"You're a little over the limit..."
"Yeah, let's chop off one of its hands!"
Kujo Tachibana looked at the man-eating demon before him, which had completely lost its senses from hunger, and muttered to himself.
The next second, Kujo Tachibana suddenly drew the Nichirin Sword at his waist.
His draw was so fast it was nearly instantaneous. The blade turned a brilliant red, radiating astonishing heat from the intense friction with the air!
Kujo Tachibana's version of the Red Blade! Complete!
"It hurts... It hurts so much..."
The searing pain jolted Momotaro the demon's intelligence past the barricade of his appetite, bringing it back up to a passing grade.
His face twisted in agony as Momotaro looked at his arm, which was giving off the mouthwatering smell of roasted meat. He was utterly bewildered.
Am I still a demon?
Why hasn't my hand grown back?!
And why does this wound hurt so much?!
"Ghh... Aaaah!!"
The relentless burning pain gradually sealed away Momotaro's reason once more.
After cutting off the demon's arm in one stroke, Master Tachibana went on his way without looking back.
He still had to hurry and screen all the "instructors" at this exam site.
For demons like "Momotaro," whose strength exceeded the scope of the exam, Kujo Tachibana had to weaken them himself.
The demons Tachibana weakened personally wouldn't recover for a whole week.
The Red Blade in Kujo Tachibana's hand couldn't inflict damage on the same level as Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the strongest person in the Demon Slayer World.
But Kujo Tachibana could still make demons of this level on Mt. Fujikasane unable to regenerate or heal their wounds for a time.
More than three hundred years ago, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had encountered Muzan, the Demon King.
With just one move!
The Thirteenth Form of Sun Breathing had left Muzan with wounds that had yet to heal, even after several centuries.
Of course, the damage caused by Sun Breathing couldn't be discounted. But the Red Blade's role in it was also significant!
In the world of Demon Slayer, swordsmen had three supreme powers to strive for!
Listed in order of difficulty, they were:
Supreme Territory—the Transparent World!
A heated Nichirin Sword—the Red Blade!
Power gained by sacrificing one's life—the Demon Slayer Mark!
The Transparent World was the greatest of them all. Only a handful of people in the entire story had ever awakened it.
There was no need to explain the Transparent World; it had already been introduced earlier.
The Red Blade, put simply, was an upgraded version of the Nichirin Sword. It worked by raising the blade's temperature!
Awakening the Red Blade could greatly increase one's combat strength and effectively suppress a demon's regeneration. Even Muzan, the Demon King, would be affected if struck by one.
In the story, there were only three ways to awaken the Red Blade.
One was by using tremendous grip strength, another by clashing Nichirin Swords together to generate heat.
And then there was the method used by the protagonist, Tanjiro.
Tanjiro's younger sister, Nezuko, used her Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood to heat the Nichirin Sword in his hand until it turned red!
That was how it reached the level of a Red Blade.
Of course, the amount of damage a Red Blade could inflict on a "demon" still depended on the wielder's strength.
On Mt. Fujikasane.
Murata Hikoichi, a prospective member of the Demon Slayer Corps, gripped his Nichirin Sword in both hands and stared in disbelief.
Another "one-armed demon" had appeared before him!
He couldn't help muttering to himself:
"Can demons have disabilities, too?"
"Why is everyone I've run into on Mt. Fujikasane today either missing an arm or a leg?"
Awakened by the noisy commotion around him, the Hand Demon stretched out nearly a hundred arms covering his body. After what seemed like a stretch, he walked out of the dark cave.
"It's lively today, isn't it?"
"Is it time for the Demon Slayer Corps' annual selection again?"
"Wonderful... I'll get to eat my fill today! Ohohoho..."
"Damn you, Urokodaki... Damn you, Urokodaki... Damn you, Urokodaki!!"
"And those brats wearing fox masks!"
"I'm going to eat every last one of you today!!"
The Hand Demon recalled how Urokodaki Sakonji had caught him and imprisoned him on Mt. Fujikasane for decades.
His surging resentment spread in every direction, almost tangible!
Just then, a flash of blue and yellow suddenly shot toward him from afar.
"Ah! There you are!"
Kujo Tachibana looked at the Hand Demon, whose appearance was beyond bizarre.
He couldn't help muttering:
"This guy has so many arms... How many should I cut off?"
"Let me think. How many would be good..."
The Hand Demon paused, then lowered his head to look at the "little guy" beneath him, who was moving incredibly fast.
"Hey, kid, what year is it?"
"And have you seen any brats wearing fox masks?"
Kujo Tachibana ignored the Hand Demon. He was still considering what to do with the creature.
The Hand Demon was powerful. Kujo Tachibana felt that he might even be as strong as Lower Moon Six, Kyogai.
He felt it would be a bit of a "waste" to kill him outright.
But if he cut off his hands, how many should he take?
If he didn't cut off enough, ordinary prospective members might still be unable to defeat him!
Watching Kujo Tachibana continue to ignore him, the Hand Demon's anger began to flare. The veins on his forehead bulged one after another!
"Brat! Are you mute?!"
Interrupted, Kujo Tachibana turned toward the Hand Demon impatiently. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he was just about to kill the thing.
Just then, however, Kujo Tachibana suddenly sensed Sabito and Giyu nearby!
What a coincidence!
Kujo Tachibana immediately made up his mind. The grievances of the Water Breathing lineage should be settled by the two of them!
Kujo Tachibana also believed that Sabito and Giyu, at full strength, might not necessarily lose to the Hand Demon!
And even if something did go wrong, wasn't he there?
Turning around, Tachibana shouted in their direction:
"Help!!"
"There's a demon here! Somebody, save me!!"
Hearing the cries for help from afar, the two didn't think twice. They hurriedly ran toward Kujo Tachibana.
"Sabito, doesn't that voice sound familiar?" Tomioka Giyu asked, holding his Nichirin Sword as he ran quickly beside Sabito.
Sabito nodded in confusion and said:
"A little, but we don't know anyone here on Mt. Fujikasane, do we?"
"Huh?"
"Kid! Are you calling for help?"
At that moment, the Hand Demon was so thrown off by Kujo Tachibana's reaction that he could barely think straight.
"This kid must be an idiot!"
"If I eat him, will I become an idiot too?"
The Hand Demon hurriedly shook his head and swung one enormous arm down at Kujo Tachibana.
"Can't eat an idiot's flesh."
"I'll just beat him to death!"
Looking at the Hand Demon, who was "ungrateful and pushing his luck," Kujo Tachibana's face darkened!
He casually drew "Evilbane" and, with a backhanded stroke, cut off the thick arm in front of him.
The simple yet unbelievably fast slash looked like a blur to the Hand Demon's eyes!
He couldn't see it. He couldn't see it at all!
The Hand Demon's pupils contracted!
So fast!
It had been only a simple strike, but the Hand Demon had no confidence at all that he could have blocked it!
"What if he'd cut off my head just now?"
At the thought, a chill instantly rose in the Hand Demon's heart.
Before you continue