Chapter 302

"In any case, let's go in and have a proper talk first."

When the group arrived at the mansion.

Elsewhere.

Inside a dark alley.

Muzan Kibutsuji, his face pale, stood in a pool of blood, his eyes ice-cold.

"That earring…"

His pupils shook violently, and the figure from a hundred years ago surfaced in his mind.

The human who had once made him feel the fear of death—a fear that still could not be erased even now… Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

Muzan Kibutsuji's terror of that figure had long since seeped into his very bones over the past hundred years, impossible to forget.

"I never expected that earring to appear in the world again…"

Muzan's face darkened terribly. He pressed one hand against the wall, and the wall was instantly clawed apart.

"Someone come."

Swish—

Two figures appeared behind him and dropped to their knees.

"Go bring me back the head of that Demon Slayer wearing the earring."

Muzan said coldly.

"As you command!"

…………

Inside the mansion.

After listening to Tanjiro and Tamayo recount the matter between the two of them.

"Demons who have broken free of Muzan's curse… demons who don't eat people… demons created by a demon other than Muzan…"

Shinobu Kocho and Kanao stared blankly at Tamayo, Yushiro, and Nezuko before them, finding it hard to accept it all at once.

Tanjiro was also learning of Tamayo's story for the first time and was extremely surprised.

Tamayo, likewise, was both astonished and delighted by Nezuko's uniqueness.

"That's the situation."

Luo En sat at the table, eating the fried pork cutlet Tamayo and the other had brought back, and said as he spoke: "Not every demon must necessarily be killed. Tamayo and Yushiro can survive without eating people. Like you, they share a deadly grudge with Muzan Kibutsuji. Nezuko hasn't eaten a single person since becoming a demon—she's special. To the Demon Slayer Corps, they are not enemies; in fact, they may be allies in taking down Muzan Kibutsuji."

Hearing this, Tanjiro could no longer hold back. With great nervousness, he asked Luo En and Tamayo a question: "Um… Mr. Luo En, Young Lady Tamayo, I'd like to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Tanjiro stared intently at the two of them: "Is there… a way to turn a demon back into a human?"

Tamayo looked at Tanjiro for two seconds, then gave a slight nod: "A method… in terms of possibility, it does exist."

Tanjiro's expression immediately brightened.

"Every difficult ailment has its corresponding medicine and treatment. Demons should be no exception. Although there's currently no way to turn a demon back into a human, if we can analyze a demon's blood, it may still be possible to find a drug that can return a demon to being human."

Tamayo said softly.

Shinobu Kocho gazed at Tamayo, her expression slightly solemn.

She had not expected that there would actually be a demon who had broken free of Muzan's control and was carrying out such research in secret.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something.

Right!

Tamayo… the Master seemed to have mentioned that name.

Could the Master know her?

Tamayo paid no heed to Shinobu Kocho's gaze. Looking at Tanjiro, she said softly: "Regarding the method of treatment, I already have some leads now, but I'm still lacking a few key conditions."

"What conditions?"

Tanjiro asked hurriedly.

"First, please allow us to examine Nezuko's blood. She was able to spend two years sleeping and reach a state where she can act without eating human flesh—there must be some kind of abnormal change within her body. That change is very important to our research."

"Second, in order to manufacture the treatment drug, we need a large amount of demon blood. The more concentrated Muzan's blood within a demon, the more valuable that demon's blood is for research."

"In other words, if you want your sister to become human again, what you, as a Demon Slayer, need to do is collect enough powerful demon blood—the stronger, the better."

Luo En said to Tanjiro with a smile.

Tamayo nodded: "That's right."

Tanjiro glanced at Nezuko beside him—lying on her back, a bamboo muzzle in her mouth, dot-eyed, her calves pressed against the wall, her body bobbing up and down as she wiggled about—and a flash of resolve shone in his eyes.

"I understand. I will definitely gather enough demon blood."

He would definitely turn Nezuko back into a human!

"However, with your current strength, you're far from enough."

Luo En, who had just finished a huge bowl of fried pork cutlet rice, rested his chin on one hand and said with a smile: "Even the weakest of the Twelve Demon Moons—Lower Rank Six—you probably can't, no, definitely can't beat."

"Twelve Demon Moons?"

Tanjiro was a little stunned; this was his first time hearing of them.

"Simply put, the Twelve Demon Moons are the twelve strongest demons under Muzan Kibutsuji. They hold a massive amount of Muzan's blood within their bodies. Compared to ordinary superhuman demons, they're a level stronger. The strongest among them have probably already lived for over a hundred years and are close to reaching the boundary Muzan Kibutsuji himself has achieved."

Luo En said lazily.

"The boundary… you mean…"

Both Tamayo and Shinobu Kocho's expressions shifted slightly.

Tanjiro couldn't help but ask: "The boundary—what does that boundary refer to? What do you mean?"

"It probably refers to overcoming the weakness of the neck—a state where one won't die even if their head is cut off… just like Muzan himself, who has no weakness other than sunlight."

Tamayo's heavy voice caused Tanjiro's eyes to widen slightly.

"Even if his head is cut off, he won't die…"

Luo En reached out and rubbed Nezuko's head beside him; the feel of it was nice.

"By the way, if Kibutsuji Muzan finds a way to overcome his weakness of fearing sunlight, he could become the perfect, flawless ultimate being in his mind, and by then you absolutely wouldn't be able to kill him."

"I won't let him succeed."

Shinobu's small face was grim and murderous as she said with absolute resolve: "We absolutely have to kill that guy before that happens!"

Luo En glanced at Shinobu: "Honestly, with your current strength, it's very hard to do. If Kibutsuji Muzan came out with all the Twelve Kizuki right now, even if the entire Demon Slayer Corps risked their lives, the outcome could only be a complete defeat."

Shinobu bit her lip with her pearly teeth, her violet eyes fixed intently on him: "It's something that hasn't happened yet — why can you assert it so certainly?"

"It's not an assertion, but a fact I've derived based on the strength of both sides."

Luo En kept stroking Nezuko's head; she narrowed her eyes, looking thoroughly content.

"Shinobu, do you know the origin of Breathing Techniques?"

Hearing these words, Shinobu, Tanjiro, Tamayo, and Yushiro all froze.

"The… origin of Breathing Techniques."

Tanjiro couldn't help but swallow hard.

Under the gaze of the others.

Luo En slowly began to speak, recounting the story of Yoriichi Tsugikuni and the Breathing Techniques.

Nezuko took the opportunity to rest her head on his lap, closed her eyes, and enjoyed his head-patting.

"A long time ago, about four hundred years or so, during the Warring States period, there was a family named Tsugikuni. One day, a pair of twins was born into the Tsugikuni family…"

……

While Luo En was telling them the origin of the Breathing Techniques.

The Hand Demon and Arrow Demon, sent by Kibutsuji Muzan to take Tanjiro's life, had also followed their trail and tracked down the door hidden by the concealment technique.

"Fo~u~nd it."

12, The Attack of the Hand Demon and Arrow Demon

Luo En, who had been telling the story of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, suddenly stopped.

Shinobu also turned her head to look outside.

Boom!

The wall was smashed straight open.

Before Tanjiro and Yushiro could react.

They saw a hand ball imbued with terrifying power hurtling toward them.