Running Headfirst into a Nail

"You all ran away. What about the others?"

"I don't know. Ever since that demon that could jump more than ten meters high appeared, a lot of people had already broken down. No defense worked against it, and then a huge flesh ball three or four meters tall appeared."

As she spoke, Yuka's voice began to tremble, her eyes filled with terror. Akino beside her was not much better.

"C-Can you imagine it? A huge flesh ball three or four meters tall. The most important part was that it had six arms and three heads—no, to be precise, two heads and one face. During training, they said that to kill a demon, you had to cut off its head with a Nichirin Blade. But how were you supposed to cut off the head of a three- or four-meter-tall flesh ball? And even if you cut off its two heads, what about the one on its chest? Was that just a face, or had it hidden its head inside its body?"

As she spoke, Yuka became increasingly agitated, tears welling in her eyes. She felt that joining the Demon Slayer Corps had been nothing but a joke.

"What happened afterward? What happened then?"

"Afterward?" Yuka sniffled, struggling to hold back the tears about to spill from her eyes. "Everyone was focused on that huge flesh ball and didn't notice another demon sneaking into the defensive perimeter. Thinking back, that demon was the truly terrifying one. It was the one that lured the flesh ball over."

Nohime took Yuka's icy hand, trying to soothe the fear in her heart.

"That demon looked terrifying too. It was like a spider, with six legs and two arms. When we weren't paying attention, it twisted the neck of one of our female teammates, and then... then everyone went crazy, swinging their swords everywhere. M-Many people weren't bitten to death by demons—they fell to their own comrades' blades instead. There were screams everywhere, blood everywhere... sob..."

Yuka finally could not hold it in any longer. Covering her face with both hands, she burst into tears.

Akino lowered his head as well, grief written across his face. He only held it back with all his might because he was a boy.

Nohime stood and held Yuka in her arms, silently comforting her. She turned to glance at Han Zhiqi on the stone platform, unsure whether he had heard them.

She could not help feeling grateful that Kimura had not chosen her back in the square. Otherwise, even if she had not been eaten by demons by now, she would probably be hiding in some corner and trembling like Yuka.

Han Zhiqi had been right. More people meant a larger target, making it easier to be focused down. Besides, everyone had different limits to what they could endure mentally. Individual panic could easily spread into mass panic.

More people did not necessarily mean greater strength.

The examination lasted seven days, and the first night was the hardest to endure. But no one had expected it to be this hard.

After a while, Yuka finally calmed down a little from her lingering terror. She thanked Nohime again, then pulled her down to sit beside her and asked what she had experienced that night, as though the two of them were simply friends chatting on an ordinary day.

Nohime briefly told her how she had shamelessly followed Han Zhiqi, how she had eaten all his pancakes, and how Han Zhiqi had saved her from the Bouncing Demon.

"Y-You mean the Bouncing Demon tried to hurt you, and he blocked it for you? He even scared that demon away?" Yuka covered her mouth in surprise, while she and Akino turned toward the stone platform in unspoken unison.

That was a demon completely unlike ordinary demons. It could leap more than ten meters into the air, and more importantly, it came and went without making a sound, impossible to guard against. Two female trainees had been snatched from the ground by it that way.

"Mm. It jumped down from the sky to attack me, but Han Zhiqi pierced its hand, and then it ran away. Judging by the time and place it fled..." Nohime turned and pointed to the other side of the mountain. "It should have been over there."

Akino and Yumi exchanged a look. That was right—their camp had been in that direction at the time. It seemed that the demon had gone there only after fleeing from here.

Besides their shock, they also felt a little relieved. They exchanged another knowing glance, instantly understanding each other's thoughts. If they stuck close to these two for the next few days, they might actually pass the examination.

The girl before them seemed easy enough to talk to. She looked rather agreeable. The real problem was the boy on the stone platform. If he did not agree, then even if the girl did, it would be useless.

"What are you planning to do next?"

Just as the two were considering how and on what pretext to voice their thoughts, Nohime unexpectedly spoke first, sparing them a great deal of awkwardness.

Yuka first glanced at Akino, then looked at Nohime. Taking her hand, she pleaded, "Nohime, c-can we follow you? You saw it just now. This mountain is full of demons. If the two of us go out with our strength, we'll definitely be eaten by demons. Can you let us stay here?"

Hearing this, Nohime opened her mouth. It was obvious that she wanted to agree to Yuka's request, but after glancing at Han Zhiqi on the stone platform, she ultimately pulled her hand from Yuka's palm.

Nohime could not bear Yuka's pleading gaze and slowly lowered her head. She herself still needed Han Zhiqi's protection. Without his protection, she would already have died twice. What right did she have? What ability did she have to agree on behalf of the two of them?

What had just happened was still fresh in her mind. She did not want to go through it again. And more importantly, she did not want Han Zhiqi to dislike her.

"I... I can't agree to that. You saw what happened just now. I can't even protect myself, much less protect you two."

The two knew Nohime was telling the truth, and naturally knew she did not have that ability. The reason they had brought it up was because they hoped Nohime could persuade the boy on the stone platform. They could both tell that the boy treated Nohime differently from everyone else.

"Then... then could you plead with him for us?"

"Ah..."

Nohime raised her head in surprise. She did not even need to go ask to know that Han Zhiqi would not agree. If she went to plead with him over this, his gaze alone would surely kill her—freeze her into an ice pop.

"Nohime, please, have mercy and help us." Yuka took Nohime's hand again.

"You saw it too. Akino and I are both injured. If we go out now, we'll definitely be eaten by demons. I-If that happens, then what was the point of you saving us just now?"

Nohime felt that Yuka had a point, and she truly wanted to help them too. After all, they were two lives she had saved with her own hands. If they were to die just like that, she would surely feel terrible.

Han Zhiqi's gaze would certainly be terrifying, but fear was nothing compared to human lives.

"All right, I'll give it a try. As for whether it'll work... sigh, never mind."

Nohime pulled her hand free from Yuka's grasp, lowered her head, and walked anxiously toward the stone platform.

Han Zhiqi had already been furious because she had gone soft on a demon. Pleading with him now was no different from running headfirst into a nail, but it was a nail she had no choice but to hit.