Warning
I walk down the street in silence, eyes roving the crowd around us while we walk. Sheele, Chelsea, and I were selected for the final assassination of our target, Boric, second-in-command of the church we'll be breaking into. Well, not a church really, but that's the closest word I can think of. Of course, the plan for getting in is far less than entertaining to me. Chelsea's going to pose as one of Boric's concubines in order to get close enough to finish him. While she does, Sheele and I will be ready to defend her if the Jaegers show up.
"I don't like it," I say.
"At least it's not Sheele this time," Chelsea says, licking her ice cream. "Relax. Everything's going to be fine. I'm not even going to have to get molested. Much."
"I don't care," I say. "Get raped all you want. What I don't like is the crawling sensation going up and down my spine. The last time I felt it was just before the fucker with the axes showed up."
"He's here?" Sheele asks. "And you never explained about him."
"No he's not," I say. "It's something else. Don't drop your guard. Either of you."
They both nod and we continue to the main building. Chelsea quickly slips around back and transforms, then slips inside through the front door, Sheele and I waiting outside. We can't sneak in like her, or at least, I can't. Sheele could, but when she suggested it, I slipped up and flew off the handle at her. She didn't necessarily seem offended. Actually, kind of the opposite. As with everything I do, she seemed to take it as proof that I care about her. Which I don't.
"It probably won't be long," I say. "We should wait on opposite sides."
"Okay," Sheele nods.
"Oh, and if that guy from before shows up, just run," I say. "Try to signal me, but get away regardless."
"Is he really that dangerous?" Sheele asks.
"I'm the only one in Night Raid that can face him and survive," I say.
"Because of your other side?" Sheele asks.
"Because of your Imperial Arms," I say. "I promise I'll explain after this mission. Just trust me."
She nods and I head around to the back, finding a window looking in on the main room. What I see sickens me. Dozens of women are inside wearing underwear and see-throw cloths over their mouths. All of them are high as a kite on one drug or another, and half a dozen are pleasuring a man that I can only assume is Boric, the rest all either lying on the ground, too high to move, or playing amongst themselves. I turn away. Chelsea understated what she'd have to do to get to Boric. I remain silent and try to ignore what I hear behind me. However, as the sun begins to rise, Sheele and Chelsea both suddenly step around the corner.
"What happened?" I ask.
"I couldn't get close," Chelsea says. "It seems he's more careful about choosing his concubines than I thought. And when I finally was almost there, he got a report that three of some group known as the Four Rakshasa Demons were killed tonight. Then he left."
"I see," I sigh. "Alright. Let's go and regroup with the others. We'll try again tomorrow."
The others nod and we leave the church, heading to the inn where we were ordered to meet up. The others are all waiting, and when we enter, I close and lock the door behind me.
"I couldn't get close," Chelsea says.
"It's alright," Najenda says. "Our backup plan to have one of the others failed as well because of several assassins assigned to be his bodyguards."
"The Rakshasa Demons," I say. "Who are they?"
"They're a group of highly trained individuals who grew up consuming the broth of lake kraken, granting them the ability to control everything about their bodies," Akame says.
"Everything?" I ask. "So...eternal virgin?"
"You're sick!" Mine spits.
"What?" I snort, sitting down, crossing my legs on the table. "I'm part demon, remember? And even before then, I have no morals. Allow me to enlighten you. All demons fall under one category or another. There are seven categories. Want to guess which?"
"Wrath, Envy, Greed, Pride, Gluttony, Sloth, and Lust," Najenda says. "The seven deadly sins."
"Bingo," I nod. "The demon that possessed me, and later was fused to my soul, is a demon of Wrath. Not a very powerful one, as Wrath demons go, but Wrath is the second most powerful class, as it is the second most seductive sin."
"What's the first?" Tatsumi asks.
"Pride," I say. "Everyone is proud of something. Third is Lust. Then Envy, Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony."
"This is all well and good, but what does it have to do with you being an unbearable, immoral piece of-" I interrupt Mine with a wave of my hand.
"When I was possessed, I could sense several demons inside of me. One for each sin I bore. They had to fight over it, you see. Because even before I was part demon, I was a shining example of all of the most fun sins. Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, and of course Lust was my personal favorite. I used to eat, drink, and fuck anything I could get my hands on."
"Why'd you stop?" Akame asks.
"Because currently, I'm more Greed and Wrath oriented," I say. "I want money, and lots of it. And also, there's someone that's going to feel my wrath."
"The guy with the axes?" Sheele asks.
"That's right," I nod. "He's a monster. He trained me to fight when I was young, taught me most of what I know about swordplay. However, he and my brother betrayed our village and my brother used this ring to burn my family alive. He tried to burn me as well, but I escaped, only to meet Carter, the guy with the axes. He had been my master. He was like a second father. So when I fought him, my hatred for him was my power. And I made mistakes. I lost the fight. And I died. Then I was possessed and later fused with it by accident by the only other survivor of my village, though they died not long after. I tracked down my brother first, and my demon side killed him. I claimed this ring from his corpse, and this sword, and then I fled. I can't defeat Carter. He's too strong."
"Why can you fight him when we can't, then if you admit we're better than you?" Leone asks.
"Because you all wield Imperial Arms as your only means of combat," I say. "In my village, Carter was a smith. He made weapons for a living, all forms of them. And he made weapons similar to the Imperial Arms, like this ring. You all believe it's an Imperial Arms, but it's actually more like a replica. A copy. Carter made it, so he knows it's weaknesses. And because he studied Imperial Arms so extensively, he knows the weaknesses of all of them. And he can spot and exploit them even in intense combat."
"Weaknesses?" Leone snorts. "Mine doesn't have a weakness."
"If your belt buckle is broken, your Imperial Arms is rendered useless," I say, everyone staring at me, then at her. "All of yours have weaknesses as well. You would all be killed by him, because after he breaks your Imperial Arms, you'd be left without a way to face him. But I fight against Imperial Arms wielders using only my family's sword. I've said before that it's just well-forged, and I mean it. It's forged from the same metal as Extase." I wave a hand at Sheele's scissors. "It's not as strong, and it can't shine like Extase, because there's no Danger Beast remains imbued into it. In fact, the entire sword is a single piece of metal with a grip added to the hilt to make it easier to wield."
"So it's unbreakable?" Najenda asks.
"No, but it would take a lot to break it," I say. "As long as I've been using it, except for cleaning blood off of it, I've never had to do anything for upkeep. It's never dulled, weakened, or rusted. That's not to say it can't, only that it would take a ridiculous amount of force. Probably trying to cut through Extase, or Incursio."
"So...this guy...he can break Imperial Arms, and that's why only you can fight him?" Najenda asks.
"Yes," I say. "For example. Let's take Esdeath's Imperial Arms. It controls ice and forms it from the water in the air. So by that logic, it would be weaker in a dry, hot environment, like a desert. Likewise, my ring would be weakened in cold or humid climates, while being much stronger in a desert. If I fought Esdeath in a desert, I might actually be capable of challenging her."
"You could kill her?" Najenda asks.
"No," I say. "But I could get Akame close enough to utilize Esdeath's second weakness. She is her Imperial Arms. She can be killed in a single cut if Akame is the one to do it."
"That's good to know," Najenda says. "But for now, we need to focus on the mission at hand."
"I am," I say. "My spine has been crawling since we got here. When I heard about the Rakshasa demons, for a moment, I thought it was them. However, I was wrong. It's Carter. He's closing in for another round."
"Then we'll leave him to you," Najenda says. "Chelsea, you and Sheele will focus on Boris, as planned, but you'll do it during the anniversary festival. Leave the Rakshasa Demons and Jaegers to the rest of us."
We all nod before Su walks in, serving our food. I finish mine before even Akame, which is rather impressive, then leave, heading to my room and sitting on the bed, laying my sword across my lap and closing my eyes.
"Hey, asshole, do me a favor and play telephone for me," I say in my head, feeling the demon stir, then feeling a tingle in my head as he connects my mind to Carter's. "Can you hear me Carter? I doubt you're far away, and I know I'll be dealing with you soon. However, I'm giving you a fair warning now. If you lay a single hand on one of the others, I'll allow my other half, the side you forced on me, to have free reign in tearing you apart. And you know how fond he is of causing pain."
"You're rather bold to be contacting me directly like this," the demon's voice relays in my mind. "Or, perhaps, you're simply desperate. Has the big bad demon assassin finally grown soft? Good. Then I'll enjoy torturing your soft spot. I'll torture and rape every single one of those pretty girls until they beg me for more. And then I'll kill them. The boys I'll just kill, that's not really my thing, but the girls." the demon's voice laughs. "Them I'll be taking every pleasure with."
The connection fades and I grit my teeth, hand closing tightly around the grip of my sword. I take several long breaths before setting it aside and closing my eyes, struggling to force myself to sleep.
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