"Hah!!!"
With a sharp exhale, Takeo shot upright from the ground.
The sun was sinking toward the western horizon—it was almost the third night.
Beside him, Iori was sound asleep, breathing steadily without the slightest hint of caution. She didn't even notice that the campfire before her had already gone out.
Takeo glanced at the peacefully sleeping Iori but didn't bother her. Instead, he sat cross-legged under a nearby tree, trying to steady his mood after having just "died."
In his mental space, the sudden slash from 2B had come without warning—Takeo didn't even have a chance to react.
He hadn't even seen her clearly. One blink, and—snap—he was gone.
Takeo was left speechless.
He had hoped to gain a new inheritance with minimal effort, but instead, he was greeted with overwhelming hostility. Was it because he'd skipped her "class" last time? Is that why she came out swinging?
Frustrated at the thought, Takeo scratched his head wildly, turning his red hair into a complete mess.
He understood—classes you skip eventually come back to haunt you. That much made sense. But if he couldn't even see her attacks, how was he supposed to make up for it?
Was he going to get instantly killed every time he entered that mental realm?
"Well… this might actually be a decent training method."
Even though he'd just been decapitated in one strike by 2B, Takeo wasn't discouraged.
The stronger 2B was, the more his own skills would improve by training against her. If there ever came a day he could keep up with her speed, then his overall ability might reach the level of a Hashira.
But speaking of which—Takeo figured there were probably a lot of people who didn't know who 2B was.
So, allow him to explain first.
2B's full name is YoRHa No.2 Type B, one of the protagonists from the game NieR: Automata.
She's a combat-type android tasked with fighting off machine lifeforms that invaded Earth.
She's pretty powerful too. In the game, she can be equipped with various plug-ins and abilities—one of which allows her to briefly stop time.
That time-stopping ability is called |Overclock|. In the game, it's triggered by perfectly dodging an enemy's attack.
Depending on the level of the Overclock chip equipped, both the degree of time-slowing and its duration vary.
In the game, you had to dodge attacks precisely to activate Overclock. But here, in his mental space, it seemed like 2B could trigger Overclock at will.
A skill that was originally passive had become active—in other words, a massive power-up for an ability that was supposed to only activate when evading.
Setting aside the fact that 2B was an android, her combat techniques—especially her mastery of swordplay—were incredibly formidable. At the very least, when it came to weapon technique, she definitely surpassed Old Man Logan.
If Takeo could learn 2B's weapon-handling skills, he might be able to grasp a Breathing Technique of his own much faster.
But… to develop his own Breathing Style, he had to defeat 2B. And if he couldn't defeat her, creating a unique Breathing Style would remain a distant dream.
Was he stuck in a dead end?
Takeo sat cross-legged on the ground, racking his brain for a solution. After a long moment of contemplation, he gave up thinking altogether.
"Whatever, I'll just keep fighting. It's like playing a Soulsborne game—die enough times and you'll eventually get good."
That was the decision Takeo came to.
If he treated the process of challenging these fictional characters in his mental world like playing a Souls-style game, then things suddenly became much simpler.
Enter, challenge the boss, die repeatedly to figure out their moves, memorize their attack patterns, and eventually win through sheer persistence.
Exactly—just like playing a game!
Having decided on his course of action, Takeo now had a new goal.
For the time being, during the night, he would stand guard over the injured Iori, protecting her from demons while she was still too weak to defend herself.
During the day, while resting, Takeo would enter his mental space to challenge 2B.
Takeo, after sleeping, was again inside his mind space- he saw her silhouette and tried to say something, but before a word left his mouth, she vanished.
He didn't even sense which direction she came from. Just—thud.
Next day- This time, Takeo side-stepped by instinct, but—thud! His head rolled off again.
.
.
And just like that, the Final Selection neared its end.
By the morning of the seventh day, Takeo still hadn't managed to fully see the trajectory of 2B's attacks.
Seriously… something felt off—this 2B was way stronger than the one in the game.
Not only was she absurdly fast, but her strikes were also incredibly precise. By now, every time Takeo entered his consciousness and saw 2B, he had developed an instinctive reaction to dodge.
Sometimes he'd duck, sometimes lean back, and other times just curl up and brace for impact.
But no matter what kind of evasive maneuver he tried, none of it worked against 2B.
She would simply dash in, draw her blade—and Takeo would be instantly killed and ejected from the mental realm.
Five days of rest meant five opportunities to challenge her, and each one ended with Takeo's defeat.
His biggest improvement over that time?
From not even being able to see her blade at first… he now managed to catch a faint blur—just the ghost of a motion.
It might seem like a tiny improvement, but to Takeo, it was a major leap forward.
It meant his dynamic vision had improved—to the point where he could begin to follow the sword trajectory of a 2B using Overclock.
So as long as he could continue improving steadily, defeating 2B might not be just a dream.
"…But I still don't feel too confident," Takeo muttered under his breath.
Even though he tried to stay optimistic, he knew full well he wasn't going to be a match for 2B anytime soon.
And it wasn't just her—he didn't feel confident about facing that black-haired boy either.
It was only after sparring with 2B that Takeo truly realized just how terrifying that boy's speed was when he had slain the Hand Demon.
That sudden movement—appearing in front of him in an instant.
Sure, some of it was due to the elusive nature of his Breathing Technique, which blurred the line of sight, but the boy's raw strength had to be incredibly powerful as well.
Takeo wasn't sure he could beat him.
But that was something to worry about later. For now, what he and Iori needed to do was return the fox mask they'd found in the forest to the two "examiners" in charge of the Final Selection—The twin girls.
With the trial now complete, the black-haired and white-haired twin girls seemed to have been waiting for them for quite some time.
Takeo stood at the Final Selection site, glancing around the area.
Including himself, there were only seven swordsmen left. But he remembered that nearly thirty people had originally participated in this Selection.
Damn.. That elimination rate was way too high.
If the dropout rate was this severe every year… how did the Demon Slayer Corps even manage to survive?
Takeo was honestly puzzled.
"First of all, congratulations on returning safely," the white-haired girl began.
The black-haired girl continued immediately after:
"Second, congratulations on passing the Final Selection. Next, we will be issuing your uniforms."
"We will measure your body sizes and inscribe your ranks."
"There are a total of ten ranks."
"The highest rank is Kinoe (甲), and the lowest is Mizunoto (癸)."
"You are currently at the lowest rank—Mizunoto. We hope you all strive to rise through the ranks."
"Lastly, this is the steel used to forge your Nichirin Swords. Please step forward and choose your ore."
The twin girls spoke in turns, then stepped aside.
Behind them stood a square platform draped in a long purple cloth.
Once the cloth was lifted, various pieces of metal were revealed—similar in size but differing in shape.
These were the Scarlet Ore and Scarlet Iron Sand used to forge blades capable of slaying demons.
Each swordsman had to choose the piece of ore that resonated most with them, which would then be handed over to a swordsmith for forging.
After about half a month, they would receive their very own Nichirin Sword.
Takeo stepped forward first, picking a chunk of ore that felt just right in his hand. Iori followed behind, choosing a larger piece.
As for the black-haired boy who had agreed to duel with Takeo someday—he stepped up last and selected a smaller piece of ore.
Once everyone had chosen their ore, the twin girls wrote down their names and recorded the size and shape of the ores under each individual's profile.
After that, the twins clapped their hands again.
Several crows flew down from the sky and landed on the shoulders of the new swordsmen.
"These are your Kasugai Crows, responsible for delivering messages."
"From now on, they will remain by your side and relay all communications from the Demon Slayer Corps."
The crows landed on the shoulders of Takeo and the others, each letting out sharp caws. Some were rather noisy, while others were more reserved—like the Kasugai Crow perched on Takeo's shoulder, which was surprisingly quiet.
But when Takeo looked over at it, the bird actually shrank back a little and said: "P-please… don't stare at me like that…"
"What the fuck…?"
Did it just… talk?
Takeo was pretty sure he hadn't misheard—this crow just spoke, didn't it!?
Seeing his stunned expression, Iori—who was playfully teasing her own crow—seized the chance to mock him:
"What? You've never seen your handler's Kasugai Crow before? All crows trained by the Demon Slayer Corps can speak. Otherwise, how do you think they're supposed to deliver messages?"
"…I thought it was more like carrier pigeons—you know, fly and drop off letters or something. I didn't realize… they actually talked themselves?!"
Was this even scientifically possible?
Takeo continued staring into his crow's beady eyes, trying to figure out how on earth it had human-level intelligence.
Crow: "I-I said.. D-Don't stare at me..."
"..."
Meanwhile, Iori ignored him entirely and walked over to the twin girls.
Noticing her sudden movement, Takeo finally remembered—right, they still hadn't reported the situation related to that Urokodaki-san, the Hand Demon, or the other disciples trained by Urokodaki.
________
12 Advance chapters—P@treon/HornyFBI