"I see... no wonder your body is much firmer."
Esdeath squeezed Tatsumi's shoulders and arms, then patted his head encouragingly.
"You've done very well during this time. You'll become even stronger."
"Uh... thanks."
Being praised, and by such a beautiful woman at that, made Tatsumi swell with pride. However, he quickly calmed himself; now was not the time to be elated.
"There are many monsters in this area; although they are nuisances..."
"...thanks to them, I was able to meet you again, Tatsumi. This is our destiny!"
Esdeath once again pulled Tatsumi into her chest with a strength he couldn't resist, leaving him with no choice but to let her do as she pleased. Suddenly, Esdeath glanced sharply behind them and spoke coldly.
"It seems there are more nuisances than I imagined."
Tatsumi was surprised; he also looked in the direction she was observing, but he saw nothing. Her voice continued to ring out.
"One of them is hiding; I know you're there. Come out, or don't blame me for attacking."
"I thought I had hidden myself very well, but I was still discovered. Worthy of the title of the Capital's strongest."
The third voice appeared with a reluctant tone. He wore a cloak that covered almost his entire body, revealing only a tanned chin and a portion of silver hair.
"Running into you here... it seems the game is over."
"It appears you know why there are monsters running everywhere. I will escort you to the torture chamber."
"What a pity, I don't want to go there. And specifically, I'll let you clean up a bigger toy..."
Bang!
Tatsumi attacked unexpectedly, his sword stroke decisive as he lunged toward the mysterious figure. The man was startled and quickly dodged, but he was still struck.
Although it didn't cut into flesh and draw blood, Tatsumi's strike tore the cloak, forcing the mysterious man to reveal his face.
"Tatsumi, why did you..."
Esdeath didn't even have time to be surprised by Tatsumi's decisive action before she frowned at the newly revealed face. Tanned skin, silver hair, and two large crisscrossing scars on his face. He wore a very short, tight-fitting top. This person she knew: the Prime Minister's biological son, Shura.
Tatsumi's reason for doing so was to see the face of the one behind the man-eating monster incident, just in case he failed to kill him this time so he could catch him later.
But before either he or Esdeath could make another move, Shura turned his embarrassment into rage. He pulled out a small tool in the palm of his hand.
"Teigu Shambala, activate!"
A giant purple circle was activated, so large it covered the entire mountain peak. At this moment, Tatsumi and Esdeath rarely shared the same thought: that this was exactly like what had made Asahi disappear. Both had the same goal: to capture Shura and interrogate him about Asahi's whereabouts.
Their vision darkened as if covered. Their bodies vanished from the mountain peak without leaving a trace. Shura broke into a sweat; it seemed he understood the consequences of being seen by Esdeath. His father was the Prime Minister, Esdeath's ally, true, but she was always the more powerful side; even if he escaped punishment this time, paying a significant "price" was inevitable.
"Damn it!"
Shura truly hated Tatsumi to death, but seeing how close Tatsumi seemed with Esdeath, he didn't know how to deal with him.
...
"What... what the hell is this?!!"
Around them wasn't the rocky peak from before, but a sandy beach, and it looked like a deserted island.
"Esdeath... could you hit me once?"
"Tatsumi, I didn't expect you to have such a preference. Just as I thought, we are a match made in heaven!"
Esdeath lowered her head, blushing shyly. This caused him to hurriedly shout a correction.
"That's not what I meant..."
Smooch!
Their lips met; she was the initiator. This softness, this moistness... it was all real. Pulling apart, Tatsumi covered his mouth, his face stunned. Esdeath lowered her hat.
"By the way, Tatsumi, why did you attack then?"
"Ah... I saw that guy had a slight opening, so I seized the opportunity."
Tatsumi was mistaken; Shura had no opening, otherwise what was cut wouldn't have just been his cloak. But it did force him to reveal his identity. Tatsumi's style was partly influenced by Bulat and partly by Asahi. Thus, he was quite decisive and resolute, at least in combat.
"That's Shura, the Prime Minister's son. I also didn't expect him to possess a space-manipulating Teigu."
"Space manipulation?"
"Yes, a strange case happened at the palace before. An intruder entered a purple circle of light and disappeared. It seems that intruder didn't die but was teleported elsewhere by Shura, just like us."
Tatsumi knew the "intruder" was Asahi and let out a soft sigh of relief. It seemed Asahi hadn't died. This made him feel relieved, but simultaneously wary of this unpredictable ability.
Shura was the Prime Minister's son and would absolutely be an obstacle for Night Raid when they executed their final campaign to kill the Prime Minister.
Esdeath was also thinking about how to deal with Shura once they returned.
"For now, let's just assess the situation."
She placed her hand on the sand, and the surrounding area quickly froze, then rose into a giant ice pillar stretching hundreds of meters into the air.
Tatsumi looked around; there was nothing but the blue of the sea. They were completely isolated. This wasn't good at all.
"It's so beautiful, it feels like we're on a date."
"You truly are very calm."
BOOM!!
Their conversation was interrupted by a massive splashing sound. A humanoid creature, dozens of meters tall, rose from the sea near the beach. Not far from the ice pillar.
"A giant monster!"
Tatsumi mused; this thing was exactly like what Dr. Stylish had transformed into before he died, but it had been defeated by Night Raid's combined strength. Dr. Stylish's position before was a person dressed in full-body covering. It turned its head toward the ice pillar and moved its massive body to attack.
"I have no mercy for those who stand in my way. Therefore, you will become skewered meat."
"Weiss Schnabel!"
Unlike Tatsumi's worry, Esdeath didn't see the monster as a real threat. Dozens of large ice spears appeared, hovering in the air, repeatedly stabbing into the monster until it fell, creating a massive tremor.
"So strong!"
Although not as strong as the monster Dr. Stylish transformed into, the thing before them wasn't weak either. Yet, it had no power to resist Esdeath.
The battle wasn't over; the monster struggled to get up, its body still riddled with ice spears. Esdeath smiled; it was tougher than she thought, which only made things a bit more interesting.
"The spot on its forehead looks quite weak, doesn't it?"
"Exactly what I was thinking. We truly are a match made in heaven."
"Grand Horn!"
At Esdeath's command, another pointed ice pillar thrust out from the main one, skewering toward the monster's forehead. It struggled to dodge. But before she could kill this stubborn monster, Tatsumi leaped forward.
Borrowing the path from Esdeath's ice pillar, he ran straight toward the beast and leaped, piercing the one controlling it.
"Wonderful, Tatsumi. I wanted to charm you by displaying my strength, but you're the one charming me instead. How embarrassing, even shouting the move's name..."
BOOM!!
The ice pillar Esdeath was standing on suddenly swayed and tilted. Another monster had approached and attacked.
"There's more?!"
"Leave it to me; I'll grant it a special death."
She jumped down from the falling ice pillar. With just a snap of her fingers, a massive block of ice appeared and fell onto the monster—a terrifying, overwhelming power.
"Hagel Sprung!"
The monster was crushed by an object many times larger than itself. Esdeath stood proudly at the highest point, as if affirming her achievement. She didn't notice Tatsumi's grim expression.
"This is the Capital's strongest... Akame, how will you kill her?"