Just as everyone stood baffled, a black shadow suddenly shot up from somewhere in the woods like a thrown javelin, tracing a beautiful arc before landing squarely in the center of the circle.
It was just as silent, as though it had appeared out of thin air. In the blink of an eye, it was standing before them, leaving them no time to react.
The members stationed on the outer perimeter had their attention fixed on the demons in the woods and failed to notice the eerie figure that had appeared behind them.
Although the demons in the forest were acting strangely, they never imagined that a demon was standing right behind them. There were so many people within the circle—if there really had been a demon, it was impossible that no one would have reacted at all.
It was not that they had failed to react. They simply had no time to.
This time, many people met the mysterious visitor's gaze, including Kimura and Eimi.
He had a round, expressionless face, indifferent eyes, and a powerful body layered with muscle. Most frightening of all was his height—he had to be a full two meters tall. His legs looked abnormally long, and he looked down on everyone from above.
At that moment, he was staring at a female member in front of him.
Perhaps sensing that her life was about to end, tears welled in the female member's eyes. She turned to look at her companions behind her, seemingly begging someone to help her. Yet everyone stood there as if dazed, having forgotten even the most basic defense.
Then the female member realized she was rising into the air, drifting farther and farther away from her companions. Wind howled past her ears. She wanted to cry out for help, but no sound would come out.
Only after the female member vanished did the companions around her let out pig-like screams. The sudden cries startled everyone, and even the demons at the edge of the woods shrank their necks.
All the members on the outer perimeter turned toward the circle and drew their Nichirin Blades, thinking that thing had finally appeared. They were ready to attack at any moment.
The members inside the circle also snapped out of their daze and terror. Their faces were deathly pale as they gasped for breath. Several female members even clutched their heads and broke down crying, while the male members wore equally despairing expressions.
What had that thing been?
Was it really a demon?
What kind of demon could leap more than ten meters into the air?
Kimura got to his feet, rubbing his forehead as he paced restlessly across the clearing. At last, he waved his fist and let out a despairing, unwilling curse.
Perhaps he was frustrated that he had been unable to save the girl just now. Or perhaps he was condemning the Demon Slayer Corps assessment for actually arranging such a supernatural demon.
Beside him, Eimi hugged her arms around herself and trembled as well.
The members on the outer perimeter did not know what had happened, but judging from the expressions of those inside the circle, someone must have disappeared again—and they had seen that thing's true face.
The group had just suffered a devastating blow, with nearly half its members dead or wounded. Now, this fellow had suddenly appeared. Even with the defensive ring as tight as an iron barrel, it came and went as if strolling through its own backyard, occasionally dropping by to steal a few vegetables.
How were they supposed to defend against that? How could they defend against it?
Kimura was completely out of ideas.
This was the Demon Slayer Corps' final assessment. Only now did many of them realize they had underestimated the Demon Slayer Corps.
Unfortunately, something even more terrifying still awaited them.
A deep roar suddenly rang out. The contestants, who had been steeped in despair and confusion, all jerked in alarm and turned toward its source. Their hearts, which had only just calmed, began trembling again.
The sound made them think of lions and tigers—when they roared in anger, all beasts scattered. But where could there be lions or tigers here? There were only...
The demons lingering at the edge of the woods seemed even more panicked upon hearing that roar. In an instant, they vanished without a trace.
Crack, crack.
Cracking sounds came from nearby. Everyone immediately thought of trees breaking, and that was indeed what they were hearing.
How much strength did it take to snap trees as thick as a man's waist?
It was getting closer. That thing was getting closer!
Even the ground seemed to tremble, along with the contestants.
The contestants on the outer perimeter gripped their blades and pointed them toward the source of the sound, their bodies shaking like sieves. Those inside the circle also rose to their feet, still holding half-eaten food.
Everyone seemed to be craning their necks in anticipation, welcoming the arrival of some "important figure."
Suddenly, something like a spider darted out from between two trees. Hugging the ground, it raced toward the crowd at tremendous speed, apparently fleeing from something pursuing it.
A furious roar followed, as though whatever was chasing it had been thoroughly provoked. Then came two more cracks, and the two towering trees at the very edge were shoved apart to the left and right. This "important figure" finally entered everyone's sight.
Under the moonlight, a huge ball of flesh squeezed out from between the two trees. Then, chasing after the spider-like thing, it charged toward the crowd as well.
Thud, thud. The ground truly was shaking.
What the hell was that thing?!
The enormous ball of flesh stood a full three or four meters tall, much taller than the Bouncing Demon from before. A pair of thick legs supported an eerie upper body.
It was called eerie because a human male's standard build was generally even from top to bottom. But this thing looked like three fat men whose legs had been cut off, pressed back-to-back together.
That might very well have been exactly what it was, because it had six arms and three heads—no, more accurately, two heads and one face.
Six arms were evenly distributed around its roughly conical torso. A head protruded from each of the upper sloping sides behind it, while a face sat directly at the front, between its two chests.
Yes, it had only a face, without a head.
Faced with this sudden monster, everyone was frightened stupid, forgetting that the first thing they should have done was raise their blades and defend themselves.
And they only noticed the huge ball of flesh behind them, overlooking the spider-like thing that had emerged first.
The Spider Demon encountered no resistance. It passed through the contestants' outer defenses and silently appeared inside the circle.
Twisting its emaciated body, it weaved back and forth through the crowd as though no one was there, until it finally fixed its gaze on a female member.
The Spider Demon crouched at the female member's feet and sniffed greedily. It slowly rose, sniffing its way from her feet to the back of her neck, before extending a pair of dry, shriveled hands beneath her throat.
The cold touch and foul stench alerted the female member. She instinctively turned to look behind her, only to meet an eerie smiling face.
A row of sharp teeth reflected a chilling white gleam beneath the moonlight.
Was it my turn this time? This thing was so ugly!
Before she could cry out for help, the female member heard the sound of her own neck snapping. Her vision began to blur, and everything around her seemed to drift away. A tear slid from the corner of her eye.
The demon held up her head, twisted one hundred and eighty degrees around, and laughed excitedly.
At last, someone nearby noticed the monster that had abruptly appeared inside the circle. Terror seized their mind, and they let out a piercing scream as they instinctively swung their Nichirin Blade at the Spider Demon.
They missed the Spider Demon and instead split the dead female member's face in two.
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