"If I said I didn't do it on purpose, would you believe me?" Chen Li asked, looking somewhat awkwardly at the tip of the longsword he had just snapped off in his hand.
"My... Murasame?!"
The face of the black-haired girl standing opposite him showed three parts surprise, three parts heartache, three parts confusion, one part panic, and ninety parts disbelief.
Seeing the girl who looked like she was about to cry from being bullied by him, Chen Li felt that he, too, had been forced into this.
At that moment, the sword was only 0.01 centimeters from my throat. But in ten seconds, the sword's master would break down and cry! Because I decided to catch the blade with my bare hands.
Although I have caught blades with my bare hands countless times in my life, I believe this was the most perfect one!
The bond with his Friends had perfectly defended against her action, which was perhaps just an attempt to hold the blade to his neck. Seizing the fleeting opening, Chen Li slapped his hands onto the flat of the blade and gave it a sharp twist.
Theoretically, in this situation, either Chen Li would have been cut—but he had the bond with his Friends, so that wouldn't happen—or his strength would have overcome the sword's mistress, allowing him to disarm her.
But an accident occurred.
Chen Li snapped the blade.
"What kind of Teigu is this? It snapped the moment I twisted it. This is a danger to its user! It's a good thing I'm the one who broke it. If someone with ill intentions had broken your Teigu, wouldn't you be in deep trouble? Quick, say thank you," Chen Li said, pointing the tip of the One-Cut Killer: Murasame at Akame.
"Thank you?" Akame replied subconsciously, her mind still struggling to process the shocking turn of events.
"You're welcome." Chen Li nodded in satisfaction. It seemed the young lady before him was a reasonable person.
"No, that's not right! Who are you? To be able to snap a Teigu, and Murasame at that?" Akame quickly came to her senses, leaping back and holding the broken sword defensively as she watched Chen Li. At the same time, she sent out a signal to gather her comrades.
"Tsk, she didn't fall for it," Chen Li pouted.
The girl before him was Akame, the female protagonist of Akame ga Kill!, with beautiful black hair and crimson eyes. She was the ace of the assassination squad, Night Raid. The sword he had just broken was her Teigu—the One-Cut Killer: Murasame.
Anyone cut by this cursed blade would be infected with a deadly poison from the wound and die swiftly, with no known antidote. One cut, one kill. A mere scratch meant certain death, incurable, forged for the sole purpose of assassination.
According to its lore, the blade originated from the Far East and was forged from the materials of a super-class Danger Beast and Orihalcon, making it extremely difficult to break. At the very least, it shouldn't have snapped from a single twist by Chen Li.
But then, Chen Li noticed a faintly glowing Miracle Card floating beside him, confirming that its effect had activated, and he suddenly remembered something.
[Soul Rend] (Miracle Card): By single-handedly causing the Shikon Jewel, which carried the world's fate, to disappear ahead of schedule, you have created ripples in destiny.
Effect 2: Damage against treasures that carry the world's fate +1
A Teigu, especially one used by a major character from the protagonist or antagonist groups, was a treasure that carried the world's fate. And Murasame was a particularly significant one.
While Akame was highly vigilant against the man who could break her Teigu, Chen Li was simply waiting for her to summon all her companions. It was a convenient way to prevent the members of Night Raid, who for some reason were here today to assassinate this noble family, from causing trouble for anyone else.
It was precisely because he received an alert from the noble lord, who was now a chāng guǐ tirelessly patrolling his manor, that Chen Li had come to this world at this moment.
He wasn't too worried about the safety of others. In truth, it seemed Akame hadn't intended to kill him at first, but merely to hold the blade to his neck to make him surrender and reveal his identity. Night Raid, for a group of assassins, had a surprising amount of principles.
However, Chen Li didn't want Aria or her mother to die so easily, which was why he had stepped in to stop them. Letting them off with a simple death would be so irresponsible, wouldn't it?
As for whether Akame's comrades would cause him trouble once they gathered? Chen Li had a certain degree of confidence in his own abilities.
I may not be able to beat Jingliu, but I can't beat you guys?
Besides, the bond with his Friends was invincible!
"Well, what do you know. The Entries on this Teigu are actually pretty good," Chen Li marveled, examining the broken tip in his hand.
[One-Hit Kill], [Cursed Blade], [Poison], [Reinforcement]...
Although the Teigu killed with a cursed poison rather than a rule-based instant-kill power, in the world of Akame ga Kill!, it was functionally the same, hence the bright Entry. Sometimes, a world's limitations were a good thing, as they could elevate an otherwise ordinary item into one with fantastic Entries. The brightness of an Entry was influenced not only by the item's inherent power but also by the significance bestowed upon it by time, space, and fate.
"Be careful. If you cut yourself with that, you'll die," Akame warned, holding her broken blade.
"Thanks for the reminder," Chen Li replied politely, holding the roughly 15-centimeter-long broken tip.
"Don't mention it. You're the hero who single-handedly broke into the Minister's mansion last night. We can show you that much respect. So, since the Minister isn't dead and you're still alive, does that mean you've started cooperating with him?" a young man with green hair spoke from a dark corner of the manor. He probably thought his position in the shadows concealed him, so he didn't bother with a disguise, but he seemed to have underestimated Chen Li's eyesight. Chen Li could see him perfectly clearly.
"Huh? Is that him? Lubbock?" Akame seemed surprised. It was clear her earlier warning had been purely out of courtesy.
"Don't just say my name out loud like that," the young man in the shadows said with a dark expression.
Lubbock was one of Night Raid's core members. Since he wasn't wanted by the Empire (everyone who had seen his face was dead), he also handled intelligence gathering. He came from a wealthy provincial family but had joined the Revolutionary Army, not out of any grand ambition, but purely because he was thirsting after the captain, Najenda. He possessed the Teigu Infinite Uses: Cross Tail, a string-type weapon that could be spread out as traps or a barrier to detect enemies, and also had the ability to restrain and sever. It was a Teigu whose power grew with the user's creativity.
"So you're waiting in this noble's house today to stop us from punishing evil? I'm sorry, but we were paid to do a job, and we're determined to kill this family," a stunningly beautiful, cat-eared woman with long blonde hair, golden eyes, and a voluptuous figure descended from above like an agile lioness.
Leone, a busty girl with a bold personality, was another core member of Night Raid. Her Teigu was the belt-type Animal King: Lionelle, which allowed her to transform into a beast, dramatically enhancing her physical abilities.
"So, is he a target for assassination too?" Sheele, a woman in a cheongsam and glasses with long purple hair and white stockings hugging her thighs, emerged from the shadows, carrying a pair of scissors as tall as a person.
The moment he saw the giant scissors, Chen Li's eyes lit up. This was his target for the day. Even from a distance, he could sense that the brightness of the Entries on the scissors was not low. As a Teigu belonging to one of the main characters, its quality was naturally guaranteed. Cutter of Creation: Extase. A scissor-type Teigu that could cut through anything in the world. Due to its extreme hardness, it could also be used for defense.
"I don't think this young man is a bad person. Right?" A figure landed heavily on the ground. As the dust settled, a burly man with a pompadour, holding a spear, appeared before them.
Bulat, a man who was possibly gay. Seeing his sunny smile and pearly white teeth that gleamed even in the dark, Chen Li instinctively shuddered.
"So, give us an explanation," the five members of Night Raid said in unison after exchanging glances.
"What's all this gibberish? Let me show you my ultimate, well-honed technique!" Chen Li cracked his knuckles and shot a sinister grin at the five of them.
Allocation, add points!
[Pale Justice] appeared in his hand out of thin air. Chen Li looked up at the moon, which cast a cold, clear light.
Moonlight pairs better with the Cloud Knight Sword Style!
---o---
Sword energy crisscrossed the battlefield, shattering the moonlight. A ferocious aura filled the air.
When Sayo and Ieyasu, guided by the ghost of the noble lord, finally arrived, they were greeted by the sight of a battlefield torn apart by sword qi, the members of Night Raid tied up in shining golden sacks with only their heads sticking out, and Chen Li, leaning on his longsword in a strange pose.
"Mr. Chen Li... what's with that pose?" Ieyasu whispered to Sayo.
"It's probably some kind of victory pose?" Sayo answered uncertainly.
"Hiss... I pulled my back," Chen Li groaned, finally straightening up after a long moment and sheathing his sword.
It wasn't his fault. He had just leaped into the air, planning to emulate Jingliu and give them a taste of sword qi raining down from the heavens. And then... he was shot by a laser from a distance.
Although the bond with his Friends had blocked the attack, it had successfully caused him to throw out his back.
Do you have any idea how much psychological damage it does to a 17-year-old kid when he's trying to look cool descending from the sky, only to be nearly blown away by a laser beam?
Thus, the enraged and embarrassed Chen Li gave the main characters a taste of being speedrun. Mine, the one who had sniped him from a distance, was the only one hung upside down in her sack.
His efforts had not been in vain; he had successfully earned 10 Miracle Crystals, but unfortunately, no Miracle Card appeared.
"Now, count up your sins! You'd better tell me everything, or don't blame me for being cruel! I'll shave the middle of your heads completely bald, leaving only the sides, to give you a premature taste of the suffering of a middle-aged corporate slave with a receding hairline! Then I'll use your hair to make brushes and have someone tickle the soles of your feet with them! Jie jie jie!"
"Ah, holy shit, how can this guy be so evil?!"
Unsurprisingly, Chen Li's words caused extreme panic among the group.
---o---