After dealing with a few more unfortunate demons, the third night of the Final Selection welcomed dawn.
Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo sat together in an open space, resting against a large tree.
Even though both of their strengths were sufficient for this trial, three consecutive nights of fighting were still somewhat tiring.
“Um, Makomo…”
“Hmm?”
“Could you take off your mask for a bit?” Although he remembered the girl’s appearance from his past life, there was bound to be some difference between a two-dimensional image on a screen and a real person.
Kanzaki Kumo was still curious about what Makomo looked like in reality.
“Oh, this?
Sorry, I’m used to wearing it.
It’s a bit rude to hide my face from my savior,” Makomo said, reaching up to remove her mask.
“It’s not that rude,” Kanzaki Kumo waved his hand, then froze at the face beneath the mask.
A pair of deep green eyes seemed to hold gentle water-light, a small nose, slightly curved lips, and faint willow-leaf eyebrows.
Her expression was gentle with a hint of playfulness, and a touch of lingering baby fat added to her cuteness.
“It seems my appearance didn’t disappoint Kanzaki-kun,” Makomo said, winking playfully as she watched Kanzaki Kumo’s slightly stunned expression.
The current her didn’t look like a swordsman capable of fighting demons alone, but rather a cute girl next door.
“You are indeed very beautiful,” Kanzaki Kumo nodded, his face not showing the shyness Makomo had expected, which made the girl a little disappointed.
Kanzaki Kumo: Slowly types a ‘?’
Makomo: Oh my, oh my, so strong, yet so young-looking.
Of course, it makes one want to tease him.
Admiration for beauty is human nature, and Kanzaki Kumo naturally wouldn’t feel embarrassed by it.
Although his romantic experience across two lifetimes was zero, he wasn’t so bad as to blush at the sight of a beautiful woman.
Moreover, while Makomo’s closeness to Kanzaki Kumo mostly stemmed from his life-saving grace last night, his well-modeled face also played a part.
At least no maiden would joke around with a scruffy big man like that.
“By the way, Kanzaki-kun, how old are you this year?” Makomo asked, looking at Kanzaki Kumo’s slightly childish face, yet his words and actions were completely unlike a child’s, making her very curious about his age.
“I’ll be fourteen in half a year.”
“Not yet fourteen…” Makomo fell silent.
What was she doing at that age?
Oh, right, she had just started choosing a Cultivator.
Thinking of her fifteenth birthday not long ago, then looking at the boy beside her who wasn’t even fourteen yet, and recalling how he cleanly decapitated a demon that could have threatened her life last night, Makomo experienced the disparity between people for the first time.
“What, has this beautiful lady been struck by my talent?”
Seeing Makomo lost in thought, Kanzaki Kumo immediately seized the opportunity to return the teasing she had given him earlier.
“Pfft—Yes, I really didn’t expect Little Brother Kanzaki to be so talented…” Noticing Kanzaki Kumo’s somewhat childish side, Makomo couldn’t help but laugh, but quickly realized her slightly rude behavior and hurried to apologize: “Ah, sorry, Kanzaki-kun, I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s fine.
It seems you’re older than me, so just call me Kumo.
There’s no need to keep calling me ‘Kanzaki-kun.’ We’re friends now, aren’t we?”
“Mm!” Makomo nodded vigorously.
“Makomo.”
“Has anyone ever told you that your smile is quite beautiful?”
“Hmm…
Strictly speaking, Kumo, you’re the first person to specifically compliment my smile.”
“Ah, then that’s truly an honor.”
…
“Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance.”
Standing on a tree, Kanzaki Kumo watched the girl gracefully move amidst the encirclement of several demons, then decapitate all of them with a single strike, his eyes filled with praise.
Makomo’s talent was excellent; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to suppress the Hand Demon to the point where it had to resort to verbal attacks to turn the tide.
Of course, she was still far behind Kanzaki Kumo, as his eyes were simply too exceptionally gifted.
For instance, at this moment, Kanzaki Kumo had already seen all the details of Makomo’s technique.
With a little contemplation, he could imitate her movements and even her Breathing Technique.
With more practice, he could master Water Breathing.
At the same time, he was also contemplating his Thunder Breathing.
He had already mastered Thunder Breathing proficiently and developed his own fighting style through the connection and combination of different techniques, but he also discovered its shortcomings.
Thunder Breathing was fast, and extreme speed was what Kanzaki Kumo desired most, but one drawback was that Thunder Breathing was a bit too straightforward.
While fast, it lacked a certain nimbleness and adaptability.
This was inherently a trade-off made by Thunder Breathing in pursuit of extreme speed and explosive power.
If the opponent’s strength difference wasn’t exaggerated, Thunder Breathing was perfectly fine, but if facing an opponent significantly stronger than oneself, such straightforward techniques would very likely be directly overwhelmed.
The lack of flexibility in Thunder Breathing would even make it difficult to buy time for support, unless one turned and ran, or, like a certain hot-headed elder brother in the original work, relied on sheer toughness to endure.
And unfortunately, among the demons, there were a few who numerically crushed humans in a tiered manner—Demon King Muzan, and the top three Upper Ranks.
Upper Ranks Four to Six weren’t an ultimate numerical crush; it was more about their tricky mechanisms.
The top three, however, were super numerical monsters.
In a head-on confrontation, even Himejima Gyomei, the strongest combatant on the human side in the original work, wouldn’t fare well.
But Kanzaki Kumo, as a member of the human side, would eventually have to face one or several of them, and he himself had not yet discovered any potential to become a ‘blood tank’.
So, he began to ponder modifying the Breathing Technique.
“How was that?
I’m pretty amazing, right?” After confirming that no demons would appear for the time being, Makomo flashed to Kanzaki Kumo’s side, interrupting his momentarily rising thoughts.
This was already the last night of the Final Selection.
In these past days, the two had also casually saved some people; some chose to withdraw, while others continued to persevere.
Standing on the tree, they could already see the fish-belly white of dawn on the horizon, signaling that the trial was about to end.
Soon, as the scattered survivors within Fujikasane Mountain eagerly awaited, the sun peeked out from below the horizon, announcing the end of the seventh night.
Many people let out a sigh of relief, some even shedding tears, either celebrating their survival or grieving the loss of friends.
Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo exchanged glances and also breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go.”
“Mm.”
The two walked together along the path they had come from, occasionally encountering other survivors, but there was no interaction between them.
They arrived at the assembly platform where Ubuyashiki Kagaya, accompanied by his two daughters, was already waiting.
On the table in front of them lay a row of Nichirin ore of various shapes and sizes.
“Congratulations to all of you who have passed the Final Selection.
From today, you will become official swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps.” As Ubuyashiki Kagaya’s words fell, the Kasugai Crow circling in the sky descended one by one, flying to their respective masters.
“The Kasugai Crow will be your important companions on your path to slaying demons.
Please treat them well.
Now, please step forward and choose your Nichirin ore.
This is the material used to forge your unique nichirin blade.”
Kanzaki Kumo stepped forward first.
Most of the survivors had witnessed his strength, and no one contended with him.
When Kanzaki Kumo approached Kagaya, he heard him say, “Thank you.”
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Mm.”
During their brief exchange, Kanzaki Kumo picked a piece of Nichirin ore that felt right to him.
Ubuyashiki Hinaki marked it.
Makomo followed closely and also chose a piece, then the other successful candidates.
“Once your nichirin blades are forged, they will be delivered to your respective residences by the swordsmiths.
For now, please return to your original residences and wait patiently.
After you receive your nichirin blades, your first missions will be issued, so please be prepared.
I wish you all good fortune in battle.”
Subsequently, the nine survivors, including Kanzaki Kumo and Makomo, departed one after another.
Kanzaki Kumo waved to Kagaya before heading down the mountain.
“Are you going straight back to Mount Sagiri?” Kanzaki Kumo asked Makomo, who was walking beside him down the mountain.
“Mm, Kumo, do you have something in mind?”
“I also want to visit Urokodaki-senpai at Mount Sagiri and learn Water Breathing,” Kanzaki Kumo stated his plan.
Since he had the idea of improving his Breathing Technique, he naturally had to put it into practice, at least to try it first.
“Eh?
Haven’t you already mastered Thunder Breathing very well?” Makomo looked at Kanzaki Kumo with some confusion.
“I want to improve my Thunder Breathing.
Learning other Breathing Techniques might provide inspiration and ideas.”
Makomo immediately fell silent.
She herself hadn’t perfectly mastered Water Breathing yet, and Kanzaki Kumo was already trying to improve his Breathing Technique.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”