After Xander made his decision, he took the treasure chest but did not open it immediately. Instead, he set it aside, planning to open it after the final selection.
Tanjiro prayed for the demons that had been killed.
Suddenly, a frightened voice rang out:
— Ah! I didn't hear about this! I didn't hear about this!
Tanjiro was intrigued and stepped closer.
— What happened? — Tanjiro asked in confusion.
As soon as he approached, he saw a huge demon covered in hands. Tanjiro quickly leaned against a nearby tree.
— Senior Xander, look at that demon... Is that the one you mentioned?
At that moment, Xander also saw the demon shrouded in countless hands.
The hand demon opened its mouth and swallowed a man, and its torso grew slightly larger.
— Yes, that's the one who ate several of my comrades. — Beneath the mask, Xanders eyes were cold, and an involuntary chill emanated from him.
On the other side, the countless hands of the hand demon intertwined and then shot out to grab a man who was trying to escape.
At this moment, Xander took a step.
— — Water Breathing! Second Form! Water Wheel!
— The water swirled into a circle, severing one of the hand demon's arms and saving the man.
— The hand demon looked at its broken arm, then at the one who interfered with its feeding.
— At that moment, the hand demon saw the mask on Xander's face, and its irritation turned to excitement.
— — Here we go again! My dear little fox!
— Xander slowly put away his knife, his eyes beneath the mask fixed on the hand demon.
— — Yes, I'm here to put an end to all causes and effects.
— — Oh, it seems you know everything. So, little fox, what year is it in the Meiji era? — asked the hand demon.
— — Unfortunately, it's already the Taisho era. — Xander replied.
— — Taisho? Hm? Ah! The name of the era has changed! It has changed again! It changed again while I was confined in such a place! Unforgivable! Cursed Urokodaki! Cursed Urokodaki! — The furious hand demon scratched the skin on its body, but then calmed down in the next moment.
— — Yes, it's been 47 years, everything is over, and you must die. — said Xander.
— The hand demon suddenly calmed down: — Yes, it's been 47 years. I can't forget 47 years ago, when that guy was still hunting demons! The Edo period, the Keio period!
— — Liar! There shouldn't be demons who lived that long! The ones here should only be demons who have eaten two or three people! Demons who were killed during the selection! And demons who killed each other...! — the man saved by Xander looked at the hand demon with an expression of disbelief.
— The hand demon spread more than a dozen hands and said: — But I survived. In this prison of wisteria, I've eaten about 50 little demons.
— — Eleven, twelve, thirteen, and then you became the fourteenth student of Urokodaki that I devoured, ha-ha-ha!
— — I've already decided to kill all of that guy's students. I think the two people who left a special impression on me were probably the strongest. A guy with a rare hair color. His hair was flesh-colored, and he had a wound on his lips.
— The other was a girl in a kimono with a floral pattern. Although she was small and weak, she was very nimble. He-he-he!
— The hand demon danced excitedly as if recounting the happiest thing.
— Your mask, your fox mask—it's a sign. I remember that the wood of the mask carved by Urokodaki was carved just like the Tengu mask that guy wore.
— It's called the Mask of Calamity because everyone with it gets eaten. Everyone's in my stomach, as if Urokodaki himself killed them, he-he-he.
— When I said that, the girl cried and got angry, and then her movements became stiff, so I tore off her arms and legs, and then…
— Ah! I won't let you spout nonsense here! — Tanjiro suddenly jumped out, and the blade in his hand swung toward the hand demon.
— When the hand demon saw that Tanjiro was also wearing a fox mask, the smile in his eyes grew stronger, and he stretched out countless hands to grab Tanjiro.
— The katana swung, Tanjiro cut off the hand demon's hand and pushed closer with all his might, and the blade in his hand swung toward the hand demon's neck.
— With a quiet "ding!" Tanjiro's long sword broke!
— The hand demon displayed a conspiratorial smile, and one hand quickly grabbed Tanjiro!
— At the decisive moment, Xander stepped in
— Water Breathing! Second Form! Water Wheel!
— Xander severed the demon's arm that had grabbed Tanjiro, saving him, and shouted: — Calm down, Tanjiro! Your breathing is disrupted!
— But... — Tanjiro wanted to say something, but Xander interrupted him:
— I know, but if you want to avenge them, the most important thing is that you must not die, understand?
— Tanjiro took a deep breath and steadied himself.
— I understand.
— The hand demon saw that once again, the prey in its grasp was saved by Xander, and it was full of resentment towards Xander.
— Saved again!
— As soon as these words were spoken, countless hands flew towards Xander and Tanjiro.
— Flash of the Blade! Tanjiro and Xander cut off the demon's hands flying towards them.
— The two worked together and quickly closed in on the hand phantom.
— Suddenly, Tanjiro sensed the smell of the demon coming from the ground and leaped into the air.
— Senior Xander!