"Serpent Breathing: Third Form—Coil Choke!"
Before the Earth Demon could finish, a blade of chilling wind flashed past Tendo's eyes—Obanai had beheaded it.
"What the hell?!"
"Damn snake bastard, what the hell are you doing?!"
Tendo shot to his feet, startled—Obanai had appeared so suddenly that there was no time to react.
Flicking the blood off his Nichirin Blade, Obanai shot Tendo a glare and demanded, "You glutton, why didn't you kill this demon?"
To him, every demon deserved death. He wished they'd all drop dead immediately. Hearing Tendo bargaining with the Earth Demon only fueled his fury—he couldn't tolerate it.
Tendo rubbed his temples, unsure how to explain the complicated situation to him.
"I had my reasons. At least let me finish questioning it before you strike!"
"Hmph!"
"Demons deserve death!" Obanai snorted coldly and strode toward the bushes without another glance—though his anger wasn't directed at Tendo.
Soon, he dragged a half-grown wild boar over and tossed it in front of Tendo, his tone flat.
"Those measly rations of yours aren't enough to fill your bottomless stomach, right?"
"This pig ran into a tree and died. Then I found it. You should be weeping with gratitude."
Tendo: "???"
Are you even listening to yourself? That massive blade wound—do you think I'm blind?
"Well, thanks anyway." So what if he didn't get the info? There'd be other chances. Honestly, he was deeply moved—he hadn't expected Obanai to worry about his appetite.
"Oh, right!"
"I found a stream. Let's clean it there. The blood might lure some demons over."
The moment he mentioned demons, his gaze turned icy, his killing intent palpable.
He led the way while Tendo dragged the boar behind him, muttering under his breath now and then:"Damn pervert, don't even think about bringing the battlefield to the dinner table, how disgusting!"
About fifteen minutes later, the two arrived near the stream Obanai mentioned. From afar, they could see the orange glow of a campfire—someone had arrived before them.
As night fell, ordinary swordsmen wouldn't approach the forest. After all, the dim light among the trees made it easy for Demons to ambush them.
At this hour, in this batch of trainees, only a handful would still be in the woods.
"Tendo!"
"Obanai!"
"What a coincidence!"
Sabito also noticed Tendo and the others, waving with a smile. Giyu sat by the fire, merely glancing at the two newcomers.
"Want some roasted boar?" Tendo tossed the wild pig forward, grinning. Since they couldn't find the Hand Demon, the next best thing was to stick close to its hunting targets.
With Sabito's strength, cutting down the Hand Demon would be as easy as slicing melons.
According to the original events, Sabito had slaughtered all the Demons on the mountain before encountering the Hand Demon, already exhausted with a chipped blade—no wonder he died.
But this time was different. The ones hunting the Demons across the mountain weren't just him.
After all, the grudge of the Water Breathing lineage should be settled by its own practitioners.
"I'll help you prepare it!"
"Thanks!"
Tendo and Sabito carried the boar to the stream, leaving only the expressionless Giyu and the bandaged Obanai by the fire.
Obanai didn't bother hiding his disdain and disgust. He hated Giyu Tomioka's pitiful "I'm so miserable, come pity me" demeanor.
If not for the sake of the glutton and Sabito, he'd have beaten Giyu up already.
"Want some water?" Giyu remembered his senior sister's advice—to smile while helping others.
Unfortunately, Giyu's smile was utterly forced, looking more like "you owe me money."
Obanai crossed his arms and turned his head away, his tone dripping with rejection:
"I don't need it. Stay away from me, hmph!"
Giyu tilted his head, staring blankly at the waterskin. His senior sister was wrong—this person clearly didn't like seeing others smile.
Soon, the boar was roasting over the fire, with the four gathered around. The atmosphere was kept lively solely by Tendo and Sabito.
Another day missing the big brother. When it came to joy-bringing, no one could match Kyojuro.
Speak of the devil.
"Hahaha!"
"I knew it was you guys! Who else would dare light a fire near the woods at this hour?"
Kyojuro burst out of the trees, but he'd brought gifts—ten whole Demons.
"Little brat, nowhere to run now, huh?"
"I'll tear off one of his arms, hehehe!"
"Eat him!"
The eyes of the four around the fire instantly lit up. After all, behind Kyojuro was a horde of Demons—precisely their hunting targets.
"So this human brat has backup!"
"Brothers, don't worry! There's only five of them—the advantage is ours!"
The ten Demons formed a semicircle around the five, but Tendo was still sprinkling seasoning, completely ignoring them.
"Serpent Breathing: Fifth Form - Winding Serpent!"
"Water Breathing: First Form - Water Surface Slash!"
"Water Breathing: Third Form - Flowing Dance!"
"Flame Breathing: Fifth Form - Flame Tiger!"
In an instant, blades flashed like lightning as the four boys roared toward the Demon encirclement like raging beasts.
Their faces showed no fear—only excitement and bloodlust. Well, except for one expressionless guy.On one side, there were the horrific wails of demons, and on the other, Tendo humming a cheerful tune. It wasn't that he didn't want to act—he just didn't have the chance.
After a while, the remains of the demons turned to ashes. Sabito stretched lazily and sighed, "What a shame! One got away!"
"Wow!"
"Roast pork! I want a whole knuckle!" Kyojuro sheathed his Nichirin Blade, his eyes sparkling as he drooled and dashed toward Tendo.
Two days later, deep in the forest, inside a cave in broad daylight.
Five demons surrounded a one-horned demon, the scene resembling diligent students seeking guidance from their teacher.
The one-horned demon spoke earnestly, "Listen, everyone. There are five human swordsmen you absolutely, positively must not provoke—unless you want to die for sure!!!"
"Those guys are insane!"
"They are: a blond guy, one with a scar on his face, one with a snake around his neck, one who looks annoyingly punchable, and a creepy smiling guy with deep red hair."
As he spoke, the one-horned demon recalled the terrifying scene by the stream two days ago.
Ten demons had ambushed five humans, only to be slaughtered unilaterally by four of them—an absolute massacre.
Just then, a demon's agonized scream echoed from outside the cave, so horrifying it was suffocating just to hear.
"Kill me!"
"Please, just kill me!"
"I don't want to eat any more poison!"
"Kill me!"
"Just kill me already!"
By the end, the demon's pleas turned into desperate roars.
The current situation on Mount Fujikasane was humans hunting demons at night and searching for hiding demons during the day.
No matter the time, the demons found no peace.
In just two days, over seventy percent of the demons on Mount Fujikasane had been slaughtered, leaving fewer than thirty percent too terrified to hunt even at night.
For the demons, this year's Final Selection was a nightmare—one they couldn't wake up from.
Their only hope was praying those monstrous humans would leave soon.