Several hours earlier.
Igarashi had been tracking that demon "suspected of being a Lower Rank" for days.
The trail kept going cold, as though the demon had no fixed lair.
He had headed west from Yokohama.
Then, after making a wide circuit, he had returned to Tama, north of Yokohama.
If his Kasugai Crow had not brought word that some swordsmen had discovered the demon's exact location, he probably would have missed it again.
Although he had told his Kasugai Crow to warn those swordsmen to be extremely careful and wait for him to arrive,
there had been no word from them since.
Not only the swordsmen, but even the Kasugai Crow sent to contact them had never returned.
No matter how he looked at it, things were not looking good.
After Igarashi quickened his pace and passed through the seldom-traveled mountain woods,
He finally arrived before an abandoned Ancient Temple.
The temple's torii gate had collapsed, and fragments of stone lanterns littered the ground. There was no trace of human life.
Igarashi stood before the temple gate, frowning.
It was too quiet.
Never mind people or animals-there was not even the chirping of insects.
Although he kept having an inexplicable sense of déjà vu about this place, as though he would experience a turning point or setback in his life here,
he still had to enter.
This was where the demon had last been sighted, and the fate of those swordsmen was still unknown.
He tightened his grip on his sword hilt and slowly stepped inside.
He walked along the approach, crossed the courtyard, and arrived at a clearing before a dilapidated main hall.
A little moonlight spilled through the thick, oppressive clouds.
It illuminated the weed-covered ground.
Five corpses.
Corpses wearing Demon Slayer Corps uniforms.
They lay sprawled