"If you all ran away, what about the others?"
"I don't know. Ever since that demon who could jump over ten meters high appeared, many people had already broken down. No defense worked, and then a massive demon appeared — a hulking, grotesque creature as tall as a small building, its enormous body smothered in countless thick arms, its huge jagged-toothed maw half-hidden beneath them."
As she spoke, Yuka's voice trembled, and even her eyes were filled with fear. Akino, beside her, was no better off.
"C-can you imagine it? A monster drowning in arms, walking on its own hands like a beast. The crucial thing is that it had so many of them — they came from everywhere at once. During training, they said that to kill a demon, you must use a nichirin blade to cut off its head. But with that many arms thrashing in every direction, how are you even supposed to get close enough to reach its neck?"
As she spoke, Yuka became agitated, tears welling up in her eyes. She felt that her joining the Demon Slayer Corps was a joke.
"And then? What happened next?"
"After that?" Yuka sniffled, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "Everyone's attention was on that monster, and no one noticed another demon sneaking into the defensive perimeter. Now that I think about it, that demon was the most terrifying one — it was the one that lured the other over.
"This demon also looked terrifying. Just like a spider, with too many limbs and a shape no living thing should have. It caught us off guard and took the opportunity to snap a female teammate's neck. Then everyone went crazy, swinging their swords everywhere. Ma-many people weren't killed by the demon, but fell by their own comrades' blades instead. There were screams everywhere, blood everywhere — wuu..."
Yuka finally couldn't hold it in anymore, covering her face with both hands and sobbing bitterly.
Akino also lowered his head, his face full of grief, but because he was a boy, he tried his best to restrain himself.
Noe stood up and pulled Yuka into her arms, comforting her silently. She turned her head to look at Cold Cry on the stone platform, not knowing if he had heard.
She couldn't help but feel lucky that Kimura hadn't chosen her back at the plaza. Otherwise, even if she hadn't been eaten by a demon by now, she would probably be shivering in some corner just like Yuka.
Cold Cry was right. When there are many people, the target is larger and easier to focus on. Moreover, everyone's psychological endurance is different, and individual panic easily spreads into collective panic.
More people don't necessarily mean more strength.
The assessment lasts seven days. The first night is the hardest to endure, but she hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
Not long after, Yuka's shaken mood finally calmed down a little. She thanked Noe again, then pulled her to sit beside her and asked about her experiences tonight, just like two friends chatting on an ordinary day.
Noe gave a brief account of how she shamelessly followed Cold Cry, how she ate all of his biscuits, and how Cold Cry saved her from the Jumping Demon.
"Y-you mean that the Jumping Demon wanted to hurt you, and he blocked it for you? And even scared that demon away?" Yuka covered her mouth in surprise, and she and Akino looked towards the stone platform in unison.
"You have to know, that was a demon completely different from the other ordinary ones. It could jump over ten meters high in a single bound. The most crucial thing was that it came and went silently, making it impossible to defend against. Two female team members had been taken away from the ground just like that."
"Yes. He jumped down from the sky wanting to attack me, but Cold Cry pierced his hand, and then he fled. Judging by the time and place he fled—" Noe turned and pointed to the other side of the mountain. "—it should be that location."
Akino and Yuka exchanged glances. That's right, that location was exactly the direction they had been stationed in. Now it seemed the demon had gone there only after fleeing from here.
While shocked, the two also felt a bit fortunate. They exchanged a knowing glance, instantly understanding the thoughts in each other's eyes: for the next few days, as long as they stuck close to these two people, they might actually pass the assessment.
The girl in front of them was easy to deal with — she looked like she would be easy to talk to. Now the biggest problem was the boy on the stone platform. As long as he didn't agree, it was likely that even if the girl agreed, it would be useless.
Just as the two were considering how and with what reasoning to bring up their inner thoughts, Noe spoke first, which saved them a great deal of awkwardness.
Yuka first looked at Akino, then looked at Noe, took her hand, and said in a pleading tone: "Noe, c-can we follow you? You saw it just now — there are demons everywhere on this mountain. With our strength, if we go out alone, we'll definitely be eaten. Can you let us stay here, please?"
Hearing this, Noe opened her mouth. It was clear she really wanted to agree, but she glanced at Cold Cry on the stone platform and finally pulled her hand out of Yuka's grasp.
Noe couldn't bear Yuka's pleading eyes and slowly lowered her head. She herself still needed Cold Cry's protection. If not for him, she would have died twice already. What right — or ability — did she have to agree on their behalf?
The events from just a moment ago were still fresh in her mind, and she didn't want to experience them again. Furthermore, there was an even more important point: she didn't want Cold Cry to dislike her.
"I... I can't agree to that. You saw the situation just now. I can't even protect myself, let alone protect you."
The two knew that Noe was telling the truth, and naturally understood she didn't have that ability. The reason they had brought it up was in the hope of persuading the boy on the stone platform through Noe — both of them could tell that he treated Noe differently than he treated others.
"Then... can you help us ask him for a favor?"
"Ah..."
Noe raised her head in surprise. She didn't need to ask to know that Cold Cry wouldn't agree. If she went to plead for this, she would definitely be killed by his gaze and frozen into an icicle.
"Noe, please — have a heart and help us." Yuka took Noe's hand again. "You saw it too. Akino and I are both injured. If we go out now, we will definitely be eaten by demons. I-if that's the case, then what was the point of you saving us just now?"
Noe felt that Yuka made sense, and she really did want to help the two of them. After all, these were two lives she had saved with her own hands. If they were lost just like that, she would definitely feel very sad.
Although Cold Cry's gaze would certainly be terrifying, fear couldn't outweigh human lives.
"Okay, I'll go try. As for whether it works... sigh, forget it."
Noe pulled her hand from Yuka's, lowered her head, and walked towards the stone platform, feeling uneasy.
Because of her soft-heartedness towards the demon, Cold Cry was already very angry. Pleading now was tantamount to banging her head against a nail — but she had to bang it.