Hiroshi Furukawa left his companions to continue searching for traces of the demon and chose to head to Mount Sagiri alone.
Mount Sagiri was not particularly high, but parts of it were quite steep. With mist shrouding it year-round, the mountain was difficult for ordinary people to climb, though it posed little trouble for Hiroshi Furukawa.
After trekking for a while, he soon reached a relatively gentle slope halfway up the mountain, where several simple houses came into view.
Without hesitation, Hiroshi Furukawa stepped forward. But all the doors were shut, and there was no sign of Lord Urokodaki, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
"May I ask what you are looking for, sir?"
A soft, lovely voice with an ethereal quality suddenly sounded behind him. Startled, Hiroshi Furukawa spun around, only to discover that a girl had appeared behind him without his noticing.
The girl had medium-length black hair and wore a short kimono patterned with plum blossoms. A smiling fox mask decorated with blue flowers covered her face. Though he could not see her features, her voice alone let him imagine how lovely the girl beneath the mask must be.
"I've come to see Lord Urokodaki."
Hiroshi Furukawa's expression turned solemn.
"Oh, you're here to see Master!"
The girl nodded, her beautiful eyes beneath the fox mask regarding Hiroshi Furukawa with a hint of puzzlement. "What do you need to see him about?"
Hiroshi Furukawa hesitated. Remembering that she was Lord Urokodaki's student, he answered, "There's something I need Lord Urokodaki's help with. It concerns a demon."
The girl looked at Hiroshi Furukawa, her gaze lingering on his Demon Slayer Corps uniform before she nodded gently. "Please wait a moment. I'll go ask Master."
"All right."
Hiroshi Furukawa smiled in relief. He was just about to thank her when he realized she had already vanished, leaving only a light breeze behind.
"She's so fast."
Hiroshi Furukawa was rather shocked. Wasn't Lord Urokodaki supposed to be doing poorly as a Cultivator? Apparently, not a single one of his students had passed the Mount Fujikasane selection yet.
Then why did this student seem so powerful?
Even as a full-fledged swordsman, I don't think I'm as fast as her. Could she practice Wind Breathing? But that doesn't make sense either. Lord Urokodaki practices Water Breathing. How could he teach Wind Breathing?
The girl in the smiling fox mask bounded nimbly through the forest like a bird in graceful flight. Before long, she reached the summit of Mount Sagiri.
An old man wearing a Tengu Mask sat alone on a blue-gray rock at the summit. His back looked forlorn, like an old tree on the verge of withering away...
The girl landed almost soundlessly.
Watching her master's back, she bit her lip beneath her mask. Ever since he had received a letter delivered by a Kasugai Crow a few days ago, he had been sitting here at the summit.
"Did my junior brother fail too?"
Her eyes dimmed. She could hardly bring herself to believe it. Apart from being slower than her, her junior brother Sabito surpassed her in almost every respect. She simply could not believe he had died on Mount Fujikasane.
But with her master in this state and Sabito still not back at Mount Sagiri, she had no choice but to face reality, however much she wished to deny it.
The girl lowered her head and clenched her teeth. The master she regarded as a father had spent all these years training new recruits for the Demon Slayer Corps, watching year after year as the students he had taught set off confidently for Mount Fujikasane.
Every year, her master crafted a Disaster-Repelling Mask tailored to each of them.
Every year, they left brimming with confidence.
But... in the end, all that came back...
Were brief letters delivered by Kasugai Crows, the familiar names written upon them, and... senior and junior brothers who would never return.
At that moment, Makomo felt a painful tightness in her chest.
"Makomo, what brings you here?"
A slightly hoarse voice sounded beside her.
At some point, Sakonji Urokodaki had appeared before her, his face hidden behind his Tengu Mask.
"A swordsman from the Demon Slayer Corps has come to see you, Master."
Makomo lowered her head and said quietly, "And you haven't eaten for two days, ever since you received that letter. If this keeps up, your body won't be able to take it."
Sakonji Urokodaki fell silent. He opened his mouth, wanting to tell Makomo the outcome of Sabito's trip to Mount Fujikasane, but... in the end, he could not muster the courage.
"I know."
Speaking softly, he started down the mountain, somewhat puzzled. "Why would a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman come all this way to visit an old man like me?"
"It seems to be something about a demon."
"Demons again."
Sakonji Urokodaki sighed faintly. Who knew how many swordsmen lost their lives to demons every year in the effort to eradicate them? Yet the demons never seemed to dwindle.
He had spent his entire life hunting demons. Only when he grew too old to continue had he been forced to stop and retire to Mount Xiawu.
He had hoped to continue providing fresh blood for the Demon Slayer Corps as a Cultivator. Yet it seemed he truly had no talent for it. With his own hands, he had sent one student after another down a road of no return. They could not even pass the basic selection on Mount Fujikasane.
But my students were so outstanding.
Why? Why?
Before long, Sakonji Urokodaki and Makomo reached the mountainside.
The moment the waiting Hiroshi Furukawa saw the old man's Tengu Mask, he stepped forward respectfully. "Greetings, Lord Urokodaki."
"Mm."
Sakonji Urokodaki nodded gently. His manner was warm, but his voice was hoarse from his recent grief. "What can I do for you?"
Without hesitation, Hiroshi Furukawa immediately explained the situation.
"That certainly is an unusual demon."
Sakonji Urokodaki sounded somewhat impressed after hearing him out.
Still, he did not think much of it.
Because these demons had all lived different lives as humans, their personalities varied greatly. What seemed strange to ordinary students was nothing particularly unusual to veterans like them.
"Well, since it's appeared near Mount Sagiri, it would be little trouble to..."
Sakonji Urokodaki smiled, about to agree. His nose was highly sensitive to the scent of demons. Finding the demon
should not be too difficult.
Hiroshi Furukawa let out a deep sigh of relief. As long as Lord Urokodaki helped, that demon could never escape his ability to track demons.
But before Sakonji Urokodaki could finish speaking, a Kasugai Crow came flying toward them from the distance, its wings flapping.
Sakonji Urokodaki received the Kasugai Crow, removed the letter it carried, and read it.
His expression immediately turned grave. His hand even instinctively closed over the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Makomo, who had stayed behind her master all this time, tilted her head as she watched him. It had been a long time since she had seen him react as though facing a formidable enemy.
Hiroshi Furukawa looked at Sakonji Urokodaki in confusion, unable to understand what could have made Lord Urokodaki so solemn.
"I'm afraid I can't help you this time. You'll have to rely on yourselves."
Sakonji Urokodaki shook his head at Hiroshi Furukawa.
"Th-that's all right. Your business is more important, my lord."
Hiroshi Furukawa spoke hurriedly. Though he felt somewhat disappointed, he knew Lord Urokodaki had something more important to attend to and could only give up.
After Hiroshi Furukawa left, the girl in the fox mask tilted her head at her master. "What happened to shock you so badly, Master?"
Sakonji Urokodaki glanced at Makomo, then looked up at the sky. His hand unconsciously rested on the sword hilt at his waist, and a chilling killing intent radiated from his aging body.
"That... demon... has appeared."
P.S. There's a lot of disagreement over whether Makomo or Sabito died first. Personally, I lean toward Sabito dying before Makomo. Mainly, this is because, when Makomo was being torn apart by the Hand Demon, there was a sequence showing people the Hand Demon had killed, and Sabito appeared among them. Of course, that could have been another student, and there are other interpretations too.
But since this book is written by yours truly, we'll be going with my timeline, okay? qaq~.~ So, dear readers, please follow the timeline established in this book.