As a boy, Guy was much more prone to getting fired up than the girls.
Feeling as though endless strength was pouring through every inch of his body, he could not help grinning even in the middle of danger.
He had originally been fighting while retreating, but the moment he spotted a suitable branch, he swung around it with one arm and suddenly doubled back.
"What—"
The two Tengu Party pursuers had no time to react before Guy's arm smashed into their necks, snapping them both and sending them tumbling toward the ground below.
As the one who had done it, Guy only felt that the two were unbelievably fragile, like insects so insignificant he almost failed to notice them.
Among the Tengu Party forces, someone sniffed the air and frowned.
"The smell of blood is spreading everywhere. At this rate, tracking them by scent is impossible. Send a signal. Gather our strength first and capture one or two of them alive."
"Got it!"
"This is unbelievable. Those guys are all just brats, so why are they so ridiculously strong?"
"Damn Empire, raising children that young into assassins…"
"Save that talk for later. Look how many of us they've already killed. Brainwashed or used, it doesn't matter—they're enemies. Don't waste time pitying them. How many of our comrades do you think have already died? Don't hesitate when you strike!"
The Tengu Party's movements became tighter and more organized.
What made things troublesome for the seven elites was that the enemy had begun moving in groups.
During pursuit, if they realized their formation was being dragged apart, they would temporarily give up chasing and prevent their comrades from being isolated and picked off one by one.
"I agree!"
A voice rang out behind them.
Their pupils contracted in shock, and every hair on their bodies stood on end.
"Who—!"
Swish!
The blade of the cursed sword swept across the necks of every enemy present.
Gozuki looked at the several men collapsing to the ground, his expression completely calm.
If the Revolutionary Army was full of naive fools like this, his job would be much easier.
Clang!
The sound of weapons clashing violently rang out without pause.
Surrounded by more than a dozen Tengu Party experts, Akame's mind remained sharp and excited, but her stamina had undeniably been drained by more than half.
Her breathing was already beginning to fall out of rhythm.
Behind her, an enemy skilled in concealment had already raised his blade and leaped toward her.
"Akame!"
A shout rang out.
Akame reacted and noticed the enemy behind her.
Before she could move, the enemy's ankle was already wrapped by a black whip.
He was dragged far away and slammed viciously into the ground.
Judging by the way half his body had been embedded into the earth while his legs dangled limply to one side, he was clearly no longer alive.
A Shingu.
Rattlesnake.
A whip-type Shingu that could be freely controlled according to the user's will.
The one who had arrived was Green.
He pushed up his glasses and stood in front of Akame.
"Green?"
"Are you all right, Akame?"
"Mm. Just minor injuries. I can still fight."
Akame used Kiriichimonji to support herself and stood again.
Her gaze was firm, and even facing so many enemies, she did not show the slightest fear.
Green glanced at her and knew she was forcing herself.
He shifted his feet, blocking the sight of Akame's slightly trembling calves, while inwardly thinking, 'This is bad.'
With Akame in her current state, whether the two of them tried to fight this many enemies or flee from here, both options were practically impossible.
They could not count on reinforcements.
The others were probably facing desperate situations no easier than this.
Everyone was too busy trying to survive.
'Damn it. Is this what happens when you lose the intelligence war this badly?'
"The black-haired girl with red eyes—her sword seems to have some strange ability. Wounds cut by it won't stop bleeding. The four-eyed brat can control that whip-type Shingu and change its direction at will."
The Tengu Party was in no hurry to finish them off. Instead, they began passing information to their companions.
Seeing that, Green could not help cursing inwardly.
'You people are way too cautious! Even in this situation, you're still spreading the intelligence you've gathered?'
At this rate, the last faint hope they had left would disappear.
What should he do?
What could he do?
Green, who had always been calm, forced his mind to run at full speed.
In the end, he reached one conclusion.
They had to sacrifice one person.
At least one person had to stay behind. By abandoning that person, the other might be saved.
He swallowed.
Inevitably, the thought crossed his mind.
'Akame has exhausted too much stamina, and she's injured. Compared to her, I'm still in decent condition. If I leave Akame behind, I might be able to escape from here… not definitely, but at the very least, my chances of survival would improve a lot.'
"A-Akame."
Green found it difficult to speak.
He looked at the girl's face, then his gaze shifted from her face to beneath her arm.
Haaah.
"Akame, I… I like you!"
The scene suddenly fell silent.
The Tengu Party members looked at one another, unable to react for a moment.
Akame was the same and she briefly froze.
She looked at the blushing boy and felt that, despite having lived with him for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen such a look in his eyes.
Gentle, embarrassed, determined, resolute.
That gaze was too complicated, and she could not read all of it!
"Green."
"You don't have to answer me!" Green stopped Akame from speaking. "I don't need an answer. Because I've already said what I truly feel. So, run, Akame."
Green only left Akame a back she could look up at, refusing to face her directly.
Akame's eyes widened slightly, and she said urgently, "What are you talking about, Green? How could I possibly leave you behind?"
With his back still turned, Green calmly said, "You're already injured. If you were the one buying time, you definitely wouldn't last long. So I'll buy time instead. Use that chance to hurry and regroup with Father."
After saying that, the boy paused.
'Huh.'
'What am I saying?'
Forget it.
It seemed pretty cool anyway!
"I won't!"
"Go!"
Green flung Rattlesnake out, wrapping it around Akame.
He said coldly, "With your current strength, you can't break free."
With that, he hurled the bound Akame away with all his strength, sending her flying straight toward the direction leading out of the forest.
Akame stared in panic at the boy growing farther and farther away.
She desperately reached out, but the distance between them was already too great for her to touch him.
Soon, even his figure was about to vanish from her sight.
"Green!"
Hearing the girl's call echo through the forest, the boy smiled smugly.
He turned around and faced the many slow-to-react enemies, smiling as he said, "Everyone, sorry about this, but I'll resist with my life until the very end. I didn't say goodbye just now because I still want to see her again. As long as I have that belief, don't think you can defeat me easily!"
He shouted a long string of heartfelt words.
Yet not a single trace of hot-blooded passion appeared in Green's eyes.
That had only been a joke.
He was not that kind of character.
As the calm, brainy type, charging toward dozens of enemies after shouting at the top of his lungs was something better left to hot-headed idiots.
Looking at the enemies whose rationality had been greatly reduced by his provocation, he pulled out the air blade he had kept hidden.
Maximum output.
"Take this!"
Green had already made up his mind.
After this strike, while the enemy was shocked and thrown into chaos, he would immediately turn around and run.
'Sorry, I'm getting out of here…'
At that moment—
Smack.
A hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
It was an old, thin hand, withered like a dried tree branch.
Yet somehow, no matter how much strength he used, that hand did not move in the slightest.
Green looked at the old woman holding his arm, his face full of confusion.
Who in the world was this kind-looking grandmother, as if she had merely passed by while gathering mushrooms?
More importantly, how had she appeared just now?
There had not been even the slightest trace of her presence.
"Hehehe. Not a bad seed, though still not as good as my Taeko."
Barbara smiled as she spoke, casually cutting off Green's hand.
Green's eyes widened.
Then he screamed in agony.
"Aaaaaah!"
'My… my hand?'
'What just happened? Was I cut?'
Green knelt on the ground, his face pale, while Barbara picked the air blade out of the severed hand.
She smiled eerily.
"Hey, four-eyes. What were you planning to do with this just now? Could you tell me?"
Barbara wanted to confirm something.
After all, this small object looked nothing like the powerful killing weapon from the rumors.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like a random hilt taken from a fruit knife.
But the instant this brat had held it, his confidence had clearly soared.
That excitement had not looked fake.
Green looked at Barbara with a "terrified" expression and begged, "Wait, I-I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you anything. Please don't kill me!"
He pretended to cry miserably, but in truth, he was trying to hide the killing intent in his eyes.
Without his right hand, he quietly reached for Rattlesnake with his left.
Barbara watched his reaction and chuckled a few times.
Suddenly, she kicked Green aside, then stepped directly on his left hand, grinding down hard several times and crushing all the bones in it.
The pain was so intense that tears burst from Green's eyes, and even his breathing faltered.
"Your acting is terrible, brat. Besides, we already know your information."
Barbara snatched Rattlesnake from Green and examined it, saying in amazement, "This should be a Shingu, right? What a rare thing. Even I've only seen them a few times."
She swung it twice, testing the feel, then flicked it toward Green.
'Rattlesnake' directly wrapped around his neck and tightened with frightening force.
Green cried out, "How is that possible?"
Rattlesnake was an extremely difficult Shingu to control.
Having its trajectory change freely according to the user's thoughts sounded convenient, but in reality, it often went out of control because of stray thoughts.
When he had first obtained this Shingu, it had taken him a great deal of practice before he could use it smoothly.
But this old woman had only just touched it, and she could already—
Who was she?
Ugh!
His breathing was being…
Barbara looked at Green and saw that he had no intention of speaking, so she decided to kill him.
Before doing it, she said, "Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself. Little four-eyes, you wouldn't want to die without knowing who your enemy is, would you?"
"Although I think plenty of people will be able to tell you once you're in hell, I might as well say it myself."
Barbara's aura changed.
That dense killing intent made Green feel an overwhelming chill.
'T-This woman isn't an ordinary old hag!'
'She hid this killing intent until now!'
Someone capable of this level…
There was no mistake.
She was—
"I am the eyes of Death Oarburgh, the flower of impermanence, waiting upon your journey to the underworld."
'As expected!'
'This woman is Oarburgh's…'
Green's thoughts stopped forever in that second.
His head slid from his body, held in Barbara's hand by the hair.
After examining it for a moment, she said, "Mm. Looks like there isn't a bomb in his body. A brat really is still a brat. How naive."
The Tengu Party members watched that troublesome boy get easily tortured and killed by an old woman who had appeared out of nowhere, and all of them were stunned.
But saying nothing was not an option.
This was the Tengu Party's prey, yet now someone else had intercepted it.
One of them seemed about to question her, but another immediately stopped him.
"Idiot, didn't you hear what she just said? She's Oarburgh! Haven't you heard the name Barbara Oarburgh? What are you going over there for, to get yourself killed?"
"Hehehe."
..
Next was Taeko's side.
That little girl only had minor injuries, but her stamina was almost gone.
She definitely would not be Taeko's opponent.
At that moment, Akame was extremely anxious.
She wanted to go back and support Green, but deep down, she knew her condition was poor.
Because of that blood-boiling sensation, her head had overheated, and she had fought the pursuers head-on, consuming a huge amount of stamina.
It was all her fault.
She could not leave Green alone back there.
She had to go back.
After staggering two steps, Akame felt something trip her foot. Her whole body tilted forward.
At that very moment, a shining blade suddenly appeared in front of her.
More precisely, it had been placed there, waiting for her to cut off her own head.
Akame's expression changed drastically.
She hurriedly drew Kiriichimonji in an iai motion, placing the blade in front of her and colliding with that shining edge.
She flipped backward, her long blade scraping across.
The owner of the blade leaped lightly to the rear and landed with ease.
"Who are you?" Akame demanded, gripping Kiriichimonji with terrifying killing intent.
The newcomer also had long black hair, though hers was tied into a single ponytail.
She too was a beautiful young girl.
Taeko held a blade in each hand and took her stance.
"I am the breath of Death Oarburgh, the wind of impermanence, guiding you to the underworld."