Behind Tatsumi, Lubbock and Bulat were growing particularly anxious.
"He was only going to check where the targets were. Why hasn't he come back yet...?"
"It's so close, he should've had enough time to make two trips by now."
"Could something have happened? Did the Three Beasts...?"
"You're underestimating Tatsumi's speed, Lubbock."
Bulat sighed.
"Strength has always been his weakness, but when it comes to speed, he's pretty outstanding even in Night Raid."
"Never mind that the Three Beasts couldn't possibly recognize him. Even if they really started slaughtering everyone, that kid would come running straight back."
"Something must have happened. Let's get to the tavern. We can't wait any longer!"
Inside the tavern, The Godfather.
"There's killing intent all around us."
Liver, the middle-aged man who looked like a butler in a bartender's clothes, spoke.
"Are you kidding? How could anyone come interfere with us today? You could count the people who know our plan for this operation on one hand!"
"Don't jump to conclusions. Since Liver says so, we'd better be careful."
Daidara's face flushed red, but seeing that even the usually willful Nyau had followed Liver's advice for once, he had no choice but to lower his head and await instructions.
"Nyau, hide behind the bar for now. The owner isn't here anyway."
"I see what you mean. If someone really does come..."
"As long as you understand."
After just a few words, all three understood one another.
Daidara and Liver went upstairs and crouched by the railing, watching the tavern entrance like a pair of snipers.
Hidden behind the bar, Nyau also stole a glance outside-
Then quickly drew back.
"Someone's here."
All three spoke in unison, their voices barely audible.
Then a faint smile appeared on their faces.
"No sign of the Three Beasts on the first floor. None of these drinkers look like the Teigu users in the records. Where's Tatsumi?"
"He couldn't have run away before the fight..."
"Don't talk nonsense. Hurry, let's check upstairs!"
Bulat urged Lubbock to head upstairs with him.
Just then, however, a strange melody reached them.
"What's this?!"
Music had no color, no scent, no shape.
By the time you noticed it, you were often already caught deep within it. That was music.
At first, the piece sounded like nothing more than the lively dance music often played in taverns, but its ever-shifting tones and eerily unpredictable melody set it apart-
After countless twists and turns, hallucinations had already appeared before Bulat's and Lubbock's eyes.
"My vision's so blurry... What's happening...?"
"Where... is this?"
Not just Bulat and Lubbock, but every patron drinking in the tavern had their nerves invaded by the music, developing hallucinations and symptoms of neural paralysis.
"Military Music Dream"-Scream.
Hidden behind the tavern bar, Nyau played his flute-shaped Teigu. This was the Three Beasts' opening move for thinning the numbers during missions.
It was also their most crucial move.
Once used to bolster morale on the battlefield, this Teigu could exert special effects in Nyau's hands, controlling enemies and enhancing his own abilities.
Bulat had learned about this Teigu before.
Having served the Empire, he could be said to know more about Teigu than tens of thousands of others, apart from those wielded by Minister Honest, the young emperor, and other members of the royal family, which he had never experienced firsthand.
This is that control-type one...
Bulat's subconscious issued him an order. In the brief moment before the Teigu could rob him of his awareness, he snatched a glass bottle from a drinking table and smashed it hard.
Then he drove the broken bottle into his thigh.
The glass bottle was incredibly sharp, and shattering it created multiple edges. Stabbing it into his leg would leave a large wound and cause intense pain.
Blood streamed out. Bulat gritted his teeth and endured it, and by the time he recovered, the pain had restored his clarity.
Lubbock beside him, however, had already lost consciousness completely.
"Lubbock? Lubbock!"
Bulat shook Lubbock and slapped him several times, but Lubbock remained utterly motionless.
He knew Lubbock had entered a state of deep mental paralysis. Waking him anytime soon was impossible.
Bulat's expression darkened. He scooped Lubbock up and leaped, with almost no time to think.
The next second, two strangely shaped battle-axes blasted two huge holes in the floorboards where he had just been standing.
"Tch... Missed? He really does react fast."
"That's Bulat. You were too careless."
Liver spoke to Daidara.
"You know him?"
"Of course..."
Bulat set Lubbock beneath a drinking table by the wall and spoke without looking back.
"Daidara of the twin battle-axes. I never thought someone like you could join the ranks of the so-called Three Beasts..."
"What did you say? Got a death wish?"
Daidara was known as a battle maniac. Unable to tolerate such humiliation, he immediately leaped down from the second floor.
"Why are you so reckless...? Now we'll have to show ourselves too-oh well, the result will be the same anyway."
Nyau slipped out from behind the bar, while Liver sighed at the sight and jumped down along with Daidara.
For some reason, when Bulat saw Liver appear last, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"General...?"
"It's been a long time, Bulat."
Bulat had never imagined that his former superior, Commander Liver, once one of the Empire's generals, would sink to becoming the new general Esdeath's lapdog, obeying her every command.
Bulat and Liver had once fought side by side for the Empire. They had been more like father and son than superior and subordinate, but after refusing bribes, both had been thrown into prison by Minister Honest.
Bulat had seized an opportunity to break out and join Night Raid, while Liver had been rescued by Esdeath. From then on, he had been captivated by her boundless power and willingly become her servant.
Never imagining he would have to turn his blade against an old friend, Bulat's heart filled with pain.
It hurt millions of times more than the wound he had inflicted on himself with the bottle!
"With strength like yours, why join that pack of scheming scoundrels in Night Raid? Wasn't serving the Empire together our original goal, Bulat?"
General Liver's beard was impeccably trimmed. That simple attention to detail revealed his refined lifestyle.
"Follow General Esdeath, enjoy the finest delicacies, and live the life of your dreams, never worrying about food or clothing... With your strength, you could be made a lieutenant general the moment you returned to the Empire-join us, Bulat!"
"That really is tempting..."