The girls are now off to the entrance exam and feel extremely nervous and anxious as Rose clasps her hands and prays for the girls' safety. The girls looked around and noticed that the participants gave them weird looks before looking away, leaving the girls confused. They were now whispering, which didn't bother the girls since they weren't paying attention. They were in their little world. On the opposite side of the girls was a boy around their age with blond hair, cat ears, a white-collar shirt, black pants, a blond tail, and brown Chelsea boots. He had his eyes closed, and participants looked at him strangely. The participants never expected to see young people taking the exam. Pixel and Jean know the city's distance from them. The city was getting smaller and smaller. Now, they only see trees and the ocean. The ocean was admiring and relaxing. The girls have always wanted to see the beyond, hoping to find another land. But they will never find out.
While the girls were staring out the window, they noticed the cat boy staring at them. He never expected to see people around his age take the exam. He was astounded. Pixel felt like somebody was watching them. So she turns her head, and the boy quickly looks away. Pixel saw his movement and noticed him taking a glance. She catches him, and he stares out the window. Pixel gave him a disturbing look, and the boy stopped looking. Pixel looks away, covering her mouth with her right hand. She stared out of the window and ignored the boy. While the girls were chatting, all three stopped when they heard the people behind whispering about them.
"How disgusting that we got three more weak participants. They're not at the same level as us," whispered a male voice.
"I bet they'll fail on the first part of the exam," scoffed the female voice. All four of them laughed.
"I feel like the long black hair girl will fail first," jibed the female voice.
"Does it matter? All of them will fail since their energy isn't high enough. I could sense it, and they're incapable," the male voice divulged. The girls were silent and angered by their insults. The girls ignore their insults and focus on themselves.
'They're so idiotic that they think they could not take this Entrance exam. They will see that we're qualified to pass this entrance exam,' thought Pixel as she started biting her thumb.
'Those fools are underestimating us. They will soon find out the hard way,' mused Jean as she smirked.
They were now halfway there. While the participants were chatting, the door that led to the front opened and caught everyone's attention. It was the conductor, Victor. Standing beside Victor was a female figure. She wore the same uniform as Victor and had long black hair and eyes.
"Good morning, participants! My name is Victor, and next to me is Marzia," introduced Victor. Marzia waved cheerfully.
"Greetings, everyone. We welcome you to the Demon Slayers Entrance exam. This exam will test if you're eligible to become a Demon Slayer, as you have learned. As soon as we reach the entrance, they will explain more. But either way, good luck and survive," announced Marzia. Victor and Marzia bow down and leave. The girls looked out of the window and only saw trees. Then, the train went up the tracks, and suddenly, the train slowed down. The train stopped, and the doors opened. Victor points with his thumb and motions for them to get out. The participants got up, and some of them roughly pushed each other. The girls waited for all the participants to get out. Once the last person walked past them, Pixel noticed the cat boy was also waiting. Pixel went behind Jean, and then the cat boy went behind Pixel. All four leave the train. The doors slide closed, and the train howls. The train was leaving. As the train left, the girls looked around, and the forest was slightly foggy. While everyone was observing the place, a figure with curly light pink hair, brown eyes, a white-collar shirt, purple vest, black pants with a purple belt hanging from his right leg, and black Oxford shoes revealed himself. He walked up to the participants, and as he stood before them, he bowed and stood straight. He gives them a warm smile.
"Greetings, everyone! Welcome to the Demon Slayers' Entrance exam. My name is Bonnie, and I am the attendant of the Demon Slayer leader Luan. Throughout this exam, you will face many challenging obstacles that we hope you'll be ready to take down. But what matters are your skills and your ability. Once you reach the end, you'll be placed in a camp with your new instructors. Everyone got that? Yes? Then begin," explained Bonnie. Bonnie turns his body around and moves out of the way. Without any hesitation, everyone started to run toward the forest. The girls began to follow the crowd. Bonnie was watching as everyone entered the forest. The trees blocked the sunlight and made the forest gloomy and dark, which some participants hated, while others ignored it and kept running. The participants have gone through their paths, leaving Pixel and Jean alone. They didn't care about them. All they focus on is themselves. They run across the forest road and stay alert for any danger.
As Pixel and Jean strolled beside the gentle flow of the petite river, they followed its course with curious eyes. Pixel and Jean had never anticipated the day they would take the Entrance exam. The months had flown by, with December, January, and February passing in a blur, and now March had arrived. Today was Jean's special day, her birthday, and she was taken aback by how her friends had celebrated it. As the girls had woken up in the morning, Rose, Xóchitl, and Maya had burst in with a beautiful peach cake adorned with the words "Happy Birthday, Jean!" Jean savored every delicious bite of the cake, cherishing each moment and thanking her friends for making her feel so special. And now, with her best friend Pixel by her side, Jean was ready to take the Entrance exam with confidence and determination. Deepening into the forest, Pixel and Jean weren't sure if they were going on the path and wanted to return. But they continued walking, and nearing the middle of the forest, Pixel and Jean sensed something and made them walk closer, their hands near their combat knives. The girls kept walking and soon felt their presence fading, which they were thankful for as they moved their hands away from their combat knives. That is, until the girls heard screaming. Pixel and Jean turned around and spotted three participants jumping out of the bushes as they ran away from a snow-colored female demon with white hair. The female demon lets out a growl as she tackles one of the participants and drills her hand into the participant's chest. Pixel, Jean, and the other participant watched in horror as dread filled their bodies. The scream from the participant horrified the girls as they watched the demon eat her heart.
"Tasty~" Declared the female demon as she licked her bloody fingers.
"Eww," commented Pixel as she stared at the female demon, disgusted.
"Are you seriously going to respond with that?" Jean asked, gazing at Pixel and pointing at the female demon. Pixel looked at the female demon and then back at Jean as she nodded.
"Yeah." Jean faced back at the demon before shrugging. The female demon stood straight as she stared hungrily at Pixel and Jean. The other participants had already run away and left the girls alone.
"More food? Can't wait to devour you, humans," grinned the female demon. Pixel and Jean's eyes widened as, without wasting time, the female demon ran directly at Jean first. Jean's eyes expanded as she got tackled to the ground. The demon laughs as she tries drilling her hand into Jean's heart, yet Jean rapidly grabs her right wrist and pushes to the side. The female demon grumbles in bothersome as she watches Jean pull her combat knife out. The white-haired demon chuckles as she stands up.
"How adorable of you for thinking you could take me down. You don't have a slight chance of laying a finger on me," taunted the white-haired demon.
"Keep dreaming," scoffed Jean as the white-haired demon ran directly at Jean again. Jean was ready and waiting for the white-haired demon's attack. In a swift move, she managed to dodge the slash with ease. The white-haired demon gritted her teeth as she kept swinging her hands, trying to slash Jean. Despite the white-haired demon's increasing frustration, Jean could skillfully block every attack. The white-haired demon became stunned as a low-level human could block her attacks without breaking a sweat. While the white-haired demon focuses on attacking Jean, Pixel comes from behind and tries stabbing the demon's heart. Yet, the white-haired demon blocks Pixel's attack with her right forearm and shoves Pixel aside. Jean takes another swing, and so does Pixel, but the white-haired demon stops it with both forearms and stares furiously at Pixel and Jean. The white-haired demon shoved the girls, and quickly, the girls went directly at her. Pixel transferred her hidden power to her combat knife, covered the blade in ice, and extended it. The white-haired demon watches the girls and swiftly avoids and blocks every attack. The white-haired demon avoids Pixel's attack and jumps behind her. Pixel rapidly turned around and blocked the white-haired demon's kick. The immense power sent Pixel sliding back as she gritted her teeth from the harsh pain. The white-haired demon was impressed but soon became disappointed.
'Tch, these humans are something else. They're unlike the other pathetic wimps,' thought the white-haired demon, glaring harshly at Pixel and Jean. Jean comes in from the side as she tries swinging her combat knife, but the white-haired demon snaps her neck to face her and grabs Jean's wrist. Jean's eyes went small as the white-haired demon grinned. However, Jean instantly grabbed the white-haired demon's forearm and yanked it off with all her might. The white-haired demon screams in pain as she stares at her bleeding shoulder. The white-haired demon gazed at Jean with appalled as she had never expected to see this type of strength from a human.
'H-How the fuck??? How strong are these humans?!?' Thought the white-haired demon as her eyes quivered in apprehension. Jean tossed the ripped arm to the side and glared harshly at the white-haired demon. The demon could see the flame in her eyes as she slowly backed away. The white-haired demon has never felt fear before and isn't sure if she even has the chance to defeat Pixel and Jean. The white-haired demon can't regenerate her ripped arm rapidly because she's not even powerful enough. With that, Pixel and Jean ran toward the white-haired demon, their combat knives ready. Jean also transmits her hidden power to her knife blade and engulfs it with flame. Closing in, Jean moves her combat knife to her left side and takes a swing; however, the white-haired demon avoids the slash by jumping back. But Pixel comes through as she swiftly grabs the white-haired demon's left leg, freezing it and tossing it to the ground. The ice shattered, and Jean came in, impaling the white-haired demon through her heart. The white-haired demon gasped as she screamed in pain. Jean deepened the blade as she noticed black with yale blue mist surrounding the demon's body, and slowly withered away. Jean pulled away and gazed at Pixel, who was still staring at where the demon's body used to be. Pixel watches as the last bit of the mist fades away before it is gone.
'I've seen those colors before. Those aren't mistakes from my meditation with that weird puddle substance,' thought Pixel as she nervously swallowed her saliva. Jean could tell something was bothering Pixel and was about to ask her before the ice melted from Pixel's blade. Pixel spun her combat knife and put it back in her holder. Jean does the same thing and goes beside her.
"Are you alright?" Jean asked, her brows pulled together. Pixel glanced up and stared at Jean, who looked worried.
"Yeah, I'm alright. What about you?" Asked Pixel. Jean checked her body, and it seemed that she was okay. Jean gazed at Pixel and nodded, making Pixel smile softly.
"Then let's continue," said Pixel, making Jean nod. As the girls faced forward, in front of them lay a formidable forbidding forest, its trees looming tall and dark against the dim sunlight. Pixel and Jean knew they were about to enter what Rose called the Dark Forest and needed to be cautious, vigilant, and silent. Residing in the Dark Forest are these creatures that haven't been named and are designated as Unknown Creatures. Rose taught the girls about the Unknown Creatures and that they need to be highly silent since the creatures' hearing is very sensitive, and a straightforward noise will trigger the beast and follow the sound to quiet them. The girls take a deep breath and soon enter the Dark Forest.