This was bad... I think I lost them.
Haruto walked warily through the woods, gripping his sword and silently lamenting his luck.
What kind of demon superfans were those two boys in fox masks? Why did they run faster than rabbits whenever they heard a demon or an aspiring Demon Slayer scream?
He had only hesitated for a moment over whether to stay closer to them, and the two boys had vanished!
So I was on my own after all?
Man, I should have just reported this to the Ubuyashiki Family's guides back then. Having a demon that had lived for forty years on Mount Fujikasane, where they held the selection, was completely outrageous!
But if I told them, they might ask, "Oh? How did you know that when the selection hasn't even started yet?"
Just thinking about all the tedious explanations he would have to give made Haruto's head ache.
As he was thinking this, something seemed to dart through the woods beside him.
At the same time, a foul stench of decay invaded Haruto's nostrils.
He did not even need to extend his awareness to search. He immediately tightened his grip on his sword hilt and scanned his surroundings warily.
The smell of a demon!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
A dark figure suddenly burst through the concealing leaves, swinging its sharp claws straight at Haruto!
Haruto retreated two steps, drew his sword with a reverse grip, and traced a circle through the air with its gleaming blade.
Shing!
The sound of the blade severing the demon's arm was exceptionally clear and pleasing. The demon howled and leaped back, not daring to approach, and merely stared at him venomously with eyes whose pupils were no bigger than pinpoints.
Compared with the Hand Demon he had encountered last time, this demon seemed far weaker.
Haruto had not even used a Breathing Style. Swordsmanship alone had been enough to sever the demon's arm.
He quickly adjusted his breathing. In those terrifying eyes, he saw the demon's hunger for his flesh and blood.
"So hungry, so hungry..."
The demon stuck out a long tongue, saliva dripping from it. After only a brief hesitation, it charged again, brandishing its claws.
"Flame Breathing: First Form..."
Haruto shifted his weight forward and drew his blade back, searing flames burning in his chest.
As he whispered "Unknowing Fire," flames ignited along his Nichirin Blade.
He sprang forward. As he brushed past the demon, a streak of blazing sword light flashed across his mist-blue eyes.
"Rumble..."
In that single passing exchange, the demon was beheaded.
Its ugly head rolled to the ground, and its headless body collapsed, gradually dissolving into drifting smoke.
Haruto sheathed his sword in one clean motion. He turned to glance at the demon's remains and let out a soft sigh of relief.
Yes! First successful demon kill recorded. Once I get out, I'm having a feast!
The first night on Mount Fujikasane was always the most difficult of the entire seven-day trial.
Everyone had to remain utterly focused as they waited anxiously for the first light of dawn.
Haruto moved through the woods with the help of his excellent perception. Aside from the Hand Demon, the other demons on Mount Fujikasane really posed little threat.
He kept following the mountain path, trying to put distance between himself and the patch of woods where he had seen the Hand Demon last time.
While the sky was still pitch-black, a boy came toward him.
He was carrying an unconscious swordsman on his back. Haruto noticed that the swordsman wore a dark red haori.
"What happened?" Haruto asked.
He stepped forward to help support them. Sure enough, the unconscious swordsman was one of the boys in fox masks.
His fox mask was gone, revealing a very handsome face beneath his messy black hair.
Hmm, he looked arrogant even unconscious. Definitely someone who'd be hard to get along with.
The boy carrying him had center-parted hair and a panicked expression. "I don't know... A boy wearing the same kind of fox mask left him with me. I was just about to find somewhere safe to stay..."
Haruto blinked. "Did the person who left him with you have peach-colored hair? Which way did he go?"
"That's right. He sounded really young." Murata wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed behind him. "I think he headed up the slope over there."
Were all good-looking people kindhearted after all...?
The kindhearted Haruto looked thoughtful. "What's his name?"
"Giyu. Giyu Tomioka. That's how the boy named Sabito introduced him."
Oh, so that character was pronounced 'sabi'...
Realization dawned on Haruto. Then he patted Murata's shoulder. "I'll leave this kid, Giyu, with you, then. Sorry for the trouble!"
"No trou-huh? You're leaving me to look after him alone?!"
"Of course! If you've already promised someone, you have to follow through."
Haruto clenched a fist to cheer him on, then headed in the direction he had pointed.
As long as it wasn't the Hand Demon's area, going a little farther in... should be fine, right?
As for why he was following, the first thing Haruto thought of was the moment before his previous death, when Sabito had appeared and tried to rescue him.
And judging by the scrolling comments, he would survive this time, but Sabito might die in his place.
Haruto could not comfortably accept someone else bearing the fate that should have been his, especially a boy who had once tried to pull him out of a hopeless situation.
He followed Sabito's trail for a long way, encountering many aspiring swordsmen. Whenever he asked, someone would point him in the right direction.
"Oh, I know. You mean the boy with the gentle voice? He really helped us earlier. If it weren't for him, I might not even be alive."
"He headed down the mountain. I heard he killed lots of demons along the way. He was panting for breath."
"He only just left. He's such a kind person. I hope we all pass this selection."
Everyone seemed less cold than they had been at the entrance to Mount Fujikasane. Haruto had no idea what Sabito had done to earn such respect from them.
Haruto wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked. If he went any farther...
He would enter the Hand Demon's territory.
How could there be a monster like this... on Mount Fujikasane?
Sabito gripped his sword hilt tightly. From his fingertips to his arms and thighs, his body trembled faintly from the strain of prolonged running and repeated use of his Breathing Style.
He pushed the mask his Master, Sakonji Urokodaki, had made for him to the side of his head, revealing silver eyes that stared fixedly at the Hand Demon.
"Fox boy..."
The deep voice dripped with vicious malice. The Hand Demon's disgusting, dark green muscles churned, forming arm after arm that lashed out at Sabito.
"Go join your fellow disciples in my belly!"
To say something like that... to do something like that...
He had eaten so many of Master Urokodaki's gifted children...
Sabito swept his sword, severing those arms amid waterlike blue waves. His toes propelled his whole body as he nimbly stepped onto the arms the Hand Demon had yet to retract, racing toward the head wrapped in limbs.
This was... unforgivable!
"Water Breathing: Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Streams of water wrapped around his Nichirin Blade as Sabito flowed toward the Hand Demon.
The instant his blade struck the Hand Demon's head, a shudder ran through him...
His Nichirin Blade-had snapped!
After such prolonged fighting, not only had his body reached its limit, but the sword in his hand could no longer withstand the strain either.
Sabito's heart plummeted. He could already see the Hand Demon narrowing his eyes as one arm rapidly stretched toward his head!
Whoosh!
A scorching gust blew in from somewhere. A flash of blue-green swept before his eyes, and the hand that had seemed like a lethal claw to Sabito was severed with a single stroke!
Just before it could smash his head apart!
The evening breeze stirred long, silvery-white hair, its pale blue tips lightly brushing a smooth chin.
The boy crouched before him with a sword in hand opened his eyes, a blaze of searing flames burning at his blade's tip.
Haruto Takanashi had arrived just in time!
Before you continue