For one moment, he had wished that the world truly did revolve around him. There was no customary silence, for the blizzard-like winds continued to blow – the adrenaline wore off, and now he felt the chill creeping in his armor. As he held the dying Esdeath in his arms, Tatsumi wished that he was the one standing in front of Akame's killing blow. Deadly though the blade may have been, he still had enough armor to defend himself. Another piece of his head armor fell from his face, bouncing off her bruised cheek and into the snow turning red beneath them.
Tatsumi couldn't tear his eyes away from the kanji letters that had now encompassed the entirety of her right hand. It was a visual sign that her death was imminent. Knowing Akame's blade, she'd have half a minute at best, if she were at full strength.
A groan pierced his concentration at the wound, and towards the owner of the pained voice.
It was not Esdeath, but rather, Akame who made the sound, coughing up blood. He thought it was due to exhaustion.
Their battle had been fairly intense – more intense than battle fight he had ever been in, or had ever seen Akame participate in. Her eyes had returned to their normal hue, and save for the minor scratches and injuries she suffered, she appeared to be okay and in her regular state.
Tatsumi paused with a gasp.
No, she wasn't okay.
An icicle, grown from beneath the snow, had made a home in her side. Wet blood ran down its pristine blue surface. She gripped her sword tightly with one hand, while she tried to grab the icicle with the other, her face caught in a twisted grimace the entire time.
"Akame!" Tatsumi shouted, recognizing the immediate danger.
As if spurned on by his voice, the air around them suddenly ceased to be cold. It ceased to be anything. The bright light shining down upon them suddenly turned to a faint hue of blue. Blood that trinkled down the icicle froze in place, as did the heavy breaths emanating from Akame's bloody lips. Tatsumi recognized the effect – this was Esdeath's trump card. And yet, he was fully aware of everything around them.
"Ah…that hurt…to pull off," Esdeath murmured beneath him.
Even someone as beautiful as Esdeath couldn't hide the paleness of her skin – it was as if the sun never tanned her body, despite the amount of time she spent in it, fighting one battle after another. But the way she appeared now, it was as if she achieved a new level of paleness. Her lips were beginning to turn an icy blue, her eyes dazed and unfocused.
But the kanji on her hand ceased movement.
"How…"
"Shh," Esdeath interrupted him. "I am the strongest for a reason. Though it is like knocking on death's door to activate my trump card again – but it wasn't as if anybody had been expecting me to learn a few new tricks over the years."
"You're going to die…" he said almost in a whisper. His heart felt numb in his chest, his voice almost resisting leaving his throat. He reached for her hand, and even through the armor, he could still feel how cold her skin had become. "I don't want you to die…"
"You were glorious, love," she said to him, smiling as she nestled her head against his chest. Gently, he sat on the strangely warm snow, bringing her face close to his. Her blue eyes regained focus. "Though maintaining this is draining my stamina, I enjoy the idea of spending my last moments with you."
"Esdeath…this can't all be for nothing."
"But it wasn't for nothing. Haven't you learned anything by now? You want to bring me in your world so badly, and yet I understand something about it that you don't?"
"What…do you mean?"
Esdeath held up her arm, the one with the nasty wound caused by the Murasame. "As long as I maintain my trump card, even this wound can't kill me. I've put myself in a lot of danger to protect you. Suzuka is safely encased until I finally pass away – though I'm sure she's thinking of this as my neglecting her and getting off on those thoughts. But most of all, I have yet to kill any of your friends. I did it, because you want to see my strength. Acknowledge it."
"Acknowledge?!" Tatsumi nearly shouted. "Esdeath, you're about to die! Why are you talking about strength when this whole battle is about to go to waste!?"
"You're a fool," Esdeath said coldly.
The words took Tatsumi aback. She glanced at him – he was met with the same eyes that would have scolded him years ago.
But then, her eyes softened. She reached up and cupped his chin with her fingers. "I don't mind that. I wish we could have more time. There's one thing that must be done."
She pulled his mouth to hers, and for the longest time, the two just sat in the snow, kissing and embracing. Tatsumi knew that the end was quickly approaching – he could feel Esdeath's arm losing its strength, slipping away. As if to help her, he quickly held his hand to hers to keep it in place. The air around them began to return to normal. In the midst of their kiss, Tatsumi broke away so Esdeath could get quick breaths – the amount of time they could kiss grew shorter and shorter, until Esdeath could no longer hold a breath for even half a second.
"I love you," she said to him. "Truly, I love you. I died a warrior, and I'm protecting a man that has captured my heart."
Tears formed at the corners of his eyes. It felt as though his stomach had suddenly went empty. Esdeath's fading eyes closed, her lips pursed as she took a strained breath. Time, frozen at the behest of Esdeath, returned to its normal pace. A blast of bitter cold took Tatsumi off guard, all of the warmth quickly draining from his body.
Akame let out a roar of pain, jabbing her sword into the icicle for the leverage she desperately needed to break away. Instead, the tip of the icicle broke, and she stumbled into the snow, clutching at her wound.
With tears streaming down his face, Tatsumi didn't wait – Akame was down, and he had just enough time to play his desperate card. Esdeath weakly glanced at him with curiosity as he set her in the snow. Her eyes widened, an unusual shine of worry in her eyes as he grabbed his spear and looked to Akame.
"It won't end like this," he growled, raising his spear.
Akame could hardly look up at him as she grasped at the wound, gripping the icicle in her palm. She tried to speak, but only coughs emerged.
It was Mein who spoke up as she knelt in the cold snow, holding her arm. Tatsumi couldn't tell if Esdeath had actually broken it during his fight or not, and at the moment, he hardly gave it a second thought. His eyes trailed back to Akame, anger and sorrow dominating his mind.
"Don't do it, Tatsumi! It's over!"
"It's not over!" he barked back, raising his spear. "It's over when you are no longer here in this place."
And he lowered his spear with the fury of a dragon – of a rare danger beast that no longer existed in these times. The cut and swift and clean, but the impact sent snow bursting into mist, the ground underneath it trembling at the sheer force. Unbeknownst to him, Tatsumi's right eye had mutated into a not-so-human eye. The pupils dilated into a cross shape, and his natural green hue was now burning with a fiery red.
In a voice that seemed to echo across entire continents, he growled, "These old chains binding me...I have killed them."
Kill the Old Chains…only two chapters remain…