Boom. Boom. Boom.
As Muzan's voice echoed in the silence, Tamayo's expression shifted again and again. She couldn't believe he had seen through her plan, but the depth of his cunning was truly beyond imagination. She had used every bit of her intellect, every ounce of her strength, but she knew how incredibly difficult it was to outsmart a monster like him. More importantly, she was completely powerless. She couldn't even move a muscle while under his control, and Nezuko, with her memory gone, could only act on instinct. They were at a complete disadvantage, and turning things around from this position felt impossible.
"Hmph..." Tamayo's voice was as cold as ice as she responded to his mocking question.
"Yushiro is dead. Nezuko and I are your prisoners. You have complete control over this entire Infinity Castle and everyone in it," she said, her eyes filled with a deep and profound despair. "Our value to you is gone. We've made the medicine, so there's nothing left for you to take from us. Just get it over with. If you act quickly, perhaps I can still catch up to Yushiro..."
Tamayo spoke as if she had accepted her fate, but this was her final gamble—a provocation disguised as surrender. She couldn't move, Yushiro was dead, and Nezuko was no match for Muzan. In this desperate situation, after centuries of experience, she felt a suffocating powerlessness. It was agonizing.
"Is that so?"
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Muzan flicked his wrist. Nezuko, who was standing a short distance away, was instantly pulled toward him as if by an invisible force.
Bang! He raised his palm, and Nezuko was forced to her knees before him. The next moment, countless fleshy tentacles shot out from Muzan's back, wrapping around Nezuko's arms and legs and hoisting her high into the air.
"You... what are you doing?" Tamayo's expression changed once again.
"Since the medicine is ready," Muzan said, his voice flat and indifferent, "it's only natural that we test it on a demon."
Whoosh! A flicker of hope ignited in Tamayo's chest. Could it be that he had fallen for it after all? She had thought her plans were completely ruined, but now it seemed Muzan's own desire was leading him into her trap. After all, what demon could resist the temptation of becoming a perfect, invincible being?
Bang! However, what happened next shattered her hope completely. Muzan flipped his hand, and the vial of medicine flew into his grasp.
"Tamayo... since you were the one who prepared this, you can be the first to test it."
Before she could react, her head was forced back, her mouth opened, and the medicine was poured down her throat.
"Ah! Ah! AHH!"
An indescribable pain contorted Tamayo's face. The tiny bit of relief she had felt moments ago vanished in an instant. She never dreamed that Muzan would use the medicine on her. Combined with the secondary agent she had already planted inside her own body, she would be dead from the poison in minutes.
Damn it... Damn it, why?! Why is it happening like this!?
No... no, there's still a chance... In that split second, an idea formed. Tamayo's face flushed as she put her final, desperate plan into action. "Wh-what is this? What's happening!?"
She frantically mobilized all of her power, forcing the medicine's effects to spread through her body. At the very end of her life, she would gamble everything on one last performance. Before the poison could fully take hold, she would fake the effects of the cure and trick Muzan into taking it himself. Once he consumed the medicine, all of his schemes would be meaningless.
Buzz! The demonic aura around Tamayo began to change. Her heartbeat, her pulse, even the color of her skin—all of it began to shift, mimicking the transformation of a demon turning back into a human.
"Tamayo, you truly are a marvel," Muzan said, a satisfied smile on his face. "To think you actually developed a medicine that could do this!"
Hearing this, the immense anxiety in Tamayo's heart eased for a moment. She let out a secret sigh of relief. This monster in front of her was nothing but schemes and lies. He had never trusted her, never felt a single genuine emotion for her. To think she had once shed tears for his act... now she saw that it was all just another part of his cruel game. But she had been playing her own game, too, and now, it was finally about to end...
Just as she thought Muzan was about to take the medicine, the temperature in the room plummeted.
Bang! A powerful force struck her, sending her flying across the room before she crashed heavily to the ground, blood spilling from her mouth.
"Tamayo... your performance just now was very convincing," Muzan's voice, now as cold as ice, echoed around her. "But no matter how convincing, a lie is still a lie. It's a pity... in your desperation, you probably even managed to deceive yourself."
Whoosh! Whoosh! As Muzan finished speaking, two figures appeared behind him.
"No... this... this can't be..."
Tamayo's face filled with utter shock and disbelief. Standing behind Muzan were two women who looked exactly like her. The same face, the same clothes, the same expression. And in their hands, they each held a vial of the exact same medicine.
In that instant, Tamayo's mind shattered. It was clear now. Muzan had never trusted her for a second. He had been secretly monitoring her every move. He had created two perfect replicas of her and had them create the same medicine, using the same formula, the same materials, and the same process. It was a perfectly controlled experiment, a method so cold and calculating that it was completely beyond her comprehension.
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