Disclaimer: I do not own Dark souls or Akame ga Kiru

Soul of the Truth part 2

Dr. Stylish's funeral was rather extravagant, as Esdeath had made sure that he was well honored for his scientific service to the empire. Unfortunately, this did not stop the proceedings from feeling almost fake. Aside from Stylish's extended team of modified humans and the Jaegers themselves, especially Seryu, no one else at the funeral really truly cared for him. There were a few nobles that knew him, and were partners in his scientific research, but they would never be as involved as the doctor himself, while many others saw his rampant modification of humans outright disturbing.

The emperor sympathized with the team of imperial arms users, but he did not know the doctor personally, so his presence there, along with the prime minister's was purely political. General Budo would have been forced to attend was it not for him wanting to beef up security in the recruiting stations and some of the small forts outside of the capital. Everyone that was there was dressed in proper attire, often a black dress or a back suit. Except for Adrien, who was instead wearing the Drakeblood armor set, making him stand out amongst the crowd. Esdeath had originally wanted him to wear a tux, but after he had showed her the armor, she figured the regal looking set would work even better.

"Although, it would be nice if you were okay with showing your face." Esdeath commented as she stood next to Adrien, the two of them observing the gathering. The Jaegers, barring themselves and Seryu were sitting by a table, most of them drinking something. Except for Kurome and Bols, who chose not to drink anything. Seryu was still by where Dr. Stylish had been lowered into the ground, with Koro right next to her. The two of them had very sullen expressions on their faces. The sky above them all was grey, a clear mirror to the mood on the ground.

"I prefer to have a helmet on, or at least some form of protection." Adrien replied, as he watched the nobles and aristocrats chat. Most of them talking about things that had nothing to do with what was happening right before them. Adrien then looked over to the emperor, who was on a small stand with the prime minister. The child emperor looked rather displeased, although Adrien could not tell why.

"I do not think you have to worry about that here my dear." Esdeath reassured, and Adrien glanced at her, still confused why she was so enamored with him. Have I done something for her to gain her interest? Perhaps it is some trait I possess? It does not matter now I suppose. She will find out the err of her ways in time. Adrien thought to himself. "Anyways, how do I look?" She suddenly asked, and Adrien glanced at her. She had a simple black sleeveless dress on, but was also form fitting, accentuating her rather impressive assets. Her arm was still bandaged, and she was still favoring her uninjured leg, but other than those two things, she had recovered rather quickly from their bout. So quickly, that Adrien was fairly certain that whatever allowed her to do so, was not natural.

"You look nice." Adrien responded simply, and while Esdeath would have liked to have gotten a better reaction from him, she still smiled at the compliment. I want to see more of him. Esdeath thought as she stepped a bit closer to the knight. I want to know more of him, this mystery both infuriates me, and fascinates me at the same time. Perhaps when I begin training him tomorrow, I will see more of him. Her thoughts were cut off when a familiar face began approaching them, and Esdeath couldn't help but frown.

"Ashen one? May I speak with Seryu? I feel she is feeling great sorrow." The Firekeeper asked as she approached from where there were refreshments being served. Adrien responded immediately.

"Not yet, when she has had some time to think, then you may speak with her. In the meantime, go stay with the Jaegers." The Firekeeper nodded before she went over to where the Jaegers were, being able to sense their distinct souls. Adrien looked over at Seryu and frowned behind his helmet. He understood her pain, but she needed to handle this pain on her own first, only then will she grown stronger.

"Impossible." Kurome objected after hearing Bols recount his mission two nights ago. "No one can survive Murasame's blade. Unless you think he's some kind of imperial arms...or he isn't alive." Bols shook his head, more so in confusion than disagreement.

"I don't know, but I saw what I saw." Bols reaffirmed, and Wave seemed both stunned and confused.

"So, let me get this straight." Wave began, attempting to get a grasp of the situation he was being confronted with. "We have a super strong, super tough guy that can whip out super powerful weapons and armor at a whim, can use firearms, some kind of fire magic, almost beat Esdeath in a fight, AND he's immune to the poison of the one-cut-killer!? Who the hell is this guy!?" He said a bit louder that he meant too, but thankfully no one else at the party seemed to really care. Run hummed as he put a hand up to his chin.

"He's obviously someone that hasn't been showing all of his cards. If what we've seen so far is any indication of what he can do, there's no telling what else he's hiding inside that box...or himself." Run said as Wave nodded. In all honesty, Run was a bit thankful that Adrien was on their side. He knew for a fact that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of Adrien's weapons. He reached for his drink and took a sip, the wine creating a pleasant warmth within him. Then he sensed someone approaching behind him. He turned to see the Firekeeper, or her now proper name, Lilith.

"Hey Lilith, wanna sit down?" Bols offered, gesturing toward the empty seat next to him. She nodded in thanks before taking a seat, albeit a bit hesitantly due to her inability to actually see it.

"Well...How are you?" Wave asked with some trepidation, him and no one else wanting to really continue their previous conversation with the woman around. At least at the moment.

"I am fine, but I wish the circumstances were different." Lilith replied.

"Don't we all." Bols said, seemingly echoing everyone's thoughts. They were all silent for a moment before Wave spoke up again.

"What's going to happen now? Are we going to do the next mission? Or is Esdeath going to want to find a new member?"

"She may." Run said, while looking over to the general in question. "Although we will most likely simply continue on with the next mission, whenever and whatever that may entail."

"Lilith." Kurome suddenly said, looking toward the woman. Lilith moved her head toward the young girl, her face mask staring into the girl's eyes. "What is Adrien?" Her question had a sense of force in it, as if she suspected what the answer might be, while the other Jaegers looked on in curiosity.

Lilith was not sure what to say back. She could tell the the truth, but would the Ashen one want that? And if she lied, would that also not cause more trouble in the future? They were all expecting an answer of some kind, and in all honesty, she wanted to tell them the truth but decided to avoid the question.

"It is not my place to speak in the Ashen one's stead. He would answer your question if you asked him." Kurome narrowed her eyes at the woman but decided not to press the issue.

"Hey Kurome, didn't you mean 'who is Adrien'? Not 'what'" Wave said with a hint of confusion, and Kurome got up, her bag of cookies still in her hand.

"I said what I meant."

"So, what exactly does this 'training' entail?" Adrien asked, as he and Esdeath approached the same yard where they had their duel several days ago. Esdeath had discussed with him about how she wished to train areas of combat in which he lacked. If Adrien was honest with himself, it had offended him a little, but soon got over it. He could get better, as everyone can improve, but he doubted how Esdeath could show him something he did not already have a firm grasp on though.

"Don't misunderstand, your combat skills are impressive, but there is one particular area I believe you could certainly improve in." Esdeath responded, her voice not condescending, but instead had a slight admiration in it. Adrien noticed this , but did not comment further. "Now, stand there." She said, pointing to a plain spot on the grassy ground. Adrien complied, and was now facing Esdeath. "Close your eyes and don't move. If you sense something about to happen, act on it." He nodded again.

Esdeath began to circle the knight, stalking him, like a Tiger would its prey. He really hasn't moved, nor is his head turning. Esdeath thought as she looked at his face, the abyss watcher helmet allowing her to see his eyes were still closed. She quietly circled to his back, and silently made a rapier of ice. She pointed it at his back in preparation for a strike, but he didn't move. Even with me exerting this much Killing intent, he isn't reacting at all. Esdeath swiftly drover her rapier into Adrien's back, and retracted it. The knight turned around with his large zweihander and shield, preparing for a fight. It is like I suspected, he doesn't have any idea what a murdering intent feels like, or he's simply completely numb to it. Esdeath concluded as she dropped the ice rapier. Bu at the same time...

"I've seen what I need too. You completely lack any sense of Killing Intent." Esdeath sated firmly. "While you may not be able to sense it, you also don't convey it either. A blessing and a curse." Adrien looked at her for several moments before shaking his head.

"What exactly is 'Killing Intent'?" Adrien's question caused Esdeath to chuckle.

"It's a feeling someone radiates when they are trying or planning to kill someone. Some people can learn to pick up on this feeling with training or they can learn to control the killing intent they put out with similar techniques. The former is exactly the kind of training I'll be teaching you, how to detect killing intent. You already seem to lack giving it off already, but if you could sense it, you would be nearly unstoppable." Esdeath's smile could be called satisfied, but excited would be another appropriate term.

Adrien considered this, as he had never thought about or experienced a real 'Killing Intent'. If such a thing existed, then Esdeath was right. He would be much stronger. The problem is that his status as an undead might actually be hampering this 'killing intent' from having an impact on him. Esdeath got his attention again.

"For the next few hours we will be working on your ability to sense Killing intent." Esdeath said, as she once again formed some weapons from ice. "Let's begin."

"This is quite nice Seryu." Lilith said as she sipped on some tea next to the young guard in question. Seryu hummed as she sipped some tea herself, and Koro licked up a bowl of water on the ground next to her.

"It is, I'm glad we can do this kind of thing." Seryu said happily, before she looked down with a solemn expression. "I wish Dr. Stylish could join us." Lilith frowned at that, but before she could respond, Bols entered the room. He was wearing an apron on top of his normal white pair of pants, and he was holding a baking sheet of cookies.

"I've made cookies!" He said with excitement, before he noticed the atmosphere in the room, and how Seryu and Lilith were both rather downtrodden. From behind him, a woman with a young girl in her hands appeared as well. Seryu seemed to perk up a bit.

"Bols." Seryu paused, and looked to the two others behind her. "Kije, Lougue, sorry, I'm just thinking about Stylish." Seryu said sadly, and Bols nodded in understanding.

"I hope we aren't intruding." The one named Kije said with a bit of solemness. She was a woman roughly Bol's age with long light brown hair and wore a frilly pick dress with white baggy short sleeves. The young girl she was holding wore a small pink dress, had bright blue eyes, and short blonde hair. She had a slightly worried and confused expression on her face as she observed the room. Seryu smiled a fake smile as they entered.

"I'll be fine, still a bit mournful I guess." Seryu reassured, and Kije nodded. Bols approached the two and set the tray of cookies down on the table they were sitting at. Lougue's eyes brightened up as her mother sat down at the table, within arms reach, of the tray.

"Well, please, eat as many as you like." Bols said and Seryu nodded in thanks, but made no move for the baked treat. Lilith however, did. She carefully reached out, and accidently touched the still hot tray, eliciting a small gasp.

"Oh, here Ms. Lilith," Kije said as she let Lougue sit on the edge of the table and plucked some of the cookies from the tray. One she gave to Lilith, who nodded in thanks, one she gave to Lougue who gleefully began to eat, and another she gave to Bols.

"Thanks honey." Bols said as he observed his daughter eat with glee.

"I am glad your family hath came to visit." Lilith said as she took a bite of the cookie. "Their company is most pleasant." Bols laughed a bit.

"Thank you, Ms. Lilith, I'm glad I was able to visit too." Kije said and then faced Lougue. "With Bol's type of work, it's a bit difficult to be able to visit him often, but Lougue couldn't last long without seeing her father." She smiled as she said this, and Lougue seemed to affirm this with a nod.

"Yea! I wanted to see daddy!" Lougue said with glee, before Bols picked her up, eliciting an excited sequel from the girl. Lougue then giggled as she was placed on Bol's shoulders.

"Thats my girl! I don't know what I would do without seeing you two for too long either." Bols laughed as Lougue giggled on his shoulders. Kije laughed as well, and Lilith listened to them with a content smile on her face. Seryu looked over to them, and had a rather genuine smile, although it was laced with the same mournful sadness she had earlier. Lilith placed a hand on Seryu's shoulder, even without looking, and the blind woman smiled.

"How touching." A new voice said with fake genuineness. Everyone turned to see a young man standing in the doorway to the Jaeger meeting room they were in. He had dark skin, and light purple hair, and an X shaped scar on his face. He was rather muscular, and only wore a skin tight; half-shirt for his torso, and what looked like a half-kilt with long leggings, all white. He had a rather shit-eating grin on his face, as if everything was about to go according to plan. "My name is Syura, and I couldn't help but notice that a very particular girl was here." He said as he stared at Lilith. "I hope you don't mind if I... Barge in?"

"W-Who are you?" Seryu asked, unsure of the new arrival, and discomforted by his tone. Syura's smirk only grew in size.

"Who am I? Why, you all should know that already right?" The man asked, and licked his lips, making the others that could see him uncomfortable.

"Well we don't." Bols suddenly stated, handing his daughter back over to Kije. "Why don't you inform us, Syura." The hostility in his tone was not lost on anyone and was to be expected. His friends, and his wife and child were all there. This Syura was not giving him a feeling of trustworthiness either. The man's smile dropped a bit as he fetched an item on his belt. Seryu and Bols stood up, not knowing what the device was, nor expecting it to be some kind of party favor.

"He is the Prime Minister's son." Another new voice called, this one much more familiar. Esdeath walked in to the room with an unamused expression, her eyes being fixed on the dark skinned; man. From behind her, Adrien approached as well, and upon noticing everyone that was in the room, and the new, very much potential threat, he quickly got between the table and the man.

"Oh, Esdeath is here, and she brought a guest." Syura said, looking over to Adrien. "You're that powerful knight I keep hearing about. Then maybe I should make my intentions clear." Adrien focused his gaze on the man, sizing up the kind of threat he could pose. "That woman over there, the blind one, she's your servant, right? I want her. Plain and simple. I've been with a lot of women before, but I've never seen such a radiant beauty. Hand her over, and I promise I won't kill all of you at a later date." The sheer boldness of his statement made everyone pause, and Esdeath glared at him. Kije hid Lougue and held her close, while Bols still stood defensively. Seryu glared at the man for daring to threaten her friend, while Adrien stood stock still, seemingly giving no reaction to Syura.

"I don't think that's going to happen." Esdeath said, making Syura shift his attention to her. "While I have no attachment to Adrien's little servant, he does, and if he winds up fighting you over her, I will have no choice but to aid him. As his Lover, it is my duty to do this much." Syura seemed very surprised by that.

"You two are together?" Syura asked with disbelief, then he seemed to realize the kind of situation he found himself in. He was confident in his abilities, but to take on the empire's strongest, a man with comparable strength, and two other imperial arms users on top of that? Even he had to admit it wouldn't be smart to pick a fight now. "Fine. But one day I'll have my hands on that little flower of yours." Syura said with a wicked smile, before he turned around left out the doorway he came through.

"That was...the prime minister's son?" Seryu asked incredulously, and Esdeath nodded as she approached the rest of them.

"Yes, and as much as I would love to say that you should all ignore him... he has both influence and strength. Although if he does cause real trouble, come to me. I'll take care of it." Esdeath explained, before she turned to Adrien. "Unless your Adrien and can simply beat him if it ever came to a fight." Her voice was laced with humor, and while Seryu and Bols did chuckle a bit, Adrien did not seem amused.

"He threatened the Firekeeper." Adrien stated simply, still keeping his eyes on where Syura had left. "He threatened all of us." Bols nodded at this.

"I agree." Bols said, turning to Esdeath. "He said 'all of you' while Kije and Lougue were here. That doesn't exactly instill any kind of confidence that he won't try to come again, when we aren't all here." Esdeath seemed to consider that as she put a hand to her chin.

"We'll simply have to be on the lookout. At the moment, there's nothing I can do about a simple threat. Like I said though, if he appears again, come get me." Bols nodded at Esdeath's words, as did Seryu. Adrien glanced at her but nodded as well. This elicited a smile from the general. "Now, why don't we all go get a bite to eat?"

Akame winced as Susanoo redressed her wounds. She was covered in bandages, one particularly large bandaged was draped across her chest and shoulder where Adrien had inflicted a rather heavy strike. Tatsumi and Lubbock were next to her as well. While Incursio had protected Tatsumi from the majority of any injuries, there was still some potential internal trauma that had been addressed some time ago. Meaning the teen was also covered in bandages that sheathed his chest. Lubbock had not been so lucky, as the green haired assassin had been nicked and sliced not only by Adrien's strange attacks, but also by the fake guests and strange humans that they also had to deal with that night.

"That stings." Lubbock said as he rubbed his chest where he had been struck by Adrien. Tatsumi looked at him incredulously. They were all inside of the mess hall within their headquarters, having just finished with their breakfast.

"Really? We all got our asses handed to us. No need to whine." Tatsumi said, and before Lubbock could retort, Leone walked in. The blonde was also covered in bandages, although the most prominent wound was on her mid-section, there were quite a few smaller bandages around her arms, shoulders, and chest.

"Hope you guys are doin good, cause I'm doin great!" Leone exclaimed cheerily, and the three injured assassins glared at her. "Oh right, no regeneration hehe." She said sheepishly, before a more sympathetic expression crossed her face. "But in all seriousness, you guys doing alright?"

"I guess. Just really sore." Tatsumi said as he moved his hand to where Adrien had struck his side multiple times. Leone nodded as she approached the teen.

"Well, if your up to it, we still have a mission coming up." Leone said, and Tatsumi nodded, remembering how they discussed details a few days ago.

"That right, the assistant to the leader of the path of peace right?" Tatsumi asked, and Leone nodded, a cheeky smile on her face.

"Yep, I guess he didn't hit you too hard, or else you might have forgotten." Leone chuckled, as did Tatsumi and Lubbock. "Think you'll still be up to it?" Tatsumi nodded, a determined smile on his face. "Good. What about you Lubbock? Think you'll be able to work for a living?" Lubbock chuckled a bit at her words.

"Give me another day and I think I'll be alright." Lubbock said while flexing his hands, before he turned to Akame. "But..." Akame fixed him with a crimson gaze, her eyes narrowing slightly. Tatsumi and Leone looked to the black haired; assassin with a bit of worry. Realizing this, Akame sighed as she closed her eyes.

"I know." Akame conceded. "I can't fight like this, but you all have Sheele. She'll be more than enough to ensure the mission goes smoothly." Akame said with her usual emotionless tone, before she glanced at the ground. Susanoo had just finished his work and stood up to look at all of them.

"Do not worry, I will do my best to ensure that this 'Adrien' pays for his crimes." Susanoo said suddenly, causing the rest of the assassins there to look at him with a slightly shocked expression, but a no less satisfied one. Tatsumi stood up as well and approached the living imperial arms.

"Thank you, Susanoo. That means a lot." Tatsumi said earnestly, and Susanoo gave the young assassin a small smile. Lubbock looked to Leone, who seemed to have a satisfied smile on her face as she watched the exchange. Akame looked up at them and smiled herself, but a lingering worry couldn't help but stay in her mind about what might come to be.

Mine walked quickly through the halls of Night Raid's headquarters, her steps echoing slightly within the empty hall. She was approaching her destination with a determined, if not threatening expression on her face, and was walking with aggressive speed. Then she reached where she needed to be. A simple door, one of many that was inside of Night Raid's headquarters, but this one in particular was different, not only because it led to a bedroom, but because it led to the bedroom of one of their newest members, Lapp.

"Lapp!" Mine announced loudly as she slammed the door open, not even waiting on him to respond. She found the armored man sitting on his bed, holding a book, and now looking at her through his helmet's visor. "You'll be going on a mission with us soon. Even though you haven't had official training by us, the Boss says your ready to go...So I need to tell you something." Her gaze remained serious as she stared directly into his visor. "You better be good at fighting, cause if I find out any one of us got hurt because you didn't do your job right, I'll kill you myself." Lapp closed the book as he chuckled a bit.

"Is that so? Then I'll make it my utmost duty to protect the rest of my comrades then." Lapp said plainly, and Mine appraised him for a few moments, searching for any signs of dishonesty. She did not see one, but also found him hard to read because of his helmet. He always wore it...just like she assumed Adrien did.

"And why exactly should I trust you with that? The Boss might have let you in, but I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we don't exactly trust you." Mine said boldly, and Lapp looked at the ground.

"I know, and I apologize if I seem... untrustworthy, but I promise you, I will protect your friends in this next mission. If I had been with them during the last one, I would have tried my best to have taken the most strikes." Lapp said plainly, and Mine raised an eyebrow at that.

"Confident in your armor, are you?" Mine asked with a bit of a smug look, but Lapp nodded nonetheless.

"Very, but also my Shield, as it has never not withstood a strike." Lapp said, looking over to where his shield and strange halberd were leaning against the far wall. Mine was actually closer to the weapons than he was. Mine examined the weapons from a distance, but she couldn't really tell how good they were, only that from the marks and scratches they had, the weapon and shield had seen a fair bit of action.

"Alright, well...I guess I'm going to have to trust you, make sure you make a good first impression." Mine said, before she turned a left the man to his book. Lapp stared at the door for a second, before he let out a sigh.

These people...Night Raid. They're suspicious of me, even more suspicious than Adrien was when I had lost my memory, but once I show them they can trust me... well, It'll make my life a bit easier. Patches thought to himself before he opened up his book again. I should find a way to apologize to Adrien for the trouble I'm about to cause him.. but I can't just wait for him to fix everything. Patches looked to his great-shield and split-leaf great-sword leaning against the wall, remembering the times he had helped Adrien in the ringed city. Soon we'll meet again my friend, on the battlefield, but for the first time, fighting one another.

Syura walked rather angrily toward a large unmarked room deep within the Empire's palace. He had a displeased look on his face as he thought to himself. He entered the room in this state, and the people that were already in there noticed this. The room itself wasn't very spacious, but it served it's purposes that Syura needed it too.

"Hey Syura, whats wrong?" A girl asked, looking up from a large book, her hooded jacket hiding her body, but allowed full view of her short, bob-style cut hair, glasses, and pair of bunny ear accessories.

"You remember that woman I was telling you about yesterday?" Syura began, his question earning a nod from the girl.

"How could we not?" A man's scratchy voice asked. Syura looked over to see a lean, muscular man with an outfit that revealed his chest. he had a bob-style like cut similar to the girl, and had small, light colored eyes. "You've been talking about her for what seems like a week. Even if it's only been a few days."

"Cut me a break Enshin." Syura said as the lean man just shook his head. "Anyways, I was about to take her when Esdeath and her cronies essentially cock-blocked me. Its annoying. I doubt my old man would just tell her to back off either." Syura said as he slumped down onto a chair and put his arms and head on the table in front of it. Enshin hummed as he looked over to the girl.

"What do you think Cosmina?" The ma asked, and the girl hummed herself.

"Fuck Esdeath." Cosmina said suddenly, a cheery expression on her face. Both Enshin and Syura seemed a bit shocked by her words.

"I think she'd be the one doing the fucking." Syura said sarcastically, and Cosmina just shook her head.

"I don't mean literally, just forget whatever she told you, and just kidnap that woman. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard, you said she was blind right?" Syura nodded, as he put a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Yea! So just wait until nighttime and scoop her up!" Enshin turned to Syura.

"But your concerned about that Adrien guy, right? I heard about the fight he had with Esdeath, nearly beat her too. I wouldn't be too eager myself knowing that guys around, but as long as you slip under the radar, you'll be able to have your way with that woman before he even wakes up." Syura began to smile rather sinisterly as he considered that option. "And if it ever comes down to it, lead the guy on a chase, and the rest of us will help you take 'm down somewhere safe."

"A great Idea!" Syura declared, and then he began to look around "Where is everyone else? Out and about?" Syura asked with a bit of curiosity.

"Pretty much." Enshin said, a sly smile on his face. "They'll be gone for a few days. I was actually thinking about joining them. Wanna come?" Syura frowned a bit, before he closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I suppose, but once we come back, I'm going to have that woman. Oh, there is a reason I needed to know where the others were." Both Cosmina and Enshin looked at him curiously. "Turns out One of Esdeath's little cronies has a lovely looking wife and daughter." Enshin's eyes widened as his tongue lolled out a bit at the thought, a wicked smile on his face. Cosmina chuckled lightheartedly, as if she had just been told a cute joke.

"Oh wow, I bet Champ's going to have a lot of fun then, isn't he?" She said to herself, remembering how much one particular member of their 'special group' just 'loved' children.

Authors notes

A little bit of a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get it out as its been another full month between uploads. I apologize for that, but my schoolwork and my 'work work' has been taking priority. If the chapter seems a bit rushed, thats because it was...just a little. Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome, and reviews always help! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and as always...

Thanks for reading!