Snow Mountain Temple

It was winter, and snow was falling heavily.

Everything was covered in white, and the mountains were all draped in a silver coat.

"Hoo~"

Yuko arrived at the small town at the foot of the mountain, exhaling faint white mist.

"It's really cold, this weather."

Her lungs felt like they were about to freeze.

Fortunately, the right breathing technique could alleviate the discomfort brought on by the harsh winter.

Cold air did affect breathing techniques, but as long as one adopted the appropriate method, they could minimize the discomfort caused by the cold to the greatest extent.

The information Yuko received was that a man-eating monster had appeared on the mountain behind the town, and it would come into town every night to abduct women and children.

Several people had already gone missing.

Yuko glanced around. The information seemed to be true.

The sun hadn't set yet, but the streets were already empty, with no people in sight. Every household had shut its doors and windows tightly.

Yuko walked out of the street and towards the foot of the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there was a dwelling.

Piles of firewood were stacked around the dwelling; it must have belonged to a woodcutter.

In front of the dwelling, a man dressed in thin clothing was sharpening a knife.

The man trembled as he sharpened his knife, as if he were terrified of something.

"..."

Yuko walked forward and gently patted him on the shoulder.

"Ah!" The man flinched all over and roared, swinging his woodcutter's knife wildly as if he had gone mad before turning around.

Then, he froze in place.

Yuko gripped the blade with one hand, stopping it from moving forward even an inch. She looked at the dumbfounded man and asked softly, "Excuse me, do you know of any place in the mountains where one can hide?"

The demon had chosen to abduct them instead of killing them directly, which meant it had its own lair in the mountains.

The man remained frozen foolishly in place.

Yuko had to rephrase her question: "I heard there's a demon here, and I've come because of it."

The man's dazed expression shifted slightly. The muscles on his face could no longer hold their composure, and tears began to stream uncontrollably from his eyes.

All his strength seemed to drain away. The woodcutter's knife fell from his grasp. The man braced himself on the ground with both hands, tears dripping from his face.

"Eko... Eko, she..."

A choked sob gradually began to sound.

Yuko stood there without a word, just waiting quietly.

Even just seeing it on the computer screen, she could feel the abhorrence of demons.

Let alone experiencing it firsthand. Yuko, who had slain over ten demons in the past two years, had already witnessed countless tragic cases in the human world.

Was she sad?

Of course, she was sad. No one would be unmoved by such events, feeling pity and sympathy.

But after experiencing so much, there was nothing they could do besides slay the demons.

After crying for a while, the man slowly calmed down and said, his voice choked with sobs, "The temple... there's a temple in the mountains. The demon is there."

Yuko frowned slightly. "Have you been there?"

The man's eyes held a hint of despair. "Yesterday, the town organized people to go into the mountains... Everyone died, except..."

Except he saw that the situation was dire and fled.

"I understand. Please wait here for the night. That thing is not something you can handle." Having obtained accurate information, Yuko no longer lingered and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Just as she took two steps, the man suddenly called out to her.

Yuko tilted her head slightly.

The man pushed himself up. "That temple is deep in the mountains. It's easy to get lost if you haven't been there before. I can take you."

Yuko glanced at the sky. The sun had about an hour before it would set.

"Then I'll trouble you."

The man asked nervously, "Can you... can you really kill that demon?"

Yuko smiled faintly and patted the Nichirin Blade at her waist. "This isn't just for show."

A flicker of hope appeared in the man's eyes. "Please, follow me."

Without another word, he led Yuko into the mountains. The wind and snow howled through the forest, and everything was a vast expanse of white.

The man was right; it was indeed easy to get lost if you hadn't been there before.

After about half an hour of walking through the wind and snow, behind a cluster of tall trees, a temple hidden deep in the old mountains appeared before Yuko.

The temple roof was covered in a thick layer of snow, and the dilapidated, ancient temple had a certain rustic charm.

Yuko didn't have the exceptional sense of smell that Tanjiro did, but as soon as she stood at the temple entrance, a strong smell of blood assaulted her senses.

The man seemed oblivious, pointing inside and saying, "It's here. Yesterday, everyone..."

His voice caught in his throat as he looked at the dismembered limbs scattered around the courtyard, unable to speak.

"Ugh~"

Yuko surveyed the temple with a blank expression and said calmly, "Go down the mountain before the sun sets."

The man blinked, and even his discomfort subsided considerably.

"Then you..."

Yuko interrupted him, "If I'm not down the mountain by dawn tomorrow, it means I'm dead. Wait with peace of mind, don't seek your own death. Someone else will handle it."

"...I understand." The man nodded blankly, took a deep look at Yuko and the villagers' corpses, then turned and headed down the mountain.

Ever since becoming a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Yuko had long since detached herself from life and death.

She wasn't as powerful as her two older brothers, and it wouldn't be strange if she were eaten by a demon at any moment.

Bathed in the last rays of the setting sun, Yuko entered the temple.

The scattered limbs and body parts in the courtyard could vaguely form the shapes of five or six people, all male, with no obvious signs of gnawing.

Combined with the information she had received earlier.

A demon that only eats women and children...

Yuko followed the trail of blood to the main hall. Several Buddha statues she didn't recognize were enshrined on the main seat, creating a sense of incongruity.

Logically, in such a dilapidated temple, the Buddha statues should not have been cleaned, yet the ones before her were so clean it was as if someone had been dusting them daily.

Most importantly, there was a very strong smell of blood assaulting her.

Abruptly, without any warning.

The Buddha statue, with several arms growing from its middle, suddenly moved its eyes, looking down at Yuko as if assessing her.

"What, a Demon Slayer?" the Buddha statue spoke.

"But it's a woman. A woman who knows swordsmanship?"

"Can she even lift a sword?"

"I haven't eaten a female demon slayer before. I wonder what it tastes like?"

"The meat of those men was too tough and dry, not satisfying to eat. Women and children are much more tender."

"Hee hee hee hee..."

A piercing laugh echoed in Yuko's ears. She calmly asked, "Where are the people you abducted?"

The Buddha statue's eyes darted around. "Guess?"

Clang!

The tsuba of her Nichirin Blade was lightly nudged aside, and a wisp of golden energy flowed from the corner of Yuko's mouth, transforming into a streak of golden lightning that shot towards the Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue's eyes widened sharply, as if it hadn't expected Yuko's movements to be so fast.

"Guess my ass." An unintelligible Chinese phrase echoed in the Buddha statue's ears, followed by a deep voice.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."

The golden lightning slash cut directly through the air, severing the Buddha statue's head.