Teiichi wandered aimlessly through the woods, carrying his heavy training sword.
He had been the last to come up. Only after the other trial participants had left did he amble up at his leisure.
Stone steps still provided footing for several dozen meters beyond the platform, but farther ahead lay rugged mountain paths. Where to go depended entirely on one's own instincts.
This was also out of concern that, if there were a path, the trial participants would unconsciously follow the same route, greatly increasing their safety and correspondingly reducing the trial's effectiveness.
Four or five hours had passed since Teiichi set out from the platform. Dawn was only a few hours away, yet he still had not encountered a single demon.
Could I have accidentally ended up following behind another trial participant...? Teiichi wondered.
"Die, brat!"
Just as Teiichi was considering whether to change direction, a furious roar came from a tree he had just passed.
Leaves rustled, as though something had burst out of the foliage.
In an instant, Teiichi took a few quick steps forward, spun around, and glanced at the figure lunging down from the tree.
The demon had a hideous face and exposed fangs, but its movements seemed rather sluggish.
Hmm, a little slow. Looks like just an ordinary demon, Teiichi judged.
As he considered this, Teiichi raised his right hand and swung the heavy training sword he held.
Bang!
A tremendous crash echoed through the forest like thunder. Teiichi's heavy training sword sent the demon flying, slamming it into the ground several meters away.
"Ah..."
Only then did the demon seem to come to its senses and let out a piercing scream.
It rolled on the ground in agony, its body contorted into unnatural positions, as though suffering tremendous pain.
Teiichi watched the demon rolling and howling incessantly on the ground before him, then raised his right hand to inspect his heavy training sword.
Chunks of torn flesh and spatters of blood covered the blade, a gruesome sight.
Seeing this, he seemed to understand why the demon was screaming so miserably.
The sword was primarily intended for physical training, so it had no edge. Its entire blade was more like a disciplinary ruler;
It weighed a full 110 jin and was forged entirely from exceptionally hard refined iron. It was a size larger than the Nichirin Blade he normally used, though not excessively so.
After struggling on the ground for a while, the demon seemed to recover its senses. It propped itself up with difficulty and looked at Teiichi.
Teiichi likewise stared intently at the demon before him.
The demon's head-the left side of its head-had slumped sideways. One eye had burst, leaving it drenched in blood.
It could only stare at Teiichi with its remaining eye in utter terror, deep fear showing in its gaze.
Teiichi felt somewhat apologetic at the sight. He had never intended to torment anyone; he had simply struck back out of habit because the heavy training sword was in his hand.
"Um... sorry about that! I..."
Before he could finish, however, the demon before him suddenly stood as though frightened by something, turned, and sprinted away, seemingly intent on escaping this terrifying human.
Watching the demon flee, Teiichi clicked his tongue helplessly.
"How rude. You wouldn't even let me finish. Whatever, the result will be the same anyway."
He shook his head and planted the heavy sword firmly in the ground. He shook out his slightly aching arm, easing his fatigue a little.
Then he placed his right hand on the hilt of the Nichirin Blade on his back, bent his knees slightly, and shot after the fleeing demon like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Teiichi moved extremely fast, catching up behind the demon in the blink of an eye.
He swiftly drew the Nichirin Blade from his back. Without using any sword form, he simply gave it a light swing, aiming straight for the demon's neck.
Swish-
A cold gleam flashed, and the demon's head was cleanly severed and sent flying into the air.
Slowly returning his Nichirin Blade to the sheath on his back, Teiichi glanced at the head beginning to turn to ash on the ground, then looked up and walked slowly back toward the heavy sword planted in the earth.
Time passed, and night fell again. Before he knew it, the third night had arrived.
Over these three nights, Teiichi had encountered five demons in succession. As he ventured deeper into the woods, the encounters grew more frequent.
Over the past two days and nights, Teiichi had already come face-to-face with five demons.
On the first night, he had encountered only one demon;
On the following day, that number rose to two;
Tonight was even more outrageous. He had barely set out when he ran into two demons traveling together.
Fortunately, these demons were all very weak. Teiichi charged in and cut them down as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.
That night, Teiichi wandered aimlessly through the mountains as usual.
Moonlight spilled down like water, illuminating the winding trail beneath his feet. Everything around him was silent, broken only by the occasional rustle of wind through the leaves and the cries of unidentified animals.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The sounds of fierce fighting reached Teiichi's ears. He turned to look in their direction, considered for a moment, then ran toward them.
A clearing in the woods.
Shota gripped his long sword tightly, concentrating fully on his fierce battle with the Hardening Demon before him.
Over the previous two days, Shota had already encountered three demons.
Fortunately, none of those demons had been particularly strong.
With his solid foundations and excellent combat skills, he had successfully defeated them one by one without suffering any injuries.
He had thought that, with the luck he had enjoyed over the first two days, he might make it through all seven days.
He had never expected to encounter a demon capable of using a Blood Demon Art just as the third day began.
Yes, the demon before him, its entire body giving off a grayish-white glow, its mouth filled with sharp fangs and veins bulging on its forehead, was a demon capable of using a Blood Demon Art.
Normally, the demons captured and brought here tended to be relatively weak.
But demons lived forever, and every year the Demon Slayer Corps sent trainee members here to take part in the trial.
In other words, this also amounted to providing these demons with a food source.
Over time, as long as the slightly luckier demons had the chance to devour a few humans each year, their strength would naturally increase, eventually reaching the point where they developed a Blood Demon Art.
For those coming to participate in the trial, unless they possessed exceptional gifts and talent, ordinary people usually had little chance of victory once they encountered a demon that had mastered a Blood Demon Art.
"Damn it!"
Shota's furious roar echoed through the quiet forest, shattering the surrounding stillness.
His voice was filled with anger and helplessness, as though he meant to vent all his frustration.
"If it were any other Blood Demon Art, I could at least try, but it just had to be Hardening. Damn it..."
He gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly, his fingers turning slightly white from the force.
This blade was his partner in battle, his sharp weapon for slaying demons, but now it could not inflict a fatal wound on the Hardening Demon before him.
Shota stared at the Hardening Demon. Its skin seemed covered in a layer of indestructible armor. No matter how fiercely he slashed, he could leave only shallow marks on its surface.
This left him deeply frustrated, while also making the demon's ability feel incredibly troublesome.
What made this Hardening Demon special was that it could harden any part of its body at will, even its skin.
During his fierce battle with the Hardening Demon, Shota had repeatedly tried all kinds of attacks, but none had worked.
With the hardened skin on its hands, his opponent had forcibly blocked his fierce attacks.
Even his exceptionally sharp Nichirin Blade seemed so powerless against the Hardening Demon's tough hide.
Shota grew increasingly agitated, feeling pressure unlike anything he had experienced before.
He knew very well that, unless he quickly found a way to deal with the Hardening Demon, he would very likely lose this battle.
But his mind was a jumble, and he could not come up with any effective countermeasure.
Thud, thud, thud...
In the darkness, the Hardening Demon's footsteps struck Shota's heart like heavy hammers.
He closed in on Shota with swift, agile movements, his right hand clenched into a fist as he hurled it toward Shota with fierce momentum.
Shota's pupils contracted. He quickly dodged sideways while gripping his Nichirin Blade tightly, sweeping a fierce arc of steel upward. The sword's tip flashed coldly as it struck straight toward the Hardening Demon's chest.
However, the Hardening Demon's left hand guarded his chest like a solid shield. Hardening had made his skin rough, forming folds like overlapping scales.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Nichirin Blade repeatedly collided with the hardened skin, scattering sparks like shooting stars across the night sky.
Shota kept swinging his Nichirin Blade, trying to find an opening in the Hardening Demon's defenses, but that tough skin blocked every attack.
As time passed, Shota's hands gradually began to weaken, and his concentration started to slip.
Anxiety stirred within him. This demon was far stronger than he was, and his Nichirin Blade could not cut through its skin.
Worse still, night had only just fallen. He could not count on dawn arriving.
Suddenly, the blur of a fist rapidly took shape below Shota and shot toward his abdomen. Shota was startled, but by then he could no longer dodge.
Bang!
Taking advantage of Shota's lapse in concentration, the Hardening Demon drove a vicious punch into his stomach.
As though struck by a massive hammer, Shota was sent flying several meters before crashing heavily to the ground.
He struggled to get up quickly, but an even faster blur of a fist was already hurtling toward his face.
Shota instinctively raised both arms in front of his face, trying to block the blow.
Bang!
With another tremendous crash, Shota was sent flying several more meters. He slammed heavily into the ground, his body feeling as though it had fallen apart.