Survivor vs Assassin

Cornelia was using some type of gauntlet as a weapon while Taeko was using katana. Both of them were on equal footing but Zero could see that Cornelia was at a disadvantage since her only weapon was the gauntlet and her body while Taeko had an arsenal of hidden weapons.

'That girl even managed to take Cornelia's punch that looked strong enough to pulverize the entire person head-on. Cornelia's main strength lies in superhuman strength while Taeko has speed and numerous moves she can use again and again. It also seems like Cornelia has been poisoned since her movements are becoming slower instead of faster. She probably won't make it unless she has a hidden move. I need to think of action I will take in case Akame won't get here in time...Will I abandon Cornelia and find an excuse when they ask me where was I the whole time?' As Zero was thinking about the pros and cons of helping Cornelia in case she were close to losing the battle, the girls continued their battle, completely destroying already ruined buildings.

Cornelia had enough strength to throw the entire part of the building at her but Taeko in return could easily slash it in half with her katana. Since they were so engrossed in their fight, Zero decided to go closer and set something up. He had to be quick since it looked like both girls were pretty exhausted and injured.

While Cornelia was poisoned, Taeko had some internal bleeding due to taking Cornelia's punch head-on.

'Taeko already used what I would assume to be her trump card. Honestly, Cornelia is pretty amazing to be still standing considering how Taeko's speed increased at least two-fold for a few minutes. And I already thought she was pretty fast before...I am having second thoughts about helping Cornelia. Why can't Akame just come here faster...' Zero felt like crying while he was setting up his "things". In the end, he decided to help Cornelia.

The two girls exchanged a few more moves before they regained some distance from each other.

"That stance won't work on me again." Cornelia said once Taeko took a stance she has already seen once and this was also Zero's cue to intervene.

"Let's end th-" The moment Cornelia spoke again and Taeko focused solely on her, Zero curled his index finger up which had a thread wrapped around.

*Whoosh!* A crossbow bolt flew towards Taeko's head from her left which she easily dodged while looking towards the direction from where the bolt flew, however, her eyes widened as she tilted her head to the side without even looking behind her as a dagger tied to a thread nicked her neck.

'A surprise attack from the opposite direction at the same time, did I get surrounded?! ...No, there is only one person and their strength can't be that high since they resorted to such a tactic. Still, I almost got finished by it, I didn't expect anyone here.'

"Seems like even you weren't expecting your comrade to be here. You can come out, I won't fall for the same trick twice." Taeko said while glancing around when she noticed Cornelia's surprised expression.

"Darn, my expectations were low but holy fuck." Zero said, looking at them from the branch of a nearby tree while scratching the back of his head with one closed eye and annoyed expression.

"Zero? Why didn't you go warn the others?!" Cornelia shouted at him once she recovered from her shock.

"And risk being blamed in case you were to die here in the meantime? I would rather take my chances at an injured and exhausted enemy." 'I might not have warned the others but Akame should be here at any moment but to fool your enemy, you must first fool your ally. I can't believe I put so much trust in that girl, if she is actually eating meat in the inn right now, I will strangle her to death once we get rid of this woman.'

Taeko let Zero join Cornelia at her side.

"You should have remained hidden, it doesn't matter if you join in. I will cut you both" Taeko was convinced that Zero has nothing to change the result of this battle since even Cornelia didn't look relieved, in truth, she looked even more worried than before.

"...Cornelia, stay still and try to recover your strength, try to get rid of that poison. Just defend yourself and don't waste your energy on offense." Zero glanced behind at Cornelia and said while giving her a subtle wink, hoping she would catch on.

"She is not your regular assassin, even if she is injured and exhausted." Cornelia probably understood his intentions but she still felt worried as she had absolutely no idea about Zero's skills.

The moment Zero looked back at Cornelia to reply, he jumped to the side, to dodge Taeko's slash who seemed slightly surprised in return but quickly regained her calm.

"I apologize but I can't die here, no matter what" Zero drew his broadsword from the sheath and pointed his sword at Taeko with a faint smile.

"Those words usually belong to the ones who flee first." Taeko said with narrowed eyes before appearing in front of Zero with her katana already above her head.

"Fleeing at the first sight of a strong enemy and leaving my friend to die is not my strong side!"

Zero slashed his own sword to meet Taeko's katana and he managed to redirect it to the side and immediately punched her into the stomach while she also kicked him at the same time.

The strength of Taeko's kick was so powerful that it sent Zero flying. His body only stopped once he hit the pillar of one house.

"Zero?!" Cornelia called out when she noticed Zero was just leaning against the pillar with blood flowing out of his mouth. She wanted to help but Taeko was already in front of him once again.