Hum!
On the mountain path bathed in moonlight, Tanjiro suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up sharply toward the summit.
"What's wrong, Tanjiro?"
Beside him, Zenitsu also stopped, his face full of delight:
"Have you finally decided to go back with me?!"
Without responding to this joy, Tanjiro simply stared blankly at the position above the summit, his pupils constricting.
"There's a demon's presence on the summit... So strong!"
He smelled it.
In that moment just now, he had truly smelled it.
That cold demonic aura spreading down from the summit—its thickness exceeded all the demons he had encountered in Mount Fujikasane by hundreds of times!
It was a power he had never seen before!
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Tanjiro lowered his head to see his hands trembling uncontrollably.
How could this be...
Why would a demon of such strength appear in Mount Fujikasane?
How did it get in?
Could this also be part of the swordsman selection?
Those mysteriously vanished rescue team members, could they have...
Every bone in his body trembled. Biological instincts screamed warnings in the depths of Tanjiro's brain.
He had to run, had to escape quickly!
The demon on the summit was not something he could handle at his current level. If he went up, he would surely die!
But, but...
In his mind, his father's expectations, his younger siblings' blessings, the Master's regard—all these scenes from the past surfaced one by one at this moment.
As a Demon Slayer, how could he choose to flee before a demon!
His eyes became firm once more. His hand gripped the hilt of his Nichirin sword tightly. Casting aside all distracting thoughts from his mind, Tanjiro gritted his teeth and accelerated his run toward the summit!
"Hey! Tanjiro! Why are you suddenly... Don't run so fast! Wait for me!"
He would not escape!
No matter what kind of demon he faced! No matter how powerful the enemy! As a Demon Slayer, as the future star of the Demon Slayer Corps, bearing everyone's expectations, he would find a way to defeat them!
"Ah, the little one has finally arrived?"
Reaching the summit in one breath, the first thing Tanjiro saw were the more than twenty Demon Slayers hanging from the surrounding trees.
Among them were both prospective Demon Slayers participating in the Final Selection and rescue team seniors.
"Tanjiro! Run!!"
They all appeared to still be alive. One of the older Demon Slayers roared as soon as he saw Tanjiro.
Tanjiro recognized this man—he was a cultivator at the Demon Slayer Corps compound.
Due to injuries sustained in previous years that made him unsuitable for frontline combat, he had retired and stayed at the compound to focus on cultivating young swordsmen.
He was also one of the rescue team members for this Final Selection.
"Run! This demon's target is you! She—"
"Waaah~ Uncle, you're really noisy. For such an important and interesting occasion, could you please shut up and stay quiet for a bit?"
As this cheerful voice sounded, a blood-red formation suddenly expanded, swallowing everyone within it.
The coverage range of this formation was astonishingly large. In an instant, the entire summit of Mount Fujikasane was completely enveloped. Countless mandala patterns flickered and flowed within that blood-red light, appearing and vanishing like a dreamscape!
And at the very center of this blood-red formation, Mitsuba sat there, looking at Tanjiro and Zenjitso with a smile.
"Good evening, you two little ones. We meet again."
"It's you?!"
Recognizing Mitsuba before them at a glance, both Tanjiro and Zenitsu showed identical shock on their faces.
It was that mysterious big sister they had met at the foot of the mountain earlier?!
Why would she appear here in such a manner?
Were all these Demon Slayers around them hung up by her?
[Tanjiro, there's a terrifying demon hidden in the deepest part of this Mount Fujikasane. Remember to go there early—don't delay too long.]
Remember to go there early, don't delay too long...
Mitsuba's words to him at the foot of the mountain suddenly surfaced in his mind, and Tanjiro finally understood everything.
His eyes wide with fury, he immediately gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted at Mitsuba:
"You're the demon hiding in Mount Fujikasane?!"
"What? Tanjiro, you're saying this big sister is a demon?!"
Hearing this, Zenitsu was completely stunned.
He looked at Tanjiro, who was facing a great enemy beside him, then looked at Mitsuba sitting opposite with a smile, his ears twitching constantly, his face full of confusion.
That wasn't right! The sound from her body was completely normal! How could she possibly be...
"It's her! Although I don't know why I didn't smell any demonic scent on her, it must be her! She attacked everyone in the mountain!"
Tanjiro's voice was firm and decisive.
The strange formation covering the summit, everyone hanging around them—all of this must be the work of the female demon before him!
To defeat all the rescue team seniors in the mountain with such ease—this kind of strength... Could she be one of the Twelve Kizuki?
Did she wait here specifically for him?
What did this female demon intend to do?
"Tanjiro, that little one I mentioned to you before—did you go save him?"
The smile on her face unchanged, Mitsuba asked.
"I saved him."
Instantly understanding who she was referring to, Tanjiro maintained his ready-to-draw posture and replied in a deep voice.
"The demon who attacked Genya was you, right!"
"Mmm, correct."
Nodding lightly, under the guarded gazes of the two before her, Mitsuba finally opened that long rectangular box she had been carrying.
Although he had grown up in the Demon Slayer Corps compound and didn't know much about the outside world,
Tanjiro still recognized what was inside the box at first glance—
A bolt-action rifle equipped with a scope, its body slender and smooth, reflecting a cold gleam under the moonlight.
"Springfield."
Mitsuba suddenly spoke an English word.
"That's its name, meaning 'Spring Field.' It's the main service rifle widely issued to the United States Army.
Of course, compared to this somewhat lengthy name, people seem to prefer calling it simply... Springfield."
Taking the Springfield rifle from the box, Mitsuba skillfully pulled back the bolt, opened the magazine, and began loading bullets one by one.
"The one in my hands is the latest Springfield 1903 bolt-action rifle model. It was a gift specially brought back for me from America by that little one in our family this time.
Not only is it equipped with the most advanced optical scope available today, but it's also a special custom-made model for a left-handed user like me.
Earlier at the foot of the mountain, I used it to wound that compatriot of yours. I believe... his name was Genya, correct?
Speaking of which, that child was quite lucky. If it weren't for needing to lure you, Tanjiro, over there to buy time for me to prepare all this advance work at the summit.
For such a 'Demon Eater,' I would have shot him dead with one bullet long ago. How could I have possibly bothered to spare his life?"