Chapter 47 - I'm Special

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"LET GO OF TAMAYO-SAMA, YOU DAMN DEGENERATE!!"

And even pinned to Tanjiro's chest, Yushiro kept thrashing like a man possessed, clawing at the air in Marcus's direction.

"That's enough, Yushiro."

Tamayo's voice hit him like a bucket of cold water, making him go rigid, and all the fury deflated at once. "At least... at least put her down first, please…"

By that point, Tamayo had managed to recover some composure, even though the red on her cheeks was still there.

And forcing herself to redirect her attention to the important matters, she looked at Yahaba, who was still being choked by Marcus.

"Mr. Marcus... what you just did..."

She weighed her words carefully, though her gaze couldn't help drifting back to Marcus's eyes.

"You devoured his Blood Demon Art?... But that's not... that shouldn't be possible. Not even a Demon Devourer can do that."

"Ah, well, about that..." Marcus flashed an easygoing smile. "What can I say? Seems like I'm a little special. A one-of-a-kind Demon Devourer, let's say."

"..."

Tamayo didn't laugh.

Seeing her like that, Marcus cleared his throat and got a little more serious.

"The truth is, even I don't fully understand it. When I awakened my Breathing, I got a few abilities, and this is one of them. Though it has its limits. For now, I can only devour one."

"..."

Tamayo processed every word. And then one snagged in her brain.

"For now?"

"Did you just say 'for now'? Does that mean in the future you could devour more?!"

Hearing her, Tanjiro swallowed hard.

It was a lot to take in, but at least he managed to keep his face more or less neutral.

Yushiro wasn't so lucky—he froze in terror.

'He can keep devouring?'

'Devour whose?'

'...'

'No...'

'NO, NO, NO, NO.'

'WHAT IF HE COMES FOR MINE?!'

'This is the ability I use to protect Tamayo-sama! It's the only thing I have! Without it, I'm NOTHING!'

The terror was written across his face so clearly that Tanjiro, looking down at him, felt the urge to comfort him.

Marcus smiled at the question. "No idea how many more I'll be able to get, but the one I just got, I'm keeping. It's way too useful. At the very least, I'll stop getting lost every time I go out."

"Getting lost?" Tanjiro's face contorted.

Five minutes ago that ability had nearly killed him! And now he was saying he'd only use it to keep from getting lost?!

A depressing chill ran through him.

He already couldn't beat him before, and now on top of that he had this ability... His future was looking darker by the minute.

But something completely different was going through Tamayo's head. Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she'd just seen the light at the end of a tunnel hundreds of years long.

"I-If you can do something like that, then with Muzan—!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Marcus covered her mouth before she could finish. "I already know where you're going with this, and the answer is no. It can't be done."

Tamayo pulled his hand away, frustrated. "Why not?"

"Okay, think about it for a second. What I need to swallow is the core of the Demon's Art. With this guy, it was the eyes." He pointed at Yahaba. "But Muzan... what's his core? Where is it? Do I eat him whole?"

"And besides, demons that are too strong, I can't devour them—don't ask me why."

And though he said that, on the inside it was a different story.

Because the truth was that Muzan's abilities kept him up at night. That ability to turn people into demons with his blood, the mind control over his subordinates, the curse, the thought-reading... for someone who wanted to build his own vampire family in the future, that package of abilities was a wet dream.

He couldn't do it now. But someday, when he had enough strength, he'd rip a chunk of flesh off that bastard and swallow it no matter what it cost.

That plan, though—he kept it buried deep.

Seeing that Tamayo was still silent, clearly processing everything and looking for a hole in his logic. But before she could find one, he changed the subject. "Miss Tamayo, thinking about Muzan right now doesn't do us any good. What matters is that we get the hell out of here. Now."

"Leave…?" Tamayo startled, then understood. "You're right, we need to go."

Without wasting any more time, she quickly pulled a needle from her bag and began collecting blood samples.

And while she worked, Marcus couldn't help but watch her.

That focused face, so close to his. The pleasant peach fragrance. The warmth of her body pressed against his... Inevitably, he got a little aroused.

And when she carefully stored the blood away, she naturally noticed that Marcus was looking at her with a certain "hunger."

The red rushed back to her face instantly.

"Mr. Marcus..." she whispered, barely audible. "C-Can you put me down?"

"Ah..." Marcus blinked. "Yeah, sure."

And he let her go... Far too slowly for someone who supposedly agreed—and still with her warmth in his arms, still savoring the moment—he extended his sword to one side without even turning his head.

One clean cut.

Yahaba's head fell and rolled a couple of times before it began to dissolve. There wasn't even a glimmer left in his eyes. He'd been dead inside for a while.

Sheathing his sword, he walked over to Tanjiro, who was still standing there with Yushiro pinned to his chest, looking at him with a face that was a mix of awe, fear, and something resembling admiration.

He ruffled his hair.

"Come on, snap out of it. Help pack things up—we're leaving."

Tanjiro didn't move. He kept staring at his eyes. "...Your eyes…"

"What? You like them?"

"It's not that, it's just..." Tanjiro frowned. "Are you... okay? Nothing weird going on?"

Marcus sighed at his concern. "They don't hurt and they don't bother me. I can't take them out, so..." He waved his hand dismissively. "Gotta live with them."

"..."

Tanjiro looked at him for one more second, sighed from the deepest depths of his soul, and finally got moving.

...

With Tamayo guiding them down the stairs to the basement, Marcus at the front and Tanjiro behind—still carrying Yushiro on his chest, whose legs were finally starting to grow back.

The basement was half laboratory, half cell. Shelves full of vials, medical instruments everywhere, and in the back, behind a set of bars, the "Asakusa Demon." The guy Muzan had transformed in passing in the middle of the street.

And when Marcus peered into the cell with anticipation, his heart sank.

Because what he was looking at was a man grunting and straining against ropes, eyes completely red and mouth drooling. He was a big guy, hairy, with a thick beard covering half his face and the look of a lumberjack.

He looked like a goddamn bear in clothes!

"Miss Tamayo... when someone turns into a demon, does their beard grow?"

Tamayo, who was packing her instruments into boxes, looked up somewhat confused. "Normally, no."

"Demonization usually promotes the proliferation of alienated organs for combat, and appearance can also change due to Demon Arts or personal obsessions."

"But this man... is currently in the initial stage, so in theory, his appearance shouldn't have changed much."

She paused and looked at him, not understanding where he was going with the question. "Basically, his current appearance is the same as before he was transformed."

Marcus crumbled.

The "Asakusa Demon" he remembered from the anime was a young guy with a soft face and the look of a friendly office worker. The kind of person who helps you cross the street.

And who the hell was this?! HAGRID'S COUSIN?!

THIS WAS DEFINITELY NOT THE ONE HE WANTED!

His hopes had gone straight to hell.

The damn butterfly effects kept doing their thing, changing things that weren't supposed to change. By altering the plot with his presence, even the random extras Muzan transformed on the street were different people.

Then again, he couldn't complain too much. He already had the Koketsu Arrows. That was more than he'd expected at the start of the night.

What was a problem, though, was that without the "Asakusa Demon's" ability, the plan to kill Muzan in the future was going in the trash.

He also wasn't willing to hand over Tamayo for Muzan to swallow, which was the other option the original plot suggested.

No way in hell. Nobody was touching her.

Sighing helplessly, he stood up and looked at the grunting bear.

'Well, since I screwed the plot. It's on me to fix it.'

...

After quickly gathering the essential items, Tamayo and Yushiro—who had finally managed to regenerate his legs and peel himself off Tanjiro—grabbed their few belongings and got ready to leave.

The night was already deep. Everything silent except for the crunch of footsteps on the basement floor.

Before heading out, Tamayo stopped in front of Tanjiro and held out a handful of small devices that looked like miniature syringes.

"Tanjiro-kun, I need you to keep these safe."

He looked at them without understanding, and Tamayo placed them in his hands carefully.

"If in the future you face a powerful Demon—one of those carrying a lot of Muzan's blood—stab one of these into them anywhere you can. In the skin, in an arm, wherever. It activates on its own and collects a blood sample automatically."

Understanding, Tanjiro closed his hands around the syringes and gave her a deep bow.

"Thank you so much, Tamayo-san! I'll guard them with my life!"

Tamayo returned a smile. But her eyes had already drifted somewhere else.

Toward Nezuko, who was holding Marcus's hand and looking at everything around her with curiosity.

"..."

Tamayo watched her for a moment. She hesitated. She bit her lip. And finally, she spoke.

"Tanjiro-kun, Marcus-kun... about Nezuko-chan. There's something I'd like to propose to you."

Tanjiro tilted his head. "Of course, go ahead."

"Have you considered... letting Nezuko stay with me temporarily?"

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