Chapter 32: Opening the Door, ASDS WARNING

Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock...

"Is anyone in?"

Knock, knock, knock... knock, knock, knock...

The person who arrived seemed very patient, asking over and over again, knocking tirelessly, as if they could wait forever.

However, their companion did not have such good patience.

Bang!

With a deafening boom, the hard metal door in front, at least ten centimeters thick, emitted a teeth-grinding screech of distortion. Explosive force blasted the entire door, which had been pressed flush against the ground, wide open, leaving a shockingly deep indentation in the center.

The blue-haired girl retracted her right leg, grabbed both sides of the indentation with her hands, and exerted force in opposite directions. The door in front of her split directly to the sides, and she walked straight into the base.

Behind her, Jia Ji shook his head with resignation and followed quickly. He had long anticipated this situation—bringing Esdeath along was equivalent to starting a violent door-kicking group, and one using loaded dice at that; they could just steamroll through the whole thing.

From the outside, this base was nothing more than a monotonous brick-and-stone structure. Apart from standing alone on the edge of a cliff, there was nothing remarkable about it. But once inside, it was a different world.

Much like a mad scientist's laboratory, the floor, ceiling, and walls were all the same monotonous white, spotless and filled with a sci-fi atmosphere.

"Why does it feel like everyone has left? Could everyone have been eaten by Danger Beasts?"

"If this is all there is, I will be very disappointed."

Although it was divided into many rooms of various sizes, Esdeath didn't even spare them a second glance, heading aggressively straight for the very end of the corridor.

Jia Ji trailed behind her at a leisurely pace, looking left and right, tapping and checking things, and soon lost sight of the girl.

Pop, pop. The doors inside weren't locked, so Jia Ji pushed them open to take a look.

"This must be the kitchen..."

"The smell is so strong, could this be the pharmacy... Ugh, it's actually a toilet."

Like a serial killer in a horror movie, he checked room by room from start to finish, never missing a single blind spot.

Although there was no aura capable of attracting Esdeath's attention, this was, after all, the lair of an assassination organization. Who knew if a member skilled in aura concealment was hiding in some dark corner, secretly watching them the whole time.

"This should be the training ground." Jia Ji looked at the last room before the end of the corridor, which contained equipment like targets.

Step, step, step, step.

Footsteps heavier than when she left approached gradually, which was enough to show the owner's displeasure.

She always seemed to be in a bad mood.

"You didn't find anything there?"

Facing the silent girl who indicated her answer, Jia Ji smiled slightly and brought forward the little thing he had just caught.

"Meow, meow, meow, meow!"

That furry creature, only a few dozen centimeters in size, was well-behaved and motionless in Jia Ji's large hand, emitting only cute, harmless-sounding cries.

What kind of bad intentions could a little kitten have?

"... A cat?"

Yes, besides Danger Beasts, this world still had ordinary, docile animals. Cats, with their unique posture and appearance, had bewitched many humans, mostly becoming pets among the nobility.

Esdeath looked suspiciously at this kitten of unknown breed, which made one want to tease and play with it, not understanding why it would appear in such a place.

"Could it be a pet raised here by that guy?"

"Heh, you are dead wrong this time." Jia Ji, holding the kitten by the scruff of its neck, handed it to the bewildered blue-haired girl and, without keeping her in suspense, said bluntly.

"This isn't some pet kitten, but a real assassin..." Jia Ji leaned his face close to the kitten's head, smiling without warmth. "Isn't that right, Miss Chelsea?"

"Meow!"

That gray-furred kitten, which had been pretending to be harmless, revealed human-like terror in its eyes and immediately began to twist and struggle frantically in Esdeath's arms.

As if stressed, its two drooping pointed ears instantly stood up, its back arched, and its fur stood on end. The claws hidden in its paw pads also popped out, scratching wildly. If it had been an ordinary person, they would certainly have been scratched and left with bloody marks in this moment of surprise.

Unfortunately, she was now in the hands of Esdeath, who could hunt Special-Class Danger Beasts with her bare hands.

The blue-haired girl completely ignored her struggle, simply pinching her little head gently with two fingers, as softly as one would pinch a flower. The kitten immediately stopped, not daring to move at all.

Because she knew that if those two fingers exerted even the slightest bit of force, they could crush her head or rip it out along with her spine.

"Well? Still not changing back?"

Watching the little kitten, which had stopped hissing and was now extremely well-behaved, Jia Ji, a cat-loving expert, regretfully put away the CPR package he had prepared and then explained to Esdeath:

"It's—a Teigu!"

So-called Teigu were also something unique to the *Akame ga Kill! * world.

About a thousand years ago,

the Empire's founding Emperor, in order to maintain long-term rule, used unimaginable wealth and power to summon the world's top craftsmen.

Using legendary super-dangerous species as materials, combined with rare metals like Orichalcum and a large amount of lost secret techniques, they developed forty-eight uncopyable weapons, calling them "Teigu."

Teigu could be weapons, equipment, or even biological, but what they all had in common was that every Teigu possessed extremely special and magical abilities.

This world contained all kinds of dangerous creatures, and what endowed the Teigu with special abilities were the materials from those legendary super-dangerous species, many of which possessed the power to block a thousand.

And those who manipulated Teigu were called Teigu Users; they possessed abilities far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

"Although many Teigu usually take the form of knives, swords, guns, cannons, scissors, etc., combined with unique additional abilities or high destructive power, there are others that exist in more special forms. Just like this one right now—【Transformation Manifestation: Gaea Foundation】."

"A cosmetic-type Teigu that allows the user to transform into anything according to their own will, which naturally includes a cute little kitten... Miss Chelsea, am I right?"

Clearly, his last sentence was directed at the kitten that had completely given up struggling.

"So that's how it is. But... how do you know more than I do?" Since it was a Teigu, Esdeath understood.

"Haven't I told you about my title, 【Encyclopedia of Moe Tropes】?"

"My memory is very good; you haven't." Esdeath affirmed, though her fingers were still gently resting on both sides of the kitten's head, as if stroking it.

"You can let go now. I don't think she can run away under our noses."

"Meow..."

With a weak groan, a cloud of white smoke suddenly appeared, enveloping the kitten.

In the blink of an eye, it was actually a long-haired, black-bellied beautiful girl wearing a British-style maid uniform and headphones.

Chelsea, an apprentice assassin of Night Raid with long orange hair, appeared before the two with a face full of reluctance.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 33 =====