"The first batch of swordsmen disappeared at the same time. The villagers who woke up in the morning suddenly found them gone. Some say they entered the mountain, while others say they saw them leaving overnight... I don't know if it's true."
"During this time, seven children in the village have mysteriously disappeared, and there are no traces of wild beasts breaking into their homes."
"Some mountain people say it's all because of disrespect toward the Mountain God that such a disaster has been brought upon them."
The departing Team Members reported to Kiyokawa Izumi one after another.
Kiyokawa Izumi hadn't been idle during this time either, chatting with a hospitable old man who didn't forget to brew him a cup of hot tea and offer some wild fruits he grew himself, along with some simple snacks.
"It's a demon, isn't it?"
The old man's words were still echoing in his ears.
It was no wonder he was so hospitable.
This man's ancestors had been in contact with the Demon Slayers of the Demon Slayer Corps. Having lived here for most of his life, although he had never seen an evil demon, he firmly believed in the stories passed down from his ancestors.
His grandmother had been deeply involved with such people; as she got older, she gradually retired and returned to the village where she was born and raised.
But the stories were passed down from generation to generation. Having heard many of them since childhood, he never doubted his grandmother was lying to him, because his grandmother never told lies.
"Those young swordsmen disappeared suddenly, without a sound. You must be careful; it might be a very powerful demon!"
"My grandmother once said that some evil demons possess abilities beyond imagination."
"If possible, I beg of you, you must deal with this man-eating demon!"
The old man pleaded very sincerely.
The existence of the evil demon had already seriously affected the lives of the people living here.
Some were living in constant fear, even thinking about leaving.
Families who lost children suffered unbearable blows.
Some even gave ridiculous suggestions to worship the Mountain God again.
Chaos was gradually emerging; he saw it and felt anxious, yet he was powerless.
After listening carefully, Kiyokawa Izumi had a rough guess about the grandmother's identity.
She should have been a Hidden Member at that time.
Compared to front-line combatants, the casualty rate of Hidden Members was indeed not high. When they got older and wanted to retire to live a normal life, given the personality of the Demon Slayer Corps' Oyakata-sama, he likely wouldn't make things too difficult for these logistics personnel.
"Preliminary judgment: the evil demon here should possess the ability to make people disappear silently."
"There is a high possibility it's a Blood Demon Art!"
"At night, you will be in groups of two. No matter what, you are not allowed to separate, let alone act rashly. Do you understand?"
Kiyokawa Izumi commanded in a very stern tone.
"Yes!"
The Team Members replied in unison.
With unknown strength and abilities, acting separately was definitely foolish.
Although he had received the Team Members' assurance, he was still a bit uneasy and could only emphasize again.
"Even if you're going to relieve yourselves, you must go together. You must ensure that your teammate's figure is always in your sight, and you are not allowed to be more than two meters apart. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
Seeing that even the Hashira was so serious, the Team Members naturally didn't dare to let their guard down.
They didn't think he was making a fuss over nothing.
To make five professional swordsmen disappear silently, even if it wasn't one of the Twelve Kizuki, its strength might not be much different... Night soon fell, and Kiyokawa Izumi declined the old man's offer to stay overnight, setting out alone.
The order not to separate obviously didn't include him—with his strength, if he were killed without even having time to react, what difference would it make whether he was with someone else or not?
He didn't use his Sharingan, obviously preparing for the upcoming battle and deliberately preserving his state.
The village at night was shrouded in darkness. There was no electricity, only groups of young men who organized themselves to patrol in shifts, carrying torches or lanterns.
With weird things constantly happening, how could they sleep soundly?
In families with children, adults had to get up four or five times a night, for fear that their children would mysteriously disappear.
Therefore, the atmosphere of the entire village was very oppressive.
The movement of Demon Slayers like Kiyokawa Izumi here didn't arouse the villagers' suspicion—mainly because an influential figure had come forward to vouch for them.
Just like that.
More than three hours passed in a flash.
Nothing happened!
The patrolling swordsmen were not attacked, nor did they mysteriously disappear.
Everything was so peaceful.
Kiyokawa Izumi rubbed his brow; he hated this kind of hide-and-seek the most—killing an evil demon wasn't hard, what was hard was finding it. Killing a demon took half a minute, but finding one could take several days.
"When did this thing appear here? Did someone put it here?"
"How is that possible? We just walked past here not long ago..."
"This..."
"What are you talking about?"
Kiyokawa Izumi's patrol area overlapped with these two groups, so he could see them every once in a while, which made it easy for him to judge if anything had happened to the two groups of swordsmen.
After hearing the voices, he naturally rushed over with all his might.
"On the patrol path, three Gyokko suddenly appeared. I don't know whose prank it is, it's just..."
"Get back!"
An unprecedentedly grave expression appeared on Kiyokawa Izumi's calm face.
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