Author Notes: This is the beginning of the next arc of this fanfic, the White and Black Rivalry. I introduce the Black Faction's 14 Gods in this chapter and they will play a bigger role in later chapters of the fanfic, even more the the 14 White Kings. If you're wondering about the dragon armored man and how he's related to Tatsumi, it'll be revealed in later chapters.
Speaking of people who will play a bigger part in future parts, Malum who is introduced in this chapter will be a major threat to the heroes once they come to conflict. I'll gradually reveal how overpowered he is in future chapters, that goes for his father and close kin as well.
As of this month of February 2017, I'm editing the "background" out of the story as well as elaborating on chapters in the story. Sorry if the content seemed to have changed so suddenly over this month.
Chapter Twenty Five: Kill Malum
Akame and Kurome looked up to the sky above where the rising sun was hanging overhead and saw the impressive silhouette of a small, muscular and toned humanoid that was levitating above them and slowly floating down to the ground with a regal grace. As he did so, his figure became more defined as the morning became brighter with the day officially beginning. He was a dark gray humanoid whose body resembled features of other animals, but it was still a complete entity on its own, a truly bizarre sight to behold.
His bald head had a humanoid face that was relatively similar to a human being, aside from his skeletal nose, sharp eyes with blue sclera and red iris pupils with a series of purple corneal limbus that formed a ripple and he had noticeable sharp canine teeth in his mouth. His upper torso was covered by beetle shell like armor with the shoulder armor being elongated in length. His hips had sharp fins crowning his sides, his feet had demonic cloven hooves while his legs had magical runes as well as symmetrical lines that implied that they were mechanical in nature and his arms had scythe like extensions lined with rows of black feathers. His hands were rock like in nature, a pair of draconic wings grew on his back, rows of sharp dark brown branches grew on his back, a thick black tail grew from his backside and a dark halo hovered over his head. In spite of his recent birth, he looked as though he was slightly younger than Tatsumi, but not by much. Akame and Kurome could tell that Nefariam who had intimidated Alba was nothing compared to this Malum being. And going by how the Black Prefects seemed to show him absolute respect, he was their unquestioned leader from that moment on. He had a naturally high magnitude that seem to establish him as a born leader from the Akujin perspective. To Akame and Kurome however, he was a ominous abnormality that seemed to be too overwhelming to be considered real, yet he was indeed real.
He landed in front of Nequam, the infant like giant with a serious expression and bowed to him with his head lowered in reverence. In spite of being a newborn, he somehow seemed to be exceptionally intelligent and alarmingly aware of his environment and his own identity. Traits that made him seem especially alien to Akame and Kurome who feeling that what was occurring at this moment to be incredibly surreal.
"It was half a millennium late, but I've come to obtain my right as heir to the Akujin race.," he said in a deep tone of powerful will and presence that made Akame and Kurome shudder due to the inexplicable aura of danger he was unconsciously emitting. Akame then came to a disturbing conclusion, realizing exactly what this being was-
This was what Rongo Rongo was referring to, the dangerous presence that had to be stopped before it destroyed everything. And I can't even move.
Suddenly, she noticed that this dark gray humanoid was now directly in front of her as he kneed to look directly into her red iris eye and black sclera eye with a white, solid pupil. All she could do was to remain completely still to not upset him, that's what every single cell in her body was screaming for her to do at that moment. What he did next was unexpected, he emitted the same golden aura around Akame and Kurome that had healed his mother. This action surprised both the White and Black groups as they were unsure what to make of it. When he was done with the action, the two were able to move and stand up like nothing had happen. The small boy like being then walked towards the Black Faction Prefects, who kept kneeling out of respect of his overwhelming charisma.
"Why did he-," Kurome asked Akame with an expression of confusion for why he had done this action, only to see the latter frozen in place. Akame had realized exactly what was going on with what he did. It wasn't that he empathized with their condition, it was more like this-
You're mine now and whatever plans you're attempting to kill me and my father with is pointless. Just give in, nothing will come out of you attempting this act of defiance. I hope you're smart enough to realize who your master is. And my healing you is my way of showing I can be generous to you as long as you keep in line.
"It's because right now, we're gnats to him. And I'm aware of it now...how insignificant we are right now He did it because he doesn't even consider us a threat and likely wants us to serve him.," Akame said with tears welling in her eyes. Kurome looked in fear as her sister broke down in the presence of this new powerful adversary they now needed to face in the future. It was already difficult back when it was just the Hell King to worry about, the appearance of Malum drastically changed the situation entirely.
She was feeling the weight of how hopeless trying to kill him was, especially after that moment that he decided to heal them. Tatsumi, Mine, Najenda, the people in the capital, the Elite Seven and many others; their killers stood in front of her and in spite of the power she obtained, it was like a speck in comparison to even one of the the weaker members of the factions in front of her. This was a fact that crushed her will to fight at that particular moment.
Ignoring the sisters, the dark gray being then noticed the fourteen leaders of the Black Faction who introduced themselves to their successor candidate for the Hell King's legacy. Akame and Kurome felt it immediately, a presence that surpassed that of the White Kings by a large margin. Each of them seemed to battle veterans with several years of experience and intimidating appearances to match their oppressive auras. While Akame had met Mume earlier, the rest were completely new to her.
"Mare, the Black Sea God.," said a large bearded man with aquatic themed black, bio-mechanical armor whose body was composed of sentient blue water. He spoke with a deep and passionate voice as he teared small lakes from his eyes. Like Cetusia, he felt out of place with the others due to have a more amiable sort of air that he seem more like someone who belonged with a group of benevolent deities than with this band of devils.
"Bubonem the Black Bird God.," spoke a huge humanoid owl in avian themed black, bio-mechanical armor with massive wings and tiny eyeglasses. He spoke in a scholarly and bookish tone of voice that was somewhat friendly, though to a lesser extent than Mare was.
"Sapiens the Black Spell-Caster God.," declared a long bearded sage with diamond shaped pupils and bunny ear like hair antennae on top of his long silver hair that shot out from the barbute helmet that obscured most of his face; he wore black bio-mechanical ancient robes and wielded an ancient wizard staff made of black wood covered in purple runes. His voice was ancient and stoic due to how ancient he was. For some reason, he also felt like he had some sort of connection with the Wild Hunt member known as Cosmina due to his similar eyes much like the Black witch Prefect had, but Akame was not sure of the connection as of yet.
"Feerum the Black Machine God.," a massive robotic entity designed with extravagant, regal elements such as a crown, steel regal cape trimmed with fur spoke in a cybernetic voice that was cold and emotionless. He seemed to be one of the more analytical ones, judging by his muttering of how Tatsumi's sudden escape needed to be studied further.
"Scarabaeus the Black Insect God.," said an armored giant in Hercules/Rhinoceros beetle themed armor in an electrically synthesized voice as electric currents covered his body. He seemed to be one of the more level headed members of the group, having a rational sort of air about him.
"Natura the Black Plant God.," said a large man with a black skeletal visage and a large sequoia tree growing from his back; he wore a black bio-mechanical lab coat with a hunched back and had a Sugegasa straw hat on his head. His tone of voice was methodical and logical as he examined the body of the dark gray humanoid with his yellow iris eyes. Unlike the others who leaned towards being warrior-like to varying degress, he felt more like an intellectual with hints of an amoral nature.
"Bestia the Black Beast God.," said a mammoth sized, black furred monster with no visible snout, a rotund body and a long tail. His voice was that of a low whisper, raspy and deep, like a harsh snow storm. He had his eyes constantly closed for some reason. He also would stare at the one known as Esdeath every so often as if he knew her from a long time ago. He also had this air of being a particularly cruel individual even by the standards of the Black Gods, but to what extent was unclear at that moment.
"Elementum the Black Element God.," spoke a tall elemental wearing a black, bio-mechanical suit to contain his body; it was composed of fire, ice, shadow, earth, lightning, water, wind, etc and two golden eyes served as an indicator of a face. His voice was polite and respectful, but with an eerie wispy tone that hinted that he was very sinister as well.
"Numen the Black Divine God.," spoke a very tall humanoid with medium blue hair, menacing golden iris eyes and pale skin; he wore a tight, black bio-mechanical long coat with tight arm sleeves with fingerless gloves and boots with spikes underneath them. His voice was emotionless and nihilistic in pitch. Two eerie black wings that were jagged and crooked hovered behind his back. While he was stoic, there were hints of a more twisted side to his personality as well as some mental instability.
"Daemon the Black Demon God.," said a huge, plump, brown skinned demon with no nose, pitch black eyes with white dots acting as pupils and five black horns crowning the top of his head. His arms were large and muscular, but his legs were small and stubby. He wore only black, bio-mechanical pants, leaving his chest exposed. He spoke with a jovial and laid-back kind of voice. He and the Hell King seemed to have the closest relationship out of the Black Gods, judging from how more relaxed he was in Nequam's presence than the others.
"Militem the Black Warrior God.," said a large man covered from head to toe in black, bio-mechanical knight armor with a black chain-mail cape adorning his back. He had a large black sword worn in a sheath on his back. While hidden in the blackness of his knight visor helmet that had six slit openings on both sides of the visor, at times a red iris eye with a cross shaped pupil would flash briefly in the light. His voice was noble and respectful with a no-nonsense attitude. Akame caught the glimpse of the eye, which reminded her of Incursio for some reason she couldn't explain. Why he had that kind of eye was unknown at the moment.
"Mume the Black Undead God.," said the black bearded man with pitch black eyes in a mix of knight and shogun armor as he kneed before this dark gray humanoid. His voice was dark and menacing, but it was respectful when he was bowing to the small boy like creature. He was slightly annoyed that Akame and Kurome hadn't bowed, but his scoff implied that they were going through a "rebellious phase" and that it would pass over time.
"Ryūo the Black Dragon God.," said a tall man that caught Akame and Kurome's attention. In spite of his black, bio-mechanical armor that was themed like a dragon; he was human in appearance with long, wild brown hair with a cowlick that stood in the front and green iris eyes. With his older features and stubbled beard, he resembled an older version of Tatsumi. His tone of voice was rough sounding and deep in pitch with a hint of great confidence.
"Dominus the Black ULF God.," said a large, black cap wearing humanoid with dark blue skin, a square shaped nose and medium length beard around his neck; he wore a black military uniform with a black overcoat draped over his shoulders and black gloves on his hands. His tone of voice was easily the deepest and most cold sounding of the group. He seemed to be the leader of the Black Gods and heavily implied to be its most ruthless member.
"We bow to you. Heir to the great Hell King, Malum.," declared the blue skinned humanoid to the dark gray humanoid as he kneeled before him. Malum took this as a satisfactory response and resumed standing amongst the Black Prefects.
However, the White Faction were not nearly as pleased with his presence, especially Nefariam.
Nefariam glared coldly at the newborn rival to his title as he gripped the antlers of the feathered deer servant. His previously unrivaled chance at getting the throne had been spoiled by Malum's appearance and the chances of him succeeding looked slimmer by the moment.
"What shall we do about his power my lord?," the deer asked in a respectful tone of voice to his Lord. The puffy hatted humanoid floated off his subordinate's head and began to pace to and fro in front of his prefects; wondering what needed to be done to maintain his place as the rightful heir.
"I didn't expect one of the Black Faction to be so observant enough to find the long lost other spouse to my father, Pandora along with one of the missing twins, Malum. My entitlement to the throne is in jeopardy and I would not stoop so low as to kill him in his sleep to lose Father's favor. To his credit, he has sped up the plans- we do not need the Teigu to release us from our imprisonment since he has done the deed for us, but it does beg the question if we really need them to get to Heaven at this point. But, would be a good way to test his legitimacy to the throne in comparison to his own?," Nefariam spoke to himself, trying to figure a plan to make himself become the sole leader of the Akujin once his father passed on. The Genuine Prefects remained silent out of fear of their leader not taking their suggests very well and "punishing" them for speaking out of turn.
"Shall we do something about General Helianthus? He's been that way since her lost ladyship had reappeared before us.," asked the tiger girl as she noted the brown haired Plant King who had fainted during the commotion of the birth of Malum. The rest of the White Kings were also on the verge of fainting after considering each option to make them seem more credible than the Plant King seemed to fall flat by the passing second.
"Leave him be, his services might be useful at some point in spite of his character.," Nefariam replied with a callous tone of voice, unconcerned about the man's condition. It was likely he felt the same way about Alba, but at the very least, he seemed more trustworthy than Helianthus had proven to be.
As Malum looked down at the fourteen followers, sighed deeply and decided to speak of what to do next. Something that caused Akame to awaken from her despair due to how malevolent the topic he was casually speaking of reminded her of a particular person. While he spoke the infantile creature, the black creature and the white serpentine creature all decided to rest, likely tired from the many events that had occurred during the meeting.
"Father is exhausted from his use of Return of Rebirth: Genesis on mother and by extension, myself. So he won't be in any condition to reunite with his Mind and Power anytime soon... Waiting sounds boring. You are my apostles, my elite subordinates, we will know travel to a country to test my power by finding a war to engage in until Father reawakens. If not, let's start one ourselves.," said the dark gray humanoid with a half smile and a sinister gaze. The Black Prefects with the exception of Cetusia, all seemed to be enthusiastic with what he was suggesting, likely happy to do something with their future leader. They did not notice that Akame had suddenly decided to attack Malum from behind much to the shock of the Black Kings and the Prefects. The White Faction seemed to be silently cheering her on if only to rid them of Malum.
Something inside Akame had snapped, causing her self preservation to be repressed by memories of billowing flames of anger. Kurome followed suit, she did not want another attack on Wave's village to happen to anyone else. Malum silently dissuaded the others from attacking, it seemed as though he needed to "break" them before they would submit to him.
"No...,I'll see you dead here and now." said a girl's voice from behind him. This made Malum took a glance at the ebony haired girl with one red iris, black sclera eye and one pitch black eye with a solid white pupil who was manifesting red and black markings on her skin and emitting a black aura with a purple outline as she jutted out two blades from her arms.
"Akame...Mume's second youngest brood. That's good, it'll make for a good warm-up before I take on another country.," said Malum nonchalantly as he levitated above the ground with his arms raised. To him, her attack was that of a flea biting the hide of a dragon, a thing so insignificant that it didn't matter to him at al..
"I've faced a person like you before-," Akame uttered with contempt until suddenly she felt her body hover above the ground and then thrust downwards, creating a large crater in the ground. She saw Malum with his cold stare looking directly at her. He had somehow attacked her through unseen means.
"Could they do something like this?," said Malum in a bored tone of voice while Akame bled from her forehead with a shocked expression on her face. It was just a small sampling of his full powers.
Next Chapter: Kill The Challenge