What was that smell? A little like stinkbugs... and it was getting stronger.
Tanjiro gave Genya a shove. The boy with the crest-shaped hair snapped awake and grabbed the Double-Barreled Musket from the table.
"It seems... there's a demon."
Despite the strong insect smell, Tanjiro easily picked out the foul stench mixed into it.
Genya gently pushed open the door. Mount Sagiri looked no different from usual in the dead of night, with only the faint chirping of insects hidden in the grass.
The two looked toward the foot of the mountain. The door of Urokodaki's cabin stood ajar. Mr. Urokodaki wasn't inside; he had probably gone up the mountain to reset the traps.
Tanjiro tightened his grip on his sword, his palms slightly damp.
Genya took a few steps outside and looked around. "Strange. Nothing looks wrong."
Working up his courage, he circled the cabin several times, but still found no sign of a demon.
"The smell hasn't faded." Tanjiro sniffed, equally puzzled. "Could it really just be some stinkbug?"
With the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, and the current Star Hashira, Haruto Takanashi, stationed on Mount Sagiri, very few demons were foolish enough to come knocking.
Tanjiro rubbed his eyes and turned back toward the house. "Maybe it really is..."
The moment he stepped inside, a blast of foul air carrying that distinctive insect smell hit him in the face. A gaping set of insect mouthparts lunged straight at his head.
"Ha!" Genya reacted instantly, seizing his collar and hauling him outside. Only then did Tanjiro escape having his head bitten clean off.
When her ambush failed, the dark figure inside retracted her neck, then leaped off the roof beam and let out a "khee-susu" cry at the two young swordsmen.
The moonlight revealed the monster clearly, making