"Tamayo, are you willing to submit to me?"
Tsukihiko's voice echoed softly in the tense silence. That simple question was the final blow. It shattered the last of Tamayo's composure, and tears instantly filled her eyes. Centuries ago, Kibutsuji Muzan had spoken those exact same words right before he turned her into a demon.
He had known she would lose control, had even encouraged it. He watched as the newly born demon, in a blind, bloodthirsty rage, slaughtered her own husband and children. For Muzan, it was a game. It satisfied his twisted desires and, more importantly, it severed every bond Tamayo had to the human world, ensuring she would have no one else to turn to. He thought it would make her his loyal follower for eternity.
But Muzan had miscalculated. That single act of cruelty planted the seeds of his own destruction. Tamayo's skill in medicine and research far surpassed his own. Over the centuries, she not only found a way to break free from the curse of his blood, freeing herself from his direct control, but she also created Yushiro—a demon made without a single drop of Muzan's blood.
Most importantly, she eventually developed an antidote, a medicine that could reverse the demonic transformation and turn a demon back into a human. In the final battle of the original timeline, her contribution was immeasurable; she was a true hero to the Demon Slayer Corps.
But that future was gone. In this twisted reality, even Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his wife Amane had become demons. In a world where the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps served the Demon King, anything was possible.
"Why… Why is it like this?" Tamayo whispered, her voice trembling. She stared at Muzan, who wore a placid smile that held no warmth or emotion. Her heart felt like it was being crushed. "Is this the perfect being you wanted to become?"
Tsukihiko's gaze shifted to the syringe of antidote she held. "So that's it? If I drink that, I can become a so-called 'perfect being'?"
He spoke casually, but the cold amusement in his tone sent a shiver down Tamayo's spine.
"It's real," she finally managed to say after a long pause, her voice barely audible. "Drink it and you'll see…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a fleshy tentacle erupted from Muzan's back. In a flash, it wrapped around Yushiro, who was still struggling weakly on the ground. The tentacle lifted him into the air and, without a moment's hesitation, slammed him violently back down onto the floorboards.
"Is that so?" Tsukihiko said, his voice dangerously calm. "I'm glad you're willing to talk, Tamayo, but I don't care for your tone."
As he spoke, the tentacle smashed Yushiro into the ground again. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as blood burst from Yushiro's body, and his consciousness faded into blackness.
"No… No…"
The horrific scene was too much for Tamayo. The immense stress of developing the antidote while constantly fearing Muzan's return had already pushed her to her limit. She had finally succeeded, only for him to reappear more terrifying than ever before. If not for her desperate need to protect Yushiro and Nezuko, she would have ended her own life long ago. But she knew that was impossible. Suicide was a luxury Muzan would never allow. If he wanted someone dead, they would die. If he wanted them to live, even as a demon on the brink of disintegration, he could force them to endure.
Faced with this impossibly powerful and cruel monster, Tamayo felt utterly trapped.
"Come now, Tamayo. We're old acquaintances, after all," Muzan said, that chilling smile returning to his face. "Besides… I'm not some monster." He paused, letting the lie hang in the air. "I'll give you two choices. Yushiro and Nezuko. One of them has to die. You get to decide which one."
His voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"I'll give you a moment to think," he continued. "But if you take too long, then they'll both die."
The world went dark around Tamayo. Even as a demon who had lived for centuries, she had never imagined such a cruel threat. The worst part was her complete powerlessness. She couldn't fight, she couldn't run, and she couldn't even choose death. The helplessness sent her spiraling into an abyss of despair. It was unbearable. Truly unbearable.
Meanwhile, across the vast expanse of the Infinity Castle, three other battles raged with terrifying intensity.
On one battlefield, Shinobu Kocho and the three other remaining Hashira were at a severe disadvantage. They faced Douma, Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki, who was finally fighting with his full power. Their defeat wasn't for a lack of strength; Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira and strongest combatant in the Demon Slayer Corps, had activated his Slayer Mark and wielded a Crimson Red Blade. Yet, even his overwhelming power wasn't enough. They weren't just fighting Douma, but other Upper-Rank demons as well, while a shadowy presence attacked them from unseen angles, forcing them back again and again.
Elsewhere, Tanjiro and his friends were facing their own crisis. Against the devastating power of Akaza, Upper Rank Three, and his six powerful demon servants, they were on the verge of collapse. Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira were already severely wounded, barely able to continue fighting. Tanjiro, despite having activated his Slayer Mark and Crimson Red Blade, was pushing his body to its absolute limit and was about to break.
Only on the third battlefield was the tide turned. There, the legendary Yoriichi Tsugikuni single-handedly suppressed Kokushibo, Upper Rank One. Even with countless demons supporting Kokushibo and unleashing their Blood Demon Arts from all sides, the most powerful of the Twelve Kizuki was being relentlessly beaten back.
For Kokushibo, the fight was a living nightmare. He was facing his younger brother, the man he thought had died centuries ago. The sight of Yoriichi brought back a flood of unbearable memories from his human life—a lifetime of inadequacy, jealousy, and rage. The familiar, terrifying presence of his brother, a specter from the past, filled him with an absurd and maddening anger.
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