Chapter 46: Assassination
The man in the kasa hat, Yanagi, kept his head low, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he strode in from outside the main hall. Although Japan was undergoing a revolution in this era, most buildings were still made of lightweight wood. He had just cut through the main gate, along with two soldiers.
Yanagi kept his head down, feeling a fire burning in his stomach.
Although he disliked the madman calling himself "Mercenary Tao," he absolutely loved the mission this man had triggered. Not because the rewards were generous, but because this mission... it actually gave him a feeling of participating in history.
Due to his personal background and experiences, he held a deep and profound resentment for the humiliating period in his nation's modern history. It was precisely why, despite using the sword style known as [Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū], he often verbally mocked the Japanese.
Now, looking at these soldiers in their neat, reformed military uniforms, his killing intent billowed.
His sword light began to dance.
The firearms of this era, while certainly lethal, were far from matching modern weapons in firing speed and accuracy. Of course, far away on the battlefields of the First World War in the West, far more terrible weapons of war were already emerging.
Slice! Slice!
Yanagi seemed to have become as frenzied as Kaito, cutting down the men with incredible speed. Elizabeth frowned.
"Yanagi, these are just common soldiers worth a few Dimensional Points. Are you really going to snatch these kills, too?"
Yanagi didn't answer. But on the other side of the courtyard, Vincent let out a pained cry, blood spraying from his chest.
"Watch out! It's a Lower Rank!" Vincent shouted the warning, his voice booming. The wound looked terrible, but it clearly hadn't been life-threatening.
Kaito, meanwhile, stood on the courtyard wall, coldly observing the battle.
That man, Yanagi, was a master swordsman. His movements were fluid. Even without relying on special "abilities," he could effortlessly slaughter ordinary men.
Vincent, on the other hand, likely had some kind of special physical ability. After being slashed by the demon, his bleeding was far less than a normal person's, and his movements were not significantly impaired. Judging by his fighting style, he seemed to be a Reincarnator specialized in defense.
And Elizabeth, that tall, green-haired woman... Kaito narrowed his eyes. She had been using firearms this whole time, a submachine gun with an incredibly high rate of fire that had the Taisho-era soldiers scattering. But Kaito was watching her closely. He guessed that she was hiding her true abilities. She hadn't displayed any particular marksmanship, yet it was clear that she and Vincent were long-time partners who trusted each other implicitly.
There was only one reason a Reincarnator would willingly spec into a pure defensive build in this extremely dangerous environment: their partner had to be a specialized, high-powered attacker. A glass cannon.
And that partner was, in turn, extremely fragile.
Elizabeth pursed her lips. She could feel the gaze of "Mercenary Tao" brazenly sizing her up. It wasn't a gaze filled with lust. On the contrary, he was like a beast sizing up prey, looking over everyone.
This… lunatic!
But Elizabeth didn't act on her anger. Instead, she coordinated with Yanagi, and in an instant, they had annihilated the Minister of the Left's entire squad of soldiers.
All that was left was the Lower Rank demon with the black hair, black beard, and strange facial tattoos. Its speed and strength were overwhelmingly greater than the ordinary demons. If compared to a Reincarnator's stats, its total attributes were definitely over 40. In other words, this was clearly a [Mortal]-tier monster.
Moreover, all the Twelve Kizuki possessed unique Blood Demon Arts. The fact that this demon was only fighting with its body meant it wasn't even using its full power.
A faint light glowed in Elizabeth's eyes. Rokuro, who had been locked in a fierce battle with Yanagi and was even gaining the upper hand, suddenly felt his body stiffen. A cold light flashed toward him.
Slice!
Rokuro's body suddenly swelled, instantly growing to a massive size. The blow, which should have taken his head, merely left a shallow gash on his chest. Now standing over three meters tall, Rokuro loomed like a giant in the courtyard. He looked down on the humans, his eyes fixed on Yanagi, who was now holding a Nichirin Blade.
"Are you a Hashira?" he growled. "State your name."
The black tattoos on Rokuro's face began to spread over his entire body, and his intimidating presence skyrocketed.
Yanagi's expression turned grave. This demon's current physical abilities were completely superior to his own. But he, in turn, now wielded a Nichirin Blade borrowed from those Demon Slayers. He just needed one chance, and he could…
BOOM!
A dull, cannon-like blast thundered. Rokuro was sent stumbling back several steps.
The Professor was standing on the far wall, her hand cannon still smoking.
"Are you all really just going to watch Yanagi fight a Lower Rank demon one-on-one? Get him!" This woman clearly had no regard for warrior's etiquette.
Elizabeth had never planned on staying idle. She began providing covering fire while secretly interfering with her abilities. Vincent, roaring, leaped high into the air, his muscles bulging, and brought both fists down in a hammer blow.
Kaito didn't move. He just remained on the wall, still holding [Misfortune's Knock], firing off shots. But with no marksmanship proficiency and no special effect triggering, his bullets were landing all over the place.
"Mr. Tao, please don't make a sound, and don't react," a voice suddenly appeared in Kaito's ear.
Kaito's strange smile remained, and he continued to fire his gun randomly.
"I believe we're being watched by the two Reincarnators who abandoned the team."
"I can't lock onto their position, but I have a special ability that warns me of danger."
"Right now, the team's weakest member—me—and the team's strongest member—you—are both separated from the main fight. This is their best chance…"
The Professor's voice was cold, completely devoid of the panic one would expect from someone about to be ambushed. Her composure made Kaito's estimation of her rise slightly.
In truth, he didn't need her clandestine warning. He had felt the killing intent long ago. That pink robe of Mercenary Tao's greatest benefit wasn't the stat boosts or the skill proficiency; it was the [Killing Intent Sense]. In the Nexus, it was a top-tier warning system. You could never know when someone might decide to kill you, but this ability let you feel it when they did.
Kaito felt the faint, needle-like prick of malice. He was certain. The enemy had indeed marked him—the strongest, but currently "injured"—and the Professor—the weakest, separated from the main fight—as their primary targets.
Kaito looked down at the battle. Rokuro had grown even larger and was now taller than the courtyard walls. His every blow shook the ground. Yanagi and the others were in a bitter struggle; they lacked the finishing power to deal with such a large opponent. Firearms could only wound and irritate the demon; they couldn't inflict a fatal blow on a Lower Rank.
Kaito raised his gun, as if taking careful aim. At the same time, the Professor began reloading her hand cannon.
Fwish!
The sound of something slicing the air. Two black shadows shot out from beyond the courtyard walls. Sword light flashed at the same instant.
Splat!
The Professor's figure instantly tumbled from the wall, a spray of blood trailing behind her.
CLANG!
The other figure, who had appeared in front of Kaito, had his pupils contract in shock. He was staring at the man in the pink robe, who had somehow... blocked his sword by holding up his silver revolver horizontally.
This guy… is he some kind of full-Strength-build specialist?!
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