On a clear noon.
"Northwest! Northwest! Eliminate the demons entrenched on Shirai Mountain! Quickly! Quickly!"
A hoarse voice shattered the tranquility of the midday, and a large black crow flapping its wings actually spoke human words?!
This was a Kasugai Crow, a special crow trained by the Demon Slayer Corps.
Every member of the Demon Slayer Corps had their own Kasugai Crow companion, which served as an important messenger for the members to communicate with each other and for the headquarters to issue demon-slaying missions.
Beneath this loudly cawing Kasugai Crow, several figures were swiftly making their way.
They wore wide haori, under which were black, student-like uniforms.
Each of them had a sheathed long sword hanging from their belts, varying in length, shape, and color.
They were the legendary Demon Slayer Corps members, whose mission was to hunt down demons, and the long swords at their waists were the famed demon-slaying weapons—Nichirin Blades.
Hearing the Kasugai Crow urging, the group, led by a Tsuchinoto-ranked swordsman, picked up their pace.
The wind on the road blew open the wide haori of these Demon Slayer Corps members, revealing the large "Destroy" character printed on the back of their uniforms.
"Kawachi-senpai! Everyone is exhausted. Could we take a short break? If we keep going like this, everyone will collapse" a young member pleaded with the Tsuchinoto-ranked swordsman leading them.
The Demon Slayer Corps had a strict hierarchy, with members ranked from highest to lowest as Kinoe, Kinoto, Hinoe, Hinoto, Tsuchinoe, Tsuchinoto, Kanoe, Kanoto, Mizunoe, and Mizunoto.
The higher the rank, the stronger the member.
Above the Kinoe-ranked swordsmen were the most crucial fighters of the Demon Slayer Corps, known as the "Hashira."
Becoming a Hashira was extremely difficult.
There were two conditions to become a Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, after becoming a Kinoe-ranked swordsman, one needed to slay over fifty demons, or kill one of the Twelve Kizuki to become a Hashira.
Tsuchinoto-ranked member Kawachi looked back at his companions.
Indeed, several Kanoto and Mizunoto-ranked swordsmen were already gasping for breath.
Reluctantly, Kawachi decided to let everyone rest for a while.
To prevent his Kasugai Crow from disturbing the others, Kawachi took out a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and began feeding the crow.
Several young Demon Slayer Corps members, with their youthful faces, took advantage of the rare break to joke around.
"I'm so tired, I feel like my legs are about to give out."
"Yeah, Shirai Mountain is so far away. I wonder how many demons are there and if there are enough for us to kill."
"Stop bragging, Shinta. Everyone knows that during your first mission, you were so scared by a demon that you wet your pants and cried for your mom, hahaha!"
"Damn it! You idiot! Why did you have to bring that up!"
Kawachi shook his head unconsciously as he watched his companions fool around.
His personality naturally kept him from joining in.
As a child, Kawachi had encountered a demon and narrowly survived, but he lost all his family and his tongue.
From that day on, Kawachi could no longer speak. Filled with a deep hatred for demons, he joined the Demon Slayer Corps and after three years of hard work, had become a powerful Tsuchinoto-ranked swordsman.
Because he couldn't speak, Kawachi personality had always been quite cold.
However, despite his inability to speak, his observational skills were sharp.
At this moment, his gaze was entirely focused on another person who, like him, was alone.
Under the faded bluish-green haori, the frail body looked as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind.
The wrinkled face and graying hair were strikingly noticeable.
The uniform that wrapped around the body was clearly different in style from those of the other team members, appearing more ancient and old-fashioned.
The only relatively new item on this old man might be the Nichirin Blade with its dark green hilt at his waist.
Kawachi couldn't understand why an old demon slayer who had retired decades ago would strongly insist on joining their Demon-slaying mission.
The old man looked like he didn't even have the strength to draw his sword.
For someone like Elder Moriki, at his age, shouldn't he be working as a farmer instead?
After all, Demon Slayer swordsmen who lived to such an age were extremely rare.
But now, Kawachi gaze toward Elder Moriki had changed.
During the intense forced march along the way, even he, a Tsuchinoto felt slightly tired, yet Elder Moriki breathing hadn't even become irregular.
At this moment, Elder Moriki was holding his Nichirin Blade, resting with his eyes closed.
"My intuition isn't wrong. I can feel it—the person truly suited for the Breath of the Forest has appeared. Ancestors of the past, please bless me, bless the Breath of the Forest. We must not let the legacy of the Breath of the Forest be severed!" Elder Moriki muttered to his Nichirin Blade.
As time passed, the sun gradually began to set.
The sunlight, which could annihilate any Demon, slowly dimmed and day was gradually replaced by night.
After the sun had completely set, Kawachi and the other team members arrived at Shirai Village at the fastest speed possible.
At this moment, Shirai Village had already fallen into chaos.
Many elderly villagers ran out of their homes, calling for their family members in various parts of the village.
Kawachi couldn't speak, so he gestured for a Kanoe-level team member to ask what was going on.
Upon inquiry, they learned that the young people in the village had spontaneously organized themselves.
A large group of them, armed with all sorts of weapons, had charged up Mount Shirai.
The villagers left behind in the village were anxiously stomping their feet, and many of the very elderly villagers were crying.
"Mountain Demon! These children are so foolish. There really is a Demon on the mountain. This is a disaster!"
"This is bad. I just asked others in the village. At least twenty people have entered Mount Shirai. If something happens to them, the Demon on Mount Shirai will be even harder to deal with"
Kawachi partner, Tsuchinoto-level team member Hatamoto, said in a low voice.
Kawachi also realized the severity of the situation and immediately made appropriate arrangements.
Including Elder Moriki, there were eight team members in total, divided into four groups.
They would enter Mount Shirai from four different directions and begin their search.
If they discovered any traces of a Demon, they were not to engage in prolonged combat but to quickly relay the message to notify the other team members.
Kawachi gestured 'Everyone, be careful. Wishing you victory'.
Immediately after, several Demon Slayer Corps members dispersed at the entrance of Shirai Village, swiftly heading toward the ominous mountain behind the village.
*****
In the depths of the night, Shirai Mountain, veiled in moonlight, did not become more beautiful.
Instead, it was eerily quiet and unsettling, as if the vitality that belonged to the vast forest had been completely stripped away.
The entire mountain was shrouded in a faint aura of death.
Elder Moriki bent down and grabbed a handful of soil from the ground, his graying eyebrows furrowing.
Behind him, a Kanoto was also tense, his Nichirin blade already gripped in his hand, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, fearing that a Demon might suddenly leap out and ambush them.
"Hey! Old man! Don't wander off too far! Be careful of a Demon ambush!" a young Demon Slayer Corps member called out, noticing that Elder Moriki had somehow wandered quite a distance away.
In the young man eyes, while Elder Moriki determination to hunt Demons was admirable, he was, after all, of advanced age and would likely be no match for a Demon.
He couldn't understand why Kawachi-senpai had agreed to let Elder Moriki join their team in the first place.
Elder Moriki once again pressed his somewhat withered hand against a large tree, closing his eyes.
A faint greenish light flickered briefly in the palm of his hand.
*****
After carefully sniffing the air, Shinichi stopped by a small stream, roughly gauging the direction.
"Maru-ni, it's up to you now."
Arf! Arf!
Maru-ni barked happily twice, then leaped down from Shinichi shoulder.
In that instant, the Demon blood within Maru-ni rapidly activated and in the next second, Maru-ni shot into the dense forest by the stream like a black lightning bolt.
Through his telepathic connection with Maru-ni, Shinichi quickly received the information Maru-ni had sensed.
"I smell something bad!"
This was Maru-ni inner voice.
It seemed there really was a Demon on this mountain.
Shinichi instinctively flexed his finger joints, the black claws at his fingertips gleaming coldly.
But just as Shinichi was about to move, Maru-ni sent another message.
"There's the scent of others, humans, very strong scents!"
"Others? Are there humans on the mountain?" Shinichi was somewhat startled.