Up the mountain

"Behind me is where your next trial will take place..."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's gentle yet resonant voice echoed across the platform, which had fallen quiet. He had already explained the rules when he first invited Kanzaki Kumo and Gyomei Himejima to join the Demon Slayer Corps, and Kanzaki Kumo also remembered them from his previous life.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki merely placed particular emphasis on one point: anyone who lacked confidence in their strength could withdraw now and go back to practicing their swordsmanship. If they felt outmatched during the trial, they could also return early. Though they would fail the trial, they could at least keep their lives.

Unfortunately, most people who joined the Demon Slayer Corps had blood feuds with demons. Having already come this far, they naturally refused to withdraw outright, so few took this final reminder to heart.

And once they entered the mountain, it was usually too late to withdraw by the time they realized their strength was lacking.

As Kagaya announced the start of the trial, everyone walked into the mountain along a narrow path beside him, carrying all sorts of feelings. They passed through the final barrier of wisteria and entered the area where the demons gathered.

While the sun had yet to set, people scattered in twos and threes to find somewhere to spend the first night. Some lone participants who lacked confidence in their strength began forming temporary teams, while those confident enough in their abilities left alone.

As a swordsman who had earned permission to participate in Final Selection by passing Sakonji Urokodaki's extremely strict test, Makomo naturally had confidence in her strength. She, too, entered the mountain forest alone and began searching for a suitable place to spend the night.

Kanzaki Kumo followed behind her, neither too close nor too far away.

She certainly lived up to being someone who had initially been able to suppress the Hand Demon with her agility in the original story. Even at an ordinary run, she was faster than most of the people participating in this trial.

Unfortunately, the Hand Demon's taunts had rattled her and thrown her into disarray, allowing him to exploit an opening and brutally kill her.

Makomo soon noticed Kanzaki Kumo, who made no particular effort to hide himself, and immediately quickened her pace. She was not used to teaming up with strangers.

But she soon discovered that no matter how much she sped up, she could not shake the person following her. If she went any faster, she could no longer guarantee she would be in good condition that night.

So she could only stop and turn to look at Kanzaki Kumo.

She remembered this person who could converse with the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. That alone had convinced her that his strength was nothing ordinary. Now, seeing how easily he could keep up with her further confirmed that he was very strong.

"Excuse me, is there something you need? You've been following me this whole time."

Her clear voice carried a distant chill.

"Nothing really. You just looked pretty capable, so I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in teaming up," Kanzaki Kumo replied with a smile from a short distance away.

What could he say? Surely he could not say, "I've read the script. Following you will lead me to the hidden final boss," could he?

"Not interested." Makomo refused without hesitation.

Demons had taken her parents' lives when she was very young. Having grown up alone and without anyone to rely on, she was instinctively wary of strangers.

With that, she turned and continued onward without waiting for Kanzaki Kumo to respond.

Seeing this, Kanzaki Kumo stopped following quite so closely. He only needed to keep her within his field of vision.

And with his extraordinarily gifted eyesight, that "field of vision" was anything but small.

He was also keeping an eye on the other trial participants within that range.

After all, he had made a friend in Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who had treated both him and Jigoro Kuwajima very well in every respect. Naturally, he was willing to lend him a hand where he could.

And so, whether traveling in groups or alone, all the participants found suitable places to stay before night arrived.

As everyone waited to face the demons, some frightened and others nervous, Kanzaki Kumo also found a fairly sturdy tree branch and sat down cross-legged.

It was early summer, so it did not feel cold even after night fell.

Faint cries and screams reached Kanzaki Kumo's ears.

"Sigh..." He opened his eyes and looked. Seeing that they were not very far away, Kanzaki Kumo gave a soft sigh and rushed toward the three people being chased by a demon.

"Help-!"

These three were clearly the sort Kuwajima had mentioned before: they had no trouble during their everyday training, but once they actually faced a demon, they could not even hold their swords steady.

As they fled in panic, the three saw only a flash of lightning before the vicious-looking demon was beheaded.

"If your swordsmanship isn't good enough, go back and practice. If you don't dare draw your sword to kill demons, work in support. If you still refuse to leave, you're on your own the next time you encounter a demon. I won't save you again."

Leaving them with those words, Kanzaki Kumo could not be bothered to say anything more and turned to leave.

That demon had been far weaker than the so-called "river god" in that village back then, yet these people had still been frightened out of their wits. Kanzaki Kumo truly could not be bothered to comment.

In fact, this was how strong most of the demons on Mount Fujikasane were. They had already been repeatedly grievously wounded and worn down before being put here. On top of that, they had gone so long without eating that these vicious demons had become starving demons: plenty of ferocity, but very little strength.

The Hand Demon was the exception.

If they could not even handle demons like these, they might as well abandon the idea of slaying demons early. There was no shame in working in support. Without reliable support, how could those on the front lines fight with peace of mind?

After returning to that tree branch, Kanzaki Kumo could no longer see anyone being chased by demons. Some had dealt with the demons they encountered and were moving to new places to stay, avoiding other demons that might be drawn by the sounds of battle.

Others were luckier and had not encountered any demons yet.

But the mountain was only so big, and there were quite a few demons. Besides, to these demons that had been starving for so long, the scent of humans was as enticing as an unparalleled delicacy-no, "enticing to demons." Everyone was bound to encounter a demon tonight.

Kanzaki Kumo did not mind saving people within his field of vision when it was convenient. As for those outside it, they were on their own.

There was no way he would go to all that trouble to clear out every demon on the mountain.

Since these people had chosen to participate in the selection, they had to take responsibility for their own choices.

Besides, he still needed to keep an eye on Makomo, his "Hand Demon lure." If he wanted to help Kagaya, getting rid of an overpowered demon like the Hand Demon would be far more useful than carrying a batch of underqualified swordsmen through the selection.

And so Kanzaki Kumo occasionally stepped in to save one or several people being chased by demons, left them with similar words, then watched as Makomo cleanly dispatched the demons she encountered and began moving to another place to stay.

That was how the first night of this swordsman selection passed.

The moment the sun rose, quite a few people quietly breathed sighs of relief.

Meanwhile, Kagaya Ubuyashiki fell into thought as he watched the retreating backs of the few people who had voluntarily withdrawn from the trial.

From their accounts, he knew that Kanzaki Kumo must have stepped in to save them and said something that made those lacking in strength withdraw of their own accord.

For this, Kagaya Ubuyashiki was grateful.