Chapter Ninety-Three: Denied the Path Ahead for Tatsumi

This is the darkness of the Imperial Capital. The master of this house, along with his wife and child, used sweet talk to lure in country folk who had drifted onto the streets or had only just arrived in the capital, then tortured them by any means they pleased, taking delight in their suffering. Such upper-class people in the capital, whose souls have rotted through and through, are our targets.

The wild woman swept a cold gaze across the hellish scene inside the warehouse, but the pity and buried fury in her eyes would not fade.

Suddenly, Tatsumi froze. Trembling, he stepped forward. “Sayo...? Is that you, Sayo?”

“Is one of them your friend?”

“Wait, you are trying to run away? That is a very poor plan, miss.” The wild woman caught Arya by the collar of her dress and spoke flatly.

“Were all these things done by this family?” Tatsumi asked in a low voice.

“Yes. The guards are their henchmen, and equally guilty.”

“You are lying. I never knew anything about what was happening in this warehouse. Tatsumi, Q, do you trust me, the one who saved you, or these cold-blooded murderers?” Arya turned her last hope toward the two boys she had only met the day before.

“Do you know? The moment I saw you, I smelled blood and the stench of corpses.” Q suddenly uttered a shocking remark.

“What... what?” Arya asked in a trembling voice, stunned.

“And yet you came back here with her?” the wild woman asked in confusion.

“Tatsumi? Is that you, Tatsumi? It is me!” Suddenly, from the left side of the warehouse, a boy covered in spots reached out from inside a cage toward Tatsumi.

“I... Ieyasu?” Tatsumi cried, his voice shaking.

“That woman came up to me and Sayo on her own. After we ate, we lost consciousness. When we woke up, we were locked in here. It was that woman who tortured Sayo to death.” The boy named Ieyasu recounted the girl's crimes in a hoarse voice. At the end, he collapsed to his knees and broke into heart-wrenching sobs.

Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Arya exploded in an instant. With one hand she shoved away the wild woman’s grip and bared a savage, hideous face at the others, roaring like a beast.

“What exactly did I do wrong? Aren’t you all worthless country bumpkins from nowhere? Worse than livestock. However I treat you is my freedom. Besides, that girl was obviously just an animal, yet her hair was so smooth and lustrous. It was infuriating. I had been vexed over my own curly hair for so long. That is why I tortured her so carefully and thoroughly. She should be grateful to me for showing her such favor.”

“A family of sadists wearing the skin of kindly people. Sorry to have disturbed you for so long, Akame.”

The crimson-eyed beauty drew her long blade. “Eliminate.”

“Wait.”

“Do you still mean to protect her?” the wild woman asked, looking at Tatsumi.

“No. She will be cut down by my hand.” Tatsumi pulled the greatsword from his back and, without the slightest hesitation, brought it down on Arya.

Blood burst from the line running from her left shoulder to her right ribs. She only let out a scream before falling backward and dying on the spot.

“As expected of Tatsumi. I feel much better now.” After saying that, Ieyasu suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of filthy blood.

“Ieyasu!” Tatsumi rushed in at once to save his friend, gently laying him on the ground.

“He is already on his last breath.” After checking him, Q sighed. “If my healing spell still worked, I would not mind saving his life.”

“He is already in the advanced stages of the Erinbola disease.” The wild woman shook her head and sighed.

“The mistress of this house had the habit of force-feeding people drugs, then writing down their condition in a diary for her own amusement.” For once, the crimson-eyed beauty spoke.

“Tatsumi... Sayo... in the end, she never... gave in to that woman. That was really amazing. So... this old master also wants to go out... in style...” Forcing out a bright smile, Ieyasu’s whole body suddenly went limp, and all signs of life vanished from him.

“Ah... let him rest quietly for a moment. The reason I deliberately came to this family was to wait for your arrival. I just never expected to meet you on the second night. Quite lucky, really.” As he spoke, Q walked toward the exit.

The crimson-eyed beauty’s long blade flashed out again.

“You were planning to ambush us?” The wild woman narrowed her eyes and lowered her body.

“No, just the opposite.” Q turned back with a smile. “I want to join you. My goal is the same: to bring down the Empire and create a life of peace and security for the people.”

“Hm?” Both of them froze. “Are you serious?” the wild woman asked in a grave voice.

“Of course. I think my strength should meet your standards.”

“Your ability is indeed quite good, but... we do not need anyone whose background we do not know. Whether you are an Imperial spy or the spy of some other force, our Night Raid will not let you join so easily.”

“In other words, you need me to prove myself first, right?” Q smiled without the slightest surprise.

“What will you do?”

“Tomorrow I will make a huge commotion. That should be enough to prove my strength and earn your trust.” Q took a mask from his chest and put it on.

“Since you are so confident, then let us see what you can do, boy.”

“By the way, I think Tatsumi is a promising candidate for an assassin, and after this matter he will probably hate the Empire. His identity is also no problem. Why not take him back with us? We are always short of hands at the base,” the wild woman muttered, stroking her chin.

“Hey, hey, why is the treatment so different when the situation is the same? If you need manpower, there is a self-recommended candidate standing right here,” Q said unhappily.

“Akame, what do you think?”

“He is too naive. Compared with him, this boy is more suitable,” Akame said calmly.

Q was a little surprised that this emotionless girl would speak up for him.

“But his identity is uncertain. He cannot be treated as a comrade.”

Taking back what I said. “Tomorrow morning at eight, you can all watch my performance.”

“Fine. If you fail tomorrow, I will take Tatsumi back to the base.” The wild woman grinned, showing a bright smile.

“Let’s go. Otherwise Mine and the others will start complaining.” The crimson-eyed beauty turned and left.

Watching the two of them go, Q turned back and walked into the warehouse. “Bury your two friends. We can’t just leave the bodies out in the wilderness.”

“When we left the village, we said we would live and die together. Now... I’m the only one left.” Tatsumi murmured to himself. His friend’s death did not make him shed tears, perhaps because in this chaotic age death was too common, and tears had already run dry.

“What do you plan to do? Join the assassins? Continue serving in the army? Or go back to your village?”

“I do not know. But I am the village’s only hope now. I want to earn money and save my poor village.”

“The Imperial Capital is far too dark. You are not suited for the army. Even if you went, you would start as a foot soldier, with no chance of earning real money. But as for the assassins... what do you think?”

After cleaning up that night, two more tables arrived. Sorry for being late. Over the past two days, the number of recommendation votes has really been slowly rising. Though there are only a few, it has greatly stirred my enthusiasm, and the bookmarks are almost up to eighty. Please give me more support. I will add one more chapter tomorrow, because the recommendation votes have reached twenty.