At this moment, facing the Hand Demon were three swordsmen—two men and one woman—who were already covered in wounds.
Faced with the powerful Hand Demon, their Nichirin Swords had all been snapped in two. They could only scramble and crawl in a desperate attempt to flee.
Thud!
Suddenly, the female swordsman among the three stumbled. Her foot caught on a tree branch, and she fell face-first onto the ground with a dull thud.
The Hand Demon, who was in pursuit, naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. A large hand suddenly shot out from his massive body, extending continuously until it grabbed the female swordsman and hoisted her up before his eyes.
Looking at the female swordsman's beautiful face, the Hand Demon beamed with delight and laughed cruelly. "Hehehe, you're quite a pretty little doll. You must taste delicious, right?"
"No, no, no! Don't eat me! I haven't bathed in a week, I won't taste good at all!"
"Shota, Menkou, please! I beg you, save me! I don't want to die..."
Seeing the Hand Demon open his bloody maw, the female swordsman turned pale with fright. She screamed hysterically, begging her companions for help.
However, without their Nichirin Swords, the unarmed pair couldn't inflict even a scratch on the Hand Demon. They could only watch helplessly as the female swordsman was slowly brought toward the demon's mouth.
The Hand Demon seemed to feel victory was assured. He wasn't in a hurry to eat her. Instead, right in front of her two companions, he moved the female swordsman toward his mouth bit by bit, at a speed they could clearly see.
He applied slight pressure with his hand, squeezing the female swordsman's body. The immense force compressed her internal organs, making it difficult for her to even breathe, leaving her only able to beg painfully for mercy.
"Shota, please, help me... I don't want to die..."
"Miki!"
The swordsman named Shota had a look of sheer terror on his face. He shouted the female swordsman's name loudly, then spoke with a trembling voice to the companion beside him.
"Menkou, we have to find a way to save Miki. She's our comrade..."
However, after taking one look at the Hand Demon, Menkou shook his head repeatedly in fear.
"No! Miki is beyond saving! Besides, without our Nichirin Swords, we can't hurt this demon at all... And why is there such a powerful mutated demon here anyway? The only thing we can do now is run. As long as we escape this forest ahead, we'll pass the Final Selection and become Demon Slayer Corps members..."
As he spoke, Menkou abandoned Miki completely and ran toward the outside of the forest without looking back. Shota, after glancing at Miki one last time, grit his teeth, hardened his heart, and fled alongside Menkou.
Watching her companions abandon her one after another, Miki fell into utter despair and closed her eyes weakly.
Seeing this scene, the Hand Demon couldn't help but laugh loudly.
"It seems your companions have given up on you! In that case, there's no need for me to keep you around. I'll eat you now. I believe flesh that has experienced despair will taste exceptionally good!"
"But don't worry. After I eat you, I'll chase them down, eat those two scum who abandoned you, and send them to hell to keep you company. Hehehe..."
The Hand Demon laughed hideously and made to swallow Miki whole. But just then, a lightning-fast sword gleam flashed past. A Nichirin Heavy Sword tore through the sky, slicing through the air with irresistible force and severing the arm holding Miki.
Splurt!
In an instant, the Hand Demon's strong arm was cut apart by the flying heavy sword as easily as soft paper, instantly turning into ash.
Miki fell from the severed hand, lucky enough to escape with her life.
"Who is it?"
The Hand Demon looked around, roaring in anger. "Don't you know I hate being disturbed while I'm eating?"
"Heh, if you didn't say so, how would I know?"
Ren's voice drifted over leisurely. The Hand Demon was startled, for at some unknown moment, Ren had appeared behind Miki holding the heavy sword, coming and going like a ghost.
Hearing the voice, Miki also turned her head abruptly, her beautiful eyes widening. She had no idea when Ren had appeared behind her.
"Who exactly are you?"
Ren raised his Nichirin Heavy Sword and pointed it at the Hand Demon. "I'm just a passing swordsman. Remember that!"
"I don't know who you are, but since you dared to disturb my meal, you have only one path: death!"
As he spoke, the Hand Demon raised a massive hand and slapped it toward Ren with the speed of thunder. The power of a single palm strike whipped up gusts of cold wind that howled and battered against Ren's face, the speed terrifying to behold.
However, Ren simply raised one hand casually. Next, something jaw-dropping happened.
Bang!
Ren actually blocked the Hand Demon's thunderous palm strike with his bare hand. The collision between the large and small palms instantly kicked up a shockwave, blowing Miki, who was between them, away.
"What? Impossible! How can your strength be this great?"
The Hand Demon's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He immediately controlled his other arms to strike with full force. A dozen iron fists, each the size of a cheetah, shot out like cannonballs, smashing toward Ren from all directions, intent on pounding him into meat paste.
Yet Ren's expression remained unchanged. He lightly struck out with his palms to block the Hand Demon's fists. He stood immovable as a mountain; no matter how the Hand Demon swung his fists, he couldn't make Ren take even a single step back.
Ren accurately defended against every single one of the Hand Demon's iron fist attacks.
"Alright, that's enough. I've had my fun. It's time to send you on your way!"
Saying this, Ren moved. Holding the Nichirin Heavy Sword in one hand, he charged straight into the storm of iron fists howling toward him.
Relying on dynamic vision more than ten times that of a normal person, Ren precisely dodged every one of the Hand Demon's iron fists while listening to the roar of the cold wind.
In just a few breaths, he had rushed right in front of the Hand Demon. He leaped up, spun in the air, and used the rotational momentum to deliver a horizontal slash.
The shrieking sword energy broke through the Hand Demon's throat a split second before the heavy sword followed, slicing through the demon's neck like cutting a melon or chopping vegetables.
The Hand Demon's head flew into the air. Seeing his own massive body below, his eyes widened abruptly.
"How can this be? I was beheaded by you?"
"That strong body you're so proud of is nothing but paper that tears at a touch in front of me!"
"Bastard!"
The Hand Demon roared unwillingly, but the battle was already over. After the demon's body turned to ash, Ren shouldered his Nichirin Heavy Sword and slowly walked toward the edge of the forest.
The sun was about to rise. Now, he only needed to walk out of this forest to pass the selection.
Just then, Miki, still in a daze, suddenly turned around and bowed to Ren in gratitude.
"My name is Anquandai Miki. Big brother, thank you for saving me! I will definitely repay you in the future!"
Hearing Miki's words, Ren was momentarily speechless. Anquandai Miki... who would name their daughter 'Safety Belt'?
But he still smiled and waved his hand. "The days are long. Be careful on the road!"
As soon as his voice fell, Ren disappeared from Miki's sight like the autumn wind.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]