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Najenda and Leone stood in the dark, enclosed room together and stared down at the large box.

"That's a person." Leone whispered.

Najenda nodded. "Yes, it is."

"But...how? You said that this cargo box hasn't been opened in months."

"And?"

"That means that this guy has been lying here, in this cramped and dirty thing, without any kind of food or water."

Najenda lowered her head. "I don't know, Leone. I'm honestly just as baffled as you are. I thought Esdeath was guarding a weapon all this time, not some man."

"Do...you think he's dead…?" Leone asked, making it obvious that she didn't really want to know the answer.

"Yes, he is. I checked for a pulse, nothing."

"Why the hell would Esdeath be carrying around some dead guy?"

"I said it already, I don't know."

The two went back to staring at the lifeless corpse inside the box.

It was a young man, bulky and muscular. He had the unnatural hair colour of blue, and slightly darker skin from those of the Empire. His eyes were closed shut, and his large arms were both folded over his chest protectively.

He looked so peaceful, too. He had the kind of expression on his face that made him look like he was taking a short nap. It was strange to see, for both Najenda and Leone.

For so long, the strongest of all the Empire had been safeguarding a special crate with something indescribably precious inside, and it turned out to be this man. Just that alone confused the two of them to the point where they couldn't stop staring at him.

He was a true enigma.

"His clothes are odd." Najenda commented, her left eyebrow raised. "It's definitely not Imperial, but doesn't match any foreign style I know of, either. Leone?"

Leone shrugged. "You got me. I've never seen fashion like this. I mean, white over black with sleeves too long for his arms? It's just...a little unsightly, dontcha think?"

"That's not what I was asking. I'm meant, do you recognize the design from any of our neighbouring countries?"

"Oh, uh." Leone took another glance. "Nope."

The Revolutionary Army had proper doctors and alchemists working back at their several bases. If a few of them were here, they could've tested this corpse and given more information about him. It was unfortunate that Night Raid's own base was so far away and isolated.

With a tired sigh, Leone took a step closer to the crate and leaned in.

"What should we do with him, Boss?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"We could dump him in a nearby river, let the stream take him some place else."

Najenda frowned. "We lost Tatsumi just to get our hands on this, we can't just waste that."

Despite it seeming like what they had collected was useless, she couldn't just give up on it. This was Esdeath's property. It had to be worth something.

"For now, just keep this between us. Night Raid already has too much to deal with, we can figure out what to do later." Najenda commanded.

"Sure."

Najenda then left the room. She wanted to check up on Lubbock.

She entered the next room outside, turned right, and slowly opened the door.

The room he was resting in was rather small, but had all of the medical equipment they had inside. She didn't know for how much longer he would need to be here, and that was worrying, since his injuries were nothing to scoff at.

His eyes opened slightly as she took a few steps towards him.

She thought she wanted to see how he was doing, but seeing him now only made her more upset.

"How are you doing, Lubbock?"

He blinked slowly. His mouth looked dry as he opened it. "I'm...okay."

"Are the painkillers working?"

"Kind of."

His gaze suddenly sharpened. "Akame and Bulat left, didn't they…?"

Najenda closed her eyes. "They did."

"They're brave."

"They're reckless, and possibly already dead."

Lubbock didn't get angry at her comments like the others. He seemingly couldn't.

"Tats means the world to us. You don't understand why we care about him so much because you haven't seen his bravery with your own eyes. He's...something else."

Najenda sat down on the chair beside Lubbock's bed. Her tired and weary gaze met with his, and the two of them relaxed themselves.

"I care about him him too, believe it or not." Najenda sighed, her head hanging low. "He's a good kid, and showed the potential of achieving something great."

"Then...why?"

"Because if I don't act with bias and think about things from a logical standpoint, who will, Lubbock?"

He propped his head up and looked away. "Not everything has to be logical. That's why Akame and Bulat decided to go against your orders. They had to."

"I don't get it."

"You do. You just don't want to."

She didn't understand what he was trying to get it.

Despite always doing her best to understand her team and how they perceived things, it always went straight over her head. She just didn't know how to think the same way they did.

"Either way, you don't need to worry about that right now." Najenda commented as she pulled the blanket of the bed further onto Lubbock. "You just need to focus of recovering."

Loud footsteps followed as someone else charged into the room.

Najenda turned around to see Leone panting, her eyes wide open and her jaw dropped. She had quickly darted over in a frantic hurry.

"B-Boss…!"

Najenda got up from the chair. "What is it?"

"The man...in the box..."

"Yes?"

Leone looked up. The colour in her face had been completely drained.

"He's awake and moving."

"...you're kidding."

"I'm not..."

"But I checked him. He was dead."

"Well now he's up and about, Boss!"

"What does he want?"

"You…won't believe me."

"Tell me, Leone."

Leone's sharp, yellow eyes softened as she knew how ridiculous her answer was going to sound.

"He wants to cook something."

As Akame and Bulat moved through the entrance, they were met with a massive stadium.

It was almost completely empty and desolate, yet it still felt like the entire world was watching them. Bulat was the first to check his surroundings, and he could immediately tell that there was no going back.

"Ah! You finally decided to join us!" a voice cheered from the other side of the stadium.

Bulat stared straight ahead.

A General stood opposite him, glaring at them carefully. Her eyes will locked onto her targets and her right hand was already holding onto the handle of her rapier.

Esdeath.

"You..." Bulat muttered, then raised his voice so that the General could hear him from their great distance. "You cleared out all the guards on purpose?!"

With a smile, she began walking slowly towards Bulat and Akame. It was the kind of smile that no one would ever want to gaze upon.

"That's right. I knew you wouldn't resist wanting to come and save your dear Tatsumi."

Akame, who had been standing behind Bulat, made herself properly visible. "Target has been acquired."

"Me? I'm your target?" Esdeath giggled as she unsheathed her weapon. "What about your friend?"

"You won't give him to us willingly. We know that." Bulat growled.

"That's obvious."

His stare slowly narrowed down. He couldn't see what he was looking for. "Where is Tatsumi?"

Esdeath waved her left hand aimlessly. "Somewhere in this colosseum, but also far away enough so that he won't interfere. I have someone guarding him."

"So," Akame's eyes glowed in the darkness of the night. "We have two targets then."

"I don't know who you are," Esdeath's smile grew slightly. "But you're quite confident, aren't you?"

"We're going to crush you." Bulat spoke with a sharp tone as he also began advancing forward.

"Where are your friends, though? I planned for all of Night Raid to be here, not just you two."

"You weren't afraid of having to take us all on?"

Esdeath looked incredibly amused. "Well, it would've been an interesting warm-up."

Bulat turned to his partner. "Akame?"

She nodded. "Yes."

The two charged forward to the General with their Imperial Arms held closely in their hands. They moved with unimaginable speed, and the dust kicked up the moment they started running.

Esdeath immediately split the two apart by firing down a giant ice wall. The ice wall shot straight down the middle of the two assassins and pushed them away from each other, a strategic attempt at breaking up their co-ordination.

Bulat rushed in first and slashed his sword forward with all his might. His weapon clashed against Esdeath's rapier and sparks flew rapidly, but she had managed to block it despite all the force behind the swing.

She grinned as she dodged under the second slash and kicked Bulat in the stomach, watching happily as he spat out blood but remained standing.

"You should've stayed away. You're far too weak to face me, Bulat. I proved that to you in our first fight." she laughed.

Bulat looked up. He had his own smile.

"That's what she's here for."

In a flash of white, a katana was thrust forward, its sharp edge almost reaching Esdeath's neck before she stopped the blade with a block of ice.

"Wha-?"

The assassin's red eyes stared, unwavering. "Eliminate."

Esdeath backed away from Bulat and summoned more ice to repel Akame. The assassin followed after the General with blinding speeds, the two of them dancing around the stadium as their attacks collided with tremendous force.

"Hm," Esdeath hummed, focusing slightly more on the battle at hand. "You're rather fast on your feet."

The Murasame continued to cut against the ice as it was thrust forward, but simply couldn't slash through it. Akame moved as fast as she could, circling threateningly around the General to find an opening to attack, but was blocked off by impenetrable ice every time.

"How about this?!" the General cackled in delight.

Massive pillars of ice appeared out of thin air and began firing down from the sky. They all fell down at specific angles and locations as to corner Akame and guarantee a hit.

Akame was swift and nimble, not it wasn't enough. After avoiding the first two pillars, the third one crashed into her and sent her rolling across the ground. The General was unrelenting with her attacks, as just before Akame got back to her feet, Esdeath was already there to deliver the lethal blow with her rapier.

"I won't let you!" Bulat roared as he dove straight into Esdeath and tackled her.

Esdeath was pushed a few meters away before she kicked Bulat a second time, sending him back as well.

She had managed to retain her smile throughout it all, and didn't look even slightly tired.

"Good." she giggled as a ball of ice came firing down to her opponents. "Dance some more for me!"

Bulat immediately donned the Incursio armour on the fly and clenched his fist as tightly as he could.

"Akame, get behind me!"

Akame did exactly that.

Just as the ball came close to crushing the two assassins, Bulat held out his right fist and punched the ice as hard as he possibly could, his muscles being tested to their absolute limits from the devastating pressure.

With his strength alone, he would've never managed to shatter the ice, but the reinforced power of Incursio gave him the boost he needed to break it just before it came into contact with the ground. Small shards of ice scattered through the air as it imploded into tiny pieces.

"Bulat..." Akame looked concerned.

Bulat panted for a second before looking back at his partner. "Don't worry...that was nothing..."

He was bluffing. He could feel his knuckles bleeding under his armour.

"I have to say, I'm disappointed. Is this all Night Raid has to offer?" Esdeath taunted, her face and body completely relaxed.

Bulat grimaced and took a step back.

This was just how he remembered his last fight with her going. He hadn't been given enough time to train himself to counter her better, and now their battle was going in the same direction.

But he held his head high. Akame was with him now, and he knew he could depend on her to back him up. She had already surprised Esdeath with her speed, and he knew she could manage to do so again.

If they could just knock Esdeath down for just a moment, he could break away from the fight and find Tatsumi. Once they had him and he was secured, all they had to do was make a run for it.

It wasn't the most structured plan, and it all depended on the two of them overwhelming the Empire's strongest, but this was all they could do. This was all that could be done in order to save Tatsumi.

And Bulat had sworn to save that kid. He was not leaving this colosseum without Tatsumi.

"Bulat," Akame whispered, holding the Murasame high above her head. "If you can break her ice sculptures again, I can get closer to her."

Bulat's eyebrows furrowed. "You think so?"

"I do."

"Alright." he took in a deep breath, knowing that he would have to damage his knuckles and his armour some more. "She's crafty, but that could work."

"She may seem strong, Bulat." Akame muttered without emotion. "But one cut is all I need to get rid of her."

Esdeath held out her hand and motioned it towards herself. "What are you two waiting for? Entertain me some more!"

The assassins didn't need to be asked a second time.

Esdeath watched as her enemies came running towards her in a straight line, and then tapped the ground with her palm.

Ice erupted from below and came charging up like spears. Bulat carefully ran in front of Akame and summoned his Neuntote, slicing down the spears one-by-one. He staggered slightly as each swing of his halberd took all of his effort, but he was gradually getting rid of them and getting closer to the General.

"I don't think so!" Esdeath laughed as a wall of ice was created in front of her.

"Bulat, now!" Akame roared.

Bulat could feel the warm, heart-pumping energy of Incursio suddenly flow through his bloodstream.

"Graaaaah!"

His right fist flew forward so fast it materialized a short shockwave upon contact with Esdeath's ice. The gauntlet part of Incursio's armour completely shattered as it collided with such force, but broke down the wall it had hit as well, causing Esdeath's protective wall to turn to nothingness.

Akame came out from behind Bulat and leapt over his shoulder, her katana pointed directly at its target.

The very tip of the blade came flying forward and was just millimetres away from Esdeath's neck. It was so close that the two assassins believed that this fight was already over. It came so close to grazing her skin.

But then Akame was greeted by Esdeath's excited grin.

"Nope."

Her elbow rocketed into Akame's face and knocked her completely off-balance. The assassin yelped as she fell to the ground and cupped her hands over her bleeding nose.

"Akame!" Bulat cried out.

The General looked pleased, but slightly unsatisfied. "I did say you were fast, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"You..." Bulat growled, helping Akame back to her feet.

"I'm really going to enjoy dragging you two to the torture chamber." she spoke with glee.

Bulat could tell clearly what was happening. Esdeath had deliberately allowed the Murasame to get so close to her skin, even though she could've batted away Akame long before that moment. Esdeath was purposely letting him and Akame to attempt their attacks over and over, and not because she needed to, but because she wanted to.

It was just as the General had told them, they were just dancing for her.

Bulat's heart sank when he realized that this woman was a sworn enemy to their cause. This was one obstacle that they had to pass in order to reach their dream, yet it just didn't seem possible to do so. Even if all of Night Raid were here to battle her, Bulat still doubted a victory.

"Now then, let's finish this little squabble." the General rose her rapier to the sky, aiming it down at Akame's legs. "Once you've been stopped from moving, I can take you both away."

The rapier struck down in an instant, like lightning.

It pierced painfully through a large chunk of flesh, and blood gushed out from the wound it had created.

But it wasn't Akame's leg.

Bulat growled out in agony as he had allowed Esdeath's sword to be stabbed through his left arm. He could feel every last texture of the steel as it entered his skin, and could tell that the muscles in that arm had immediately lost all function as a result. He chewed down on his bottom lips and tried to endure the pain, but it was a tough thing to do.

Normally, an ordinary rapier wouldn't have been able to penetrate Incursio's armour, but with the force that Esdeath put into it...it cut clean through without trouble.

Esdeath's blue eyes were trained on him. "A fruitless effort, Bulat. You sacrificed one of your arms for nothing. I'm still going to break you two."

She pushed her sword further down and watched as Bulat's expression contorted with the increase in pain.

"I didn't..." Bulat gasped, his voice sounding weak for the first time.

"Hm?"

Bulat's head was hanging low. "I didn't want...to use this..."

"What are you-?"

"Akame..." Bulat whispered, ignoring the enemy in front of him. "Get...back..."

Esdeath expected his precious friend to protest, but Akame did exactly as he said and ran in the opposite direction. She knew something Esdeath didn't.

"What's going on?" Esdeath muttered, her smile slowly fading. "What are you planning…?"

Bulat grabbed Esdeath's rapier with his other hand, his grip on it firm and powerful. His palm bled, but he refused to let go. His body no longer showed any sign of pain, either.

His muscles began to pulsate unnaturally. His body mass started to grow slowly, becoming larger and larger as he gnarled quietly like an animal. Incursio's armour gradually became larger with him, with black horns sticking out from the sides of his helmet.

The gauntlets of the armour became claws, Bulat's canine teeth grew in length, and his eyes started to glow blue.

"What...is this?" Esdeath asked as she pulled her rapier out of Bulat's arm and stood back. Not afraid, but cautious.

"In any other circumstance...I would've never used something like this..." he spoke, but his voice sounded completely different.

The Empire's strongest took another few steps back and observed in awe as the person in front of her was now almost twice her size. Her opponent was starting to look less human and more...like a feral beast.

"This is...the only way...to kill you."

Esdeath summoned a second rapier made of ice into her other hand and stared down her new adversary. Frost danced off the edge of her skin as she prepared for a rougher fight.

"Bulat..."

"Esdeath..." Bulat growled furiously, his scaly armour now covering all of his body and face.

His eyes glared deeply into hers as he charged towards her, his claws laid bare to tear up the General's flesh like tissue.

"You will die by my hands!"