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Tonight is another full moon.
Cool moonlight enveloped the earth. In the middle of a mountain range, one peak stood out prominently, as though surrounded by the others, basking in the feeling of being the center of attention.
On the mountain path, a group of more than a dozen young people, each wearing a Demon Slayer Corps uniform and carrying a Nichirin blade, carefully made their way into the depths of the forest.
The surroundings were silent: no birdsong, no insects, nothing but the sound of footsteps and quickened breathing. The eerie stillness left everyone's palms sweating.
Unnoticed by anyone, several pea-sized, snow-white spiders crept out from the nearby bushes and, under cover of darkness, crawled onto the group.
Suddenly, the member at the front of the line lowered his head, turned slowly, and drew his Nichirin blade, pointing it at the others. The blade scraped against its scabbard with a piercing sound.
The others exchanged puzzled glances. Such strange behavior in a place like this puts everyone on edge. They took small steps back to create distance, gripping the hilts of their own blades tightly.
One of them asked, "Nakamura, what's wrong? Did you notice something?"
Nakamura raised his head mechanically, his face twisted with fear, and said through trembling lips, "I... I can't control myself anymore."
The moment he finished speaking, he swung his Nichirin blade and lunged at the two nearest members.
"Move, get out of the way!"
One of them couldn't dodge in time and was struck directly across the face. A shrill scream tore through the air as bright red blood gushed out.
"I... I didn't mean to, I don't know what's happening, I can't stop myself, someone, help me!" she cried, even as she swung her blade wildly again.
Faced with the frenzied attack from one of their own, the others were caught in an impossible bind, unsure whether to fight back. All they could do was dodge and shout for him to stop.
Soon, everyone realized the same thing was happening to them. Their bodies moved on their own, swinging blades at their comrades, and they, too, felt the same terror and despair Nakamura had.
Screams and cries mingled in the woods as more than a dozen people slashed at one another without mercy, blood splattering everywhere.
Even after he died, his body kept swinging the blade until the very last person fell; only then did it finally go still.
The forest fell silent once more. Having drunk its fill of blood, the white spider crawled off the pile of bodies and dragged its swollen belly back into the bushes.
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**Ubuyashiki Residence**
Ubuyashiki Kagaya sat on the veranda with a faint smile, his daughters attending to him from behind.
In the night sky, a black speck bobbed unsteadily. As it drew closer, it revealed itself to be a Kasugai Crow. It plunged into the yard, struggled to rise, faltered for a few moments, and finally collapsed.
One of the girls went out into the yard, picked up the dying crow, and carried it to Ubuyashiki Kagaya, placing it gently in his palm.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya stroked the crow softly, and it opened and closed its beak, delivering its message.
"I see. Dozens of children, dead. What a pity they were all good children. The one responsible must be terribly strong. Could it be one of the Twelve Kizuki? Nichika, send word for Shinobu and Giyu to come."
"Yes." The girl bowed and left the room.
Shortly after, Insect Hashira Kochō Shinobu and Water Hashira Tomioka Giyu knelt on one knee before him.
"Shinobu, Giyu, I must ask the two of you to make a trip to Spider Mountain. Tanjiro, Cold Cry, and the others have already gone ahead. I only hope those children are safe."
At the mention of Cold Cry's name, Kochō Shinobu smiled brightly. "So those two finished their mission in Qingshui Town? Not bad at all. Ahh, if only humans and demons could live in peace."
It was a phrase her late sister used to say often. Repeating it now in her sister's tone, Shinobu felt, just for a moment, as if she truly had become the older sister.
Beside her, Tomioka Giyu glanced at her without expression and said flatly, "As long as demons go on eating people, humans and demons will never live in peace."
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Three boys around the same age walked together along a country road.
The one in front had bright red hair and a vivid burn scar across his forehead. He wore a green-striped haori over his Demon Slayer Corps uniform, and a dark wooden box was strapped to his back.
Close behind him walked a boy in a boar's head mask, bare-chested, wearing a fur apron.
Trailing at the rear was a blond-haired boy in a yellow-striped haori over his uniform.
The three were Kamado Tanjiro, Agatsuma Zenitsu, and Hashibira Inosuke, who had crossed paths during an earlier mission. After completing that mission, they rested briefly at the Butterfly Estate before being sent together to Natagumo Mountain.
Now the three of them stood at the foot of the mountain. Looking up at the dark range ahead, it seemed almost as if a giant spider crouched in the darkness, watching them.
Zenitsu had always been timid, convinced some inexplicable death was always waiting around the corner. Naturally, he'd resisted this mission the entire way, muttering to himself as they walked.
As they drew nearer to the mountain, his unease grew until he suddenly let out a scream.
Tanjiro and Inosuke, walking ahead, stopped at once and turned toward him.
"Zenitsu, what's wrong?" Tanjiro asked, concerned.
Zenitsu's face was frozen in terror as he pointed at the mountain and stammered, "Don't you think this mountain is terrifying? It's pitch black, it's so scary! I don't want to go, I'm going to die!"
Tanjiro had assumed Zenitsu sensed something dangerous, but he hadn't expected a reason quite that flimsy. How could they know there was danger before they'd even set foot on the mountain? Baffled, he exchanged a glance with Inosuke.
Inosuke scoffed. "Tch, what a coward. How did someone like you even make it into the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Just as the three of them were talking, Tanjiro caught a sudden, powerful stench of blood drifting from ahead.
"It smells like blood."
Ignoring the other two, Tanjiro took off toward the source of the scent, with Inosuke close behind. Zenitsu hesitated a moment before following.
A Demon Slayer Corps member, gripping a Nichirin blade and covered in wounds, lay collapsed on the ground, the character "滅" (destroy) emblazoned prominently across his uniform.
Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his head. At the sight of three unfamiliar Corps members, his face lit up; rescuers, he thought, sent by headquarters. But the instant he saw the ordinary insignia at their waists, his relief crumbled into despair.
"Why isn't it a Hashira? Why isn't it a Hashira?" he cried, his voice cracking with despair as he clawed weakly at the ground.
"What happened here?" Tanjiro stepped forward, reaching to help him up.
Before they could get close, the man was wrenched backward by something unseen and flung into the dark trees.
"Hurry... someone notify headquarters, send"
Before he could finish the word "Hashira," a piercing scream tore out from the woods.
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