Drumbeats

"Save me! Lin Guang! Tanjiro!"

Zenitsu Agatsuma clutched the hem of Tanjiro's clothes and Lin Guang's haori as though they were his last lifeline.

Tanjiro looked puzzled.

"Why are you asking us to save you? Why did you become a swordsman, Zenitsu? Why are you so shameless?"

"That's way too harsh!"

Zenitsu Agatsuma explained, "A woman conned me, and I ended up in debt! The old man who paid it off for me turned out to be a trainer! Every single day was hellish training! I would've been better off just dying!"

"I thought I'd die in the Final Selection! But somehow, I survived, so every day still feels like hell! Ah! I'm so scared! A demon's going to eat me any minute! It'll suck my brains out through my ears before I'm even dead! No! I don't want that! Save me!"

Watching Zenitsu Agatsuma grow increasingly hysterical, Lin Guang really wanted to go over and smack him, but for Tanjiro's sake, he held back.

Before long, Zenitsu Agatsuma finally calmed down.

"Now that you've calmed down, we're leaving. We still have a mission," Lin Guang said.

Hearing that Lin Guang and Tanjiro were heading out on a mission, Zenitsu Agatsuma went pale with fright.

"What?!"

Just then, the Kasugai Crow's voice rang out overhead again.

"Run! Run! All of you, run! Head to the next location together!"

At the Kasugai Crow's words, Zenitsu Agatsuma fell flat on the ground in fright. "The crow talked!"

Ignoring Zenitsu Agatsuma, Lin Guang said to Tanjiro, "Let's hurry. It sounds urgent, or they wouldn't be telling us to get there quickly."

Tanjiro nodded and ran after Lin Guang toward their destination.

Seeing Lin Guang and Tanjiro run off and leave him alone, Zenitsu Agatsuma scrambled to his feet and chased after them.

"Lin Guang! Tanjiro! Wait for me!"

As they walked through the woods, Zenitsu Agatsuma began to lose his nerve. "Hey, um, I really can't do this! Even if I come along, I won't be any help."

Neither Lin Guang nor Tanjiro paid him any attention. They kept walking straight ahead until they reached a house in the forest.

Tanjiro sniffed the air and said to Lin Guang, "I smell blood."

"Then this is the place. Let's go in." With that, Lin Guang started toward the house.

"Wait! Do you hear that awful sound? It sounds a little like drumming." Zenitsu Agatsuma's words stopped Lin Guang.

Tanjiro turned to look at Zenitsu Agatsuma, only to spot two children hiding in the shade of a tree.

"Children?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"Tanjiro, go check on them."

"All right."

With that, Tanjiro walked over to the two children.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

As soon as Tanjiro approached, he saw deep fear and wariness in their eyes. Even so, the little boy still shielded his younger sister.

Seeing this, Tanjiro crouched down and said, "All right! Let me show you something nice."

Tanjiro opened his hands, revealing Zenitsu Agatsuma's Little Sparrow to the two children.

"Ta-da! A sparrow in my hands!"

Little Sparrow played along, hopping twice on Tanjiro's hands.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

"What do you think? Cute, right?"

At the sight, both children went limp and sank to the ground.

Seeing that they had lowered their guard, Tanjiro asked, "Please tell me what happened here. Is this your home?"

"No! It's not! This place! This is... a m-monster's... house!"

The little boy spoke in a trembling voice. "Our brother was taken away. We were walking at night when a monster we'd never seen before appeared. It didn't even look at us. It only grabbed our brother."

"Did they go into that house?"

"Yes."

"You two followed it? That's amazing! You've done so well!"

The little boy continued, "We followed our brother's blood trail. He was hurt."

"It's all right! We'll defeat the bad guy and save your brother!"

"R-really?" Hope seemed to dawn on the little girl's face.

"Yes! I promise!" Tanjiro assured her.

Lin Guang came over and said, "If this is a demon's home, then let's destroy it completely, Tanjiro!"

"Right, Senior Lin Guang!"

Just then, Zenitsu Agatsuma came over and said shakily, "Um... could I..."

Before he could finish, a rapid series of drumbeats rang out. Lin Guang, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu Agatsuma stared fixedly at the house.

The drumming suddenly stopped, and a man covered in blood was hurled out of the house.

"Ah!"

Tanjiro immediately covered the two children's eyes.

"Don't look!"

Lin Guang ran over to the blood-soaked man. His expression grew grave when he saw the man's condition.

Tanjiro ran over as well and lifted the badly injured man, then asked Lin Guang a question.

"Senior Lin Guang! How is he?"

Lin Guang sighed and shook his head. "He has several fatal wounds and has lost too much blood. There's no saving him."

The badly injured man spoke haltingly. "Did I... get... out... ah... I finally... got... out... am I... going to die?"

As his words faded, the man breathed his last.

Tanjiro stared at the dead man, his face filled with anguish.

Frightened by the scene, Zenitsu Agatsuma asked in a trembling voice, "Lin Guang, is that man these children's..."

Just then, another flurry of rapid drumbeats came from the house. Everyone could hear the anger in them.

Looking at the dead man, Tanjiro began to blame himself.

I couldn't save him. If we'd gotten here a little sooner, maybe we could have saved him.

Lin Guang patted Tanjiro's shoulder and said, "Tanjiro, don't blame yourself. We couldn't save him, but we can wipe out the demons so that no more people have to die."

Tanjiro gently lowered the man to the ground, then said, "I understand, Senior Lin Guang."

Then Tanjiro asked the two children, "Is this man your brother?"

The little boy answered with his eyes shut, "No, he's not our brother. Our brother was wearing yellowish-brown clothes."

Only then did Tanjiro realize that more than one person had been taken.

Tanjiro looked at Lin Guang and called, "Senior Lin Guang."

"I understand. Since several people were taken, Tanjiro, can you tell how many demons and humans are inside?" Lin Guang asked.

Tanjiro's nose twitched slightly. Then he said to Lin Guang, "There are probably three demons and two humans inside, Senior Lin Guang."

"All right! Then there's no time to lose. Let's get in there! Zenitsu, you're coming too! If you dare refuse..."

Lin Guang left his threat unfinished, simply fixing Zenitsu Agatsuma with a demonic expression.

Zenitsu Agatsuma was about to refuse, but at the sight of Lin Guang's demonic expression, he threw his arms around Lin Guang's leg and wailed.

"What's that for?! Why are you making that face?! I... I'll go, all right!"