Chapter 238: Tsubame Gaeshi and Hinokami Kagoura

What is the foundation of the Demon Slayer Corps' existence?

Is it money?

A small portion of the members might be willing to risk their lives for the sake of money, but most join for other reasons.

—Hatred.

Like Ms. Tamayo, it is the hatred toward demons that has sustained the Demon Slayer Corps to this day. When the targets of that hatred disappear, so too will the Demon Slayer Corps.

"Hah… so there's this much data?"

The most valuable thing in Ms. Tamayo's possession is undoubtedly the research she has accumulated over centuries on demons. Previously, this knowledge was stored solely in her mind, but now, due to her cooperation with the Demon Slayer Corps, much of it has been recorded in written form. This gave Li Mo the opportunity to peruse it.

For the next while, Li Mo immersed himself in the archives.

Reading…

Ms. Tamayo's research on demons was entirely from a biological perspective. For her, observations had reached the cellular level. Of course, most of this was incomprehensible to Li Mo.

Biology and mysticism are vastly different. When it came to this data, it wasn't so much that he was clueless, but rather that he was completely out of his depth.

The only takeaway was some of the phenomena observed in the research. As for how to break free from Muzan Kibutsuji's "curse," Ms. Tamayo had yet to uncover the underlying principles, only knowing the methods to achieve it.

In contrast, Li Mo, relying on his knowledge of mysticism, managed to understand parts of it.

Centuries ago, Yoriichi Tsugikuni injured Muzan Kibutsuji, weakening its control over the "curse" by a significant degree. This allowed Ms. Tamayo to break free. Combining this with the situation of Kamado Nezuko in the original timeline…

Muzan Kibutsuji's curse seemed to be related to 「sin」.

The more humans a demon consumed, the more easily it fell under the control of the 「curse」.

It was also connected to blood.

"Blood is the currency of the soul."

Li Mo murmured this phrase. From a mystical perspective, blood held many symbolic meanings: the 「original sin」 of consumption, the concentration of blood.

From a mystical standpoint, what kind of existence was Muzan Kibutsuji?

After spending some time going through the data and realizing that most of it was of little use to him, Li Mo gave up on continuing.

Leaving the basement, Li Mo remained deep in thought. In this world, he was likely the only one who could analyze Muzan Kibutsuji's existence from a mystical perspective. There was no one else to discuss this with.

—In Inazuma, he could consult the Raiden Shogun. In Fuyuki, he had Medea.

Was it too difficult to research alone?

"Hmm?"

Before he knew it, Li Mo found himself in the courtyard. Along the way, he had encountered many people, but he instinctively avoided the patients. These young people didn't recognize him, as he had been "dead" for three years in the public eye.

The news of his return hadn't spread widely. Before returning to the Butterfly Mansion, even Shinobu hadn't known he was back. Oyakata-sama hadn't disseminated the information.

He hadn't even summoned me…

*Sigh…*

The leap in his thoughts led Li Mo to ponder Oyakata-sama's current intentions.

But no matter how much he thought about it, Li Mo would only know the truth after meeting Oyakata-sama. From the Demon Slayer Corps' usual operations, it was clear that Oyakata-sama possessed a certain level of strategic insight. This was rare in the isolated island nation.

His current mindset leaned more toward that of a researcher, making it hard to grasp what Oyakata-sama was thinking.

He would just have to ask after meeting him.

With that, after the mental storm subsided, Li Mo realized he had walked over to Kanao. The little girl was still sitting in the same spot, watching the ants in the corner of the wall.

The ants were still there.

"Kanao."

Sitting beside Kanao, Li Mo couldn't help but call out to her.

The little girl turned her head, her gaze vacant, as if waiting to hear what he would say.

"Is watching the ants fun?"

Kanao Tsuyuri took out a coin.

When faced with uncertainty, flipping a coin to decide whether to act was a coping mechanism Kanae had taught her. For a child like her, this wasn't necessarily wrong.

But it reminded Li Mo of Two-Face from Gotham.

*Tails.*

Kanao turned her head back and continued her previous activity, not answering Li Mo's question.

It was fine if she didn't respond. He didn't really have any questions for her anyway. Should he ask what the Kocho sisters were like in her eyes? Or why her surname was Tsuyuri instead of Kocho?

She had been bought by the Kocho sisters from a human trafficker, right?

I wonder if Shinobu played a trick on that trafficker like in the original timeline?

Suddenly, he felt curious about what the sisters were discussing.

*Sigh…*

Exhaling a long breath, Li Mo began to think.

The courtyard was quiet, a small annex far from the hospital ward. The rooms here were likely storage areas, so few people passed through.

It was a good place to think about how to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.

As he had said earlier, his only concern was Muzan's ability to split. Centuries ago, during the Warring States period, it had split into hundreds of pieces, catching Yoriichi Tsugikuni off guard. Yoriichi had only managed to destroy most of the flesh, allowing Muzan to escape.

He couldn't let history repeat itself.

Ms. Tamayo had said she would handle that part. But he also had his own methods. Could he use a bounded field? Set up a barrier beforehand to prevent Muzan from escaping? No, that would be too restrictive. What if it was pulled into the Infinity Castle?

Shifting his train of thought, what about tracking? Use magecraft to implant a tracking spell inside Muzan Kibutsuji. As long as he could locate it, he could keep pursuing it. The primary task would then become:

First, implant the spell, then focus on killing it. Ideally, a one-hit kill.

The Authority of Beasts should work on Muzan Kibutsuji. Given its tenacious vitality, it would be best to use Crimson Moon in combination with Sun Breathing. If only he had a sun-related authority, that would be perfect.

As for Swallow Reversal…

The idea behind Swallow Reversal was to deliver three simultaneous slashes. What if all three slashes were Sun Breathing's Thirteenth Form?

Three times the power of Sun Breathing's Thirteenth Form, combined with Crimson Moon and the Authority of Beasts…

He really needed Ms. Tamayo to assess whether there was a gap between his swordsmanship and Yoriichi Tsugikuni's.

Centuries ago, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had nearly killed Muzan Kibutsuji in an instant with Sun Breathing's Thirteenth Form. Now, centuries later, even if he wasn't as strong as Yoriichi, what about three times the power?

The only question was whether he could achieve that level.

"Caw, caw."

"Stupid bird, you're back."

The sound of flapping wings approached as a pitch-black Kasugai Crow landed on Li Mo's shoulder. This crow wasn't always by his side; it often disappeared, only to return with missions or messages.

"Oyakata-sama is looking for you."

"Is that so?"

Giving Kanao's head a gentle pat—she didn't react—Li Mo got up and left.