Tamayo's Request and the Attack of Two Demons

Inside the old Western-style building, the scene was utterly different from the bustling modern city outside. A faint scent of disinfectant and herbs hung in the air, while warm yellow gaslights illuminated laboratory benches crowded with bottles and jars, and bookshelves reaching to the ceiling. The shelves were packed with weighty tomes in all manner of languages. The place looked more like a scholar's study than a Demon's lair.

Miss Tamayo gracefully invited Moyu and Tanjiro to sit on a soft sofa. The young man named Yushiro—though he looked like a boy, his eyes held a wariness and maturity beyond his apparent age—silently brought them hot tea. His gaze never left Moyu, particularly his azure eyes, and was full of scrutiny and a barely perceptible trace of apprehension.

Tanjiro could hardly wait to speak. His voice was excited, though he tried to remain polite. "Miss Tamayo! Are you... are you really researching a way to turn Demons back into humans? Please, you have to save my sister Nezuko!" As he spoke, he carefully opened the wooden box. Nezuko poked her head out, her pink eyes studying Tamayo and Yushiro with curiosity. When she sensed the Demon aura around Tamayo, similar to her own yet calmer and gentler, she showed no hostility and merely gave a soft "mm."

Tamayo's gaze fell on Nezuko, and surprise and pity flickered in her slit pupils. "What a pure aura... like a precious jewel that has been carefully protected, almost untouched by bloodshed. This truly is... a miracle." She looked at Tanjiro, her eyes softening a little. "I have indeed been conducting research in that field, for my own sake and for all the pitiful souls whose destinies Muzan has twisted."

Her gaze then turned inquisitively to Moyu, who had remained silent. "And you... Mr. Moyu. Forgive my frankness, but you do not seem surprised by me or my research. In fact... you mentioned 'a way to save her' outright when you were still outside."

The atmosphere in the room grew subtly tense. Yushiro's gaze sharpened, and Tanjiro also looked at Moyu, somewhat puzzled.

Moyu had prepared for this. He couldn't explain his omniscient perspective, but he could offer a reasonable account consistent with how his Six Eyes were supposed to work. He calmly met Tamayo's gaze, an all-seeing gleam flowing through his azure pupils. "Miss Tamayo, these eyes of mine can see things ordinary people cannot. Not just the flow of energy; sometimes they can catch a glimpse of someone's 'essence' and 'obsessions.' In your aura, I saw neither cruelty nor greed, but profound sorrow, centuries of perseverance, and a powerful will directed toward 'reversal' and 'redemption.' Considering that you can live safely in seclusion in this bustling city, unaffected by Muzan's absolute control, I deduced that you were on a different path, and that you were very likely seeking a way to turn Demons back into humans."

He paused, then added, "It was only a reasonable deduction based on observation. After all, opposing Muzan and saving the innocent are goals we share."

The explanation was half true and half false, highlighting the wonder of the Six Eyes while avoiding any revelation of his transmigration. It sounded perfectly reasonable. As Tamayo listened, the doubts in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by the complex emotions of someone who had met a kindred spirit. She sighed softly. "I see... your eyes truly are extraordinary. You are right. This has indeed been my only obsession for centuries."

She walked over to the laboratory bench and picked up a test tube filled with dark red liquid. Her voice grew heavy and helpless. "However, my research has progressed extremely slowly. The greatest obstacle is... the lack of the most crucial research sample—Muzan Kibutsuji's blood. His own blood is the source of all these curses, and it contains the central secret. But obtaining his blood... is nearly impossible."

Tamayo's gaze passed over Moyu and Tanjiro. "As the next best option, the blood of the Twelve Kizuki also contains a considerable concentration of Muzan's blood, particularly that of the Upper Rank Demons. Their blood is invaluable for analyzing the composition of Muzan's power and finding a breakthrough toward reversing it. But..."

Yushiro gave a cold snort and picked up where she had left off, his voice tinged with frustration and anger. "But the Twelve Kizuki are powerful, especially the Upper Ranks, whose positions have remained unshaken for centuries. With Lady Tamayo's strength and mine, confronting them head-on would be like throwing eggs at a rock. We can only lie low and wait... for an opportunity that may never come." His fists clenched tightly; he was plainly humiliated by it.

Tanjiro's eyes lit up. He sprang to his feet and said firmly, "Then let us help! We have to slay the Demons and save Nezuko too! Collecting the blood of the Twelve Kizuki is something we have to do as well!"

Moyu nodded and spoke steadily. "That's right. Slaying the Twelve Kizuki is the Demon Slayer Corps' duty to begin with. If we can obtain their blood in the process and use it to research a way to save people, we can accomplish both things at once. We accept your request."

Looking at the two determined young men before her, Tamayo felt the flame of hope more keenly than she had for the first time in centuries. She bowed deeply to Moyu and Tanjiro. "I cannot thank you enough! I, Tamayo, will never forget this kindness. I will give you special containers for collecting the blood. They can preserve its vitality to the greatest possible extent. Please... be careful."

Just as Tamayo was about to explain in detail how to use the containers, Moyu and Tanjiro's expressions sharpened almost simultaneously!

Moyu's Six Eyes caught two undisguised, malicious Demon auras approaching the building at tremendous speed! One was frenzied and savage, carrying the playful mockery of a hunter toying with prey; the other was cold and precise, like an emotionless pointer.

Tanjiro's nose also caught the overpowering stench of blood and killing intent, and he instantly tightened his grip on his Nichirin Blade. "Demons are coming! Their auras are strong!"

Yushiro's expression changed. "Did they track us here?! Has the barrier been discovered?"

Moyu's Six Eyes instantly pierced the wall, clearly "seeing" what lay outside: a female Demon in a kimono, holding a bloodstained temari ball in each hand, was laughing wildly. Beside her stood a taciturn male Demon with unusually long, slender fingers. He was pointing an arm toward the building, and an invisible force seemed to be warping the surrounding air, disrupting Yushiro's Illusion Barrier.

The Temari Demon! The Arrow Demon!

Moyu understood at once. Muzan had sent them! Because of Tanjiro's earrings and scar, the cowardly progenitor hadn't even dared to confirm it in person, sending his underlings to silence them instead. Judging by their energy intensity, these two Demons were far stronger than ordinary ones, probably very close to Lower Rank in strength.

"They're after us," Moyu said calmly, gaining a new understanding of Muzan's caution. "Tanjiro, protect Miss Tamayo and Yushiro. Leave the two outside to me."

"Moyu, they're strong..." Tanjiro was somewhat worried.

The faintest curve touched Moyu's lips, and a cold light flashed in his azure pupils. "Good. I can test my blade. Besides... they should have some decent 'samples' on them."

Before he had finished speaking, Moyu vanished like a phantom. When he reappeared, he was standing on the street outside the building, right in front of the Temari Demon and the Arrow Demon as they broke through the barrier and charged in.

"Hee hee hee! Found you! Where's the brat with the Hanafuda Earrings? Come out and let big sister play with you!" the Temari Demon shrieked with laughter, hurling a ball from her hand! It screamed through the air toward Moyu on a bizarre curve, moving far faster than an ordinary bullet.

The Arrow Demon said nothing. He simply raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Moyu. Instantly, a powerful invisible force, like a gigantic arrow, locked down Moyu's range of movement, making him feel as though he were trapped in a quagmire, unable to dodge easily.

The Moyu of before might have had to exert himself. But he was no longer the man he had been.

The Six Eyes opened fully! In Moyu's eyes, the world instantly became a transparent model composed of energy, trajectories, and vectors. The ball's spinning trajectory, speed, and weak points; the direction, strength, and range of the Arrow Demon's invisible force... all the information was analyzed in an instant.

He didn't even draw his blade.

Facing the hurtling ball and the restraining force, Moyu merely raised his left hand gently.

"Cursed Technique Lapse—Blue."

Space twisted abruptly before his palm! A pitch-black sphere the size of a walnut appeared instantly, denser and more stable than before! This time it formed faster, while the mental energy and Cursed Energy it consumed had been reduced further thanks to Energy Manipulation Mastery.

The instant the Temari Demon's ball approached Blue, its trajectory was forcibly warped by the terrifying pull. Instead of striking Moyu, it spun uncontrollably around the black sphere once, then shot back toward the Temari Demon herself at an even greater speed!

"What?!" The smile froze on the Temari Demon's face. She hurriedly tried to catch it, but the ball's rotational force and the kinetic energy enhanced by Blue far exceeded her expectations. It shattered the arms she raised to block it and slammed into her chest!

"Pwah!" The Temari Demon spat blood and flew backward.

At the same time, when the Arrow Demon's invisible restraining force touched the spatial distortion field produced by Blue, it was as though it had struck a wall extending infinitely backward. All its force was infinitely dispersed and canceled out, unable to reach Moyu in the slightest!

"Impossible!" Shock appeared on the Arrow Demon's impassive face for the first time. Had his ability truly been rendered completely useless?

Moyu gave them no chance to catch their breath. The instant Blue dissipated, he moved.

"Azure Flow Breathing, First Form: Vortex Step."

He stepped forward as though treading on the nodes of space, leaving a trail of afterimages as he swept past the Temari Demon, who was still flying backward. His blade flashed!

"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Modified Drop Ripple Thrust!"

Azure Star left its sheath, highly compressed azure Cursed Energy gathering at its tip. Rather than a straight thrust, it carried a subtle spiraling force, piercing with unerring precision into the vulnerable spot on the Temari Demon's neck that her injury had exposed!

Its speed was absolute! Its precision was absolute!

The Temari Demon saw only a glimmer of azure starlight growing larger before her eyes. The next instant, her consciousness fell completely into darkness. Her head flew into the air, disbelief and terror still lingering on her face. Her body turned to ash in midair.

[Slain Demon "Temari Demon," whose strength approached Lower Rank. Coins +5,000.]

The system notification sounded.

Moyu's movements did not pause for an instant. The moment he finished off the Temari Demon, his blade swept back around, its azure light tracing a perfect arc to meet the Arrow Demon, who was attacking with all his strength in shock and fury. The Arrow Demon waved both arms, and ten condensed, almost tangible streams of invisible arrow energy burst from his fingers, shooting at Moyu from every direction and sealing off every escape route.

"Azure Flow Breathing, Zero Form: Mirror Realm!"

Moyu flicked his wrist, and Azure Star traced several tiny, swift circles before him. Where its tip passed, azure Cursed Energy formed a barrier as thin as a cicada's wing, yet incredibly resilient. The space on its surface appeared subtly distorted. This was a temporary defensive sword form created by applying the separation principle of Mirror Dissection to defense and combining it with Limitless's fine manipulation of space.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The ten streams of invisible arrow energy struck the barrier with muffled thuds, but vanished into it without effect. Their power was swiftly dispersed, redirected, and broken apart by the distorted spatial barrier, until it finally dissipated into nothing.

The Arrow Demon's pupils contracted. Had his strongest attack really been neutralized so effortlessly?

At that moment, with his previous force spent and his next yet to arise, his mind reeling, Moyu's Six Eyes caught the opening in the slightest tremor of his energy core.

"It's over."

Moyu's figure seemed to merge into the night. When he reappeared, he was beside the Arrow Demon. Azure Star swept past soundlessly, carrying a cold starlike gleam.

The Arrow Demon couldn't even react. He felt only a chill at his neck before his vision spun. In his final moments of consciousness, he saw that two special test tubes had appeared at some point in the blue-eyed young man's hand, precisely catching several drops of the purest blood spraying from his severed neck, blood rich with Muzan's.

[Slain Demon "Arrow Demon," whose strength approached Lower Rank. Coins +5,200.]

The system notification sounded again.

From beginning to end, the battle had lasted no more than a dozen breaths. Two Demons whose strength approached Lower Rank had been almost powerless to fight back against Moyu once he got serious. The gaps in strength and in their understanding of the nature of power were already like a chasm.

Moyu sheathed his blade and looked at the dark red blood in the test tubes in his hand, his azure eyes betraying no emotion. He turned and walked toward Tanjiro, Tamayo, and the others, who had rushed out of the building.

"Moyu! Are you all right?" Tanjiro asked with concern. From inside the house, he had sensed the brief but intensely fierce clash of energies outside.

"I'm fine." Moyu handed the two test tubes to Miss Tamayo, whose eyes were full of excitement and hope. "Consider this a down payment on the request. We'll collect the blood of the Twelve Kizuki as soon as we can."

Tamayo took the test tubes with trembling hands, holding them like priceless treasures. "Thank... thank you so much! With this, my research is certain to make a breakthrough!"

Yushiro looked at Moyu, the apprehension in his eyes now transformed into awe. For the first time, he felt so directly that there truly were humans in this world who could crush powerful Demons with such ease.