_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The bandit leader threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"Isn't that obvious? We're the Shiranami Gang—the kind that scares kids so bad they don't even dare cry! Little girl, do yourself a favor and surrender. Be a good toy for us!"
Before the last word left his mouth, Akame drew her blade.
"Then I'll bury you."
One slash.
Man and horse split cleanly in two.
Alex recognized the weapon at once. It wasn't the future Imperial Arm Murasame, the one known for its one-hit kill curse. What Akame held now was the vassal weapon Kiri Ichimonji.
The blade was razor sharp, and any wound it made could never heal.
The bandits saw their boss carved in half and flew into a rage. Instead of panicking, they charged Akame all at once.
Then several beams of light ripped through the air.
Heads burst apart.
That was Tsukushi's doing. Her weapon was the vassal arm Prometheus. Like the Imperial Arm Roman Artillery Pumpkin, it was a firearm. But where Pumpkin was a sniper rifle, Prometheus was a pair of pistols capable of curved shots, ricochets, all kinds of tricky trajectories.
Its range, power, and accuracy couldn't match an Imperial Arm.
But against common bandits?
It was more than enough.
Once Akame and Tsukushi revealed their weapons, the battle turned into a one-sided slaughter.
Akame moved like a shadow, cutting down one enemy per strike. Tsukushi was even more outrageous—dual pistols blazing nonstop, every shot a headshot. Neither of them showed the slightest discomfort at the carnage.
Tsukushi even laughed as she fired.
"Nice! Full clip, all hits!"
The troupe members stared in shock—then broke into ecstatic cheers.
Captain Sabatini shouted, "Everyone, move! Back them up! We can win this!"
The others roared and rushed forward. Duncan and Koga, who had been trembling moments ago, found their courage again.
Akame and Tsukushi made them feel invincible.
Seeing everyone charge in, Alex sighed and followed along. He grabbed a random stick and jogged behind the group, putting on a convincing show.
But once the fighting scattered across the field, several bandits spotted him. Maybe he looked like easy prey.
They swung their blades at him.
Alex let out a helpless sigh. He slipped aside with quick, fluid steps, dodging every strike. As he moved, the stick in his hand cracked against their bodies, knocking them straight off their horses.
From a distance, Akame caught sight of him.
Her eyes flickered with surprise.
What looked casual and sloppy to others appeared precise and unfathomable to her.
Without hesitation, she darted over and finished off the fallen bandits. Her movements were even faster, even more ruthless than in the original timeline.
With Akame and Tsukushi pushing forward, the bandits were wiped out in no time.
The troupe members exhaled in relief.
Afraid more enemies might appear, they didn't linger. They gathered the horses and hurried away. Only after traveling dozens of miles did they finally relax.
Everyone was exhausted, body and soul. Dusk crept in, and the troupe set up camp for the night.
Once the tents were raised, the captain gathered the veteran members for a meeting.
They deliberately excluded the three newcomers: Akame, Tsukushi, and Alex.
After a while, however, Akame and Tsukushi were called inside.
Alex wasn't. He'd only joined two days ago. The other two had been with them for over a month, and after today's display, the captain had made up his mind.
He planned to reveal their true identity—and recruit them into the Revolutionary Army.
The moment Akame and Tsukushi entered the tent, Natalia swept them into a hug, beaming.
"You two are athletic and ridiculously strong! And you never told your big sister?"
Amelia sighed fondly. "Wild kids really are something."
Koga bowed his head. "Thank you. We owe you."
Duncan nodded. "Seriously. Without you, we'd be finished."
Akame and Tsukushi smiled sweetly, basking in the gratitude.
Then the captain suddenly raised his voice. "All right. I've decided!"
He stepped forward, earnest and solemn.
"Akame. Tsukushi. Please lend us your strength."
The two girls exchanged a glance. Their cheerful expressions faded, cooling into something distant.
No one else noticed.
Koga hesitated. "Isn't this… too soon?"
Natalia added, "They're still children."
The captain waved it off. "We can worry about the future later. But they deserve the truth."
He faced Akame seriously.
"Our original plan was to hand you over to another traveling troupe once we found one. It's too dangerous for you to stay with us. Because… we're not just performers."
Akame already knew.
They were Revolutionary Army informants.
But she asked anyway, putting on a naïve tone.
"Then who are you?"
The captain answered, "Everyone here—except you, Tsukushi, and Alex, who joined yesterday—are people who want to change this country. After seeing your skills, I'd like to ask… will you help us?"
Koga clenched his fists. "The Empire is rotten. The people starve while those at the top hoard wealth and power."
Duncan added, "That's why many fight back from the shadows."
Natalia nodded. "We travel from town to town gathering intelligence."
Amelia, mistaking their silence for fear, gently stroked Tsukushi's head.
"I'm sorry. This must be overwhelming. We'll explain slowly. You have time."
Tsukushi's voice cut through the tent.
Cold. Flat.
"Miss Amelia… we've already decided."
She raised her pistol and fired.
Bang.
A beam of light pierced Amelia's skull. Blood sprayed across the tent walls.
Silence fell.
Shock. Horror.
In that instant, the captain understood.
He had been blind.
They weren't stray children he'd rescued. They were Imperial agents planted deliberately.
The Empire must have suspected them for a while. Lacking proof.
Until they handed it over themselves.
Amelia's body hit the ground. Natalia reacted fast, drawing her weapon—
But Akame was faster.
Her blade flashed.
Natalia's arm fell to the floor.
Akame's voice was icy.
"Target: Sabatini Troupe. Eliminate all."
Tsukushi stepped outside and fired a flare into the sky.
Then she walked straight to Alex's tent.
Inside, Alex sat cross-legged on a blanket. Materials were spread before him as he worked, forging an Imperial Arm.
After seeing Tsukushi's dual pistols, he'd decided to craft firearms of his own. It would be far more convenient than relying on spells or skills. One shot. Done.
Back in the ordinary world, Hajime Nagumo had cleared the Orcus Labyrinth and used his creation magic to forge modern weapons, including his revolvers Donar and Schlag.
Alex combined that alchemical knowledge with Imperial Arm forging techniques.
The result:
One handgun. One sniper rifle.
Both vastly more powerful than Roman Artillery Pumpkin.
No ammunition required. Just mana.
Tsukushi entered as he completed them.
Alex calmly stored the remaining materials and the sniper rifle into his star ring, keeping only the handgun in his grasp.
Tsukushi gave a cold laugh.
"So you're not ordinary after all."
Alex stood and smiled lightly.
"The captain made it pretty clear. I'm not one of them. I joined yesterday. Whether I'm ordinary or not has nothing to do with this."
Tsukushi raised her pistol and aimed at his head.
"Father always said—better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip."
She pulled the trigger.
An orange beam shot toward Alex's forehead.
At the same time—
He raised his own gun.
A red beam answered it.
"..."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________