Although evil spirits ran rampant throughout this world, encountering such a dense concentration of them in such a short span of time was far beyond what Ren Kuroda had ever experienced before.
Yet dangerous as Mount Fujikasane was, it also presented Ren with an opportunity—one that could allow him to complete his mission far ahead of schedule.
Under normal circumstances, finding even a single evil spirit outside required days of travel. One would first have to locate a remote village, then wait and hope a demon would eventually appear.
But Mount Fujikasane was different.
Ren wouldn't dare claim there were hundreds of demons here—but there were certainly no fewer than a hundred.
Because of this, Ren had no intention of rushing through the examination. Instead, he planned to remain on Mount Fujikasane and hunt the evil spirits trapped within.
An opportunity like this was simply too rare.
Otherwise, hunting demons in the outside world—especially while also tracking the far more elusive Twelve Demon Moons—would take an absurd amount of time.
However, while the idea itself was sound, Ren was also facing a very real problem.
There were plenty of demons here, and he certainly possessed the strength to defeat them—but he lacked a reliable way to kill them.
As usual, Ren's method involved crippling his opponent, then waiting for sunrise so the demon would be incinerated by sunlight.
But Mount Fujikasane's terrain was unique. Because so many demons were imprisoned here, the forest canopy was dense and oppressive. Sunlight rarely reached the ground.
That meant Ren's usual strategy was rendered completely ineffective.
Worse still, the number of demons pursuing him continued to grow.
The demons of Mount Fujikasane behaved nothing like those outside. Normally, demons acted alone, driven by selfish instinct.
Here, they appeared in groups.
This wasn't due to cooperation or intelligence—it was simple desperation.
The demons imprisoned at the foot of Mount Fujikasane were trapped by the wisteria barrier. Everything edible on the mountain had been devoured long ago.
As a result, the annual Demon Slayer Corps examination became a once-a-year feast.
Fresh flesh. Warm blood. Young boys and girls.
With only a limited number of examinees and countless starving demons, conflict was inevitable. Naturally, the demons resorted to swarming tactics—encirclement and suppression—just to secure a single meal.
As Ren led several demons in wide loops through the forest, he also scanned his surroundings, searching carefully for anything usable.
As an examination site, Mount Fujikasane had claimed countless lives over the years. Those demons, having already consumed their victims, wouldn't care about discarded Nichirin Blades.
So Ren hunted demons while simultaneously searching for weapons left behind by fallen examinees.
Unfortunately, after circling the forest multiple times, he hadn't found a single blade.
"Are Nichirin Blades on Mount Fujikasane collected afterward?" Ren muttered with irritation."Or is my luck just that terrible?"
He had hoped to pick up a weapon and go on a proper killing spree. Instead, his plan had stalled almost immediately.
Behind him, the pursuing demons showed no sign of slowing down.
This was their one chance each year to eat flesh and blood. Not only did they refuse to give up—their numbers continued to increase.
Watching the ever-growing horde behind him, Ren frowned.
If the demons continued to gather like this, even he would find the situation troublesome.
Just as Ren was about to turn around and deal with the pursuing wave head-on, a terrified scream rang out from ahead.
His eyes snapped up.
Through the trees, Ren saw two girls sprinting toward him, faces pale with terror, their movements frantic and uncoordinated.
The moment they noticed Ren, both girls froze in shock.
At first, they had believed they'd found salvation—another ally meant better odds.
But when they saw the massive swarm of demons chasing behind Ren, the words they had been about to shout died in their throats.
Their legs gave out.
They collapsed to the ground in utter despair.
Only a few hours earlier, these young men and women who had come to participate in the Demon Slayer Corps examination had been brimming with confidence. They believed themselves chosen—heroes destined to save the world.
But now, faced with real demons, reality shattered their illusions.
Although they had been warned of demons' horrors by their instructors—and had trained tirelessly to fight them—training and real combat were worlds apart.
When these eager newcomers witnessed their companions torn apart and devoured within moments, right before their eyes, their psychological defenses collapsed instantly.
This was precisely why the Demon Slayer Corps conducted such brutal examinations.
No matter how impressive one's training results, without experiencing blood and death firsthand, they would remain nothing more than flowers raised in a greenhouse.
Even if such people were lucky enough to join the Corps, they would never survive true demon-slaying missions.
Just like now—once confronted with the sheer brutality and savagery of demons, many immediately revealed their true limits.
To be fair, the demons of Mount Fujikasane were far more ferocious than those outside.
Having endured years of Demon Slayer Corps trials, many had already devoured multiple human examinees. Starved for an entire year, they became even more violent, their bloodlust ignited by the scent of fresh flesh.
The two girls facing Ren had originally been part of a three-person team.
They had encountered two demons together.
Under normal circumstances, three versus two would have been manageable.
But they never expected a third demon to be hiding in the shadows from the beginning.
While they focused on fending off the visible attackers, the hidden demon struck—killing their strongest member instantly.
Watching their companion be slain and devoured right before their eyes shattered the remaining two.
Inexperienced and unaccustomed to such carnage, their fighting spirit vanished completely. They turned and fled without hesitation.
But the three demons, having tasted blood, only grew more excited.
Their speed increased sharply as they closed the distance, forcing the girls to scream in terror.
When they encountered Ren Kuroda, they believed they had found salvation.
If he was strong enough, perhaps they could survive a three-on-three fight.
Unfortunately, that hope was swallowed by an even deeper despair—
Because behind Ren Kuroda…
Trailed at least ten more demons.