Akatsuki Translations

In the strategy room of the Shanoa military, Ba Libi, a blood relative and successor to the fierce general Ba Ryouki, gathered his subordinate stellar knights to prepare their equipment and assess their individual situations.

“Where is the Tree General?” one of them asked, breaking the silence. The others listened intently, eager to know the whereabouts of the person who should be leading them.

“The general has already gone to the scene alone, leading the Coral Soldiers in the subjugation,” Libi replied, silently adding in his mind, “… or so he should be.”

A chorus of enthusiastic voices rose among the Shanoa stellar knights. “Then, we must also head out immediately! We must follow the Tree General!”

The room filled with a tense atmosphere as the voices rallied the troops. However, Libi clapped his hands, urging them to calm down.

“The danger posed by the invading insects is a significant threat. This enemy is on a different level than the ragtag Ode soldiers we faced before. Without coordination and appropriate measures, subjugation will be difficult,” he warned.

“Do you have a plan?” one of them asked, to which Libi responded with a stern expression.

“I don’t know. However, this is not something that can be overcome by individual strength alone. If we can assign each person a role and successfully inflict injuries on the enemy, we may not be able to subjugate them, but we might be able to repel them.”

The stellar knights fell silent, their spirits dampened by Libi’s pessimistic assessment. However, this was a deliberate move to lower their morale. If they were to fail due to overconfidence, it would tarnish the name of Shanoa and, consequently, the reputation of the Ba clan, who bore the responsibility of representing the country.

To reignite their dampened spirits, Libi raised his voice with determination. “Select the appropriate tools for the hunt and divide the troops into two roles: diversion and strike! Lure the rabidaemon into the gap between the building and the castle wall in the corner of the North Gate, and there—”

Just as he was about to finish, a sudden explosion erupted from behind Libi, and he was crushed by an avalanche of rubble from the stone wall.

Amidst the dust swirling like thick fog in the room, a beastly roar was heard. It was followed by several dull thuds and the nauseating sounds of vomiting, before the room fell into a momentary silence.

Libi lifted his arm, which he had instinctively used to shield himself, and through the gap, he witnessed the horrific scene before him.

A giant man with an incredibly broad back stood there, panting heavily. With the ease of handling a doll, he clutched the neck of a Shanoa soldier in one hand. Around him lay the corpses of his fallen comrades, their faces shattered and lifeless.

Slowly, the man turned around, his appearance gruesome and drenched in blood and vomit. Libi’s heart pounded so violently that it hurt.

“Where is A Zan, that pig?! I won’t forgive him! I’ll kill him! I’ll kill every single one of you! Kill, kill, kill, kill!!” the man roared.

He hurled the Shanoa soldier he was holding forcefully against the wall, then smashed through the wall leading to the adjacent room with his bare hands and departed.

Alone in the room, surrounded by the bodies of Shanoa’s most formidable warriors, Libi remained utterly still, forgetting even to breathe.

＊

The Murakumo soldiers who had infiltrated the Uzumi Castle had completed their exploration of the first floor and had fully grasped the entrances and exits, achieving complete control.

After parting ways with Shiga, Shuou quickly made his way to his comrades and joined Borge, who was in charge of them, to assess the current situation.

“The first floor, including the opposite side, was mostly empty. We encountered a few Coral Soldiers, but most of them were hiding in fear of the rabidaemon. We were able to subdue them without much difficulty. Since we have the entrances and exits under control, there’s no need to worry about this information leaking from the inside to those outside, at least for now. Well, whether we can handle those coming in from the outside is another story,” Borge reported.

Shuou nodded at Borge’s report. Currently, their plan was progressing smoothly, but it was not a stage where they could relax. If the rabidaemon outside were to be quickly subjugated or repelled, the fierce warriors lurking within this castle would turn their attention back inside in full force. When that happened, the few Murakumo soldiers, whose strength had significantly diminished, would be instantly swallowed up by the overwhelming numbers.

“We must hurry and secure A Zan,” Shuou said, and Borge nodded firmly.

Their destination was the second floor of the building, which had not yet been searched. If A Zan was there, the elite guards protecting their leader should be present as well. What would happen if they threw the wounded mercenary scum before the stellar knights carrying the sunstones? The outcome was obvious.

“From here, I’ll go and investigate alone. That’s surely the best way,” Shuou said as he attempted to run off on his own, but Borge grabbed his shoulder. He showed his blood-stained sword and grinned.

“Don’t stop me. We don’t have time to argue, right?” Shuou’s feelings of danger and hindrance were completely overshadowed by the joy of knowing that Borge had offered to accompany him, risking his life.

They went up to the second floor, but the east wing was mostly empty as far as they could tell from a quick check. Their feet naturally turned towards the west wing on the opposite side. After passing through the connecting corridor, they arrived at a scene that resembled the aftermath of a tornado, with walls collapsed and objects scattered as far as the eye could see. Among the collapsed walls and objects, countless corpses with injuries so severe that their original faces were unrecognizable were scattered about. Judging from their attire and the color of the stones, most of the corpses were high-ranking military officers with sunstones on their gauntlets.

“What happened here… Could it be the work of the rabidaemon?” Borge seemed to consider the perpetrator to be something inhuman, but Shuou was convinced otherwise. If the rabidaemon had attacked, the walls separating the interior from the exterior should have been destroyed, but the outer walls of the castle were unscathed wherever they looked.

“It’s him,” Shuou thought, unable to think of anyone else who could have done this except for the man he had released. Indeed, he should be boasting of his skill. Observing the situation, it appeared that many of the deceased had been tortured to death one-sidedly, which also served as proof of Shiga’s prowess. However, Shuou felt a hint of unease at the indiscriminate manner in which it was done.

From the end of the long, wide corridor, came a sound resembling a rumble.

“This is bad…” Cold sweat trickled down Shuou’s neck as he started running towards the source of the sound.

Proceeding right at the end of the corridor and approaching a room with a special atmosphere, decorated with military and national flags on the walls in the center of the northward-extending corridor, a familiar fat, bald man crawled out of the room’s door.

“Where did you go, A Zan?!” With a thunderous roar, Shiga emerged from the room, smashing through the stone wall. Standing amidst the smoke, with a cruel expression, clenching his fists that illuminated the exposed red flesh with blood where the skin had torn, baring his sharp canine teeth, and trembling with anger while grinding his teeth.

“H-hiii…” A Zan, crawling on the floor like a caterpillar, cried out for help in a frenzied manner.

“S-someone! Save me, anyone!”

His eyes, frantically searching for help, suddenly caught sight of Shuou. Relying on their overlapping gazes, A Zan crawled towards Shuou’s feet with a childlike crying face and curled up behind him.

Shiga shouted at A Zan, scattering his angry voice.

“A Zan! You bastard, why did you let him die?!”

A Zan, trembling violently, secretly raised his face from between his arms covering his head and returned a frantic voice.

“W-what are you talking about… w-who is ‘him’?!”

“Don’t mess with me! I’m talking about the triskelion I brought with me! He was my irreplaceable partner! We’ve been together since we were kids!”

“T-that thing… You know how to capture it, right? If it’s dead, you can just catch as many as you want! I-if it costs money, I’ll give you as much as you need!”

Suddenly, Shiga let out a tremendous scream. The sheer intensity of it made not only A Zan but even Shuou, who was not the target of his rage, take a half-step back, feeling pressured.

The instant Shiga’s long legs took a step forward, Shuou thrust out his right palm and shouted.

“Wait!”

For the first time, Shiga’s bloodshot eyes met Shuou’s.

“G-get out of the way.”

It was a voice that sounded like it had been desperately twisted out of the remnants of a human heart within his shattered reason.

“I won’t move. This man has value. But if he’s not alive, that value will vanish too.”

“I don’t care! He’s a piece of trash who deserves to die! He’s a scumbag who has tortured and killed many people, taking advantage of his position! You’ve experienced the same thing, yet you’re defending him! I’ll torture him to death, pull out his guts and shove them into his mouth! I’ll gouge out his eyeballs and stuff them into his ears! I’ll make him regret ever being born!”

Shiga shouted and punched the thick outer wall, creating a hole. From outside, the cold night air and the angry roars of the Coral Soldiers fighting the rabidaemon were carried in.

“This is pointless…” Shuou muttered a single, cold voice, and Shiga’s eyes, filled with murderous intent, were transfixed on him.

“I absolutely won’t hand over this man. What will make you back down?”

“…Don’t mess with me. There’s no way I’m backing down in front of my prey.”

“Then…”

Shuou rolled up his sleeves on both arms and brought his fists forward in a stance mimicking a fist technique.

Shiga’s furious eyes momentarily widened in surprise, as if the venom had been drained from them.

“Don’t underestimate me… Enough of this. Disappear from here right now. I owe you a little. If you back down now, I’ll let you go.”

Shuou declared, unfazed, maintaining his stance.

“It’s a fist fight, which you excel at. If I win, you don’t interfere with how I deal with this guy.”

Shiga’s face once again turned red with rage.

“Don’t think it’ll be that easy! If I win, the moment I do, your body will have holes in it.”

“I know.”

Words were unnecessary. Finally realizing this, Shiga took a fighting stance and glared at Shuou without blinking for a moment.

“Hey!” Borge called out from behind, concerned.

Without taking his eyes off Shiga, Shuou simply told Borge, “A Zan.”

Without warning, the match began. Shiga stepped in with a wide stance, lowering his knees and flexing his muscular arms with all his might. A single blow would mean instant death. However, for Shuou, there was no easier opponent than Shiga, who boasted about the power of his single strike.

Shuou effortlessly dodged the blow that pierced the air with tremendous force. The outcome was already decided at this point. Entering deep into Shiga’s range, Shuou twisted his right fist and half of his body as if storing up power.

“Don’t die.”

Seeing Shiga’s anger-filled face in front of A Zan, Shuou immediately understood. This man had a heart. Losing something precious to him, discarding his own interests for it, even if his hands and body were torn to shreds, the nature that openly displayed his anger. Looking at the face of this man named Shiga, fueled by anger, Shuou didn’t dislike it.

He was aware that he wanted it. Just like Borge, he wanted to engage with him as a human being, with trust. The male instinct to abandon his own strengths and make him submit through force, facing him head-on, was throbbing.

The launched fist had powerfully pierced through Shiga’s defenseless jaw. In an instant, Shiga’s head was violently shaken, and his giant body sank to its knees.

“Ah… huh…”

Shiga collapsed, his eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.

“Tch…” Shuou endured the intense pain that shot through his right fist, which had struck Shiga’s jaw, his eyes brimming with tears.

A Zan, unable to bear the fear, had fainted and was being held by the collar by Borge. Between his legs, which were weakly spread, there was a trace of incontinence, strikingly wet. In that appearance, not a shred of the dignity of a general leading many could be seen.

Shuou took out the gloves he had tucked inside his clothes. They were the sealing gloves that had weakened Shiga’s power, but as insurance, he put them on his left hand to restrain A Zan’s actions.

After confirming that Borge had tied up A Zan from behind, Shuou looked at Shiga’s giant body, lying face down, not moving a muscle.

Borge casually readied the sword he was holding and pointed the blade at the prostrate Shiga.

“Stop.”

Shuou stopped him, and Borge let out a dissatisfied voice.

“This guy is trouble. If we’re going to kill him, now’s the time.”

“I owe him. Thanks to this man rampaging around, we were able to easily secure the castle lord. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it.”

When Shuou said this, looking into his eyes, Borge made a pained expression but agreed and sheathed his sword.

“We have our target. What do we do now—”

At that moment, a heavy, unusual sound was heard. The hole that Shiga had opened creaked and expanded, and a sickle-shaped insect’s hand slid in from there.

“Run!”

Shuou shouted instinctively, and Borge, sensing the abnormality, pulled A Zan and retreated. Shuou dragged Shiga’s heavy body, which had collapsed, barely keeping a distance from the rabidaemon’s hand that stretched into the building.

The rabidaemon, unable to get a grip, shifted its interest elsewhere and was diligently opening holes in the outer wall. Its actions suggested that the rabidaemon’s interest was directed towards the inside of the building. In other words, it could be assumed that the soldiers who were dealing with it outside had already been decimated or had given up and fled. This was a joyous situation for Shuou and the others, but at the same time, it put them in a dangerous predicament.

“We have to do something.”

With determination, Shuou asked Borge, who had a pale face and was in a daze.

“Do you know where our confiscated belongings are?”

Borge shook his head in negation.

“I don’t know! They’re probably stored somewhere, but it’ll be difficult to find them in this situation.”

Seeing Shuou fall silent, Borge asked in return.

“You’re thinking about that pointed weapon, right?”

“Yeah. But if it’s not there, it’s fine.”

“Fine? You’re thinking of dealing with that rabidaemon somehow, aren’t you? Without that—”

“I’ll figure it out.”

Shuou raised his face, filled with determination, and stood up, taking a deep breath.