Anime: Ashura from Killing Akame

"Zanke's imperial weapon ability seems to be able to make people see hallucinations. I don't know about his other abilities, but this is all I have observed."

Back to the night raid, Nadezhda organized a meeting to discuss the beheading of Zanke, the imperial weapon user.

"A spiritual imperial tool? That's a bit tricky."

Nadezhda, a heavy smoker, was thinking about how to deal with the situation while smoking.

"Tatsumi, you have experienced the power of Zanke's imperial weapon, do you have any suggestions?"

After thinking for a while and failing to come up with a solution, Nadezhda asked the question back to Tatsumi.

"Have."

"Oh? Tell me."

"Close your eyes and don't look at Zanke. The illusion function of the imperial weapon will not be able to be exerted."

"...It's a solution, but it's not a good one."

How do you fight with your eyes closed, a blind man playing chess?

"Are there any specific details of the illusion? Tatsumi, what did you see in the illusion?"

Since she couldn't avoid being tricked, Nadezhda decided to start with the details of the imperial weapon's abilities.

Tatsumi paused for a moment and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a different gaze looking at him.

It’s Akame.

I was looking at him intently, not knowing what he was thinking.

"For a person, perhaps the characteristic of illusion is that it allows people to see the important people in their hearts."

"Yeah, that's not so bad."

Hearing that it was just a simple transformation into a person, Nadezhda exhaled a puff of smoke, and her expression was not as solemn as before.

For killers, closing off emotions in order to complete their mission is commonplace.

As long as it doesn't cause direct damage to the spirit and affect actual combat, it's harmless.

"Everyone has worked hard. Go and rest. Zanke is injured and will probably hide and recover in the next few days. But we can't be careless. We will continue the mission tomorrow night. We will definitely see Zanke and we must kill him!"

......

Silent all night.

After a night of intensive inspection in the imperial capital, everyone was tired and fell asleep early.

Recharge your energy and prepare for tomorrow's mission.

The next day, three quarters past noon.

Tatsumi arrived as promised.

Zanke was leaning against the wall, his eyes lost in thought, and it seemed he had been waiting here for a long time.

"Yo~"

Tatsumi raised his hand in greeting.

There was not much expression on Zanke's face, he just asked calmly, "You haven't told me the solution yet."

"The solution...I won't tell you yet."

"You fool me?"

Zanke was angry, and two sharp one-handed swords appeared from his sleeves.

"Follow me and you can try." Tatsumi took out the Kiritaime from his palm, eager to try and with some anticipation.

He has never experienced a life-and-death battle with an imperial weapon user.

"You asked me to wait for you. You can't just be playing a trick on me."

Thinking of the fighting power displayed by the opponent last night, Zanke was extremely fearful. He stroked his one-handed sword twice, thought for a long time, and finally gave up the idea of ​​taking action.

Seeing this, Tatsumi also put away Kiritaime, "My name is Tatsumi."

"Zank."

Zanke glanced at Tatsumi, not understanding what the other party meant by introducing his name.

Given their interactions, they shouldn't know each other well enough? ...

"Let's go."

Tatsumi walked past Zanke and headed deeper into the alley.

"Where?"

"Where else can I go to help you heal."

......

As we go deeper into the alley, the environment becomes increasingly worse, with garbage all over the ground...There are many simple huts made of old cardboard boxes and small pieces of wood on both sides of the alley.

To put it bluntly, it is just a shelter that can just cover one's shadow and is as crowded as a snail shell. It cannot block the wind or the rain...When a rainstorm comes, these poor people living in the simple huts become homeless and wander around.

Hearing the noise coming from outside, many refugees of foreign nationalities hiding in the shadowy huts poked their heads out and looked at the two "uninvited guests" who suddenly broke in with curious, fearful and dreadful eyes.

"Tatsumi, what are we doing here?"

Zanke frowned. The place was so dirty that there was no place to stand and he could hardly move. The strong smell that seemed to be a mixture of excrement and vomit wafted into his nose and made him nauseous several times.

He really doesn't like this place.

"Find someone."

As Tatsumi walked, his eyes kept scanning the shabby huts on both sides. Finally, he stopped at an inconspicuous hut that was even more shabby and simple than the surrounding huts...it could barely be called a "house".

"elder brother?"

The people inside noticed that they were shrouded in shadow and a little girl's head popped out.

When the little girl saw who was coming, she subconsciously showed a happy expression.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

The little girl is the white-haired boy who was bullied in the alley yesterday.

"Brother, how did you find me?"

The little girl asked curiously.

"I guessed that you live around here."

"Oh, what do you want me for, brother?"

The little girl's voice was clear and sweet, like the sound of a silver bell. Her every smile was filled with an innocent smile, and even her dirty little face could not hide this innocence and purity.

A smile seems to have the magical power to heal people's hearts, making people feel happy when they see it, as if all their worries disappear in an instant.

Even though her life was difficult and unhappy, she never bowed to life and was full of hope for the future, just like a white lotus blooming in the mud, untainted by it.

Zanke, who was standing by, stared at the little girl's smiling face in a daze.

"elder brother."

Perhaps frightened by Zanke's naked gaze, the little girl hid behind Tatsumi in fear, and gently pinched the corner of Tatsumi's clothes with her little hands, as if this could give her a full sense of security.

"Look at you, you've scared people."

Tatsumi glared at Zanke in dissatisfaction.

"You haven't told me how to cure the disease yet." Zanke realized that he had lost his composure and quickly tried to change the subject to cover it up.

"Well, your task today is... to take care of the baby."

Tatsumi rubbed the little girl's slightly messy but not greasy white fur and said to Zanke with a smile.

Zanke:?

little girl:?

The two of them were stunned and looked at each other, they could see the confusion in each other's eyes.

Zanke: Are you sure? He asked me to take care of this dirty little girl?

Little girl: Wuuuu X﹏X, this big brother is so fierce and looks so scary.