After passing through the final stretch of dark forest, their surroundings suddenly opened up.
Morning sunlight filtered through the cascading branches of the wisteria trees, filling the air with a floral fragrance so rich that it was almost dizzying.
This place was forbidden ground to demons—and the gateway to survival for humans.
When Tanjiro and the others stepped into the sea of wisteria, the two Ubuyashiki children who had been waiting there—black-haired Kiriya Ubuyashiki and white-haired Kanata Ubuyashiki—turned toward them without expression.
The moment Tanjiro stepped onto the stone stairs, however, the previously composed siblings frowned in unison.
Their gazes, like two cold blades, instantly locked onto Tanjiro’s back.
“Welcome back, everyone.”
“Congratulations on safely passing Final Selection.”
Their emotionless, childlike voices spoke in unison.
In the next moment, however, their tone abruptly changed.
“However, the swordsman with dark-red hair must stop.”
“This is Mt.
Fujikasane.
Unclean creatures are forbidden from entering.”
“Please behead the demon on your back or return it to the mountain.
Those are the rules.”
Those words fell like a massive stone into a tranquil lake.
“Even as a joke, that’s going too far!”
A fierce-looking boy with a mohawk—Genya Shinazugawa—irritably shoved his way through the crowd.
He stared fixedly at the crude wooden box on Tanjiro’s back, which had been tightly wrapped in strips of cloth and clothing, then twitched his nose.
“Yeah… That definitely reeks of a demon.
Hey, are you out of your mind?
You brought prey all the way here?”
As he spoke, his rough hand had already settled upon his sword’s hilt, naked killing intent filling his eyes.
At the same time, Kanao Tsuyuri turned her head and stared directly at Tanjiro, though no one could tell what she was thinking.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
“I won’t give him up!”
Tanjiro suddenly raised his head and reached both hands behind him, protectively gripping the person upon his back.
Unprecedented stubbornness burned within his eyes.
“He isn’t prey!
He saved our lives!
Without him, at least half the people standing here would never have returned!”
“A demon saving humans is unheard of.”
The Ubuyashiki siblings remained indifferent. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Rules are rules.
The duty of the Demon Slayer Corps is to eliminate demons.
Should you persist in this course of action, you will lose your qualification to join the Corps and be regarded as a traitor who aided a demon.”
“Then you’ll have to cut me down too!”
An angry shout shattered the stalemate.
The young swordsman whose broken leg Kiyohiko had healed strode forward and stood in front of Tanjiro.
“He healed my leg!
If he’s an evil demon, then what does that make someone who was saved by him?
An evil demon’s lackey?!”
“Me too.”
The female swordswoman silently stepped forward.
“I owe him these eyes.
I can’t allow him to be killed like this.”
“I-I’m terrified of dying, but…”
Zenitsu wore a tearful expression.
Although his body was trembling, he genuinely placed himself behind Tanjiro and faced Genya Shinazugawa.
“If we let such a small child get killed, Gramps will beat my butt raw!
He definitely will!”
One, two, three…
Every swordsman Kiyohiko had treated turned their back toward Tanjiro and formed a tight defensive circle, protecting the unconscious, child-sized Kiyohiko at its center.
[System Notification: Bond Event completed!]
Event: [Through Life and Death Together—Final Selection]
Reward calculation complete:
[All attributes slightly increased.]
[Basic Swordsmanship Mastery acquired.]
[Passive Skill acquired: Foodie—Eating ordinary food can alleviate the side effects of regeneration.]
Kiyohiko never would have imagined that all the people he had previously saved would now make the same decision as Tanjiro and Zenitsu, risking their lives to protect him.
They were not mere background characters.
They were flesh-and-blood people, each with thoughts and convictions of their own.
Genya Shinazugawa froze.
His hand remained suspended above his sword as he cursed in disbelief.
“Huh?
Have all these people lost their minds?”
Not far away, Kanao Tsuyuri—who had remained silent while playing with a coin—also stopped moving.
For the first time, a ripple of something called confusion passed through her otherwise empty violet eyes.
Kiriya and Kanata exchanged a glance.
Throughout the Demon Slayer Corps’ centuries-long history, there had never been an incident in which an entire group of candidates collectively defied orders. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
At last, a crack appeared in their exquisitely doll-like expressions.
“This situation is abnormal.”
“We are unable to pass judgment.”
Kiriya raised one hand, and a black Kasugai Crow descended with a flutter of wings before landing upon his arm.
“Immediately deliver a message to Master Ubuyashiki.
An ‘anomaly’ has appeared at the endpoint of Mt.
Fujikasane.
Several successful candidates are prepared to defend it with their lives.”
“We request that Master Ubuyashiki make the final decision.”
The Kasugai Crow cawed twice, seemingly frightened by the strange atmosphere as well, before spreading its wings and soaring into the sky.
…
Ubuyashiki Mansion
Sunlight passed through layer upon layer of leaves and fell across a blind young man.
Curse-like markings spread across his forehead, yet his expression remained calmer and gentler than a lake in spring.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki slowly raised one hand, allowing the Kasugai Crow that had traveled such a long distance to land upon his fingertips.
“I see… Twelve children survived?”
His voice was as gentle as a breeze soothing an open wound.
The corners of his lips curved upward, revealing a sincerely relieved smile.
“In previous years, having even two or three survivors would have been a blessing.
Yet this year, twelve of them…”
“Cough, cough…”
He coughed softly twice, and the white-haired child beside him hurriedly rubbed his back.
“And there is also a demon who saves humans…”
Although Kagaya’s eyes could no longer see, they seemed to gaze through the empty air toward an unknown possibility.
“Those children are willing to protect him…”
“They truly are such gentle and courageous children.”
“If they are willing to go this far, then that demon must possess a form of ‘humanity’ we have yet to understand.”
“Do not harm him for now.
Take him to Shinobu.”
“Perhaps Shinobu will find him interesting.”
“I only hope he awakens safely.”
…
TL: Woof did someone mention Shinobu?