find solace (belong) [KNY/BNHA]

[26] silence of lies, truth by halves

let's goooo!!! End of final selection!!

By the time the seventh day rolled by— the last night she had to survive through —Charlotte had lost count of the number of demons she had killed. It was more than she could keep track of, that's for sure.

In fact, after the day with the hand-demon, it felt as if the world had slowed around her. For the first time in her life, the memory between that day and the present time was hazy, blurry. She couldn't remember what exactly she did, who exactly she met and how many times she had swung her sword.

She couldn't even seem to recall whether or not she had slept. And although she had made sure to eat sparingly but enough to boost her energy, the crackers that she was supposed to eat on the sixth day were still there, and the bandages that she had stowed away in her sleeve were still unused, neglected.

Even in the brightness of daytime, the black-haired girl had continued to seek demons out from their hiding places, bringing the edge of that sharp gleaming blade through their discoloured flesh and disfigured limbs.

It was like she was possessed. Almost. Like nothing could faze her.

(Sabito.

Makomo.

She wondered if they were gone, wondered if she would ever see them again.

Perhaps, only in her dreams.)

It was only until she couldn't find any more around her, no matter how much she looked, no matter where she searched— and it was only until the sun showed signs of rising, did Charlotte make her way down the mountain, back to the clearing where the whole thing began.

She could only look forward.

.

.

.

Relaxing her grip on the sword in her hands, Charlotte entered the stone-paved path where the other demon slayer candidates had awaited.

No one uttered a single word, and as more and more people started to show up, the heavier the feeling Charlotte felt in the pit of her stomach.

Some had started to cry tears of joy, some had breathed a genuine sigh of relief, and the sounds of both struck a chord in her.

It was as if her senses were returning to her. She could now feel the way her wounds stung every time her clothes brushed against it, she could not smell the strong and overwhelming scent of iron and ash.

Of the original twenty-three participants that had entered the mountain range infested with man-eating oni, only seventeen remained. And for a second, Charlotte felt an indescribable feeling well up inside her.

(People had died, and it finally hit her.