The village, newly ravaged by war, still crackled with lingering flames amid shattered walls and ruined buildings. Beneath drifting black smoke, two figures sat on a bloodstained boulder beside a mountain of corpses in the village square.
"So… you were turned into a demon by your own older brother?"
Sitting beside Yuko, Tamayo delicately nibbled at an arm she had taken from a fallen villager. Her manner of eating was unexpectedly refined.
"Yes. I will never forgive him."
Yuko's fingers clenched unconsciously. Her gaze sank into something terrifyingly dark.
As Tamayo ate, she subtly observed the person beside her.
Twin crimson pupils—an unmistakably mysterious feature.
Yoriichi's sister… and the younger sibling of the current Upper Rank One.
No wonder they say talent runs in the family. This entire lineage was terrifyingly gifted. If Miss Yuko had been there that day as well, would Muzan have escaped at all?
Suddenly, a blood-soaked arm—tinged with a faint smell of burning—was extended toward her. It was nauseating to look at.
Yet something inside Yuko stirred restlessly.
She hadn't eaten in many years.
"Do you want some?" Tamayo asked.
Yuko licked her lips lightly. "N-No, thank you."
Tamayo glanced sideways, pressing her lips together gently.
"You've never eaten a human before, have you, Miss Yuko?"
"Yes."
Tamayo's expression shifted slightly. Though she had already sensed it, hearing confirmation from Yuko's own mouth was still deeply shocking.
She couldn't comprehend how someone could endure that hunger—the kind that was far worse than ordinary starvation. Especially during the early days after transformation, when nothing existed in one's mind but the urge to devour humans.
Tamayo lowered her gaze, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Then she turned and asked,
"What do you plan to do next, Miss Yuko?"
"Wait."
"Wait?" Tamayo sounded confused.
Yuko lowered her eyelids.
"With our current strength, we can't kill Muzan."
At the very least, they would have to wait for the appearance of the Taisho-era Nine Pillars (Hashira)—those said to rival the Hashira of the Warring States period.
After Yoriichi's death, Muzan began his ruthless purge. Together with Kokushibo, he eliminated every swordsman who possessed knowledge of Sun Breathing.
Entire Hashira bloodlines were slaughtered. Nearly all of the families tied to the present generation of Hashira were wiped out—pushed to the brink of extinction.
That was why Yuko knew all of this even without contacting the Demon Slayer Corps.
There were only so many cases of entire families being erased.
Even if they hadn't mastered Sun Breathing, as long as they had the slightest chance of preserving the knowledge, Kibutsuji Muzan would never allow them to live.
Yoriichi's shadow haunted him too deeply.
After the original generation of Hashira died from the mark and Yoriichi departed, the Demon Slayer Corps had already begun to decline.
Not a single swordsman afterward succeeded in mastering the mark, the Transparent World, or the Red Blade.
In the end, the Warring States Hashira had achieved all that only because of Yoriichi.
Once he left, the loss of those techniques was inevitable.
These so-called "weaker Hashira" together wouldn't even be enough for Kokushibo alone—much less with Muzan added to the battlefield.
The Demon Slayer Corps was gravely wounded and entered a long decline.
If not for the hidden division's secrecy and intelligence network, it might have already gone extinct.
Even the renowned Taisho Nine Pillars—who learned the mark, the Transparent World, and even the Red Blade—suffered over half their numbers lost, to the point where people later called it nothing more than "plot armor."
That alone showed just how terrifying Muzan truly was.
Yoriichi and Muzan existed on a completely different plane of power. Now that Yoriichi was gone, the gap between humans and demons had become utterly unbalanced.
With the current manpower and strength available, they simply weren't yet qualified to face Muzan.
Tamayo listened quietly and recalled the scene of Muzan splitting into thousands of flesh fragments in an instant. She nodded heavily.
At the very least… they had to restrict that ability.
Otherwise, even if they defeated Muzan, they still wouldn't be able to truly kill him.
And Muzan had already overcome his weakness at the neck. Perhaps only sunlight could kill him now.
Tamayo asked again,
"Are you planning to cooperate with the Demon Slayer Corps, Miss Yuko?"
"Yes."
After all, everyone who bore hatred toward Muzan would eventually gather there.
The Demon Slayer Corps was composed of inherited sword families and survivors whose homes and loved ones had been destroyed by Muzan—a true league of vengeance.
Worry flickered in Tamayo's eyes as she gave a bitter smile.
"But with our identities… will they really accept us?"
Yuko wasn't worried at all.
"They will."
Even if not now—one day, they certainly would.
Yuko's unwavering confidence startled Tamayo slightly, before she smiled.
"Miss Yuko is just as reliable as Yoriichi was."
"You're the first swordswoman I've ever met who chose to spare a demon."
Yuko smiled softly.
"That's because Miss Tamayo doesn't harm people."
Tamayo lowered her eyelids and shook her head.
"No. I once killed many people."
"Being beheaded would be only just. I was a demon in the truest sense."
"Unlike you, Miss Yuko…"
Yuko froze slightly.
She truly didn't know Tamayo's past. By the time Tanjiro encountered her, she and Yushiro had already survived on donated human blood for a long time.
Though a trace of human presence still lingered on Tamayo now, it was clear she no longer hunted people of her own will.
She sustained herself only on corpses.
After a moment of silence, Yuko said,
"Would you be willing to tell me? Someone like you must have had your own reasons."
Otherwise, Yoriichi would never have spared a demon who had truly devoured humans.
The desire to confide is something no emotional being lacks.
Everyone wants to share their happiness, pain, sorrow, and grievances with someone else.
Tamayo lifted her gaze toward the sky. The stars were brilliant—like countless indifferent eyes of the gods, silently watching the suffering below.
She slowly began to speak of her past.
As a human, Tamayo had suffered from an incurable illness. In order to live long enough to see her child grow up, she desperately sought any possible treatment.
"When my condition worsened day by day and I fell into despair… that man appeared."
As she spoke, her hands clenched unconsciously, veins emerging on the backs.
"He told me that if I drank his blood, my illness would be cured…"
Deceived by Kibutsuji Muzan, she transformed into a demon—then, in a state of complete loss of control, slaughtered her husband and her own child.
It was not hard to imagine the pain she suffered upon regaining her sanity.
"After that, I gave myself over to despair and killed many innocent people."
Tamayo closed her eyes in grief.
"Muzan, in his attempt to conquer the sun, forcibly kept me by his side—until Yoriichi defeated him. Only then was I freed from his control."
When she mentioned conquering sunlight, Yuko thought of the blue spider lily at Uta's grave.
Perhaps Tamayo could study it.
With that thought, Yuko spoke:
"About conquering sunlight…"
"Hm?" Tamayo looked at her in confusion.
Yuko turned to face her directly, their eyes meeting.
"I've already done it."
...
"…What?"
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Currently at chapter 270 for advance chapters
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