Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Hashibira Inosuke pulled out the Nichirin Blade that he had knocked away and stuck in the tree trunk, examined it carefully, and then casually swung it a few times.

"Red ones are so ugly!"

Emiya could hear the disdain in his tone.

"Then give it back to me if you think it's ugly..."

"Return it to you? This is my spoils of war. Even if I don't use it, it still belongs to me, the King of the Mountains. How can it be returned to you? Hmph!"

Upon hearing that Emiya wanted to take back his weapon, Hashibira Inosuke immediately assumed a fighting stance, ready to defend against a sudden attack from Emiya.

"..."

"Then, shall I trade something for it?"

Emiya took a bento box out of his backpack.

"What is this?"

Hashibira Inosuke saw Emiya suddenly take a boxed item out of his backpack, his face filled with vigilance, and he even made an attacking stance, ready to strike Emiya at any moment.

Emiya didn't intend to explain anything to this person who seemed completely detached from society. He carefully opened the bento box in his hand.

"smell good!"

As a wisp of smoke-like fragrance wafted out, Inosuke Hashibira's stomach rumbled in response to the atmosphere.

"hungry!"

He touched his abdomen and flung the red Nichirin Blade in his hand toward Emiya.

"!"

Emiya was startled by Inosuke Hashibira's actions. He quickly let go of the bento box in his hand and stood up to catch the Nichirin Blade flying through the air.

Meanwhile, Inosuke Hashibira, who was far away, vanished from his spot with even greater speed and appeared in front of Emiya as if in a flash.

"I will accept the food!"

It grabbed the falling bento, and in a flash, caught the Nichirin Blade that Inosuke had thrown at Emiya. Emiya could only watch helplessly as it took the bento he had taken out and ran away into the distance.

——————Time Break——————

Following the direction Inosuke Hashibira pointed, Emiya soon saw purple trees hanging down like willows all over the mountainside.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the entire forest was bathed in purple light, and amidst this sea of ​​wisteria blossoms, an extremely wide road appeared before Emiya.

This is when we truly reached the mountainside of Fujisaki Mountain.

Following the road along the mountainside, Emiya soon saw a gate set up like a shrine.

By this time, many people were already standing in that open space, which resembled a square, carrying knives, seemingly waiting for something.

"There are so many people!"

Emiya was somewhat surprised, because on the way here, apart from Hashibira Inosuke, he had not encountered any other people carrying Nichirin Blades. He had not expected that so many people would participate in this trial.

I heard from Mr. Rengoku that the Demon Slayer Corps has very few combat personnel compared to other personnel. In order to deal with demons in various places, unless they encounter a powerful demon, they usually only send one member of the Demon Slayer Corps to kill it, which can also be regarded as a test for them.

But the number of people gathered here to participate in the trial far exceeded his expectations.

"However, it seems I haven't seen Inosuke."

Looking around, Emiya did not find any particularly special men.

While Emiya was searching for Hashibira Inosuke, he was looking around.

Thank you all for coming to the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection tonight.

Two doll-like women, one with white hair and the other with black hair, dressed in purple kimonos and carrying lanterns, spoke mechanically without any emotion.

"In this Fujikasa Mountain, there are demons captured alive by the Demon Slayer Corps."

"But the ghost cannot leave, because from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, wisteria flowers, which the ghost hates, bloom all year round."

The two of them stated their points one after another.

"But there are no more wisteria flowers ahead."

"Surviving in here for seven days is the qualification requirement for the final selection."

Emiya unconsciously clenched his fist.

He knew that this selection method was extremely dangerous and would cause many people to lose their lives, but he also knew that this selection method was cruel yet efficient.

Only by going through trials of blood and tears can one truly confront those ruthless demons who disregard human life.

"Then, have a safe journey."

They bowed slightly and then moved aside to make way for each other.

Those standing in the open space seemed to have been eagerly waiting, and one after another they rushed in.

Seeing how bravely they fought, Emiya realized that perhaps he was overthinking things.

If someone can enter a profession without the slightest hesitation, then their own abilities must be considerable.

According to Mr. Purgatory, not only must one's breathing technique be practiced to a certain level, but one must also obtain the permission of the trainer in order to participate in the final selection.

Furthermore, the Demon Slayer Corps does not force members to participate; it is all voluntary. Those who do not wish to become combat personnel will generally be transferred to the logistics department.

Given this, these confident individuals must possess a certain level of ability to be certain of their survival inside.

Emiya patted his chest, feeling that he should be more optimistic.

It's very likely that most people passed the trial, but the reason why the Demon Slayer Corps suffered such a high casualty rate is because the demons outside were too powerful.

Just as Emiya was about to follow the group inside, he saw a man with dazzling golden hair walking unsteadily into the secluded path.

"Is he really alright?"

Emiya could clearly sense the fear in that person's heart.

His legs were trembling; how could Emiya not notice?

"Let's look for him first when we get inside."

Compared to those who rushed in without thinking, this seemingly timid boy was more likely to die at Fujikasake Mountain.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Hand Ghost

Night slowly descended.

The bright moon hung silently in the sky.

But the forest was unusually turbulent at that moment.

Countless sounds of flesh colliding and swords slashing came from all directions. Although the sounds from each direction could not travel very far, they still filled the entire forest with a noisy atmosphere.

"This is the thirteenth already. How can there be so many ghosts here?"

Emiya casually flicked the bloodstains from his Nichirin Blade to the ground and ran through the woods, panting.

From the moment he entered the interior of Fujikiyama until now, Emiya has not rested, and he encounters demons every few steps.

Moreover, these ghosts don't appear alone; they usually appear in pairs or threes together.

Fortunately, they don't understand the concept of teamwork, and they even kill each other.

"Sword Breathing: Flame Form - Shiranui"

Emiya Shirou charged forward at high speed like a burst of flames, and in the blink of an eye, before the two demons could even react, their heads had already fallen to the ground.

By combining breathing techniques with magic circuits, Shirou Emiya no longer needs to project the weapons of those he is meant to use his techniques.

He could sense the connection between different breathing techniques, and with just a few subtle adjustments, he could use different breathing techniques.

Even Emiya, who always considered himself to have excellent physical strength, was now panting heavily after so many battles.

"If this high-intensity fighting continues, I might not even be able to pass the final selection."

The demons of Fujikiyama are not particularly strong; we haven't even encountered a demon with Blood Demon Art yet. However, the sheer number of demons is overwhelming.

It wasn't actually because the density of demons inside Fujikiyama was very high; it was mainly because Emiya believed that since it was a trial, there should be fierce battles with demons.

The demons captured by the Demon Slayer Corps aren't meant to be used as trials for the next generation of students.

However, most of the people who came to participate in the trial basically thought that they would hide at night, sleep during the day and travel, and hide until the end of the seven days.

Even Tanjiro chose to survive at night, aiming to live for seven days.

Unlike Shirou Emiya, who blatantly and swaggered in the middle of the road, and who, after each battle, did not leave immediately but rested on the spot before fighting the approaching demons again.

Even Hashibira Inosuke, after a battle, would run around like a madman searching for the constantly wandering demons, instead of staying in one place like a defender of a ring.

Emiya's actions will only cause more and more demons to gather.

Moreover, Emiya believed that those people were stronger than him, unaware that he was now like the sun in the night, attracting most of the demons' attention.

They were starving, and finding this person who exposed their location like a light bulb was much easier than finding those who were hiding.

Everyone else was trying to survive, but Emiya was the only one wreaking havoc with great fanfare.

"!"

Emiya felt an extremely strong sense of pressure coming from behind him.

"Kick! Kick! Kick!"

There seemed to be some enormous creature moving through the forest, its heavy footsteps weighing down on Emiya's pounding heart.

Emiya raised his Nichirin Blade, aiming it with an extremely serious posture in the direction from which the sound came.

"Oh my, oh my, I thought the person who could slay so many demons was a cute little fox. I didn't expect that it wasn't, and it wasn't using Water Breathing either. This really surprises me."

Emiya sensed a very strange voice coming from the enormous creature in front of him.

Under the moonlight, a monster surrounded by one thick, different kind of hands, with only one eye showing, stood before Emiya—the Hand Demon.

At this moment, one of its hands was gripping the neck of a lifeless boy. It glanced at him briefly before immediately losing interest.

"Have there already been deaths?!"

Emiya gripped his crimson Nichirin Blade tightly, shifted his body slightly, and forcefully pushed off the ground. His body transformed into a bullet, shooting towards the Hand Demon who was looking at him with disdain, with a sharp whistling sound.