"Yahaba, although it's the first time I've known you, thank you for the time you bought me!"
Susamaru murmured and raised her head, her twisted face full of murderous intent.
"Lady Tamayo, please step back!"
Yushiro stood in front of Tamayo and blocked her from behind.
But Tamayo shook her head slightly and refused.
"It's not necessary."
"Huh?"
Yushiro was puzzled, but out of trust in Tamayo, he obediently stepped aside.
"Do you look down on me as one of the Twelve Kizuki?" Susamaru smiled morbidly. "Although I haven't fully recovered, it's enough to crush you to death."
Tamayo gently shook her head again and said indifferently, "Your companion was not one of the Twelve Kizuki, and I'm afraid you aren't either."
"What did you say!?"
Susamaru's eyes widened, as if she'd heard something from a fantasy tale.
"As far as I know, the Twelve Kizuki have numbers engraved in their eyes identifying their rank, but he doesn't." Tamayo said and glanced at the eyeballs that had rolled out of the crushed body—there was indeed no number engraved on them.
Seeing this, Susamaru exclaimed in disbelief.
"No, it's impossible!"
"I am one of the Twelve Kizuki that the master admitted himself. This will never be fake. It must be you, a sinister and cunning woman, who's lying again!"
"I won't be fooled, and I won't listen to you again. I'll use all my strength to tear your head off!"
Susamaru shook her head hysterically and shouted as she stepped back, her expression full of fear.
It wasn't fear that this woman who looked gentle and elegant but was actually like a devil would seduce her again—it was fear that everything she said was the truth.
She admired and followed Muzan Kibutsuji not because of immortality, but because of this fascinating power and the title of being among the strongest Twelve Kizuki.
If all this was false, then she didn't know how to face the rest of her life.
Therefore, she would tear off this woman's head before Tamayo could produce evidence or persuade her to believe it, so the truth would never be known.
After the last roar, she urged the cells in her body to grow a pair of arms under her armpits and on both sides of her abdomen. Blood mist filled her palms and gathered into balls.
"Go to hell!"
Susamaru twisted her body, assuming a posture most suitable for her six arms to exert strength, and then...
Splurt splurt splurt...
Her body was like a deflated balloon, constantly spraying blood mist.
Susamaru's body shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye and finally turned into a pool of thick liquid.
"Ugh!"
Tamayo couldn't bear to watch and closed her eyes, sighing softly.
Susamaru had inhaled the Scent of Illusory Blood, and her brain function had declined. It was impossible to process the information of "decomposing toxins in the body" while processing information from the outside world.
However, fear of Muzan Kibutsuji was implanted deep in every demon's heart.
When Yahaba had called out Muzan Kibutsuji's name, she'd instinctively shifted her attention from decomposing the toxins in her body to reality.
Then the toxins in her body lost their suppression and continued to spread and grow.
Susamaru's brain at this time could no longer process so much information, and naturally she didn't notice any changes in her body.
Not only did she not concentrate on suppressing the toxin's spread and decomposing it, she'd released 100% of her power. This was like when a flood came—not only failing to build up the dam but actively blowing it up.
Immediately, the toxin spread throughout her body, destroying all cells.
After sighing, Tamayo opened her eyes and regained her calm and indifference.
She turned around and came to Bobbi and Coulson to examine them.
Bobbi's internal organs had suffered significant impact, and several ribs and her sternum were broken.
But because of her enhanced body, what would be a fatal injury requiring immediate surgery for ordinary people was only a normal serious injury. As long as she received treatment and recuperated for ten days to two weeks, she could fully recover.
And Coulson...
"...There's only one way to save you now."
After checking Coulson's physical condition, Tamayo was silent for a moment, then said, "Your injury is too serious. Even if I operate on you now, you won't survive. Only by turning into a demon can you live.
If you have a reason to live even if you're not human, I will save you."
"..."
Without answering, Coulson had passed out.
He'd been seriously injured and later inhaled the Scent of Illusory Blood. If it weren't for his body's self-protection mechanism, a surge of adrenaline, and worry about the situation, he would have passed out long ago.
Now, Susamaru had been eliminated.
His tense nerves loosened, and his consciousness faded at that moment.
Tamayo held Coulson's wrist—his pulse was barely audible. If he didn't turn into a demon, he wouldn't have the chance to wake up again.
"That's what happened to Coulson..." Tamayo turned to look at Bobbi and said, "So, does he become a demon, or die as a human?"
"...Save him!"
[Ding! You obtained 200 wish points!]
[Ding! You obtained 100 wish points!]
[Ding! You obtained 300 wish points!]
[Ding! You obtained...]
[Ding! Your D-rank six-star puppet "Susamaru" has died!]
[Ding! Your D-rank seven-star puppet "Yahaba" has died!]
"They actually won!?"
Hearing the notification sound from the system, Quinn was stunned.
In the original story, Tamayo and Yushiro had also been helped by the protagonist's siblings... No, it should be said that the protagonist's siblings, with Tamayo and Yushiro's help, had barely won after growing through battle.
In that battle, the protagonist's siblings had been the main force.
And now, just relying on Yushiro as the main force, they'd won?
Quinn rubbed his chin in thought and quickly figured out the crux of the problem—wisteria flowers.
He didn't know if the prescription that transformed Muzan into a demon contained medicinal herbs restrained by wisteria flowers or if there was some other reason. Demons including Muzan had an inexplicable disgust and fear of wisteria flowers and wouldn't approach them.
And toxins extracted from wisteria flowers could cause fatal damage to demon cells.
Tamayo herself was a doctor who'd studied demons for hundreds of years and probably knew more about demon body structure than the Demon King Muzan himself.
With poison to restrain demons in hand, it was completely reasonable for her to kill demons stronger than herself.
In the final decisive battle of the original story, it was also Tamayo who, relying on a quadruple chain poison, had weakened Muzan multiple times, allowing the entire Demon Slayer Corps to drag him until dawn and win the final victory.
"What a shame. I was still worried you couldn't handle it, so I had someone ready to help..."
Quinn was a bit confused.
Because the system divided people's strength into levels and evaluated them based on various factors, usually high-level combatants could basically defeat lower levels. This made him subconsciously judge outcomes based on strength levels.
But real battles were often complex and changeable. External factors like weather, terrain, circumstances, and luck also affected outcomes.
If strength alone determined victory, there'd be no need for battle.
Just compare power levels—whoever was weaker should admit defeat.
Character Notes:
Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado - From: Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) (referenced as "protagonist's siblings")
The main protagonists of Demon Slayer In the original story, they fought alongside Tamayo and Yushiro against Susamaru and Yahaba Referenced here to show how the battle played out differently in Quinn's version of events