Two days later.
When Giyu and Sabito arrived at the magnificent Western-style villa again, Tamayo and Yushiro were already waiting at the door.
Seeing the two demons standing there so openly, showing no intention of running away, Sabito's face revealed undisguised surprise.
If it were him, he would have disappeared long ago.
It's not a pleasant feeling to completely entrust your life to the enemy.
He suddenly felt a bit of admiration for the two ghosts' courage.
The reception room still had that familiar scent, a blend of herbs and tea.
The four sat down again, and without any further pleasantries, Tamayo's gaze was immediately fixed intently on Giyu Tomioka.
"Mr. Giyu."
She spoke, her voice filled with barely suppressed urgency and anticipation.
"Have you felt your strength growing at an incredible rate these past two days, as if you're... undergoing a sublimation?!"
Giyu picked up his teacup and nodded calmly.
"Um."
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Tamayo's eyes instantly lit up with an alarming gleam!
Sabito, standing nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth and glanced at his companion with the look of someone looking at an alien, inwardly cursing wildly.
Monster!
This guy is an absolute monster!
Don't normal people usually train hard for years before they feel even the slightest progress?
How come it's like he's eating and drinking, his strength keeps increasing every day? Does he even allow anyone else to live?!
Ignoring Sabito's horrified expression, Tamayo leaned forward and asked an even stranger question.
"Have you ever had any unusual birthmarks, or... marks, on your body?"
"Texture?"
Giyu's face finally showed the first and only look of confusion that day.
He shook his head.
"What's the meaning?"
The Sabito also pricked up its ears; it had a feeling that the next topic might be extremely important!
However, Tamayo's reaction was even more shocked than theirs.
"Don't you... know about Demon Slayer Mark?"
She asked in a trembling voice, her gentle face filled with disbelief.
Seeing the bewildered expressions on Giyu and Sabito's faces, as if asking "What are you talking about?", Tamayo was completely stunned.
How is that possible?
She muttered to herself, her beautiful brows furrowed tightly.
"You Demon Slayer Corps, don't you have any records of the Demon Slayer Mark at all?"
"That's impossible! That's a powerful force capable of fighting against Muzan Kibutsuji! The swordsmen of the Sengoku period would have done everything in their power to pass down the method for activating the Demon Slayer Mark!"
"Just how big of a change has happened within your Demon Slayer Corps?!"
Tamayo's series of rhetorical questions struck Giyu and Sabito like heavy blows.
The two looked at each other and saw the same thing in each other's eyes—bewilderment and solemnity.
They really didn't know.
The Demon Slayer Corps has been passed down for over a thousand years; all they've learned and understood are Breathing Style and methods for slaying demons.
As for those so-called Demon Slayer Mark, I've never even heard of them.
The historical rupture... seems to be more severe than they imagined.
Seeing the genuine expressions on their faces, Tamayo let out a long sigh and ultimately chose to explain.
"So-called Demon Slayer Mark..."
Her voice became incredibly serious, each word carrying a heavy weight.
"It's a powerful enhancement state that greatly improves a swordsman's physical abilities. Once the Demon Slayer Mark is activated, the swordsman's strength, speed, reaction time, and even defense and wound healing will receive a comprehensive and leapfrog boost, completely surpassing human limits!"
"More importantly, the power of the Breathing Style will also be significantly enhanced!"
Tamayo's words made Sabito's breathing quicken instantly!
His eyes widened in disbelief, and a storm raged within him!
Beyond human limits?
A comprehensive upgrade?
He glanced subconsciously at the expressionless "monster" beside him, and an idea popped into his head uncontrollably.
If... if I could also activate that Demon Slayer Mark, would I be able to catch up with this guy?!
Even just seeing his back would be enough!
Just as Sabito was filled with excitement and longing, Tamayo's next words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, chilling him to the bone.
"But..."
Tamayo's tone became incredibly heavy and sorrowful.
"Activating the Demon Slayer Mark comes at a price."
"That's equivalent to borrowing life from the heavens. Without exception, every swordsman who has awakened the Demon Slayer Mark will not live past the age of twenty-five."
"Demon Slayer Mark are a mechanism that burns life force in exchange for immense power, a mechanism that overdraws on life itself."
"What?!"
The Sabito's face turned deathly pale in an instant!
"Won't live past twenty-five?!"
He felt a cold sweat break out on his back, and a chill ran down his spine to the top of his head.
"My God! This... this is practically a curse?!"
Trading decades of lifespan for fleeting power? Such a trade is far too cruel!
There is only one exception.
Tamayo's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible reverence.
Giyu's brows furrowed suddenly.
A name came out almost without thinking.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
"That's right."
Tamayo nodded, her eyes filled with even more approval as she looked at Giyu.
"That sir is the chosen one; he was born with Demon Slayer Mark, thus breaking the curse that he wouldn't live past twenty-five."
"But apart from him, all the swordsmen who awakened their Demon Slayer Mark later in life, without exception, exhausted their lives before the age of twenty-five."
"But even so..."
Tamayo's gaze swept over the two of them, and her tone became extremely impassioned.
"It is precisely because of the Demon Slayer Mark that the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen of the Sengoku period were able to become the strongest generation in history!"
"They used their short lives to shine with the most brilliant light, almost driving Muzan Kibutsuji into a truly desperate situation!"
The reception room fell into a deathly silence once again.
The Sabito sat there blankly, its mind a complete mess.
Power and curse, glory and death.
This heavy history weighed on him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
He suddenly understood why his Master had said that they were a generation living in a peaceful and prosperous era.
Compared to those predecessors who ignited hope with their lives, what they experienced was nothing.