𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, kny

「十一」

第十一章

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[NAME] AND TANJIRO IS NOW SEATED ON THE FLOOR, LISTENING TO WHATEVER UROKODAKI WAS TELLING THEM. He then handed them each a fox mask that has a unique pattern. [Name] examined hers carefully. Her mask was beautifully carved. It has a red line that starts under the fox's eyes and ended only a few spaces before the chin. Her mask's fox eyes are colored red and it radiates bravery and courage. She smiled down at the mask and thanked Urokodaki for it.

Urokodaki lends two of his cloud-patterned haori to Tanjiro and [Name] since theirs was dirty.

After they're done getting ready, [Name] and Tanjiro prepared to embark on a journey to Mt. Fujikasane to enter the Final Selection.

"Urokodaki-san," [Name] beamed as she waved goodbye, "I couldn't find Sabito, Levi and Makomo, please tell them I said goodbye!"

That sentence shocked Urokodaki deeply. How did she know the name of those dead children?

»»————-　✼　————-««

[Name] ascended the stairs along with Tanjiro. The view was mesmerizing. This was her first time seeing wisteria with her own eyes. She only knew of its scent, but she didn't know how the flower looked like. It was beautiful. The sun rays hitting against the flower's bright colors seem to be adding to the beautiful and tranquil view.  The soft breeze whispering peace into the children's ears was like a sedative given to patients right before surgery. It relieves at least a bit of their fear of stepping into the Final Selection.

There were many children other than [Name] and Tanjiro, in which three successfully caught [Name]'s attention. One of them is a girl with beautiful black hair tied up to a ponytail using an accessory in the shape of a butterfly. Her purple eyes radiate nothing but serenity. Her rosy lips curled up to a small smile as butterflies surround her. The other one is a yellow-haired boy wearing a haori with a matching color to his hair. He had eyes that resemble a pool of honey. His face wasn't so sure of himself. And lastly, the one that stood out the most, is another boy with a face full of scars. His hair was also intriguing to [Name]. Friendly isn't the type of word that'd be used to describe the boy's face.

[Name] quickly looked away before any of them could notice her stare. She then fixed her attention to the two girls in front of her. Both with the same short hair. One's hair was white and the other's was black.

'Something about how these two girls act seems... uncanny.' [Name] thought to herself. However, she quickly brushed the thought off her and listened to whatever they have to say.

"...There will be no wisteria from this point on..." One of the girls said.

'Of course, if that's true, then from this point on, the place will be swarming with demons.'

[Name] then looked down as she found herself rather discouraged.

'What if...' [Name] thought, 'What if I don't make it? Tanjiro's going to be all alone and I'm going to--'

[Name] interrupted her own thoughts, the little girl from earlier's speech now become mumbles in [Name]'s ears, 'No... I'm going to make it. I must make it.'

»»————-　✼　————-««

[Name] really wished she wasn't drowning in her own thoughts earlier because now she's been separated from Tanjiro. She ran deep into the area covered with trees.

'I must head to the East, where the sun rises if I want to make it.'

Suddenly, she heard a snapping sound of a twig–followed by a demonic cackle–coming from behind her. [Name] slowly turned her head with beads of sweat rolling down her skin. Chills ran down her spine as she finally saw where it was coming from.

There stood a demon with dark purple eyes and pale skin. Veins popping out all over her body. Her lips were crimson red and cracked due to the depriving amount of blood she had consumed and curled up to a sinister smile as her fangs glimmer under the faint moonlight.

"Oh... How long have I craved for devouring a marechi..." the demon said in a low growl before letting out a chilling giggle.

"M-marechi?" [Name] stuttered as she sheathed her sword out, pointing it towards the demon as a warning, every inch of her body shaking in fear.

The demon's giggle soon turned to a cackle before bursting to a peal of loud maniacal laughter before lunging herself at [Name].