All-Purpose Healer

"That's what happened. Not only had my lung injury healed, but I'd also become much stronger. It was practically like being reborn."

As she spoke, Yuko flexed her biceps, her body language exceptionally animated.

Just like before...

Yoriichi first smiled in relief, then said solemnly, "Yuko."

"Hmm?"

"Don't let this power go to your head. A demon's power must be used with caution."

Seeing how serious her Older Brother looked, Yuko wiped the smile from her face and said gravely, "Mm, I know."

Overusing a demon's power did indeed come with a major problem.

That was weakness.

Once a demon grew weak, the desire to eat would swiftly consume its entire mind.

And demons, in their pursuit of power, would eat people.

No matter how she looked at it, Yoriichi's concerns were justified.

After all, Kokushibo had become a demon precisely because he sought strength—because he wanted to become stronger than Yoriichi—and had abandoned his human identity.

With Kokushibo as a cautionary example, Yoriichi naturally paid even closer attention to Yuko.

But now that they had brought it up, her mouth was starting to water.

Seeing the drool at the corner of his sister's mouth, Yoriichi froze for a moment.

Yuko hastily sucked it back in and looked at Yoriichi awkwardly.

"Um, Older Brother..."

"Hmm?"

"I haven't eaten anything in several days."

"Then I'll go make you something..." Yoriichi was about to rise when he suddenly realized something. "You... what do you want to eat?"

Yuko looked at him with blazing eyes.

Yoriichi: "..."

Yuko pressed her palms together. "Blood! Please, I only need a little blood!"

It had to be said that Kokushibo had taken very good care of her.

Afraid that she would grow weak with nothing to eat after becoming a demon, he had deliberately left Namiko there.

He had even refrained from killing her outright, afraid Yuko would have to eat something that was no longer fresh.

So he really hadn't been completely unaffected, had he?

Yoriichi lowered his eyelids slightly and sighed. "Yuko, we still can't be certain whether you're different from other demons."

"So from now on, you'll have to live with me."

At the very least, he needed to keep an eye on her.

Yuko paused briefly, then said as though it were obvious, "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Besides, I'm still counting on you to teach me swordsmanship so I can get revenge on Kokushibo."

"That bastard kept grabbing me by the neck and asking whether I wanted to become a demon." Yuko's eyes turned dangerous as she said viciously, "One day, I'm going to beat his teeth out!"

Yoriichi: "..."

All right, she really hadn't changed.

Yoriichi picked up the Nichirin Blade beside him and drew it.

It was such a small movement, carrying neither pressure nor killing intent, yet Yuko's entire body stiffened instinctively.

Muzan's cells were causing trouble inside her again.

Yoriichi paid no attention to his sister's reaction and lightly cut open his hand.

"Is this enough?"

There was an old saying: nothing mattered more than eating.

In the end, the urge to eat overwhelmed the fear contained within Muzan's cells.

"Yes, yes!" Yuko nodded furiously and stepped forward, cupping her hands to catch the blood.

Just as Yuko lowered her head to taste it, she suddenly stopped.

Yoriichi asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Yuko shook her head.

She had merely thought of the joke about Yoriichi being the incarnation of the sun god. Would she be burned to death if she drank his blood?

That thought had inexplicably popped into her mind just then.

Fortunately, it wasn't that absurd.

It tasted delicious, like sweet rain after a long drought.

It definitely could not compare to eating people, but at least it counted as a snack.

This life was truly unbearable. It was far too torturous.

If immortality meant living like this, then she would rather not have it. The feeling of constantly being hungry was far too miserable.

She wondered what Miss Tamayo was doing now.

Yuko thought that after Miss Tamayo had been saved by Yoriichi, she seemed to have stopped eating human flesh. When she met Tanjiro in later generations, Tanjiro had not smelled the foul demon stench on her.

Miss Tamayo also seemed to survive on human blood, and given her status, obtaining it should have been fairly easy.

Should Yuko go seek refuge with Tamayo?

She could work for her and earn a little food.

Miss Tamayo was a physician, after all. That practically made her part of the establishment, didn't it?

At the very least, she was much better off than an unemployed drifter like Yuko, who could only stay home and sponge off family.

Sigh.

Yuko let out a sigh.

Yoriichi tilted his head, watching the expressions on his sister's face shift constantly. For some reason, she looked rather cute.

That was, if he ignored the blood at the corner of her mouth and on her hands.

Yoriichi's blood had barely taken the edge off Yuko's hunger, restoring a little color to her face.

Looking at the wound on Yoriichi's wrist, Yuko smiled mischievously.

"Older Brother, how about I show you a magic trick?"

"A magic trick?"

Yuko picked up her broken Nichirin Blade and said wistfully, "It's been with me for so many years. What a shame."

Yoriichi said calmly, "This sword was never really suited to Snow Breathing."

Yuko nodded. "I know."

Breathing Techniques and Sword Styles complemented one another, and the effectiveness of a Sword Style often depended heavily on the blade itself.

This sword was the Nichirin Blade Yuko had used when she first joined the Demon Slayer Corps, before she had mastered Snow Breathing.

It was better suited to the Five Great Breathing Styles.

Snow Breathing had evolved from Wind and Water Breathing, but it also incorporated elements of Thunder Breathing, Sun Breathing, and other Breathing Techniques. It was currently the most complex Breathing Technique.

An ordinary blade simply could not support it.

Furthermore, after Yuko's lungs had been damaged, she had never again gone out on missions, so naturally there had been no need to replace her Nichirin Blade.

That was why she had continued using this sword until now.

Yuko used the broken blade to cut open her wrist. Yoriichi opened his mouth, then hesitated.

"Older Brother, your hand."

Yoriichi obediently held out his hand.

Yuko smeared her blood over Yoriichi's wound, and it healed at a terrifying speed.

Under Yoriichi's astonished gaze, the wound on Yuko's wrist also healed. She explained, "This is the Blood Demon Art I awakened."

"It can rapidly heal injuries."

"It can even regenerate severed arms."

A faint, barely perceptible confidence entered Yuko's voice.

This power would definitely prove useful in the future.

If humans possessed the same regenerative power as demons, what advantage would demons have left?

Whether it was due to the Blue Spider Lily's unique properties or because Kokushibo had injected a sufficient amount of Muzan's blood into her body, she did not know.

Whether it was the healing power granted by her Blood Demon Art or Yuko's own recovery ability, both far surpassed those of ordinary demons.

Watching the wound regenerate, Yoriichi nodded slightly. "It truly is a powerful ability."

"Right? And that's not its only use." Yuko ran her palm across the Nichirin Blade, coating it in a layer of blood.

The blood spread unnaturally along the blade, turning nearly the entire edge an even crimson.

"My blood can also enchant weapons, increasing the power and range of Sword Styles."

This was somewhat similar to Kokushibo's Blood Demon Art. While it was not as convenient as his, it was not much worse.

More importantly, she could use this ability on other people.

She, Tsugikuni Yuko, was an all-purpose healer!