The two girls naturally had no objections to Ren Kuroda's words.
To be honest, the fact that they were still alive already felt like a miracle. After narrowly escaping death, neither of them dared to question Ren's arrangements in the slightest.
On their way toward the summit, they passed the remains of other examinees scattered throughout the forest—torn clothing, broken weapons, bloodstains that had long since turned dark and sticky. The tragic ends of those participants only deepened the girls' sense of gratitude. Encountering someone as powerful as Ren felt less like luck and more like divine intervention.
After escorting the two girls to an area near the summit, Ren did not linger.
Without the burden of protecting anyone else, he moved like a violent gust of wind, rapidly traversing Mount Fujikasane.
Although Ren's sense of smell was extremely sharp, it wasn't particularly effective here.
The entire mountain was a prison for demons, saturated with their foul stench. The overwhelming mixture of rotting flesh, blood, and demonic aura dulled even Ren's heightened senses, making them far less useful than they were in the outside world.
Fortunately, Mount Fujikasane wasn't large.
And with so many demons imprisoned here, Ren hardly needed to search.
Fearless—or foolish—demons would always come to him on their own.
And without exception, every demon that sought him out became another victim of Ren Kuroda's blade.
One… two… five… ten…
Demons continued to fall in succession, and the number remaining on Ren's mission tracker steadily climbed closer to completion.
However, as the slaughter continued, Ren began to notice something odd.
The number of demons actively seeking him out was gradually decreasing.
It couldn't be helped.
The demons of Mount Fujikasane weren't stupid.
The mountain was a confined area, and Ren's display of power was far too conspicuous. Word spread quickly among the demons—an abnormal swordsman had appeared, one who slaughtered anything that crossed his path.
If the intruder had been weaker, the demons might have grown more aggressive.
But the problem was that this swordsman was terrifyingly strong.
Eyewitness demons whispered in panic that so far, not a single one of their kind had survived even one exchange with him.
Even the infamous Hand Demon—the strongest demon imprisoned on Mount Fujikasane—had reportedly been slain in a single strike.
The Hand Demon was notorious among the imprisoned demons.
Captured long ago by Urokodaki Sakonji, he dated back to the Edo period and possessed monstrous strength. Harboring a deep hatred for the man who captured him, he had spent years deliberately targeting Sakonji's disciples.
By his own count, he had personally devoured thirteen of them.
As the undisputed apex predator of Mount Fujikasane, the Hand Demon possessed a massive body wrapped in thick layers of fat that protected his vital points.
For young swordsmen participating in the Demon Slayer Corps' selection trial, it was nearly impossible to cut through that defense. Because of this, the Hand Demon had long been considered an almost invincible existence on the mountain.
Filled with absolute confidence, the Hand Demon had taken the initiative to hunt Ren Kuroda.
After all, what he hated most were arrogant demon-slaying swordsmen.
The stronger and more talented the opponent, the greater his excitement at hearing their desperate screams as they died in his grasp.
And yet—
That very Hand Demon, the so-called king of this "beginner's village," was cleaved in half by Ren before he could even finish introducing himself.
Yes.
The thick layers of fat that had rendered him nearly untouchable were completely meaningless in front of Ren.
A single downward slash split his massive body cleanly in two. The residual blade force didn't stop there—it carved a deep fissure into the rock wall behind him.
With the strongest demon instantly erased, the remaining demons of Mount Fujikasane lost all courage.
None dared to show themselves.
They hid, suppressed their hunger, and even ignored the other examinees still wandering the mountain.
There was no other choice.
A good meal was tempting—but survival mattered more.
Encountering such a calamity this year was simply terrible luck. Better to starve another year and make up for it next time than to throw their lives away now.
What they never expected, however, was that even after choosing to hide…
That devil had no intention of letting them go.
With no demons daring to actively approach him, Ren found himself momentarily at a loss. In the end, he turned back toward the foot of the mountain, intending to conduct another thorough sweep.
Meanwhile, at the summit of Mount Fujikasane, a large group of boys and girls had already gathered—those who had successfully passed the trial.
The black-and-white-haired twin attendants who had greeted everyone at the foot of the mountain had reappeared as well.
But the moment they took in the number of survivors, they immediately contacted the higher authorities of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
There were far too many people who had passed the test.
That's right.
Although the number of survivors was still less than one-third of those who had entered the mountain, more than ten examinees remained.
This was unprecedented.
Since the establishment of the recruitment trials, two or three survivors was considered normal. Four or five was exceptional.
And sometimes… none survived at all.
Yet now, nearly a full third had passed.
Something unknown—and dangerous—had clearly occurred on Mount Fujikasane.
The Demon Slayer Corps took the report extremely seriously.
The mountain's location was unique, and it imprisoned a massive number of demons. Any anomaly here could lead to consequences beyond imagination.
According to the survivors' accounts, the demons of Mount Fujikasane seemed to have vanished simultaneously. During the latter half of the trial, many participants encountered almost no resistance at all.
The Corps' lord did not hesitate.
Reinforcements were dispatched immediately.
When they arrived at Mount Fujikasane, two figures stepped forward—one man and one woman—both clad in the distinctive uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps.
The man had black hair and a perpetually cold expression, wearing a haori with mismatched patterns on each side.
The woman's black hair faded into soft purple at the ends, a butterfly-shaped hairpin resting above her ear. Her gentle smile radiated warmth and reassurance.
These two were no ordinary operatives.
They were renowned throughout the Demon Slayer Corps—
Two of the Pillars.