In another part of the mansion, an elderly, wealthy-looking man was being choked and lifted off the ground by another girl. This person was not ordinary, evidenced by the furry, tail-like appendage growing from behind her, and the hand gripping the man's neck looked like an animal's paw.
If Tatsumi saw this woman, he would surely draw his sword and charge at her. Aside from those inhuman features, this was the exact woman who had painfully swindled him earlier.
In the faint moonlight, the man gasped and whimpered, begging for mercy.
"Help... help me..."
"I... I have a daughter..."
"Calm down, you'll meet your daughter soon enough."
Her reply was a calm voice. The man's eyes widened in terror, feeling death approaching.
"You... you people have no humanity left..."
"Humanity? What is that?"
Crack!
His neck snapped, and the corpse of the elderly man fell to the floor.
"I lost track of Mr. Asahi!"
To avoid detection, Tatsumi had followed at a considerable distance. He didn't expect to completely lose sight of Asahi so soon after entering the mansion grounds; he hadn't realized Asahi moved so fast.
While contemplating his next move, Tatsumi sensed killing intent, and it was very close.
"Night Raid, the assassin group that kills at night, specializing in targeting the wealthy and officials... could it be... this is bad!"
Tatsumi quickly ran toward the spot where he felt the most intense killing intent. There, he encountered an unforgettable sight.
Under the blood-red moonlight, a faint, dazzling web of threads was strung across the air. Standing on it were five different individuals. The light was insufficient for him to clearly see their faces, but some of their distinguishing features matched those on the wanted posters.
"Night Raid..."
Tatsumi stared blankly. Just then, three soldiers ran out from inside the mansion. These were people he knew.
"Our targets are the three guards, Akame."
"They will be eliminated."
The girl named Akame left a cold reply. With her long black hair streaming in the air, she descended from dozens of meters high without any difficulty.
Behind Akame, another figure descended. It was a person completely encased in silver-grey armor.
Akame lifted her face, revealing red pupils matching the color of the moon at that moment. The sword at her hip slid out of its sheath with a soft "clack."
"Listen, absolutely do not touch that sword."
Though terrified, the three soldiers still encouraged each other and charged to attack.
"Aaaaa!!!"
Akame drew her sword, moving so fast that only a flash of light was seen. The first soldier to charge had his throat slit. The person wearing the armor behind her pulled a spear from their back, thrusting it straight through the soldier's body. The force was so great that the soldier's corpse was flung backward dozens of meters.
"A deserving end... for someone... as utterly... rotten as me..."
"What the hell are these guys!!"
"Monsters!!"
One soldier turned and ran, fear completely overriding his reason. He just wanted to run, to flee from these monsters.
Bang!
A gunshot from above pierced the top of his head. Another corpse fell. The shooter was a small girl with twin ponytails.
"How pathetic, running away when facing the enemy."
"Who wouldn't run in this situation?"
The young man next to her gave a wry smile, then called out to the ground below.
"Akame, there's still the young lady and one more soldier in that direction."
"I know."
Akame sheathed her sword after flicking the blood off. The armored person also pulled their spear out of the soldier's chest.
Everything happened too fast, too fast for Tatsumi to intervene. His legs were shaking violently. Until now, he had only swung his sword at ordinary monsters, not this kind of "monster."
Listening to the other person's tone, the young lady must be Aria, and they intend to kill Aria too?
"No!"
"I can't back down."
"I must protect Aria!"
Determination crushed his fear. Tatsumi charged out. He didn't dare to launch an attack but drew his sword and adopted a defensive stance.
The members of Night Raid looked at Tatsumi, their faces etched with question marks.
Who is this guy?
"Is he from around here?"
"Doesn't look like it. By his clothes, you can tell he's common folk."
"Not the target."
Akame merely glanced at Tatsumi and then ignored him. Only the blond-haired girl standing on the wire, the one with the tail and animal hands—the one who had swindled Tatsumi's money—looked at him.
"I didn't expect to meet this naive kid here. I don't know whether to say I'm unlucky or he is."
Tatsumi's hand, holding the sword, was trembling. He shouted forward.
"Come at me! I will protect Lady Aria!!"
Tatsumi's declaration finally caught Akame's attention. She turned back, her voice tinged with confusion.
"You are not the target. There is no need to kill you."
"But you want to kill the people here, right?!!"
"Yes."
Akame looked straight at Tatsumi, her voice steady without a trace of emotion.
"If you stand in my way, I must kill you."
"I won't run away!!"
"Alright, then I will kill you."
Her sharp sword made Tatsumi break out in a cold sweat. He didn't dare to just stand there on the defensive anymore and lunged forward to engage Akame in combat.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A continuous clash of swords. The sound of metal colliding and grinding sparked continuously. The longer he fought, the more Tatsumi was pushed onto the defensive, only able to passively block.
"Fast... too fast!!!"
Clang!
The sword in Tatsumi's hand was knocked away. Akame's sword point stabbed straight into his chest.
"Agh!!"
Tatsumi fell backward. It was clearly a very light stab, but it nearly suffocated him.
Akame did not pursue the attack but held her posture, sword raised. Tatsumi sat up, taking out a strange wooden statue from his clothes—the gift from the village chief.
"Everyone in the village protected me."
He had never felt death so close. Fortunately, everyone's blessings protected him.
"To survive Akame's stab, that kid is pretty skilled."
The blond girl thought to herself, then jumped down, intending to intervene in this unnecessary fight. Consider it her way of paying off her debt to the kid.
"How boring. Should I give that guy a shot?"
"Don't. Akame is fighting."
"Tsk."
Knowing the reason, Akame saw no need to stop. Her sword was once again poised, aimed straight at Tatsumi.
"Eliminate."
"Wait!! Don't you people need money? Just..."
He flinched, scared to the point of almost wetting himself. Akame lunged forward, but suddenly she stopped short, her blade slicing through a fast-flying rock fragment.
Everyone realized someone had intervened in the battle. Footsteps sounded from behind. Tatsumi turned around to see it was Asahi.
"I think we don't need to continue this meaningless fight."
Asahi said, raising his empty hands to show he had no ill intent. Behind him, the blond girl stepped forward and pulled on Akame's sleeve.
"Right, right, no more fighting. Akame, cut me some slack. I owe this kid... some money, after all."
"Hey, you big-breasted woman! Give me back my money!"
Tatsumi momentarily forgot his current predicament, jumping up and pointing at the blond girl to scold her. She didn't back down.
"Pipe down, kid. Can't you see I'm saving your life?"
"You...."
After a minute of chaotic exchange, things stabilized. Asahi returned the sword to Tatsumi, then turned to the Night Raid members and said,
"I've tied up the person. If that's your goal, then go."
Akame nodded, then left with the blond girl. Tatsumi, confused and trembling, asked Asahi,
"Mr. Asahi, what do you mean, 'tied up the person'? Did you... did you...."
He looked straight into Tatsumi's eyes, his voice calm.
"Tatsumi, do you trust me?"
"I... I trust you... but..."
"Now I'll give you two choices. One: go back to the shop to sleep, consider everything tonight a bad dream. Two: you will witness the true cruelty of this world."
"I... I... I will witness it, Mr. Asahi."
Tatsumi made his decision, and Asahi just sighed. He only hoped the young man wouldn't suffer too much psychological shock.
"Then let's go."
The two followed the direction Akame and the blond girl had gone, quickly catching up to them. All four arrived at a large warehouse. The warehouse door was still closed. The young Lady Aria and one soldier were tied up, sitting on the ground.
"Tatsumi! Save me!"
Aria shouted. But Tatsumi was no longer the same as before. His eyes looked at her with suspicion, becoming hesitant.
Aria panicked, but at this moment, she was utterly powerless and couldn't do anything, biting her lip until it bled.
Tatsumi looked at the bullet marks stretching across the ground and the gun lying discarded nearby. He asked Asahi with disbelief,
"Mr. Asahi, you know how to fight?!!"
"Who says a café owner can't fight?"
Initially, Asahi was targeting Night Raid, but upon getting closer, he discovered something far more serious. That was why he decided to capture the young lady and the soldier.
The warehouse door opened. Tatsumi's pupils contracted. He stared into the interior in shock, his expression one of disbelief.
Piled inside were not goods, but heaps of dead bodies killed by all kinds of torture, some already rotting. Tatsumi saw the dried blood, stained black on the floor and walls, and knew this had been going on for a long time; it wasn't something staged.
"Wha... Wha... Wha... what is... this..."
The blond girl walked up beside him, calmly stating,
"This is the darkness of the Capital."