Tamayo, the demon doctor

After Tamayo reprimanded him, Yushiro stopped shouting, but his anger and murderous intent toward Chiba Yo had not diminished.

Chiba Yo carried the two demons away from the street and into a forest, then set them down.

The moment he was free of Chiba Yo's hold, Yushiro angrily kicked at him.

"Yushiro!" Tamayo called out, trying to stop him, but she was too late. Yushiro's foot was already inches from Chiba Yo's chest.

Smack!

Chiba Yo caught Yushiro's ankle with one hand.

"Do you want to kill me that badly? I suppose that's no surprise. You're a demon, after all. Killing and eating people is your instinct," Chiba Yo said coldly.

He had never liked demons. Certain past experiences had made him more sympathetic toward the humans they had once been, but he still hated man-eating demons.

He could not retain any tenderness toward people who had already become demons the way Tanjiro did. His sympathy was only for the people they had been before their transformation.

He felt differently about Nezuko because he believed what Tanjiro had told him, and she had later proved that she would not eat people.

But these two demons were merely strangers he had encountered by chance. There was a very good chance they had eaten people. After all, Nezuko was the only demon Chiba Yo knew of who had never done so.

The unusual circumstances earlier had made Chiba Yo consider the possibility that they had been helping him out, so he had chosen not to kill them. Still, he was afraid these two demons might eat people, so he had brought them along to find out exactly what their situation was.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive this boy. Although he's a demon, he has never eaten anyone. He may have reacted that way because of what you just did," Tamayo said helplessly.

Yushiro usually listened to her, but whenever something involved her, he became a little difficult to control. Tamayo knew he was concerned for her, but she felt that he often took things too far, leaving her at a loss.

Hearing this, Chiba Yo began to understand. Tamayo's rational behavior made him feel that she still retained her human will, so he said to the two demons before him:

"I took you away because I was worried you would use the chaos as an opportunity to eat people. If you really still retain your human will and won't eat anyone, I'll apologize."

With that, Chiba Yo lowered Yushiro's foot and released his ankle. Under Tamayo's gaze, Yushiro gave a cold snort and fell silent, making no further attempt to attack Chiba Yo.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Tamayo. I'm both a demon and a doctor, and I want to eliminate that man, Kibutsuji," Tamayo told Chiba Yo.

After hearing her words, most of Chiba Yo's suspicions toward Tamayo and Yushiro faded. She could say Muzan Kibutsuji's name, whereas every demon he had encountered before had been unable to reveal even the slightest information about him.

Chiba Yo suspected that Muzan Kibutsuji had placed some sort of curse on the demons under his command, preventing them from revealing any information about him.

"If you can tell me something about Muzan, I'm willing to believe everything you've said," Chiba Yo told Tamayo, still harboring some doubts about the two demons before him.

He was already ignoring Yushiro. No matter how he looked at him, the fellow did not seem inclined to have a civil conversation.

"The demon you just encountered was Kibutsuji. Splitting his body apart to escape is one of his abilities. He has used it before, and I'm currently researching a drug that will prevent him from splitting," Tamayo told Chiba Yo.

So that was Muzan Kibutsuji? Then why did he react to seeing me by...

After hearing Tamayo's explanation, Chiba Yo could not understand why Muzan had immediately split apart and fled upon seeing him. But Tamayo continued, "You must also be wondering why Muzan split apart and fled the moment he saw you. I can tell you why."

With that, Tamayo looked at Chiba Yo.

They look almost identical. No wonder Muzan reacted that way. I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing...

Looking at Chiba Yo, Tamayo thought of Yoriichi, who had spared her all those years ago. Beside her, Yushiro continued to sulk.

After hearing this, Chiba Yo chose to believe her, mainly because she had said she was researching a drug to prevent Muzan from splitting apart.

Having encountered Muzan that night, Chiba Yo considered that ability extremely troublesome. If Tamayo really could develop such a drug, nothing could be better.

He also genuinely wanted to know why Muzan had fled at the sight of him.

"I'm sorry. I acted rashly earlier. But if I had to go through that again, I would definitely make the same choice," Chiba Yo offered Yushiro and Tamayo a brief apology, though he believed his earlier actions had been the safest course.

So far, Tamayo's words and behavior all indicated that she still retained her human will. She also seemed to be free of Muzan's control, so Chiba Yo was willing to treat her as a human.

"Yes, I understand why you did it. Our goal is the same: to destroy that man. Why don't we talk at my newly opened clinic? I'll tell you what I know about Muzan, but I also hope you'll place a little more trust in us," Tamayo said with a smile, her words and bearing thoroughly dignified.

"All right." Chiba Yo nodded.

Although Yushiro was deeply displeased, he said nothing more and could only stew in silence.

Chiba Yo then followed Yushiro and Tamayo to a dead end. Tamayo gestured to him before walking into the wall at the end of the alley, and Yushiro followed her through.

This must be a Blood Demon Art, too.

Chiba Yo found the sight rather novel and followed them inside.

After passing through the dead end, Chiba Yo found a three-story building before him.

"We originally lived somewhere else, but Muzan's subordinates discovered that residence a while ago, so we had no choice but to move. We never expected to encounter Muzan again after relocating.

"Fortunately, Muzan didn't notice us this time, so we won't have to move again."

Tamayo explained as she led Chiba Yo toward the building.

"Is Muzan hunting you down?" Chiba Yo asked, turning to Tamayo.

"To be precise, he's hunting me, because I know too much about him and have broken free of his control," Tamayo replied.

Once inside the building, Tamayo led Chiba Yo to the sitting room, where the human and the two demons sat on the floor.

"First, let me tell you why Muzan immediately split apart and fled when he saw you.

"It involves a swordsman from the Sengoku Era. He was once a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and came within a hair's breadth of killing Muzan. His name was-Yoriichi Tsugikuni."

Tamayo began explaining to Chiba Yo.