Chapter 48 vs Zanku the Beheader!

"Teigu users are dangerous; always operate in pairs."

Kobayashi muttered to himself softly, then scratched his head in resignation. "But why am I alone? Or do they think that since I have Kuromi with me, it counts as two people? They have way too much confidence in me, in every sense of the word."

Not long ago, the entire group had mobilized out of fear that he might slip away, and now they were sending him out all by himself.

He had never even said he wanted to join Night Raid; were those people misunderstanding something?

Walking beside him, Kuromi spoke with a trace of dissatisfaction, "Could it be that Lord Kobayashi dislikes spending time with me?"

"How could that be? I like Kuromi the most."

Kobayashi patted her head, took her small hand, and said, "We haven't had a proper chance to spend time together since coming to the Imperial Capital. Even though it's the dead of night, let's enjoy a brief sweet moment right now."

"...If that is Lord Kobayashi's wish."

A slight blush appeared on Kuromi's cheeks.

She gripped his hand back, their fingers interlocking.

Honestly, Kobayashi still didn't understand how a doll could make such subtle, bashful expressions.

However, that didn't matter.

Because Kuromi was his doll now.

The two strolled through the silent Imperial Capital, looking more like they were on a leisurely countryside outing than out to commit murder.

Along the way, Kobayashi used his perception skills at regular intervals to scan the area, but unfortunately, there was still no harvest.

"As expected, is he not going to show up?"

Kobayashi scratched his head in annoyance and said to Kuromi, "It seems having both of us here isn't going to make him appear, but searching like this is way too slow. Could I ask Kuromi to go up to a high vantage point and help search?"

"But Lord Kobayashi's safety..."

"It's fine, I'm very strong, and don't forget I can use magic."

"Alright, I understand."

Kuromi thought for a moment before agreeing. She turned, stepped against the wall of a building, and leaped up. After giving a slight bow, she sprinted toward a distant tower, her figure vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"All right, all right, now it's just me. Will he show up?"

A criminal's psychological profile naturally tends toward targeting the weakest or the isolated. Now that Kuromi had left, and Kobayashi didn't look particularly formidable on the outside, if Zantetsu the Beheader was going to make a move, his primary target would definitely be him.

Could this be considered baiting law enforcement?

No, no, talking about assassin theories was just laughable.

He walked alone through another street.

Suddenly, a figure flashed past the corner of Kobayashi's eye. When he turned his head to look, he could only catch the edge of a garment as the figure turned into a narrow alley and disappeared.

***

Did he appear?

Kobayashi concentrated and hurried his pace to follow.

"He's following."

Walking ahead, Zantetsu the Beheader had his back to Kobayashi, wearing an evil, twisted smile.

A Teigu user, huh...

[Spectator: Five Sights] was the Teigu he possessed, granting five abilities: Clairvoyance, Telescopic Sight, Penetrating Sight, Future Sight, and Illusion Sight.

In truth, Zantetsu had used his Telescopic Sight long ago to spot Kobayashi and Kuromi, and after using Penetrating Sight to see that the silver-haired little girl's interior was not made of human flesh and blood, he had guessed that Kobayashi was a Teigu user.

To actually let a Teigu leave its master's side—how foolish.

He had never beheaded a Teigu user before; he wondered if their heads would feel different from anyone else's.

——Illusion Sight ability.

Its effect, once activated, was to make the target see the person they most wanted to see.

He had used this trick to sever the heads of many people, and it worked every single time.

Next, the head of that brat behind him would be severed as well.

What will you call me?

Mother? Father?

Or the name of someone dearest to you?

Anything is fine. Consider it my final mercy as a reward, but as a return gift, make sure you let me chop off your head cleanly later.

His smile grew even more twisted.

Yet—

"You've finally appeared, Zantetsu the Beheader."

Huh???

Zantetsu's twisted, evil smile instantly froze on his face.

Kobayashi had also considered many people he might see: his parents, his younger sister, or perhaps Aqua and that bunch of problem children.

Yet, he saw only Zantetsu.

Because the necklace's effect was far too powerful, completely blocking out the illusion effect!

Damn it, all that emotional buildup wasted!

Actually, the best method would have been to pretend to fall for it, then pounce and launch a sneak attack the moment Zantetsu lowered his guard, which would surely have finished him off with ease.

***

Yet he simply couldn't muster a warm, nostalgic expression toward a burly man, especially when the man's smile was so twisted.

"I didn't expect you wouldn't fall for it."

Zantetsu narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly surprised that his Teigu had failed.

Kobayashi shrugged and said helplessly, "To be honest, I wanted to fall for it even more than you did, hoping for an alternative reunion with my family. Unfortunately, a certain useless goddess dotes on me too much, making me immune to almost all negative effects."

"Haah?! A goddess?! If there were any goddesses, I would have been struck by divine punishment long ago! Yet here I am still hunting! Just thinking about those people's wails and cries drives me wild! Delightful, delightful!"

Zantetsu reacted as if he had heard a hilarious joke, his smile growing even more unhinged and twisted.

Ah, he's hopeless.

He's just as hopeless as those who have plunged into madness.

Kobayashi slowly drew the longsword at his waist and spoke, "If it were that goddess with no morals, even if you were an unforgivable villain, as long as you sincerely repented, atoned, and prayed, she might very well forgive you. However... the wrongs you've committed still need to be repaid! Come, recount your sins!"

"I've been peeking into your mind, and I found not a single trace of hesitation. Is it self-hypnosis taken to the extreme, or is there really a goddess? Delightful, delightful!"

Zantetsu grew even more interested in Kobayashi, the smile on his face vicious and unbridled.

A fierce battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Kobayashi took a powerful, forward stride, thrusting straight at the throat. Zantetsu merely leaned back slightly as the longsword brushed past his face. Missing the first strike, Kobayashi transitioned from horizontal to a downward slash, only to be blocked by a pair of short daggers.

Taking advantage of Zantetsu's lower guard being exposed, Kobayashi lashed out with a kick, and Zantetsu similarly raised his leg to intercept.

Every single move was seen through.

Zantetsu even read his mind, anticipating the subsequent onslaught.

"First a horizontal slash, then a chop, followed by a kick, and the longsword returns for an upward sweep... a feint, actually a mid-level swing, followed by a lightning strike... lightning strike?!"

"Thunderstroke!"

A bolt of lightning surged from Kobayashi's palm, racing toward Zantetsu's chest with blinding speed. However, Zantetsu forcefully bent his legs backward, dodging the strike at the very last second before jumping back a few steps to hastily create some distance.

"Delightful, delightful! There's recovery lag between skills and basic attacks? As expected, magic is much more useful? Your inner thoughts are becoming more and more interesting."

Zantetsu's smile was intensely twisted and wild as he couldn't help asking, "An ability I've never seen before. Is that really magic? Or is it actually the ability of some kind of weapon?"

"It's magic. I'm not lying to you about this."

"Mm, no reason to lie to me... Is that what you're thinking inside? Then I'll tentatively treat it as magic. Delightful, delightful!"

Zantetsu's interest rose to a fever pitch.