Hand Demon

Three days had passed since the Demon Slayer Corps' Final Selection began, and Ye Chen was feeling ridiculously good. Ridiculously good.

Thanks to his Demon-Hunting Squads' frenzied slaughter, his Exchange Points had broken ten thousand, reaching 11,407. He had been so broke before that he only had a two-digit balance, yet in just three days, he had reached five digits. This was a fortune!

Ye Chen made a rough estimate. Since entering this place, he and his three Demon-Hunting Squads had killed over seven hundred demons altogether. Those three clones alone could never have killed that many in three days, but Ye Chen himself had also been hunting the demons hiding deeper inside. Couldn't find them? No problem. A bottle of Farseeing Potion would take care of that.

Still, he couldn't use the Farseeing Potion carelessly. Its effect only lasted ten seconds, and it cost 25 Exchange Points, which certainly wasn't cheap. If he drank a bottle and only killed one or two demons, it would be a terrible waste, so Ye Chen generally only used it in places where the scent of demons was particularly strong.

Their hunting pace had clearly begun to slow. Obviously, many of the demons here had realized that someone extremely dangerous was hunting them, so they kept hiding. Most of the weaker demons were already dead, and those remaining probably had at least some experience with escaping and hiding.

What Ye Chen didn't know was that his three clones' killing spree had allowed many Demon Slayer Corps candidates taking part in the Final Selection to survive by sheer luck, making the death toll far lower than in previous selections.

"Hmm... With all the commotion I've caused, I wonder if the Hand Demon will even dare to show up. There's a hidden quest I need to fight him for, too."

Ye Chen lowered his head in thought. One of his clones had encountered the Hand Demon once, but after taking just two shots, the demon had escaped. The Hand Demon had been decisive. Realizing that the bullets contained wisteria poison, he had torn off his wounded arms and fled. Ye Chen's clone only had a Heavy Bowgun and a certain amount of skill; his actual strength wasn't particularly impressive, so he hadn't managed to stop the Hand Demon from escaping.

"I wonder how well the Hand Demon's hidden himself. He was supposed to attack Makomo in the original story, wasn't he? After all this interference from me, who knows if he'll still show up?" Ye Chen rubbed his head. He had thought making a Heavy Bowgun would let him run rampant throughout this area, but apparently, it still wasn't quite enough. If the Hand Demon still refused to appear, he would have to carry out a full sweep.

While Ye Chen's thoughts wandered, something else was happening several miles away...

"Heh heh heh heh... Are you Sakonji Urokodaki's latest student?"

A tall, fat demon with numerous arms wrapped around his body dragged himself forward, leering at the little girl before him.

"A demon? You know me?" Makomo was rather curious when she heard the Hand Demon's words. This was her first time meeting this demon, yet he somehow knew she was Sakonji Urokodaki's student. That was strange.

"Of course I don't know you. I only know your master."

Once he confirmed that she was the person he was looking for, the Hand Demon's expression instantly twisted into a vicious grimace. His eyes grew bloodshot, and veins bulged along his arms. Then one hand swept out sideways, striking at Makomo.

Makomo's expression grew serious. Clearly, this was no ordinary demon. She promptly leaped lightly aside, evading the Hand Demon's attack.

"You... You're pretty fast..."

Seeing Makomo dodge his attack, the Hand Demon's eyes grew even more bloodshot. He flung out four arms at once, reaching for her.

Makomo exhaled softly, then sprang into the air. After evading the Hand Demon's attack, she stepped onto one of his outstretched hands and moved again. In the next instant, she appeared before him and swung her Nichirin Blade fiercely at his neck.

Clang!!!

Sparks flew as the Nichirin Blade struck the Hand Demon's neck. Yet Makomo discovered that her blade had only left a cut of middling depth, and even that cut was healing before her eyes.

"If my neck were that easy to cut through, I wouldn't have survived this long!" Although Makomo's strike hadn't done much damage, it still stirred the Hand Demon's anger. He lashed out with one arm after another, repeatedly grabbing at her.

Makomo frowned slightly, then moved again, evading the Hand Demon's grasp and landing gently on the ground. She was already planning to end the fight here. The Hand Demon before her was clearly beyond her ability to defeat, but he couldn't match her speed, so running was her best option.

"Hey, little girl. Are you going to run?"

Seeing Makomo step backward, the Hand Demon spoke in a low voice. He hadn't expected this little girl to be faster than anyone else he had encountered in the Final Selection, leaving him rather helpless.

"Ha ha ha ha... Don't you want to avenge your fellow students?"

The Hand Demon kept laughing wickedly. He had no intention of letting Makomo escape just like that. He had risked his life coming out here to kill Sakonji Urokodaki's student!

Earlier, he had encountered someone carrying a strange weapon and had nearly died on the spot. He had run for ages before finally shaking his pursuer off. The Hand Demon had been considering hiding himself away, but when he saw Makomo and the mask she carried, he couldn't hold back. Sakonji Urokodaki's students had to die!

"What did you say?" At his words, Makomo stopped in her tracks just as she was about to flee, and turmoil surged through her heart.

"Heh heh heh... Did you know? That old bastard Sakonji Urokodaki was the one who captured me and brought me here. That bastard! He trapped me in this prison! Now I can't eat people every day! I'm stuck in this godforsaken place! I'll never forgive him!"

Seeing Makomo stop retreating, the Hand Demon knew his trick had worked. He began telling his story, but his voice grew louder and louder until he was outright roaring. Then he broke into another sinister chuckle.

"But that's all right. Doesn't that old bastard Sakonji Urokodaki love his students? Then I'll kill every last one of them! I'll crush everything he's proud of! I'll make him regret what he did to me!"

Anger began to fill Makomo's eyes. Now she understood. Nearly all of Sakonji Urokodaki's previous students, her fellow disciples, had died after entering the Final Selection. Only Giyu Tomioka had escaped alive, and after he came back, he had become a man of few words.

And the culprit behind all of it was clearly the Hand Demon standing before her!

"You know what? The strongest boy I killed had a little scar on his face, I think. He was pretty good, but he still couldn't cut through my neck. After he broke his Nichirin Blade, he even tried to cover another boy's escape. Watching him die at my hands in the end was hilarious! Ha ha ha ha!" The Hand Demon kept talking and sneering without a care, then burst into wild laughter.

"You... I'll never forgive you! I'll kill you!" For the first time, Makomo felt overwhelming rage. Gritting her teeth, she raised her Nichirin Blade and charged straight at the Hand Demon.

She fell for it... Seeing Makomo charge straight toward him, the Hand Demon's eyes filled with smug delight. He was ready. As long as she dared to rush him, he could take her down immediately...

"Achoo!" Far away, Ye Chen was still cutting wisteria when he suddenly sneezed. He looked around, puzzled, then shook his head and continued harvesting.

"Hmm... Why did I suddenly sneeze? Come to think of it, I seem to have, possibly, maybe forgotten something... What was it again? Hmm, did something just flash over there... That looks like the Flash Bomb I gave her earlier... Holy shit, the Flash Bomb!"