𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 | 🄰🄺🄰🄼🄴 🄶🄰 🄺🄸🄻🄻! 🅉🄴🅁🄾【×】 🄾🄲

11| Avenged

After Taeko had defeated Cornelia, she went back into Toushi Town to look for Chelsea so she could have assistance. But she didn't find her, instead finding Akira walking around the town.

Unlike Cornelia, however, Akira was always on guard. Though he didn't show it. On the outside, he looked like a normal kid who was traveling the land. Deciding that Akira was her next target, Taeko begins to make her way over to him. He was alone, in fact.

Akira: "Hmm? Taeko-san?"

Taeko: "I have a message from Cornelia. She caught a rare animal in the outskirts of the town, and she wanted you to tell her if it's edible."

Akira: "Sure, I guess. Though this job feels more suiting towards Akame."

Taeko: "Follow me."

And they then begin to move, already, Akira was beginning to feel suspicious of the girl. When he had first saw her, he did feel suspicious of Taeko.

Akira was then taken to an abandoned and rundown area. He sensed no one else, but he still kept his guard up. They continue to walk through a destroyed building before they came to an open area.

Taeko: "We're here. Cornelia should be around here...oh, there she is."

The icy-blue eyed boy looks to where Taeko was pointing. Up ahead, Cornelia was leaning up against a dead tree. However, it didn't take long for him to smell the air. The stench of blood. Akira's eyes darkened as Taeko turned around and looked at him confused.

Akira: "...You did this...didn't you?"

Before Taeko had time to respond, she had raised her sword up defensively. She looked shock as a crazed look was on Akira's face, killing intent leeking out of him.

Akira: "You killed her, didn't you!?"

Taeko: "...How did you know?"

Akira: "I was already suspicious of you when I first saw you...and when Corey became friends with you, I let my guard down a little bit. But as soon as I smelled the air, I knew something was up. Becoming friends with one of mine is one thing, but killing them is another. Trust me...you won't leave this place alive."

His words sent a terrifying chill down her spine. Taeko had never met someone with an aura like this. She soon felt cold, looking at Akira's hands as she sees a cold mist emitting off them. He then kicks her off, Taeko skidding back as she sees Akira form a sword of ice in his right hand with his knife in the other.

Akira: "Victory is not possible. You will die here."

Taeko: "I am the Death Reaper, Breath of Oarburgh, the Untamable Wind. I will show you the way to the underworld."

Filled with only rage, Akira freezes the ground in front of him, him propelling himself with his ice powers as he slides against it. Rage, sadness, that was all that could be seen in his eyes. Taeko dashes as well, hoping to use her technique Light Gale. But Akira was quicker, quickly lunging in as he relentlessly attacks with his ice sword and his knife.

Taeko was kept on the defensive, the Oarburgh assassin desperately looking for an opening. But Akira wasn't letting his weak spots show, his only focus on killing the girl in front of him. Taeko tries to twist her body, turning in a cyclone-like movement to swing her sword around, but Akira parries her attack and takes his knife, slashing a few times on her arms before stabbing it into her shoulder. For right now, Akira was focusing on torturing the girl, trying to kill her as slowly as possible. He wanted Taeko to feel the pain he was feeling, but the wounds of loss would always be greater than physical inflicted wounds.

Akira: "She was so happy to have made a friend, dammit!"

Taeko: "So was I! But now that I know we're enemies...!"

The girl jumps back and goes into her pocket to take out her recovery vulnerary, but Akira didn't want to stop his attack. So he threw his knife towards the recovery time, knocking it out of Taeko's hands and embedding into a wall, the glass of the bottle clattering to the floor. Using one of her efforts to attack him, using her technique, Whirlwind, Akira created many weapons of ice, parrying the attacks, but resulted in the weapons being shattered.

Taeko was desperate to not lose, so she tries to follow up with Whirlwind again, but Akira did the same thing, parrying the multiple sword slashes with his ice weapons, shattered ice now on the floor. But in that moment of time, Taeko used Twister, moving at insane speed to get behind Akira. But she soon became terrified as Akira had quickly turned around, his icy-blue eyes dead set on her.

Akira: "Die!"

Creating multiple ice daggers, he begins to rapidly throw them at the dark haired girl. Taeko swung her sword many times, destroying as much as she could. A few, however, weren't destroyed and stabbed themselves into her stomach area.

She was now down to her last legs. Deciding to use the Oarburgh's sword drawing technique, she sheathes her blade and brings it to the side, readying to draw it once more. Getting into his own offensive stance, Akira created an ice sword, both of them having deadly glares.

Akira: "Come."

Taeko then dashes forward, hoping to end it all with her final slash. But again, Akira was quicker, dodging her attack as he swung his ice sword upwards, cutting of her right arm. Taeko screamed in pain as blood pooled out of her severed arm wound, her using her other arm to clutch it.

She looked up with terrified eyes as Akira made his way slowly to her, ice forming under his feet, but would only be cracked. He breathed out a cool chill, Taeko now shivering.

Akira: "As much as I want to kill you, I want to know why. Why did you have to kill her...why dammit!"

Taeko: "I...only found out that we were enemies...right before this..."

Akira: (wide eyes) "So you two...really were friends...before this..."

But soon after, he returns to his emotionless look and drove his sword into her chest, Taeko coughing up blood before she fell dead to the ground.

Akira: "...In the next life, I hope we could be on the same side until the end."

The boy then drops to his knees, then letting out low laughs before he started to laugh hysterically. But it all stopped when he turned to Cornelia. He didn't want to believe it, but he had to try.

Akira: "Corey! You're going to be okay! I'll tend to your wounds soon! So c'mon! Stay awake!"

But the blonde girl remained unresponsive, tears soon pouring out of Akira's eyes. He brushed some of her hair out of the way so he could see her blue eyes. But they were dull. They had lost that beautiful shine they always had.

Akira: "C'mon Corey...get up...wake up, dammit. I promised you, didn't I? I said I would take you out, right? C'mon, I promised you I'd take you out on a date, so wake up. C'mon, let's go."

But she still remained unresponsive, Akira taking the dead girl and begun cradling it's body. He was in denial. He held her head close to his chest, now letting his tears out.

Akira: "Wake up, Corey! Wake up, dammit! I'll take you out! I'll take you out wherever you want to go! So please...just wake up! Just open your eyes, please!"

Akira continued to let out his cries as he slowly accepts it, even if he didn't like it. Cornelia was dead. And nothing could change that.

Poney and Akame soon became worried for their friends, seeing as they had never come back. So they went out looking. They soon found the abandoned area, heading inside and finding the clearing. They were shocked, overcome with pure sadness. The only thing they could see was Akira in a pure, wrecked state. Cornelia's body was still cradled in his arms, his tears now all over her.

The two girls didn't know what to do. The only thing they could do was head over to the crying boy and wrap their arms around them. After all, they too share the pain of losing a comrade. And it wouldn't be the last.