77: Night Raid Appears, Reunion (Part 2)

Tatsumi had met Leone even before heading to the recruitment center.

Leone noticed he looked like a naive country boy, and after chatting with him and learning that he wanted to enlist, she lied, saying she had connections in the army. If Tatsumi was willing to pay, she could get him in. Tatsumi believed her and ended up getting swindled out of all his money.

"Calling me a scammer is too harsh. I was just giving you a lesson, so you wouldn't get tricked again in the Imperial Capital,"

Leone retorted when she heard Tatsumi's accusation.

Then she turned to Akame and said,

"Akame, put down your sword. I know this guy—he's just a clueless kid from the countryside. There's no way he'd know what this family's really been up to."

But the moment Akame lowered her sword, Tatsumi shouted,

"You're still trying to make excuses! You not only stole my money, you're trying to kill Miss Aria too! Unlike you, she took me in. She's a good person!"

At that moment, a scream from Aria echoed from the nearby warehouse. While Tatsumi, Akame, and Leone were talking, Aria and her group had tried to escape—but they were quickly stopped at the warehouse entrance by Sheele, who was standing there with her massive pair of scissors.

"You really think she's a good person? Then let me show you her true nature."

Hearing Tatsumi defend Aria made Leone furious. She immediately dashed over to the flustered Tatsumi, grabbed him by the arm, and ran with Akame toward the warehouse entrance.

"Stop right there!"

By the time they got there, all of Aria's guards had already been taken down. Only Sheele and a trembling Aria remained. Sheele was slowly advancing with her giant scissors raised.

Seeing this, Tatsumi panicked. Without thinking about his own safety, he shouted at Sheele.

Hearing him, Sheele paused and turned to look at Tatsumi.

"Tatsumi, save me!"

Aria, spotting Tatsumi, clung to him like he was her last hope and desperately called out for help.

With her golden hair, big blue eyes, and princess-style dress, Aria had always looked innocent. Now, crying out in that helpless voice, she stirred Tatsumi's sympathy.

Overwhelmed, he shouted at the Night Raid members around him,

"You monsters! Miss Aria is a good person! And you're going to kill her?! Let me go—I'll fight all of you if I have to!"

Hearing Tatsumi yell like that enraged the Night Raid members. In the short time that had passed, the others had already finished their assignments and regrouped at the warehouse.

Until now, all of Night Raid believed they were delivering justice—righteous assassins working for the Revolutionary Army. But this guy not only didn't understand them, he was calling them murderers. It was infuriating.

"You still think that girl's a good person? Fine. Let me show you what your so-called 'good people' are really like."

Leone shouted as she dragged Tatsumi to the warehouse entrance, then kicked the door open hard.

"Ugh."

Seeing the scene inside, Tatsumi couldn't help but vomit.

The warehouse was filled with corpses in various horrifying conditions. Severed limbs and scattered organs were everywhere—a scene far too gruesome to endure.

"Tatsumi, is that you?"

To his surprise, a familiar voice echoed from within the warehouse. It was Ieyasu.

Though faint and weak, Tatsumi had grown up with Ieyasu. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Ieyasu? Ieyasu, is that you? What are you doing here?!"

The moment he heard Ieyasu, an ominous feeling welled up in Tatsumi's chest. He urgently broke free from Leone's grip and scrambled across the floor toward the source of the voice.

Inside, he found Ieyasu locked in an iron cage. His body was covered in all manner of wounds, and grotesque blotches had spread across his skin.

"Tatsumi... I can't believe I'm seeing you again. I'm so glad..."

"Ieyasu, don't talk! I'll get you to a doctor right away!"

Tears streamed down Tatsumi's face as he rushed forward, trying to break open the cage and rescue his friend.

But Leone, standing beside him, said calmly,

"Give it up. He's in the final stages of Lubora disease. There's no saving him."

Tatsumi was about to argue when Ieyasu spoke again.

"Tatsumi... she's right. I'm beyond saving. What I'm most grateful for now... is that Sayo isn't here with me."

And with those final words, Ieyasu passed away.

For a moment, silence fell. The mood in the room turned heavy.

"What the hell... happened here?"

Tatsumi asked quietly.

In response, Leone began explaining the truth.

It turned out that Aria, the eldest daughter of the noble family, had a twisted hobby—luring in outsiders and torturing them to death. Ieyasu had been one of her unfortunate victims.

The rest played out just like in the original story. When Aria was exposed, she screamed insults at Tatsumi, filled with scorn for country folk. In a fit of rage, Tatsumi killed her with his own hands.

Afterward, Leone invited Tatsumi to join Night Raid. But when he refused, she knocked him out cold and prepared to take him away.

It looked like the whole affair had come to a close.

...

But just as the Night Raid members were about to leave, a clear, melodious voice echoed from the sky.

"Sister, now that you're here, won't you come and see your little sister before you go?"

Everyone looked up.

A dazzling ship made of pure gold and emeralds slowly descended from the sky. The voice had come from aboard the magnificent vessel.

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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