Akame ga Kill: Starting with Dual Kamui Chapter 3: Hunting Dangerous Beasts

Suddenly, the river's surface, once placid, began to churn violently—an unmistakable sign of trouble.

Blayn harbored a suspicion that another Danger Beast was about to make an appearance.

“Oh, just in time!”

Esdeath, however, seemed to possess a certainty of the Danger Beast's imminent arrival. Without the slightest hesitation, she drew her longsword from its rocky sheath. Her silver-blue hair swirled with the sudden eruption of an intense battle aura radiating from her.

In the ensuing moment, a colossal fish-like Danger Beast erupted from the water. It measured at least four to five meters in length, its disproportionately large head adorned with multiple rows of needle-sharp teeth. This monstrous maw snapped and lunged towards the closest entity—Esdeath.

“A Level 3 Danger Beast...”

A frigid, haughty smile graced Esdeath’s lips, a clear expression of her confidence and utter disdain.

Launching herself forward without a trace of hesitation, her athletic form soared several meters into the sky. Her blade plunged directly into the fish's gaping maw, emerging from the apex of its skull, cleaving its head clean in two.

This singular strike was more than enough to incapacitate it.

Esdeath's movements were a blur of speed. The instant her sword was freed, she unleashed a flurry of additional slashes, effortlessly reducing the piscine Danger Beast into large, discernible portions.

This action was not mere overkill; she was preparing provisions for their evening meal.

An average bystander would find it impossible to follow her rapid succession of movements with the naked eye. However, Blayn was anything but ordinary. Through the visual prowess of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Esdeath's actions unfolded at a significantly reduced pace, appearing as if caught in slow motion.

He couldn't help but reflect on Esdeath's profound strength, and for reasons he couldn't quite pinpoint, she exuded a distinctly perilous aura...

“Well, that takes care of dinner, but there sure are a lot of Danger Beasts around here.”

A faint sigh escaped Esdeath's lips.

More Danger Beasts had already encroached upon their vicinity—it appeared this particular zone was densely populated with them.

Fortunately, none were classified as Special-Class Danger Beasts, which meant they posed no substantial threat.

Even divested of a Teigu, Esdeath's inherent physical capabilities and battle acumen were exceptionally potent.

At this juncture, Blayn initiated his own offensive actions.

He extracted one of the enormous teeth from the vanquished fish-shaped Danger Beast. True to its nature as a Danger Beast, even a single tooth measured approximately a meter in length, possessing an appearance of extreme hardness and razor-like sharpness.

“What are you doing?”

Esdeath inquired immediately, her curiosity piqued by his actions.

“Using its tooth as a weapon.”

Blayn responded with a simple, direct statement.

He recognized the necessity of not over-relying on the Dōjutsu abilities of his Double Kamui at this early stage.

While the offensive capabilities of his left eye's Kamui could instantly dispatch any of the surrounding Danger Beasts, he had recently employed its Intangibility. Utilizing another ocular technique so soon, without adequate recovery time, would impose an excessive burden upon his physical constitution.

Furthermore, he maintained a cautious stance regarding Esdeath. He deemed it prudent not to exhibit any semblance of vulnerability in the presence of such a formidable individual.

Not to mention, the fundamental abilities inherently linked to the Mangekyō Sharingan were already exceedingly potent. Beyond augmented visual acuity, its most critical attribute was its predictive insight—an ability allowing him to anticipate an adversary's intentions before they physically manifested.

For instance, if an opponent so much as initiated the movement of raising a limb, he could ascertain their subsequent action based on subtle micro-expressions and the tension in their musculature, rendering their movements perceptibly slower to his eyes.

His capacity for replicating techniques and discerning illusory deception was predicated upon this same perceptive faculty.

These foundational attributes alone rendered the Mangekyō Sharingan overwhelmingly powerful.

Blayn resolved to engage in close-quarters combat for the interim, mirroring Esdeath’s approach. He was not inherently incapable of confronting Danger Beasts without resorting to his ocular abilities—this presented an ideal opportunity to gauge his own martial prowess.

“So your Teigu isn’t very offensive?”

Esdeath posed the question, a hint of surprise in her tone.

She had evidently made the assumption that Blayn's extraordinary capabilities originated from a Teigu.

Concurrently, her estimation of him ascended. This young man—appearing even younger than herself—maintained an unflinching composure amidst a multitude of Danger Beasts. Even devoid of a conventional weapon, he demonstrated remarkable resourcefulness by improvising one from a defeated monstrous creature.

Blayn, entirely unaware of the concept of a Teigu, offered no reply. With an immutable expression, he firmly grasped the formidable fish tooth and advanced towards the assembled Danger Beasts.

Acquiring System Points through the vanquishing of Danger Beasts constituted his principal incentive for engaging in combat.

Esdeath, conversely, adopted a posture of observation, intrigued to witness his performance without the utilization of his supposed Teigu.

Blayn's initial target was a comparatively diminutive flora-based Danger Beast—an unsettling, towering green bloom that surpassed his own height. Its immense, gaping maw possessed the capacity to engulf him entirely.

For the present, he decided to categorize it mentally as a “man-eating flower.”

Abruptly, the man-eating flower lunged towards him with astonishing velocity. Its stalk demonstrated an extreme capacity for independent extension and retraction, stretching several meters in the blink of an eye.

Any individual unwary of this particular characteristic would undoubtedly be ensnared, falling victim to the flower’s predatory mechanism and becoming its next sustenance.

However, the instant the predatory bloom initiated even the slightest preparatory movement, Blayn’s Mangekyō Sharingan detected it.

Executing a perfect leap, he soared into the air, narrowly evading the incoming assault. As he descended, his landing was precise, right atop the creature’s crown, driving the fish-tooth blade into its central stalk.

When stretched to its maximum, the stalk became incredibly thin and vulnerable—barely the width of a single arm. His improvised weapon sliced through it effortlessly.

Boom!

The enormous head of the man-eating flower plummeted to the earth. A deluge of crimson sprayed from the severed stalk, but Blayn expertly sidestepped, avoiding any drenching.

[Ding! The host has defeated a Level 4 Danger Beast. Reward: 1 System Point!]

Blayn had dispatched his inaugural Danger Beast with remarkable efficiency. Yet, respite was a luxury he couldn't afford—another beast was already hurtling towards him.

Utilizing the fallen bloom’s head as a launchpad, he propelled himself upward with a powerful kick, flipping backward—just in time to witness two elongated, scythe-like limbs from a mantis creature slice through the very space he had occupied moments before.

A fraction of a second's delay would have resulted in him being bisected.

“That was perilously close...”

Blayn mentally registered the immediate threat.

Fortunately, his Cheat ability was the Double Kamui. Even relying solely on its fundamental functionalities, he could manage this predicament with considerable ease.

Without a second thought, he plunged the fish-tooth blade into the neck of the mantis-like Danger Beast, decapitating it cleanly.

As its head struck the ground, another notification resonated within his mind.

[Ding! The host has defeated a Level 4 Danger Beast. Reward: 1 System Point!]

However, his makeshift armament now exhibited distinct fissures. At this trajectory, it might shatter after merely a few more engagements.

Unyielding, he extracted the mantis beast’s forelimbs from its lifeless body. These scythe-like extremities would serve as his subsequent armaments.

Concurrently, Esdeath, who had been observing the entirety of the engagement in silence, found her admiration steadily growing.

This young man possessed undeniable talent. Equipped with a Teigu, he held the potential to ascend to the esteemed position of a General.