Chapter 272: A Finger for a Life

"Amane, is something wrong?"

Out in the courtyard, Marcus regarded Amane with mild surprise, though he had a hunch about why she’d come.

Amane drew a deep breath before looking him straight in the eye.

"I’d like to ask you for a bottle of the sun medicine," she said, biting her lip. "And also... a little of your blood."

Marcus slipped his hands into his pockets.

That stubborn Kagaya would never ask for something like this; he carried the entire weight on his own shoulders and had already reckoned with his own death.

If he’d wanted to live, he would have spoken up long ago; he wouldn’t have waited until now.

"He doesn’t know anything about this, does he?"

Amane trembled slightly but didn’t deny it.

"Are you really all right with making this decision on your own?" Marcus asked, intrigued.

Amane clenched her fingers tightly, the veins standing out on the backs of her hands.

"...Before you came, Kagaya was planning to use himself as bait to trap Muzan and blow up the residence," she confessed, her voice trembling, her eyes reddened. "In that scenario, I would die at his side, and the children were prepared for it. The whole family was ready to march to its death."

Amane took half a step forward and lifted her gaze.

"But now things have changed. You’ve brought a real hope of killing Muzan."

"Kagaya has suffered too much, and so has our entire family. If... if that possibility exists, I want him to be able to hear the news with his own ears. He’s endured unimaginable pain, and he deserves to see a world free of demons."

Marcus fell silent.

The wasted face of Kagaya flashed through his mind.

Lying in his bed, his breath carrying the smell of blood.

And yet he kept holding on, using the last of his strength for all of this.

Marcus knew that he, too, wished to live.

If Muzan’s fixation was sunlight, then the Ubuyashiki family’s was breaking free of the curse and attaining longevity. Yet Kagaya refused help out of fear: he feared that his transformation would disgrace the family or cause the Demon Slayer Corps to collapse.

So he held on, one day at a time.

Amane’s request wasn’t excessive; she was simply a wife wanting her husband to witness the fruit of his struggle.

Judging by her nervousness, it was the first time she’d ever defied her husband’s will.

Marcus weighed the possibilities.

Inject the sun medicine into Kagaya? That could be done.

But hand the medicine over to Amane? Out of the question.

That was the central secret of the vampires, and the key to shifting the balance of power in this world.

If even a single bottle leaked out and fell into Muzan’s hands, or those of some opportunist, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Even if he trusted Amane’s good faith, he couldn’t allow himself that risk.

A limit was a limit.

"...How much longer can he hold on?"

A deep sorrow welled up in Amane’s eyes.

"A month at most... He’s in too much pain."

Marcus sighed.

He raised his right hand, and the nail of his thumb lengthened in an instant. He pressed it to the base of his little finger and cut it off.

Squelch

A piece of finger dropped onto his left palm as blood dripped onto the stones of the path.

In a second, the wound hissed and a new finger sprouted.

Amane was stunned.

Marcus held out the piece of flesh to her.

"There’s no way I can give you the sun medicine. That’s my limit, and that substance must never circulate in this world." He looked at her intently. "But this, you can keep."

Amane extended her trembling hands and held the piece of finger, still warm, her palms staining with blood.

"If the day comes when Kagaya can’t hold on any longer, cut the finger, and I’ll appear at once," Marcus added, turning away. "But let’s be clear about one thing: I’m not responsible for explaining this to your husband."

Watching him walk away, Amane instinctively followed him for two steps.

"Marcus-sama, how much does this cost?"

"Money?" Marcus turned his face with a smile. "There’s no need for that anymore. If that day comes, we’ll be family. No need to talk about money."

After he left, Amane remained standing in the courtyard.

And after mulling over his words, she laughed in resignation.

"The same family...? What he means is that if Kagaya becomes a vampire, our money will become his."

"Kagaya was right; this man is quite greedy..."

She sighed, but pressed the piece of flesh against her palm.

It was no longer a mere finger; it was her husband’s life.

On the way back, she tucked the finger into a small pouch over her chest and returned to Kagaya’s side.

Watching him suffer violently just to breathe, she couldn’t hold back any longer; she leaned against the futon and broke into tears.

’Forgive me, Kagaya... I may be selfish this time, but trust me: it will be the one and only time.’

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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎

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