Greed Island.
The first words out of Tamayo's mouth the moment she opened her eyes were:
"…Is this hell?"
Yes.
She was dead.
She remembered it clearly — the moment she ambushed Muzan and had her skull crushed in his hand. The last thing she saw was Shuya's face as she died in his arms.
For most demons, losing your head didn't mean death. But against Muzan, the Demon King himself, it was final. He was the origin of all demons. Even Nichirin blades and Breathing Styles were secondary to his authority.
So she was dead.
And yet… she didn't regret it.
It had been the best move she could make in the short time she had. She had never truly intended to finish the longevity drug Shuya wanted. The reversion drug? That one she had genuinely wanted for herself — a way to turn demons back into humans and finally take revenge on Muzan.
But the longevity drug terrified her.
She was afraid of creating something even worse than Muzan. Even if Shuya seemed like a good man now, what would happen over centuries? Power corrupted. She knew that better than anyone. If she had given him eternal life without side effects, the risk of him becoming something monstrous was too high.
So she had stalled. Dragged her feet on the longevity research while pretending to work on it. Shuya and Shizuka never pressured her, so she kept delaying.
Until tonight.
When Muzan showed up at the Butterfly Mansion, she saw her chance. She used Yushiro's invisibility, got close, and injected every vial of reversion drug she had straight into Muzan's body.
Her plan succeeded.
She died — so she no longer had to betray Shuya by refusing to finish the longevity drug.
Muzan was turned back into a human — losing his immortality.
And no one else could ever become a demon using his blood again.
Three birds with one stone.
The only thing that weighed on her was Shuya.
He had trusted her completely… and she had planned to betray that trust from the very beginning.
That was why her last words to him had been apologies — not for breaking the deal, but for never intending to keep it in the first place.
Someone like her had no business going to heaven.
If there was a next life, she would repay him however he wanted — even if it meant offering her body or serving him for eternity. But for this life… all she could do was say sorry.
With that heavy feeling still in her chest, Tamayo slowly sat up and looked around.
"…This is—"
The scenery didn't match any description of hell she had ever heard. No fire. No sulfur. No endless suffering.
If anything… it looked more like the heaven she had read about in Western stories.
That only made the guilt in her chest heavier.
She stood up and started walking, scanning the area for any sign of reincarnation gates or other souls who might know what was going on.
Then she spotted something.
A large rock not far away… with a small figure curled up on top of it.
Tamayo approached quietly.
Lying there, sleeping peacefully like a cat, was a young girl with an innocent, unguarded face. Her cheeks looked soft and slightly chubby, and her breathing was steady and calm.
Something maternal stirred in Tamayo's chest.
What a cute child…
If I could have a daughter like this in my next life…
She reached out without thinking, gently pinching one of the girl's cheeks.
The sleeping girl frowned in her sleep and mumbled something.
"Master Brother… please spare Makomo… Makomo really can't eat anymore…"
Tamayo froze.
Master Brother?
That strange title didn't sound like something that belonged in heaven.
She pinched a little harder.
"Mmgh—?!"
The girl's eyes snapped open. She blinked a few times, then let out a long breath of relief.
"…It was just a dream."
Then she noticed Tamayo standing right in front of her, still pinching her cheek.
The girl tilted her head, still half-asleep. "Who are you? Are you a new big sister too?"
She didn't seem surprised at all by Tamayo's sudden appearance. Shuya had been bringing more and more women into Greed Island lately, so random new faces were becoming normal.
Tamayo quickly pulled her hand back. "New big sister…?"
She studied the girl's innocent expression for a moment, then asked carefully, "Little one… can you tell me where we are?"
The girl blinked. "You don't know?"
She looked genuinely confused. "Weren't you brought here by Master Brother too?"
"Master Brother?" Tamayo repeated. This was the second time she'd heard that title. "Who is that?"
The girl scratched her head, still looking a little drowsy. "Master Brother is… Master Brother."
Tamayo's mouth twitched.
This child… is she even more airheaded than Shizuka?
She tried a different question. "Then… can you at least tell me what this place is called?"
"Greed Island," the girl answered immediately.
Greed…
Tamayo's mind flashed to the Western concept of the Seven Deadly Sins. Greed was one of them. And hell was often tied to sin.
So this really was hell?
Because she had been too greedy — wanting to kill Muzan while refusing to keep her promise to Shuya — she had ended up here?
She looked at the girl again. "Your name is Makomo, right?"
"Eh? How did you know that?" Makomo asked, surprised.
"You were talking in your sleep," Tamayo said with a small smile.
Makomo accepted that explanation easily, then yawned. "Okay… Do you have any more questions? If not, I'm going back to sleep."
Tamayo hesitated for a moment, then asked the question that had been weighing on her since she woke up.
"Makomo… do you know where the reincarnation gate is? Or… how to be reborn?"
Makomo stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
"…Rebirth? Why would you want that?"
She tilted her head. "You were brought here by Master Brother after you died, right? Isn't it better to just stay?"
Tamayo shook her head. "I have to be reborn. I broke a very important promise to a man. I need to repay him somehow… and I can't do that if I stay here forever."
Makomo scratched her cheek, looking thoughtful. "But… this is just Master Brother's world. There's no reincarnation here."
Tamayo's eyes widened in panic. "Then how am I supposed to repay Shuya-san?!"
Makomo blinked.
Then she said, very simply:
"Aren't you already repaying him by staying here?"
Tamayo stared at her. "…What?"
Makomo smiled innocently.
"Shuya is Master Brother's name, you know."
Tamayo's pupils shrank.
"…What did you just say?"