Chapter 49: Burial
Raising his left arm, the curse poison gradually eroded upward along his arm. Strangely, the erosion speed wasn't fast.
According to the original information, the Murasame curse poison killed quickly, taking at most three seconds to claim a life.
Dragon-Slaying Flash swept through the air like a chain, aiming for his left arm. The blade stopped just as it touched his skin.
It wasn't that Su Xiao lacked the resolve to cut off his left arm, but he noticed something strange.
After the curse poison invaded his arm through the wound on the back of his hand, his internal condition began to change. The Azure Steel Shadow energy became unusually restless, as if its territory had been invaded.
A large amount of Azure Steel Shadow energy surged toward the curse poison in his arm. The two were like fire and water, immediately beginning to annihilate each other upon contact.
If it were any other energy, it might not be a match for the curse poison—after all, this was an instant-death ability. But Azure Steel Shadow energy was different. What was Azure Steel Shadow energy best at? Annihilating other energies.
The two energies clashed within Su Xiao's arm, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment.
The curse poison was a very powerful energy with a high energy level, while Azure Steel Shadow was continuous and unending. As long as Su Xiao still had mana, the Azure Steel Shadow energy wouldn't run dry.
Su Xiao had a total of 536 mana points. After fighting for so long, he probably had around 300 left.
After the curse poison invaded his body, his mana consumption rate increased significantly, reaching an alarming 5 points per second. This was Azure Steel Shadow converting mana into special energy at high speed.
Su Xiao pressed Dragon-Slashing Flash against his armpit. If the Azure Steel Shadow energy showed signs of losing, he would decisively cut off his arm.
His left forearm was covered in black tadpole-like patterns from the curse poison, while above the forearm, arcs of electricity surged.
Akame witnessed this scene, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Nearly half a minute had passed, yet Su Xiao showed no signs of dying. Instead, he held his blade against his armpit, looking ready to sever his arm at any moment.
"Damn it, it's that 'electric poison.'"
Akame crouched low, Murasame planted in front of her. She gripped the hilt tightly with both hands; if she didn't, she might collapse at any moment.
Enduring the various emotions of the dead souls was no small matter. Now, sharp pains wracked Akame's body, and faint wails of the dead echoed in her ears.
"Ugh!"
Akame spat out a large mouthful of blood, her vision darkening as she nearly fell.
"Heh~, using power that doesn't belong to you, and you think you can kill me with that?"
Su Xiao removed Dragon-Slashing Flash from his armpit, gripping the blade as he slowly approached Akame.
His condition wasn't good either. Sharp pain shot through his left arm.
Although cutting off his left arm would immediately relieve the pain, doing so would have lasting consequences. A small amount of the curse poison might take the opportunity to invade his body. While it wouldn't kill him, his combat effectiveness in this world would drop significantly, and he would only recover after returning to Reincarnation Paradise.
But using Azure Steel Shadow energy to annihilate the curse poison was completely different. The Azure Steel Shadow energy would thoroughly annihilate all the curse poison in his arm.
His mana was down to just over 200 points, and the curse poison had already retreated to his palm.
"You monster."
Akame gritted her silver teeth, wanting to stand and fight Su Xiao, but her weakened body left her powerless to continue.
"Calling others a monster while wielding a cursed blade—is that really appropriate, Miss Akame?"
Su Xiao staggered toward Akame, killing intent boiling in his eyes. Akame raised Murasame in an attempt to resist.
Pfft.
Dragon-Slashing Flash pierced through Akame's chest—this time, the right side, straight through her heart.
Su Xiao lifted Akame with one hand on the blade, preventing her from resisting further.
Akame was suspended in midair, no longer having the strength to hold onto Murasame. The blade fell to the ground.
Clang. The cursed blade hit the ground. The forest wind stirred Akame's long hair, and bright red blood dripped down.
"Someday, someone will defeat you—representing the will of the people, representing the justice in their hearts."
Akame's expression was calm. Even if Su Xiao hadn't killed her, she would have died within a few years after using her ultimate technique, and during those years, she would have been tormented by the dead souls.
"Justice? High-sounding words. The strong are justice. Only the victor has the right to define who is just.
Today, I won. If I wanted, I could twist the Night Raid into a complete assassination organization, into a pack of hyenas killing for money."
In her dying state, Akame had nothing to say.
"Burial..."
Akame's head drooped, ending her life as an assassin.
Heaven was never fair. Akame was forcibly trained to be an assassin from a young age.
But heaven was also fair. After becoming an assassin, Akame gained the power to control her own destiny. She took up arms to fight for her beliefs.
Su Xiao also fought for his beliefs—only his own personal beliefs.
(Task Completion: 30%)
Difficulty Level: 4—?
Task Description: For each plot protagonist killed, you will receive a corresponding amount of task completion. (Judged based on the protagonist's luck level)
Task Information: Protagonists? Nothing special. Become a corpse under my blade. The strong live, the weak die.
Task Duration: None.
Task Reward: Calculated based on final completion level.
...
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Su Xiao coughed up several large mouthfuls of blood. He placed Akame's body on the ground and put away Murasame and Yatsufusa.
He planned to hide the bodies of Akame and Kurokame. That way, even if someone came looking for the Imperial Armaments, they wouldn't suspect him.
The traces of his battle with Karl were right there. He could just say he was dealing with a powerful enemy, and no one would suspect anything.
Su Xiao raised his left hand. The traces of the curse poison on his hand had faded. Azure Steel Shadow had completely eliminated the curse poison, consuming a total of 276 mana points.
Su Xiao vaguely felt that if he encountered this kind of instant-death toxin again, resisting it would be much easier than this time.
It was like catching a cold. Cutting off the arm was like getting an IV—quick to take effect, but it lowered resistance.
So Su Xiao endured the curse poison. Future derivative worlds would be fraught with danger, and he might encounter enemies with bizarre abilities. Enduring the curse poison like this would bring many benefits.
Su Xiao tossed the purple treasure chest in his hand. This was quite a haul, probably...
Before opening the chest, his mood was usually anxious.
Fiddling with the purple treasure chest in his hand, Su Xiao was quite interested in opening chests, even though his luck was generally mediocre.
The 'Loot the Heavens' task completion was an unexpected bonus. This was a major task, and the reward would surely be impressive.
Su Xiao glanced at the bodies of Akame and Kurokame. He planned to bury them. That way, the chance of them being discovered was very low. As for any wicked thoughts about taking advantage of the moment, he never had any.
Digging a large pit, Su Xiao buried Akame and Kurokame together. Just as he finished patting down the soil, shouts of battle came from the surrounding forest.
"The main force has finally arrived."
Su Xiao tossed the shovel into the forest, signaling Bubuteni, who was hiding in the distance, to come closer.
Bubuteni bounded over happily. As soon as he reached Su Xiao, he turned into a core. Su Xiao put away Bubuteni's core and walked toward the direction where Esdeath was.