After easily taking care of the four-armed demon, Tatsuya didn't lower his guard. He used the shadows of the trees to move silently through the woods, reviewing the "feel" of the battle.
"That demon... its neck offered almost no resistance. Its arms were sluggish; it couldn't keep up with my speed at all."
"A demon of that level is likely the bottom-tier of this mountain. It can't accurately measure my strength or the limits of my Breathing Style."
He flexed his wrist. His first frontal kill hadn't brought discomfort or nerves—only a calm expectation for a greater challenge.
"Keep searching for stronger demons. Observe the other examinees."
The first night of the Final Selection was beginning to reveal its brutal nature. Since that first scream, the forest hadn't stayed loud; instead, it grew more eerie. Silence was the theme, broken only by sudden horrors—a brief shriek that cut off abruptly, the sound of clashing steel followed by the sound of tearing tendons and chewing.
"The sounds are scattered, the intervals irregular..." Tatsuya stopped again and closed his eyes.
"Seventh Form: Silent Listening."
Faint electrical sensations pulsed through his ears. The world of sound expanded again.
Nearby: only insects and wind.East, 200 meters: heavy, inhuman footsteps. A demon. A big one.Southwest, further away: steady breathing mixed with the heavy gasps of a demon, falling silent after a heavy thud. A kill? Looks like someone else took care of it.
"The one to the East... sounds like a big guy. Let's check it out." He deactivated the skill, suppressing the slight dizziness, and moved silently.
Whoosh—
Thunder Breathing's travel efficiency was unmatched. Tatsuya soon neared his target. It was an exceptionally tall demon with skin as coarse as rock. It was sniffing the air with its nose, looking for "leftovers."
"With that size, its defense might be higher."
He drew his blade!
Tatsuya didn't immediately use Thunderclap and Flash for a finishing blow; instead, he adjusted his strategy. Pushing off the ground, he shot forward like a bolt of electricity. In the moment of impact, his blade didn't aim for the neck but transformed into several precise, rapid slashes! The demon didn't even have time to react.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The first strike cut deep into the demon's thick arm. Tatsuya felt a surge of resistance—it was sturdier than the four-armed demon from before—but he still severed it in one go. The second strike carved through its chest, leaving a bone-deep charred mark. The third hit its thigh, easily breaking through muscle and bone alike.
"Aaargh! It hurts... it hurts! You damn little insect!"
The demon roared in fury. Granulation tissue began to writhe at its wounds as it tried to heal, but the speed was noticeably slow. It swung its remaining arm in a futile, wide sweep, but Tatsuya had already retreated out of range. The demon collapsed to its knees with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Healing speed: mediocre. Defense: acceptable. Still, it poses no threat. Test complete."
Seeing the demon stubbornly try to swat him despite its severed limbs, Tatsuya's gaze turned cold.
"It's over."
Golden lightning flashed again! This time, the blade passed through the demon's neck with surgical precision.
The roaring stopped. The massive head rolled away, and after the body lurched forward two steps by sheer inertia, it crashed down and began to disintegrate.
Tatsuya watched the ash settle, feeling no sense of accomplishment. "Still not enough. I need to find an opponent who can actually make me feel the pressure."
He sheathed his sword and vanished back into the darkness. To him, this selection was a field test that demanded absolute seriousness.
As he moved silently through the forest searching for his next target, a sudden commotion—violent shouts mixed with the clashing of steel—erupted not far to his left.
"That direction... that's no simple slaughter. It's a back-and-forth deathmatch. I'll gather some intel. If necessary, I'll lend a hand."
He immediately diverted his course, suppressing his presence until he was a mere shadow merging with the dark. He parted the thickets, and the scene came into view: the person locked in a fierce struggle with a demon was the scarred, muscular boy who had given him the side-eye at the Torii gate.
The scarred boy was in rough shape. His shirt was torn to shreds, and his broad chest and back were covered in jagged, bloody claw marks. The demon he was facing wasn't the type to rely on raw strength or size. It was lean and wiry, looking like a malnourished ape, but its arms were abnormally long, reaching down to its knees. Its nails were as long as a human palm and sharp as hooks, glinting with a metallic chill.
"Hehe... fresh blood... so fresh!"
The demon didn't rush. Relying on its eerie agility, it leaped and dodged around the boy like it was playing with its food, using the trees as cover to launch sudden, vicious ambushes.
"Stone Breathing, Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock—Rapid Conquest!!!"
The scarred boy roared, unleashing Stone Breathing, a style known for power and defense! He wielded a pair of heavy hatchets connected by a thick chain. The heavy whoosh of the air proved his staggering strength. His blades left deep gouges in the earth and trees with every swing.
Tatsuya observed closely. "Stone Breathing... balanced in offense and defense, heavy as a mountain. If he were facing that rock-skinned demon from earlier, he'd have crushed it to pieces. But against this... it's a terrible match."
Facing the Long-Armed Demon, the boy was like a bear trying to swat a fly. The demon moved like a boneless eel, twisting and ducking through the storm of axes by a hair's breadth. It even used the wind from the boy's swings to aid its own movement. Occasionally, an axe would graze it, but the wounds healed almost instantly.
"Incredible healing speed. Faster than the ones I've seen. This demon must have focused its evolution on agility and regeneration. The heavy, slower rhythm of Stone Breathing is being completely countered."
Tatsuya also noticed a standard-issue Nichirin Sword at the boy's waist. Clearly, those heavy hatchets weren't made of Nichirin ore—they were a makeshift solution to compensate for his lack of a custom weapon. He was using the axes to suppress the demon, likely intending to finish the job with the sword once the demon was incapacitated.
"Damn you! Stop jumping around like a flea! Face your grandfather head-on!"
Exhausted and bleeding, the boy's strikes grew frantic. Sensing the opening as the boy's momentum faltered, the Long-Armed Demon accelerated! It abandoned its hit-and-run tactics and cut inside the arc of the axes with a grotesque, whip-like lunge.
Rip—!
The boy barely managed to raise his arm in time. Five deep furrows were carved into his right forearm, blood spraying from the gashes.
"Argh!" He grunted in pain, nearly dropping his heavy axe. His defensive perimeter collapsed.
Tatsuya's expression grew grim. "His mindset is shattered. He's lost his rhythm. If this continues, he won't survive the next round."
Tatsuya gripped his hilt, crouching low. Thunder Breathing accelerated through his veins, and a burning, violent power began to gather in his legs. Faint golden sparks flickered around his frame.