Remembering the contestants who had died miserably, their corpses hanging from the branches of the tree, Cold Cry began applying more force to his wrist.
The Spider Demon struggled even more violently.
Suddenly.....
A deafening roar erupted from the forest behind him.
A series of trees snapped in succession.
Cold Cry felt a fierce gust of wind strike from behind.
He immediately increased the strength in his wrist, attempting to sever the Spider Demon's neck as quickly as possible.
However, the Spider Demon possessed an intense desire to survive. Its hands and six legs desperately fought against the blade, desperately trying to prevent Cold Cry from completing the cut.
With no other choice, Cold Cry abruptly withdrew his sword and turned around.
The moment the gust of wind came within a meter of him, he retreated while swinging his Nichirin Sword to block the incoming attack.
At first, he had no idea what was attacking him.
However, relying on his perception of temperature, he could clearly sense that the thing behind him possessed a temperature similar to that of a demon.
It was very likely another demon.
The roar had come from seven or eight meters away, yet the attack had already reached him.
For a moment, Cold Cry couldn't figure out what kind of demon he was facing.
It was only when his Nichirin Sword collided with the incoming object that he finally realized what it was.
An arm.
An arm as thick as a human thigh.
And there was more than one.
Three enormous arms extended from the forest opposite him.
Each one was seven or eight meters long, and their gigantic palms continuously reached toward Cold Cry, trying to grab him.
Sure enough...
This was another mutated demon.
Cold Cry swung his Nichirin Sword from side to side, continuously slashing at the giant palms that reached toward him.
After retreating a considerable distance, the three palms finally stopped pursuing him.
They slowly withdrew into the forest.
The Spider Demon had taken advantage of the opening.
It had already scurried up a nearby slope and disappeared without a trace.
Cold Cry did not choose to pursue it.
Instead, he stood against the wind, staring intently in the direction where the three giant arms had disappeared.
That demon would probably reveal itself soon.
"Run! Run!"
A series of hurried voices suddenly came from the path leading down the mountain.
The voices sounded familiar.
Sure enough, it was Noe and the others.
Noe was carrying Yuka on her back as she hurried toward him with Akino.
Every so often, she glanced nervously over her shoulder at whatever was behind them.
"Why did you come back?" Cold Cry asked curiously as he looked at the two panting figures.
"Demons... demons! There are demons everywhere down the mountain!"
Akino's eyes were filled with fear.
His body trembled uncontrollably, and he was still struggling to catch his breath. His words came out in broken fragments.
Noe carefully placed Yuka on the ground before using strips of torn cloth to quickly bandage her wounds.
Yuka had already regained consciousness.
Holding on to the last bit of strength she possessed, she weakly whispered:
"Thank you..."
Noe forced a pale smile.
She truly didn't have the heart to smile at a time like this, but she still offered Yuka a few words of comfort before standing up and walking over to Cold Cry.
"What happened?" Cold Cry asked.
"I don't know where they suddenly came from, but there are demons everywhere down the mountain," Noe explained. "There seems to be one every few meters. They're searching everywhere for the contestants. They're not even letting hidden corners go unchecked."
She paused.
"More importantly, their behavior is very strange. Even when they encounter people, they don't immediately attack. Instead..."
Noe's expression became solemn.
"It seems as though they're deliberately driving everyone toward the mountain."
Akino turned to look at Noe.
There were indeed many demons.
However, he hadn't noticed that they were deliberately driving the survivors toward the mountain.
Cold Cry thought for a moment before suddenly saying:
"They're hunting."
"Hunting?"
Noe and Akino were both startled.
They had only ever heard of humans hunting animals.
They had never imagined that one day, they would become the prey.
"You came back at a very unfortunate time," Cold Cry said.
He looked toward the dark forest.
"I expect there will be an interesting surprise soon."
An interesting surprise?
Noe was skeptical.
Was it really a surprise?
Or would it be a fright?
She scanned the clearing.
The Spider Demon from earlier had disappeared.
Only a strange piece of discarded skin remained on the ground, lying at an awkward angle.
"What is that?"
"The skin the demon shed."
"The skin a demon shed?"
Noe couldn't help frowning in disgust.
"Did you kill it?"
"No. I was about to sever its neck when three arms suddenly shot out from the forest. The Spider Demon used the opportunity to escape."
"Three arms shot out from the forest?"
Noe was stunned.
"What kind of demon was it? Was it another demon?"
"Probably."
Cold Cry stared at the dark forest.
"We should be able to see it soon."
Listening to the two of them speak so calmly, Akino felt his heart rise into his throat.
Especially when Cold Cry mentioned that he had been about to sever the Spider Demon's neck.
That demon had been the one responsible for causing the Kimura group to fall apart.
So many people had been completely helpless against it.
Yet the boy standing before him had nearly killed it.
Standing beside them, Akino suddenly felt as though he had no presence at all.
Soon, panicked figures began emerging from the surrounding forest.
When they saw the three people standing in the center of the clearing, they all rushed toward them.
Perhaps they believed that there was strength in numbers.
Perhaps gathering together allowed their terrified hearts to find even the slightest sense of security.
Kimura and Eimi also emerged from a dark corner of the forest.
Kimura no longer possessed the high-spirited appearance he had displayed when they first entered Mount Fujikasane.
He and Eimi looked like a pair of beggars who had spent days wandering the streets.
Their clothes were dirty.
Their faces were covered in grime.
Their expressions were exhausted.
Of course, the others looked little better.
The only exceptions were Cold Cry and Noe.
This group had once looked bright and confident when they first entered the mountain.
Now, they were nothing more than a dispirited and exhausted crowd.
When they had first entered Mount Fujikasane, there had been forty or fifty of them.
Now, fewer than twenty remained.
Kimura and Eimi immediately noticed Cold Cry and Noe among the crowd.
The two of them looked almost exactly as they had when they first entered the mountain.
Then Kimura looked down at himself.
He was filthy and disheveled.
The difference was painfully obvious.
Remembering what had happened in the selection area before they entered the mountain, the two immediately flushed with embarrassment.
They lowered their heads and quickly walked into the crowd.
Noe naturally noticed Kimura and Eimi as well.
Meeting again under such circumstances was undeniably awkward.
However, she was now somewhat grateful to them.
If they hadn't brought her into their group, she might never have met Cold Cry.
Noe quietly moved to Cold Cry's side.
"What should we do now?"
Cold Cry looked at the crowd before him.
The more he looked at them, the more uneasy he felt.
As the saying went, defeat was like a collapsing mountain.
When these people had first entered Mount Fujikasane, they had already been scattered by the demons within a single night.
Now, six days later, they had finally gathered together again.
But this was no longer the same group.
They had lost their confidence.
They had lost their fighting spirit.
And if a battle broke out now, this frightened crowd would probably be unable to do anything except hold the stronger fighters back.
"I don't know," Cold Cry finally said.
"Let's observe the situation first."
At last, someone in the crowd realized that something was wrong.
For the past six days, almost everyone had been hiding in various corners of the mountain, usually in groups of two or three.
Now, they had all suddenly been driven into the same place.
That was clearly not normal.
"W-What happened? Why did all of you come here too?"
"We were hiding just fine. We were only waiting for the Final Selection to end tomorrow."
"Then, suddenly, several demons appeared around us."
"They didn't attack us."
"It was as though they were deliberately driving us toward the mountain."
"We experienced the same thing."
"Us too."
"..."
One by one, the contestants began speaking.
Slowly, they finally realized the truth.
The reason they had all gathered here again was not a coincidence.
The demons had deliberately driven them toward this location.
They had been scattered across Mount Fujikasane for six days.
Now, on the final night of the Final Selection, the demons were gathering them together.
Not to kill them immediately.
But to hunt them.