"Lady Tamayo, I heard you need blood from the Twelve Kizuki for your research?"
"You've been spying on us!" Yushiro snapped from the side. He realized immediately they'd been watched. No wonder this guy saw through the barrier he'd set up. "Who the hell are you? What do you want? You're not welcome here!"
"Yushiro, please don't speak to a guest in that tone."
Tamayo offered Ivan a polite, apologetic smile. "Yushiro can be a bit hot-headed. I hope you'll forgive him."
"It's fine. I don't care." Ivan picked up a blank sheet of paper from the counter and grabbed the pen beside it. With quick, clean strokes he sketched a pair of flower-shaped earrings.
"Thank you."
"We do need blood from the Twelve Kizuki," Tamayo continued, her voice staying calm and gentle the whole time. "Only by studying the blood inside them can we find a way to turn demons back into humans."
"Help me lift the curse on Mukago. You can study her blood as much as you want. Also… have you ever heard of the blue spider lily?"
"I know of it. Muzan Kibutsuji has been searching for that plant for a very long time. In fact, that's why he originally created demons in the first place."
Tamayo gave a small nod.
Since the blue spider lily had come up, she might as well explain how Muzan became a demon in the first place. She knew more than most on the subject.
"Muzan Kibutsuji once told me himself. He was born during the Heian period, far in the past. Even before he was born, his body was so frail that his mother nearly lost him. When he finally came out, he was already dead. But his will to live was stronger than death itself. He crawled back from the gates of hell."
"His weakness and illness never left him, though. When he was a young man, a doctor found him and created a medicine meant to extend his life. The side effects only made everything worse. In a rage, Muzan killed the doctor."
"Sometimes fate works in strange ways. After the doctor died, Muzan discovered something shocking. Not only had his disease vanished, but he now possessed an incredibly powerful body. He no longer aged. He no longer died. He was perfectly healthy… forever."
Everyone in the room stayed quiet, listening closely. Tamayo had been Muzan's doctor once. She understood him better than almost anyone, which was exactly why she'd been able to create drugs that suppressed his cells and blocked his Blood Demon Arts.
"Every gift from fate already has its price written on it in secret," Ivan said suddenly.
"Exactly," Tamayo agreed. "Later, Muzan discovered he now craved human flesh and blood. Compared to the power he had gained, that craving barely mattered. What truly enraged and humiliated him was the one weakness he couldn't escape. Sunlight burned his cells to death, and the damage was permanent."
"To overcome that single flaw, he searched through the books the dead doctor had left behind. He found the complete formula for the medicine. One crucial ingredient was missing from what he had: the blue spider lily. Only the doctor had known where it grew, what it looked like, and how to find it."
"So Muzan created hordes of demons and sent them to hunt for the flower. He wanted to become the ultimate being. Hundreds of years later, he still hasn't found it."
When Tamayo finished, Murata couldn't help asking, "Lady Tamayo, how do you know all this?"
She glanced at him with her pale violet eyes, then continued in that same soft voice. "Because he never found the flower, he started looking for skilled doctors who could create a drug that would let him walk in sunlight. I was one of the people he chose."
"At the time I was already dying from a terminal illness. Muzan found me and promised he could extend my life. I just wanted to live long enough to see my child grow up. So I accepted his offer."
Tamayo's expression didn't change, but her next words were flat. "Muzan never played fair. He turned me into a demon on the spot. In the end, I lost control of my own body and killed my husband and child with my own hands."
"What if I told you I know where the blue spider lily is?"
Ivan's mouth curved into a small, sharp smile. He glanced at Mukago, whose heart was hammering wildly, then waved his hand and sealed off every one of her senses.
Muzan… don't lose your shit the second you hear the words "blue spider lily."
...
Elsewhere.
Outside Tokyo Prefecture, Muzan Kibutsuji's eyes snapped open.
"You fucking bastard!!!"
The second he cut off Mukago's vision, Muzan roared in pure rage. He crushed the wooden armrest of his chair in one hand.
His chest heaved violently. Ivan's display of power kept replaying in his mind, starting from the moment that man hurled the Nichirin Blade wrapped in flames and crashing waves.
Then came the insane speed. The way his body changed.
All of it proved this opponent was no pushover.
"How the hell does he know about the blue spider lily?!" Muzan's eyes flashed with sudden excitement. Combined with the fact that Ivan showed no fear of sunlight, a wild theory started forming in his head.
What if that doctor's medicine didn't just work on him? What if there had been another human treated with the complete formula?
That would explain why this guy had the same abilities. The same body transformation. The same power to control demons through blood. And he was even more perfect than Muzan himself.
Muzan's face twisted into something ugly. Jealousy and hatred burned hot in his chest.
"Piece of shit! Why do you get to have all of this?! I won't accept it! I'm going to eat you. Maybe if I devour you, I'll become even stronger than I am now. Eternal life. Even the sun won't be able to touch me." Muzan lowered his head, eyes filled with greed and excitement. He was convinced his theory was right.
Another one of his kind.
What a delicious thought.
"Looks like I need to gather every Upper Rank as fast as possible. Even if this guy might be stronger than me, I still have the Twelve Kizuki. I don't believe six Upper Ranks working together can't take him down."
Yeah. The cowardly Muzan was already planning to call in the full Twelve Kizuki for backup.
Even though Ivan was less than three kilometers away right now, Muzan still didn't dare make a move himself.
Hell, even if Ivan hadn't shown that ridiculous power, Muzan still wouldn't have attacked personally.
"Never thought there'd be another special existence in this world… but why did he only show up now? Was he sleeping for the last thousand years?" Muzan wasn't completely blinded by excitement. A thread of doubt started creeping into his mind.
Still, for him, being wrong didn't matter much.
The fact that this man knew the location of the blue spider lily was already enough.
____
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69