Night deepened, and moonlight bathed the traditional Japanese estate, casting dappled shadows across the courtyard.
Rows of carefully tended wisteria trees stood along both sides of the stone path. Their petals drifted gently on the wind, like a silent rain of flowers.
In the tranquil night, the only sound was the hollow clack of a shishi-odoshi.
A young man whose face had been severely scarred above the nose and who had lost his sight gazed up at the sky, feeling the gentleness of the night breeze.
A woman around his age sat kneeling beside him, tending to her husband’s limited mobility. She had just poured him a fresh cup of tea.
The young man accepted the tea his wife offered. Neither spoke, yet a quiet warmth filled the space between them.
A crow’s cry shattered the silence. Riding the night wind, it landed on a branch with a series of caws—then spoke in a human voice.
"Urgent report! Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane has ended! Urgent report! Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane has ended!"
The crow repeated the message several times, causing both people below to stir.
The young man tightened his grip around the teacup. He had never expected the selection to end so quickly. Judging from the time it had taken the crow to deliver the message, less than half an hour had likely passed from beginning to end.
His first assumption was that all the young candidates had been wiped out. He could only hope that many had reached the wisteria groves and chosen to withdraw, rather than being slaughtered by Demons.
"What are the specific casualties?"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, asked the question. Even with his calm temperament, every report of casualties from Final Selection pained his heart.
"Zero casualties. All forty-one participants in this selection have passed the examination!"
The crow replied.
"They all passed?!"
Amane Ubuyashiki, the leader’s wife, spoke in surprise. "But the selection only lasted half an hour, didn’t it?"
As soon as she said it, she suddenly realized that passing the selection did not necessarily mean surviving for seven days. If every Demon on Mount Fujikasane had died, then there would naturally be no need to continue for seven days.
"It seems an exceptional child has appeared."
A smile appeared on Kagaya’s face. More than the emergence of a genius, however, he was delighted that the news had turned from worry to joy. At the very least, it meant his children had not all perished.
"It was Lord Kuwajima’s disciple, a man named Luke. By himself, he cleared all of Mount Fujikasane within half an hour. There are no Demons left on the mountain."
The crow added.
"So it was Luke, one of Kuwajima’s disciples..."
Kagaya murmured, "I have heard of him. He was a disciple Kuwajima took in ten years ago. Supposedly, he had never managed to learn a Breathing Style. I never expected him to be so powerful."
Amane was not surprised that her husband knew about Luke. Kagaya remembered the names of every member of the Demon Slayer Corps, including the deceased and even reserve members who had yet to join.
"Would you like to meet that child?"
Amane asked. What she meant was whether they should directly grant such an outstanding talent a higher rank.
At the pinnacle of the Demon Slayer Corps’ combat power stood the Hashira. Below them were the ten ranks: Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, and Mizunoto. Generally speaking, newly selected Demon Slayers began at Mizunoto.
"No. With his strength, he will surely rise to Kinoe soon enough. This will also spare us any complaints."
Kagaya waved a hand.
"What about the members who passed alongside him?"
Amane asked again. Something similar had happened years earlier. An especially powerful candidate had appeared, allowing many people to pass Final Selection. Yet after joining the Corps, those people had gradually been killed by Demons.
"Assign them under the various Hashira and have them evaluate them. If they lack sufficient ability, have them transfer to the Kakushi."
Kagaya answered after some thought.
"How should we arrange the next Final Selection?"
Amane was like her husband’s secretary. She received his instructions and arranged everything down the chain. His body had truly deteriorated too much by now, so she had to bear the burden of many affairs.
"As for the selection... I think we can suspend it for now."
Kagaya said, "The Demons seem to have become far more active lately. The nine Hashira are all rather busy, with no time to capture new Demons. And..."
He paused, his blind eyes turned toward the night sky.
"...I have a feeling that the situation is about to change."
...
Meanwhile, after Luke ended the selection, an awkward situation arose on Mount Fujikasane.
"Please do not worry. More ore will be delivered soon. Everyone will receive their own new Nichirin Blade."
The two little girls seemed to be encountering such a situation for the first time as well. The Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Crimson Ore they had prepared in advance for sword forging were not enough.
They had prepared thirty portions of high-quality forging materials this time. Considering the results in previous years, that should have been more than enough. Even among those who survived each annual selection, a considerable number ultimately chose to withdraw.
Fortunately, after this Final Selection, quite a few participants had recognized their own limits. After facing real Demons, they discovered that they simply did not have the courage to fight them, and so they chose to give up on becoming Demon Slayers.
"So these are sword-forging materials..."
Standing before the table and looking at the ores, Luke used his appraisal ability and discovered that they were actually purple-quality forging materials.
Everyone present who had essentially coasted through knew exactly what was what. No one stepped forward to compete with Luke over their selection. So Luke chose the ore with the highest quality rating from Endspace... and gave it to Zenitsu.
He also selected a fairly high-quality chunk of ore for himself, intending to have it authenticated and take it back to Endspace to sell.
Non-quest reward items, equipment, and materials obtained within a mission world generally could not be taken away directly. They had to be authenticated with Endspace Coins before they could be brought back. The authentication cost was relatively low, often less than half the item’s actual value, allowing Explorers to profit from the price difference.
Of course, there was also a limit to how many items could be taken out through authentication. At most, five items could be authenticated from each mission world.
Luke had only recently learned this little Endspace trick. The sailor-uniform girl who helped forge his equipment had told him about it. She said that if he could provide the forging materials himself, she could make his equipment for less. The best way to obtain such materials was in the various mission worlds.
When Tanjiro stepped forward to choose his forging material, he politely bowed to Luke in greeting.
"Hello, I’m Tanjiro Kamado. Thank you for looking after us this time!"
"See? Senior Brother Luke is the strongest!"
Zenitsu had now become a complete Luke fanatic. He had never imagined that his senior brother’s promise to guarantee they would pass meant this—killing every Demon on Mount Fujikasane. Wasn’t that the ultimate guarantee?
"Zenitsu, remember that after today, I won’t be at your side anymore."
Luke sensed that Zenitsu was starting to get carried away and promptly put his foot down. He did not want Zenitsu to become dependent on him just because of his intervention.
Then he looked at Tanjiro.
"Hello. I’m Luke."
He had always had a good impression of Tanjiro’s character when reading the manga. Nobody disliked someone as gentle and compassionate as Tanjiro. What people disliked were self-righteous hypocrites.
"It is truly an honor to meet you. I only passed the trial because of you, and I am deeply ashamed of that. But I still want to become a Demon Slayer and work hard to slay Demons. So please forgive my shamelessness as I choose an ore."
Tanjiro spoke politely as he walked to the table to select his ore.
No one else resented him. Quite a few had seen Tanjiro fighting Demons. He was powerful and had slain several himself. He simply had not gotten the chance to show more before Luke ended the selection.
After Tanjiro finished choosing, Kanao Tsuyuri, Shinobu Kocho’s disciple and adoptive sister, and Genya Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira’s younger brother, also stepped forward to select their materials.
With Genya’s impatient temperament, he had wanted to rush forward and grab a sword-forging ore long ago. But with Luke standing there, an invisible pressure kept him from making a scene.
Once everyone had chosen their ore, Luke spoke to Zenitsu.
"Zenitsu, my advice is to get a little real-world experience, then start training again. Your Thunder Breathing is still far from mastered. You’re quite a ways behind that girl."
Zenitsu followed Luke’s gaze and spotted Kanao standing apart from the crowd. His eyes immediately went wide. Or rather, they had been wide for quite some time.
Because he was afraid of dying, he was always thinking about finding a girl to marry and leaving behind descendants. It could be said that this was the reproductive instinct buried deep within life itself when facing danger.
"That girl really is strong. I saw her instantly kill a Demon."
Tanjiro, standing nearby, heard Luke’s words and agreed.
"Mm. You are all around the same age. You can try asking her how she trains."
Luke offered advice to the protagonist group. Things were no longer like the original story. Tanjiro and the others most likely would not have the luxury of peaceful time to grow.
Rather, once they became official Demon Slayers and began to actively operate, the Explorers in Muzan’s faction would soon set their sights on them and kill them all.
The experience from the previous world had already taught him that protagonists were not invincible. Tanjiro could absolutely die. Though Luke was not counting on Tanjiro’s strength to defeat Muzan, strengthening the Demon Slayer Corps faction was still a good thing.
That was why he hoped these kids would not run around recklessly. They should train properly at the Butterfly Mansion until they achieved Total Concentration Breathing Constant before heading out again. Otherwise, let alone Demonized Explorers, they would struggle even against the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki.
"Huh? Senior Brother Luke, you’re telling us to train—what about you?"
After nodding, Zenitsu suddenly sensed that something was off and looked at Luke in confusion.
"Me?"
Luke grinned.
"I’m getting ready to meet the legendary Twelve Kizuki."
——————
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