"Incredible... truly incredible!!"
From a hidden vantage point, Tatsumi watched Asahi tearing through the ranks of men. His jaw had dropped wide enough to fit a fist inside.
He never would have imagined that the gentle, pleasant man who had carefully brewed coffee for Night Raid the previous night possessed such a... ferocious fighting style.
Bulat, on the other hand, wasn't particularly surprised. From their very first meeting, he had sensed that Asahi was a man brimming with internal power. Bulat had encountered such people on the battlefield before—battle-hungry warriors who forged their bodies into the ultimate weapons. Asahi was even using his own willpower to suppress that primal combat instinct.
With a knee strike that shattered the last soldier's helmet, Asahi continued forward, paying no mind to the chaos left in his wake.
"Let's go, Tatsumi. Asahi is truly strong; we don't need to worry about him."
"Right!"
Though both were eager to continue watching Asahi fight, they knew this was the optimal window to slip out of the capital. They had to move fast.
Crack!
Crushing a soldier's helmet, Asahi arrived in front of a candy shop. A beautiful woman sat there, eating. She had long, flowing blue hair and wore a military uniform; she was clearly part of the Empire's forces.
Despite her being just a single girl, Asahi stopped exactly fifty meters away, his entire body coiled tight like a bowstring.
He felt death—the thick, heavy scent of mortality. And the "flow" he saw radiating from her... it was cold and saturated with killing intent.
"Oh, a little mouse."
Esdeath glanced at Asahi, showing absolutely no concern for the soldiers lying beaten in the street. If Esdeath were to take action, a single finger would suffice.
Asahi didn't know who the person before him was, but she was undoubtedly powerful; no weakling possessed such a flow. Combined with the information Tatsumi and Bulat had provided, it was highly likely this person was...
"You are Esdeath, aren't you?"
Esdeath, the master of the Three Beasts. The Three Beasts were merely the executioners; the one behind the assassination of the politicians was Esdeath—or more accurately, her and the Prime Minister. These were the targets Asahi sought.
"Oh? Then I shall grant you a favor: go to the torture chamber yourself. What do you say?"
"I'm busy."
Asahi took a starting stance. Esdeath didn't move; she didn't care if the man before her only amounted to this. Facing such a powerful foe, he dared not show the slightest hint of overconfidence.
"I came here to reclaim justice for a few people."
"They didn't deserve to die like that—to die such miserable deaths at the hands of your Three Beasts."
"Oh, so it's for those politicians? This world is essentially survival of the fittest. They were weak, so they died. Why would you want to demand 'justice'?"
"Is that why you give yourself the right to trample others? And do you judge a person's strength or weakness based solely on martial force?"
"How shallow."
Esdeath's expression darkened. A bone-chilling aura erupted—the kind of pressure that usually left anyone facing her paralyzed with terror. This time, however, it was useless against the man in black. He was currently radiating an aura that clashed directly with hers—brilliant, radiant, and as magnificent as the sun. Even the frost was melted, and the killing intent was incinerated.
For the first time, Esdeath lost an encounter of sheer presence. This surprised her immensely.
Does presence or will affect actual strength? Either not at all, or a great deal. Esdeath had used absolute power to defeat the Hero of the North, Numa Seika, but it was the battle of wills that had driven Numa Seika mad, eventually making him willing to be a dog licking Esdeath's boots.
"How interesting! Fascinating! State your name, warrior!"
"I am your nightmare."
In the clash of wills and presence, he had won, but it only counted as a slight advantage. Combat prowess was the reality.
Dozens of ice arrows manifested from thin air, hurtling toward Asahi. They immediately inflicted damage upon his sturdy black armor.
"An armor-type Teigu? Don't disappoint me."
Asahi vanished from his spot, accelerating in a zigzag pattern. The ice arrows Esdeath created were numerous and vast, but their speed could not match his movement.
She fights like a mage. I'll find a way to close in and force her into melee, Asahi thought. His movements remained erratic, but suddenly, the ice arrows increased in speed. Not only that, they began appearing from all directions, nearly surrounding him. He tumbled to evade them but was still struck by several.
Feeling the biting cold seep through his armor, he grew solemn. This ice was so hard and sharp it could slice through bone as easily as a normal blade.
Esdeath, meanwhile, stood there leisurely, as if feeling no strain at all, even as the number of ice arrows surpassed three digits.
"In that case..."
BOOM!!
He lunged forward, his fists swinging continuously to shatter the ice arrows. An ice wall Esdeath created to block his path was smashed through, Asahi tearing a large hole as shards of ice scattered everywhere.
The surrounding area was transformed into a wasteland of rampaging ice and snow. The tempestuous attacks from her made things incredibly difficult for Asahi, but after shattering a cluster of jagged ice spears, he finally reached Esdeath.
The armor was covered in frost, freezing over. Asahi twisted his body, layers upon layers of ice falling away and cracking. His punch tore through the frozen air, so powerful that everything in the vicinity was blown back.
But just as his fist was about to strike Esdeath, Asahi felt a massive resistance. He slowed down and then came to a complete halt, because the entire ten-square-meter area around him had turned into a massive block of ice.
Esdeath turned to walk away. It seemed as though everything was over, but then, the sound of cracking appeared, followed by a noise like shattering glass.
Asahi broke through the ice block, silently grateful there were no civilians nearby. Most likely, they had all been scared off by Esdeath before he even arrived. If not, the mere aftershocks of this battle would have killed dozens.
"I've changed my mind, nameless warrior. Do you want to join my subordinates? With your strength, there is no need to stand on the side of the weak."
"I refuse."
Feeling the power boiling within him, Asahi lowered his center of gravity and launched himself toward Esdeath. He threw a perfectly timed overhand punch, but to his horror, Esdeath actually blocked it!
Of course, she didn't use her bare hands; she used the rapier at her waist along with a blade of ice. With both blades crossed, she caught his punch.
"Surprised? Those who thought they could kill me in close quarters thought the same thing before they died."
"Glacial Fangs!"
Asahi was knocked back, frozen within a massive ridge of ice, accompanied by Esdeath's triumphant smile.