Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
As night fell, the sea of wisteria flowers at the foot of Fujikasane Mountain emitted a faint purple glow under the moonlight, isolating the entire mountain range from the outside world.
In front of the stairs leading deep into the mountain forest, more than twenty young swordsmen gathered one after another, each wearing a different expression.
Tanjiro Kamado, carrying a wooden box on his back and bearing a dark red Demon Slayer Mark on his forehead, nervously gripped the Nichirin blade at his waist.
Before setting out, the heavy warning from his trainer, Sakonji Urokodaki, still echoed in his ears. In particular, the mention of the mutated demon that specifically hunted Sakonji Urokodaki's disciples made Tanjiro's heart feel even heavier.
"I must survive... not only for Nezuko, but also to avenge Sabito and Makomo," Tanjiro thought, clenching his teeth.
Not far from Tanjiro, Zenitsu Agatsuma squatted on the ground hugging his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face as he muttered, "I'm going to die, I'm going to die. I'll definitely be eaten by a demon."
On the other side, Genya Shinazugawa, with his mohawk and fierce expression, irritably wiped the hilt of his sword.
In a corner stood a girl with a side ponytail and a gentle smile but hollow eyes.
Kanao Tsuyuri.
At the top of the stairs, two twin guides from the Ubuyashiki family held lanterns as they announced the rules of the trial in calm, monotone voices.
"Within this Fujikasane Mountain, demons captured alive by swordsmen are imprisoned."
"Your task is to survive for seven days in this mountain forest, which is not protected by wisteria flowers."
"Well then, we wish you a safe journey."
As the rules were announced, more than twenty newcomers stepped into the dark and silent Fujikasane Mountain one after another, carrying either fear of death or the desire to become stronger.
Tanjiro took a deep breath, heightening his sense of smell to its limit, and carefully stepped into the forest.
"I absolutely cannot be careless during these seven days. Although the demons on the outskirts are weak, there must be many of them. I must try to maintain Total Concentration..."
He cautiously observed his surroundings while mentally preparing for the possible dangers he might encounter.
However, after Tanjiro had carefully moved through the mountain forest for a full two hours, his steps gradually slowed to a stop.
His expression shifted from alert vigilance to complete confusion.
"Strange..."
Tanjiro twitched his nose. With a sense of smell sensitive enough to detect the emotions of others, he realized that he could not smell the scent of a single living demon in this place known as a "demon's den."
The air was not filled with the expected smell of blood. Instead, it carried an extremely strong scent of burning, along with a sharp ozone smell similar to what remained after a thunderstorm.
"There's movement ahead!"
Tanjiro suddenly caught a faint trace of human scent. His heart tightened, thinking that a companion had been attacked. He immediately drew his Nichirin blade and rushed toward the source.
Pushing aside a dense patch of bushes, the sight before him caused Tanjiro's pupils to shrink as he froze in place like a statue.
Before him lay a massive fan-shaped pit of scorched earth more than a hundred meters in diameter.
A dozen towering trees, each so thick that three people would be needed to encircle them, had all been burned into charcoal.
The rocks on the ground had partially crystallized from the terrifying heat. At the end of the scorched area lay a dozen piles of ash that had once been demons, scattering into the air whenever the wind blew.
"This... what kind of Breathing Style could cause such destruction?" Tanjiro gasped.
Even the most explosive techniques of Water Breathing could not possibly leave behind such large-scale burn marks, as if a natural disaster had swept through.
Not only that, as Tanjiro continued deeper into the mountain, he witnessed even more unbelievable scenes.
Along the way, there were fallen trees cleanly sliced in two by an extremely sharp blade, giant boulders shattered by lightning, and demon ashes scattered across the ground.
When he reached a rocky forest in the central area of Fujikasane Mountain, an enormous presence, one that still carried terrifying lingering resentment even after death, made the hair on his body stand on end.
It was the residual aura of the Hand Demon.
Tanjiro stared at the absurdly large crater in the ground and the ravines around it that had been forcibly carved by some kind of blue lightning energy. His mind went blank.
"It seems a very powerful demon was killed ..instantly here?"
Tanjiro swallowed hard. With his almost cheat-like sense of smell, he could clearly tell that the person who killed this gigantic creature was the same one who had left behind the massive fire pit earlier.
Moreover, that person's scent was currently just a short distance ahead.
Tanjiro gripped the hilt of his sword and cautiously moved around a giant rock.
The next second, he froze.
At the center of the rocky forest, sitting on a large flat green stone, was a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a black yukata. He looked exceptionally handsome and composed.
A bonfire burned beside him, and two wild rabbits caught from somewhere were roasting over the flames, sizzling with oil.
Resting across the young man's knees was a black straight sword in its scabbard.
This scene did not resemble someone taking part in a brutal trial at all. It looked more like a young master who had come to the mountains for a leisurely picnic.
Hearing footsteps, Rin paused slightly while turning the rabbits over the fire and looked up at Tanjiro, who was wearing a fox mask.
"Oh? Finally entered the arena?" Rin greeted casually. "The small demons in this mountain have basically been cleared out by me. The few that remain are hiding in corners and crevices, too scared to come out. If you're hungry, come over and have a bite."
Tanjiro opened his mouth, and it took a long moment before he managed to ask, "Excuse me... were all the demons here killed by you?"
"Yeah. I was bored anyway, so I came in early to warm up." Rin pulled out the wisteria sachet from his waist and idly played with it, speaking as casually as if he were talking about pulling a few weeds.
Just then, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps came from the woods behind them.
"Demons! Where are the demons? Get the hell out here!"
Accompanied by a furious roar, Genya Shinazugawa, with his mohawk and bloodshot eyes, rushed out.
He had wandered through the mountains for most of the night without seeing even the shadow of a demon, and his stomach was full of pent-up rage.
Seeing firelight ahead, he immediately rushed over.
When he saw Rin sitting on the green stone roasting meat while Tanjiro stood beside him in a daze, Genya's anger flared instantly.
"Hey! What the hell are you two doing here? Is this some kind of field trip!?"
Genya strode forward, grabbed Tanjiro by the collar, and glared fiercely at Rin.
"Where are the demons here? I came here to kill demons and become a Hashira! Tell me where the demons are, or I'll beat both of you!"