"The assassin society Oarburgh was a group of killers that carried out assassinations under the name of Death Oarburgh. Every member, including the leader, had their own codename. Barbara was the eyes of Death Oarburgh. Taeko was the breath of Death Oarburgh. When they announced those names, it meant they were prepared to stake their lives and fight to the death."
The moment Akame heard that name, her alertness sharpened to its absolute limit.
Oarburgh…
'They've finally shown themselves.'
And at the worst possible time.
Akame looked at the girl before her and sensed a calm confidence from her, the kind that came from having calculated every step in advance.
That made Akame realize her earlier thought had been wrong. It was not that the enemy had coincidentally appeared at the worst moment; she had planned everything so that this moment would become the worst possible timing.
Just as Father had said, Oarburgh truly was a terrifying opponent.
Taeko held her sword in one hand and observed the target in front of her.
Her first impression was that Akame was young.
Although Chelsea had already warned her that, aside from one middle-aged man, all of their targets were around their age, seeing it in person still made Taeko feel the reality clearly.
'She really is still just a child.'
But although she was a child, her killing intent was astonishing
She was no ordinary opponent, she was stronger than any adult Taeko had ever killed before.
After their first exchange of words, the two girls, each wary of the other, said nothing more.
Akame remained silent to preserve her stamina and focus her mind, preventing herself from revealing an opening.
Taeko believed that since her enemy was already exhausted, trying to distract her with words would be meaningless.
In this instant, the two of them shared an unspoken understanding: in the next attack, both would give everything they had.
"I shall guide you to the underworld!"
"Burial!"
Age, profession, hair color, weapon type—the two remarkably similar girls launched their deadly attacks at the exact same time.
Clang! Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The moment they entered each other's range, every slash aimed straight for a vital point.
In just a few seconds of exchanging blows, victory had nearly been decided more than a dozen times.
Their blades collided violently, scattering bright sparks and illuminating the darkening forest again and again.
Both had undergone professional training; even in such darkness, neither missed the other's movements.
They received every attack and returned each one in kind.
'How… how is this possible?'
The longer they fought, the more shaken Taeko became.
She knew very well how much fighting the girl in front of her had already gone through.
The corpses of the Tengu Party could have been piled into a small hill, and they had not died for nothing.
Akame's stamina had undoubtedly been greatly drained.
So why could Taeko still not gain the upper hand?
Her instructor had told her that no one her age could possibly be stronger than her.
Taeko had always believed that.
But now… this girl was fighting her to a draw while far from her best condition.
And it was not merely speed; this girl's swordsmanship surpassed hers as well.
If Akame had not been exhausted so badly, Taeko might already have been cut down.
While Taeko felt a chill run through her, the one point of pride she held was also provoked.
She still remembered her master's words after she completed her first mission.
Barbara had told her she had done extremely well, so well that even as her instructor, she felt proud.
From that moment onward, Taeko had decided she would become someone her master could be proud of.
If her master said she was the strongest among her peers, then she would become the strongest.
Taeko's gaze sharpened.
The long sword in her hand suddenly grew heavier as she brought it down hard against Kiriichimonji, which Akame had raised in front of herself.
The tremendous force sent Akame sliding several meters across the ground before she barely managed to disperse it.
Seeing that, Taeko made her judgment.
That slash just now had been her full strength, but it had still been blocked. As expected, she could not defeat this opponent with strength alone.
Only speed could decide the outcome between them.
Taeko changed her breathing and used a secret technique that amplified her physical ability.
"Tornado!"
In an instant, the girl's figure vanished from where she stood.
Faced with a sudden burst of speed completely different from before, Akame was stunned for the briefest instant.
The next moment, Taeko's figure appeared at Akame's left side.
"Light Wind!"
This was a sword technique personally passed down by Barbara, then repeatedly modified to suit Taeko's physique and the length of her weapon, creating a series of techniques all her own.
Until now, no enemy had ever seen every one of her moves.
'You're the first!'
This was Light Wind, an iai slash so fast the eye could barely follow it.
And this strike came from a blind spot.
'It's over!'
Clang!
The clear sound of blades colliding rang out.
But that sound should never have appeared.
Taeko widened her eyes, staring at the blade Akame had somehow reversed behind her back to block the attack.
"Did she… predict it?"
Her technique had been seen through?
Akame caught the wavering in Taeko's mind and instantly thrust her blade forward.
By the time Taeko reacted, the back of her right hand had already been split open by a deep cut, blood constantly seeping from the wound.
Taeko grimaced in pain and hurriedly retreated.
She switched her sword to her left hand, tore off her sleeve, and tightened it around the wound.
Akame pointed her blade at her and said coldly, "It's over."
Over… She had lost?
Taeko gritted her teeth, her face filled with unwillingness.
'Damn it. Even controlling the muscles can't stop the bleeding. The problem really is that sword.'
Haaah.
"It isn't over yet," Taeko spoke coldly, then took a strange stance.
She spread her legs, bent her knees slightly, leaned her upper body forward, switched the sword to her left hand, and held the blade upright before her.
She was not some half-trained fighter who could only use a weapon properly with one hand.
Whether one-handed or two-handed, every technique she possessed had been refined through endless training and acknowledged by her instructor.
This move was her strongest killing technique. Its weakness was that it was a counterattack; once she assumed the stance, she could not attack first and could only wait for the enemy to close in.
In exchange, its power was unmatched.
With her right hand crippled, this was the perfect moment to put everything into one final gamble.
This was…
"Flower Wind: Close-Range Sever!"
The murderous atmosphere between them thickened to its absolute limit.
Akame looked at Taeko's stance and instinctively sensed danger.
If she entered the range of that technique, it would be bad. She did not need anyone to remind her; she could tell just by looking.
Her swordsmanship did not lose to any style, it was nothing more than a killing sword meant to kill people.
If she had to say she had always imitated someone, then it would be Gozuki.
She did not know anything about style of swordsmanship.
To her, this was Father's sword.
"Burial…"
Swish! Swish!
Two sounds of air being cut came from a lightless blind spot.
The instant Akame sensed them, the only thing she could do was forcefully twist her body.
And that, too, seemed to have been predicted by the one ambushing her from the shadows.
Two short blades pierced her thigh and abdomen respectively.
With one leg losing support, Akame fell.
She used the last of her strength to make her body fall sideways, preventing the blade in her stomach from stabbing deeper or shifting inside her.
Thud.
Looking at the girl collapsed before her, Taeko only then realized that she had not breathed for an entire minute.
She had been so tense that she had forgotten to breathe.
That was how much pressure this girl had placed on her.
The stance of Close-Range Sever dissolved, and Taeko collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat.
Rustle. Rustle.
The grass was pushed aside as Barbara walked out with her hands behind her back.
"Oh my, oh my. I didn't expect her to make Taeko struggle this much. The Empire's dogs really do have some skill."
"Master…" Taeko said.
She did not call her instructor, but master.
Barbara said nothing about it.
Taeko was without question her most satisfying disciple. It was fine for her to call Barbara master; if anything, Barbara was rather pleased.
Akame lay on the ground and tried to get up, but she felt as though all the strength in her body had vanished.
Even her eyelids had become unbearably heavy.
"D-Damn… it…"
"Hm?" Barbara looked at Akame lying on the ground and said in amazement.
"That poison is strong enough to bring down even a Danger Beast."
She could still move? What an impressive girl.
Seeing Akame unable to resist, Taeko looked somewhat ashamed. "I'm sorry. I failed to finish the target."
"Don't worry about it, Taeko. These little ones really do have some ability. The boy I met was quite impressive too."
As she spoke, Barbara tossed Green's head onto the ground.
Splat.
Blood splashed into Akame's eyes, dyeing those ruby-like pupils in an eerie, unsettling way.
"G-Green?" Her pupils trembled violently.
Akame looked at the brutally slain companion before her.
The boy who had confessed to her only moments ago.
The family member who had lived with her for eight years.
Green… was dead.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Akame let out a roar filled with sorrow and fury.
Sorrow, because her family and companion had died.
Fury, because she was powerless.
Even if she screamed, she could not kill the enemy.
At that moment, Taeko picked up Akame's sword and handed it to Barbara. "Instructor, this blade is strange. Wounds cut by it won't stop bleeding."
"Oh?" Barbara took Kiriichimonji and examined it, smiling.
"Looks like this is also a Shingu. If it were a Teigu, we should be able to feel it just by holding it. Still, it's a good sword. A pity that maintaining it requires royal technology. Once it falls into our hands, it'll be little different from a consumable. We can toss it to the Revolutionary Army later and probably sell it for a good price. All right. Hurry up and finish this little girl."
"Yes."
Taeko picked up her own sword and held the hilt with both hands, aiming the blade at Akame's neck.
Her gaze was cold, but deep in her eyes, there seemed to be a trace of unwillingness.
In their duel, she had lost.
But now she was going to kill this girl, which meant she would never have the chance to wash away that defeat.
That was fine.
She was an assassin.
She could not allow herself to be swayed by personal feelings.
"I'm sorry." The only thing she could do was apologize to this opponent.
With that, she was about to stab the blade down, but at that moment, Barbara, who was watching from the side, suddenly changed expression.
She shoved her disciple away.
"Taeko, watch out!"
"What?"
Bang!
Barbara pushed Taeko away and used the recoil to retreat.
Swish!
An invisible slash flew past Akame and struck the ground, carving a long crack into the earth.
Seeing that attack, cold sweat appeared on Barbara's forehead.
She looked toward the direction the slash had come from and shouted angrily, "Who's there?"
Soft footsteps came closer. In the eyes of Akame, Taeko, and Barbara, a figure who looked like a man and wore a mask walked out at an unhurried pace.
"Ah, sorry. I launched a sneak attack. But I deliberately missed. I wasn't aiming at you from the beginning." The masked Noah gave a brief explanation.
As he spoke, he observed the situation.
Akame had been defeated.
Severe exhaustion, poison, damaged liver, bleeding… but she could still be saved.
And that head..... it was Green.
His soul had already mostly dispersed.
He had not expected it to come for Green so soon.
Taeko glanced toward Akame and saw the crack that had torn through the earth.
Indeed.
Even if they had not dodged, that attack would not have hit them.
Hearing his words, Barbara suddenly flew into a rage instead. "Brat, where did you come from? Are you looking down on us? Of course I can tell you missed on purpose. Do you think you could hit us just because you aimed properly?"
She was Barbara.
Barbara Oarburgh!
What she hated most was arrogant young people. Although she could not see his face, she could judge that the masked brat was at most around twenty.
Noah tilted his head.
"I think I could hit."
After all, the wind blade just now had only been something he casually threw out.
Barbara froze. "Hehehe. You arrogant brat. State your name!"
She had decided.
She would kill this fool who's pretending to be mysterious!
Suddenly being asked for his name, Noah did not panic much.
Akame was still lying there, and he did not want to expose his identity, otherwise Gozuki would complain later. B
efore coming here, he had already thought of a false name to use. Since it belonged to someone from a thousand years ago, he was not afraid of being exposed.
"Let me think. Mm, my name is Lamur."
Barbara smiled through clenched teeth, making Taeko beside her feel that something was very wrong.
She knew her instructor was truly angry now.
To actually enrage her… that person named Lamur was finished.
Gulp.
Taeko swallowed and silently retreated several steps, afraid of being caught up in what came next.
"Is that so? Then use that name when you die. Don't blame me for not giving you the chance to have your real name carved on your grave!" Barbara drew Kiriichimonji, which she had taken from Akame, and revealed a sinister smile.
"I am the eyes of Death Oarburgh, the Flower of Impermanence, waiting upon your journey to the underworld!"
Watching the old woman before him look so eager, Noah raised his hand.
Within a radius of twenty-two meters, the conditions were ready.
However, just before launching the attack, he suddenly thought of something, so he asked, "By the way, if I win, can you tell me where the Teigu user with the transformation ability is?"
After all, he had come here specifically for that Teigu.
Saving Akame was merely a coincidence.
Who told Gozuki's call not to go through? He could only follow the situation and find people himself.
Taeko and Barbara narrowed their eyes at the same time.
His target was Chelsea?
And even the fact that she was a Teigu user had been exposed.
Who exactly was this man?
"Hmph." Barbara snorted coldly. "Ask Death that question when you get to hell. Maybe he'll be kind enough to tell you."
Negotiation failed.
In that case, there was no need to suppress the power to the point where it would not kill her.
Weaver skill— Range, forty.
'Compression Storm.'
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