Bang!
A burst of fire erupted from the gun muzzle, a bullet whizzing past Kurohime who dodged it with a quick lunge.
She drew her Hachifusa, her face growing paler, sweat streaming down her pale cheeks.
"I'm not a traitor!"
Everyone, including the black-haired boy, was cold-faced, rushing towards Kurohime.
They were all extremely cautious.
As the user of Hachifusa, Kurohime was renowned within the assassin unit.
Even though she appeared extremely weak, they dared not be careless.
Rumble.
The ground churned, and a figure emerged.
Kurohime's face contorted in pain.
This was her only remaining puppet.
However, using Hachifusa now brought her immense suffering.
"Watch out!" the black-haired boy whispered.
Three men charged towards the puppet, while the remaining two continued their attack on Kurohime.
Swish!
A long sword slashed down, its blade gleaming coldly.
Kurohime barely managed to grab Hachifusa to block, but the immense force sent her flying, slamming her against the cabinet.
The physical and mental pain from stopping the medication, combined with the pressure from Hachifusa, erupted completely under the impact, causing her consciousness to blur.
The black-haired boy looked down at her: "Kuroohime, it seems you really are done for. I never thought the famous Kurohime would die like this!"
Bang!
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, a burst of fire erupting from the muzzle as the bullet pierced the air, heading straight for Kurohime's head.
Thud!
The bullet struck her palm, splattering blood.
"Who are you?"
The black-haired boy's gaze sharpened, and he took two steps back, warily eyeing the man before him.
He hadn't seen how this man had appeared at all.
Aoki ignored him, looking down at Kurohime, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Has the situation become this bad?"
He had actually been following Kurohime the whole time.
Without Kurohime and the sacrifice of those puppets, he wouldn't have been able to obtain the Silver Bead.
Kurohime's entry into that secret realm was also due to his involvement.
However, Kurohime was an assassin with extremely sharp senses, and he dared not get too close.
Therefore, although he noticed Kurohime was unwell on the way, he never expected it to be this serious.
"Ao... Aoki."
Kurohime's vision was blurry, but he still recognized the person.
"Kuroohime, it really was you who brought him here. You have indeed betrayed us!"
The black-haired boy's eyes were filled with murderous intent. He raised his pistol and pointed it at Aoki: "Then you will all die here together!"
Aoki glanced at him, and his figure suddenly disappeared.
"Where did he go?"
The black-haired boy's mind tensed instantly. Just like before, he couldn't see any movement trajectory. Could he be a Teigu user like Kurohime?
*Thud!
* An arm pierced through the black-haired boy's chest. His expression froze instantly, his lips trembled twice, and his aura suddenly disappeared.
The remaining four assassins all changed their expressions.
However, instead of running away, they charged towards Aoki together.
Aoki's figure flashed repeatedly.
The four of them were sent flying almost simultaneously, crashing heavily to the ground, all unconscious, their bodies twitching slightly.
Aoki walked over to Kurohime and found her completely unconscious.
...
Kurohime was training diligently, surrounded by many people her age, including her sister, Natara... all her companions were there.
This life, though tiring, was also joyful; pure joy flowed through her heart.
But suddenly, Kurohime sensed something was wrong. Looking up, she found everyone had stopped training and were staring intently at her.
She asked nervously, "Sister, what's wrong? Why are you all looking at me?"
"Traitor!"
everyone shouted in unison.
"No! I'm not a traitor!" Kuroko hurriedly explained.
Everyone simultaneously raised their weapons, their tone cold.
"Traitor!"
"I'm not a traitor!"
Kuroko opened her eyes, sat up, her breathing slightly rapid, and looked around blankly.
"So that's what I was doing..."
Her body stiffened, her consciousness fully awakened, and she remembered that she really had become a traitor.
After a moment of blankness, Kuroko began to look around the room.
A completely unfamiliar room, it should no longer be at the assassin's hideout, but Hachifusa and the bag of snacks were on the table beside the bed.
She remembered seeing Aoki before she lost consciousness.
As Kuroko was thinking, the door creaked open, and a familiar figure walked in.
"Aoki!"
Aoki carefully looked Kuroko over: "How are you feeling?"
"I feel pretty good."
Kuroko said, then fell silent.
Aoki sat down on the chair next to him. "What are your plans now?"
Kurohime was silent for a moment, then said, "I want to explain things to Wilfred..."
Aoki interrupted her, "Do you think you can explain things clearly?"
Kurohime fell silent.
She knew very well that since the Empire had already given the order, it was almost impossible to change it.
Aoki's expression turned serious. "Kuroohime, leave the Assassins!"
He knew very well that from the moment he appeared, Kurohime's suspicions were indelible.
He hadn't shown himself on the way here for this reason.
Kurohime wanted to return to the Assassins and wouldn't accept his help.
If he showed himself, for the sake of secrecy, Kurohime would inevitably choose a more complicated route.
To put it bluntly, any time he showed himself, he would only cause trouble for Kurohime.
Of course, in the end, Kurohime was going to be killed, so he wouldn't care about that anymore.
At the same time, he also understood Kurohime's feelings for the Assassins.
Kurohime didn't actually have any so-called loyalty to the Empire. The main reason she refused to leave the Assassins was that she couldn't abandon her comrades in the Assassins and couldn't betray the beliefs of those who had died for the Empire.
"No!" Kurohime refused without hesitation.
Aoki stated bluntly, "But you've already been labeled a traitor! Kurohime, you should know better than anyone that things have reached this point and there's no going back.
Even if you don't want to leave, there's no place for you in the assassination squad!
Your former comrades will all see you as an enemy and will do everything in their power to kill you!"
A deep sense of confusion appeared on Kurohime's handsome face.
Aoki said, "Kuroohime, it's not that you want to betray the Empire and your comrades, it's that the Empire has betrayed you!"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Kurohime shook his head, his voice rising slightly, more to solidify his own resolve than to explain to Aoki.
"Many comrades have sacrificed themselves for the Empire. If I betray the Empire, how can I face them?"
Aoki smiled, "Then you should die once too."
Kurohime looked up, staring blankly at him.
Die once?
How?
Aoki didn't speak, his figure flashing as he appeared before Kurohime.
*Thud!*
His hand pierced Kurohime's heart.
His dark eyes froze, staring blankly at Aoki.
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