The smell of putrefaction stung Tatsumi's nose, forcing him to cover his mouth. The blond girl next to him seemed unaffected and continued speaking.
"They lure people from the countryside with sweet words. Then they torture and play with them until they die."
"This... is the true face of this family."
Tatsumi looked at a girl's corpse hanging from iron chains. His heart seemed to stop. His voice trembled, unable to speak.
"Sayo..."
Sayo's smooth, long black hair, as Tatsumi remembered it, was now sparse, matted, and covered in blood. Sayo's body was also tortured to the point where her skin was full of bruises, gashes, and bleeding wounds. The only thing intact was her familiar blue hair tie.
"Hey, Sayo!!"
"Is that you? Sayo!!!"
"Answer me!! We... we promised each other..."
By her appearance, she seemed to have died not long ago, but Tatsumi refused to accept the truth that his close friend had departed forever.
Tatsumi's mind was on the verge of collapse. He slowly turned toward Aria, who was still tied up. The inherent bright innocence in the young man's eyes was now replaced by fury.
"So, everyone in this family did this."
Aria dared not face Tatsumi, yet stubbornly argued back.
"Tatsumi! It's all slander! I didn't know about this place!"
"She's lying. Not just her, the guards knew about it but kept silent. They can be considered accomplices."
The blond girl retorted, silencing Aria.
"Tatsumi, is that you, Tatsumi?"
Tatsumi turned. He saw his remaining friend inside an iron cage next to him. His body was tattered, his eyes were bruised black, his skin covered in red marks, and he was reaching his hands out toward Tatsumi.
"Ieyasu...?"
"She invited Sayo and me into the house. And after eating, we both passed out."
"It was her... she was the one who tortured Sayo to death!!!"
Ieyasu cried out, tears flowing, pouring out all his resentment and pain to his childhood friend. Then he collapsed and knelt down.
"What's wrong with that!"
"All you people are just country bumpkins who came up here! You only deserve to be our dogs! Is it wrong for me to kill my dog?!!"
"And that bitch, she's just a dog but dared to have hair longer and smoother than mine! Who the hell does she think she is? While I have to struggle with this damned hair!"
"That's why I gave her the most painful death possible! She should be thanking me for paying her such attention!"
Aria spat out a torrent of abuse. The elegant and noble demeanor of the rich young lady was gone. The only thing left when the mask was stripped off was a perverse murderer, cruel to the point of madness.
Akame drew her sword, intending to step forward and finish Aria off, but someone was quicker.
Slap!
It was the resonant sound of a slap. Aria looked stunned, watching Asahi shake his wrist.
"You're too loud."
"You dead dog of a shop owner! You stole my prey!! You're no different from us!!"
Aria went berserk, screaming with the five finger marks still imprinted on her face. Asahi raised an eyebrow, granting her another slap on the other side for symmetry.
"There's no prey here. No need to label others, milady. Besides, people like Lady Aria have no right to judge anyone else."
"You! You!"
Just then, Tatsumi slowly walked, approaching Asahi and Aria. His hand was clenched and trembling around the sword on his back.
But Tatsumi didn't draw it. He looked toward Asahi. He said nothing, but Asahi understood his intention.
"Tatsumi, this country is too rotten. Justice might punish these people, but the law of this country will not. So, go ahead."
"These are people whose crimes are too severe for even the gods to judge. We can only personally send them to hell for the demons to prosecute."
The actions of this family were similar to the Doom Cult from before, but the worlds were not the same. In that world, he could trust that the law would judge fairly and bring justice. But here, where a corrupt government presided, that was impossible. Therefore, if a killing must be done, do it!
Asahi did not encourage killing, but that didn't mean he was inflexible. Otherwise, it would be like putting a noose around his own neck, and the ones who would ultimately be hurt would be the innocent.
His hands were already stained with blood. He didn't take it lightly but considered it his own sin, to remind himself not to get lost in the killing. That was Asahi's path.
"Yes, then..."
Slice!
The sword cut through the air, striking Aria across the waist. She screamed one last time before falling backward. This officially ended this insane family.
"Although naive, this kid isn't bad at all."
The blond girl observed Tatsumi from behind, thinking to herself.
However, this time Asahi was the object of her attention. She had also realized that this person was the shop owner whom she had scammed Tatsumi out of his money from the other day.
From his performance, he could face Akame directly without fear, and his capabilities in all aspects were not bad. Even if he was an ordinary person, this shop owner definitely had his own secrets.
"That... that's the real Tatsumi! It feels great. Ugh!!!"
"Ieyasu!"
Ieyasu vomited a mouthful of blood. Tatsumi, back to normal, rushed over to lift Ieyasu up in panic.
"Ieyasu..."
"This is the final stage of Lubora (a fictional disease/poison). The mother of this house enjoyed injecting the victims with drugs. Then recording their painful reactions in her diary. He cannot be saved."
The speaker was Akame.
"Tatsumi..."
"Ieyasu!!"
"Sayo... she didn't look at that bitch... until she died... ha ha..."
"She was so cool..."
"Ieyasu..."
Tatsumi was desperate. Just then, Asahi walked in, carrying a large chest.
"Who said he couldn't be saved?"
Tatsumi turned his face toward Asahi, unable to hold back his tears. It wasn't just Tatsumi; both the blond girl and Akame stared intently at him. Both of them were very sharp, but they hadn't detected where Asahi pulled the chest from. Of course, this was an item from the system.
Multi-purpose Relief Chest.
The relief chest contains a full set of tools and medicine for treating injuries, applicable to various situations. Specific functions require the user's exploration. Note: Consumed supplies need to be replenished with accumulated points. Can be used without medical knowledge.
The price was quite steep. After buying it, Asahi only had a few dozen points left, but he didn't regret it, because its utility was immense, especially in cases like this.
"Really! Is it really true, Mr. Asahi!! As long as you can save Ieyasu, I'll pay any amount of money!!"
"I'm not a doctor. I don't ask for money to save people. Stop crying. You just need to hold your friend tight. That's all."
Tatsumi laid Ieyasu down on the floor. Asahi approached, kneeling on one knee. The chest opened, revealing a collection of tools that overwhelmed Tatsumi.
Ieyasu slightly turned his head toward Asahi, murmuring words of thanks.
"Thank you... for taking care of Tatsumi. He... he's stupid... he must have caused a lot of trouble...."
"Alright, your name is Ieyasu, right? Now, bite down hard on this. When I treat you, no matter how much it hurts, you mustn't lose consciousness, understand?"
"Don't worry, I endured the pain that woman inflicted."
The item Ieyasu was biting was a piece of wood Asahi had picked up earlier. It was meant to prevent him from biting his tongue when the pain became too severe.
Of course, there was anesthetic in the chest. However, Asahi had checked. Ieyasu's condition was extremely poor; surviving until now was entirely due to his own will. The highest dose of anesthetic injected would only reduce the pain from "dying of brain shock" to "within the limits of human endurance."
The treatment had three steps: first, forcefully extracting all toxins, followed by injecting medicine to treat the internal organs, and finally, injecting a life-sustaining solution to replenish what was lacking. Among these, the first step was the most painful.
During the process, Tatsumi had to constantly hold his friend down. Ieyasu's teeth left a deep mark on the wooden block. Fortunately, the young man made it through. The next two steps were much simpler, completed in two minutes.
Feeling Ieyasu's life signs gradually stabilize, Asahi breathed a sigh of relief. He appeared calm on the outside, but inside he was very tense, as this was his first practical use of the chest.
Ieyasu had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tatsumi continuously thanked him, even trying to bow his head to the ground, but Asahi stopped him.
"I told you to stop crying. Take Ieyasu back to the shop and rest."
"Yes!"
Tatsumi carried Ieyasu away from this place, leaving Asahi, the blond girl, and Akame behind.
The remaining soldier had been killed by Akame at some point.
"I know what you people are planning. But is it alright to have a kid like him become an assassin like you?"
Asahi realized that Night Raid was not as purely malicious as rumored. Their methods were certainly brutal, but eight or nine tenths of those they killed, like this family, were no better than beasts in human skin.
"We are always short on manpower. That boy has luck, courage, and skill. Why shouldn't he be able to join?"
"Furthermore, I'm more interested in you. You're weaker than that kid, but you didn't flinch when facing anyone here. How about it, do you want to join us?"
"I'll consider it, but not right now."
"Very well. We'll take care of the bodies. As for that warehouse, what do you want to do?"
"Burn it. Give the people inside release."
Akame and the blond girl departed, leaving Asahi alone with the warehouse. He set the fire. The flames rose, taking this cursed place into the past.