You Three Demons, Come at Me Together

"Captain Kimura..."

"Captain Kimura, you're alive!"

"Captain Kimura, y-you tell us, what should we do now?"

"Yeah, Captain Kimura, at least give us an idea."

A few people in the crowd recognized Kimura as well and hurried over to ask if he had any way of dealing with the current situation.

After all, at the start of the climb, Kimura's intelligence and leadership had been obvious to everyone. His formation had been somewhat useful too. If those special demons had not appeared later, they might really have held out until the end.

"Don't... don't call me Captain Kimura. D-don't ask me. I don't know what to do either."

Yeah. If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be standing here just like the rest of you.

Kimura lowered his head and held out his filthy hands, stopping the people around him from getting any closer.

Their voices were like knives, stabbing viciously into his heart.

Yes, he had once harbored the grand ambition of leading everyone through the assessment, but after that night, he realized just how naive he had been.

Several howls rang out from the surrounding woods. Soon, a few demons seemed to leap up from beyond the horizon onto the slope opposite them, standing at its crest and looking down at the crowd below.

More demons emerged from the shadows around them, some walking, some crawling.

Just as Han Zhiqi had said at the beginning, they were hunting them.

Killing them one at a time could no longer satisfy their appetites. The Demon Slayer Corps assessment was held once a year, and once it ended, it meant they would go an entire year without anything to eat.

They no longer wanted to endure that gut-wrenching agony. That was why they had staged this massive roundup, gathering all their prey in one place before the assessment ended for a bloody feast.

Under the moonlight, a black shadow streaked across the night sky. Like a meteor, it landed firmly on the hilltop, still standing perfectly straight. The surrounding demons scattered to either side, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and that spear-like figure.

Nohime tugged on Han Zhiqi's sleeve, signaling him to look toward the hilltop.

In truth, Han Zhiqi had noticed the moment the Bouncing Demon appeared.

Not long after the Bouncing Demon landed, another demon slowly crawled down the slope. It reached the bare tree, climbed up its trunk, and made its way to the top.

The Spider Demon!

Han Zhiqi had pierced its throat with a single slash, yet it had returned at a time like this.

The moment the Bouncing Demon and Spider Demon appeared, the dense crowd erupted into chaos. Some people collapsed to the ground, muttering that it was over and over. Others covered their faces and burst into tears.

One person even suddenly rushed out of the group and ran downhill, screaming, "I don't want to take the assessment anymore! I don't want to join the Demon Slayer Corps anymore!" But the moment he reached the path down the mountain, several demons pounced on him and tore him to pieces.

It seemed everyone's fear of the Bouncing Demon and the Spider Demon had long since seeped into their bones. After all, the Bouncing Demon had first shattered the group's mental defenses, while the Spider Demon had shattered their physical defenses.

Of course, aside from the Spider Demon, the appearance of another demon had further driven the group into complete collapse. One from within and one from without—those were the true reasons the group had fallen apart.

The Three-Headed Demon, the so-called giant meatball everyone spoke of.

A deep, thunderous roar came from the nearby woods. Every demon involuntarily shrank back, as though they wished they could flatten themselves against the ground.

If the appearance of the Spider Demon and Bouncing Demon had destroyed everyone's hope of passing the assessment, then this roar cast them completely into hell. Fear, despair, and a profound sense of helplessness left them unable to muster even the slightest courage to resist.

Trees as thick as waists snapped apart with cracking sounds and fell to either side. A huge, round mass squeezed out from between two trees. Standing three or four meters tall like a moving tower, it made Mount Fujikasane seem to tremble beneath every step.

The demons closest to it hurriedly retreated, while all the participants huddled together and shivered.

So this was the owner of the arms that had attacked him earlier.

"Th-this is the giant meatball Yuka talked about? Wh-what kind of monster is this? Is this really a demon?" Nohime clutched Han Zhiqi's sleeve tightly.

When the Bouncing Demon appeared, she had not been afraid. When the Spider Demon appeared, she had not panicked. But the moment this thing showed up, she was completely dumbfounded.

It was exactly as Yuka had described it several days ago: like three enormous fat men with their legs cut off and their backs fused together—six arms, two heads, and an extra face.

If a demon's weak point was its neck, then where was this giant's weak point? Did it have three of them?

Suddenly, Nohime felt someone tugging at her sleeve. Looking down, she saw the barely conscious Yuka beckoning to her.

Nohime crouched down, gave Yuka a comforting smile, and reached out to brush away a strand of hair stuck to the corner of her mouth.

"Nohime, I'm glad I met you. Run. Run away with Han Zhiqi. With his strength, he should be able to protect you and get through tomorrow morning's assessment."

Nohime took Yuka's hand but said nothing, because she did not know what to say. Should she say that she would not abandon her? Or tell her to take care? The two of them could barely protect themselves, so how could they make promises to anyone else?

In the end, Nohime could only lower her head. With boundless grief and helplessness, she let go of Yuka's hand, rose to her feet, and stood beside Han Zhiqi.

Akino crouched down, took Yuka's hand, and held her in his arms. The two smiled at each other.

"What do we do?" Nohime asked.

There was no response, but she seemed to hear Han Zhiqi sigh.

Han Zhiqi's gaze sharpened, his piercing eyes like blades as they fell upon the participants huddled together.

"What did you come here for?"

Han Zhiqi, who had always been sparing with words, actually took the initiative to speak at that moment. Under the moonlight blanketing Mount Fujikasane, the words "What did you come here for? What did you come here for?" echoed again and again, as if reminding everyone.

Everyone froze and turned in unison toward the white-haired boy dressed in white. The demons were startled as well, thinking that one of the prey was provoking them, and let out strange shrieks.

"You want to become members of the Demon Slayer Corps, yet you're afraid of demons. If you're afraid of demons, then why did you come here to take the assessment?"

"Would you rather die here than risk everything in one last fight?"

Risk everything? How? With what?

Han Zhiqi's gaze swept across the crowd one by one. Under the pressure of those sharp eyes, everyone unconsciously lowered their heads.

"Stay here."

Han Zhiqi left Nohime with those four words and stepped out of the crowd first.

Under everyone's stunned gazes, he walked straight to the center of the clearing and faced the tower-like Three-Headed Demon. Slowly, he drew his sword. The blade scraped against the sheath with a piercing metallic rasp, then he raised it and pointed it toward the slope not far away.

Others might not understand what he meant, but Nohime saw it at once. He was provoking the Bouncing Demon and the Spider Demon, as if saying, You two, come at me together.