Chapter 34: Haru's Divine Deeds

Although Haru intervened and saved a life, the young boy's neck was still bitten, and blood immediately stained his clothes.

Haru didn't show much concern for the injured boy. He simply looked down at the boy lying on the ground and calmly asked, "You're not going to die, are you?"

The boy looked up at Haru in surprise. He still remembered Haru, especially since the display of skill from earlier had shocked everyone.

The boy shook his head, then, with some pain, said, "Thank you!"

"If you want to stay alive, go to the tree trunk with the water mark on it and stay there," Haru said calmly to the boy.

Having said that, Haru didn't stay any longer and continued on his way toward his next target.

"Am I still too weak?" The boy watched as Haru left, and a new realization about himself slowly formed in his mind.

In the following hours, one demon after another fell to Haru's Demon-Slaying blade. It wasn't that Haru was too strong, but rather that the demons used for the selection test were too weak. Being imprisoned here, these demons had limited opportunities to feed, and their strength hadn't increased much.

During this process, Haru never encountered the young girl who he had previously tried to strike up a conversation. This made Haru feel that something was off, as he had been searching for demons all over the mountain, and there was a reasonable chance he should have run into her.

After all, Haru had encountered most of the others participating in the selection, even Tanjiro. The only one missing was the young girl.

When he met Tanjiro, Haru intentionally kept his distance, so they hadn't actually had a direct encounter. This was because Haru needed Tanjiro to face the demons on his own, to experience what he was meant to experience.

Soon, the night's hunt came to an end. As the morning sun rose, the remaining demons hid deeper into Mount Fujikasane.

Haru spent the whole night clearing the area within a three-kilometer radius. He estimated that the demons still alive had likely retreated deeper into the mountain.

Because of Haru's sweep that night, all the boys who came for the selection were gathered together and began discussing his motivations for what he had done.

Some believed that Haru did it out of a deep hatred for demons, searching for them everywhere to vent his anger.

Others said that Haru's actions were an attempt to attract the attention of the Demon Slayer Corps' leadership, hoping to earn better treatment within the Corps.

Of course, there were many different opinions. Haru's actions became the focal point of the boys' discussions.

Tanjiro, along with Zenitsu, happened upon the group of boys. Hearing them talk about Haru, Tanjiro began asking questions.

The boys, noticing that Tanjiro wore a disaster mask similar to Haru's, showed him great respect and shared with him what they knew.

"Tanjiro, your senior brother Haru is so cool! We're all trying to avoid demons, but he's out there hunting them down everywhere!" Zenitsu, hearing about Haru's deeds, couldn't help but praise him.

Tanjiro didn't respond to Zenitsu. After learning about Haru's actions, he was both shocked and confused.

Why would Haru go all over the world hunting demons? Wouldn't it be enough just to survive for seven days? Why put himself through all this? Or perhaps, was Haru doing this to clear all obstacles for himself?