Imperial Capital.
It was already the first watch of the night (19:00–21:00). The sun had set, darkness shrouded the land, and countless lights gradually flickered on, illuminating the upper and middle districts of the capital, turning it into a city that never slept.
At this moment, on the outskirts of the upper district, within a lush, tree-filled noble manor—
"Hey, I heard the young lady brought back two more country folk today..." At the gate of the manor, under the lamplight, two guards were chatting idly.
The other guard nodded in response. "Indeed. When the butler returned at noon... he told us to prepare two more 'beds' in the warehouse."
"Ugh... how many times has it been now?" The first guard exhaled deeply, looking up at the sky. "When will days like this end..."
Although the Empire didn't have the saying 'helping the tyrant do evil,' the meaning was the same. If not for the demands of survival, why would they do such things...
Better others die than oneself.
Most importantly, as a semi-feudal, semi-slave autocracy, the Empire's control over its servants was terrifyingly strict. Servants had no power to resist their masters—they were merely personal property.
"Shut up!" the other guard hissed quickly. "You want to die saying stuff like that?!"
Suddenly—"After walking around all day, I'm so tired!"
Following the voice, the young lady Aria appeared, accompanied by her two new 'friends.' Along the way, she laughed and chatted merrily. Her charming laughter had a sweetness that could easily deceive anyone.
But the two guards knew better. They knew it was all an act—a mask.
"Miss Aria, you're incredible. I could barely keep up with you while shopping just now." Unlike Aria's bright tone, this voice was softer, giving off a sense of warmth and grace.
"Yeah, yeah, and I carried your stuff all day too."
Another voice followed immediately—though the words sounded like a complaint, the tone was casual and hearty, revealing the speaker's cheerful personality.
"Hmph! The guards helped carry most of it. What do you mean you carried things all day? And what—are you saying you didn't want to help, Ieyasu?!" Aria's voice turned sharp, especially when saying the boy's name.
"Eh... no way! We grew up together—Sayo, you know what kind of person I am!" Ieyasu stammered in panic.
"Hmph! If it were Tatsumi, he'd never complain... sigh, I wonder where he is now..." Sayo's tone softened, her worry for Tatsumi plain on her face.
"Childhood friends, huh? Such enviable bonds... Don't worry, I'll help you find your companion," said Aria with a smile.
"Thank you, Miss Aria," Sayo replied gratefully.
"No problem... Well, we're home. What do you think? My house is quite grand, isn't it? Surely you're not afraid there won't be enough room for you?" Aria gestured proudly toward the luxurious mansion.
The two guards stationed nearby stepped forward skillfully to help unload the shopping. "Miss, are these your new friends?"
This sort of 'making friends' was nothing new—they already had a familiar routine for it.
"Yes. Have the kitchen prepare a lavish dinner. Don't hold back on the precious 'ingredients.' They're my new 'friends,' so see that they're well 'treated,'" Aria instructed.
"Yes, Miss..." The guard performed a perfect servant's bow, then turned to Sayo and Ieyasu. "This way, please."
"Miss Aria is so kind... As expected of the capital of a thousand-year Empire—the people here are far warmer than I imagined," Ieyasu said admiringly as he followed.
Hearing his words, the leading guard paused slightly, glanced back, then quickly lowered his head and walked faster.
Sayo, however, noticed that fleeting look in his eyes—was that... pity?
Why pity her? Was it because she came from the countryside?
...
As Sayo and Ieyasu walked off, Aria slowly lowered her waving hand. Her fists clenched tightly, and the sweet smile on her face twisted into one of grotesque cruelty and madness.
"That filthy commoner... how dare she be so pretty! Her hair is even better than mine—unforgivable! Ahhh! Any woman prettier than me must die!"
With her kind mask torn away, Aria's eyes burned with pure jealousy.
"I'll pluck out her beautiful black hair strand by strand, then chop off her fingers one by one... ah~"
Perfect. They were simply perfect! They were even childhood friends! If she could tie them up together and torture them—how delightful would that be?
Oh, and there was that other companion who supposedly got separated from them on their way to the capital... ahhh, she had to find him too!
Wrapping her arms around herself, Aria trembled in ecstasy. The thought of having two perfect bodies to torment tonight made her whole body quiver, her legs pressing tightly together.
"Ah~ time to go see Father and Mother."
In the next moment, the sweet smile returned to Aria's face. No one could have imagined that such a twisted and deranged expression could appear on such a cute girl.
"No visitors tonight."
"Yes, Miss!"
Watching Aria's silhouette disappear into the distance, one of the guards moving boxes sighed. "That girl... what a pity."
"Yeah... truly," the other guard replied regretfully. "She looked pretty, with long, silky black hair..."
"If the young lady hadn't taken an interest in her, she might've had a good life... I just don't get it—what's so great about the capital? One after another, they all come flying here like moths to a flame..."
Whoosh!Whoosh!
Before he could finish, two flashes of orange light pierced through the night—each guard's head was instantly blown apart, iron helmets bursting into a spray of blood.
Above the luxurious mansion, countless silver threads stretched and crisscrossed like a web, forming a dense, glittering lattice.
In the night sky, several figures stood atop those threads, their clothes swaying in the cool breeze. With the blood moon behind them, they looked like phantoms.
"Nice shooting, Mine."
"Hmph! Of course. I'm a sharpshooting genius! And hey—Leone, get your claws off my head! Put them somewhere else or I'll never grow taller!"
"Ahahaha..." Hearing that, the blonde, big-chested woman named Leone stopped ruffling Mine's pink hair. Resting her hands behind her head, she laughed heartily. "Alright, alright. So you do care about your height after all, Mine."
Veins twitched on Mine's forehead as she gripped her Teigu, Pumpkin. "Damn it, Leone, you...!"
"Enough. We're on a mission right now. Let's finish this job quickly—time to kill that twisted noble," a middle-aged man said with a frown.
"According to our investigation, this noble has indeed been secretly luring in country folk for years and torturing them to death... Leone, kill them all."
"Got it, Lieutenant." Grinning, Leone grabbed Mine and leapt down from the rooftop.
The hunt had begun!
Meanwhile, inside the grand mansion at the center of the estate, Aria was preparing to introduce her two new 'friends' to her parents.
"This is Ieyasu, and this is Sayo." Smiling sweetly, the noble young lady Aria introduced them gently to her parents.
Hearing that, Sayo and Ieyasu quickly bowed respectfully. "Good evening, Uncle, Auntie. My name is Sayo." "Good evening, Uncle, Auntie. I'm Ieyasu."
Across from them, Aria's parents smiled warmly and nodded kindly.
"Good, good. Aria told us about your situation. Don't worry, we'll help you find your missing companion—"
Splurt—!
Suddenly, Aria's father froze mid-sentence. In the next instant, both he and the lavish sofa beneath him split cleanly in half, blood spraying through the air.
"Target one—eliminated." A cold, emotionless voice echoed as a young man dressed entirely in black appeared in the hall, half of his body splattered with blood.
In his hands gleamed an enormous pair of scissors.
"Ah—!" Aria screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Assassins! Protect the young lady and the mistress!"
The guards finally reacted, but before they could draw their weapons—
Slash!Splurt!
Limbs and flesh flew. Within seconds, the once lavishly decorated and beautiful parlor was drenched in terror and blood. Among the dead were Aria and her mother.
The entire Aria family—exterminated!
"Lubbock, the mansion's been cleared... what about those two?" Outside the shattered glass doors, an assassin dressed in black and carrying a firearm asked calmly, "Do we need to take them out?"
"No need. The mission's complete. They're not on the target list—they must be villagers who were lured here. We're pulling out."
Click!
With that, the young man named Lubbock sheathed his massive scissors across his back and turned to leap straight through the window.
The sound of shattering glass jolted Sayo and Ieyasu awake. Both were covered in blood, staring at each other in horror...
What had just happened? In barely seven or eight seconds, the kind Miss Aria and her entire family had been slaughtered by assassins!
"East wing—cleared."
"West wing—cleared."
"Boss, the warehouse is done too... This noble family really was beyond saving!" A green-haired young man descended along a silver thread, his face full of disgust.
"Good. Since everything's been dealt with, let's move." Stretching lazily, Leone—her beast-like ears twitching—spoke nonchalantly as she stood before the now-silent manor.
"You damned thieves! How dare you murder Miss Aria and her family!"
From the second floor, through a broken window, an angry voice shouted. Everyone turned their gaze toward it.
There stood Ieyasu, clutching an iron sword, glaring down at them furiously.
"Who's that guy? Why's there still a survivor?" Lubbock asked, confused.
"I let him live. He and the girl weren't on the target list. Probably just wanderers who got tricked into coming here," said Lubbock flatly, his giant scissors glinting on his back.
"I see. So he's one of the duped ones—still completely clueless."
"I'll avenge Miss Aria...!"
Thud!
Looking at Ieyasu, who she had just knocked unconscious with a single punch, Leone sighed with her hands on her hips. "Sigh, I held back, you know. Poor kid—fooled and still counting coins for the people who tricked him."
"Cough... what do you mean? Aren't you all wanted criminals?" Ieyasu coughed a few times, staggering to his feet again.
"Ieyasu, are you okay?" Sayo asked, drawing her bow and aiming at Leone, worry clear in her voice.
Gripping his sword tightly, Ieyasu glared fiercely at the tall, busty blonde woman before him. "I'm fine. This woman is a thief—"
"Thief, my ass!" Bonk! Bonk! Leone disarmed both of them in an instant.
Shaking her now partially beastified, fur-covered fists, Leone said, "Don't go accusing good people... well, okay, I'm not exactly a saint, but if we hadn't come when we did, you two wouldn't have lasted the night."
"Hmph, fine—then let me show you what your so-called Miss Aria really was." With that, Leone tucked one under each arm and leapt down from the second floor toward the forested area of the estate.
"Hey, Boss Lady! That's not part of the mission!" Lubbock called after her.
"It's fine, relax... the job's done anyway. Let's just show these two kids the truth about the world." With those words, Leone disappeared into the woods.
"Forget it, let her be. Leone's never been one to sit still..." The middle-aged man leading the team sighed and shook his head. "If this were still my army, I'd have punished her for disobeying orders."
"Too bad we're not the Imperial Army anymore," Lubbock replied casually.
"You brat... sigh, yeah, we're not. Still, I hope the paradise General Najenda and the Revolutionary Army talked about actually exists." Folding his arms, the man—known simply as the Lieutenant—looked wistful.
Indeed, this middle-aged man was Najenda's surviving military adjutant. Though Night Raid had lost Akame and Sheele, Najenda's army—originally wiped out by Esdeath—had preserved much of its combat strength in this timeline.
Compared to the original, Night Raid was now a larger, more structured organization with trained military personnel.
"It'll exist. I think the Boss Lady's just trying to recruit those two country kids into the team... Let's wait for her," Lubbock said.
"...Alright." The Lieutenant nodded slowly, agreeing with Lubbock's judgment.
"But we'd better make it quick. Even if this is just the outskirts, it's still part of the upper district. The Habsburg Duchess' Mansion is nearby—and who knows what kind of monsters lurk around there."
"Relax, the entire manor's been—"
Suddenly, Mine's panicked scream cut Lubbock off. "Lubbock, get down—!!"
"Crushing King—!"
Boom!
Cornelia's killing intent-filled eyes flashed into view before Lubbock, her silver gauntlet erupting in dazzling light as a massive air vortex swirled around her arm.
BOOM—!
A blur streaked past, and the entire mansion exploded as if struck by a meteor, collapsing in a wave of debris and stone.
The moment Cornelia appeared, the Lieutenant shouted, "It's the Imperial Assassination Unit! Everyone, stay sharp—!"
"Akame, now!"
"Burial!"
Slash!
A flash of lightning—and the throat of the assassin holding a rifle was split open. Blood gushed violently, and glowing crimson runes spread rapidly from the wound across his body.
"That's Tsukushi's Prometheus! You're not worthy to use it!"
Finishing off the Revolutionary assassin who wielded her late comrade's relic, Akame smoothly drew her blade, One-Cut Killer · Murasame, and slashed horizontally at Lubbock, who bore the massive scissor-type Teigu on his back.
Clang!
The blade of Murasame met the twin edges of Extase, sparks exploding in the air.
The Teigu: Cutter of Creation · Extase, was it?
Sharp and durable in equal measure—its hidden ability, a blinding flash of light to obscure vision.
Locked in a deadlock, Akame recalled the intelligence she'd received from Selene—the list of Night Raid's personnel, their Teigu and Shingu, and tactical assessments. She and Cornelia had waited until Leone left before attacking. Lionelle transformation's enhanced senses and sixth sense made stealth nearly impossible if she were still there.
Clang, clang, clang...!
Their blades clashed again and again, each strike aiming for the other's vitals with no wasted movement.
The Lieutenant, entangled by Cornelia, shouted a warning, "Lubbock! Don't let that sword touch you! Its curse poison—no one can cure it!"
"Got it!"
Akame seized the brief instant of Lubbock's hesitation, gripping her sword with both hands and striking with full strength.
Suddenly—whoosh!—an orange laser shot toward Akame's head. Forced to dodge, she twisted midair, landing a brutal kick squarely on Lubbock's left knee.
Crack!
Lubbock's face contorted in pain as his left leg bent at an unnatural angle, sending him crashing to the ground, powerless.
Akame flipped backward, landing lightly. She didn't pursue immediately—her crimson eyes turned sharply toward the direction the orange beam had come from.
Romantic Fortress · Pumpkin—how could she forget? That was Najenda's Teigu!
"Najenda!"
"Damn it, what's with that look?!" In the distance, Mine peered through her scope, locking onto Akame's rapidly approaching figure. The killing intent in Akame's cold, dark eyes made Mine's pulse race. She didn't hesitate—Pumpkin charged to full output as she yelled, "Bulat! Get over here!"
"On it!" Bulat replied, dropping his invisibility and revealing his armored figure clad in steel-gray plating, blocking Akame's path.
"You're not getting through!" he roared, hurling his weapon—Neuntote—straight at her.
"Finally showing yourself..."
Akame suddenly stopped mid-sprint. In an instant, she twisted, her waist thrusters igniting with a white burst.
Whoosh!
Carried by the surge, her speed spiked—her true target wasn't Bulat, but the incapacitated Lubbock!
Slash! The sound of flesh and bone being severed echoed sharply through the night.
"Lubbock!"
The weapons from Great General Selene's arsenal were truly something—there was one for every occasion. Akame thought this to herself quietly as she flicked the blood from her blade.
"You won't escape," she murmured.
Behind her, Lubbock's corpse hit the ground with a dull thud.