The Sweetest Aroma

Kokushibo released his hand expressionlessly.

Yuko collapsed onto the ground, clutching her neck with difficulty. Her face contorted, veins bulging on her forehead and neck, her eyes bloodshot.

Something was injected into her body through Kokushibo's fingers.

At this moment, Yuko felt a restless surge throughout her body, as if her very blood was boiling. It was an indescribable feeling.

Kokushibo walked slowly towards Namiko, who had crawled to the doorway, and said lightly, "The stronger a person is, the longer it takes for them to transform into a demon. You'll stay here obediently for the next few days."

It had taken him a full three days to transform into a demon, and Yuko's talent was no less than his.

Sensing movement behind her, Namiko turned back in terror, letting out whimpers. She pushed harder with her elbows and knees, looking utterly pathetic.

Kokushibo's eyes devoid of emotion, he dragged her back.

"Ah!" Namiko thrashed in fear.

Kokushibo casually threw her onto the ground, snapped the branches of the Demon Blade in his hand, and pinned Namiko's limbs to the ground with his feet, immobilizing her.

"Ah~"

Namiko's screams echoed incessantly.

Yuko watched the scene with blood-red eyes. "Kokushibo..."

From the words Yuko gritted out, Kokushibo heard a rare hint of anger.

He felt unexpectedly good.

"You bastard!"

Ignoring Yuko's curses, Kokushibo did not pay her any mind and left directly.

Yuko lay on the ground in agony. She could feel her heartbeat quicken, and something inside her seemed to be changing.

It was a transformation on a microscopic level.

Namiko's pained moans reached her ears. Yuko subconsciously glanced over, finding her current state incredibly alluring.

Only when her saliva began to drip onto the floor did Yuko suddenly realize.

She turned her head away, desperately suppressing the tremor in her heart. Her fingers dug ferociously into the ground as she choked out, "Namiko... stand up..."

She finally understood why Kokushibo had done this. His goal was for her, after transforming into a demon, to personally devour Namiko.

Even without Yuko's words, Namiko, witnessing the changes in Yuko's body, was filled with terror and wanted to pull out the blades stuck in her hands.

But her tendons had been severed, and she had no strength to move. She could only watch helplessly as blood flowed from her body.

It's almost dawn...

Yuko gritted her teeth, trying to crawl out the door, but the effects on her body made such a luxury impossible. Muzan's cells were remodeling her body.

Yuko curled into a ball, stuffing her hand into her mouth, desperately holding onto her sanity.

Her hand was bitten bloody, but her consciousness was steadily fading.

Who knew how long had passed.

When Yuko suddenly woke up, the full moon was high in the sky. The hazy moonlight streamed in through the door, illuminating the room.

Yuko gasped for air, looking down at her hands.

Her once snow-white nails had turned black, as if she had gotten a manicure. Her hand, bitten to the point of bloody flesh, now looked smooth as soap under the moonlight.

She had become a demon.

But she seemed to... still possess independent will.

After a moment of stunned silence, Yuko, with a hint of panic, touched her cheek. Fortunately, her nose was still her nose, and her eyes were still her eyes. Her face hadn't become as distorted as Kokushibo's.

Next, her slightly recovered brain compelled her to look towards Namiko.

Namiko lay motionless, covered in blood. The blood flowing from her limbs had congealed. Her pathetic state suggested how hard she had struggled.

Yuko's saliva secreted involuntarily, her eyes fixed on Namiko's body.

Namiko wasn't dead yet. A demon's senses were terrifyingly acute. Yuko could even hear her faint heartbeat.

Drip, drip...

It was like a feast spread before a starving person; saliva poured out uncontrollably.

But she could also clearly feel that she could control this urge.

Yuko feared becoming a demon, not just because demons eat humans.

It was also because after becoming a demon, one's will would be distorted, and because of the Demon King's mind-reading ability.

If Muzan were to read her mind, he could overcome the sun in advance and become truly invincible.

Yuko turned her head away, refusing to look at Namiko. Her reason gradually returned, and the saliva stopped flowing.

She could overcome this impulse. Was it because she was special?

Was it because she didn't belong in this world?

Or was it because of the Blue Spider Lily?

She had only seen it before.

It's wild vegetables!

Yuko suddenly realized.

She and Yoriichi had been guests at Tanjiki's home. Tanjiki had treated them with wild vegetables for several days. Were there Blue Spider Lilies among them?

Yuko fell into thought.

Nezuko could overcome the desire to eat humans, with Tanjiro's desperate pleas, but the Blue Spider Lily was the most crucial condition.

Otherwise, why would she be the only one to overcome it?

"Kibutsuji Muzan..." Yuko uttered the name, her pronunciation slightly rough.

She remembered that Muzan's blood contained a certain curse that would cause any demon who spoke his name to perish.

After waiting for a moment, no unexpected event occurred.

She could clearly sense her current condition, that she was not controlled by Muzan.

Did this mean she had become the second demon, after Tamayo, to successfully break free from Muzan's control?

Yuko let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of her heart.

Because she had seen discussions more than once about the Demon Slayer Corps defeating Muzan purely through plot armor.

If Muzan had truly heard her inner thoughts, he would have been invincible long before the plot even began.

After clarifying her condition, Yuko quickly crawled towards Namiko.

Saliva secreted unconsciously, and her entire body's senses told her that the food before her was extremely delicious.

Yuko suppressed the desire in her heart and carefully pulled the blades from Namiko's limbs.

"Hmph~" Namiko groaned unconsciously, her brows furrowed tightly.

She had been tortured by Kokushibo to the point of being unrecognizable, but thankfully, she had survived.

This won't do, she had to take her to a doctor quickly.

Almost the instant this thought arose, Yuko's mind became clear, and she instantly understood her Blood Demon Art.

It was like an innate talent, recalled inadvertently.

Her Blood Demon Art... could save people!

Yuko picked up the Demon Blade she had thrown aside, cut open her wrist, and smeared her blood onto Namiko's injured areas.

Namiko's wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, just like a demon regenerating a severed limb.

Yuko's eyes lit up.

This ability!

It's too useful!