Hase carefully crouched on the roof, listening intently to the sounds coming from the room below.
After listening for a while and confirming that there was no sound below, he slowly stood up from the roof, trying to avoid making too much noise.
After he stood up completely, he turned his head and looked around the roof, trying to see if Uchida had made any discoveries.
His gaze swept across the rooftops before quickly settling on Uchida, who was standing not far away.
Uchida was standing on the rooftop. When he saw that Uchida was looking at him, he raised his hand and waved to him.
This is... found?
Hase thought to himself, a surge of joy welling up inside.
However, he did not get carried away and still remembered to control the weight of his footing and not make too much noise.
They walked step by step toward Uchida's location.
Soon after, Hase walked up to Uchida and asked:
Is it down there?
Uchida didn't speak, but nodded.
Seeing Hase carefully lay down and listened to the sounds below.
The sound below wasn't loud, and there was also soundproofing from the roof.
From the rooftop, it was impossible to hear what the people below were saying, but it was certain that there were indeed people below.
The two exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and cautiously waited on the rooftop.
Time passed by, bit by bit.
After an unknown amount of time, the sounds below suddenly became noisy.
Hase and Uchida exchanged a cautious glance, then shifted from sitting on the roof to lying prone on it, carefully looking down.
One by one, figures walked outside.
Finally, after more than ten minutes, everyone left, and the courtyard became deserted again.
Hase stood up from the roof and called out to Uchida, who was still clinging to it:
" Uchida, come on, let's go find that ghost!"
However, Uchida didn't get up; he remained lying on the roof, and asked with some confusion:
" Hase, that demon eats one person every 15 days, right?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Hase asked, somewhat puzzled.
Uchida didn't answer him, but instead asked:
Do you know how many people came today?
Hase frowned and replied:
"We didn't count them. Why would we count them? We're here to find ghosts anyway."
At this point, Hase seemed to realize something was amiss and looked at Uchida with some curiosity, asking:
"You counted them?"
"Yes, I counted, 38 came today!" Uchida nodded.
Hase frowned, sensing something was wrong, but unable to pinpoint what it was. He said somewhat impatiently:
"We've already counted them, let's hurry down and find that ghost, or we'll all get eaten again!"
"No!" Uchida said decisively.
"What's wrong?" Hase frowned as she looked at Uchida.
"I counted the people who just left, and it was 38! No fewer today!!"
Upon hearing this, Hase immediately realized that things had taken an unexpected turn, and he quickly crouched down to look at Uchida.
Are you sure you didn't miscount?
Uchida shook his head, "I didn't miscount, it's 38!!"
Upon hearing this, Hase frowned deeply and muttered to himself:
Why is that?
Uchida also lowered his head and began to think.
What caused these changes today?
Why didn't that ghost eat anyone today?
Or is it that their investigation period was too short, so they didn't grasp the pattern clearly?
Just then, a low, husky voice came from behind Hase and Uchida.
"Because we already have food for today!"
Along with the voice, came the sound of whistling wind.
The sudden words made Hase and Uchida freeze.
Both of them had been Demon Slayer for several years, and their brains reacted instinctively to the situation before them.
Both of them rolled to the sides as fast as they could to avoid it.
However, Hase was in a half-crouching position, which made it easier for him to dodge.
But Uchida had just been lying on the roof, so if he wanted to hide, he would have had to roll around on the roof.
But such a tumble is no match for a sudden attack from a demon.
The sharp claws landed directly on Uchida's body.
The Demon Slayer Corps uniform only provided temporary protection before being torn apart instantly.
Crimson blood splattered from Uchida's body.
The remaining force propelled Uchida's body off the roof, where it tumbled and flipped through the air several times, and then...
Bang! Bang!
Uchida's figure tumbled twice on the rooftop, then rolled several times.
On the other side, Hase dodged the attack, quickly adjusted his stance, and then drew his Nichirin Blade from his waist, facing the demon.
The demon before them had short, medium-length hair that was almost black with a bluish tint, wore a magnificent robe, and had skin that was a perverse paleness unique to demons.
He was standing on the rooftop, his right hand raised in front of him with the five fingers of his hand clenched into a claw shape. Crimson blood stained his fingers, and drops of blood dripped continuously from his palm.
This was originally the best opportunity to attack.
But seeing the crimson bloodstains on the demon's hands, Hase's pupils trembled violently.
Shifting the gaze to the demon's face, one sees that the demon is turning its head to look in one direction.
A bad feeling kept spreading in Hase's heart.
Hase's gaze couldn't help but slowly drift in the direction the demon was looking.
He didn't know why he was moving over little by little like that.
Perhaps it's fear that evil spirits will attack while you're looking away? Or perhaps it's fear of seeing something you dread seeing...
However, despite this.
Hase's pupils couldn't help but tremble as his gaze slowly moved over her.
Crimson bloodstains could be seen spreading along that direction.
The bright red paint splashed onto the dark blue tiles gave off an eerie and menacing look.
Every line of sight eventually comes to an end, Hase's gaze finally settled on a figure in the distance.
The figure lay quietly on the roof tiles, blood flowing continuously from his chest down his body.
" Uchida!!" Hase shouted anxiously.
Seemingly hearing Hase's call, the figure turned its head with difficulty to look at Hase, its mouth opening and closing.
"Be... careful..."
The voice was low and hoarse, but it reached Hase's ears with unwavering determination.
Hase opened his mouth, about to say something, when his pupils suddenly trembled violently.
Uchida's head, which had been turned to the side, seemed to suddenly lose its support and fell completely to the ground, his eyes immediately becoming dull and lifeless.
Staring at the scene before him, Hase opened his mouth, only to find himself inexplicably speechless...