"Lynn, do you have a plan?"
After entering Mount Fujikasane, Rengoku Kyojuro looked at the black-haired youth beside him and asked.
It was already nighttime, and the sky was heavily overcast, obscuring the moonlight.
Walking through the dim forest, Lynn moved forward while taking off his backpack.
"Kyojuro, do you know about Marechi?"
"I've heard of it."
Rengoku Kyojuro replied.
As the son of the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro had been exposed to various knowledge about demons since childhood.
Although he had never seen a real case, he was not unfamiliar with the concept of Marechi.
Marechi referred to people possessing rare blood.
Just as humans enjoy pursuing delicacies and tasting better food.
For man-eating demons, Marechi was akin to a delicacy.
A human possessing Marechi had a nutritional value comparable to dozens or even hundreds of people.
If a demon could eat a person with Marechi, its strength would greatly increase.
"Lynn, do you have Marechi?"
"To be precise, I have Panda Blood."
"Panda Blood?"
"You can understand it as the rarest of Marechis, even scarcer than the conventionally understood Marechi."
Lynn took out a box from his backpack that was tightly wrapped in three inner and three outer layers.
He learned that he possessed Marechi several months ago while mingling in the slums.
At that time, he was penniless and hadn't awakened the Mist Space, so hungry he could only scavenge for food in the trash.
During the process of searching for food, Lynn's finger was accidentally cut by a piece of iron.
The consequence of this was that a demon several kilometers away lost its sanity and crossed most of the slums to find Lynn who was rummaging through garbage.
If Kuwajima Jigoro hadn't received news that a demon was sighted that day and specifically descended the mountain to find it.
Lynn would have likely died on the spot, achieving the accomplishment of being instantly defeated upon arrival.
However, it was precisely after that incident that Lynn's fate trajectory changed.
He became a disciple of Kuwajima Jigoro to learn Thunder Breathing and awakened the power-sharing ability of the Mist Space.
Up until today, with the assistance of Kuwajima Jigoro and the Mist Space, Lynn already possessed the strength to fear no demon.
"Are you ready, Kyojuro?"
Opening the sealed box, Lynn took out five test tubes filled with blood and inserted them into the specialized slots prepared on his waist.
"The battle ahead will likely exceed your imagination."
"Bring it on, Kyojuro!"
Rengoku Kyojuro burst into laughter and drew his nichirin blade from his waist.
"I am the man who will become the Flame Hashira!"
"If I stop here, my family will mock me after I die!"
"Let's go, Kyojuro."
Lynn chuckled lightly, said no more, and reached out to pull the stoppers from the test tubes.
Because they had been specially treated, the blood in these bottles still retained its vitality.
As the cold wind blew, the dense scent of blood drifted in all directions, like summer's stinky tofu noodles.
Affected by this smell, the demons in the forest, having been hungry for who knows how long, instantly lost their sanity and rushed towards the source of the blood scent.
In just a few breaths' time, several demons with scarlet eyes appeared before Lynn and the other man, attacking like rabid dogs pouncing on filth.
"They're here!"
Rengoku Kyojuro drew his nichirin blade, moving to engage the enemy immediately.
But just then, a series of crisp crackling sounds rang out beside his ears.
Ssssh! Ssssh! Ssssh!
When Rengoku Kyojuro realized what had happened, several demons that had just rushed out of the forest had already lost their heads.
As corpses fell, the black-haired youth, around whom faint arcs of electricity crackled, held his nichirin blade, a faint smile hanging on his face.
"Let's go, Kyojuro."
The encouraging words spoken not long ago echoed again under the night sky.
However, this time, the meaning of the words had changed drastically.
"Go on, try to snatch a demon from my hands, or you'll be mocked just the same if you return alive."
...
"It's about time."
On the plaza outside Mount Fujikasane, Ubuyashiki Amane murmured to herself while looking at the hourglass in her hand.
This hourglass was something Lynn had specifically taken out of his backpack and handed to her before entering Mount Fujikasane.
Now that all the sand had flowed to the bottom section, it meant half an hour had passed.
According to the agreement with Lynn and the other man, it was time to let the others enter Mount Fujikasane.
"Eh? What is that?!"
"Demons! Those are all demons!"
"Are you kidding me! How can there be so many!"
Just then, several exclamations suddenly rang out in the plaza.
Ubuyashiki Amane, who was just about to announce the final selection's start, was momentarily stunned and looked towards Mount Fujikasane in the direction the crowd was pointing.
In the next instant, several demons exuding terrifying auras, constantly leaping and rushing through the forest, appeared in sight.
As if attracted by something, these demons, with their eyes scarlet, rushed straight towards the periphery of Mount Fujikasane.
"Everyone, assemble! Stay vigilant!"
Startled by this unexpected sight, Ubuyashiki Amane quickly issued a reminder.
Under her command, the Demon Slayer Corps reservists, who were scattered across the plaza, gathered together.
But just as everyone formed their ranks, preparing to face this sudden battle.
The demons that were originally leaping through the forest suddenly changed direction and rushed towards another side.
"This is..."
Ubuyashiki Amane frowned, finally realizing what was happening.
The Wisteria flowers set up around the periphery of Mount Fujikasane had not failed; they were still preventing the demons from escaping.
The reason these demons were coming to the periphery in droves actually had another cause.
"Marechi?"
Ubuyashiki Amane thought of Lynn.
As a trainer for the Demon Slayer Corps, Kuwajima Jigoro often sent letters to report his current teaching progress to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
And as Ubuyashiki Kagaya's wife, Ubuyashiki Amane would also see these letters, so she was not unfamiliar with Lynn.
In Kuwajima Jigoro's reports, Lynn was a Marechi individual he had accidentally discovered while slaying a demon.
Compared to ordinary Marechi, the allure of his blood to demons was even more astonishing, truly the rarest of Marechis.
If Lynn had intentionally inflicted a wound to release his Marechi after entering Mount Fujikasane, then the current situation would make sense.
["I want to clear out the demons in Mount Fujikasane."]
The reason Lynn gave not long ago resurfaced in her mind.
However, compared to half an hour ago, Ubuyashiki Amane now realized the seriousness of the situation.
The two people currently being besieged by demons were not ordinary people.
One was the proud disciple who had inherited the entire legacy of the former Sound Hashira, praised repeatedly by him.
The other was a descendant of the current Flame Hashira, an inheritor of Flame Breathing with Rengoku family blood.
Setting aside the former, if the latter were to die, it might very well affect the current Flame Hashira.
Considering the current state of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Amane hesitated in place for a moment, then called over a Kasugai Crow perched on a nearby tree branch.
"Carry a message to headquarters for me."
…