Aftermath

While Zero was thinking about whether he should somehow inconspicuously specify his relationship with Akame, Gozuki and Poney arrived near the group checking everyone. Everyone was quite surprised by Poney's battered state therefore they asked with worried faces. Poney explained how she fought with one of the Gravekeepers who managed to get an advantage in their fight and how Najasho had to save her. Unfortunately, both of them got caught up in the collapse of the tombs, and Najasho who had to carry Poney didn't make it outside.

This information gave others at least some hope since he could still be alive below all that rubble, however, the moment Cornelia mentioned Guy, everyone turned gloomy since his death was already confirmed.

"I get the gist of the situation, however, what happened to you?" Gozuki asked while looking at Zero's face.

"I have arrived too late to help Guy against the leader of Gravekeepers. Since I knew he managed to defeat Guy, I assumed I don't stand a chance against him inside the hall where I could hardly use anything to my advantage. There was a vial I found while searching the tombs, it didn't look or smell like poison so I just took it with me. Aaand knowing that I don't stand a chance in that kind of situation, I just drank what was inside the vial, it was a gamble." Zero explained.

'Was that some sort of Teigu he consumed? I will have to investigate it more carefully later. But it would be possible for him to just drink something unknown, after all, it is well known that Teigu can captivate and attract those they deem worthy.' Gozuki looked at Tsukushi who nodded her head. This small detail didn't go unnoticed by Zero.

'It looks like Cornelia and Tsukushi are the most loyal to Gozuki. Akame looks to be more open-minded considering her expression when Weneg told her the Empire invaded them first. Poney seems to be quite loyal to him but it doesn't look like completely blind trust. As for Green, he actually keeps to himself, he didn't seem too much surprised or in disbelief, instead, he had a thoughtful expression. He might be a weird pervert but it looks like his brains are probably even better than Najasho's' Zero did avenge Guy's death but he knew that Weneg was only a pawn in this one big game. Ultimately, it was Gozuki who was responsible for Guy's death and the lies Guy believed in. Guy died thinking he was fighting for good and justice, at least in his case, he died for protecting his comrades which can definitely be considered right.

Gozuki ordered the others to return to the camp while he would look around, trying to find Najasho among the rubbles. While the others were slowly leaving, Zero stopped after noticing a glittering shard of something lying on the ground next to him.

'What is this...a shard of ice? What is ice doing here?' Now that he paid more attention to the surroundings, he could see several of those shards all around the rubbles.

"Hey, Zero! Let's go back!" Cornelia's voice interrupted his thoughts and he quickly caught up to the group.

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Everyone except for the rescued prisoners sat inside one tent with gloomy expressions. And this gloomy atmosphere was only due to Guy's death, they still had no idea what happened to Najasho but judging from Poney's expression, it didn't look like there was a high chance to find him alive.

While Zero's relationship with Najasho wasn't the best, it looked like Najasho began accepting him, still, Zero spent most of the time on their journey here by talking and playing cards with Guy. Considering all this, it was understandable that he didn't feel too sad about Najasho's unknown fate. Still, he felt respect for him after hearing how he sacrificed his life for Poney's.

'Would I be able to do that? With my goal unachieved, how would I be able to make such a sacrifice? No... it's because I don't know them as well as they know each other. They grew up and trained together, if it was my relative, I would also be able to do the same thing.' Zero was sitting while looking down at his intertwined hands.

"Zero, I forgot to tell you something Guy told me after you used that vial." Tsukushi suddenly said which caused Zero to look at her with a surprised expression. Tsukushi explained everything which made everyone form a faint smile.

"Haha, now I feel embarrassed, knowing that he heard everything I have said. Still, he was pretty rude, if he hated playing against me that much, why did he keep challenging me, huh?" Zero released a genuine laugh after hearing Guy's last words.

"Damn pervert" Cornelia muttered but everyone knew she didn't mean to really insult Guy.

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Soon enough, they were called back after Gozuki found Najasho's corpse among the rubble. He revealed to them that Najasho had a slight blade injury on his body but since it was just a minor injury, he most likely chose to ignore it without knowing that he has been poisoned.

'An assassin who can't recognize when he gets poisoned? Najasho didn't seem to be that careless, he most likely didn't want to tell anyone because of the mission.' Zero thought and kneeled beside Najasho to check on him.

A black snake appeared wrapped around his forearm, the snake nipped the place where Najasho was injured. The snake returned to Zero's forearm and nipped him too which caused his face to grow paler once again.

'This poison isn't lethal...but his heart is no longer beating. What is going on? Did he die during the fall into the chasm as Poney described?' Zero stood up and shook his head before returning to the others, his face quickly returned to its former color.

"So that's the power you got from using that vial? What can it do?" Gozuki asked while holding his chin.

"Yes, as for its uses...I am still figuring everything out, I just have a general idea of how to use it. I became quite immune to poisons and other toxins. I tried to identify the poison but it doesn't really matter since his heart isn't beating anymore and who knows for how long." Zero gave a quick explanation, leaving out some details like how some of the poisons can temporarily increase his speed or strength, thus the reason for the change of color in his face.

He still had no idea about his power's efficiency so he would need to experiment with it later.

"Interesting...I guess you no longer need a special weapon, still, I will make sure you will have a weapon of top quality like those from Oarburgh." Gozuki explained before he ordered them to go back and prepare for the journey back to the Capital.

'Back to the Capital, huh? I don't know how to feel about it...I am pretty sure the others will have some questions.'

"Here" As Zero was thinking while staring at the horizon, someone shoved their hand in front of his face, holding clothes. When Zero turned to the person, he noticed it was a girl named Gin but he remembered her only thanks to seeing her boobs back in the tombs.

"You can take your coat back, thanks" Gin urged him to take it back and so Zero did, though he was confused why she would give it to him back without washing it.

"What?!" Gin noticed Zero's strange expression as he hesitantly took the coat from her hand so she asked with furrowed brows.

"...Nothing" Zero shook his head.

'Damn, are you dense or what? I can still feel how warm the coat is around the chest area!'