"...Sigh."
The life of a demon was not easy, and Yuko let out a long, weary breath.
She removed the hat and veil she'd been using to conceal her face. She was reasonably sure she hadn't turned into something grotesque, but since she couldn't actually see herself, any unexpected change would be problematic.
Conveniently, there was a bronze mirror in the room. Yuko picked it up from the table and prodded at her own cheeks.
Everything looked the same as before—almost as if all she had done was get a manicure.
Just as she was thinking that, she suddenly noticed something off about her eyes.
Leaning close to the mirror, she pulled her eyelids open. In the reflection, she saw that each of her eyes now contained two pupils.
Wonderful. She'd never be able to mock Michikatsu for being a six-eyed lemon spirit again.
One eye, two pupils—one large, one small. The smaller one was almost touching the larger, sticking together in a strange, viscous way. It made her wine-red eyes look eerily unnatural.
Double pupils?
The last person with something this dramatic had been some legendary tyrant from ancient stories.
Did she… also have the aura of a conqueror now?
Yuko laughed at herself through the bitterness. After carefully checking every detail, she confirmed that aside from the pupil mutation, nothing else had changed.
Well—except for the two slightly protruding little fangs.
Yuko bared her teeth, then focused her attention on the top of her head.
A moment later, two vicious demon horns burst out.
At a glance, they didn't look like a demon's horns so much as a dragon's.
Each was at least twenty centimeters long. Which meant that, standing up straight, horns included, she could now match Michikatsu's height.
A second growth spurt, apparently.
Yuko fully activated her demonized form. Her sleek wine-red hair instantly bleached white from the roots, and her fingernails lengthened slightly.
From afar, she didn't look like a twisted, hideous demon at all—instead, she resembled some unknown deity.
The only thing that slightly ruined the aesthetic was the network of faint, menacing veins that bulged under her skin when she transformed completely.
Wraaaah~
Damn, she looked incredible.
Yuko's eyes shone.
This appearance—truly handsome!
After admiring herself thoroughly, Yuko returned to her human form.
Only the double pupils remained. Perhaps because she was still too weak, she couldn't fully erase that demonic trait.
Fortunately, it wasn't too noticeable. A hat would cover it well enough.
Yuko sat in the room, considering her next move.
At the very least, she needed to let Yoriichi know she was safe.
But she could only return home at night. If she approached during the day, Yoriichi would sense her immediately.
If he mistook her for a demon enemy and killed her on the spot, that would be bad.
Better give him a heads-up first.
With that thought, Yuko called for an attendant.
"Could you bring me paper and a brush? I'd like to send a message home to say I'm safe."
Seeing the elegant hair ornament Yuko wore, the attendant couldn't think of any reason to refuse.
After finishing the letter—
"I'm sorry, but could you deliver this to…"
She handed him another ornament. "This is your payment."
The attendant accepted it, barely hiding the excitement in his eyes. He slapped a hand over his chest and declared, "Rest assured, miss! Even if it costs me my life, I will deliver this letter into your family's hands!"
Yuko: "…"
Suddenly she wasn't entirely confident about this.
…
While the attendant was delivering the letter, Yuko stayed at the inn.
Several days later, the attendant returned and described Yoriichi's appearance to her in detail. Only then did she finally believe he had delivered it.
That night, Yuko checked out of her room and walked along the nighttime streets, hunger gnawing at her.
She was hungry enough to want to eat someone.
In Yuko's eyes, every lit home looked like a late-night food stall glowing invitingly on a dark road.
It made her want to walk right in.
She tore her gaze away and forced herself not to think about it, hurrying through the night.
After becoming a demon, the old injuries in her lungs had healed completely. Her physical abilities had skyrocketed.
She used constant breathing techniques the entire journey.
Ever since mastering Snow Breathing, this was the first time it flowed so easily.
…
Inside a dark room, Yoriichi sat on the floor. Beside him lay his Nichirin blade—and a broken white Nichirin blade.
He hadn't slept well for days.
Because of Yuko's letter.
[To my respected elder brother:
This is Yuko. I'm truly sorry for leaving without a word.
But please listen carefully—I must explain. After leaving home, I encountered Michikatsu on a mountain, and… I became a demon. Yet after turning, I found that I broke free from Muzan's control. I have not lost my senses. It seems similar to Miss Tamayo's condition… I will return home in a few nights' time.]
This letter had arrived only moments apart from the message sent by the Demon Slayer Corps.
And the Corps' message said they had found signs of Yuko fighting a demon in the mountains. But they found no trace of her—only a broken Nichirin blade left behind.
The conclusion was obvious.
If it were anyone else, Yuko's letter would be indistinguishable from a ghost returning on the seventh night.
Chilling to the bone.
Yoriichi glanced at Yuko's broken blade out of the corner of his eye, face dark and silent.
He swore that if this letter had been forged by Muzan, he would scour the earth if necessary to drag Muzan out of hiding.
To deceive him under Yuko's name—to defile the dead—
Yoriichi lifted his head abruptly, cold and sharp, eyes fixed on the door.
…
Yuko had already entered the town. She was close to the place Yoriichi lived.
She wondered if he might be asleep.
But given his senses, he would probably detect her long before she even reached the house.
With that in mind, she approached cautiously, praying he wouldn't mistake her for a lesser demon and cut her down.
She certainly didn't believe she could fight Yoriichi right now.
The last fool who confidently charged at Yoriichi had long since pulled into his shell and refused to come out.
As she drew near, Yuko's own powerful demonic perception instantly told her that someone was sitting inside.
In the middle of the night… and he wasn't sleeping?
Creak—
Yuko quietly slid the door open. Moonlight spilled in, illuminating Yoriichi's lower half where he sat.
The moment she saw him, something in Yuko's chest trembled.
For an instant, she saw a blurred figure rushing toward her with a blazing red blade.
A reaction from the Muzan cells still lingering inside her.
Yoriichi's eyelid twitched. Transparent World opened before him. The figure at the door was undeniably Yuko.
But the muddied demonic aura around her also confirmed she truly was a demon.
Yet unlike other demons, she didn't carry the foul stench of having eaten humans.
"Um… brother… you're still awake at this hour?"
Yuko's embarrassed voice broke the silence. The cold edge on Yoriichi's face vanished instantly.
Emotion softened his expression. "Yuko…"
Yuko closed the door and slowly sat before him.
Seeing the worry in his eyes, she smiled gently. "Sorry, brother. I came back late."
Yoriichi paused, then smiled softly in return.
"Welcome home, Yuko."
That night, the siblings talked for a long time.
Having once spared Tamayo, Yoriichi did not believe all demons deserved extermination—especially not his own family.
But as for Michikatsu's actions, he felt only sorrow.
Not only had he fallen into demonhood—
he had even dragged his own younger sister down with him…
---
Currently at chapter 162 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08