The Hand Demon.
In the canon, that giant monster was basically the secret boss of the Final Selection. Decades trapped on that mountain, building up hatred toward Urokodaki-san and taking it out on the former Water Hashira's students.
If I were playing an RPG right now… he'd be the typical optional boss during the Final Selection.
The problem was that this wasn't a game, and there was no marker or minimap, so I had to search for him on my own.
During the entire third day, I wandered around the mountain trying to find any sign of something unusual. Larger footprints, a stronger smell of blood, anything...
On the fourth night I kept searching… but still had no luck.
I started to worry that this place was bigger than I expected, since the Hand Demon was definitely already here.
Finally, on the fifth night… the strong smell of blood drifted through the forest on the wind. Strong enough to stand out even among the constant rotten stench that hung around that place.
I picked up my pace and moved through the trees following the smell, passing fallen trunks and thick roots that crossed the ground. When I stepped past the last line of trees, I found a small clearing… and he was there.
'…So this is the famous Hand Demon.'
Even though I already knew what he looked like… seeing that thing in person was still disgusting.
He was enormous, much bigger than any demon I had seen so far. His body was covered in long, deformed arms, with olive-green skin and small yellow eyes with cross-shaped pupils.
He was crouched in the center of the clearing… eating.
One candidate was trapped in one of the giant hands, his body crushed as he screamed desperately. Another boy was still alive too, held by another grotesque arm, desperately trying to free himself.
Two other bodies were already lying on the ground near him. One was missing its head, and the other had its chest completely torn open.
The demon chewed slowly, as if savoring every bite. When he finished chewing pieces of the first two… he turned his face toward the others who were still alive.
He opened his huge mouth and pulled one of the boys closer to his face… but he didn't manage to bite down.
"—AHHHHH...!!!" the demon screamed in pain as part of the grotesque mass of arms was cut off before his teeth could reach the boy.
I frowned at the noise and flicked the blade to shake off the thick blood dripping from the Nichirin.
"Man…" I looked at the pile of severed hands I had just cut through. "You really are a disgusting thing to look at…"
The Hand Demon twisted his grotesque body toward me, his yellow eyes widening. His expression changed from delight to pure hatred in an instant.
"BRAAAAT…!!!"
Then the arms started moving, all the remaining ones at once. The monstrous body dragged itself across its own hands, the arms working like legs as he ran across the ground like some gigantic animal.
"I… WILL… KILL… YOU…!!!"
Several hands shot out at the same time trying to grab me. Some dragged themselves across the ground, others came through the air… so I stepped forward.
"Sword Breathing…"
The Nichirin traced a wide arc through the air.
"First Form, Normal Cut."
One huge arm hit the ground. Another followed right after. Two more were severed before they could even touch me.
"Stop…!!!" the demon roared, but I didn't pay him any attention.
The severed arms started dissolving while new ones grotesquely sprouted from the pulsating flesh, all of them snapping forward again like living whips.
"Sword Breathing."
I gathered strength and moved the Nichirin again.
"Second Form, Consecutive Normal Cuts."
A chain of cuts sliced through the air as his arms started falling around me like branches being pruned.
The demon tried to react. One arm stretched several meters trying to grab my leg, while another burst out from the right side aiming to crush my head.
I moved between them, each step guided by controlled breathing.
After Shinobu-san's hellish barrage of stabbing practice… it was easy to spot the openings against this guy!
Compared to her… this guy was painfully slow!
His regeneration kept producing more arms… but even so, it couldn't keep up with the speed of my cuts.
Behind me, I heard the two surviving candidates saying something. When I glanced quickly over my shoulder, they were staring at me like they had just seen a ghost.
… I had almost forgotten about them.
Focusing strength into my legs, I took an explosive step and appeared right in front of the Hand Demon.
"Move out of the way, ugly!"
My foot slammed into what was probably his stomach. The impact traveled through the grotesque mass of flesh, launching the gigantic body backward. He rolled across the clearing, smashing through several thin trees before finally stopping among the broken trunks.
The ground shook from the weight of the fall.
"Hey," I called, glancing over my shoulder at the two boys. They were still standing there like a pair of amoebas. "You two."
Seriously… what the hell is wrong with these people?! Shouldn't they have run the moment they had the chance?!
Even if you're injured… you still have to try!
"What the hell are you doing?! Don't be idiots and do your best to get the hell out of here!"
"But—"
"Now!" I cut him off.
Maybe it was because I looked pretty convincing at that moment or maybe it was because the demon was slowly getting back up behind me…
Either way… they finally reacted. The two of them dragged themselves out of the clearing and started running into the forest, stumbling over their own legs as they disappeared between the trees.
'Good… now I don't have to worry about hitting someone by accident…'
When I looked forward again… the grotesque mass of flesh started moving once more. His arms grew back, and the Hand Demon slowly stood up.
"Urokodaki…" his voice came out thick with hatred. "You… you don't have a mask like his disciples…"
Then he started laughing, a wet, sickening sound.
"I've eaten so many of them…!!"
I frowned. I'm not even using Water Breathing, so why the hell is he talking about Urokodaki-san now?
'It's official… he's fucking delirious!'
His arms stretched out again, but this time they didn't come straight for me.
'Underground?' My eyes widened the moment I recognized the attack pattern.
The ground exploded beneath my feet when a giant arm burst out trying to grab my leg. I jumped back, but another arm came out from the side, then another, and another...
The earth started cracking open in multiple spots across the clearing. Monstrous arms burst out of the ground like giant roots trying to trap me.
It was almost like the mountain itself was trying to grab me!
'But…' I dodged another attack and sliced off a hand that got too close, '…you're still way too slow, you bastard!'
Even with that entire mass of flesh… he simply couldn't keep up with me!
With Tier 2 Physique, Total Concentration Breathing almost mastered, and Sword Breathing already taking shape...
I'm strong!
"Second Form, Consecutive Normal Cuts!"
The blade moved three times, then four, then five… each slash cutting away another chunk of accumulated flesh. His giant arms collapsing around me.
"Impossible…!!!" the demon roared.
I cut off six more arms before he even managed to complete a single attack.
The massive limbs fell uselessly, leaving the body exposed for a moment. He tried to retreat, because despite all the brutality…
The Hand Demon had a deep fear of dying.
"YOU… YOU ARE HIS DISCIPLE…!!!"
"You're wrong!" I crossed the distance in a single step. "That's just your fear taking shape, you idiot!"
"Sword Breathing…!"
I adjusted my grip with both hands and rushed straight toward where that thing's neck should be, even with all the grotesque flesh trying to protect that area.
The blade flashed under the cold moonlight, tracing a silver arc through the air.
"Third Form, Serious Cut!"
The blade had to pass through a thick layer of hands, then another, then more deformed flesh trying to regenerate mid-cut, but the Nichirin pushed forward in a single breath, finally reaching the neck and slicing through it with a sharp sound.
The enormous head separated from the body and slammed into the dirt with a heavy impact, rolling several meters across the clearing before stopping between the roots of a tree.
The body stood there for a second, as if it hadn't realized what happened, then it began to crumble into ash.
But even though the body was disappearing, the Hand Demon was still conscious. His yellow eyes slowly turned toward me, but his expression wasn't hatred anymore. It was something… strange.
Suddenly, one of the giant hands moved slowly across the ground and reached toward me.
A scene similar to the one from the manga flashed through my mind. This guy had done the same thing to Tanjiro.
The moment when the protagonist shows compassion… the moment he takes the demon's hand…
So instead… I took a step to the side and his hand grabbed nothing but empty air.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, "but I'm not kind like Tanjiro."
I can't feel any sympathy for him at all!
His hand dropped to the ground without strength, and seconds later the head started turning into ash as well.
The mountain wind carried the remains away while the clearing fell silent again.
I looked around and saw that the two boys the Hand Demon had been eating earlier were still there. Or rather… what was left of them.
I sheathed the Nichirin, then walked over to the bodies.
"Well…" I looked around, "…I can't just leave you guys here."
I picked up their bodies and carried them to the edge of the clearing. It wasn't exactly a beautiful place… but at least they wouldn't be left scattered like food.
I grabbed the broken Nichirin from one of them and used it to dig. The dirt was damp and heavy, but it wasn't hard. A few minutes later, two shallow holes were ready.
I placed the bodies into each grave and then covered them with dirt.
"Rest in peace."
I buried the broken blades next to the makeshift graves and left the clearing.
There were still two days left until the end of the Final Selection.
…
The following days passed almost without me noticing.
The mountain's biggest threat had already disappeared, but that didn't mean it was the only one. So there was still plenty of work to do.
Sleep during the day; hunt during the night.
'…I'm almost sure they'll have to restock the demons for the next selection…'
When I finally realized it… the seventh day was coming to an end.
I was sitting on a fallen log, watching the faint light of dawn appear between the trees. The mountain wind blew cold.
And I had the semi-transparent screen open.
–––
[Sword Breathing <49/100>
Type: Technique
A Breathing Style created by a beginner that prioritizes direct cutting power, fast advances, and continuous rhythm.]
–––
[Total Concentration Breathing <86/100>
Type: Technique
Consists of inhaling the maximum possible amount of oxygen through specific patterns to drastically increase blood flow and muscular strength.]
–––
"…" I stared at the numbers for a few seconds.
"…Seriously?" I sighed and complained. "They couldn't have turned into fifty and ninety?"
Those broken numbers were kind of annoying! Like finishing a game with 99% completion!
Is there anything worse than that?!
I know I had enough points to use, so technically I could just spend a few to fix it...
"No!"
If I used points now… it would be like cheating after already doing all the work...!!
That's worse than admitting defeat!
I got this far through grinding, so I'm finishing it through grinding!
"But…" I slowly closed the screen. "With Total Concentration Breathing almost complete, I need to start working on a new skill…"
And in the world of Demon Slayer, there were still two other abilities that could be incredibly useful!
The Demon Slayer Mark and the Transparent World.
Two powers that completely changed the level of a swordsman!
"…as long as I can reach those, I'll become a lot stronger…!"