"This situation is different from all Imperial Arms; it's so strange?"
Brand furrowed his brows and conveyed his confusion to the Night Raid members.
Before anyone else could react,
Leone's expression changed slightly as she said, "To be able to control two Imperial Arms at once, and with such ease, it's just like the Game Merchant I encountered!"
Back then, Fang Yi had displayed two completely different abilities, seemingly effortlessly.
Now, Brand's situation was remarkably similar.
Brand walked over to Tatsumi, his expression serious, and asked, "Kid, where did this sword come from, do you know?"
"It's a short steel sword forged for me by all the villagers pooling their money. Give it back to me!"
Even Akame, who had almost killed him, was easily defeated by Brand.
Tatsumi understood the opponent's strength, but his eyes remained cold, like a shrike impaled on the ground, stubbornly guarding the warehouse door.
"Absolutely not."
Brand shook his head, "A blessed short sword, such a special artifact, not only has the strength of an Imperial Arm but also avoids the side effects of an Imperial Arm. How could it be a weapon forged by an ordinary blacksmith?"
Looking at Tatsumi's attire, his village was probably not wealthy.
Let alone him, even a minister in the Imperial Capital would find it difficult to forge such a special item, even with the nation's combined power.
After all, a former emperor had tried, and only managed to forge a Minister's Arm.
Tatsumi said with a cold tone, "I'm not Night Raid, who indiscriminately kills the innocent, and I won't lie. This short sword cost a full nine gold coins, which was half a year's savings for everyone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the two words Brand had used.
Blessed?
He suddenly remembered when he parted ways with Mr. Fang Yi; the latter seemed to have picked up the short sword and said he was blessing him.
Immediately after, he felt his body seemed to have become stronger.
There was also his swordsmanship when fighting Akame, and the powerful strength he unleashed when breaking free from Akame's sneak attack on the armored man…
Evidently, the short sword attracting Night Raid's attention was very likely related to Mr. Fang Yi.
No,
He couldn't admit it, and he certainly couldn't implicate Mr. Fang Yi, otherwise, this group of bloodthirsty assassins would surely silence them.
Thinking of this, Tatsumi turned his head away nonchalantly.
However,
The naive and innocent country boy, Tatsumi's 'protesting too much' demeanor seemed to say, 'I've thought of crucial information, come and interrogate me.'
"If you don't speak, I'll kill you!"
Akame approached with her demon blade, holding it against Tatsumi's neck.
Tatsumi's face turned pale.
The cold sensation of the blade against his skin made his breathing quicken, yet he remained silent.
Brand grabbed Akame's arm and shook his head slightly, signaling her to put down the demon blade and not scare Tatsumi.
The demon blade was lethal upon drawing blood.
If Tatsumi were accidentally killed, this kind-hearted, foolish young man would truly have a troubled conscience.
"Young man, the darkness of the Imperial Capital is often cloaked in a layer of glorious disguise."
Brand's expression was solemn. He grabbed the shrike, tightened his grip on the spear shaft, leaned back slightly, and then threw it with force.
Boom.
The thick steel plate and riveted structure of the warehouse door were pierced by the thrown shrike.
Aria's panicked cry of alarm came from inside the warehouse.
Before Tatsumi could react,
Brand walked to the hole pierced by the shrike, gripped the curled steel plate edges with both arms, and like a grizzly bear tearing a beehive, easily ripped open the steel door, creating a gap for passage.
Gulp…
Tatsumi swallowed.
To be honest, the villagers wouldn't have inexplicably taken out their savings to forge a short sword; the reason they were willing was because he was already considered the village's once-in-a-century swordsman.
He carried the villagers' hope of escaping poverty.
Tatsumi was also confident in his strength; along the way, he had easily hunted several Danger Beasts.
However, compared to the armored man who tore open a steel door with his bare hands, he felt like an immature wolf cub encountering a wolf king.
With such strength, he chose to be an assassin instead of serving the country.
What a pity.
Thinking of this, Brand's impression in Tatsumi's mind worsened.
"Come in. Although I really don't want to say it, but… welcome to the real Imperial Capital!"
Brand sighed, walked into the warehouse, and motioned for Tatsumi to follow.
Tatsumi couldn't figure out what the other party wanted to say, but seeing Akame's watchful gaze behind him, he had no choice but to brace himself and enter the warehouse.
As soon as he stepped in, a putrid stench assailed him.
Inside the stuffy, dim warehouse, bloodied dark figures hung upside down.
Tatsumi's first reaction was,
This was Aria's family's meat storage warehouse, but as his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, he suddenly froze.
"This is… a person?"
Tatsumi's eyes widened, feeling his mind spin.
Hundreds of hanged dark figures were all people who had died in various horrific ways. On the iron table lay terrifying iron tools, clearly instruments used to torture them.
"The Aria family, outwardly benevolent wealthy people, are actually twisted and dark inside. They often abduct young people who have just arrived in the Imperial Capital, imprison them in the warehouse, and abuse them…"
Mine looked at Tatsumi with pity.
If Night Raid hadn't acted early, Tatsumi would probably have become one of those on the hooks.
"Tatsumi, quick… quick, stop them!"
Aria, hiding in the corner, looked terrified and kept searching for objects to shield herself.
Tatsumi didn't speak.
He just stared blankly at the dark figure in the center of the warehouse, whose hands were bound by wooden restraints, hanging from the ceiling.
It was a girl about Tatsumi's age.
She was now a corpse, covered in knife wounds, burn marks, bruises from heavy blows, and broken limbs.
"Sayo?!"
Tatsumi's voice trembled, and he unconsciously fell to his knees.
The girl's corpse before him was his long-lost companion, his childhood friend from the same village.
The girl's once proud black hair was covered in various foul liquids, corroded and resembling a bird's nest, with large chunks of scalp peeled off…
Mine said with disdain, "This is who you wanted to protect? This is just a corner of the Imperial Capital's darkness, just a family of sadists!"
"No… they're lying!"
Aria also knew that with all the guards dead and only Tatsumi left, she couldn't let him discover the truth.
She put on a weak and pitiful expression, defending herself, "I had no idea about the situation here; it has nothing to do with me. Have you forgotten that I took you in, Brother Tatsumi?"
"Tatsumi…"
From the gloomy cage, a weak voice emerged.
Tatsumi pushed open the steel door, and moonlight streamed in, illuminating the speaker.
"Yas?!"
Tatsumi's throat tightened as he looked in disbelief at his companion imprisoned in the cage.
Yas was covered in wounds, unlike Sayo's.
His injuries looked more like some kind of viral infection, with festering skin and a pungent, nauseating odor emanating from him.
Tatsumi, however, showed no trace of disgust. He kicked open the cell door, carried Yas into the moonlight, and let him breathe fresh air.
"It's Aria, she… she's a demon!"
"She tortured Sayo, pulling out Sayo's hair strand by strand, cutting off Sayo's scalp…"
"I was also injected with a virus, treated like livestock, for them to observe the virus's reaction in my body."
"It hurts so much…"
"It's good that you're okay, Tatsumi."
His companion gasped for breath, inhaling the long-awaited fresh air. The virus had fully erupted in his body, constantly tormenting his nerves.
Mine grabbed the demon lady's collar, threw her outside the warehouse, and sneered, "Still trying to lie?"
Seeing that things had come to this,
A desperate Aria tore off her disguise and raged, "I did nothing wrong! You lowly commoners are just like livestock! I merely killed two livestock, and even Imperial Capital officials wouldn't punish me! Who are you to judge?!"
Tatsumi remained silent, walked to Brand, and retrieved his short steel sword.
Pfft!
With one swing of the blade,
The cut mark began at her shoulder and extended all the way to her abdomen, directly bisecting Aria, who was still furiously cursing.
Clang…
The short steel sword fell to the ground.
Tatsumi held his companion's hand, feeling his body gradually grow cold and convulse from the virus.
Tears rolled down like raindrops,
"Yas, don't die, Yas!"
"Who… who can save Yas?!"
Tatsumi held his companion, letting out a hoarse lament.
The Night Raid members stood silently by.
No one spoke.
There was no antidote for the virus injected by Aria; it would lead to a very painful process before death.
Healing-type Imperial Arms were extremely rare,
And, given Tatsumi's companion's current state, with his bodily functions completely dead, he was on his last breath.
Even if there were a healing-type Imperial Arm, it certainly wouldn't save him.
Parting with life and death,
Night Raid had experienced too much of it. They could only wish the young man could recover from his grief soon.
"Tatsumi."
A voice suddenly rang out.
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