Hearing the serpent demon's words, Shisho paused for a moment. Beside him, Tamayo couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. Though her laughter was soft, it was grating to the serpent demon's ears. Her vertical pupils constricted instantly, and the strange hissing sounds from her mouth grew more intense.
Clearly, she was enraged. From her perspective, they were completely disregarding her. A mere two doctors were treating her threats as nothing. So what if they were a little strange? She was a demon, immune to swords and blades!
With a great roar, the serpent demon slithered off the bed with a swoosh, hugging the ground as she charged toward Shisho. As she lunged, sharp claws extended from her fingertips. The faint blue glint on them indicated they were coated in a potent poison.
"Die!"
She thrust her left claw forward, aiming straight for Shisho's heart. Although a poisoned victim's taste would be spoiled, the serpent demon was too consumed by rage to care.
But in the next instant, her advancing claw stopped dead in mid-air. A powerful hand had clamped down firmly on her wrist. The serpent demon's expression changed, and she tried to wrench her arm free. But no matter how much she struggled, Shisho's grip was as unshakeable as a mountain.
"Let go! Let go! Let go of me!" she shrieked, swinging her right arm to claw at Shisho's face.
Smack!
Her other arm was caught as well. Now, both her hands were useless. Her facial muscles twitched violently. In a fit of fury, the serpent demon opened her mouth and lunged forward to bite him.
THWACK!
Shisho's left leg shot up, his foot connecting solidly with the demon's jaw, producing a crisp sound of cracking bone. The serpent demon's head snapped back, her pupils reflecting the ceiling lights. She couldn't understand why this doctor was so strong. He was just a human—a creature she normally treated as food and playthings! But the reality was undeniable; the excruciating pain from her jaw forced her to accept her situation.
As the kick sent the demon's head flying back, Shisho released her wrists. The force of the blow sent the demon's large body flying backward, crashing onto the bed. Her weight of several hundred pounds instantly demolished the bedframe, sending a cloud of dust into the air and obscuring her form.
Shisho pulled his Nichirin Blade from the floor, his hands gripping it tightly. In less than a second, the black and red blade transformed into a brilliant, fiery red. The Crimson Red Blade had appeared.
Shaking her head to clear it, the serpent demon stared at the blade in Shisho's hand, and a memory suddenly flooded her mind: a swordsman who looked identical to the man before her, wielding the same kind of blade, hunting him. When he ran, the swordsman chased. When he stopped, the swordsman attacked.
It wasn't her own memory, but the feeling it brought was terrifyingly real and painful. And deep within that memory lay a faint sense of dread and panic.
In that moment, the serpent demon understood everything. The memory came from the Demon King, Muzan, and so did the negative emotions. This doctor named Shisho had once hunted the Progenitor of Demons himself!
Sweat instantly beaded on her forehead, and her body went rigid. "Are you even human?! How could you have possibly hunted that man!?"
Faced with the serpent demon's impotent rage, Shisho merely shrugged. Then, he raised his Nichirin Blade high.
Staring at the blade radiating intense heat, another thought flashed through the serpent demon's mind.
To touch it is to die!
"Aaaargh!" she screamed, scrambling backward and circling along the edge of the room. It seemed she was planning to switch targets. Sure enough, after moving along the wall for a moment, the serpent demon changed direction and lunged toward Tamayo. Perhaps she thought she could take Tamayo hostage to threaten Shisho.
Seeing the serpent demon charge at Tamayo, a faint smirk crossed Shisho's lips. Others might not know, but he had been by Tamayo's side for hundreds of years. Her combat prowess might not be overwhelming, but she was certainly not someone a mere serpent demon could harm.
Just as Shisho predicted, Tamayo showed no signs of panic as the demon rushed toward her. She slowly rolled up her sleeve, then lightly dragged the nails of her right hand across her left forearm. Instantly, several thin lines of blood appeared on her fair skin.
"Enchanting Blood: Aroma of Visual Fantasy!"
A sweet, cloying scent filled the air. As the serpent demon inhaled it, she felt her head spin. Her charge slowed, and she finally stopped about three meters from Tamayo.
"A Blood Demon Art!"
Only then did she realize that the woman before her was a demon, just like her. Before she could even process why a human would be traveling with a demon, her consciousness grew increasingly hazy. Finally, with a thud, she collapsed face-first onto the floor.
Shaking his head with a sigh, Shisho walked over to the serpent demon and placed his Nichirin Blade against her neck. Tamayo knelt beside her, taking out several instruments from her medical case. She opened a vial, made an incision, collected the blood, and stored it. Her movements were so practiced, it was clear this was not the first time she had done this.
Once she had collected a sufficient amount of blood, Tamayo turned and nodded.
Without a shred of hesitation, Shisho brought his raised Nichirin Blade down, effortlessly severing the serpent demon's neck. The severed head rolled across the floor a few times before disintegrating into dust. The poor serpent demon had died in utter confusion, never understanding the true identities of Shisho and Tamayo.
"How is this blood?" Shisho asked, sheathing his blade and turning to Tamayo, who was now kneeling and adjusting the collected samples.
"It's better than the last demon's, but it's still not a success." Tamayo mixed the serpent demon's blood into her apparatus. After seeing the result, she shook her head again. For a hundred years, the two of them had been collecting demon blood, hoping that by studying it, they could find a way to break Muzan's control. But to this day, they still hadn't found a suitable source.
A look of disappointment crossed Tamayo's face, and she let out a soft sigh.
"Don't worry. Time is on our side. We'll succeed one day," Shisho comforted her gently, patting her shoulder. "Let's travel and clear our minds for a while. Perhaps we'll have an unexpected breakthrough."
Hearing Shisho's comforting words, the disappointment on Tamayo's face gradually faded. Breaking free from Muzan's control was a heavy burden on her heart; if she couldn't succeed, she felt she could never truly face a new life. If it weren't for Shisho staying by her side for the past century, Tamayo couldn't imagine how she would have endured this time.
After helping Tamayo pack her instruments back into the case, the two prepared to leave. Just then, an urgent knocking sound came from the door.
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