"You are right. We are demons who can survive solely by consuming human blood," Tamayo said to Li Xuan.
"But you still crave flesh, don't you?" Li Xuan replied calmly.
Tamayo fell silent, then quietly removed the medical curtain she had been wearing over her face.
She stepped toward another room and gestured, saying, "This way, please."
So as not to disturb the sleeping woman inside, everyone moved the conversation to a different room.
They sat down together, all except for Li Xuan and Nezuko.
Li Xuan, who wasn't used to sitting formally, adopted a relaxed posture.
Nezuko, uninterested in the discussion, rolled around on the floor amusing herself.
"I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. My name is Tamayo, and that child is Yushiro."
"I'm Li Xuan," he replied.
"I'm Kamado Tanjiro, and this is my sister, Nezuko."
"Tamayo, do you have a way to turn demons back into humans?" Li Xuan asked directly.
Although he already knew that Tamayo had been researching this subject, he needed to lead the conversation forward with a straightforward question.
Hearing such a striking question, Tanjiro became visibly tense, his eyes fixed on Tamayo, waiting eagerly for her response.
"Why do you ask?" Tamayo raised an eyebrow, surprised by his forwardness.
"Because you two are not ordinary demons. You aren't entirely corrupted."
Tamayo nodded slightly.
"I modified myself. I can now survive without devouring humans. A small amount of blood is sufficient to keep me alive. As for Yushiro, I created him. He requires even less blood than I do."
"The blood we drink is obtained legally through blood donations. We pay people to give it."
"You made Yushiro into a demon?" Tanjiro's voice cracked with surprise. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.
In his understanding, only Muzan Kibutsuji had the power to turn humans into demons.
"Yes, I did. But it took me two hundred years, and in all that time, Yushiro is the only one I've successfully turned."
"Two hundred years?" Tanjiro leaned forward in disbelief. "Tamayo, how old are you?"
Yushiro immediately sprang to his feet, his face red with rage. He punched Tanjiro repeatedly.
"You rude brat! Never ask a lady her age!"
If you keep doing that, you'll never get a girlfriend…
Even Li Xuan glanced sideways at Tanjiro, mildly exasperated.
"Stop using violence, Yushiro," Tamayo said sternly.
"Understood!" Yushiro quickly returned to a formal seated position.
"I hope you don't misunderstand. I never intended to increase the number of demons in the world. I only turn those with incurable illnesses or severe injuries—those whose time is already limited—and only with their full consent."
There was no scent of deception in her words.
Tanjiro sniffed gently and confirmed with his keen sense that she was indeed telling the truth.
"As for whether there's a way to turn demons back into humans..." Tamayo's gaze shifted toward Li Xuan. "There is."
"There is? Please, tell me!" Tanjiro leaned toward her excitedly.
"Do not get close to Lady Tamayo!" Yushiro shouted and hurled Tanjiro into a judo-style shoulder throw.
"Yu… Yushiro…"
Li Xuan ignored their antics. His tone remained composed.
"So what exactly is the method to reverse demonification?"
Tamayo composed herself and spoke with determination.
"I believe that for every illness or injury, there must exist a treatment. Though no cure exists yet, I am certain we can discover one."
"Which is why we are requesting your help. We need to gather the necessary information to create such a cure."
"In order to develop the medicine, we need to analyze the blood of several demons. We have two requests. First, please allow us to examine Nezuko's blood. Second, bring back samples of blood from demons who have a higher concentration of Muzan's blood."
"Nezuko? Why her?" Tanjiro asked.
"Because she is in a very rare and unusual state. Earlier, you mentioned that she slept for two years. During that time, it's likely her body underwent unique changes."
"Typically, a demon that goes so long without consuming human or animal flesh would become uncontrollably violent. But remarkably, Nezuko has not shown any such symptoms."
"This miracle could become a vital key to the cure."
"The second request will be much more dangerous. Demons with a higher concentration of Muzan's blood are far stronger. They are closer to him in strength, and collecting blood from them will not be easy."
Tamayo spoke at length, her expression heavy with concern. She understood the magnitude of what she was asking. Neither she nor Yushiro had any real combat power, so this request was born from necessity rather than choice.
"Even so, will you accept?" she asked at last.
"You mentioned demons with a high concentration of Muzan's blood... would this work?" Li Xuan responded, not with words, but with action.
He brought forward the sack he had been carrying and placed it in front of everyone.
Then he opened it.
Inside was a trembling, grotesque creature that sent shivers through the room.
"What... is that thing?" Yushiro stumbled backward, shaken to his core.
Although he could feel the overwhelming fear radiating from the limbless demon within, the oppressive, sinister aura it exuded was enough to make even Yushiro's instincts scream in alarm.
It was a pressure that came from bloodline suppression.
Even though Yushiro was not a direct creation of Muzan, he still had traces of Muzan's influence in his essence.
That was why this demon—Gyokko, who had been infused with a tremendous amount of Muzan's blood—was able to exert such overwhelming pressure on him.
Tamayo felt it too, though she handled it with far more grace. It seemed she had anticipated this possibility.
Nezuko, who had been lying lazily on the floor a moment ago, suddenly leaped up and assumed a battle-ready stance. Her eyes were fixed on the dismembered demon.
Tanjiro instinctively placed a hand on the hilt of his Nichirin Blade.
Before, he had only smelled the scent of a demon. Seeing it with his own eyes now, he finally understood how powerful it was.
The sinister aura that radiated from Gyokko seemed to claw at the air itself. Just standing in its presence felt suffocating, as though death were moments away.
It was the kind of strength that could not be resisted.
Every part of Tanjiro's body, every cell within him, seemed to cry out in alarm. A bone-chilling sense of dread crept through him.
And yet, this terrifying demon was now reduced to a pitiful creature with its limbs severed, lying on the ground like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Tanjiro felt a strange dissonance between what his senses told him and what he saw before him.
The reactions of the others made Li Xuan realize that, for them, Gyokko was a monster beyond their current level.
After all, Gyokko had always called this state his "perfect form." The impact it had on others was expected.
"Is everyone alright?" Li Xuan asked, scanning the group.
"I'm fine," Tanjiro replied immediately.
The others, however, remained silent.
Tamayo's request had been made. But now, seeing Gyokko with their own eyes, the true weight of her mission had become clear.