Hi, everyone.
Thank you for your patience. This is unusual. I don't normally write chapters with 1500 words or so, but I have some spare time today, so this happened.
November is not here yet, so I will continue to be busy. I appreciate your concern and support throughout these days, and I will continue to write whenever I have time.
Chapter 55 Sit Down and Listen
Repetitive ambush methods are amateurish.
From the long-ranged sniper who can make a lethal shot in the long distance to the wire-driven trap-planner who surveys the battlefields, the composition of the Night Raid assassins cannot be described as anything other than systematic.
Aren't all types of assassin organizations like that? The specializations in combat, the over-reliance on the power of their Teigus, the monotonous way of striking their targets, and the commonality of placing emotion over reason have all proven to be… childish.
At least that is how Hei sees it.
It is good to a point for the assassins to be specialized in their respective responsibilities, because the group operates as a low-profile team that is usually well-hidden, which means invariability is the most adept way to protect secrecy.
Assassins cannot just indulge themselves in the same way of eliminating their targets with their physical prowess – skills are important, but they are vulnerable if they cannot be adapted into the course of reality.
A true assassin does not depend on his or her physical assassination abilities alone. Going into the field and kill your target will always be Hei's last option – it is unclean, it is suspicious, and it is dangerous. Political sabotage would always be the Black Reaper's first choice – if his target has dirty spots, then he will use them to discredit their reliabilities, turn their allies against them, and destroy them with their own laws.
But it seems like there is too much "good" in the members of Night Raid to even consider such an approach.
"Take extreme caution with your weapons."
Sliding his hands into the safety gloves he has prepared for himself, Hei thoughtfully takes a look at the gathered crowd before opening the glass cube in his hand.
"I was able to extract the axiological code from the Murasame's long sequence."
Handling a needle between his righter thumb and index finger, the Black Reaper slowly takes his route to the cabinet on the other side of the room. With a gentle pull, he swiftly removes a metal cage from the third row.
A rat.
"The results were not as significant as the original, but it shall suffice as the first stage of development."
Concluding his explanation, Hei softly makes a mark with the needle on the small creature's left leg.
Within a second, the injured leg of the rat is covered with mysterious yet familiar black patterns. In the next second, the black patterns quickly spreads through the lower body of the beast, creating a strong sense of discomfort to its nervous system, resulting in a small shiver. Before a sound of pain is heard from the fated victim of experimentation, the rat falls heavily onto its left side, motionless and cold.
It is dead.
Turning his gaze from the rat to his audiences, Hei immediately discovers that his action is bringing the Teigu wielders heart attacks. From the hanging jaw bones to the widening eyes, no one – not a single Teigu wielder – is able to murmur a sound at his awe-inspiring display.
"Wow, Hei, that is amazing!"
Watching the unbelievable scene unfold in front of him, Tatsumi manages to be the only one to react to the Black Reaper. Being the only person in the Night Raid assassins who can talk to Hei like friends (okay, only in Tatsumi's point of view), the only person who has seen how Hei looks under that mask, and the only person who had been saved (or almost killed, in Hei's perspective) by Hei, the energetic boy innocently assumes that Hei has just performed another one of his fabulous miracles, which is just going to stimulate the good-hearted boy's inner fanboy-ism once again.
"The speed is not as fast as the original. I merely arranged the discovered code in oblique and longitudinal orders, and reestablished the new sequences with the help of combination and permutation calculations."
Placing the needle carefully into the glass container once again, the Black Reaper turns back to look at his audiences, waiting for a reply of either approval or disapproval.
"No, no, Hei, that… is already good enough. Thank you very much."
Being an Teigu-user, the leader of the young assassins composedly pulls herself back from Hei's mind-bending reality lecture, and acknowledges his work with a rushed appreciation.
What else can she say? Hei, this mysterious man, has brought her so many surprises. Even though the revolutionary headquarters have informed her about the potential of this man's intelligence, but replicating part of a Teigu? Really? That's is literally breaking the rules of reality!
But that is not all of it.
If Hei is able to replicate a simple Teigu in no more than three days, what can he do in three weeks? In three months? In three years?
Breathing deeply, the one-eyed leader cannot help but let a small shiver of coldness take over her back – that lost feeling has returned to Najenda, that special feeling when she lost her eye and her arm under the shear force of Esdeath – fear.
If Esdeath is scary, then Hei is horrifying.
For the first time in her life, the leader of the young assassins has recognized something.
Force does not necessarily need to be overcame with a greater force. Strength does not necessarily rule the world. When facing the equal intelligence, any amount of force can only be reduced to nothing other than a plaything in a child's hands.
With such an incredible mind, what reason could Hei have to aid the Night Raid assassins?
Why did he decide to help in the first place?
The more she knows about the Black Reaper, the more distant the man seems to be.
If he is the type of person that truly cares about mankind's future, then Najenda would not mind to have him on the revolutionary army's side.
But what the Black Reaper displays is nothing more than indifference.
This frightens the silver-haired leader.
"Teigus are only weapons. Weapons do not decide what they represent. The wielders do. Do not over-rely on your weapons, or you will lose your consciousness for the reality."
Facing the awkward glances from the crowd, Hei monotonically finishes his demonstration with a confusing statement, waiting for the young assassins to digest his meaning.
"Um… yeah, um… it has really happened. Replicating a Teigu…" Lubbock is still trying to let the fact settle in his turbulent train of thought – his worldview has been damaged, and it takes time to establish a new one.
"I know, right? Hei, with your help, I can already foresee our victory against the empire in the future." Bulat turns out to be more amused than shocked. Being more mature than the rest of the group, the wielder of the Incursio replies the Black Reaper with a… loving smile? Okay, that is kind of weird.
"Man, why didn't we notice you in all those years? Building Teigus for us without any payment? Seriously?! Are you a secret treasure or something? We need to do something to thank you." Hearing a voice becoming closer in an unmatchable speed, Hei turns to discover an all-hyped Leone standing right in front of him with only a few centimeters between the two.
"Take off the mask and let Onee-san give you a kiss!"
Instinct immediately takes over the Black Reaper's body, before Leone's right hand can reach the edge of his mask, the Black Reaper forcefully blocks the incoming assault with his arm, and side-steps to his left side to increase the distance between the blonde and himself.
"No."
"Aww, come on!"
…
"Hey, hey, Leone! Stop that! What are you doing? We can't just jump to the conclusion yet! We don't even know if he has good intentions to us! Maybe he is only building our trust to backstab us one day!" Watching Leone chasing the Black Reaper everywhere in the confined room is a bit… uncomfortable for the tempered pinkette. Admitting Hei's intelligence is not something she like to do.
"Hey, what are you saying?! Hei is our friend! Well, at least my friend! He would not betray a friend like that!" Tatsumi and fanboy-ism, seriously, needs to be suppressed a bit sometimes.
"Hmm, Hei is truly a reliable person." Smiling kindly at the pair, Sheele fixes her glasses once again and turns her head toward the chase scene.
"Sheele! Not you, too!"
"See? Hei is good-natured!"
"What do you know? You stupid amateur!"
"Hey, what did you say? You cocky bastard!"
…
"…"
A pair of crimson eyes have never left the Black Reaper since they came into this room.
With a few blinks, Akame slowly lets a heartfelt smile to slip onto her petite face.
Yes, she knows, that the Black Reaper will succeed.
This is nothing other than the work of her unknown confidence.
Confidence in Hei.