Chapter 145: Kill Him
"This matter, I’d better settle it myself." Squeezing Marcus’s neck, Muzan spoke very calmly.
Daki had her mouth open but couldn’t say anything.
Her mind was completely blank! She couldn’t think or do anything!
All she could do was... watch.
Watch how a sharp-tipped whip, sprouting from Muzan’s back, slowly rose into the air. The moonlight slid down that tip, drawing from it a cold, chilling gleam.
And then...
"Squelch!"
Blood splattered.
The blow tore through Marcus’s chest diagonally, ripping it from the left shoulder to the right rib.
The flesh split open and the bones were left partially exposed.
The hot blood splattered across Daki’s face and body, dripping down her clothes.
She was stunned.
Watching Marcus’s face distorted by pain, watching his teeth clenched tightly, watching the veins bulging on his forehead.
Suddenly, her heart clenched.
"No..."
She stood up instinctively and took a step forward.
"No?"
Muzan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
"What’s the matter? In a single day, not only have you been incapable of completing the mission, but on top of that... have you grown fond of this human?"
The color drained from Daki’s face in an instant. She threw herself to her knees again in a hurry, slamming her forehead against the ground.
"I-It’s not like that! Not at all, Muzan-sama!"
"Squelch!"
Another cut.
This time it was to the abdomen.
Marcus let out a choked scream. His body doubled over and blood gushed from the wound, falling to the ground right in front of Daki.
She kept staring at that blood.
Red, warm, and with that unique aroma of his blood.
Her nostrils breathed it in greedily, instinctively craving more...
And even so, something in her chest ached again.
’Does it hurt me?’
’How is that possible?’
’How can I feel pain for this man?’
This man who had done nothing but humiliate and subdue her.
This dominant man who had handled her like a doll in bed. No one had ever dared to treat her that way.
NO ONE!
So then... how could she feel pity for him?!
But her eyes, quite simply, couldn’t look away.
Watch his face. Watch his body. Watch that chest rising and falling, agitated, broken by pain.
She hated him.
She should hate him.
So then, why...?
Why didn’t she want this to go on?
"Where should I cut this time?"
Muzan’s voice seemed to come from very far away.
"The neck? Or the head?"
Raising the tip of his whip, he aimed at Marcus’s neck.
"NO!"
Seeing this, Daki screamed with all her strength, so shrill that her own scream frightened her.
The tip of the whip stopped a finger’s width from Marcus’s neck.
Then Muzan lowered his gaze toward Daki, kneeling on the ground. His red pupils gleamed with a hint of amusement.
"For a human... that’s twice now you’ve defied me. It seems you really have developed feelings."
Terrified, Daki hurried to justify herself. "T-That’s not it, Muzan-sama! It’s just that... I think he can still be useful to us."
"Yes! He’s still useful!"
"Muzan-sama! You... didn’t you still have things to ask him?"
Muzan’s eyes never left her.
"You haven’t betrayed me, have you?"
"Never!"
Muzan loosened his hand and Marcus’s body collapsed heavily against the ground, onto the pool of blood.
"If that’s so..."
With the tip of his whip he lifted Marcus’s chin, forcing him to raise that blood-covered face toward Daki.
"You do it."
Daki froze.
"Kill him."
Muzan didn’t bother to hide how much he was enjoying himself.
"Otherwise, not only you... your brother too will cease to have any reason to go on existing."
Daki’s pupils contracted sharply.
Gyūtarō!
"N-No... don’t do anything to my brother..."
There was no hesitation.
"Squelch!"
An obi sash shot out from her back and pierced through Marcus’s heart with its sharp tip.
The blood gushed out.
That unique blood completely covered Daki’s face.
The drops hung from her eyelashes, touched her lips with their warmth, flooded her nose with their aroma.
She looked at Marcus.
His eyes were still open, the sash sunk into his chest, and an expression she couldn’t decipher: she didn’t know whether it was pain... or relief.
"Don’t worry..." Daki whispered. "I’ll be quick."
The corners of her lips curved into a strange grimace. It looked like a smile. And at the same time, it looked like the expression of someone about to burst into tears.
"Squelch!"
A second sash.
"Squelch!"
A third.
"Squelch!"
A fourth.
Countless sashes sprouted from her back, one after another, burying Marcus’s body beneath their onslaught.
The blood fell like rain. Onto her face. Onto her body. Onto the pool that widened at her feet.
And she remained on her knees in the midst of all that blood, her gaze fixed on what was left of Marcus, scattered across the ground.
Her face reflected no joy. Nor sadness.
Only relief, resignation... and an emptiness impossible to name.
"Well done, Daki," Muzan’s voice resounded once more, "Now eat him."
Daki shuddered from head to toe. After a moment of daze, she scooped up a handful of that blood and, trembling, brought it to her lips.
"Insufferable man..."
She was insulting him, but there was something almost doting in her voice, like a child throwing a tantrum.
"For all that you played the strong one, the dominant one... and now... n-now you’re dead."
She contemplated the warm blood between her hands.
"... But don’t worry. Since you liked it so much, I’ll grant you a little whim."
She brought her hands to her mouth.
"From now on, we’ll be together forever."
The blood entered her mouth.
Then...
"Pfff!"
She spat it out all at once.
’Why... does this blood taste of nothing?’
She looked at the pool at her feet.
!!
The red was fading. Growing lighter. Becoming transparent, crystalline.
The pool of blood transformed into a pond of clean water.
She raised her head.
The pieces of Marcus scattered around her had, at some point, turned into a pile of broken stones.
"Muzan-sama?!"
She lifted her gaze all the way... and there was no Muzan there. The only thing in front of her was a stone sculpture, shattered to pieces by her own sashes.
The black barrier surrounding her began to dissipate little by little, and Daki could finally see where she was...
The front courtyard! The fountain!
She was completely soaked, kneeling inside the fountain, with water everywhere.
’An... illusion?!’
Daki checked her body in desperation and then stretched her hands out in front of her eyes.
It’s water, not blood!
"Marcus... isn’t dead..."
It was a whisper that held both disappointment and relief.
But that jumble of emotions was soon buried beneath a wave of fury.
’THAT DAMNED BITCH TAMAYO!!’
’She used her façade of kindness to set a trap for me?!’
’How could I fall into her trap?!’
She was so furious that her breathing quickened.
’Wait! Calm down!’
’Calm down, Daki!’
’None of that matters now!’
’What matters is what just happened a moment ago! What I just said out loud...’
’...could someone have heard it?’
She looked frantically around in search of witnesses. But Tamayo had already vanished from the spot.
All that remained were two little white-haired girls who had just come out of the entrance hall with clothes in their arms.
"Where is Tamayo?!"
"Miss Warabihime." Pearl’s face didn’t reflect the slightest expression. "Lady Tamayo has already retired to rest. She’s entrusted us with bringing you clean clothes so you can change."
’She retired?’
Daki was left dumbfounded.
But the reality was that she was using her not-so-brilliant brain to think at full speed.
’If Tamayo left a while ago, then... does it mean she only caught me in an illusion and has no idea what happened inside it?’
’Yes! It has to be that!’
’If not, why would she send these two to bring me clean clothes?’
’If she knew my true intentions, she’d never treat me with so much consideration!’
’GOOD! She didn’t rat me out!’
"Miss Daki, it’s cold." Ivy blinked sweetly. "Please, don’t stay there, in the fountain. Allow us to accompany you to a room so you can wash up and change."
Interrupted in the middle of her unusual moment of reflection, Daki struck the water in rage.
"There’s no need! I like being in the water!!"
Ivy and Pearl looked at each other. Then they looked at Daki and shook their heads in unison.
"We’re sorry, Miss Warabihime. Lady Tamayo said you had to change your clothes... so you’ll have to do it."
Inside the fountain, Daki suddenly went still. She narrowed her eyes, and a threatening aura began to emanate from her.
"Oh, really? That I ’have to’?"
She stood up calmly, while from the lower part of her back more than a dozen obi sashes slowly unfurled, rippling in the air.
"And what happens if I refuse?"
"If you don’t change... " Ivy’s meek expression didn’t change in the slightest. "I’m afraid we’ll have no choice but to help you change ourselves."
The night breeze blew, leaving the atmosphere charged with tension.
From the guardhouse, Yushiro was clenching his fists.
He was beyond excited!
’Fight! Fight! Fight!’
’That’s it, keep it up!’
’If they kill each other, all the better! One less to worry about!’
’HAHAHA!!!’
’Marcus, you damned womanizing bastard!’
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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎
And don’t forget to comment, I wanna know if you liked the Chapter 👀
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