Passing

After dispatching a few more unlucky demons, dawn arrived on the third night of the Final Selection. Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo sat together in a clearing, resting against the large tree behind them.

Although both were strong enough to handle this selection, three consecutive nights of fighting had still left them somewhat tired.

"Um, Makomo..."

"Hmm?"

"Could you take off your mask?" Although he remembered the girl's appearance from his previous life, there were bound to be differences between a two-dimensional image on a screen and a real person before him. Kanzaki Kumo was still a little curious about what Makomo actually looked like.

"Oh, this? Sorry, I was so used to wearing it. Hiding my face from the person who saved my life was a little rude of me." As Makomo spoke, she reached up and removed her mask.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it rude." Kanzaki Kumo waved a hand, then froze at the face beneath the mask.

Her large, deep-green eyes seemed to hold a gentle, watery gleam. A small nose, slightly upturned lips, and delicate, willow-leaf brows gave her a gentle appearance with a hint of playfulness, while the traces of baby fat that had yet to fade added a touch of cuteness.

"It looks like my appearance didn't disappoint you, Kanzaki-kun." Seeing Kanzaki Kumo's slightly dazed expression, Makomo blinked playfully.

At that moment, she looked nothing like a swordsman capable of fighting demons alone, but rather a cute girl next door.

"You really are pretty." Kanzaki Kumo nodded, but the bashful expression Makomo had hoped for never appeared on his face, leaving the girl a little disappointed.

Kanzaki Kumo: Slowly typed out a "?"

Makomo: My, my, he's so strong, yet he looks so young. Naturally, I couldn't help wanting to tease him.

Appreciating beauty was human nature, so Kanzaki Kumo naturally felt no embarrassment about it. Although his romantic experience across both lives amounted to zero, he at least wouldn't blush just from seeing a beautiful girl.

Besides, while Makomo's closeness toward Kanzaki Kumo mostly came from his saving her life the previous night, his well-sculpted face had played a small part too.

At the very least, no girl would make that sort of joke with a scruffy, bearded man.

"By the way, how old are you this year, Kanzaki-kun?" Looking at Kanzaki Kumo's face, which still held a trace of childishness, while his words and actions were nothing like a child's, Makomo was very curious about his age.

"I'll turn fourteen in another six months."

"Not even fourteen..." Makomo fell silent.

What had she been doing at that age again? Oh, right, she had only just started choosing a Cultivator.

Thinking of her fifteenth birthday, which had only recently passed, then looking at the boy beside her who wasn't even fourteen yet, and recalling how cleanly he had slain a demon that could threaten her life the night before, Makomo experienced the gap between people for the first time.

"What's wrong? Has this beautiful young lady been discouraged by my talent?"

Seeing Makomo looking somewhat distracted, Kanzaki Kumo immediately seized the chance to pay her back for teasing him earlier.

"Pfft-yes, I really didn't expect little Kumo to be so talented..." Noticing Kanzaki Kumo's somewhat childish side, Makomo couldn't help laughing, but she quickly realized that her words and behavior were a little rude and hurried to apologize. "Ah, sorry, Kanzaki-kun, I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. You look like you're older than me, so just call me Kumo. There's no need to keep calling me 'Kanzaki-kun' all the time. We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Yes!" Makomo nodded firmly.

"Makomo."

"Hmm?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you look really pretty when you smile?"

"Hmm... strictly speaking, Kumo, you're the first person to specifically compliment my smile."

"Ah, then I'm truly honored."

"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."

Standing in a tree, Kanzaki Kumo watched the girl weave nimbly among several demons surrounding her, then behead all the approaching demons in a single move. His eyes held praise.

Makomo was very talented. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to suppress the Hand Demon for a time, forcing him to turn the situation around with a verbal assault.

Of course, she still fell considerably short of Kanzaki Kumo. After all, his eyes gave him far too great an innate advantage.

For instance, at that very moment, Kanzaki Kumo had already seen every detail of Makomo's technique. With a little thought, he could imitate the movements and even reproduce the Breathing Style. With some more practice, he could gain a basic grasp of Water Breathing.

At the same time, he was also thinking about his own Thunder Breathing. He had already become highly proficient in it and developed his own fighting style by linking and combining different techniques, but he had also discovered Thunder Breathing's shortcomings.

Thunder Breathing was fast, and ultimate speed was exactly what Kanzaki Kumo wanted most. Its one shortcoming, however, was that it was a little too straightforward. While it was certainly fast, it lacked a little agility and adaptability.

That was itself a trade-off Thunder Breathing had made in its pursuit of ultimate speed and explosive power.

If the gap in strength between him and his opponent wasn't too extreme, Thunder Breathing worked perfectly well. But against an opponent far stronger than him, such straightforward techniques were highly likely to be overwhelmed head-on. With its lack of flexibility, Thunder Breathing would even make it difficult to buy time while waiting for reinforcements, unless he turned and ran or relied on a massive health pool to tank attacks like a certain hotheaded guy in the original story.

Unfortunately, among the demons, there were a few beings whose raw stats outclassed humans by an overwhelming margin-the Demon King Muzan and the top three Upper Ranks.

Upper Ranks Four through Six weren't quite so overwhelmingly dominant in raw stats; their troublesome mechanics were more of a problem. The top three, however, were absolute stat monsters. In a head-on clash, even Gyomei Himejima, humanity's strongest fighter in the original story, would come off badly.

But as a member of humanity's side, Kanzaki Kumo would sooner or later have to face one or even several of them, and he had yet to discover any potential in himself for becoming a damage sponge.

So he began pondering how to improve his Breathing Style.

"Well? I'm pretty amazing too, right?" After confirming that no demons would appear for the moment, Makomo darted to Kanzaki Kumo's side, interrupting his newly formed train of thought.

It was already the final night of the Final Selection. Over the past several days, the two had also saved some people along the way. Some had chosen to withdraw, while others had kept going.

From their perch in the tree, they could already see the pale light spreading across the horizon, signaling that the selection was about to end.

Soon, under the eager gazes of the survivors scattered throughout Mount Fujikasane, the sun peeked above the horizon, declaring the end of the seventh night.

Many let out deep sighs of relief. Some even couldn't help bursting into tears, whether in gratitude for their survival or grief at their friends' deaths.

Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo exchanged a glance and also breathed sighs of relief. Although this selection hadn't been particularly dangerous for either of them, staying alert for seven days straight had left them somewhat mentally exhausted.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

Together, they headed toward the path they had taken when they arrived. They occasionally encountered other survivors along the way, but exchanged no words with them.

They made their way to the platform where they had first gathered. Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his two daughters were already waiting there, with a row of pieces of tamahagane in various shapes and sizes laid out on the table before them.

"Congratulations on passing the Final Selection. From today onward, you will be official swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps." As Kagaya Ubuyashiki finished speaking, the Kasugai Crows circling overhead descended one after another, flying toward their owners.

"Your Kasugai Crows will be important companions on your path of slaying demons. Please treat them well. Now, please step forward and choose your tamahagane. This is the material that will be used to forge your very own Nichirin Blades."

Kanzaki Kumo stepped forward first. The survivors had all witnessed his strength to some extent, and no one tried to go ahead of him.

When Kanzaki Kumo approached Kagaya, he heard him say, "Thank you."

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes."

During their brief exchange, Kanzaki Kumo followed his instincts and chose a piece of tamahagane that appealed to him, and Hinaki Ubuyashiki marked it.

Makomo followed immediately after him and chose a piece as well, followed by the others who had passed the selection.

"Once your Nichirin Blades have been forged, the swordsmiths will deliver them to your respective residences. Now, please return to your previous lodgings and wait patiently. Once you receive your Nichirin Blades, your first missions will also be assigned, so please be prepared. May good fortune favor you in battle."

Afterward, the nine survivors, including Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo, left one after another. After waving to Kagaya, Kanzaki Kumo also started down the mountain.

"Are you going straight back to Mount Sagiri next?" As they walked down the mountain together, Kanzaki Kumo asked Makomo beside him.

"Yes. Is there something you need, Kumo?"

"I'd also like to visit Mr. Urokodaki on Mount Sagiri and learn Water Breathing." Kanzaki Kumo explained his plan. Since he had thought of improving his Breathing Style, he naturally had to put it into practice, or at least give it a try first.

"Huh? Haven't you already gotten really good at Thunder Breathing?" Makomo looked at Kanzaki Kumo with some confusion.

"I want to improve my Thunder Breathing. Learning other Breathing Styles might give me some inspiration and ideas."

Makomo immediately lost the desire to speak. She hadn't even mastered Water Breathing perfectly herself, yet Kanzaki Kumo was already trying to improve a Breathing Style.