9 Chapter 9. End of Selection.

As I immersed myself in killing the demons,I lost track of time.

I felt one with my sword.

It was at the time of dawn when every demon retreated before sunlight burn them all.

"That...felt great" I thought as I looked at my sword.

There was no damage to the sword even though it had been used for killing so many demons.

I,for the first time in the last two years,felt fatigue.

"During the day,I wouldn't be able to find any demons to kill,guess I should rest"

Thus I rested for the entire day.

I didn't know how to use "water breathing constant",so I had to breath and recover normally.

At night,

I killed demons just like the last time.

I killed demons all night for the next 5-6 days as well.

Today,the selection exams ended.

We went to the mountain peak,there were those two doll-like girls.

They explained that there were 10 ranks among the demon slayers.

10th rank being the lowest and 1st being the highest.

Mizunoto → Mizunoe → Kanoto → Kanoe → Tsuchinoto → Tsuchinoe → Hinoto → Hinoe → Kinoto → Kinoe

A demon slayer must complete a variety of missions to ultimately climb the ranks and reach the highest Demon Slayer position: Kinoe.

Following the Final Selection, each swordsman has their rank inscribed on their hand through a process called "Wisteria Flower Engraving." As they continue to progress as swordsman, they can check their rank by saying a password and flexing their arm to reveal their status.

Within the Demon Slayer Corps, there is a group of elites known as the Hashira.This group consists of the most powerful combatants in the organization.

The Hashira, in accordance with their great strength, are the most highly ranked members of the Corps, second only to the leader of the organization.

In order to become eligible to join the Hashira, a Demon Slayer must either successfully kill 50 Demons or a member of Twelve as a Kinoe.

We were told to pick up an ore

That ore will be used to make our Nichirin blades.

"Ah,which one should I choose?" Harada pondered.

Around him were around 5-7 people,in which,Zenitsu,Inosuke and of course,Tanjiro were there.

I look infront of me.

I see a black ore,with a peculiarly smooth surface,it looked heavier than it should be.

I chose it.

I felt it was perfectly suited to me,thus I chose it.

After a day...

I returned to Urokodaki-san's house.

"I'm relieved that you two are alive,rest for a few days.Your Nichirin blades are most probably being forged by now,once thats done,you will officially become demon slayers."

"Yes,master".

I returned to my room,I thought

"Hmm,what should I do now? Should I just team up with Tanjiro?Or should I go alone?

If I'm with Tanjiro all the time,then he won't have the chances to grow" just as I had this doubt in my mind,I heard Tanjiro's voice.

"Nii-san,Nezuko is awake!" he shouted.

"Oh,she is awake by now?Well I knew this would happen sooner or later"

As he thought that,he made his way to Nezuko,

She was acting like a child.

She came near me with a silly face and rubbed her head against me,and it looked as if she wanted a lap pillow,I did as she wanted,I mean,why not?

"Hm,Mhm!" is all what she said.

Thus I spent rest of my days playing and spending time with Nezuko.

After 2 weeks...

Two people wearing masks were coming to our house.

They both held two katana's tightly covered with clothes.

"Is this the place?" asking the man who was wearing an octopus mask.

"Yes,it definetly is" Said another man who wore a similar mask.

Demon Slayer recruits choose their own ore after successfully passing the Final Selection.The ore will then be used by a swordsmith of the swordsmith village during the forging process, and the swordsmith will personally bring the weapon to the Demon slayer.

As they said that,they stood at the front door of a house and knocked the door.

Urokodaki-san opended the gate and said "please,enter"

As they heard this,they entered the house.

Tanjiro and Harada were called.

"Harada,Tanjiro,today you are getting the Nichirin blades.From this day onwards,you can now call yourselves demon slayer officially."

Nichirin Blades are special blades used by and made specifically for the Demon slayer corps,to slay Demons. They are forged from a unique ore that constantly absorbs sunlight, one of the only major weaknesses of Demons. Therefore, cutting the neck-bone with a Nichirin Blade is one of the only ways a human can kill a Demon, the other being the use of a Wisteria-poison coated weapon.

Nichirin Blades take on a distinct color when first drawn by its owner, which is why they are also referred to as "The Color Changing Swords".However, the holder is required to have a certain amount of skill, or the blade will not change color.

"Tanjiro,you take your blade first" master said.

Of course he couldn't refute.

He grabbed his sword.

It changed it's colour to black.

Now,it was my turn.

I take a deep breadth and grab the Nichirin blade.

It changed it's colour to dark blue.

I didn't know what to say,I expected my sword to turn into a cool colour such as Grey,but well,you can't control everything.

Each Nichirin Blade contains a handguard, or tsuba,that protects the swordsman from cutting themselves. It is located where the handle and the blade meet and can come in a variety of colors and shapes.

The shape of my Tsuba was Hexagonal shaped with a bronze core and with an overlapping fuschia border and Tanjiro's tsuba was a black ring connected to its core by lines with a border of the same color. It heavily resembled a wagon wheel in appearance.

"Thanks for making our Nichirin blades" We humbly said to the two balcksmiths who wore weird masks.

"It's not a big deal,it's our work after all" they said in a gentle tone.

After a few hours of resting,they left.

The next day.

Two crows appeared at the roof of the house.

"Tanjiro,Tanjiro,you have to go to ths village southwest from here" said the first crow.

"Harada,Harada,you have to got to the village northeast from here" said the second crow.

.....

As we discovered that we were given different missions,we were a bit surprised.

Usually,if two demon slayers were to team up,then they would be given the same mission since it could increase the chances of victory by a lot.

"Maybe,there were too many demons at the same time." I casually thought of a reason.

It wasn't too dangerous for me to fight your average demon.

It would also give Tanjiro to improve himself,and meet Zenitsu and improve his relations with them.

We wore our demon slayer uniforms.

Tanjiro wore a checkered, black-and-sea-foam-green haori over a white robe and black pants.

While I chose to wear a black haori,and my hanafuda earings.

"Tanjiro,take Nezuko with you,even if I die,tou will still have a chance to look for a way to regain her humanity" I told Tanjiro

"Okay,Nii-san!" Tanjiro said with a determined expression.

Of course,I said this because I knew no matter what happens,Tanjiro won't die unless I cause a big influence.

Saying that,we parted ways.

We will meet again,on the Natagumo mountain,in the future.