Author Notes: More exposition and setup for the upcoming battle.

Chapter 4: Total Kill Extinction

Former Empire Throne Room

A tall, slender man with long white hair, blue eyes and wearing priest robes was sitting on the side of Najenda's chair. He was the Lord of Peace, a half Danger Beast Hybrid and he had been established as a religious leader within the capital to reestablish faith in the people. So far, he had been succeeding at his duties and had kept the capital spiritually content.

"The stabilization of the country has been going well on your front, Najenda?," said the man in a genial and polite tone towards the woman beside him. He had proven to be a valuable ally in helping her maintain the capital while the new royal family was establishing itself as a reasonable source of authority. Ironically, her position was that of a Prime Minister, but she made sure that she would not have her mealtimes would not interfere with her duties, let alone go down the depraved path he had undergone. The new royal family were currently meeting with a western region of the continent, leaving Najenda as a temporary leader until they returned safely to the new capital.

"At the very least, since Esdeath's demise; there haven't been any threats that have matched her level.," replied the woman with a sigh of content. As she said, since her demise, the only troubles they faced were the corrupt nobles escaped once Honest had been slain. The Teigu users had been making valiant efforts in locating them and bringing them to justice for their long due punishments. It eased her knowing that the darkness of the corruption would finally be behind them at last.

"I wouldn't be so sure.," said a feminine voice with a laid back tone that caused both Najenda and the Lord to freeze from the sudden mass of murderous intent entering the room. It was like fourteen powerful Danger Beasts had somehow passed through their defenses, but it would be impossible for one to do so due to one of Teigu frontline guards possessing a Teigu that allowed for the control of beasts. Yet at the same time, it seemed far more compact, intelligent and dangerous than even a Super Class Danger Beast

Najenda and the Lord of the Path of Peace then noticed fourteen individuals in black bio-mechanical armor covering their entire bodies, had entered the room without being sensed by either of them were now in the throne room with them. It is them who were emitting the murderous intent equivalent to a powerful Danger Beast in spite of their humanoid forms. They ranged from towering humanoids with bulky structures to more slender, but still tall individuals. Somehow, they had managed to get into the room with ease without being detected at ask.

"We're here to declare war. I am appalled about how easily it was to subdue the remaining warriors...your Teigu users that is.," said one of the shorter members of the group. It was a girl's voice with a blasé tone to the way she spoke. As she said this, one of her colleagues unloaded the shattered pieces of the Teigu along with the bloodied heads of their users with a grunt of disgust of having done so. The Lord of the Path of Peace turned away in repulsion. Najenda's single eye narrowed in barely restrained fury at the people in front of her. They were enemies, but clearly not those associated with Honest. The heads had their eyes plucked out and there were signs that their flesh had been devoured. Clearly the actions of truly demonic individuals, but Najenda sensed something different about the way they died- it was like there was no passion put into it, just a callous act of a machine rather than that of an ecstatic murderer. She had never felt this kind of grimness before, having dealt with more depraved individuals who personally enjoyed their work and not this emotionless display of slither.

"Who the hell are you people?," Najenda asked the main speaker, with her green, artificial arm clenching the arm of the chair she was sitting in. The Lord remained still in his seat, still revolted on what he had seen. The black garbed individuals remained silent until the girl spoke again.

"People isn't a word that would describe us lady, we're-," said the girl before she was interrupted by the Lord of the Path of Peace who spoke in an uncharacteristic tone. She turned her head to him with an air around that seemed irritated towards this man in particular for some unknown reason.

"I never thought that they would ever show their faces to the likes of mankind again. Akujin; Danger Beasts that have evolved into a human like form and gaining intelligence while retaining the destructive power of the Danger Beast they originated from.," the Lord of the Path of Peace interrupted the girl as he recomposed himself. Najenda looked at the Lord with confusion to what he just said to the girl. She had thought he was a mere priest who happened to be the offspring of a Danger Beast and a human, but the way he spoke meant the situation was more complex than she thought it was.

"So you're the offspring of a human and a Danger Beast, an evolutionary dead end compared to us.," replied the girl with a slightly annoyed expression as she resumed her speech. The Lord continued to glare at her with a disapproving expression towards the black garbed group as he replied to her statement with a severe statement directed at them.

"I see, you've finally come out of hiding- Hell-Spawn. After the first Emperor forced you into hiding with the threat of using the Teigu against you.," said the long haired effeminate man in a tone of grave severity and animosity towards the group before him. This made the air surrounding the black garbed individuals become increasingly darker, hinting that he had somehow provoked them with what he uttered.

"What do you mean by that?, Danger Beasts that can gain human intelligence? Akujin? Why would Teigu be needed to be used against them?," Najenda inquired her colleague with concern and shocked worry as this new information was overwhelming her understanding. It made her almost forget her anger towards them for killing the Teigu users so callously.

"All you need to know is that this won't be just a genocidal campaign- it'll be the extinction of the entire human race. You enjoyed your time of peace for long enough. There will be no surrender, all you can hope for a quick death.," responded the girl with a darker and nefarious tone to her words. The intense air anger from before had dimmed down to a more stoic one like before, much to the Lord chagrin. Najenda then considered to use that to deal with them, a weapon once wielded by a young man that she had come to love only for his untimely death to make it that she would never truly answer those feelings back. The least she could do would be at least use his weapon to deal with these murderers, no matter how incompatible she was to the tool behind her throne. However, even that desire was lost to her when another of the group unexpectedly spoke in response to her attempted action.

"Oh, she's got another Teigu behind her seat.," said another of the armored figures, with her finger pointed behind where Najenda was sitting. This one was a girl like the first speaker, but was more cheerful and impulsive in her mannerisms. Najenda's eye widened in shock due to the reveal of the black garbed individuals' surprising display of intelligence.

"Can't have you pulling any tricks on us.," said the first speaker as she pulled out an odd looking, black pentagram that glowed an eerie green. Suddenly, a sound that glass shattering was heard behind Najenda. The short gray haired woman knew which Teigu had been destroyed- it was Cross Tail. The last reminder of the green haired boy that followed her into Night Raid as a close friend, Lubbock. It had been retrieved from Honest's private collection of stolen items and placed in Najenda's property for safe keeping. After all the effort it took to have it back, only for it to be destroyed so instantaneously made her spirit incredibly disheartened.

She clenched her green mechanical arm in anger. She also wondered what that device was and how it was similar to the Erastone Teigu used by the deceased Prime Minister. Except, the way it was used seemed to be different- the shattered pieces of the Teigu also seemed to be broken in the same way that Cross Tail had been. If it had functioned like Erastone, it would affect only the Teigu in the range of its light and would be usable for another week. It implied that this pentagram could be used multiple times and its design was not among the 48 Teigu. Meaning that this was some sort of technology developed with Teigu in mind. Such thoughts added even more mysteries than answered questions.

"With that, only two Teigu in the realm of man, remain. Don't mourn your demise, it'll be a hopeless death against an absolute onslaught of carnage. During in the span of six days, this remanent of what used to be the Empire will be obliterated by the Hell Kingdom.," said the first speaker as she and her group prepared to depart as they left the heads laid on the floor in front of Najenda. She was disgusted that not only did she lose her comrades, but she sensed that these people were likely too much for her to handle. She silently cursed her inability to be as strong as her comrades as she continued to sit in her chair in self loathing. After a moment, she filled her heart with determination, believing that it would be an insult to her comrades if she didn't attempt to put a fight at least.

"What?! What do you mean by that?!," Najenda demanded an answer from the speaker and took a battle stance as she leaped from her chair. In spite of knowing that if this group could take out the Teigu attack force with ease and that she would likely be killed far more easily, she stood her ground. This impressed the girl so much that she turned in Najenda's direction and spoke to her directly in a more casual tone of voice that alarmed the rest of her group.

"That eye. It desires peace and tranquility for your race. Be assured that it will never come to pass as you will soon learn that there are more meanings to agony that could be ever dreamed of.," said the girl who eyes now flashed behind the visor of the helmet, it caught Najenda's complete attention. The right eye had black sclera with black markings around her red eye while the the other also had black sclera, but the eye was blue. The gray haired woman had seen a similar eye to the armored woman's right ocular before...on the face of Akame when she used her Trump Card, Little War Horn. In fact, her aura felt very similar to both Akame and Kurome, Akame's sister. Could she perhaps be a...

"What are you?," Najenda asked the armored female in puzzlement to what she now seeing. This caused the blue/red eyed girl to become irritated for some unknown reason.

"That tone...it makes me think you recognize it from somewhere? It better not who I think it-," said the heterochromatic eyed girl before one of her group placed a hand upon her. It was one of the largest members of the group and he seemed like the true leader of the entourage. Najenda fell on her knees due to the pressure he was emitting from his being.

"We've eliminated the threat. Our orders were to let the White Faction clean up the mess.," said the male voice that sounded both deep and ancient. She nodded and the group was enveloped in a billowing shadow and vanished when the shadow dissipated. The Lord continued to glare at the group vehemently until they completely faded from the room completely.

Najenda was stunned from what she just experienced. For a moment there was absolute silence until the Lord decided to speak up to bring her out of her depression.

"What you have just seen is a sight that has not been publicly reported since the days of the First Emperors until 500 years ago. The Teigu in fact, were created to face these monsters. Somehow, they have found a way to counter them and are finally enacting their plans for revenge after their defeat 1000 years ago.," he said with a serious weight to his words. The words he just uttered seemed more like an ancient story of the past rather than an explanation for what was occurring in the present.

"What do you mean?," Najenda asked as she took a deep breath and turned to her colleague. Slowly she rose to her feet, shaken by what she had gone through while talking to the black garbed individuals.

"You know that the Emperor founded the Empire and created the Teigu..., but you don't know the true reasons as to why he had them created in the first place...and for who they were meant to slay.," the Lord replied with a more serious expression than usual. This caused Najenda to have a keener interest as to what he was trying to say at this very moment.

"The true reason...?," Najenda inquired the Lord before she noticed that the door had now been opened by a small figure. One that she had never met before, but somehow subconsciously knew who she was at the same time for an unknown reason that she couldn't explain.

"That's where I come in.," said a young looking woman with thick glasses with spirals, wild indigo hair and a white lab coat that seemed to be too big for her to wear. It initially seemed like a joke that the Lord was pulling on her until the woman glared at her indigo iris eyes that shined through her glasses. It was clear it wasn't a child, but a professional aide that likely knew of the situation that had occurred in the throne room.

"Who are you?," asked Najenda, wondering where this girl came from. Like the black garbed group, there were no reports of this individual coming into the capital, but she had noticed a rainbow had appeared the previous day in spite there being no rainstorm to make it appear in the first place. And also unusually, it was rumored that an indigo haired fey emerged from the rainbow and went into the main castle as soon as the rainbow disappeared. Najenda had scoffed these as absurd rumors, but the woman's appearance implied some truth to these claims. As for what the rainbow actually was remained a mystery to her at the current moment.

"Gainen, and I oversaw the creation of the Teigu...over one thousand years ago.," said the girl in a cheerful and neurotic tone, dripping with egotism that contrasted with her bookish appearance. This statement made Najenda give the woman a narrow eyed glare of disbelief at the young woman.

"You...don't believe me. You will be the time I tell the whole story...through a long winded monologue.," Gainen added cheerfully and neurotically to Najenda's annoyance.

"...Might as well listen in.," Najenda replied with a closed eyed sigh of irritation. Gainen's expression became dead serious while the gray haired woman did this as if considering a secret plan that only she knew about.

Once you know about this, you're going to be involved in this fight and there will be unavoidable casualties whether you like or not. That's the price for knowing what I'm going to tell you., Gainen thought with a severe tone of inner voice.

Next Chapter: Kill the Doppleganger