Before they were scheduled to help cook breakfast, Carmine and Orie were called by Najenda for a short meeting. They sat at the table in the foyer to discuss the details. "The reason I called you both here today is because I want to discuss more about what you two had mentioned a couple of days prior," she began. "Something related to In-Births, Voids and something called the "Hollow Night." I might have some information that could be useful, however I won't know for sure unless you explain what you know."

Orie cleared her throat. "Forgive me for not knowing every detail of the story, but I will do my best to explain."

"Just tell me what you can," said Najenda.

"From what my organization had taught me when I was a small child, about a thousand years ago, a small village welcomed a mysterious traveller into their village. Despite obviously being starved, he had only asked for food once. A couple of days later, in repayment for their generosity, he gathered the villagers together to show them some magic. He made a doll dance and explained the power was something called "existence," or EXS for short. Villagers were terrified of his powers at first, but he explained he could give them the powers as well. One boy stepped forward and asked for the powers. This man slapped the boy on the back and he fell unconscious. Before the villagers could get angry with the man, the boy woke up and felt different. He tried using his powers, but could only rustle some tree branches. The man said that over time, his powers would get stronger. Curious, the other villagers asked for the powers to be bestowed upon them. Eventually, the villagers welcomed the man, who was now known as the Hollow God, into their village permanently. However, a few days later, he had simply vanished, never to be seen again."

"Why haven't I heard any of this before?" asked Carmine.

"Likely you haven't inquired too much about EXS apart from becoming an In-Birth and gaining some powers, correct?" Carmine's grumbles confirmed Orie's suspicion.

"Now I'd like to know more about In-Births and EXS," said the boss. "So far our information seems to be running parallel with each other."

Orie took a few seconds to remember the details correctly. "The Hollow Night appears every time on the night of the full moon at a certain area. Those people who are within the area during the Hollow Night's appearance enter the Void's realm. Normal people who end up getting caught in the Hollow Night usually become the Void's prey, only some awaken as In-Births.

People outside the realm of the Hollow Night cannot see what happens within. Likewise, the people within the Hollow Night cannot view what happens in the real world. All electrical devices are also rendered useless within the Hollow Night.

During a Hollow Night, if a person gets bitten by a Void, it consumes the person's soul and infects their body with the Void's common ability to manipulate EXS. If a person can withstand their sanity during all this, they'll be fully awakened as an In-Birth.

In-Births have access to the Void's common ability, Materialization. It allows an In-Birth to give EXS some sort of unique shape. This is what's usually referred as an EXS ability. In-Births through EXS also obtain enhanced physical abilities, which may be in order for their bodies to handle their given powers.

The EXS abilities are proportional to the wound the person received from the Void - the bigger the wound, the stronger the powers. Although, the bigger wound increases the chances of turning into a Void.

The Hollow God I had mentioned is what we would call "the first In-Birth." It is unknown how he had gotten to become one nor do I know the details of how Voids came to be, however for the past thousand or so years, In-Births and Voids have been living synonymously and have been fighting each other since."

Najenda nodded. "From what I had gathered from your information, I do believe that my theory might be solid enough to explain." Carmine and Orie's ears perked up. "Tell me, are you two familiar with imperial arms?"

"The hell are those?" asked Carmine. "Sounds like a weapon or something."

"Some are, and some aren't." Najenda stood up and grabbed a book from a bookshelf. She sat back down and started flipping through pages. "Over a thousand years ago, the first emperor of the empire gathered magicians, alchemists, biologists, any and all great minds from all the corners of the planet to his court. In an attempt to preserve his legacy and protect his prosperous nation, prior to the current situation we have of course, he had these brilliant minds pool their combined knowledge and pair it with his resources. The end result ended in forty-eight artifacts we know as imperial arms."

"Could you tell us more about these imperial arms?" asked Orie.

"I will tell you more about them some other time, but this is more important. Five centuries ago, about half of them were lost in a civil war. Some before then. Which brings me to an interesting theory I have, which I am slowly being convinced is correct based on your explanation." She flipped to a page in the book that showed a blackish monster along with some information written around it. "As you are probably aware, we have these monsters called dangerbeasts. They vary in sizes, danger levels and abilities. Roughly a thousand years ago, there were these shadow monsters that seemed invisible to people and were devoured by them, only to turn into human forms of those monsters. The corrupted humans were quickly slain and these monsters were classified as various levels of dangerbeast.

However, one man was attacked by these monsters and still managed to stay human, or at least he appeared to be. To add to that, he was able to see the monsters himself. Believing that he could provide some help to the emperor, he was willing to share whatever knowledge he had about his newfound powers and how he could see the monsters. In exchange for the man's knowledge and some essence of the monster, the emperor was able to create an imperial arm that could banish these creatures to another realm, known as Shadow Banishment: Demon Hunter."

"Heh, so this thing could send those monsters somewhere else then, huh?" asked Carmine. "You telling us that the emperor guy sent the Voids to us and that was it?"

Najenda shook her head. "Not exactly. This man used Demon Hunter to find every shadow creature, which I'm guessing is this Void you speak of, to another realm in an effort to protect the empire from suffering any more of their attacks. However, in an attempt to make sure no one else would make contact with the Voids or become like him, he ordered the emperor to use Demon Hunter to send him to the realm he sent these Voids to and then hide the imperial arms so that no one could ever interact with them again. If my theory is correct, not only did the Voids and this Hollow Night seem to be in your realm, but this man happens to be your Hollow God and he was turned into an In-Birth."

Carmine and Orie had their mouths dropped open. "Wait, THIS is where they came from!?" exclaimed Carmine. "Then how the hell did we come here?"

"That I'm not sure about," said Najenda. "Perhaps you interacted with something related to the Voids and this EXS and it brought you back to their origins. Far-fetched, but their origins here leave very few possibilities to discredit."

Orie thought back. "Hold on. Carmine, do you remember when you opened that door after we fought Paradox?"

"Yeah, what about it?" said Carmine. "A bunch of darkness and EXS poured out of it and swallowed us. What does that….have….to…." He looked at Najenda. "No effing way."

"It seems the massive amount of EXS and darkness sent you back to the origin somehow," said Najenda. "Very strange how it would have worked that way, but here you are."

"Wait, if we came here, then doesn't that mean that bitch Hilda is here too?" asked Carmine. "She got swallowed up with us. Plus I don't know how far that darkness stuff reached."

Orie grunted. "I hadn't considered that possibility. It's certainly possible, but I hadn't sensed any other In-Birth activity around the area. Maybe we're not close enough to sense anyone else."

The boss lit up a cigarette. "Anyways, from what I gather, if we were to find Demon Hunter, and assuming it is still in working order, we may be able to send you two back."

Orie was overjoyed. Carmine however, wasn't as thrilled. Orie took notice and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I'd think you would be happy about going back to Kanzakai."

Carmine shook his head. "Why would I want to go back to a place where all I do is fight losers and I only get to use my powers during a Night? Here, I actually have a good reason to kick some ass and I have all the EXS I want thanks to those Voids being here before. Seems pretty pointless to go back there if you ask me."

"But don't you want to live like how you did back at home?" reasoned Orie. "Go to school? See your friends? Your family?" Every single thing she was saying was making Carmine angrier.

He got up and glared at her. "You don't know shit about me or what I want," he growled. He began to walk away.

"Carmine, wait!" cried Orie. "What did I say to-"

"Get away from me!" he snapped. He left the room, leaving the boss and a confused and sad Orie alone.

"What did I say," wondered Orie.

"Probably just needs some time to blow off some steam," said Najenda. "Nevertheless, it would probably be a good idea to talk to him at some point. That's for later though. Akame should be expecting you two for breakfast."

After Akame, Tatsumi, Carmine and Orie made breakfast, them and Leone showed up to eat. They had made croquettes and rice, albeit Carmine was quiet for most of it. "Man, that hit the spot!" said Leone.

"Oh God, my poor stomach," said Tatsumi, patting his stomach. He noticed two untouched bowls across the table from him. "Wait, are Mine and Sheele still in bed?"

"Yeah, they always sleep this late." Akame grabbed both bowls and began devouring the contents of them in only a few seconds.

Everyone else was stunned. "I just witnessed the speed of a true assassin," said Tatsumi in awe.

"Where does she put it all?" asked Orie.

Leone looked over at Carmine's half-eaten bowl. "Yo Carmine, you alright? You ate like half of your food."

He pushed his bowl aside and got up. "I'm not hungry," he said softly. He walked away, leaving his bowl for Akame to drain.

"What's up with him?" asked Tatsumi. "He's been like this all morning."

Orie looked down. "I said something about going back home and Carmine responded badly when I asked him why he didn't want to. I don't know what I said, but he's been in a bad mood ever since."

Leone put a hand on her back. "Hey, don't sweat it! He'll be good to go later, I'm sure of it!" Orie gave a sad smile, but she wasn't fully convinced.

Sheele, half-asleep, walked into the kitchen. She woke up when she noticed her bowl was empty. "What happened to my breakfast?" she asked.

Everyone looked at each other and got up from the table. "No idea," they all said nonchalantly and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a confused Sheele in their wake.

Later that night, Najenda called everyone into the foyer to discuss another assignment. Your next target is the serial killer everyone is talking about," she began. "He appears at night and decapitates people, seeming at random. Right now, the number of victims is unknown."

"I'm pretty sure a third of the people he killed were guards. Must be strong."

"No doubt about it," agreed Lubbock. "Definitely sounds like Headhunter Zanku's work."

Tatsumi turned to him. "Huh? Who's Zanku?"

Mine raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you really don't know? You really are from the sticks, aren't you?"

"S-sorry, but I don't think I've ever heard of him either?" admitted Sheele.

Mine put her hand to her face. "Seriously? You probably just forgot, Sheele."

"So what's the deal with this headhunter guy anyways?" asked Carmine.

"It's worse than you can imagine," began Mine. "Headhunter Zanku used to be the executioner at the biggest prison in the empire. The minister orders a lot of decapitations. Over and over, day in and day out, and one by one, Zanku chopped off their heads as they begged for their lives. Over the years it became an addiction. And now he can't stop."

"That's enough to drive anyone crazy," said Tatsumi.

Mine nodded. "And eventually killing prisoners wasn't enough anymore, so Zanku took it to the streets."

"Zanku disappeared shortly after a subjugation force was organized to catch him," added Bulat. "I never thought he would appear in the city."

"Then what are we waiting for!?" shouted Tatsumi. "Let's take this bastard out!"

Bulat put a hand on his head and calmed him. "Easy, Tiger."

"Yeah, but-"

"Zanku's also equipped with an imperial arms he stole from the warden a few years ago. We better travel in teams of two," Bulat leaned in close. "In case it's a rough ride." Tatsumi's eyes faltered uncomfortably.

Mine turned to the boss. "By the way, do we have any idea which imperial arms he might be fighting with?"

"No, we're still looking into that," said Najenda with a shake of her head.

"Not about to reveal his hand then," wondered Leone. "That's annoying."

"So, uh, what is an imperial arms anyways?" asked Tatsumi, only to be met with Akame's sword being inches away from him.

"Something like this," she said.

"That's….not that helpful," said Tatsumi, still shaken by the draw of the sword.

Orie turned to Najenda. "Yes, I seem to remember saying something about imperial arms when you had talked to us about Demon Hunter. Could you tell us more about these things?"

"Very well then, let's bring you three up to speed." Najenda folded her hands together. "A thousand years ago, the first emperor who built the great empire was deeply troubled. He was met with the trouble of finding a way to protect his empire for future generations. He knew that he would die someday, but he knew that weaponry and armor could last generation after generation. Therefore, he decided that he would create weapons and armor that would be able to protect his empire then and for every generation thereafter. He gathered materials from S-class dangerbeasts and rare metals such as orichalcum. Artisans from around the world were summoned to help him. The emperor's wealth and power allowed him to forge forty-eight weapons. A feat that would be impossible today. He called them the "imperial arms." Each one are equipped with amazing abilities, and some are able to wipe out entire armies. Ministers who used the imperial arms were quite successful on the battlefield."

Najenda looked at Carmine and Orie. "However, a civil war caused nearly five hundred years ago caused nearly half of them to be scattered across the land. And that's where it all began. Demon Hunter is one of these imperial arms that had been scattered. The whereabouts are unknown."

"Wait, what's Demon Hunter?" asked Leone. "First time I've heard of it."

"I'll explain more after I finish this explanation," said the boss. She looked at Akame. "The one-hit killer, Murasame. When someone is cut by this sword, a poisonous curse enters the body and kills within seconds. There is no antidote"

She turned to Leone. "Hundred-beast king transformation, Lionelle. This belt gives the wearer all the strength and swiftness of a wild animal. It also enhances the sense of smell, making it perfect for recon."

Next was Mine. "The adventurous bunker, Pumpkin. A gun that fires mental energy in the form of a shockwave. The more danger its wielder is in, the more deadly it becomes."

She looked at Bulat. "The demon armor, Incursio. A suit of armor with impregnable defense. Wearing it causes such great strain that any normal person who attempts to put it on will die."

Lubbock was next. "The protean, Cross Tail. A string-based imperial arms that can be used to set traps and barriers, as well as attack enemies directly. It's just as versatile and dangerous as the name suggests."

Lastly, was Sheele's explanation. "The shears of creation, Extase. A giant pair of scissors sharp enough to cut anything in half. They are also strong enough to be used defensively."

Najenda shifted her focus back to Carmine, Orie and Tatsumi. "Some imperial arms also have trump cards. Incursio maximizes the abilities of the beast used to create it, making its user become temporarily invisible. Most importantly, the imperial arms have all followed one iron-clad rule since their inception. These weapons are so incredible that whenever two of them clash, it always ends in death. Therefore, if two imperial arms users choose to fight, one of them will definitely perish."

"So what is this Demon Hunter thing you mentioned?" asked Tatsumi.

Najenda explained everything Carmine and Orie had talked about that morning. Voids, EXS, In-Births, the Hollow God, the origins of the Voids being in this realm, Carmine and Orie's arrival, the imperial arms created from the materials of the Void and the Hollow God's hand in creating it before his departure. "Therefore, while our goals as Night Raid take priority over all else, I would ask that you keep your eyes and ears open about the whereabouts of Demon Hunter," said Najenda. "Carmine and Orie are still a part of Night Raid and I expect them to assist us as part of Night Raid. However, I would like to send them back to where they had come from if it is at all possible."

"You guys have some weird vocabulary though," retched Lubbock. "An In-Birth? Man that sounds all sorts of wrong."

"I guess it's not all bad though," said Leone. "After all, we don't have to deal with those Void things hunting down people in the empire and infecting them."

"Nevertheless, I had finally figured out why we could use our powers despite there not being a Night," said Orie. "The origins of the Voids being here must have left behind the EXS they possessed, therefore we can still use our powers regardless."

"We still have to deal with that bitch Paradox though," said Carmine. "Something tells me that she's still hiding around here if she got swallowed up with us. And MAN am I gonna love finishing her off when I see her!"

"We'll keep our eyes open for any sign of this Paradox woman you speak of," said Najenda. "But for right now, we have the mission to discuss. We know Zanku has an imperial arms. While mutual death is a possibility, mutual survival is clearly not."

Lubbock pulled a string and put it in front of Tatsumi's neck. "Uh-oh, looks like we've revealed way too much to let you out of here now," he joked. "So unless you want to die, I guess you're just stuck with us for life."

"U-uh..yeah," nervously answered Tatsumi.

"That's a good thing, Tatsumi," said Leone. "It means the boss considers you a part of the team now!"

"Oh come on!" complained Tatsumi. "You guys are giving me a hard time when they get off scot-free!?"

"What's the point?" scoffed Mine. "If we can find this Demon Hunter thingamajig, then they leave. You're stuck with us no matter what." She shot a look at Carmine. "Besides, blood-boy over here is a walking comedy show anyways."

"Screw you, half-pint," muttered Carmine.

"What was that!?" Mine and Carmine started getting into each other's faces.

"Alright, you two can stop that." Everyone's eyes shifted to the boss again. "While it's true Night Raid is lacking in numbers, we make up for it with our individual abilities. I believe we're the heart of the revolution."

"Wait, what about me?" asked Tatsumi. "Do I get one?"

"What? You really think we have a weapon that we can just give you?" chided Mine.

"Huh? You don't?"

Najenda laughed. "If the opportunity arises, I am sure you'll be getting your own soon enough. I am sure the same opportunity will come for you two as well."

Orie looked at her rapier. "I'm not sure I can find something to replace my Ruler with though," she said. "I've used it for as long as I can remember. It's also what I use to call Thanatos."

"Is that the knight thing's name?" asked Carmine. Orie nodded. "Well, I sure as hell ain't replacing my blood spike. Can't find a better weapon than this."

Najenda stood up. "Nothing further at this time. Now let's go punish this scumbag. Move out!"

That night, Night Raid made their move on Zanku. They split up into four teams: Tatsumi and Akame, Carmine and Orie, Bulat and Leone, and Mine and Sheele. The two In-Births were walking down a couple of main streets to get a read on him. Orie noticed Carmine was being unusually distant though. "S-so," she nervously began. "Zanku's around here somewhere. Do you hear anything?"

"Nope," said Carmine flatly.

Orie sighed. "Erm...are you hungry? We can stop and get-"

"Nope." Same response.

Orie took a deep breath. "I don't know what I said earlier, but are you still mad at me?"

Carmine stopped. "Just keep looking for this asshole. Being with you is already pissing me off enough as it is."

Orie walked in front of him to face him. "Listen, I don't know what I did to irritate you this morning, but can you please tell me something? I want to try and make it ri-"

Carmine leaned in really close, eyes leering into her. "Let's just say I've got nothing to go back to compared to here. Happy?" He pulled off from her and kept walking.

Orie hung her head and kept walking. Suddenly, she heard some blades clash. "Carmine!" she called. "I heard something!"

"Then lead on already!" spat Carmine. "I want to put this punk down and go home!" They ran for the sound of the clashing blades, hoping that they found Zanku.

Soon, they came to an open plaza to find Tatsumi battling a large man with a grin with far too many teeth, an overcoat, two blades on his arms and a green eyeball placed in the center of his head. Tatsumi looked like he was on the losing side and he dropped to his knees, bleeding badly. The man turned to the two of them. "Oh? Looks like some more prey saved me the trouble of hunting them down!" he said. "How delightful!"

"That's my line, asshole!" yelled Carmine. He changed colors. "I'm the-"

"Predator, not the prey?" Carmine shook. The man laughed. "I already explained it to this brat, but it sounds like you may not know me. I am the one known as Headhunter Zanku."

"That eyeball must be your imperial arms then," said Orie.

"Oh my, what a perceptive one we have here!" said Zanku. He looked at Carmine and frowned. "Seems like you have quite the graphic imagination there on how to kill people."

A vein popped into Carmine's head. "Gah, just shut up! You don't-"

"Know anything about you?" Zanku laughed. "The imperial arm's name is Spectator. This imperial arms has blessed me with five special gifts. One of them is insight, meaning I can read your every thought! You may have thought you were hunting me down, when you didn't realize I was doing the hunting! My farsight helped me find this whelp, who's bleeding profusely I might add."

Orie stood in a battle stance. "Headhunter Zanku, for your crimes against the people of this nation, I-"

"Sentence me to death, prepare yourself, blah blah blah." Orie grunted. "Your monologue seems too practiced to sound profound, you know? How many times are you going to-" Orie tried to charge him and thrust her rapier through his heart, only to be swatted to the ground. Zanku picked her up. "Come on, can't let a guy finish his own monologue? You're no better than him." He pointed at Tatsumi. "Besides, you know I can still read your mind, don't you!"

Carmine let out a howl and pounced on Zanku with a blood blade, only for Zanku to raise his arm up without even looking. Both blades clashed and Carmine was repelled. Zanku turned around to Carmine and threw Orie over to him. "Blood? What a delightful ability you have!" he chirped. "Is that an imperial arms I don't know about?"

Carmine smirked. "Hah! None of those dumb weapons could ever compare to my blood spike! Not even your stupid eyeball!"

Zanku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A natural ability is it? Now this makes it even more fun!"

"Oh, it's gonna get real fun in a second here," sneered Carmine. "Get ready, Cyclops!"

Carmine ran full-force at Zanku, swinging wildly at him. Zanku kept blocking with his own arm blades. "Your offense is unpredictable," he said. He pushed his arms up and sent Carmine's up too. "But your defense is!" He slashed at Carmine and left a massive gash across his chest.

"Guh, damn it!" retched Carmine, clutching his chest. He saw the blood spilling from him and around Zanku. He got an idea, only to be met with Zanku stomping his foot on Carmine's back.

"I don't know what you do with that blood," said Zanku. "But I sure as hell ain't going to let you use it on me!" He kicked Carmine away and stepped away from the blood.

"I'm not done yet!" said Tatsumi. He got up and slashed upwards at Zanku, only to be pushed back towards the In-Births.

"Oh? Not done yet?" Zanku laughed. "Good! I hate to see people die too fast. It doesn't make it any fun that way." Now give me everything you got!"

Orie turned to Tatsumi. "Hold him off as long as you can," she said. "I'll tend to Carmine's wound."

Carmine coughed. "Get off," he growled, trying to stand. "I don't need your help! I can still get him!"

"Just take a break for now," said Orie. "Please, Tatsumi."

"Right!" Tatsumi pointed his sword towards the executioner. He ran towards him and lunged his sword multiple times at Zanku, which hit nothing every single time.

"Oh, I do appreciate ambitious young people like you!" said Zanku while dodging Tatsumi's attacks. "But I think you're going to be a perfect addition to my collection of heads!" He slashed at Tatsumi at every angle he could find. Tatsumi managed to block some, but Zanku left multiple cuts across his whole body.

"Hah! Delightful!" Tatsumi stood there, bleeding even worse than before, barely able to stand. "I must say," began Zanku. "I did quite a number on that firm resolve of yours. That pitiful sound of a tough guy begging for mercy is music to my ears!" He turned to Carmine. "Sounds like you might know a thing or two about that, hmm?"

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!" barked Carmine. He pushed Orie off of him and tried to stand, only to drop to a knee again.

"Yes! Feel free to beg! You might be able to buy enough time for your friends to catch up!"

Tatsumi spat a bit of blood. "Don't hold your breath," he said. "You're just some filthy bastard who gets his kicks from chopping off heads. There's no way in hell I'm begging you for anything!"

Zanku smiled. "Oh, aren't you courageous! And in so much pain too! It's a good thing you're in the hands of an expert executioner."

Tatsumi raised his sword. "This is it!" He dashed at Zanku with lightning speed, surprising the latter. He left a cut on Zanku's face, along with surprise and concern.

"Heh, it's about time I got one in," said Tatsumi. As soon as he said that, a giant cut opened up on his back, but not enough to drop him. "An expert executioner, huh?" he said. He turned around to face Zanku again. "An expert executioner wouldn't have missed my neck. Some headhunter you turned out to be."

"Shut your mouth!" yelled Zanku. He dashed towards Tatsumi at blazing fast speeds and lunged.

"Thanatos!" yelled Orie. The paladin met Zanku's blades and swung down, making Zanku leap back.

He turned to the sound of the call to find Orie using her rapier to control it. "I've had enough of you two too!" He dashed to them to be stopped by Murasame implanting itself into the ground between them. They all looked into the sky to find Akame making her way down to the ground.

Akame picked up her sword and got into a stance. She smirked. "He looks pretty upset. You must have used your own psychological tactics."

"Talk about timing," sighed Orie in relief.

Akame turned to Carmine and Orie. "Just sit tight. I'll finish him off and then I'll help tend to those wounds you both have."

Zanku smiled. He tore off his overcoat. "Well if it isn't Akame and her infamous Murasame! How delightful, nice to meet you, dear."

"So nice to meet you as well," sneered Akame. "Since you're my target."

Zanku opened up his Spectator. "X-ray," he said.

"Careful Akame!" warned Tatsumi. "That thing can read your mind!"

"I see. I wondered which imperial arms you would be using." Akame steeled herself. "No matter. It makes no difference if he can read my mind if he can't keep up!" She dashed hard at Zanku and lunged. Both traded swings for a few seconds, each clash sounding louder and louder. Akame sent a roundhouse kick his way, which pushed him back several feet.

"So this is an imperial arms duel," said Orie.

Akame tried striking from the top, which was barely blocked by Zanku. Seeing the surprise in her eyes, Zanku swung down, cracking the pavement with it. Akame dodged, but not without receiving a scratch on her leg. "Come on now, it wouldn't be very fair if I couldn't rough you up a little bit, now would it?" taunted Zanku.

"You can see what I'm thinking and what I'm about to do," said Akame. "I'd say we're even."

"So Akame, tell me. How do you deal with the voices?"

Akame tilted her head in confusion. "Voices?"

Zanku looked to the ground. "Listen closely, you can hear them. The people I've killed are screaming at me from hell. They sound so angry. And they're constantly yelling at me to hurry up and join them down there! I've been hearing them every day since I became an executioner. And it keeps getting worse. I just keep talking to drown out the noise. So tell me, what do you do about-"

"I don't hear them," answered Akame. That threw off Zanku a bit. "Your voices. I don't hear anything like that."

"Interesting. I thought that for such an experienced assassin you for sure would understand." He readied his blades. "YOU HAVE DISAPPOINTED ME!"

Akame's expression changed. Her eyes went wide with surprise. She saw a girl that looked similar to her, wearing a sailor outfit. "K-kurome…" she stammered.

"What's wrong, Akame!?" yelled Tatsumi. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

"She can't," said Zanku. "Illusionary sight creates a mirage of the person you care most about in this world. Right now, she's looking at a vision of someone so important to her that she can't bring herself to do harm to me."

"So that's why I thought I saw Sayo," said Tatsumi. "Akame! Please! Don't let him get to you! It's not real!"

"Don't bother. It may only work on one target but it's extremely hypnotic. Besides, no matter how much skill you have, nobody can make themselves kill the one they love the most, CAN THEY!?" He lept up, ready to strike Akame down. "This is the last thing you'll see before you die, Akame. Enjoy it!"

Akame still slashed at the mirage, and by extension, Zanku. He blocked and freaked out at the reaction. "Wh-what the hell!?" he cried. "You were supposed to see the person you loved the most!"

Akame's voice was calm. "My desire to kill her," she began. "Is because I love her so dearly. It's time for this battle to end." Zanku's blade began to chip, disturbing him further. "I'll start by destroying that weapon first!"

Both imperial arms users ran at each other full force, ready to make their blades meet. Akame was swinging fast, making Zanku reckless and more focused on defending. Unfortunately his defensive tactics were starting to break his blades more. "Back off of me!" he yelled. He kicked Akame several feet away. Unfortunately for him, he looked down to see himself stepping in the bit of blood released from Carmine earlier. "N-no…"

"RISE!" yelled Carmine. He weakly threw up his arm, which sent multiple stalagmites going through Zanku's entire lower body and his blades, which broke on impact.

"You are done," said Akame. She cut his throat apart, dropping him to the ground.

"You did it!" cheered Tatsumi.

"Nice work," Orie said to Carmine.

Carmine coughed. "Yeah...great...he went...down…" He dropped to the ground unconscious. Orie patched up his wound in time, but his lack of blood couldn't keep him awake.

Akame looked at Zanku's body. "Zanku. Those voices. May they never haunt you again."

The headband on Zanku's Spectator broke. He looked up to the night sky. "The voices...they're gone…it's...delightful...I thank you…Akame." Those were the last words he spoke before he perished from the earth forever.

Orie put Carmine's arm around her shoulder. Akame grabbed Spectator from Zanku's head. "The mission is complete. Let's find the others and report back."

"Right. Well done," replied Orie. The four of them went to rendezvous with the rest of the team and report back to the boss. The mission was complete and they managed to gain another imperial arms.