Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux was a technique that multiplied in power with each consecutive rotation, its trajectory moving with the erratic, fluid grace of a water dragon.
Crack!
Even Tetsuya hadn’t expected the strike to be this devastating.
It completely obliterated Kamanue’s head, though the sturdy branch in his hand also snapped in two, unable to withstand the sheer kinetic force.
“You lowly insect!!” Kamanue’s headless body remained standing, his abdomen contorting as a thunderous, enraged voice tore out from within his chest.
As a member of the Twelve Kizuki, having his head blown off by a nameless stray demon was a humiliation that the other Lower Ranks would relentlessly mock him for.
But even more terrifying than their ridicule was the wrath of That Man!
Kamanue felt the blood in his veins boiling, aggressively compelling him to hurry up and slaughter Tamayo.
“Blood Demon Art: Divine Mechanical Transformation, Flesh Bomb!” A violent crimson light erupted from Kamanue’s body.
His flesh seemed to melt entirely, sprouting writhing tendrils that rapidly morphed his form into a massive, three-foot-tall fleshy sphere.
Boom!
The meatball launched itself off the ground, rocketing straight toward Tetsuya at breakneck speed.
Tetsuya threw himself backward, but it was already too late to completely evade.
He raised both arms to catch the incoming sphere.
The moment of impact delivered an overwhelming wave of force, slamming his back brutally into a large tree lining the street.
The sheer kinetic shock rattled his internal organs, and a thin trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Whoosh!
Bouncing off him, Kamanue’s fleshy sphere shot high into the air before plummeting back down, aiming directly to crush Tetsuya.
Boom!
A flash of wariness crossed Tetsuya’s eyes.
Unwilling to take another hit head-on, he rapidly backpedaled.
The meatball smashed into the exact spot he had just occupied.
With an explosive, deafening roar, the solid ground splintered and spiderwebbed outward.
Tetsuya used the trees lining the street to weave and evade.
The fleshy sphere slammed into a massive tree, the sheer impact snapping the thick trunk clean in half.
Everywhere the bouncing mass went, it left a trail of utter devastation in its wake.
Tetsuya’s mind raced as he glanced up at the bright, clear moon hanging in the sky.
There were still at least five or six hours until dawn.
Watching from the sidelines, Tamayo furrowed her brows.
The swordsmanship Tetsuya had displayed was undeniably on par with a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
It was just a pity he didn’t have a Nichirin Sword, otherwise a mere Lower Rank could never have pushed him into such a corner.
If this battle dragged on any longer, it would be detrimental to all of them.
“Tetsuya-san, please create an opening for me,” Tamayo called out.
“I have a way to kill him!” Tetsuya shot Tamayo a surprised look, but quickly gave a firm nod.
Whoosh!
The meatball rocketed toward him once more.
This time, Tetsuya didn’t dodge or weave.
Instead, he threw his arms wide and caught the fleshy sphere head-on.
“Pfft!” The crushing momentum dragged Tetsuya’s feet backward across the dirt.
Several of his ribs snapped under the pressure, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted from his lips.
Tamayo retrieved a scalpel and a vial of light purple liquid from her medical kit.
Dousing the blade with the solution, she lunged forward.
Gripping the scalpel with both hands, she plunged it violently into the fleshy sphere.
Half the blade sank deep into the squirming mass of flesh.
Kamanue’s mocking voice echoed from within.
“It’s useless!
You insects could never kill me!” “And how do you think I’ve managed to survive for centuries without being killed by That Man?” Tamayo replied, her beautiful eyes perfectly serene.
Hearing those words, Kamanue quickly realized something was terribly wrong.
The massive, thrashing meatball suddenly froze in place.
“Aaaarrrgggghhhh!” Kamanue let out a bloodcurdling, agonized shriek.
The fleshy sphere began bouncing frantically, thrashing around in unbearable torment.
The chemical solution was actively destroying his cells, rapidly eating its way through his tissues and organs as grotesque purple spots broke out across the surface of the sphere.
Tetsuya clicked his tongue in admiration.
‘Tamayo really is the ultimate support character,’ he thought.
She was the hidden boss who would eventually develop a multi-stage drug capable of nerfing Muzan Kibutsuji by ninety percent.
Even if her own raw combat power was lacking, she had countless ways to dispatch a mere Lower Rank demon.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Kamanue’s fleshy form bounded wildly, desperately trying to flee into the distance.
But he didn’t even make it a few yards before collapsing heavily onto the ground.
“Aiding a fugitive…
you’ll never survive the wrath of That Man…” Kamanue hissed, his voice overflowing with pure hatred as his body slowly melted into a puddle of bloody sludge.
“That’s not something you need to worry about,” Tetsuya said coldly.
Crouching down, he casually brushed his hand over the dissolving remains and activated Soul Manipulation: Reaper, securely harvesting Kamanue’s soul.
Blood Demon Art: Divine Mechanical Transformation.
It allowed the user to morph their body into steel weapons or completely alter their physical form.
With the soul now in his grasp, a faint smile graced Tetsuya’s lips.
‘Your Blood Demon Art is incredible…
and now, it’s mine!’ Tamayo retrieved an empty syringe and swiftly extracted a sample of Kamanue’s blood before his body could completely dissipate.
One claimed his soul, while the other claimed his blood.
They were completely maximizing the value of the Lower Rank’s death.
The fierce battle had caused quite a commotion in the quiet night, but thanks to Tamayo’s cautious habit of taking remote, secluded paths, they hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention just yet.
“Let’s go!” Tetsuya scooped up the unconscious Kanae.
There was no way Muzan Kibutsuji had only dispatched a single Lower Rank; more demons were bound to show up at any moment.
Yushiro had finally managed to regenerate his body as well.
Using the cover of darkness, the group of four hurried back to the manor Tamayo had purchased.
The estate’s perimeter was shielded by an illusory wall, making it incredibly difficult for ordinary demons to locate.
They had finally made it back to a safe zone.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable, Tetsuya-san,” Tamayo offered.
Fighting alongside one another to take down a Lower Rank demon had significantly increased the level of trust between them.
Tetsuya nodded.
“This is a serum synthesized from my own blood.
It can restrict His control and perception over you,” Tamayo explained, handing him two filled syringes.
Tetsuya accepted the syringes, pleasantly surprised she actually had something so useful on hand.
Examining them closely, he noted that each held about ten milliliters of a bright crimson fluid.
It was bubbling faintly, like boiling water, looking both vibrant and bizarre.
“Essentially, this serum uses my blood to dilute the concentration of His blood in your system,” Tamayo elaborated.
“As a side effect, it will also weaken your overall power.” A demon’s strength was derived entirely from Muzan Kibutsuji’s blood.
If that blood was diluted, a drop in raw power was completely natural.
“Makes sense,” Tetsuya replied.
Without hesitating, he plunged the needle into his chest and injected the serum directly into his body.
He could live with losing a fraction of his strength, but having Muzan Kibutsuji freely prying into his mind whenever he pleased was absolutely unacceptable.
“Ugh!” Tetsuya let out a muffled groan as the serum rapidly circulated through his veins.
He could distinctly feel his physical strength and his demonic regenerative abilities taking a slight hit.
At the same time, an unprecedented sense of absolute freedom washed over him.
Muzan Kibutsuji would no longer be able to peer into his mind.
“However,” Tamayo warned, “if you ever come into close proximity with him, he will still be able to read your thoughts.” Muzan Kibutsuji’s perception was determined by the concentration of his blood within a demon and their physical distance from him.
The farther away a demon was, the weaker his connection became, limiting him to merely sensing their general direction and location.
Yet, he could still glean related information from them, effectively achieving a hive-mind intelligence network.
Tetsuya gave a slight nod.
Perhaps it was a side effect of carrying Muzan’s blood, but he had always harbored a strange, inexplicable sense of dread toward the Demon King.
But in reality, Muzan Kibutsuji wasn’t quite as omnipotent as he made himself out to be.
This so-called ‘shared intelligence network’ sounded overwhelmingly powerful on paper.
But in the original timeline, Tamayo had taken in an ordinary civilian that Muzan had casually turned into a demon.
Even then, Muzan hadn’t been able to use that bystander to track Tamayo down.