Autumn 1912. Mount Fujikasane, a prison where demons are trapped, blooming with wisteria year-round.
This year's Final Selection test site was filled with a strange liveliness different from previous years.
Dozens of boys and girls stood with tense expressions, brimming with the solemnity of facing the test.
"Listen carefully. The rules are simple."
Standing on the podium was the overall supervisor of this year's test and the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Nagao Kanao.
Draped in a white cloak with a Nichirin Sword at her waist and wearing an unbuttoned uniform for some reason, her appearance was beautiful, yet it radiated an unapproachable, chilly aura.
"Seven days. Survive on this mountain for seven days. That is the condition for passing."
Her voice echoed calmly through the forest.
"However, starting this year, the method is slightly different from last year. At my suggestion, safety measures have been implemented to prevent unnecessary loss of life."
At Kanao's signal, supervisors distributed small bags and signal flares to the participants.
"The provided bag contains two days' worth of emergency rations and water, as well as simple first-aid tools. Additionally, if you feel your life is threatened or wish to withdraw, do not hesitate to fire the red signal flare. A supervisor will be dispatched immediately to rescue you. And in case of emergencies, rankless members or higher have been stationed inside the test site."
A murmur arose among the participants. It was unprecedented support in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"However, the moment you fire the signal flare, and the moment you receive help from the members, you are disqualified. And... don't get it wrong."
Kanao's eyes sharpened.
"There are no strong demons on this mountain. When I entered this mountain in the past, I cleaned out all the threatening individuals, including a decades-old Hand Demon. Only weak, starving demons remain now."
She coldly admonished the participants.
"In other words, your real enemies are not the demons. It's hunger, cold, fear, and yourself. If you can't survive even with this level of support, you have no qualification to become a Demon Slayer."
With Kanao's cold declaration, the path into the wisteria forest opened.
The test began, and night fell. The boy with red-tinted hair, Tanjiro Kamado, gripped his sword and ran through the darkness.
'She said there are no strong demons. But I can't let my guard down.'
A piercing shriek!
Starving demons leaped out from various parts of the forest.
They had been trapped for so long that they had almost no reason, driven solely by appetite.
"Humans! Meat!"
The demons' movements were simple and crude.
For Tanjiro, who had trained under Urokodaki, they were not difficult opponents.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Surface Slash!"
With a single slash, the demon's head fell.
But the real problem came after the battle. With the relentless attacks of the demons, there was no chance to sleep.
Moreover, the night air in the mountains was chilling to the bone.
'I'm hungry... I'm sleepy...'
By the third day, the provided rations had run out.
Tanjiro had to conserve his strength by napping in the trees.
High in a tree, hidden in the darkness, Kanao watched the scene with an expressionless face.
'Pathetic. Your movements have slowed after just three days of hunger.'
She had a high-concentration nutrient supplement given by Akira in her possession, but she had no intention of sharing it with the participants.
This was a selection. It was merely a process to confirm who had the qualifications to fight on the battlefield.
The situation of other participants was even more pitiful.
"Waaah! Don't come near! Get away!"
The yellow-haired boy, Agatsuma Zenitsu, was clinging to the top of a tree, sobbing.
Below him, two lower-rank demons were scratching at the tree and drooling.
"Save me! The signal flare! Where's the signal flare!"
Zenitsu, panicking, rummaged through his bag, but his trembling hands dropped the flare.
Then, Tanjiro appeared and cut down the demons.
"Are you okay?! Are you hurt?"
"Waaah! Who are you! Thank you! I thought I was going to die!"
This was the core of this year's test. Not capturing monsters with overwhelming force, but the ability to save comrades and ensure survival in extreme situations.
Kanao watched from the tree and wrote something in her notebook.
'Cooperation, situational judgment... Not bad.'
At the top of the tallest tree in the forest. Kanao sat perched on a branch, overseeing the entire mountain. Her eyes pierced through the darkness as if it were broad daylight, seeing every situation clearly.
The past Final Selection was merely a slaughter of killing and being killed. But the current test, reflecting Akira's philosophy, was an efficient talent selection system. She dominated the forest with an aura more terrifying than any demon.
"Northeast sector four, casualty occurred. Severe bleeding. Dispatch rescue team."
As Kanao issued a short command into her radio, the supervisors waiting in the darkness moved instantly, rescuing the injured participant as if snatching them up. It was a participant who had fainted without firing the signal flare.
'I won't leave them to die. Even if they fail, their lives will become valuable assets (labor force).'
Even without talent as swordsmen, they could be used as labor for the corps. Kanao controlled the test thoroughly with a manager's mindset.
"Waaah! I'm hungry! I'm going to die! I'll starve to death here!"
Afterwards, Zenitsu ran through the forest, fleeing from demons.
'Noisy. Why did someone so cowardly even come?'
Kanao frowned. But she noted the speed the boy showed, like a thunderclap, when demons were about to attack him as he seemed to faint into sleep.
'His speed alone is useful. But his mind is rotten.'
As the test entered its latter half, the demons grew tired, but the participants' stamina reached its limit.
The provided rations were already gone. Now they had to find food for themselves in the forest.
Fifth day. In extreme hunger, human nature began to reveal itself. Participants started stealing each other's food or using others as bait and running away.
But Tanjiro was different. With his excellent sense of smell, he found edible roots deep in the ground and shared them with exhausted comrades.
"Eat this. Water comes out from the cracks in that rock over there."
"Th-thank you..."
"Here, eat this. You need to regain your strength."
"Thank you... Aren't you eating?"
"I'm fine. I can still hold on."
Watching from the tree, Kanao made a face of incomprehension.
'Is he a fool? His own life is at risk, yet he looks after others?'
Akira's teachings were about thorough survival of the fittest and efficiency.
Tanjiro's actions were inefficient deeds that lowered his survival probability.
But at the same time, Kanao felt a strange sense of déjà vu. That bizarre charisma that made everyone follow him.
It resembled how Akira mesmerized people. Though the direction was opposite.
'Tanjiro Kamado... A person of interest.'
Kanao marked his name with a star.
Meanwhile, the scarred boy Shinazugawa Genya moved independently, hunting demons.
He endured the food shortage by chewing on demons in a bizarre act.
"Charge recklessly! You demons! Give me my meal!"
The eccentric wearing a boar mask outright stole and devoured the wild animals caught by demons.
Survival instincts more demon-like than demons.
Hashibira Inosuke, wearing a boar mask, ran through the forest even more wildly than demons, committing acts like stealing food from demons.
'There are all kinds of kids.'
Kanao watched them with interest. The will to not let go of their swords even in hunger and cold. That was precisely the quality the Demon Slayer Corps needed.
Seventh night. As the final night, the demons' desperate attacks reached their peak.
Dozens of demons gathered in packs, surrounding the survivors.
There were no strong demons, but their numbers and hunger made them formidable.
"Gather up! We hold out until sunrise!"
Tanjiro shouted. At his cry, the surviving participants formed a circle, backs together.
Inosuke rampaged, Zenitsu screamed and slashed, and Tanjiro filled the gaps.
A fierce melee. Kanao did not intervene in the chaos. With arms crossed, she coldly watched to see who would survive to the end.
And finally. The eastern sky began to turn from violet to red.
"Kyaaak!"
The demons exposed to sunlight turned to dust and vanished.
Thud. Tanjiro and the other survivors collapsed to the ground. Covered in dirt and blood, but they had survived.
The surviving participants gathered one by one at the exit of the wisteria forest. Their clothes were torn, faces smeared with dirt, legs trembling, but their expressions were filled with the achievement of having made it.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Genya, Inosuke, and others... This year's passers were far more numerous than previous years. A full fifteen. Compared to the past single digits or even total wipeouts, it was a remarkable result.
"Congratulations. You have proven your survival over seven days."
At the exit, Supervisor Kanao stood in neat attire. Behind her, the morning sun shone like a halo.
"You have overcome hunger and fear. With that tenacity, you won't be easily broken no matter what demons you face in the future."
She made eye contact with each survivor.
"Go home and rest well. And... please choose the ore for your Nichirin Sword."
Tanjiro slumped down in relief. Seven days without the threat of death, but endured with bone-grinding patience.
It was the beginning of a new Demon Slayer Corps created by Flower Hashira Kanao.
"Father... I did it."
After all procedures ended and the participants left, Kanao quietly looked up at the sky.
The test site, now filled only with the scent of wisteria instead of blood.
Fiddling with the red talisman Akira had given her, tucked in her bosom, she could only think of how she wanted to hurry back to headquarters and embrace him.
"I miss you... Father."
When Kanao returns to the mansion, she plans to ask Okita or Ushiwaka to help her meet Father, her heart fluttering with anticipation as she moved to make her report.