"Phew, it's finally over..."
Watching Kinoshita Tatsuya's corpse crumble into ash, Tanjiro finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he suddenly remembered something.
"Right, Miss Kaori!"
"We need to get her to the hospital immediately."
Ren had already noticed Kaori, who had fainted from the pain. He wasted no time in rushing her to a nearby hospital.
However, after the doctor's examination, it was discovered that the throwing knives Kinoshita Tatsuya used were coated in a potent toxin. Although the doctors managed to save Kaori's life, she was destined to spend the rest of her days paralyzed in bed, a shadow of her former self.
He who lives by the sword shall die by it.
Everything comes with a price. While Kaori wasn't the mastermind behind the tragedy that befell Suzune, she still paid the heavy price she owed for her actions. With Kaori's fate sealed, this incident finally drew to a close.
By the time they stepped out of the hospital, the sky was already beginning to pale with the first light of dawn. Neither Ren nor Tanjiro felt like sleeping. They headed straight to the station, bought tickets, and boarded a train back to Tokyo.
The town wasn't far from Tokyo, so they arrived home in just three hours, making it back just in time for lunch. Seeing the two return safely, Kie felt a weight lift from her heart. She immediately called out to them to eat.
"Ren, Tanjiro! Go wash your hands, lunch is ready!"
"I'm going, Mom!" Tanjiro grinned and ran off to wash up.
Meanwhile, Nezuko approached Ren with a letter in her hand.
"Brother Ren, a man named Yushiro brought this letter for you."
'Is it from Miss Tamayo?'
Ren knew Yushiro wouldn't write to him of his own accord; it was almost certainly Tamayo reaching out. Since Demon Slayer Corps members were patrolling the area, Tamayo didn't dare visit in person. She could only send Yushiro to deliver the message.
Unsurprisingly, upon opening the envelope, there was only one sentence inside: visit Tamayo as soon as he returned. Apparently, she had found a lead regarding the Berserk Demons.
Ren didn't want to delay. After wolfing down a few bites of food, he headed straight for the hospital where Tamayo was located. As for Tanjiro, he fell asleep immediately after lunch, having stayed up all night.
Arriving at the hospital, Ren knocked and entered Tamayo's office. The curtains were always drawn, but fortunately, the room was now equipped with electric lights, so it wasn't too dim. Tamayo and Yushiro happened to be resting in the office when he arrived.
"Miss Tamayo, Mr. Yushiro, good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fanma. Please, have a seat." Seeing Ren enter, Tamayo smiled and bowed slightly.
After taking a seat, Ren got straight to the point. "Miss Tamayo, I heard your research on the Berserk Demons has made progress?"
"Indeed. This is a type of blood I have never seen before. It possesses incredible adaptability and evolutionary capabilities!" Tamayo's brow furrowed. "Demons created with this blood not only become far more violent, but their evolution speed is staggering. They can reach the level of a morphed demon in an instant, and their strength far exceeds that of ordinary demons!"
"Is that so... I didn't expect Muzan to be able to create such formidable monsters," Ren said, his expression darkening. With the appearance of these Berserk Demons, the strength of the demon camp would undoubtedly surge, leading to even more casualties within the Demon Slayer Corps.
While he was lost in thought, Tamayo and Yushiro exchanged a look. Eventually, she decided to be completely honest.
"Mr. Fanma, you might find what I'm about to say hard to believe, but I assure you it is the truth. In fact... the emergence of the Berserk Demons might be related to you."
"Related to me?" Ren's eyes widened. 'What does that mean? Surely I didn't accidentally create them?'
"Yes. To be precise, it is related to your blood. Do you remember that beautiful woman you brought in a month ago?"
"The mother of that little girl?" Ren recalled the events from a month prior and nodded. "Of course I remember."
"She came in for a follow-up exam a few days ago. Upon inspection, I found her recovery to be extraordinary. Her body is significantly stronger than before; she has more energy, and even some of her old, lingering ailments have vanished. If she maintains this state, living to be a hundred would be effortless for her. The reason for this transformation is your blood. You gave her a transfusion when she was suffering from severe hemorrhaging!"
"Miss Tamayo, are you saying... my blood accelerated the evolution of the demons, turning them into Berserk Demons?" Ren asked in a low voice.
He suddenly remembered that a month ago, he had been injured by Kokushibo. He had spat out a mouthful of blood onto Kokushibo's clothes before the demon fled into the Infinity Castle. It was very likely that Muzan had obtained his blood at that moment.
He knew all too well that as his physical constitution grew stronger, his blood had become extremely nutritious—a "marechi" among marechi. The idea that it could cause rapid evolution in demons wasn't impossible.
Tamayo nodded, confirming his suspicions. "Correct. I found components extremely similar to your blood within the samples of Berserk Demon blood you provided. It's likely that, without your knowledge, your blood fell into Muzan's hands. He used it to cultivate these more powerful Berserk Demons!"
"Mr. Fanma..." At this point, Tamayo suddenly stood up, her expression grave. "Your blood has the power to make demons evolve rapidly. Therefore, in future battles, you must never allow yourself to be injured. You cannot let your blood fall into Muzan's hands. If he obtains enough of it, the worst-case scenario is that Muzan will gain the ability to withstand sunlight."
"Muzan... overcoming the sun?" Ren muttered. If that happened, they were truly doomed.
"It might not be a total overcoming, but it's highly likely that the sun's damage to him would be drastically reduced. For example, if you threw the old Muzan into the sunlight, he would be reduced to ash in less than ten minutes. But if he obtains your blood and evolves, it might take an hour of exposure to kill him. In other words, he will gradually adapt to the damage caused by the sun."
"I understand. In future battles, I will be careful to avoid being injured."
After his conversation with Tamayo, Ren left the hospital and headed home, muttering to himself along the way.
'To think my blood could help Muzan adapt to the sun. That is definitely not good news... But on the other hand, Muzan will likely focus all his efforts on targeting me now. Perhaps I can use myself as bait to lure out Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki... and then we can all "enjoy" the sunshine together!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]