They moved through the forest as a pair now. Tsuruji in front, a silent guide. Hayate behind him, a watchful predator. They did not speak. They did not need to.
They found another demon an hour later. It was fast, skittering through the trees above them. Hayate let out a low growl and shot into the branches after it. The sounds of a wild fight followed. Leaves and twigs rained down. Soon, the demon's body turned to dust and drifted down like grey snow.
Hayate dropped back to the ground, a fresh cut on his cheek. He looked pleased.
Tsuruji said nothing. He just kept walking.
As night fell on the second day, the air grew colder. The sounds of the mountain changed. The normal noises of insects and birds were gone. Only the wind remained, and sometimes, a distant scream.
They came to a rocky part of the mountain. A narrow path was cut between two large cliffs. Sitting on a rock in the middle of the path was another boy.
He had a nervous look on his face. His hands were moving, tracing patterns in the air. He was muttering to himself.
"...path is narrow. High chance of ambush from above. Estimated survival rate if we proceed: thirty-seven percent. Maybe thirty-six. No, wait, factoring in unknown variables..."
He was so deep in thought he didn't see them approach.
Hayate sniffed. "What is he doing?"
The boy on the rock jumped. He saw them and scrambled to his feet, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. It was a normal Nichirin blade.
"Don't sneak up on me!" he said, his voice high with stress. "The auditory disruption alone can lower reaction time by point-two seconds! A critical margin!"
Tsuruji looked past him, down the narrow path. His eyes, as always, were empty. "There is a demon ahead," he stated. It wasn't a question.
The nervous boy, Ren, nodded rapidly. "Yes! A big one. It's blocking the only way forward. It has some kind of rock-like skin. My Sound Breathing attacks barely scratched it. I've calculated nine different approaches. All of them have a failure rate above sixty percent!"
Hayate grinned, a flash of teeth. "Then we smash it."
"No!" Ren said, pulling at his hair. "You don't understand! Its defense is too high. A direct assault has a ninety-one percent chance of resulting in severe injury! We need a new plan. Maybe we can go around? No, the cliffs are too steep. The time it would take..."
While Ren was talking, Tsuruji started walking down the path.
Ren's eyes widened. "Wait! What are you doing? I haven't finished the probability analysis!"
Tsuruji didn't stop. Hayate followed with a shrug.
Ren watched them go, panic on his face. He looked at the dark, empty forest behind him, then at the two boys walking toward the demon. He let out a frustrated groan.
"Fine! Fine! But if we die, it's your fault!" He ran to catch up, still muttering numbers under his breath.
They turned a corner in the path. And there it was. A huge demon, its body covered in what looked like rough, grey stone. It saw them and smiled, cracking its stony lips.
Ren froze. "See? I told you! Optimal survival strategy is retreat!"
Hayate got ready to charge.
Tsuruji just looked at the stone demon. He placed his hand on the hilt of his pure black sword.