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Chapter 184: Tamayo Won't Meet an Angel Girl
Greed Island.
When Tamayo opened her eyes, the first words that slipped from her lips were: "Is this... Hell?"
Yes. She had died.
The memory was crystal clear. Just moments ago, she had ambushed Muzan, only to have her head crushed. She remembered dying in Suyan's arms.
While losing a head wasn't a death sentence for the vast majority of demons—much like how Yushiro regenerated in seconds after Susamaru obliterated his head with her temari—that rule did not apply when facing the Demon King. As the progenitor of their kind, Muzan's cellular control over demons was absolute, surpassing even the lethal effects of a Nichirin Sword or Breathing Styles. Only the sun held more power over them.
So, she was undeniably dead.
Yet, Tamayo felt no regret. This was the optimal outcome, a decision she had made after agonizing deliberation over a very short period.
Deep down, she had been heavily resistant to her transaction with Suyan. It wasn't the Restoration Cure she objected to—she had been researching a way to turn demons back into humans for centuries, desperate for any tool to exact her revenge. Even if Suyan hadn't asked, she would have continued her research.
Her reluctance stemmed entirely from the Immortality Elixir.
Creating the Restoration Cure was actually far more difficult than the Immortality Elixir. After all, achieving immortality was simple: just ingest Muzan's blood. Conquering the sun wasn't impossible either, provided Suyan was telling the truth about knowing the location of the Blue Spider Lily. Tamayo could even utilize chemical suppressants to neutralize a demon's craving for human flesh. Synthesizing these elements into a side-effect-free elixir for eternal life was well within her capabilities.
But despite having Shizuka's invaluable assistance, which allowed them to successfully finalize the Restoration Cure, Tamayo had deliberately stalled the progress on the Immortality Elixir.
She simply refused to create it for him.
She was terrified of birthing a monster infinitely worse than Muzan. Suyan seemed like a decent person now, but the future was a complete unknown. Over her incredibly long life, if she hadn't been anchored by her burning hatred for Muzan, Tamayo couldn't guarantee she wouldn't have succumbed to depravity herself. How could she guarantee the morality of another?
But she hadn't dared to outright refuse him. If she did, she feared Suyan might simply drink Muzan's blood to achieve immortality. A monster born through those means would be highly volatile and virtually guaranteed to lose their humanity—the absolute worst-case scenario.
So, she had feigned compliance, dragging her feet on the research while desperately searching for a compromise. Thankfully, neither Suyan nor her 'supervisor,' Shizuka, had pressured her.
She stalled for over a month until tonight, when Muzan brought the war directly to her doorstep. She finally saw her opportunity.
Taking advantage of the chaos between Muzan and Shizuka, she utilized Yushiro's Blood Demon Art to render herself invisible. Creeping up on a distracted Muzan, she injected every drop of the Restoration Cure directly into his veins.
Her goals were fulfilled. By dying, she ensured she would never have to create the Immortality Elixir. By turning Muzan human and stripping him of his eternal life, her revenge was all but guaranteed. Furthermore, with Muzan neutralized, his blood would lose its properties, preventing anyone else from ever becoming a demon to seek immortality. As for synthesizing other demons' blood? In centuries of research, she had only ever managed to successfully transform Yushiro. It was practically impossible to replicate.
Her suicide had killed three birds with one stone.
Her only lingering regret was Suyan. He had placed so much trust in her, and she had utterly betrayed it. When she gasped "I'm sorry" as she died in his arms, she wasn't apologizing for failing to complete the elixir; she was apologizing because she had never intended to complete it in the first place.
Someone like me, dying with such sins... there's no way I'm going to Heaven.
If there was a next life, she would gladly become a beast of burden to repay him. But in this life, a whispered apology was all she could offer.
Carrying the heavy burden of guilt, Tamayo finally took a good look at her surroundings.
"Is this..." she murmured, taking in the vibrant, breathtaking landscape, "really Hell?"
Wasn't Hell supposed to be a terrifying, pitch-black abyss reeking of brimstone and suffering? But the world before her looked like the fabled paradise of Heaven. Her guilt deepened. She didn't deserve such a beautiful afterlife.
"Wait, is there someone over there?"
Tamayo scanned the area, hoping to find a reincarnation portal or at least someone who could explain where she was. Her keen eyes quickly locked onto a figure resting on a large boulder not too far away.
She walked over. Lying on the massive, smooth stone was an incredibly pure, innocent-looking girl, curled up fast asleep like a contented kitten.
Seeing the girl's flawless, peaceful expression, a sudden wave of maternal instinct washed over Tamayo. What an adorable child. If I could have a daughter this beautiful in my next life, I would ask for nothing more.
"Is this child... an angel?" Tamayo murmured.
She reached her hand out toward the sleeping girl, intending to wake her gently to ask about their surroundings. Logic dictated she should handle the situation delicately. However, perhaps because the crushing weight of her centuries-long vendetta had finally been lifted by her death, Tamayo felt a bizarre sense of levity. Instead of waking her properly, she found her fingers pinching the girl's soft, chubby cheek.
The sleeping girl frowned in her sleep, irritated by the pinch, and mumbled deliriously, "Master Suyan, please spare Makomo... I really can't take any more..."
The girl was Makomo, who had been brought into Greed Island by Suyan after becoming his Nen Beast at Mt. Sagiri. Due to the long years her spirit had spent wandering the mountains, she hadn't quite adapted to sleeping in a normal house. Instead of using the comfortable room Suyan provided, she preferred finding a large rock out in the open to sleep on.
"Master Suyan?"
Hearing this peculiar title drop from the girl's lips, Tamayo froze. Such a strange, specific term seemed highly out of place in Heaven. Her pinch instinctively tightened.
"Ouch!"
A sharp sting woke Makomo from her dream. Her eyes snapped open. She let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh, it was just a dream."
She then looked up at the elegant woman pinching her cheek. Blinking sleepily, she asked, "Who are you? Are you a new big sister?"
Despite not knowing Tamayo, Makomo wasn't particularly surprised by her presence. Suyan had been frequently bringing new women into Greed Island lately. She had grown accustomed to waking up to unfamiliar faces.
Tamayo quickly retracted her hand. Seeing that the girl wasn't angry about being pinched, and was instead looking at her with a dazed, somewhat ditzy expression, she was instantly reminded of Shizuka.
"A new big sister?" Tamayo repeated, confused. "Little girl, can you tell me where we are?"
"You don't know?" Makomo stared at her, bewildered. "Weren't you sent here by Master Suyan?"
"Master Suyan?!"
This was the second time the girl had mentioned that name, this time fully awake. Tamayo's curiosity spiked. "Who is Master Suyan?"
Perhaps because she only ever called him 'Master Suyan' and never by his actual name, or maybe she was still half-asleep, but Makomo genuinely struggled to recall his real name. She tilted her head and gave the most unhelpful answer possible: "Master Suyan is Master Suyan, of course."
Tamayo's mouth twitched. Seeing the matter-of-fact look on the girl's face, she realized this child might actually be more airheaded than Shizuka.
Realizing she wasn't going to get a straight answer regarding this 'Master', she pivoted. "Then can you tell me what this place is called?"
"Greed Island," Makomo answered without hesitation. She definitely remembered the name of her new home.
"Greed?" Tamayo muttered the word. In Western theology, greed was one of the Seven Deadly Sins, heavily associated with Hell. So this really was Hell. It made sense. She was greedy—wanting Muzan dead while simultaneously hoarding her knowledge and breaking her deal with Suyan. She wanted her cake and to eat it too. Ending up here was a fitting punishment.
Tamayo paused, then asked gently, "Um, your name is Makomo, right?"
"Huh? How did you know?" Makomo asked, thoroughly confused.
"Because you were talking in your sleep just now," Tamayo chuckled. It was confirmed; the girl was a total ditz without a single cunning bone in her body.
"Oh, I see," Makomo mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The question immediately left her mind. She let out a huge yawn. "Okay then. Do you have any other questions? If not, I'm going back to sleep."
Tamayo did have one incredibly pressing question, though she hesitated to ask it. But looking at Makomo's innocent face, she finally voiced it. "Makomo, do you know where I can go to reincarnate?"
"Reincarnate?"
Makomo froze, all traces of sleep vanishing from her eyes. She looked at Tamayo as if she had grown a second head. This woman didn't even know how she got into Greed Island, and now she was asking about reincarnation? She was even more clueless than Makomo was!
Still, Makomo knew anyone inside Greed Island had to be connected to Suyan. She stared at Tamayo, thoroughly perplexed. "You're dead too, right? That means Master Suyan brought you here. Why would you want to reincarnate? Isn't staying here wonderful?"
"I have a compelling reason to reincarnate," Tamayo explained softly, shaking her head. "I broke a deal with a man... a very, very important deal. At least, it was to him. I feel a terrible guilt, and I need to repay him. But if I stay trapped here, I can never make amends."
"Is that so? But..." Makomo scratched her head. "This is just Master Suyan's personal world. There's no 'reincarnation' function here."
Hearing this, Tamayo grew frantic—not because she couldn't reincarnate, but because: "Then how am I supposed to repay Mr. Suyan?!"
"Mr. Suyan?"
Makomo blinked. Wasn't that Master Suyan's name?
Suddenly, everything clicked. Makomo clapped her hands together in realization. "Wait, wouldn't staying here with him be the best way to compensate him?"
"What do you mean?" Tamayo asked, bewildered.
"What do I mean? I mean Master Suyan is Mr. Suyan!"
"WHAT?!!"
Tamayo stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded.
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