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It was afternoon, and the five of them waited for the Demon Slayer Corps members to arrive.
Although Lower Moon Five was dead, Murata still had to remain in Mount Natagumo; his job was to relay major events occurring in Mount Natagumo to the Demon Slayer Corps and he couldn't leave casually.
Without much more talk, Kisaragi Rin and the others were led to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
The headquarters was not very far or remote; in fact, it was in the nearby Mount Natagumo.
"I remember we were around here when we first arrived."
Hachiman Hikigaya saw the familiar patch of barren land.
A few scattered dead trees grew haphazardly, no different from their surroundings.
At that time, the three of them appeared here, but they chose not to venture into the mountain rashly; instead, they followed the road to find signs of human habitation and only then arrived at Mount Natagumo.
Mount Natagumo was also known as Demon Mountain. A year ago, Lower Moon Five and his family lived peacefully within the mountain, eating some villagers who went up the mountain. Because too many people went missing on the mountain, it earned this name.
The surface area of the mountain was approximately 40 square kilometers, which was quite large.
But since demons ruled the world, if the Demon Slayer Corps was hidden here, wouldn't they be discovered?
Upon entering the deep heart of this mountain range, the Demon Slayer Corps member leading them suddenly stopped and made a gesture of invitation to those behind him, indicating that they had reached the end of their journey.
Yukinoshita Yukino gazed at the scene before her, a hint of doubt welling up in her heart.
What met her eyes was still the all-too-familiar mountain forest, indistinguishable from its surroundings.
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck her mind, and Yukinoshita Yukino thoughtfully activated her Mystic Eyes.
In an instant, the seemingly normal mountain forest and its surroundings abruptly produced a strange sense of dislocation, like a distorted photograph appearing before her eyes, looking quite fake.
"Is this an illusion?" Yukinoshita Yukino murmured softly, her eyes filled with surprise.
Along the way, all she had learned about the Demon Slayer Corps was their use of swordsmanship, and she hadn't expected them to possess such strange abilities.
At the same time, Kisaragi Rin, with his more advanced Heavenly Eye, had already discerned the secrets of this place.
Within the outer barrier, which seemed no different from its surroundings, a not-so-small village was quietly hidden, and people were already waiting there for a long time.
When everyone passed through that illusory barrier, the true appearance of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was revealed before their eyes.
Layers of wooden houses were tightly arranged, intertwined with the surrounding trees. The architectural style was simple and unadorned, revealing the marks of time.
A swordsman with long black hair and deep blue eyes stood silently before them. With a cold, emotionless expression, he said, "Our Master has been waiting for you for a long time."
A little further away, a group of ordinary swordsmen also turned their gaze towards them, whispering to each other from time to time, excitedly discussing something.
For a moment, the entire scene was filled with a suffocatingly heavy atmosphere.
Mitsuri lowered her voice and quietly told Kisaragi Rin, "He is the Water Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, Mr. Giyu Tomioka."
Yukinoshita Yukino frowned, asking in confusion, "Are we not welcome here?"
Giyu Tomioka did not reply, making the atmosphere even stranger.
Hachiman Hikigaya stepped forward, trying to ease the tension, and said, "Then let's go see the Master."
Giyu Tomioka looked at Hachiman Hikigaya expressionlessly and asked, "Who are you?"
Intimidated by Giyu Tomioka's aura, Hachiman Hikigaya scratched his face, not knowing where to put his hands, and quietly retreated into the crowd, replying, "Um, I'm Hachiman Hikigaya."
"Kisaragi Rin, come with me to see the Master." Giyu Tomioka said, then turned and walked away.
"You guys go look around first, I'm going to see the Demon Slayer Corps Master." Kisaragi Rin waved casually to the others, then followed Giyu Tomioka's footsteps.
Kisaragi Rin knew that Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka was just not good at talking, and didn't mean to be overbearing.
Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman Hikigaya were filled with worry, and their faces were full of confusion.
Yukinoshita Yukino turned to look at Mitsuri beside her, asking with a hint of urgency in her voice, "Why does the Demon Slayer Corps Master want to summon Kisaragi Rin?"
Mitsuri looked at them with a strange gaze, asking in confusion, "Didn't Kisaragi Rin tell you that he is actually the Savior prophesied by the Master?"
"Savior? Him?"
A big question mark appeared on Yukinoshita Yukino's face.
"Kisaragi Rin? Savior?"
Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes were also filled with bewilderment.
The two of them exchanged glances, seeing the same confusion in each other's eyes.
If they remembered correctly, they had only arrived in this world yesterday.
Didn't Kisaragi Rin come to this world with them? How did he suddenly become the Savior of the Demon Slayer Corps? And no one told them!
Upon further questioning, they finally learned about the Demon Slayer Corps Master's prophecy and their own identities as followers.
"So, I really am cannon fodder, and you're the supporting character Kisaragi Rin mentioned who would die at a critical moment to trigger the protagonist's outburst?"
Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly remembered what Kisaragi Rin had said at the beginning, and a wave of exasperation welled up in his heart.
"Shut up, Hikigaya."
Her head hurt a little. Yukinoshita Yukino finally understood why the Phase One and Two missions were completed so easily.
She should have realized it earlier. If there were no special circumstances, how could the Demon Slayer Corps tell them various pieces of information and actively lead them to their hidden headquarters?
Could it be that there were no traitors here, and everyone was a good partner in fighting against demons?
If that were the case, Mount Natagumo wouldn't be without anyone resisting the demons' rule.
Those ordinary people would even be happy that the demons ate fewer people each day, meaning it wasn't their turn.
"Is this really possible?"
Asking herself again in disbelief, Yukinoshita Yukino only felt that this mission was extremely strange, with everything developing in ways she hadn't anticipated.
Kisaragi Rin fighting the Demon King?
Is it real or fake?
Even the fated hero has to level up by fighting monsters before he can kill the evil dragon with divine equipment.
Now they were saying that an LV1 Kisaragi Rin was going to end the thousand-year-old demon, which was so absurd that Yukinoshita Yukino suspected the Demon Slayer Corps Master was blind.
"Maybe there's some divine sword here, and as long as you pull it out, you can gain power comparable to the Demon King or something, and Kisaragi Rin is fated for it, like in the movies."
Hachiman Hikigaya gestured, complaining.
With his chuunibyou brain, he could only come up with this possibility.
"Aren't you Kisaragi Rin's companions? Why don't you believe him?"
Mitsuri asked with a bit of bewilderment.
Ever since they learned about Kisaragi Rin's identity as the Savior, their expressions had changed repeatedly, emitting a strange aura.
Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman Hikigaya exchanged glances and fell silent.
How could they believe it? An LV1 only had two free attribute points and a maximum of one thousand paradise coins.
What kind of strength could Kisaragi Rin possibly have?
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