Following the direction from which the screams came last night, Cold Cry and Noe traced the footprints left by Kimura and the others, arriving at the spot where they were attacked last night.
Corpses were scattered everywhere; the tragic scene was shocking, and the thick stench of blood remained so intense that it felt like it hadn't dissipated even after a whole night.
Noe grabbed onto Cold Cry's sleeve, following closely behind him, while a chill rose from the bottom of her heart.
Mutilated corpses, heads swaying continuously in the wind, entrails dragged across the ground, and pools of scarlet blood — the vast clearing looked just like a large-scale slaughterhouse.
Noe could no longer hold it in; she released Cold Cry's sleeve, quickly ran out of the clearing, reached a nearby tree, and leaned against the trunk to vomit.
Cold Cry walked straight to the center of the slaughterhouse, which was likely also the center of where Kimura's group had camped.
The reason he judged this to be the center was that the corpses were densest there, and more than a dozen backpacks of various sizes were piled on the ground; he assumed they had been in such a rush to flee last night that they didn't have time to take them.
Cold Cry checked each backpack one by one, selected the three largest, stuffed them full of food, drink, and potentially useful medicine from the other bags, and finally slung all three backpacks over his shoulders before heading back toward their post.
Noe, who had been vomiting until she was dizzy, saw Cold Cry leaving without a word. Suppressing her nausea, she hurriedly chased after him.
Not long after the two left, several groups of people emerged from the forest — in pairs, or in small bunches of four or five — picking up whatever edible or useful items remained. They had likely been hiding somewhere nearby.
Upon returning to their post, Cold Cry placed all three backpacks on the stone platform, took out some food from one of them, and began to eat on his own.
Dragging her weak body, Noe came to the place where she had chatted with Yuka last night and sat down cautiously. Everything she had eaten last night had been completely vomited up, and she felt a sudden, inexplicable chill.
Seeing Cold Cry eating with such relish, she really wanted to eat too, but as soon as she recalled the scene from earlier, her stomach couldn't help but churn, and she had to retch a few times before she felt comfortable.
Noe couldn't help but feel annoyed, thinking that if she had known earlier that Cold Cry was going there to scavenge, she wouldn't have gone with him. Then, on second thought, where else could she have gone? Besides, she hadn't known in advance that the scene would be so tragic.
For someone who regarded food as life, wanting to eat but not being able to — how painful that must be!
During the day, Noe only drank a little water and didn't eat anything until nightfall.
The two of them relied on the three big bags of food behind them and gazed at the star-filled sky. They were living quite comfortably; it didn't feel like they were here to survive a selection, but rather to go sightseeing.
At night, there would still be the occasional scream, but compared to the tragedy of the first night, it was much better.
Occasionally, they would encounter one or two demons out hunting, but they would essentially be decapitated at the first meeting with Cold Cry, their bodies dying and their spirits dissipating.
The Hand Demon never appeared again, and the six-legged Spider Demon and the six-armed Three-Headed Demon that Yuka had mentioned didn't show up either — though it was possible they had appeared elsewhere.
In short, the two spent these few days peacefully, and in their spare time they would discuss their insights on Breathing Styles.
As time went on, the screams at night became fewer and fewer, and Fujikasane Mountain seemed to suddenly grow quiet, until the seventh day — the evening of the final day.
Before night had even fallen, an unusual smell permeated the air, giving people the exact same feeling as the atmosphere on the first night of the selection: dull, oppressive, restless, and filled with eeriness everywhere.
Besides the atmosphere being the same as the first night, the weather was also the same, with a round, bright moon hanging in the sky, illuminating the entire Fujikasane Mountain as bright as day.
"Hey, Cold Cry, where do you plan to go for fun after we go down the mountain tomorrow?"
"That has nothing to do with you!"
"How can you say it has nothing to do with me? We are good friends who have experienced life and death together."
"It was you who experienced life and death, not me."
"You are so cold when you speak. Talking to you is like walking on thin ice in winter."
"Hmm, that term is quite fitting."
Noe tilted her head, smiling brightly, already beginning to look forward to the days after leaving Fujikasane Mountain and becoming an official member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"I want to go to my sister's place first. I don't know if she will hit me, and then... sigh, Cold Cry, where do you live? Can I come find you?"
"No need. It would be best if we never met again."
"Hmph, what are you saying? That really hurts — especially since I consider you my best friend." Noe pouted and lightly tapped Cold Cry's arm with her hand; it was more of a caress than a tap.
"Then I thank you, but my family is very poor, so please don't come and make things worse for us."
"You... you're teasing me again."
As the two were talking, clear footsteps came from the forest below the stone platform.
Noe immediately stopped playing around and pressed her right hand onto the hilt of her sword, thinking it was another demon that had come looking for death. Having encountered many demons over the past few days, she was no longer as shocked as she had been at the beginning.
Two people walked out of the forest.
"Yuka, Akino? You... aren't you..."
Seeing who they were, Noe was so surprised that she couldn't close her mouth for a moment. Then she scurried down the stone platform, grabbed Yuka's hand, and jumped for joy.
"Didn't you go down the mountain? How come..."
Yuka glanced at Akino beside her. "We weren't willing to just go back like that. Our families were all killed by demons. If we just went back like this, I'm afraid we would never feel at ease for the rest of our lives."
Hearing this, a look of sorrow appeared on Noe's face. "I'm sorry, I... I didn't know..."
"It's okay, it's fine. It's been a long time, and I've already moved on."
Yuka looked up at Cold Cry. "We originally didn't intend to come find you, but we really wanted to see you. We thought that last night, there shouldn't be much danger, so..."
"If I had known it was like this, then... then..." She stammered for a long time, but Noe couldn't bring herself to say the words: "I should have let you stay back then."
"Then what?"
Seeing Noe's troubled expression, Yuka knew that she couldn't have made that decision at all. With a chuckle, she said, "Alright, let's not worry about that anymore. Let's find a place for the two of us to have a good chat; I have so much I want to tell you. You won't drive us away tonight, right?"
"No, no, of course not. Whoever dares to drive you away, I'll be furious with them." Noe turned back and glared fiercely at Cold Cry; the last sentence was clearly meant for him.
Noe and Yuka were like long-lost sisters, affectionately holding hands as they came to the stone platform in the clearing and sat down. On the night they first met, the two had sat right there and chatted all night long.
Cold Cry sneered inwardly, thinking: *I hope you don't regret it later.*
As soon as they sat down, the two started chattering away. After chatting for a short while, they stood up together and walked toward the forest behind them.
Akino was worried and asked them where they were going.
Noe turned back and shot a look at Akino, saying that he even had to ask — they were going to the bathroom.
Embarrassed, Akino could only lower his head and sit back down on the stone platform.
Not long after Noe and the other entered the forest, a scream suddenly rang out. Immediately after, Noe stumbled out of the forest, tears in her eyes, looking at Cold Cry with an anxious expression.
"Yuka has been taken, Cold Cry — you have to go save her quickly."