Chapter 57 [IF Story]: VS the Three Beasts
[IF Story, an alternate timeline based on the premise of Kobayashi and Tatsumi teaming up to board the Dragon Boat.]
"So! BIG!!! AH!!!"
Tatsumi couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
Coming from a remote rural village, how could he have ever seen such a huge and luxurious Dragon Boat?
"Please refrain from making a fuss. It is truly embarrassing," RyuZU's sharp tongue arrived as scheduled. "Master Tatsumi, your embarrassing behavior will lower both my and Master Kobayashi's class."
"Mmm, it's very conspicuous. You need to be more mindful, Tatsumi," Kobayashi also chimed in.
The combined sharp tongues of the master and servant were a form of torture for him.
"O-okay... I'll be mindful."
Tatsumi could also feel the刺-like gazes gathering on him from the surroundings and scratched his head in embarrassment.
"However, you look quite handsome, Tatsumi. You give off a completely different vibe in a suit."
"Is... that so?"
Tatsumi scratched his head shyly and also returned the compliment. "You're very handsome too, Kobayashi."
"RyuZU picked out this outfit for me. To be honest, I prefer the one I chose," Kobayashi said with a blink.
"Ah... that one."
Tatsumi remembered the tragically ugly outfit Kobayashi had chosen. Thankfully, RyuZU had forcibly changed it at the time; otherwise, he would surely have been even more conspicuous than he had just been.
"Alright, alright, let's get on board."
"Yeah!"
RyuZU linked arms with Kobayashi. The two of them looked like nobles attending an evening party, their elegant and noble appearance making the other guests whisper and wonder who they were. Their dazzling light completely overshadowed the handsome Tatsumi, relegating him to the position of a bodyguard.
However, this was also part of their plan.
On the surface, he and RyuZU would attract the enemy's attention, which would make it easier for Tatsumi to operate in the shadows.
People were gathered on the Dragon Boat, everyone talking in low voices, but it still couldn't cover up the noisy din.
Tatsumi had already made a round of the ship but hadn't seen any sign of the enemy.
"What should we do, Kobayashi?"
"Don't be anxious. If the enemy is here, they will definitely appear."
The action team was divided into two groups: one was them, the other was Akame and Lubbock. If the enemy wasn't here, it meant they were with the other group.
Tatsumi nodded. Seeing Kobayashi elegantly raise a glass of wine to his lips, the corner of his mouth twitched. "Hey, is it really okay to be so relaxed? We're here on a mission, aren't we!"
"You're the one who's too tense, Tatsumi," Kobayashi chided him. "If I wasn't providing cover for you, your strange behavior would have been stopped long ago."
"What?"
"Look."
Following the direction of Kobayashi's chin, Tatsumi saw the surrounding bodyguards constantly casting their gazes on him. The only reason he hadn't been subdued on the spot was because they had mistaken him for Kobayashi's bodyguard. After all, important people always brought bodyguards when they went out, and he wasn't the only one scouting around the ship. It was just that his methods were the most conspicuous and clumsy.
"Tch," Tatsumi clicked his tongue softly.
Kobayashi patted his shoulder and said, "Alright, alright, relax. You need to blend in. Being too tense will only attract the enemy's attention, and then the whole point of you being hidden will be lost."
"I know."
Tatsumi also followed his example, picked up a glass of wine, and started drinking it pretentiously.
At this moment, an elegant and beautiful flute melody came from somewhere.
—They're here.
Knowing it was the enemy launching their attack, Kobayashi remained impassive. He even invited his companion to a dance.
He bowed slightly and extended his right hand.
"While this elegant music plays, may I have this dance with the beautiful Miss RyuZU?"
"I would be delighted."
RyuZU also graciously placed her small hand on his, and it was gently held.
"It's too crowded here. Let's go to the deck," Kobayashi said, leading RyuZU towards the empty deck. At the same time, he said to Tatsumi, "You stand guard here. If you can't hold on, you can find a place to rest."
"O-okay..."
Are they really here on a mission?
Tatsumi looked speechlessly at the leisurely master and servant pair, feeling that with them acting like this, he was completely out of place with everyone else here.
On the deck, Kobayashi and RyuZU danced lightly. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, an elegant and gorgeous dance. The only regret was that there was no one to watch and applaud.
As the music grew more and more passionate, their dance also gradually sped up.
They both knew it was about to reach its end.
Tatsumi suddenly stumbled out.
"K-Kobayashi! The... the music... there's something wrong with it!"
He had originally forced himself to come out because he was worried about Kobayashi, but when he saw that they seemed completely unaffected and were dancing gracefully, he was completely dumbfounded.
What's going on? Why are they fine?
But before he could ask, the music came to an abrupt halt at that moment. The dance, which was about to reach its climax, was not finished. Both Kobayashi and RyuZU had expressions of regret.
"It seems we'll have to wait until next time."
"It can't be helped when there are spoilsports."
As they were speaking, the spoilsport appeared.
A burly man with a full beard, carrying two intimidatingly large axes on his back. Upon seeing Kobayashi and RyuZU, he said in surprise, "Oh my?! There are still people who are unaffected? Is there something wrong with that guy Nyau's Teigu? Oh well! You two look pretty strong. My name is Daidara! Come and fight me, let me gain some good experience points!"
He tried to look thoughtful, but being not-so-bright, he immediately gave up on thinking.
"Gain experience points... you mean you weaken your enemies before fighting them? You say you like to fight the strong, but you're actually worried they're too strong, aren't you?"
"Of course not! This is just a battle plan! And you don't seem to be affected, do you?"
Daidara tossed a longsword to Kobayashi. "Here, a weapon for you. Now we're even."
"Heh." Kobayashi caught the longsword and stabbed it into the ground.
"What? You're not using a weapon?"
"To deal with you, I don't need a weapon... To be precise, to deal with the three of you, I don't."
Kobayashi's gaze shifted upwards and to the left. There were two other people there: Liver and Nyau of the Three Beasts.
"Impressive senses, to think you could find us," Liver said like an elegant butler, slowly approaching.
Nyau also flicked his flute and asked strangely, "What's going on? Is the Teigu useless against him?"
"It doesn't matter! You two, stay out of it! Let me... pu-koff!"
Daidara was about to talk tough, but in the blink of an eye, Kobayashi was upon him. Before he could block with his axes, a fierce punch slammed into his chest, sending him flying three meters back and into a dragon pillar.
There was a huge circular dent where his entire body seemed to be embedded in the ship's pillar, pinned tightly. The wall around the dent cracked in every direction, like a dense spiderweb.
His chest was a bloody mess, a large, shattered hole where his heart should have been. Daidara's mouth opened, wanting to say something, but nothing came out, and his breathing gradually stopped.
One of the Three Beasts dead.
Kobayashi shook his hand and said helplessly, "Come on, it's a fight. Who gives an opening speech? And weren't you underestimating me a little too much?"
He felt no shame in taking one of them out with a sneak attack. After all, if they were going to be righteous and gang up on him, then it was fine for him to fight dirty, right?
"Y-you bastard!"
Nyau, his face full of anger, blew his flute and cursed viciously, "Just you watch! I'll flay that girl's face right in front of you! I'll make you taste the meaning of suffering!"
"What did you say..."
Kobayashi's eyes turned dangerous.
RyuZU was his private preserve. No one, no matter who, could insult or touch her. And Nyau had dared to make such a threat. Even if he were to be defeated, he would surely do it.
"Then I can't let you live. RyuZU."
"Yes. As you command, Master Kobayashi."
RyuZU held her skirt, her elegant appearance like that of a noble lady. For him to make such a delicate-looking girl fight made the transformed, muscular Nyau laugh.
"Hahaha... making a delicate little girl fight me? Are you stupid?!"
"Oh my, I seem to be underestimated."
As an automaton, the thing RyuZU hated most was being looked down upon, because it made her seem like an unworthy attendant.
Swish—
"Hmph, you arrogant woman! Since you're looking for death, I'll just take your face as my collection piece!"
"What are you talking about?"
While he was talking tough, RyuZU said with a sharp tongue, "How amusing. A person without a body is calling someone else arrogant. Perhaps you should look in a mirror first."
"...What did you say?!"
Nyau was about to retort when he noticed something was wrong.
He couldn't help but cry out in alarm, "W-wait... wait! My perspective, why is it so low?! Wait, wait! Isn't that my body?! In that case... my, my head..."
"Yes. I have taken it."
RyuZU grabbed his hair and threw his head back next to his body.
"You've got to be kidding me! In an instant?! Just one instant?! You've got to be kidding me! That's right! If my head were taken off, I wouldn't be able to talk! It's a joke! Hey, this is fake, right? It's a joke, right!!! It's a... jo... ke... right..."
Even at the moment of his death, Nyau thought it was an illusion.
Honestly, just taking his head was letting him off too easy. Just like his own vile actions, he should have had his face flayed while he was still alive. But oh well, that was RyuZU's elegance. He wouldn't interfere.
In the blink of an eye, two of the Three Beasts were dead.
"Alright, alright, now you're the only one left, General Liver."
"...You know me?"
"I heard about you from a certain hot-blooded young man."
"Hmm?"
Liver clearly didn't understand what he was talking about, but he knew he was in great danger. His two colleagues had died too quickly for him to even react. And knowing their strength, he knew just how terrifying the enemy before him was.
Perhaps not even below General Esdeath.
"It seems today is the day I die," Liver said, not panicking. He raised the ring in his hand. "Since that's the case, then I shall go all out from the very beginning!"
"That's right! That's how it should be!"
Kobayashi agreed. "Like those two idiots, what's with the opening speeches and trash talk? Isn't that just stupid?"
Liver didn't speak. He just raised his ring high and activated its skill.
—[Water Dragon Commandment: Heaven's Conquest]!
A dozen giant water dragons suddenly rose up around the Dragon Boat. The swirling vortexes even caused the huge ship to rock back and forth, almost capsizing. The towering tornadoes formed into detailed dragon heads, aiming at Kobayashi with a terrifying pressure. The slightest move, and they would surely descend from the sky to strike him down.
Liver was covered in sweat, panting with exhaustion. This move had used up all his stamina and energy, but it was also his strongest attack!
"Hehe, General Liver, it seems our compatibility is very poor," Kobayashi said, a strange, wicked smile on his lips. "But that's for you."
He pointed his index and middle fingers at the tornadoes in the sky.
"What are you doing?!"
Even the calm and collected Liver was a little flustered. Every time the young man before him made a strange move, it brought about a change. The unease in his heart grew stronger.
"In the name of the Goddess of Water, I command you—"
"Damn you! Take this! Water Dragon Commandment!"
"—to disperse!"
He spoke the word softly, and it was as if it were an absolute rule of heaven and earth. It was an absolute suppression of rank. The dozen menacing water dragons, which had been descending, suddenly paused in mid-air. Before Liver could react, they instantly disintegrated, turning into a torrential downpour on the Dragon Boat and the surrounding water.
"H-how could this be..."
No matter how experienced and knowledgeable he was, Liver had never seen a person command water controlled by a Teigu with just words. This was no longer a level a human could achieve. Perhaps, just as he had said earlier, it was something only a Goddess of Water could do.
Kobayashi tidied his messy hair and boasted with a mixture of pride and helplessness, "Can't be helped. A certain idiot goddess is too fond of me. Water and the like can't harm me at all."
"Blood Blade Kill!"
While Kobayashi was talking big, a stream of condensed blood pierced through his shoulder.
Seeing this, Liver smiled with satisfaction.
While he still had some time, he explained, "I felt a sense of danger from the beginning, so I injected myself with poison long ago. Your body is also poisoned now. Before long, you will die from the poison, just like me."
With that, he lay back on the deck.
As if in praise, as if claiming credit.
"You are too dangerous, enough to threaten my master, General Esdeath. If I can exchange my life for yours, that is a very worthwhile trade. My master, I have eliminated a powerful enemy for you in the end."
"...Hey, hey, hey, what are you getting so self-congratulatory about?"
Kobayashi helplessly walked to his side, squatted down, and said, "Didn't I tell you? I'm favored by a certain idiot goddess. And unfortunately for you, her specialty is purification. A little poison has no effect on me at all."
"What—?!"
An adult's breakdown can happen in an instant.
Liver had thought he had avenged his colleagues and eliminated a hidden enemy for Esdeath, that he had done very well. He never thought that he hadn't caused the other party the slightest bit of trouble.
Then, his injecting himself with poison just now, wasn't that a suicide in vain?
No, considering that he couldn't defeat the other party anyway, it wasn't completely in vain.
"Is this my end?"
"No. You will have another beginning."
Amidst Kobayashi's strange words, Liver slowly closed his eyes.
The Three Beasts, all dead.
(End of Chapter)