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...
In a location slightly distant from the battlefield where Tatsumi, Akame, Seryu, and Leone were engaged, Mine was using the scope of her Teigu, "Pumpkin," to observe the situation.
"Tsk, Akame and Leone are struggling," Mine said gravely.
"Huh? How can that be?" Sheele frowned upon hearing Mine's words.
Although a bit air-headed, Sheele had great respect for Akame and Leone's abilities.
She didn't expect that both of them would be simultaneously struggling.
"Akame's 'Murasame' is being completely countered by that armored guy's armor. Although she has the advantage in battle, she can't end it quickly."
"As for Leone, she's evenly matched with that biological-type Teigu. She's even slightly at a disadvantage; that Teigu's regenerative ability is stronger than Leone's."
Analyzing the situation on the battlefield, determination filled Mine's eyes.
"No, I have to support Akame and the others here."
"Um, shouldn't we be leaving quickly?" Sheele asked Mine, knowing that the two of them were not as capable of escaping as Akame and Leone.
"But if we don't help, it will be hard for them to retreat!"
"Besides, in a way, I have an advantage over those two."
Staring through the scope at Tatsumi and Seryu in the distance, Mine smiled.
Just by observing, Mine had figured out how to deal with the enemies' Teigu.
For the biological-type Teigu, "Hekatonkheires" (Koro), the obvious way to defeat it was to destroy its core.
This method of victory was difficult for Leone to achieve.
But for Mine, it was convenient.
Next was Tatsumi's armor. Facing an opponent with maxed-out defense, one needed to counter with maxed-out firepower.
And Mine's Teigu, "Pumpkin," was just that.
Crouching down to steady herself, Mine aimed her scope at "Hekatonkheires," which was entangled with Leone.
Compared to Akame's situation, Leone needed her support more.
"Whoo!"
Focusing all her attention on aiming, her finger gently rested on the trigger.
But just as Mine was ready to pull the trigger, a voice suddenly came from the side.
"It's not nice to sneak attack, y'know!"
The sudden voice disrupted Mine's action.
Relying on her keen senses, she quickly turned around, aiming her ready "Pumpkin" toward where the voice originated, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
A fierce beam shot out from "Pumpkin," heading straight toward Mika.
"Eh? You're turning your attack toward me?"
Facing the incoming beam, Mika chuckled, raised his arm, and met the beam with his palm.
"Zzzzz!"
The swift beam collided with Mika's palm.
But instead of penetrating his hand, the powerful beam was blocked, and the energy dispersed around the edges of his palm.
"What?!"
"No way!"
The moment she fired, Mine retreated quickly, hiding behind Sheele.
After all, her role was that of a sniper.
When facing an enemy at close range, she needed Sheele to block while she attacked from behind.
But seeing what just happened, Mine couldn't hide her shock.
She had never seen anything like this before.
Never.
Someone completely stopping "Pumpkin's" attack with their bare hand, she hadn't even heard of such a thing.
"Could it be a physical enhancement-type Teigu like Leone's 'Lionelle'?"
"But even Leone couldn't take my attack unscathed!"
"!!!"
Internally, Mine was even more astonished than she appeared.
In contrast to Mine's fear, Mika seemed utterly at ease.
He felt no stirrings inside about catching Mine's beam barehanded.
To him, it was a simple matter.
Firstly, Mine's shot wasn't at her maximum power.
Her Teigu, "Pumpkin," increased its output according to the danger the user faced.
In the original trajectory, Mine had, in the future, exposed herself within the attack range of General Budo's "Adramelech" and managed to increase her output beyond his, ultimately defeating him.
If it were that kind of attack, Mika wouldn't dare catch it barehanded.
But the beam directed at him now didn't have such enhancements.
It was only the Teigu's basic power.
And such power couldn't penetrate Mika's Nen-enhanced body.
With Mika's current Level 4 near-peak endurance, plus Nen reinforcement, his defensive ability was comparable to high-level dungeon monsters.
Such defense couldn't be breached by "Pumpkin" at its basic power.
"Y'know, ladies, are you out for a nighttime stroll in the forest?"
"If so, you'd better leave soon. It's best not to interfere with the battle over there."
Hands in his pockets, Mika said with a smile.
"Who are you?"
Shielding Mine behind her, Sheele asked curiously.
"Me? I'm just a passerby!"
Mika smiled lightly.
Although Mika was currently the Emperor of the Empire, he had no intention of eliminating the Revolutionary Army or Night Raid.
After all, Mika wasn't a citizen of the Empire and felt no sense of belonging to it.
In fact, having read the story of "Akame ga Kill!" in the past, Mika thought more highly of the Revolutionary Army.
Therefore, Mika didn't plan to destroy the Revolutionary Army just because he became Emperor.
To an outsider like him, both the Empire and the Revolutionary Army were resources he needed.
From his understanding of history, times of dynastic change were when talents emerged in great numbers.
Wars that broke old orders attracted countless talents.
This meant Mika didn't need to wait until he unified the Empire to recruit talents slowly.
As long as he swallowed the Revolutionary Army's forces, talents would naturally come under his control.
Therefore, Mika's plan for the Revolutionary Army was to offer amnesty and enlistment.
Of course, at this point, the Revolutionary Army would never agree to surrender.
So Mika's idea was to first consolidate the Empire's power, then openly defeat the Revolutionary Army's main forces, and finally offer amnesty.
In this way, the world's talents would be thoroughly under Mika's control.
---
"A dangerous guy!"
Looking at the leisurely Mika, Mine's eyes were full of apprehension.
As experienced assassins, both Mine and Sheele were always vigilant about their surroundings.
But before Mika spoke, neither of them had noticed him at all.
It wasn't until he greeted them that they sensed his presence.
Compared to someone like him, how could they still call themselves assassins?
Someone like him was the true assassin.
"Are you from the Empire?"
Staring intently at Mika, Mine asked seriously.
In her view, someone with Mika's skills was either a secret weapon of the Empire or a wandering swordsman.
As for the Revolutionary Army?
Mine didn't think the Revolutionary Army had such assassination talents without sending them to Night Raid.
That would be foolish.
But even if he were a wandering swordsman, someone with such abilities should be famous.
Unless he belonged to the Empire's secret assassination unit, which would explain his anonymity.
Therefore, Mine's guard against Mika instantly heightened.
Sensing Mine's tension, Sheele, who had been acting with her for a long time, also became vigilant.
"The Empire? In a sense, I am from the Imperial Capital."
Hearing Mine's question, Mika replied with a chuckle.
Though it was a disguise, Mika had effectively swapped identities with the Emperor, so he was now, without a doubt, the Emperor of the Empire.
Therefore, he was indeed from the Empire.
"Just as I thought!"
Seeing that Mika had no intention of hiding his identity, Mine immediately raised "Pumpkin" toward him, and even Sheele entered a combat stance.
"Since you're a lapdog of the Empire, let's fight!"
"Pumpkin" began charging, ready to fire at any moment.
Although earlier, Mika had used the excuse of not wanting Mine to interfere with the battle below to stop her from shooting.
But since he was from the Empire, he couldn't be trusted.
Perhaps his plan was to prevent her attack and then eliminate both of them here.
Or maybe he wanted to drive them away, help his teammates encircle Akame and Leone, and leave them behind.
In any case, they couldn't just follow his intentions.
"Sheele!"
"Yes!"
Despite her usual air-headed demeanor, when it came to killing, Sheele could unleash all her talents.
Therefore, upon Mine's command, Sheele swiftly charged toward Mika.
She didn't need to think.
Nor was she suited to thinking.
All she needed was to follow her comrade's orders.
Silent and swift.
Entering her killing state, Sheele's aura was imposing; Mika could clearly feel her intensity.
Normally, she stood quietly beside Mine, saying nothing, giving off an outsider's vibe.
But once she joined the fray, her presence overflowed, startling anyone who sensed it.
"Good coming!"
Seeing Sheele charging toward him, Mika immediately entered the "Transparent World" state.
At the same time, the Nen condensed on his body rapidly flowed to his hands.
"Clang!"
Mika's fist struck hard against Sheele's scissors.
"Extase", the Teigu that could cut through anything.
Facing such a sharp weapon, he absolutely couldn't let the opponent control the pace.
If he allowed her to start cutting, Mika would inevitably be overwhelmed.
Therefore, Mika had to strike first and seize the advantage.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
In an instant, Mika and Sheele exchanged over a dozen blows.
During these exchanges, Mika's punches struck the sides of the Teigu, and with his masterful control of force and rhythm, Sheele couldn't manage to bring the sharp edge of her scissor-type Teigu against him.
"Amazing; Sheele is being suppressed!"
Although Sheele was strong in combat, she wasn't exceptionally skilled in direct martial arts due to her later start.
She often relied on talent in battles.
"No, I have to help quickly."
Because Mika had previously blocked her beam barehanded, Mine was very wary of him.
So she didn't immediately start shooting when Sheele engaged Mika.
Instead, she planned to observe him carefully first.
Once familiar with him, she'd attack.
But she didn't expect that Sheele not only failed to probe his abilities but was completely suppressed.
If this continued, Sheele might be defeated soon.
"Sheele!"
Due to their frequent teamwork, Mine and Sheele had deep mutual understanding.
They often executed ingenious combinations.
Hearing Mine's call, Sheele immediately burst into action.
Amid intense combat, she silently shifted positions.
"Bang!"
With a gunshot, Sheele quickly tilted her head.
The next moment, the beam fired by Mine passed through where Sheele's head had been, aiming straight for Mika's head.
"What a brilliant combination!"
"Seems you've been partners for years."
"But unfortunately, that won't work on me!"
Mika raised his palm to his face, precisely catching Mine's beam and crushing it.
Once again, Mine's attack had no effect.
"How can this be?!"
Mine exclaimed.
Seeing the astonished duo, Mika smiled.
Although their coordination was seamless, Mika had already seen through their intentions with the "Transparent World."
With prior preparation, any trick was futile.
"Your Teigu 'Pumpkin', I recall its effect is to increase power without limit according to the danger the user faces, until it exhausts the user's spirit, right?"
Mika asked Mine with a smile.
Since he didn't intend to kill them, he preferred conversation over combat.
"This special effect makes its power extremely terrifying. But if someone knows in advance and is cautious, its effectiveness drops sharply."
"For someone like me, as long as I restrain my hostility and genuinely don't wish to harm you, your weapon's power remains at its lowest."
"And such power can't harm me."
"But what if I approach you in this state and kill you before you pull the trigger?"
"There's nothing you can do!"
"Darn it!"
Hearing Mika's words, Mine gritted her teeth, glaring at him angrily.
He had completely seen through her.
...
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