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The sorrow of witnessing a family torn apart by life and death did not linger in Haruto's mind for too long.
Survival and death have always been the main theme in the game against demons; those who are too empathetic cannot become excellent swordsmen.
Haruto arrived at Mount Muyun, mentioned in his mission, while it was still early in the day.
Mount Muyun boasts beautiful scenery, with steep, towering peaks and vines like clouds, making it an excellent spot to watch the sunrise in the morning.
However, at the foot of the mountain, a warning sign had already been erected: 'Beware of wild beasts on the mountain; tourists, keep out.'
He wasn't sure if it was placed by the local government or by the Kakushi.
Haruto stepped over the warning sign and the first thing he saw was a large patch of withered plants.
Those plants looked as if they were suffering from pests and diseases, their surfaces covered in spots, and they were completely dead.
Haruto's geta instantly crushed the withered leaves into powder as he stepped on them.
He looked at the withered plants beneath his feet, lost in thought.
"There's a demon's presence..."
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
His geta ran through the jungle, and before sunset, he circled the foothills, seeing many such patches of withered vegetation.
Mixed in with these plants was the scent of human blood, further confirming to Haruto that there was a demon here capable of controlling plants.
This demon didn't just hunt with claws and fangs; it had awakened a Blood Demon Art, and such demons were generally more difficult to deal with.
Seeing that dusk was approaching, he found a shrine dedicated to Inari Okami in the mountains to rest.
The incense offerings here looked substantial, indicating that the demon in this area had only recently arrived.
Haruto removed his mask and bowed to the statue as a sign of respect, but he did not perform the series of elaborate worship rituals.
He did not believe in gods, or rather, he did not believe in the so-called gods of this world.
When Kibutsuji Muzan was born, no god came to stop him; when he killed innocent people, no god punished him... Instead, all the punishment and suffering were heaped upon the Ubuyashiki family, forcing them to endure illness and early death for generations.
What ridiculous gods.
There were no priests in the temple, but there was the scent of wisteria, so they might have just evacuated.
Haruto sat peacefully on a cushion, pulling out food from his backpack to replenish his strength.
Today was a clear night, with stars hanging in the sky, bringing him endless power.
The young man propped his nichirin blade on the ground and formed a hand seal in front of his chest.
"Breath of the Stars, Third Form: Guiding Star Worship."
Guiding Star Worship originated from the Taoist ritual of worshipping stars, intended to communicate with the stars to expel demons and heal illnesses.
Haruto's consciousness seemed to leap into the starry sky; every blade of grass and tree around him appeared in his perception, even a praying mantis clinging to a blade of grass was clearly discernible.
His perception spread out like a tide—found it!
In the center of a patch of recently withered plants, a dark figure had tackled a person descending the mountain and was currently feasting on his chest.
Haruto gripped his blade and swiftly ran towards the location.
"Here they come, here they come, watch the little white-haired hubby slay demons."
"Dream girl online, today is another day of being intoxicated by Haruto's appearance."
"Little Haruto, come out quickly and fence with me."
"Ah, no way, no way, there can't really be fujoshis watching Haruto's side story, right?"
"Focus on the plot, okay? Haruto's promotion battle was so passionate, can't everyone keep their pants on?"
The barrage of comments scrolled across his vision, and Haruto painstakingly found the keywords amidst the many eye-searing messages.
Promotion battle? What does that mean?
Haruto looked at the back of his hand, where his Demon Slayer Corps rank was hidden.
It was originally "Kinoe," but after completing the mission in Takinogawa Village, it should be promoted to "Hinoto"; this speed was by no means fast.
The "promotion" in these comments probably wasn't just a simple rank advancement within the corps.
Is it... becoming a Hashira?
As soon as this thought surfaced, Haruto dismissed it from his mind.
From the establishment of the Demon Slayer Corps until today, there have only ever been nine top-tier "Hashira."
There might be fewer, but there would absolutely never be more than nine.
This is because it is extremely difficult to be promoted to a Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps.
Slaying 50 demons or killing one of the Twelve Kizuki—either of these conditions is incredibly difficult to achieve.
Demons active in plain sight are already few, and slaying 50 demons usually takes three to four years.
And encountering one of the Twelve Kizuki is even harder; they generally live in seclusion, and members of the Demon Slayer Corps cannot track their movements at all.
Even if they do encounter one... whether a Demon Slayer Swordsman successfully hunts the demon or the Twelve Kizuki adds another victory is yet unknown.
In the past year, due to Haruto's injuries and his research into Breath of the Stars, the number of demons he had hunted had only just reached 10.
Sabito and Giyuu had already become "Kinoe" swordsmen, while he was still stuck at "Kinoe."
But the comments were just for show; they wouldn't lie.
Could it be... Haruto's heart skipped a beat, and the answer was already on the tip of his tongue.
He had already arrived at the place where the demon was devouring a human, according to his perception. Before him was another large patch of withered vegetation, and a scrawny demon was squatting on the ground, the sound of chewing incessant.
"Someone's here," he said unhurriedly.
The scrawny demon turned around, wiping the blood from his hands on the white clerical robes of the person beneath him.
Was it a temple attendant?
Was it he who lit the wisteria incense? Yet, on his way down the mountain, he encountered a demon... Haruto's gaze shifted upwards, and when he saw the demon's face, his pupils suddenly constricted.
It was a demon with short black hair, and three intersecting scars on his face, looking very much like those left by a ninja's shuriken.
His ears were very long and pointed, like an elf's, and each was adorned with two golden earrings.
What stirred Haruto was that in his eyes, which were mostly white, in the extremely small right pupil, two characters were written—
"Lower Three"!
Twelve Kizuki, Lower Moon Three!
Haruto's breath seemed to freeze in his chest.
A Lower Moon demon?
Why would a Twelve Kizuki appear here?
"It's a Demon Slayer Corps Swordsman." The Lower Three demon twisted his neck and twitched his nose: "Do you smell it?"
Haruto didn't know who he was asking, so he remained silent.
Fortunately, Lower Three didn't expect an answer from him. He seemed to be slowly stretching his limbs, which made Haruto somewhat puzzled.
"This priest is a Marechi, right?"
"That's right, if Yamai hadn't eaten the Marechi priest, Haruto would probably have been killed here."
Haruto quickly glanced at the comments, then suddenly understood.
So, Lower Three was called Yamai.
And his current strange movements were because he had just consumed a Marechi.
Marechi is an extremely rare body type in the Demon Slayer world; rare individuals are considered very high-grade sustenance for demons.
One Marechi is equivalent to a hundred ordinary humans for a demon.
The flesh and blood of a Marechi give demons a hangover-like sensation, reducing their movement and attack speed after consumption.
In that case... Haruto's gaze towards Yamai became even more solemn.
After eating a Marechi, if left unchecked, Yamai's strength would rapidly increase, potentially leading to even more killings in the future.
And now was the only perfect opportunity to slay him!