Zank was now covered in blood, staring in terror at Asahi standing before him.
"How can this be? How is it possible?! I read your thoughts!!"
"It's because you were too foolish. You blurted out all your abilities—wasn't it obvious I'd find a way to counter them?"
Villains often die because they talk too much, and Zank the Executioner was a living—or rather, dying—example. He could read minds, but none of Asahi's actual strikes matched the thoughts Zank perceived. Now, the one trembling in fear wasn't Asahi, but Zank himself.
The third method Asahi had devised was to treat his thoughts like a flowing stream and then split them into two separate currents. Asahi gambled that Zank's Teigu could only read the primary stream of consciousness he chose to project, while the secondary stream—the one actually controlling his muscles—remained hidden. He had guessed correctly.
Splitting one's stream of thought was a feat similar to "dual-mind multitasking."
"If that's the case then!!!"
Zank screamed, and the Spected eye on his forehead dilated. In Asahi's vision, the surrounding scenery warped. Zank's position was replaced by the figures of people Asahi had met before.
"Illusory Sight. The one appearing before you is the person you cherish most. It will drown you in your own memories."
Asahi stood frozen in place. Ieyasu shouted in panic.
"Mr. Shop Owner!!"
"It's useless! I've used Hypnosis! Though it's brief, its effect is absolute!"
Zank cackled with glee, preparing to use this precious time to move forward and butcher Asahi. No matter how experienced a person was, they could never bring themselves to strike the person they loved most.
Ieyasu was frantic. Ignoring his weakened state, he lunged forward to help. Even if he died, he couldn't stand by and watch his benefactor be murdered before his eyes.
But as he was about to pass him, a hand reached out and stopped Ieyasu. It was Asahi.
"I'm fine. Get back."
"Executioner... you chose the wrong way to play this."
The illusion before Asahi's eyes flickered, then shattered like glass, revealing Zank's true form once more.
"What?! How did you do that?"
Zank was terrified. This opponent was like his natural nemesis. Mind-reading was faked out, the illusion was broken, and hypnosis had no effect. As for the other two abilities of his Teigu, he hadn't even unlocked them yet, as the item was something he had stolen.
The aura Asahi radiated made Zank the Executioner tremble. It wasn't the bloodlust of an assassin or a common murderer—those only scared ordinary people, not a serial killer like him. Facing Asahi now, Zank felt as if he were being consumed by fire.
The two clashed again. Asahi demonstrated total dominance from the very first exchange of blades. Despite his strength, Zank shouldn't have lost this miserably, but he had grown far too dependent on his Teigu. Having it countered was like having his arms cut off, added to the crushing mental pressure Asahi exerted.
It wasn't until Asahi's blade pierced his heart that Zank realized his life had reached its end.
He had once been the Capital's premier executioner. Since the new Prime Minister took office and began pulling the puppet strings of the child King, the number of people Zank had to kill skyrocketed. From commoners to politicians and officials who crossed the Prime Minister, Zank beheaded people every single day. Eventually, the act began to haunt him, driving him to an obsession where he couldn't restrain the urge to kill daily. He eventually fled, stealing the Teigu Spected to become a notorious mass murderer.
The deeper reason, however, was that because he had killed so many, he constantly felt as though screams were echoing in his ears. Initially faint, the collective roar of the dead grew with every victim, filling Zank with absolute dread. The sound was so horrific that he had worn two earplugs until this very moment.
But in the instant before he died, his earplugs fell out... and the haunting screams in his ears were gone. For a brief second, Zank's eyes became clear, devoid of his previous madness.
"Wonder...ful..."
"Thank... you..."
Zank died, his body toppling backward. Asahi propped himself up with his two swords on the road, sitting down heavily, no longer maintaining his composed image from moments ago.
Compared to the members of Night Raid, this guy was relatively weak because he relied entirely on his Teigu's gimmick.
"Are you okay?"
"Nothing life-threatening. Just a few cuts to tend to."
"Let me help! 'Master' Ieyasu isn't that useless."
Ieyasu ran over to help him back into the carriage, and the coachman wisely kept the vehicle stopped.
Asahi pulled out the Multi-purpose Relief Chest and began treating the wounds Zank had left. Though they were deep cuts that bled significantly, they hadn't hit anything vital, so the healing was fast. Within ten minutes, he had largely recovered.
He stepped outside to find Ieyasu moving the bodies of the unfortunate victims to the side of the road.
"We can't just leave them exposed in the wilderness like this."
Seeing the young man turn his face away in sorrow, Asahi smiled gently and patted his shoulder.
"Alright. See if there are any shovels or tools in the carriages. I'll dig a grave."
The coachman's carriage didn't have any, but luckily the victims' carriage did. With his physical strength, it didn't take long for Asahi to dig a long trench. He laid each person out neatly in a row, with the coachman stepping in to help as well. Then, they covered them with earth. Zank's body was placed in a separate hole, a fitting end for the perverse murderer.
The journey continued. The further north they traveled, the colder the climate became, until snow began to fall. Fortunately, having been warned beforehand, Asahi had prepared plenty of warm clothing.
The falling snow was beautiful, but it was a significant obstacle for travel. Several times, all three of them had to get out and clear snow from the road. Only Imperial military vehicles or specialized sleds could traverse this area easily.
On the long road, they encountered bandits a few more times, all of whom were dealt with smoothly by Asahi.
"The fact that you boys made it to the Capital at all is no small feat."
"The distance was the hardest part, sir. That, and the bandits. I remember this spot... the three of us were ambushed by bandits right here before we got separated."
After a long trek, they reached the final stretch: a climb up a large hill. At the top sat the home village of Ieyasu and Tatsumi.
"Mr. Shop Owner, you don't need to come all the way up."
"It's fine. Consider it a chance for me to pay my respects to the elders."
The coachman didn't have the stamina for the climb, so Asahi told him to wait below. He would only be gone for a short while.
After climbing for some time, both Asahi and Ieyasu saw the silhouette of buildings appearing in the distance.