A glimmer of hope emerged—the situation wasn't as dire as feared.
Horitake slammed the snake demoness's head into the ground, splattering half her face into a bloody mess. Gripping her skull, he locked eyes with her. "Explain. The plague hasn't activated. True?"
Her mangled face, healing from the non-electrified blow, contorted in pain and fear. "The orbs are plague sources, but they're dormant. They must burst, spilling their contents, to spread the disease."
Horitake pressed, "Why the burst mechanism? Why not release the plague directly?"
Sobbing, she answered, "Our leader planned that, but this plague—accidentally created—is so contagious and deadly, even he's unsure if demons can catch it."
Horitake's blood ran cold. A plague that could infect demons?
She continued, "To be safe, he sealed the orbs. Unbroken, they're harmless. The kids scattered them in Kusatsu, and he'd come tonight to trigger them, bursting them to unleash the plague."
Her explanation made sense. Like a lab sealing a virus in vials, only to break them in a target city to spread disease. Eerily familiar, but Horitake pushed the thought aside.
He grilled her further. "Why does your idiot leader want a plague? What's his gain? Just wants to destroy the world?"
She shook her head, trembling. "Not destruction. He wants to eat people."
"Nonsense! If everyone dies from the plague, what's left to eat?"
"He… experimented," she confessed. "He infected a group. Most died, but survivors developed a special antibody, mimicking rare blood's effect. They're delicious and boost strength—like eating dozens of normal humans. Irresistible to us."
Horitake was stunned. A demon scientist? Crafting a plague to create artificial rare blood?
Rare blood, like Sanemi Shinazugawa's, was a delicacy to demons, amplifying their power exponentially. This plague's survivors produced a similar effect—demon-made rare blood.
The leader's goal was clear: create more "rare blood" humans to feast on, boosting his strength. The mass deaths? He didn't care.
Horitake scratched his head, exasperated. "How did he even develop this plague?"
She whispered, "He said it was an accident."
"Whatever. Who's this leader? Which of the Twelve Kizuki?"
"Lower Rank Three, Byouyou," she answered.
Horitake scoffed. "Lower Three? Causing Upper Rank-level chaos. Byouyou dies tonight."
Byouyou, barely a footnote in the original story, had few lines before Muzan killed him. Notably, he'd tried to flee when Muzan summoned the Lower Ranks for execution, only to die anyway. His blood demon art, tied to disease, fit his name perfectly.
Horitake continued, "You said Byouyou's coming to Kusatsu tonight to trigger the orbs?"
She nodded repeatedly.
"When?"
Glancing at the moon, she estimated, "About an hour from now, in the latter half of the night."
"Why are you here?"
"The leader didn't trust the kids to finish the job, so he sent me to check and escort them."
"Why use kids for something this critical? Why not come himself or send trusted demons?"
She grimaced. "Too many orbs. Personally placing them was tedious and beneath him. His subordinates, including me, feared infection during distribution. Since I had these kids, he used them."
Horitake finished her thought. "But the kids were too slow to finish in one night, so you sent them out last night, working nearly a full day. The scarves were to hide their faces from Kusatsu's people, right?"
She nodded vigorously. "Exactly."
------------------------------
🌟 Hi everyone! 🌟
If you love my work and want to support me on this creative journey, you can support me here: [patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ] 💖
By joining, you will get access to exclusive content, behind-the-scenes updates, and some special perks that I have prepared just for you. Every support really means a lot and helps me strive every day! 🙏✨