The village where the Assassination Unit had been stationed was remote and difficult to access. The roads were already hard to traverse, and heading further west led into dense forests and swampy terrain teeming with poisonous insects and the occasional Danger Beast. It was impossible for a large army to pass through quickly. For the elite Assassination Unit, who had trained for years along the southwestern border, this area was the perfect place to evade pursuit. Given that, the mark they had found was very likely left by someone from Gozuki's group.
The terrain made horseback travel impossible, so Haruki's group had no choice but to abandon their horses and proceed on foot.
It was then that the years of physical training Haruki had provided the girls truly paid off.
They moved through the forest as if it were flat ground, leaping swiftly between trees—each leap covering several meters with ease.
On top of that, Tsukushi, Pony, Meiki, and Meina—Haruki's first- and second-generation blood kin—couldn't fully conceal their vampiric aura like he could. That faint, instinctive presence radiating from them kept all nearby wildlife at bay. While ordinary humans wouldn't notice it, Danger Beasts, with their much sharper senses, could clearly detect it. As a result, the group encountered no resistance along the way.
Everyone was focused on moving forward, none of them noticing the large eagle silently trailing them from high above—an eagle that didn't even seem dangerous at first glance.
It wasn't that the girls were careless, but rather that the eagle was flying at a great distance and had expertly masked its presence. Besides, with Haruki by their side, they naturally let their guard down, trusting in his abilities and knowing who he truly was.
As for how Haruki noticed the eagle at such a distance—although his sensory skills were remarkable, it wasn't like he was constantly scanning the surroundings. That would be exhausting.
The reason he sensed it was because he detected the presence of a Teigu.
A thousand years ago, Haruki had poured an immense amount of time and effort into forging forty-eight Teigu. Each one was crafted from the remains of powerful Super-Class Danger Beasts, and even after death, the unique aura of those creatures lingered within each weapon. Haruki knew those auras better than anyone—so the moment that eagle locked its gaze on him, he felt it immediately.
There was only one Teigu capable of perfectly transforming its user into another creature: Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation. From that, Haruki could roughly deduce which group was behind the attack on the Assassination Unit.
From the fact that the other side was still actively scouting, Haruki could tell that Gozuki's group was still alive—or at the very least, not completely wiped out. That thought only strengthened his resolve to reach the rendezvous point.
As for the tail that had been trailing them, Haruki chose not to expose it. He wanted it to report their movements.
He knew the massacre of the Assassination Unit's village was closely tied to these people. And he was very interested to see how those so-called righteous crusaders would explain themselves.
Haruki never considered himself a good person, but he had no ill will toward the villagers—they were simple and kind. The massacre orchestrated by the Revolutionary Army and foreign tribes had truly angered him.
Haruki's group moved swiftly, covering the ten-mile distance in under half an hour.
The town where they were to meet looked completely ordinary. It was as lively as ever, with crowds moving through the streets. Only a few Revolutionary Army and foreign soldiers were stationed here—the rest had likely been sent to the front lines to face Esdeath and Najenda's Imperial Army.
Seeing this, Haruki and the women around him felt a bit of relief.
As soon as they stepped into the inn where they were supposed to meet, they drew everyone's attention. Their appearance alone was enough to turn heads.
"Well, well, look who we have here—noble scum. Don't you know this place belongs to us now, the Revolutionary Army and the tribes? And what a group of beauties you've brought. You must've been living the high life off the backs of the people. Time for some righteous payback!"
A few mocking voices rang out. Several members of the Revolutionary Army and the allied tribes, who had been resting in the inn, stood up and closed in, their eyes gleaming with lust as they stared at the women around Haruki.
"Scram. We don't have time to waste on garbage like you."
Kurome, already on edge from the grief and tension, snapped. These self-proclaimed justice warriors dared to harass her after what they'd done? The memory of the slaughtered village still burned fresh in her mind.
With a swift kick, she unleashed a Rankyaku. A wide blade of compressed air tore through the air, slicing cleanly through the soldiers.
Bang...
The inn fell into stunned silence as the men were instantly cut in half, their bodies crashing to the ground in bloody halves. Because their hearts were still beating, they didn't die right away. Instead, they writhed on the floor, wailing in agony—a grisly sight that shocked even those who had been watching with idle curiosity.
"Murder! Run!"
Someone screamed, and the inn erupted into chaos. People scrambled for the exits, trampling each other in their panic. A few of the wounded soldiers were crushed to death in the stampede.
Ignoring the fleeing crowd, Haruki led the group straight to the designated room.
At that moment, the giant eagle that had been shadowing them circled above for a few more seconds. Seeing that, aside from the brief commotion, nothing else had happened, it turned and flew off in another direction.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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