Kangiten had indeed defeated that demon, but he didn't know that an even greater trouble was waiting for him. However, only Kangiten knew how he would handle it.
Using teleportation magic, Kangiten went to Mayushi's house. There, Neshima was asking Mayushi, "What happened to you?" But Mayushi didn't say a word—she was just sitting in one spot, terrified.
At that moment, Kangiten arrived, walked over to Mayushi, gently placed his hand on her head, and asked, "Mayushi, are you okay?"
Mayushi still didn't respond.
Seeing this, Neshima said to Kangiten, "I asked her the same thing, but she hasn't said anything. Can you tell me what happened to her?"
Kangiten replied, "Yes, of course. When I got there, I saw Mayushi standing frozen in place. I asked her, 'Why are you standing like this?' She told me she had seen a demon kill a man and take his body away right in front of her. That's why she's so scared."
Then Kangiten raised his voice and said, "Mayushi! What's wrong with you? Come back to your senses!"
Hearing his voice, Mayushi snapped out of her daze and said, "Yes, Kangiten, what happened?"
Kangiten looked at her and said, "You're scared… but you've never been afraid of demons before. What happened this time?"
Mayushi, still slightly shaken, said, "This time, I saw a demon kill a human right in front of me. That's why I got scared… but don't worry, I'm fine now."
Kangiten gently ran his hand over her head again and said, "Are you really okay? Because the training is going to begin in just a few days."
Mayushi smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine and ready for training."
Kangiten smiled back and said, "That's what I expected from you. You're not the kind of person who gets scared by small things."
Then Neshima asked, "Is the training going to start for all of them?"
Kangiten calmly replied, "Yes, that's why you're here."
Surprised, Neshima said, "What? But where are the other ten students? And I don't even know why I came here."
Kangiten tried to calm her and said, "Relax, Neshima. The remaining ten students will arrive soon. And it's your job to help bring them."
Shocked again, Neshima asked, "What do you mean by 'your job'? I don't understand."
Kangiten smiled and said, "I mean you and I are going to bring four of the students: Fumiko, Amaya, Megara, and Anelia. One of them, Akemi, is supposed to arrive by this evening. Hakatushi will also arrive soon.
Kono has been sent to bring Hiroto and Ganami. Oki and Sakaguchi have been tasked with bringing Onaki and Shizami."
Hearing this, Neshima calmed down and said, "Oh, I see. Then when are we leaving?"
Kangiten replied, "Right now. We don't have much time to wait. Itsuki, Mayushi—you both stay at home. Wild animals might come out, and Hakatushi and Akemi may arrive today. Please welcome them and take care of Mayushi."
Itsuki said seriously, "Alright. I'll look after Mayushi and also welcome the newcomers."
Kangiten turned to Neshima and said, "Then let's go, Shatiro."
Annoyed, Neshima said, "Don't call me that name!"
Kangiten laughed and said, "Alright, I won't. Now let's go."
Blushing, Neshima smiled and said, "Okay, let's go."
The two of them left to bring the four girls.
Back at home, Itsuki asked Mayushi, "Why were you so scared?"
Mayushi took a moment to calm herself and replied, "I wasn't scared… It's just that the scene was so horrifying. If you had seen it from that close, you would've panicked too."
Itsuki laughed loudly and said, "Me? Panic? What are you saying, Mayushi? I'm not afraid of any demon!"
Mayushi smiled and said, "Let's see when the time comes. For now, let's do some training."
Irritated, Itsuki said, "Come on! We just trained a while ago, and now again?"
Mayushi brought a wooden sword near Itsuki's face and said, "If you don't train, you won't get food. Keep that in mind."
Itsuki quickly grabbed a sword and got into a fighting stance.
"Alright then! Today, I'll defeat you, and until I do, I won't touch the food!"
Saying this, he swung his sword at Mayushi. But Mayushi blocked the attack with her own sword, diverted it aside, and then swiftly struck at his legs, causing him to fall.
Getting up from the ground, Itsuki shouted angrily, "That was just the beginning! I will definitely defeat you!"
The two of them continued their sparring, but every time, Itsuki ended up on the ground. Still, he didn't give up and kept trying.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Kangiten and Neshima were walking through a forest. Kangiten was using Presence of Magic to sense any demons nearby. Just then, Neshima asked him, "How long have you been trying to locate a demon with your presence of magic? There's no demon here."
Kangiten replied to Neshima's question, "Yes, I know there's no demon here, but I'm still using my magic."
Slightly annoyed, Neshima said, "I know you can keep this magic active for thousands of years without stopping, but your magic can cause problems for me and others."
Hearing this, Kangiten was startled. He deactivated his magic and said, "Sorry, I forgot that my magic was bothering you."
Neshima exclaimed, "You don't remember that your magic bothers people, but I feel good right now, so it's fine!"
Kangiten made an innocent face and said, "But it's only been five minutes."
Neshima got angry and said, "If you make that innocent face, I'll go alone. It's not like you're in any hurry."
Kangiten replied with a neutral expression, "Okay, then let's hurry."
Saying this, they were about to run off quickly when a voice from behind called out to them, "Where are you going, Demon Slayers? Stop for a moment and play with me for a bit, then you can head to your deaths."
Hearing this, they both stopped and looked behind them. There was a demon. Its presence was such that a black energy, or aura, swirled around it. If anyone entered that energy, they would die instantly.
Neshima angrily said to the demon, "My mind was already messed up trying to explain things to him, and now a demon like you has come to eat my brain!"
The demon bowed before them and said, "To be a good and powerful demon, I want to introduce myself. My name is Dino, and I've learned that one of you killed a high-ranking demon. So, I have come to kill the one who did it and get revenge."
Kangiten asked the demon, Dino, "Do you know who you have to kill?"
The demon lifted his head and laughed, "Yes, I know I have to kill that girl because I can't sense any energy from you, and you look weak. But that girl looks powerful. Don't worry, though, I'll give you an easy death."
Using her Mind Call Magic, Neshima asked Kangiten, "Is he talking about the same demon you killed a little while ago?"
Kangiten replied 'yes' to Neshima.
Neshima was about to say something to the demon when Dino interrupted her, attacking her with his long fingernails. However, Neshima's magical shield blocked the attack and deflected it to the side, causing the trees in the forest to be destroyed. Seeing this, Neshima said to Dino, "What's this? Your attack seems to have no effect. Attack me in a way that can actually harm me, not the trees in this forest."
Hearing this, Dino said, "Okay then, get ready to die." With that, he used Demon of Black Magic to attack Neshima and Kangiten from a distance. The attack hit them directly, but it had no effect.
Neshima used her Mind Call Magic to ask Kangiten, "Can't you handle this demon?"
Kangiten replied, "That demon is looking for a powerful opponent, so why would I get in the middle? You handle it. I'll just watch the show."
Dino was surprised and said, "What is this? This attack of mine is not affecting you either. So, endure this!"
Saying this, he attacked Kangiten with the Magic of Black Fire from his hands. A black fire rose from a magic circle beneath Kangiten's feet, surrounding him. After the fire disappeared, Dino and Neshima saw that Kangiten was no longer there.
Dino smiled and said, "This person couldn't even endure my fire; he just burned to ashes. Aren't you afraid of me, now that I've killed your companion? You should be afraid."
Neshima laughed and said, "Don't worry about my companion. And no one will be afraid of a demon like you."
Dino heard this and laughed, saying, "Is that so? But if you're not afraid of me, how can I kill you? Because those who fear me, I give them an easy death."
Saying this, he pulled out his demonic sword and attacked Neshima's leg. But Neshima dodged the attack, pulled out her own sword, and severed Dino's head from his body with a strike to his neck.
Dino couldn't process what was happening or how his throat was cut. He reattached his head to his body and said, "You are fast and powerful, but not enough to defeat me. Use more power."
Neshima swung her sword and said, "As you wish. I'll use more power to kill you." She was about to attack, when a Magic of Destroy attack from a magic circle beneath Dino's feet struck him. The attack left Dino in a bad state. By the time Dino recovered and understood what had happened, Neshima had already disappeared.
On the other side, Kangiten and Neshima emerged from the forest outside a city Neshima, clearly angry, asked Kangiten, "Do you think that demon was killed or not? You interrupted my fight and ruined it. I was the one meant to kill that demon."
Kangiten answered gravely, "The demon isn't dead. But we're running late. We have to go."
"All right. Let's go," Neshima said.
They walked into the city. Its name was the City of Slaves — a place where people were bought and sold, often without their consent. In that city, Fumiko, Amaya, Anelia, and Megara lived as slaves. Meanwhile, beneath a building elsewhere in the city, Kangiten and Neshima stood together. Neshima asked, "Have we come here to find those girls? I don't like the looks I'm getting; no one seems to have good intentions. Everyone is staring at me strangely."
Kangiten replied, "They stare because you're a woman. Those girls will be in this building. There's an auction today — slaves will be sold there, too. We'll have to buy them at the auction."
Neshima worried aloud, "If someone has already bid on them and bought them before we get there? And what if someone tries to stop us?"
Kangiten calmed her. "That might happen. We'll go in and sit through the auction. Come on."
They entered. From the outside the building looked old, but inside it was luxurious — a grand room where people had gathered for the auction. One of the men recognized Kangiten and greeted him enthusiastically. "Kangiten! Welcome! Please come in."
Kangiten began to reply politely, "Thank you for the welcome, but you—" The man cut him off. "We can discuss the rest later. First I'll tell you how slaves are obtained here and how they can be made profitable. Sit down; let's talk."
Kangiten and Neshima followed the man into the large room to speak. Something in the room hummed with a peculiar energy — an influence that could bend people's wills. Kangiten felt it the moment he stepped inside, yet he walked in regardless. Neshima warned him, "Be on your guard. There's a strange energy here; it could be dangerous to you."
Kangiten smiled. "You know that energy can't take anything from me. If anything, I'm the greatest danger to whoever controls it." The three of them sat and began to talk. The man explained that he owned the auction and the building. He wanted Kangiten to help with the auction and, in return, promised to give Kangiten twenty-five percent of whatever profit came from the sale.
Kangiten asked seriously, "That sounds like a good deal. But what would I have to do?"
The man beamed. "Do nothing special. Just back me up and keep the Demon Slayer Association away from my business."
Kangiten frowned. "But the Demon Slayer Association only shuts down illegal operations. What you're doing—if it's legal, why would I protect you?"
The man's tone turned frank. "My work is illegal. I sell slaves to people who perform unlawful experiments on them. I do not follow the laws of this country. I need your help to keep the Association from interfering."
Kangiten said, "I'll think about whether I should work with you. Wait while I decide."
The man's expression hardened with anger, but he forced himself calm. "Fine. Take your time. Don't refuse me outright. And the auction is starting now; come — let's go to the auction hall."
They left the office and stepped outside. Neshima used mind-call magic to speak to Kangiten: "Are you really going to side with him? Do you even know him?"
Kangiten answered, "No, I don't know him. I don't have time for trivialities. For now I'm just going along." With that, they moved toward the auction.
The auction began as soon as they arrived. First came expensive objects, then the slave auction. Several young women were up for sale. Kangiten did not bid at first. Watching this, Neshima whispered, "So many people are openly running this huge auction, and you're doing nothing. It bothers me."
Kangiten said, "I could stop it, but we came here for a purpose. We must focus on that; it's important."
The auctioneer announced, "Next up are four girls. The bidding starts at fifty thousand gold coins."
A few attendees bid seventy thousand, eighty thousand, ninety thousand. The price climbed to two hundred thousand. Then Kangiten bid two hundred and fifty thousand. A hush fell over the room. The auctioneer asked, "Does anyone wish to bid higher?" No one answered. The auctioneer shouted, "Sold to Mr. Kangiten! The four slave girls are now his." Then he turned to Kangiten and said, "How will you pay the two hundred fifty thousand?"
Kangiten handed over his Demon Slayer card. "Take this for the amount — but first check how much gold it contains."
The auctioneer examined the card and, astonished, said, "Your card has five million gold. I can take two hundred fifty thousand from it." A girl standing nearby fainted at the news. Kangiten said lightly, "Fine — take it. Last time it had eight hundred thousand; perhaps I spent some of it. Go ahead."
The auctioneer withdrew the amount from the card. Kangiten, Neshima, and the four girls left the building. Suddenly, Kangiten was struck from behind by a fire spell. The man who'd spoken to them earlier appeared, laughing. "Sorry, Kangiten," he said. "I don't trust you. If you won't join me, then you must die. As for this girl, we'll sell her at the auction."
Neshima, furious, shouted back, "I had my doubts about you from the start. I stayed quiet because of Kangiten, but you made a mistake. Now you must die to fix it."
"Everyone, what are you waiting for? Grab that girl!" the man yelled. People around them attacked Neshima with ice and fire magic. Neshima dodged, then countered with a sword technique called Blood. Her strike tore through them, blood spouting from their hands and feet until the floor was slick with crimson. The man watched in panic. "What are you doing? Kill her!" he screamed.
But when he looked around, he saw that his men were already gravely wounded. In a blind panic the man ran, only to crash into an invisible barrier and fall. Kangiten stepped forward. "Clever plan — try killing me," he said coldly. "But you didn't check who the girl with me was, or how powerful she is. And you should already know what I can do." The man trembled. "You're still alive and unharmed... how? Who is this girl?"
Kangiten growled, "Have you ever heard of the Shatirō rank in the Demon Slayer order? She's one of them." The man stammered, "Yes, I've heard of it — but the identities of those ranked Shatirō are always hidden."
Kangiten kicked him hard. The man flew off and hit the ground, badly hurt. Kangiten moved and struck him again, knocking him unconscious. "This mustn't happen again," Kangiten warned. "Next time you won't live. I'll let you go this once, but understand: your attack was nothing but a joke to me."
Then Kangiten used teleportation and destruction magic. He teleported the people inside the building away to another location, then utterly destroyed the building with his destruction magic. The collapse caused chaos across the city. Kangiten, Neshima, and the four girls teleported away.
---
Meanwhile, Hakatushi had reached Kangiten's house. He felt a different kind of calm there and knocked on the door. Inside, Itsuki and Mayushi were training. Itsuki asked, "Mayushi, when do you think Kangiten will arrive?"
Mayushi thought a moment. "I can't be certain, but I feel he'll come soon. Until then, let's keep training."
Itsuki smiled. "Yes. Our Demon Slayer training starts in only a few days."
At that moment there was a knock at the door. Itsuki went to open it. Standing there was Hakatushi, waiting for someone to answer. Itsuki asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"
Hakatushi introduced himself politely. "My name is Hakatushi. I'm pleased to meet you. Kangiten invited me."
Mayushi smiled. "We expected you. Welcome. Come in — don't be shy. We're just like you."
Hakatushi blushed. "No, it's nothing. I just get nervous meeting people." Mayushi giggled. "All right, come in."
Once inside, Mayushi asked, "Did you come from far away? Are you alone?"
Hakatushi replied, "Not entirely. For half the journey three companions accompanied me — sent by Kangiten to escort me for safety. Later, some wild animals followed, so I had no reason to be afraid."
Mayushi was surprised. "You mean the wild animals that protect the people here because of Kangiten? Tigers and lions might even be among them."
Hakatushi was taken aback. "Yes — those were the ones. How did you know?"
Mayushi smiled. "I just knew."
Hakatushi asked Itsuki, "Do you have any questions for me?"
Itsuki said, "No, but I wanted to ask whether you're worthy of becoming a Demon Slayer."
Hakatushi smiled faintly. "Only time will tell who is capable and who is not."
Itsuki, challenging him, said, "Forget time. Let's decide right now who is worthy. Come on."
Hakatushi laughed. "You're challenging me? I accept."
Mayushi interrupted. "Itsuki, sit down. There's no need to fight."
But Itsuki muttered to Mayushi, "Don't interfere. I want to see how strong he is."
Mayushi tried to reason with Hakatushi, "Don't take him too seriously — he's crazy."
Hakatushi replied, "I want to see if he's strong or not." Mayushi thought to herself, This pair won't become close friends easily — it's better if they don't fight — and yet, as she considered this, the two were already about to strike each other in the face. Suddenly, both of them froze midair. They had no idea what was happening.
A voice rang out: "What's going on here? Hakatushi, Itsuki — is this the time to be fighting?" Kangiten's voice. Itsuki panicked and apologized to Kangiten. Kangiten scolded him: "You apologized before because you were at fault. Hakatushi, you're sensible, and yet you let yourself get drawn into a fight. Use your head. Now forget it — be friends."
Itsuki snapped, "Friendship with that fool? Never!" Hakatushi jeered back, "Me neither — I won't befriend this weak and crazy one!"
Kangiten sighed. "Do as you like. Time will tell whether you become friends or foes." Mayushi asked, "When did you two arrive?" Neshima replied, "They were fighting; you were lost in your thoughts, so we arrived without you noticing." Mayushi apologized, "Sorry — that won't happen again."
Neshima scolded, "Don't let it happen again, or it won't be good for you." Mayushi retorted, "Yes, I understand." Kangiten patted Mayushi's head. "Everyone makes mistakes and learns from them." Neshima interjected, "But that mistake shouldn't happen." Kangiten stopped her. "Why are you scolding so hard? You've made plenty of mistakes yourself. We all had rough starts."
Neshima smiled. "Now you remind me of my mistakes, but you weren't perfect either in swordsmanship, Kangiten." Itsuki shouted, "Enough! We're not here to listen to your nonsense." Kangiten said, "Yes, I know. But you — you're not saying much, Itsuki." Itsuki shrugged. "I don't think I talk that much. Why would you think so?" Kangiten smiled, "No, of course not." Neshima laughed and moved the conversation along. "Let's leave that. Come inside — you've been standing out there too long."
The four girls came in and introduced themselves. Anelia, nervous, said, "I'm Anelia. It's a pleasure to meet you." Megara added, "I'm Megara. It's nice to meet you all." Amaya, a little shy, hid her face and whispered, "I'm Amaya. Nice to meet you." Finally, Fumiko said, "My name is Fumiko." Kangiten smiled. "Very good. I'm Kangiten. It's a pleasure." Neshima introduced herself, "I'm Neshima Azumi." Hakatushi, Mayushi, and Itsuki each gave their names and said it was a pleasure to meet them. They all rested for a while.
Kangiten suddenly remembered that Akemi hadn't arrived yet. He used teleportation magic to go to her location. He found no one at first, but then heard a faint calling. He looked up and saw Akemi perched high in a tree, waving down at him because wild animals patrolled the forest below. Kangiten called up to her, "Why are you up there? Come down quickly."
Akemi shouted, "I can't come down!"
Kangiten flew up to her on a gust of magic. "Why can't you? Are you afraid?"
Akemi replied, irritated, "No — I'm just nervous because of the wild animals below."
Kangiten laughed. "Don't be afraid. They're here to protect you."
Akemi relaxed and agreed to come down, but she became dizzy when she tried to descend. Kangiten used gravity magic to gently lower her. The two teleported back to Kangiten's house, and soon Kono, Horoto, and Ganami arrived; then Sakaguchi, Oki, Shizami, and Onaki came as well. Kangiten, Neshima, Kono, Sakaguchi, and Oki held a meeting to plan what to do next.
---
Elsewhere, Dino was entering a cave when a voice emerged from a corner. "Have you been defeated, High-Rank General Dino?" it taunted. Dino laughed. "Who told you I was defeated?"
The demon said, "No one told me. I watched you get beaten by a low-rank Demon Slayer."
Dino snarled, "But I killed that man."
The demon approached Dino. "You'll learn next time. Don't worry — you're only learning now."
Dino, all anger and fire, snarled, "Now you'll teach me what to do."
The demon warned him, "You are stronger than me in power, but weaker in experience. Understand, low rank." Dino calmed himself. "We'll see about that."