"What's that smell? It's kind of like stink bugs... and it's getting stronger."
Tanjirou pushed Genya, and the spiky-haired boy snapped awake, grabbing the double-barreled shotgun from the table.
"It seems to be... a demon."
Although the insect smell was strong, the stench mixed within it was easily discernible by Tanjirou.
Genya gently pushed open the door. Mt. Sagiri in the dead of night seemed no different than usual, with only the faint chirping of insects hidden in the grass.
The two looked towards the foot of the mountain; Urokodaki's small wooden cabin had its door ajar. Urokodaki was not inside; he must have gone up the mountain to reset the traps.
Tanjirou gripped his sword tightly, his palms slightly damp.
Genya walked out a few steps, looking around: "Strange, there's nothing out of place."
He boldly walked around the cabin several times but still found no trace of a demon.
"The smell hasn't dissipated." Tanjirou sniffed, also puzzled: "Could it really be some kind of stink bug?"
Logically speaking, Mt. Sagiri, guarded by the former Water Pillar Sakonji Urokodaki and the current Star Pillar Takanashi Haruto, would rarely encounter any foolish demons.
Tanjirou rubbed his eyes and turned to walk back into the house: "Perhaps it really is..."
The moment he stepped inside, a wave of special insect smell and stench instantly assaulted him, and a gaping insect mouthpart lunged straight for his head.
"Hmph!" Genya, quick as a flash, grabbed his collar and pulled him out of the house. Only then did Tanjirou avoid having his head bitten off by the mouthpart.
Seeing its attack foiled, the shadow inside the house retracted its neck, then jumped from the rafters, letting out a "Kikisusu"-like cry at the two young swordsmen.
Under the moonlight, the monster's appearance was clearly visible, giving Genya goosebumps.
This was a human-insect hybrid demon. Below the neck, it was indistinguishable from a human, though sparsely clothed, clearly a human female.
Her neck had many wrinkled folds. Genya had just seen her neck was very long, much like a retractable spring.
The demon's face still retained some human features, with pupils completely white inside her eyes, but two very flexible antennae grew on her forehead.
Occupying half of her face was a huge mouth, filled with jagged fangs, which sent a shiver down Tanjirou's spine. He had almost had his entire head swallowed by that mouth just now.
If his neck were bitten off in one go, even the most skilled mortician probably wouldn't be able to sew it back together.
Since it had no eyes, it was impossible to tell if she was one of the Twelve Kizuki.
However, Genya could feel that this demon's pressure was not as great as that of Mei Jing, Lower Rank Three, who Miss Shinobu had slain at the time.
"Kikisusu..."
The demon's mouth emitted a strange cry, and it inflated its cheeks, spitting toxins from its salivary glands at the two of them.
Tanjirou pushed Genya's shoulder, and the two immediately separated, each finding a hiding spot.
Their teacher wasn't here, and Urokodaki wasn't here either. Now, everything depended on the two of them.
Genya drew his gun first, firing two shots, hitting the demon's head and her spring-like neck respectively.
The gunshots echoed through Mt. Sagiri. Urokodaki, who was resetting traps on the mountain, would surely rush back upon hearing the shots.
The bullet that hit the head blew off half of the demon's eye, but the bullet that struck the vital neck area vanished without a trace, as if directly swallowed by the demon.
"What a weird thing!" Genya exclaimed, firing two more shots in quick succession.
This time, one shot missed, and the other hit one of her antennae, producing a crisp sound like metal striking metal.
The demon seemed to be enraged by Genya. It let out a harsh, unpleasant female roar from its mouth, and with its exposed chest, it lunged at Genya.
"Slash!" Tanjirou's swift blade arrived, striking the demon's neck from behind.
But that neck, like a soft spring, softly twisted to the side, then bounced back, knocking the sword from Tanjirou's hand.
"Ugh!" He grunted, nearly dropping his sword.
He hadn't expected a demon's neck could not only be too hard but also too soft!
A neck that was too soft was like a loach in a pond; there was nowhere to strike!
Tanjirou gritted his teeth, twisting his body to clumsily dodge the demon's spewed venom.
What should he do?!
..."This hound doesn't seem very old."
"I once had a very excellent hound named Tarou, but unfortunately..." Looking at Jirou running ahead, Yae's mood was a bit low: "But a hunter must have his own hound, otherwise, he cannot survive in the mountains."
It seemed that the excellent hound Tarou she spoke of had probably also died at the hands of her father after he turned into a demon.
Haruto gave her a sympathetic glance and quickened his pace, chasing Jirou forward.
"If it's dangerous ahead, you and Jirou should go back alone first."
He said without looking back: "As you probably know, the long-barreled hunting rifle you carry has very limited power against demons."
Yae pursed her lips.
Of course she knew. The hunting rifle, powerful enough to blow off half a wild wolf's head, had struck her father's face with a bang, yet failed to slow him down even a bit.
Instead, it seemed to enrage him, and he furiously lunged at her... The images in her mind formed unpleasant memories. Yae lowered her head: "I understand. If there really is a demon ahead, I will go back."
At Haruto's request, Yae had Jirou ignore the strange smells and only track the strong stench.
After all, compared to being strange, those stenches had a higher probability of being from a demon.
They crossed a mountain and walked down a mountain path. As they neared the village at the foot of the mountain, a strong stench and a heavy smell of blood assaulted their senses.
Haruto's expression became very serious. He felt a strong demonic aura.
"It should be just ahead."
He ran down the mountain swiftly, with Yae following behind, gritting her teeth and sweating profusely.
Finally, finally she had caught them!
She wanted to see what these ugly things looked like?!
Haruto's heart sank lower and lower. The "Detailed Star Worship" released during his run maximized his perception.
To his shock, the demons appearing in his perception... seemed to be more than one!
They were... a group!
He remembered Tamayo once saying that Muzan was a "very cowardly" demon, constantly worrying about all sorts of things, and for that, he had set many "rules and regulations" for his subordinate demons.
One of these was to prevent demons from gathering and rebelling. He ordered all demons to live alone, and they were not even allowed to hunt humans in groups.
So, usually, when Demon Slayer Corps members went out on missions, it was basically one-on-one, or many-on-one.
They had never encountered demons living in groups like this before.
Was this an anomaly, or had the social structure of demons changed?
Haruto rushed down the slope and saw a shocking scene.
A group of human-bodied, insect-headed demons were rampaging through the village, devouring every living thing they could see.
Then, they gathered the absorbed energy into the flexible antennae on their heads, transmitting it to the colossal creature standing at the village entrance.
That colossal creature was extremely corpulent, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, fatter than 10 Harutos tied together.
On top of that huge pile of fat, rested a small head with white hair—which Haruto found very familiar.
Feeling someone approaching, that head turned around, and a swollen face revealed a joyful smile.
"Hey, it's you..."
Under the clear moonlight, Haruto clearly saw the demon's appearance, and also the characters carved in its red sclera.
"Lower Six."
The former Lower Rank Four, now Lower Rank Six... Mukago.