Sometimes later. As they approached the mountain and in cloak, it was already midnight, too dark to maintain visibility, but all three were adapted to such situations.
"Do you sense any demons, Ishida? My basic senses haven't picked up anything yet," Kazuki spoke as the trio walked up the mountain, forest surrounding them on all sides. The sky had turned dark—nighttime had finally arrived, amplified by the dense forest canopy above.
Even through the trees and thick vegetation, there was a well-maintained path that the three were currently walking on. It was obviously in perfect shape and condition due to the fact that people still walked through here—maybe demons too.
But aside from the path they were on, the entire forest was densely filled with large trees, creating an oppressive darkness within.
"The demon presence is almost everywhere in the forest," Ishida replied, his eyes scanning their surroundings carefully. "But there's something closer now—on this path."
"Wait, you mean right here?" Sakura asked, her hand instinctively moving toward her sword.
"How close are we talking?" Kazuki added, now alert.
As they continued moving forward, both Sakura and Kazuki's expressions changed as they too began sensing the demonic presence growing stronger.
"Here it comes," Ishida said calmly.
The moment those words left his mouth, a blur of movement shot toward them from the darkness ahead. Ishida sidestepped effortlessly, causing Kazuki to hastily raise his sword to block the sudden attack.
"Hey! You dodged! We could have died!" Kazuki shouted, struggling against the force.
"You didn't die, did you?" Ishida replied matter-of-factly.
The demon was pushed back several meters by Kazuki's block, finally revealing itself in the dim moonlight filtering through the trees. It was a male demon with a distinctive appearance—pale skin, dark markings across his face, and an anxious, almost fearful expression despite being the attacker. His eyes darted between the three of them nervously.
"More demon slayers..." the demon muttered, his voice wavering with uncertainty. "Why do they keep sending you here? Can't you just leave us alone?"
[Lower Moon 6: Kamanue. Level: 45]
The system notification appeared before Ishida's eyes. He analyzed the information quickly. 'Level 45? That should be manageable for them.'
He glanced back at Sakura and Kazuki. 'Lower Moon Six is a good starting point for their training.'
As Ishida was thinking, the demon suddenly lunged at him, apparently deciding he was the biggest threat. Ishida dodged smoothly, moving out of the way without even drawing his sword, creating distance between himself and the demon.
"Those two are your opponents," Ishida said, pointing at Sakura and Kazuki. Then he turned to his apprentices. "And that's your training."
"WHAT?!" both Sakura and Kazuki shouted simultaneously.
"You want us to fight a Lower Moon?!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Right now?! Without any preparation?!" Kazuki added, his voice cracking slightly.
"You've had a week of preparation," Ishida replied calmly, crossing his arms. "Now show me what you can do."
The demon's face contorted with rage, his anxious demeanor shifting into genuine fury. "Training?! You dare use ME as training material?!" His voice cracked with indignation as he launched himself at Ishida once more, claws extended.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!" Sakura's blade carved through the air in a rotating slash, intercepting the demon mid-leap. Her attack forced him to twist away from Ishida, landing several meters to the side.
"I guess we don't have any choice but to fight now," Sakura said, her stance settling into a combat-ready position.
"Yeah, well, better than standing around watching Ishida dodge all day," Kazuki replied, moving to flank the demon from the opposite side. "At least this way we're doing something."
The demon—Kamanue—recovered quickly, his eyes darting between the two young slayers with that characteristic nervous energy. "You're just children! Why did they send children?!" Despite his words, his body language was tense, coiled like a spring. "Fine then... I'll make this quick!"
He surged forward with surprising speed, targeting Sakura first. His claws slashed in rapid succession, each strike carrying enough force to gouge deep trenches in the earth where she'd been standing moments before.
'Fast,' Ishida observed from his position, arms still crossed. 'But his movements are erratic. Fear-based. He's strong, but lacks the refined killing intent of the higher-ranked demons.'
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!" Kazuki's blade swept in from the demon's blind spot, forcing him to abort his assault on Sakura. The visualized flames traced brilliant arcs through the darkened forest as his sword met the demon's hastily raised arm.
Metal met demonic flesh with a resounding clang, but instead of severing the limb, Kazuki's blade only managed to create a shallow cut. The demon's durability was on a completely different level than what either of them had faced before.
"What?!" Kazuki's eyes widened as he was forced back by the demon's counterattack, barely managing to bring his sword up to block a vicious swipe that sent him skidding backward.
"His skin is too tough!" Sakura called out, circling to maintain pressure. "We need to hit harder!"
"You think I don't know that?!" Kazuki shot back, finding his footing.
Kamanue's nervous laughter echoed through the trees. "You see? This is why they keep dying! Lower Moon demons aren't like the fodder you've been killing! We're on a completely different—"
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!" Sakura cut off his monologue with a flowing series of slashes, her blade weaving through multiple angles. The technique's unpredictable nature forced the demon to actually focus on defense, his arms coming up to block and deflect.
"Annoying little—!" He swiped at her with his other hand, but she had already flowed past, her movement taking her behind him.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!" Kazuki's upward slash caught the demon from below, finally drawing a deeper wound across his torso. Dark blood splattered across the forest floor.
"Yes!" Kazuki exclaimed, but his celebration was premature.
The wound was already beginning to close, the demon's regeneration visibly knitting flesh back together. Kamanue's expression twisted into something between fear and desperation. "You think that's enough?! You think a scratch like that means anything?!"
'They're landing hits,' Ishida noted, watching the exchange carefully, 'but they're not putting enough power behind their strikes. Against a Lower Moon's regeneration, they need to either sever completely or overwhelm the healing with continuous damage.'
The demon's next attack was more coordinated, more vicious. He lunged at Sakura with both hands, forcing her into a defensive position. "You're out of your depth, girl!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!" Sakura's counter came immediately, her blade becoming a blur of simultaneous strikes from multiple angles. Several connected, opening wounds across the demon's arms and chest, but none deep enough to be critical.
As she finished the form, slightly out of position, the demon's hand shot forward. His claws raked across her shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh. Sakura gasped, stumbling back as blood began to seep from the wound.
"Sakura!" Kazuki rushed in, his blade aimed at the demon's neck, but Kamanue was already moving. The demon spun, his leg sweeping out to catch Kazuki mid-charge. The impact sent him tumbling across the forest floor.
"This is the difference!" the demon shouted, his voice rising with hysterical energy. "This is why twenty of you died! You're not ready! You'll never be ready!"
Kazuki pushed himself up, wincing. "Damn it... he's right. We can't even land a solid hit."
Sakura pressed her hand against her bleeding shoulder, her breathing heavy. "We're... we're too slow. Every time we create an opening, he recovers before we can capitalize on it."
'They're right to recognize their limitations,' Ishida thought, his expression unchanged. 'But recognition isn't the same as adaptation. Let's see if they can figure it out.'
The demon charged again, emboldened by drawing first blood. His attacks were becoming more aggressive, more confident. Sakura and Kazuki moved to meet him, but their coordination was starting to break down under the pressure. Each exchange left them slightly more battered, slightly more exhausted.
"Why isn't Ishida helping?!" Kazuki shouted, barely deflecting another strike.
"Because this is training, remember?!" Sakura replied through gritted teeth, her own blade coming up to parry. "We have to... we have to figure this out ourselves!"
"Well, I'm open to suggestions!" Kazuki ducked under a wild swing, countering with his own strike that the demon simply absorbed. "Because what we're doing now clearly isn't working!"