"YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU!!" The Hand Demon's scream tore through the clearing, raw hatred echoing between the trees. Its twisted form lunged forward, every one of its arms striking in blind fury.
Kagerou didn't move. He simply exhaled, slowly, calmly as if the chaos before him was nothing but drifting smoke.
Then he whispered, "Fifth Form: Vanishing Ember"
And in the blink of an eye… he was gone.
Not a blur.
Not a sound.
Nothing.
The space where he stood emptied into silence. Even the smoke that had once surrounded him thinned and vanished, as though it, too, had obeyed his will and disappeared from existence.
The Hand Demon froze, eyes darting wildly.
"THIS AGAIN?!" it bellowed, panic creeping into its rage. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD!!"
Its countless arms thrashed violently, tearing through earth, trees, and shadow alike, each strike desperate, aimless, driven by fear disguised as fury.
But no matter how it raged, no matter where it struck... There was nothing.
No sound of steps.
No scent of breath.
Not even the faintest tremor in the air.
Yet the Hand Demon did not stop.
If anything, its frenzy only deepened, as though it knew that if it stopped, death itself would catch up.
Its countless arms tore through the forest, shredding roots and bark, thrashing the ground in blind rage.
Still, there was nothing.
No trace of Kagerou.
No scent.
No presence... Only silence.
"WHERE... ?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" it shrieked, its voice breaking into hysteria.
Then-
*Shff*
A petal drifted past its face.
The Hand Demon froze. More petals followed, soft, glowing, pale pink swirling gently through the mist that still lingered in the moonlight.
From above the trees came a voice, calm yet resolute.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form… Peonies of Futility"
Kanae descended like a falling blossom.
The blade of her Katana flashed nine times in a single breath, fluid, flawless... Beautiful
Each slash traced an arc of light through the air, petals blooming from every motion, encircling the demon like a storm of flowers.
"WHAT?!" The Hand Demon roared, arms snapping upward to block.
But her strikes weren't meant to kill.
They were to dismantle, each cut severing tendons, slicing through joints, robbing those monstrous hands of their strength.
The sound of tearing flesh was almost delicate beneath the rustle of petals.
The air became a harmony of opposites... Smoke and blossom, death and mercy.
Kagerou's voice echoed softly from the mist, almost like a whisper carried by the wind, "Beautiful… precise. You aimed for his strength first"
Kanae landed softly, her haori fluttering with the last of the petals.
Half the demon's arms hung useless, twitching weakly.
She exhaled, lowering her blade.
Then, with quiet resolve, she looked toward the haze.
"Your turn," she said.
The Hand Demon staggered back, bellowing in rage. Half its arms hung limp, twitching uselessly as blood and blackened smoke poured from the wounds.
"You... you pests...!" it growled, glaring at Kanae with seething hatred. "How dare you!!"
But before it could lunge again-
The air shifted.
A faint ripple brushed past its skin.
The fog that once scattered began to gather again, drawn inward like a living tide.
Kanae's eyes widened slightly.
She recognized that rhythm... that breath.
Within the haze, a shadow took form. Slow at first… then clear.
Kagerou stepped out from the drifting smoke, calm as death itself.
The silver of his eyes caught the moonlight; the edge of his Ninjatō shimmered faintly through the haze.
"You screamed too much," he said quietly.
The Hand Demon turned, snarling, "You!!"
But Kagerou had already inhaled.
Everything stilled.
The smoke around him drew inward, tightening like a coiled line. The air trembled with contained motion, a pressure so focused it felt as though the entire world held its breath.
Kanae instinctively stepped back, the petals around her scattering in the wake of his stillness.
Then-
"… Sixth Form: One Line"
The world blurred.
A single step.
A single draw.
A single, perfect strike.
Kagerou moved through the demon like a line of silver light, so fast, so precise, there was no sound, no resistance, nothing but a faint hiss as the smoke parted in his wake.
The moment the blade passed, the fog split cleanly in two, parting like a curtain of air.
For a heartbeat, silence ruled.
Then... *crack*
The Hand Demon froze mid-scream.
A single, flawless cut ran across its body, and all at once, its countless hands went slack.
Its monstrous form dissolved into ash, scattered by the soft wind that carried the night away.
Kagerou exhaled, slow and measured, sheathing his Ninjatō with quiet grace.
The smoke around him dissipated, fading back into the forest as though it had never existed.
Kanae stood still, her hand over her heart, eyes wide with awe.
Even surrounded by death and silence, his presence was calm, serene, like the stillness after a storm.
Kagerou turned slightly, giving her a faint smile. "…You did well, Kocho-san"
Kanae blinked, then smiled softly, the faintest warmth returning to her tired face. "So did you, Rengoku-san"
For a moment, only the soft whisper of wind moved between them, smoke and petals mingling, fading together under the silver moonlight.
--------
After the Hand Demon, none of the other creatures that crossed their path came close to its strength.
The rest fell easily, too easily, and both Kanae and Kagerou silently understood what that meant.
The Hand Demon had been the strongest in this forest.
And just like that, the seven nights passed.
By the time the dawn of the final day arrived, the forest was unnaturally still, no distant growls, no rustling threats in the mist. Only the quiet sigh of wind brushing through the trees.
The Final Selection had ended.
Kagerou and Kanae stood side by side among the fading morning mist, their blades dull from overuse, uniforms torn and stained with dried blood. Between them, silence lingered, not from discomfort, but from the unspoken relief that they had both survived.
They had killed many demons.
Perhaps… too many.
And yet, in the soft glow of morning, the world felt gentle again. The nightmare that had lasted seven nights now faded into the calm whisper of sunrise.
Without a word, Kagerou began walking down the forest path. Kanae followed beside him, her steps light but steady, as if she had learned to breathe anew after days of holding it in.
Ahead lay the open gate, the place where survivors would gather, where they would receive their reward.
For now, there was only the sound of their footsteps, and the quiet realization that they had made it through the night.