrying the pleasure of a cat playing with a mouse.

"But... good... just what I want."

"More slaughter... more demon hunters' heads... only then can I build up enough achievements... only then will that supreme lord see my worth..."

Forcing himself to endure the dizziness, nausea, and burning pain in his lungs, Akamatsu gripped his sword hilt tightly. His gaze was sharp as lightning, fixed on the direction of the voice as he tried to find the demon's true body.

"This Defiled Wood Mountain... is my domain... my Myriad Forest Poison Miasma and Wood Manipulation Technique combine perfectly here..."

The demon continued its proclamation, its voice full of the arrogance of one who controlled everything.

"Every breath of poisonous mist you take weakens your lives; every inch of ground beneath your feet, every tree, could become a deadly weapon!!!"

"I'll bury your bones in the soil and turn your flesh and blood into nourishment for my forest..."

"And I will climb over the corpses of more demon hunters like you... to claim a seat among the Twelve Kizuki!"

"And gain the supreme power bestowed by that lord!!! Heh hahahahaha!!!"

The wild, cruel laughter echoed through the mist and the forest that had come alive, as though making the entire mountain resonate.

Before the laughter had faded, all the wood demons went berserk at once!

Wooden claws blotted out the sky as they reached in from every direction, sealing off every avenue of escape!

Roots as thick as giant pythons and covered in gnarled knots tore through the ground like tentacles reaching out of hell, coiling and crushing!

Sharp branch thorns poured down from above like a rainstorm!

Akamatsu Enjirō's expression was grave, the veins at his temples bulging from the immense strain. Yet the flames burning deep in his eyes had not dimmed in the slightest; instead, they blazed even brighter in the face of death!

He drew a sudden, deep breath, expanding his chest to its limit and forcibly suppressing the effects of the poisonous mist as he drove the power of his Breathing Style to its peak!

"Clang!"

With a clear, blazing ring, he drew his Nichirin Blade.

A bright, steady orange-red glow, concealing explosive power, suddenly flared along the blade!

The searing light illuminated his resolute face and the endless, monstrous wooden shapes,

tearing an opening through the green poisonous mist, filled with the presence of warmth and destruction.

Kinoe-rank swordsman Akamatsu Enjirō stood with his blade held across him, facing the roaring assault of the entire Myriad Forest Demon Domain alone.

His unconscious companions lay at his feet, and there was no path of retreat behind him.

At that moment, the battle erupted!!

In this deathly silent forest of green mist, the flames would blossom with their most resolute light!!!

Meanwhile, on the mountain path, a figure in interwoven deep blue and crimson was speeding through the thin morning mist at an astonishing pace, racing toward the place where the battle raged.