Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga Kiru
Soul of the Resolute
Esdeath sat in a comfortable chair within her room, an evening gown adorning her figure, debating with herself what to do with Adrien. He had been out on patrol for far too long, and was beginning to seriously wonder what kind of mental state he was in to stay awake for so long. She knew he was still making patrols because of the occasional report from one of the other patrols as they bumped into him. If not for that, she would have assumed any person would stop from exhaustion. She then smiled, a slight blush on her face. His determination and sheer willpower is a testament to his strength. Truly a wonderful man. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls, and briefly she wondered who it was, before her door opened. She looked to see her intruder, a half scowl on her face, only for it to be replaced with a shocked expression. Adrien stood In the doorway, looking at her through more unfamiliar armor.
"I need to speak with you and the Jaegers. Please." Adrien asked in his usual polite tone, Esdeath wiping the shock from her face to replace it with curiosity.
"Oh? A group meeting is it? You don't want to say hi to me first?" Esdeath said in a teasing tone, shifting in her chair so Adrien had a better view of her in her gown. Adrien merely stared for a moment before he sighed.
"Please. Its important, and something I should have told you all before, but never had an appropriate time." Adrien continued, his tone more serious than before. Esdeath realized that Adrien wasn't going to entertain her offer, and as much as it pained her, she probably needed to hear whatever it is he had to say. Not that she didn't want to hear it, but there were other things she'd rather be doing with the knight.
"Alright." She said in a bored manner, sounding none too pleased with it. "Let me get dressed, and I'll meet you all in the common room." Adrien merely nodded before he closed the door to her room, leaving down the hallway, most likely to inform another Jaeger member of his 'meeting'. "At least he's back, and safe." She said, a faint blush on her face as she got dressed, thinking about her beloved.
"So whats so important?" Kurome asked somewhat impatiently as she arrived to the Jaeger's sizeable common room, in which they often ate their meals and spoke of the day's events. Everyone else was already there, and she had only been a few steps behind Wave. Adrien had been sitting at the head of the long table within the room, with Esdeath behind him and to his right, while Seryu was sitting in a chair on his left. Wave was standing a few paces away from the door, and Bols was at the other end of the long table, opposite Adrien. Once she had entered, Adrien stood up, and all eyes fell to him, knowing he was about to respond to her question.
"Something that I should have told all of you sooner, but I was afraid of what you all would do in response." This got a few curious glances from the other members, with the exceptions of Esdeath and Seryu, who looked on in expectation and knowing respectively. "I am not human." The silence that followed was all that was heard following that statement, before Wave began to laugh out loud.
"Not human? You can't be serious!" Wave said between chuckles, but it died down immediately as he saw no one else was laughing. "B-But what do you mean, not human? You look pretty human to me." Adrien's helmeted gaze turned to him and he sighed, sounding...tired.
"That is because I am an Undead. I used to be human, but due to my curse, I have become a monster, forced to roam the earth for some reason to live, else I fall into madness." This particular statement got everyone's attention. Kurome however was the first one to speak up.
"I thought something was off about you. You had a vaguely similar feeling as my puppets gave me, and when I heard you had survived Murasame's poison, I knew something was wrong." Kurome's words drew a nod from Adrien, seemingly agreeing with her early conclusions.
"What about this madness you spoke of?" Esdeath interjected, a focused, if not slightly annoyed expression on her face. "What does that entail exactly?" Adrien turned his head to her briefly, before once again addressing the group, attempting to find the best way to word his next few sentences.
"When an undead loses sight of a purpose, or reason to live in the world, it will begin to hollow. When an undead hollows it's mind becomes lost and it can not differentiate friend from foe. Then it becomes truly mad, lashing out at anything near it that moves. Although they also lose a good portion of intelligence, and most can be easily deceived." Adrien explained, taking a moment afterward for everyone to take in those words.
"And.. that will happen to you?" Wave asked cautiously, obviously concerned over the prospect of fighting him.
"Eventually, yes. If I live long enough that is. There are a number of factors going into my non-hollowing. The biggest one being my intent to save the empire." Adrien continued, his explanation drawing a few curious glances.
"Save it from... the rebels?" Wave asked tentatively, hoping that would be the answer. Adrien shook his head, the confusion on some of their faces evident. Esdeath and Seryu being the exceptions
"From itself." The ominous answer seemed to make everyone go quiet. "This.. may take some time to explain."
One Week Later
Night Raid sat in their hideout within the walls of Kyoroch, having returned to the city after most of their members had recovered form their last bout with Adrien. The only one not present was Sasha, as she had yet to fully get used to her new legs. Tatsumi was almost left behind due to his mental state after the attack, but not only did Najenda need all the help she could get, she also saw that Tatsumi was ready and eager to fight. Considering his improvement over the last week, she couldn't deny him this. After all, this would be a full-frontal assault on the church.
After she had laid out the plans for this Hail-Mary mission, the rest of Night Raid could only respond in one way.
"Are you insane!?" Lubbock screamed, having got up from his recliner to challenge Najenda's strategy, but the leader of the assassin group remained stone-faced.
"I mean, I love a good straight fight as much as anyone, but why such a risky move?" Leone asked, her form laid out on the couch not far away from where Najenda stood. The rest of the group was silent, expecting an explanation from their leader. Najenda nodded, understanding their concerns.
"Its because it won't just be us. The revolutionary army was willing to spare some of their scouts to create a distraction in order for us to take out Bolic. Hopefully it will draw out some of the Jaegers and make it easier for us to take him down. But we can't guarantee who will and won't be there, so thats why we need to develop some strategies before hand. Especially for Esdeath and Adrien." Najenda said, taking a moment to light a cigarette before she finished her explanation.
"I guess we must be pretty desperate to take him out huh?" Tatsumi said in a rather amused tone, and Leone actually snickered at that.
"Its a pretty simple deception trick, are you sure they'd fall for it?" Chelsea asked, speaking up, and all eyes going to her. "I mean, if they learn that a bunch of rebel scouts are causing trouble, why would they send their best people for it?" At that, Najenda smirked, giving her a knowing look. While Chelsea's eyebrow raised at the gaze.
"And thats where you come in Chelsea, because it won't be just some 'rebel scouts'. It will be rebel soldiers with the assistance of none other than Najenda herself." She said, not breaking eye contact with Chelsea. The auburn haired assassin seemed to see what she was implying and froze for a moment, before her face morphed into an amused smile.
"So that's your plan huh? Using me as bait?" Chelsea asked with a sigh. "Alright then. So what if it's just you, that might not be enough to draw all of them there."
"Most likely it won't, but hopefully it will be enough that we can get to Bolic with ease." Najenda answered, and from the looks on their faces, the others were beginning to get behind such a plan. Sheele looked at their leader from her position on the couch opposite of Leone's, and showed a bit of curiosity.
"What about Adrien's axe?" Sheele asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Is Lapp able to handle it any better than the rest of us?" Najenda nodded, and she gestured to the armored man to her right, leaning against a doorway. He nodded before he stepped forward, the aforementioned axe on his back along with his normal glaive and shield.
"I can use it about three times before I need to recover, but I need to use both hands, so I won't be able to use my shield if I use that ability it has." Lapp answered, his matter of fact tone something that the group had associated with one of their newest members. "But I can't exactly control who it hits, so don't be near me if and when I use it."
"So we have that going for us at least." Najenda said somewhat somberly. "On to potential strategies. Our main goal with drawing out members of the Jaegers is mostly directed toward Esdeath. Adrien is dangerous, and so is Esdeath, but we've defeated Adrien before, so we have a better chance against him than Esdeath. Adrien will need to be dealt with by Susanoo and Lapp. Theres no other way to go about that." Najenda was about to continue before she was interrupted by a shout.
"Come on! Let me help! I've fought him before, multiple times in fact, an-" Tatsumi began, but his angry outburst was cut off before it could continue.
"Tatsumi!" Najenda said, raising her voice to the young man. "I know how you feel, but we need you to assist the others with taking out Bolic. Who knows what other secrets the empire could have up their sleeves, and we need to be ready for any possibility. Having you there as insurance will be just that. Let Susanoo and Lapp do their job, while you do yours, and we'll finally be out of this blasted city." Tatsumi clenched his fists, obvious frustration on is face, but he said nothing else. Najenda nodded at his silence, satisfied.
"What if Esdeath doesn't take the bait? What if none of them do?" This time it was Akame that asked, sitting next to Sheele on the same couch. "How will we deal with them then?" Najenda looked down slightly, thinking about the idea.
"We improvise, with the exception of Adrien and Esdeath. If Esdeath is still there, then we have no choice but to fight her with everything we have. Or If we've already taken out Bolic... Run like hell." Najenda paused, apparently contemplating over what she had just said, trying to find a way around such a situation.
"And if both of them are still there?" Tatsumi asked, a serious expression on his face. Najenda closed her eyes and thought about such a scenario, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. She refused to show it, but she was quite wary of such a possibility. If that was the case, they would need to at least separate them somehow. But just how are we going to do that? Najenda thought, before she looked up and her gaze went to Sheele, and then to Lapp. That might just work... Najenda thought.
"If they are both there, then our main objective would be to separate them, and then to eliminate Adrien. Mine did it once before, and while he did come back, it wasn't until much later. We can assume that would at least give us a good window to accomplish our objective." Najenda's plan seemed to make Tatsumi nod and Leone hum to herself.
"But how would we separate them?" Leone asked, a hint of doubt in her voice. "I mean, if we manage to get the drop on them, and they're already apart then thats fine, but what if they're having dinner or something?" Najenda smirked at that, and looked rather confident as she addressed the blonde assassin.
"I believe I have a plan for that, but unless that time comes, lets hope we get lucky. Now, I want everyone to rest up and prepare themselves for what will come, because we'll need to be as ready as possible." Najenda said, and everyone nodded curtly. She herself got up and headed upstairs, with Susanoo following shortly behind afterward. The rest of Night Raid sat around the plain living room for a while longer, contemplating how the plan might go.
The dark interior of the finely furnished bedroom welcomed Adrien as he laid in the large bed with another body next to him. Esdeath was sound asleep as Adrien stared at the ceiling, remembering how the last week had gone and how the Jaegers had been taking his information about the Abyss. As he had expected, most of them did not believe him, even if he had admitted he was undead, the concept of some ever present darkness that threatened to consume the world if the capital continued it's corruptive activities was hard to believe. It was hard for him to prove it physically as well, given that the weapons he had that dealt dark damage, or utilized aspects of the abyss, were all controllable. Although to his own mild surprise, it was only Wave that really showed any real surprise when he spoke of the various crimes the empire's officials had committed against their own people. Bols and Kurome seemed oddly familiar with such a concept, although they still seemed just as disturbed by it.
Seryu seemed to believe him at least. Esdeath had been neutral on the subject, neither agreeing or disagreeing with his statements. She had heard this all before, and it seemed her opinions had not wavered since that day he met with the emperor. Neither had her feelings toward him, as was evidenced last night. Adrien shook his head of those thoughts, although it did bring a slight smirk to his mouth.
For now it seemed as though the Jaegers trusted him, as his past actions have proven his intentions clearly. He was thankful they were all understanding. He was about to get up from his comfortable position before a distant explosion caught his ears, and Esdeath was up in a bolt. The newly awakened general looked out the window of her room and saw a distant fire on the outskirts of the city, the orange glow and black smoke visible in the moonlit city.
"The Rebel Army." Esdeath said firmly before she got out of the bed, stark naked, and narrowed her eyes at the glow, as if she was insulted by the sight. "Why attack now though?" Esdeath seemed to ask herself, before she moved to her dresser. She looked back, an order to Adrien already forming from her mouth, but stopped upon seeing Adrien already in his normal attire, the worn leather armor and pointed helmet of the abyss watcher's armor greeting her. A small smile formed on her face seeing his preparedness. "Go wake the others if they aren't already, but no one is to leave without my permission." Adrien nodded silently before he quickly made his way out of the room and down the hall.
Esdeath's smile faded as she began to dress into her usual uniform. Why would they strike now? And why so far away from the temple? Then a thought struck her. They wouldn't do such a thing... if this is part of Night Raid's ploy, then its most likely a diversion. Najenda might have been a fool for siding with the rebel army, but she isn't stupid. There is also the possibility that an operation of their's went south... or they're just covering their tracks, and this isn't an attack at all... All those thoughts went through Esdeath's head as she finished dressing and headed out the door, an air of determination and seriousness about her as she walked, even if no one was there to tell.
She finally made it to the common room to find everyone else was already there, but only Kurome was actually dressed, the others appeared to still be in their nightwear. Which in Wave's case was just a pair of boxers, and judging by the pink hue in his cheeks, he wasn't particularly thrilled about it. Bols was in a pair of pants that had light blue and white stripes, and a matching shirt with it. Of course, he still had his mask on, his facial expression hidden from the rest of them. Seryu had a solid green pajama set, with Koro still asleep in her arms, and a large green pointed hat on her head. Although she seemed very alert. Finally, Adrien was there, standing next to Bols, his expression hidden as well behind the mask attached to the helmet, and the leather armor that covered his mouth.
"Good, you're all here." Esdeath said, not having much of a reaction to their forms of dress, or undress in Wave's case. "It seems there is some kind of assault on the city." This got everyone's full attention as Esdeath continued. "I can almost guarantee that this is either the rebel army or Night Raid themselves."
"I have a feeling its the latter. They've been after Bolic for a long time now..." Kurome said contemplatively, and Esdeath nodded, a stern expression on her face.
"Should one of us go then? To at least investigate?" Adrien asked, but Esdeath shook her head.
"No, it would be better to send the demons. If it actually is nothing, then they can handle it, but if it's Night Raid... they were assigned to deal with them anyway. Now, the rest of you go get dressed." Esdeath then looked to Wave with a bit of mirth in her eyes. "Now." The rest of them needed no further instruction and left to get their clothes on, leaving Adrien, Kurome, and Esdeath in the room. Kurome looked to Adrien curiously as she munched on a cookie from her bag.
"Does dying hurt?" Kurome asked curiously as she looked to Adrien, and in response, the undead could only look at the girl in bewilderment. For a moment he stood there, unsure if the answer was rhetorical or not. Seeing as how her gaze had not faltered, and she was merely looking at him expectantly, he assumed she was being serious.
"Every time." Adrien's words seemed to satisfy Kurome as she merely nodded and bit down on another one of her sweets.
"How many times have you died?" Esdeath suddenly asked, now interested in the topic at hand. Adrien looked at her as well, but this time with a small amount of pity, wondering, if she truly loved him, how much this would hurt her.
"More than You can begin to comprehend." After saying that, and for the first time since meeting her, Adrien saw Esdeath visibly cringe. Before either of them could say anything more, the door to the common room burst open.
"General Esdeath!" A messenger of some kind burst into the room with a yell, but immediately regretted it at seeing Esdeath's penetrating stare. He froze, now unsure of what he should do or say.
"What?" Esdeath asked, a demanding tone in her voice.
"G-General, The member of Night Raid, Najenda, has been s-spotted near the edge of the city, destroying an imperial barracks with several other rebel soldiers." Esdeath's eyes narrowed at the report, suspicion already laid heavily on such a claim.
"Alright, you are dismissed." Esdeath said simply, and the messenger left just as swiftly as he entered. A thoughtful expression was now on the general's face, one that was both contemplative and apprehensive. "We'll send the Demons, the rest of us are going to stay here. I have a feeling this is nothing but a ruse." Esdeath said more to herself, but still left the room, knowing the other two had heard her.
"Now we wait I suppose." Kurome said as she munched on a cookie.
"Yes, I suppose we shall." Adrien said, as he walked over to the small window within the common room, and while he was able to see the orange glow of the attack, he couldn't help but feel like the true threat was elsewhere.
"Any sign of Esdeath?" Chelsea asked one of the rebel army soldiers as they collectively held back the city guard, her disguise as Najenda still holding strong as she fired her boss' signature revolver. Their surroundings were mostly destroyed, the guard barracks having been reduced to almost nothing after the bombs went off. She would have felt bad for killing sleeping guards had it not been for the fact this barracks had been a target for the last two months because the guards had set up a human trafficking ring within the barracks itself.
"No ma'am Still just normal soldiers. No Jaegers at all." He said, before dodging a sword swing from an imperial soldier that had rushed him. Another one came from the side, but was promptly shot down by 'Najenda'. Chelsea sighed as she wiped some of the blood splatter off her face. Well someone better show up soon, or else this was all for nothing basically. She thought before a sudden bout of killing intent hit her. She pushed the soldier next to her out of the way, and rolled away just as a large form landed where they had been.
"It looks like the great Najenda is as sharp as ever." A deep voice came to her ears as Chelsea turned around to see her attacker. The man was large and burly, with a dark beard, an experienced and eager gaze in his eyes. "My name is Sten of the four Rakshasa Demons. And today, you and your lot will be fighting us." He said with a grin, his confidence and eagerness not fading. Then Chelsea turned around, sensing the presence of the other three demons, and watched with slight horror as they fought against the revolutionary soldiers. They fought as well as they could, but the revolutionary scouts were cut down rather swiftly by the demons. "Now, why don't we see just how fearsome you truly are."
Kurome watched her surroundings carefully as she guarded Bolic, having no intention to be caught off-guard. The second in command to the path of peace was somewhat nervous, but was smiling all the while, something Kurome found was strange, but did not comment on it. Of the things she noticed from her vantage point in the main temple, was that there were few other guards besides herself. Something she expected since the entire area was being heavily monitored and guarded, as such, they could only spare so many to guard Bolic himself, with herself as one of two imperial arms users assigned to guard him.
"Are you nervous gir- er, Kurome?" Bolic suddenly questioned, causing her to look back at him with curiosity.
"Of course not, why would I be?" Kurome asked innocently, tilting her head slightly as she said so.
"No reason, I suppose there is no reason you should be nervous, after all, you are a Jaeger, but still, I find myself both dreading and gleefully anticipating a potential encounter with Night Raid. On one hand, I don't want to die and make all this fuss about The Path of Peace be done for nothing, but on the other hand..." Bolic paused, a wicked smile crossing his features. "I would love to see the look on Night Raid's faces as they die hopelessly." Kurome seemed a little put off by that, not entirely expecting that kind of response, so she looked away, ignoring the man. "By the way, where is that other girl that's supposed to be here?" He asked curiously, looking around for the second imperial arms user.
Seryu shuddered briefly, as she heard Bolic ask about her as she herself hid in the loft of the ceiling above them. It was mostly a ploy to surprise any enemies that entered, but what she had just overheard from the man, made her slightly disturbed. While she herself had grievances with the group, Adrien had softened her a little, for better or worse, her desire to see the group of assassins beheaded in the capital's central square no longer was as overwhelming as it once was.
"Maybe... Adrien was right..." Seryu thought as she looked around at the empty loft, her thoughts swarming with doubt. Whatever she thought, at the moment, it was too late to turn back, whatever this night had in store for them, the Jaegers would endure it together. Koro paced the area anxiously, occasionally sniffing the air, as if he could smell something coming.
"She's here, waiting for the right moment." Kurome responded to Bolic, before a small smile of her own appeared on her face. "That moment won't be too much longer either, I can feel it. My sister is coming closer and closer..."
Bols sighed tiredly as he patrolled with a dozen other guards on the south side of the temple, directly behind the large stone structure. He looked around briefly, the small flower bush and large iron gate being the only thing of notice on the backside of the temple. The guards around him appeared slightly nervous, as if they could feel the weight in the air shift a bit as the fire raged on the outskirts of the city, and while he couldn't see it, Bols knew it was still ongoing.
I wonder what would provoke such an attack. Bols thought to himself, but right as he did, a sudden surge of killing intent caused him to stop in his tracks and search his immediate vicinity, only for the sound of rending flesh to meet his ears as the guard furthest from him was suddenly diced into three sections, his body falling into a bloody pile, before the soldier closest to him was suddenly relieved of having an arm. He couldn't see what performed those attacks, but he aimed his imperial arms in that direction anyway and let loose. Flames burst forth from his device and seemed to stop whatever had caused the attack, three near invisible threads were now somewhat visible due to the excess of flames around them, but they soon dispersed. The parts of the string that had been hit with flames were slightly orange, giving an idea as to where they might be going.
Then Bols heard a scream that wasn't coming from the man whose arm was now a charred piece of meat on the ground. He quickly turned around to see a man fall down, with a familiar figure standing behind him. The other soldiers were caught off guard, and stood little chance as the attacker began to slice with her sword. Two more guards fell in the instant it took Bols to ready his weapon on the new foe.
"Akame." Bols said quietly as he leveled his flamethrower at the black-haired woman, who was forced to jump away as flames were spewed in her direction. "It looks like that whole fiasco over in the city was just a distraction huh?" Bols asked as he watched Akame land several feet away, the blood on her sword shimmering in the moonlight. She didn't respond, but instead got into a defensive stance. "Look out for whoever did that trick with the wires too, they can't be far." Bols warned the soldiers around him as they all got prepared for combat.
Esdeath sat as she watched the fire rage on the edge of the city, the comfortable chair she was in did nothing to alleviate the feeling of an upcoming battle. She was honestly looking forward to it, but at the same time, she was curious as to why Najenda would not be here herself. Oh well I suppose, she'll probably die when fighting the demons without an imperial arms, but if she does have one, she might be able to pull off a victory. Esdeath thought as she stared ahead. She had ordered the other members of the Jaegers to start patrols around the temple, being sure to have multiple guards per Jaeger, and orders to regroup with another Jaeger or contact her directly should they be overwhelmed.
She got up from her seat and glanced about to see that various guards were no longer in their positions around the temple's grounds, and had left vacant areas around the perimeter. She turned around and left the Jaeger's common room, rapier in hand, intent on checking the area. She exited the smaller building and made her way towards the temple, hoping to spot some guards on the way, intent on finding out why some had left their posts. But as she did, she noticed that there weren't very many guards in the immediate area round her. When there was supposed to be.
Esdeath turned around to see a blonde woman rush at her, and was somewhat surprised she hadn't sensed her presence. She formed an ice wall in a near instant, the attacker slamming against the formation, the ice cracking slightly. Then Esdeath broke through the wall herself with an ice encased hand, and reached out, managing to grab the blonde attacker by the throat. Esdeath's now confident grin met the other's determined and rage filled expression.
"Hello, Night Raid." Esdeath said as she squeezed on the blonde girl's throat. The girl's cat paw-like hands went for a punch at Esdeath's midsection, but the general did not react. Instead of hitting flesh however, it hit a thin but very solid piece of ice that formed over Esdeath's skin, a slight grunt of discomfort came from the girl, having just punched some of the toughest ice Esdeath can make.
"Hello... Bitch." Leone struggled to say, her voice coming out strained from the strong grip around her throat. A gunshot ran through the vicinity, as a bullet flew towards Esdeath, who nonchalantly threw her head forward, the bullet passing through her hair as it followed the motion. Esdeath formed a small dagger made of ice and threw it in the direction of the new attacker, only for said person to knock it out of the air with a robotic arm. Leone looked to see Najenda staring at Esdeath with an angry gaze, who returned the look with a teasing smile.
"Najenda, so glad of you to make it. I suppose the other 'Najenda' is simply a decoy? Meant to lure me out?" Esdeath asked in a mocking manner, making the leader of Night Raid grimace a bit. "I guess I hit that one on the head." Esdeath's grin then grew a little more shallow as she said this though. "Honestly... you really expected me to fall for such a simple trick? Either you've gotten rusty, or you simply vastly underestimated me." Najenda didn't reply back, which made Esdeath's smile disappear. Before she could say anything else, the blonde woman suddenly grabbed Esdeath's arm, gripping them surprisingly painfully, forcing Esdeath to release her own grip. She was about to retaliate when the woman jumped away, and a new presence made itself known as a large pair of scissors attempted to bisect her. Esdeath was forced to jump away with the aid of a small pillar of ice to avoid the attack, her pillar being cut perfectly in twain.
"Damn it." Leone said quietly as she watched Esdeath land smoothly away. She had an intrigued look on her face, as if she had just been mildly entertained by her own thoughts. This only drew Leone's anger up further, as her tail swished with anticipation. The three assassins all looked on at the general, the blue-haired woman non-pulsed by the situation.
"Give up. We have you three to one." Sheele said, surprising her group member and boss by the assuredness she had in her voice. This only caused Esdeath's gaze to go to Sheele, giving her a wicked grin.
"I like those odds." Not a second later, Esdeath rushed them, rapier poised to strike.
Adrien walked the walls of the temple ground's office area. Originally he thought it strange that a temple would have offices for it, and then he realized that most of the rooms were actually bedrooms for the various workers and staff, while the other rooms were used as storage and cooking areas. Everything that people might need in their everyday lives while living and working at the temple. Of course, all of the usual occupants were gone, most of them having been basically thrown out when the Jaegers first arrived. Not to make room for the Jaegers themselves, but instead to make room for all the additional guards they had called in when the threat on Bolic's life had been confirmed.
He had talked with the guards that had been assigned to him, and told them that if they encountered Night Raid, not to fight them, and instead flee, to let everyone else know, especially those in the temple. He didn't want them to die while getting caught in a fight between him and any that might assault him. Then he stopped, as he thought he heard something that sounded awfully similar to a gunshot.
"Was that a gunshot?" A guard to his left asked, slight concern in his voice, the dozen of them stopping with Adrien as they looked towards the direction of the sound. Adrien himself had discerned that yes, that was a gunshot, and that most likely meant the temple was under attack. Undoubtedly by Night Raid.
"Sir, should we investigate?" One of the other guards asked, but before Adrien could respond, something crashed through the roof above them, a large robed figure barreling towards them. Adrien reacted on instinct and raised his shield, a large strange and bulbous weapon striking against it hard enough to make sparks fly. The man that had just crashed through the ceiling had blue hair, white horns, and curious looking white and red robes with intricate designs. The other guards raised their handguns and fired at the man, and to Adrien's surprise, did not even filch as the bullets tore through his flesh, but with little effect, as his skin and flesh seemed to wobble and flex. Adrien quickly made a similar connection between this sight, and the sight of Koro's own body regenerating.
Then another crash sounded behind them, a new figure barreling through the wall to the outside, the new heavily armored intruder slammed into Adrien's side, managing to knock the knight off balance. The blue haired warrior landed, and delivered a roundhouse to Adrien's side, sending him flying into the wall of the hall.
"I think we got him." Lapp said rather cheerfully as he and Susanoo overlooked the damage they had caused, before glancing over to the other guards, who were frozen at the sight of the two powerhouses. Then a large sword came crashing down right in front of the two Night Raid members, as they jumped back from the attack. Adrien stepped out of the newly formed hole, his zweihander ready, and his shield raised to chest level.
"Go, I'll make sure you warn the others safely." Adrien said quietly, and the guards immediately obeyed, turning tail and swiftly running in the other direction. Susanoo and Lapp charged, their aim set past Adrien and at the guards. In response, the knight reached into his bottomless box, his armor changing to a much heavier and duller designed suit of dark plate armor. The plain almost blocky black iron helmet stared at the two assassins unflinchingly as he raised a large, red glowing axe that appeared to be made of rock. Adrien raised it above his head right as they neared, and slammed it down, the axe glowing violently as a large gush of fire and magma exploded outward from the point of impact from the axe-head with the ground. Both Susanoo and Lapp were engulfed in the attack, the molten rock and fire burning at their robes and armor respectively. Susanoo's flesh seemed to burn and melt off, but quickly began to regenerate back.
"That stings." Lapp says as molten material falls off his armor, before he swings out with his glaive at Adrien, the undead knight managing to backstep out of the attack. Susanoo was upon him as well though, as he raised a strange double ended mace that looked to have two huge white cylinders on either side of the polearm-like handle. The cylinders then opened up slits that ran along the entirety of the cylinders, and from those slits blades emerged that began to spin rapidly. The weapon slammed into Adrien's head, the impact causing gray blood to spray a bit as the blades seemed to bite a bit into the armor. At this point, the guards had managed to flee the area, leaving the three to glare at each other.
"You are as unpredictable as I was told." Susanoo said as he observed Adrien, and how drastically his appearance had changed in that short instant. Adrien looked over to him with a curious head tilt.
"And who are you?" Adrien asked the new and unknown arrival, trying to discern what kind of human could have such regeneration abilities. Unless...
"My name is Susanoo." He said in a monotone voice, showing no emotion. Adrien hummed to himself as he heard that name, not recognizing it. Perhaps... he is like Koro an is an imperial arms himself? Adrien thought as he observed the man stare at him blankly.
"Well? Are we just going to stand here?" Lapp asked impatiently, looking over to Susanoo through his large great helm. Susanoo got the message and rushed Adrien, the blades in his weapon spinning rapidly. Adrien used his axe to deflect the attack to the side, the blades grinding against the rock surface of the weapon, and with a deft hand, Adrien sucker punched Susanoo's face, but the only reaction was a small grunt. Lapp paid him in kind by sweeping his glaive at Adrien's feet, eliciting gray blood to spew out from his legs. Adrien slammed the but of the axe into Lapp's armored face as he got away from Susanoo. As Susanoo attempted to attack as well, but Adrien rolled forwards, nearly causing the blue-haired man to hit Lapp.
Lapp and Susanoo turned back towards Adrien, with Lapp raising his shield, clearly going on the defensive. The biological imperial arms however began to spin his pole-arm, this along with the spinning blades formed a large circular barrier between him and Adrien. Susanoo began to walk forward, and Lapp, seeing a better strategy before him, unequipped his shield, and instead brought out a large wrapped up object from his back. The wrapping easily fell down to reveal the dragon slayer axe that Adrien had lost in the canyon to Night Raid. Upon seeing his old weapon, Adrien became much more eager to fight.
Susanoo was almost upon Adrien, and as he got as close as he thought was appropriate, he suddenly thrust the spinning weapon forward, intending to strike Adrien with it. Adrien tossed an item up in the air, the trajectory aiming to hit Susanoo's head. The biological imperial arms deftly caught the black object, and looked at it curiously, quickly realizing it was some form of bomb.
"What did you expect to happen exactly?" Susanoo asked curiously, looking at his heavily armored enemy.
"This." Adrien said simply, before holding up his left hand, which now seemed to burn with orange flame now. He reared back and seemed to wave his arm slightly. Susanoo was confused, before he felt the temperature around him suddenly begin to increase, and then condense as orange flames coalesced and concentrate on his hand. He stopped his attack, dropped the firebomb, and rolled backwards, managing to avoid the brunt of the large fiery explosion that followed, but still getting caught in it slightly.
Lapp rushed forward into the flames, right as Adrien rushed out. Lapp raised the axe up high, and Adrien mirrored his actions with his own axe. The two of them only a few meters apart as they simultaneously slammed their axes down, a mixture of smoke, wind, fire, lighting, and magma encompassing the two of them as their attacks collided and seemed to merge. Susanoo narrowed his eyes at the center of the explosion, trying to discern what had happened, before a heavy metal clang run through the hall, and Lapp went flying away from the smoke, lacking his axe from before. The smoke soon cleared to reveal Adrien with both axes in hand, his armor still equipped, before he looked over to Susanoo, getting in a defensive stance with both axes.
Bols carefully blocked another strike from Akame as another guard fell behind him, his head having been rudely separated from his neck by a razor thin wire. Only three more guards were remaining out of the original twelve, all of the others were now in sliced up pieces on the ground, incapable of finding their opponent. Bols sprayed flames toward Akame, but she jumped to the side to avoid the dangerous attack. At this rate, I'll be dead, and theres nothing I can do, If I run, Akame would for sure out-speed me, and thats not considering the possibility that those strings have been set up around the area. Its so hard to see them , I could wind up running into a whole tapestry of them and not notice! What do I do!? Bols thought desperately as he followed Akame's movements with his imperial arms, the agile woman easily keeping out of reach of the flames.
Then he saw it, out of the corner of his eyes, all three of the guards went down in quick succession as a young man with green hair dropped down from a nearby roof. Along with that, a quickly forming hair thin strand of string that was quickly rushing for him. Then something metal tackled him away from the area, saving him from the trouble of dodging the string. He looked at his savior in curiosity to realize it was Wave, now fully donned in his Grand Chariot armor.
"You okay?" Wave asked with concern, before Bols nodded, and they both looked back to see the two members of Night Raid giving them the stink eye. They locked gazes for a brief moment, both sides seemingly considering their choices for moving forward. Then a third figure showed up, as the Incursio user landed between them. "I was told to regroup with someone if I encountered Night Raid, so I did."
"We should get to the church." Bols says quietly to Wave as he readies his flame thrower, the three assassins getting into defensive stances in response.
"Sounds good, if you cover our retreat, I'll get both of us there." Wave said back in a whisper, but as soon as he did so, the green haired assassin started to weave something with his string, the shape quickly taking the form of a giant spear, while Akame began to circle around them, aiming to flank them. The Incursio user rushed as well, aiming straight for Bols, his red spear at the ready. "Better do it now." Bols first aimed at Akame as he began to spew wild flames at her, she in turn, decided to jump up high, and towards them, her sword held above her head. Wave went to intercept, a blue trident identical to the color of his armor forming in thin air in front of him as he grabbed his weapon and blocked the one-cut-killer.
Bols swung his weapon around to the Incursio user, and then the green haired man, his finger still on the trigger. Right as he aimed it at the assassins, the Incursio user jumped up and away from the flames, while the other threw the spear of strings, aiming for Bol's chest. The large man rolled out of the way, but the spear grazed his arm, creating a shockingly deep cut. Akame was forced to push off of the trident to avoid Wave's hand as he attempted to grab her neck. Wave flew back down gently to see Bol's arm was bleeding, and without delay, he grabbed the man by the waist, and sped towards the temple. Before Akame could pursue though, a voice stopped her.
"Hold up." Lubbock said, retrieving the spear he had made. "Look." He said plainly, pointing to the opposite end of the Temple grounds, where ice shards suddenly shot up into the night, immediately followed by what seemed like flames as the images danced against the night sky.
Earlier...
Esdeath easily evaded another punch from Leone as the cat-eared girl attempted to gut punch the general. Sheele sliced at her head, but she evaded that too, her back arching as if in a limbo competition. Right before a bullet could reach her skull, she reached up with a hand made of ice, and deflected it, her sadistic smile never fading. She weaved around the two up-close assassins, before sending more ice shards at them, forcing them to evade the large number of projectiles. She then glanced at Sheele, and her smile faltered slightly.
Seryu's report said that she had been eviscerated by Adrien, and yet here she is... curious. Esdeath thought, before creating a circular ice wall around Najenda, blocking the former general's view. Leone rushed her while Sheele aimed to flank her. Esdeath raised her rapier, and surged forward at an incredible speed, intent on impaling Leone. However the blonde's animal instincts kicked in as she managed to dodge the frontal assault, but not the roundhouse kick that struck the middle of her back as she evaded. Sheele had flanked her, but Esdeath merely sidestepped her attack, and delivered a gut punch to the woman, forcing spit to escape her mouth as she was sent a good ten feet back, and onto her ass. Perhaps she survived? Or escaped? No, because she still has her imperial arms... that means Adrien would have had to have given it to her... I will need to have some words with him later.
The sound of ice breaking sounded to Esdeath's right as she witnessed Najenda shoulder check her way out of the icy prison, before aiming her revolver at Esdeath's head. Esdeath formed an ice wall before the bullet impacted, and sent the wall forward to ram the silver-haired woman. Najenda jumped over it easily, but as she did, Esdeath was waiting for her, the general's rapier aimed at her throat. Then the sound of a building being broken resonated from Najenda's right as a large piece of ruble nearly struck Esdeath in the head, the general being forced to weave away to avoid the debris. All four combatants looked to see the source of the sound to view the side of a nearby building had been destroyed, the sight of a dark armored man slowly standing up not far from the new hole-in-the-wall.
"Well that hurt." Lapp said as he got up with a grunt, before he glanced behind him to see the four women. "Ladies." After he said that, Susanoo was also sent flying out of the hole, hitting the upper portion of the new entrance, the bricks flying off of his impact. Despite this, he landed perfectly on his feet a small distance behind Lapp. The dust settled as a new figure emerged, wielding two giant axes and wearing dark heavy looking metal plate. Esdeath couldn't help but smile widely.
The Black Iron set of armor was never one that Adrien would readily use, but thanks to it's protection from fire and it's great density which helped with not getting stunned in combat, it was the perfect armor set to deal with both Patches and Susanoo. Now however it was to serve double it's purpose as he stepped through the ruined wall, and saw the small crowd of people. The Demon's Greataxe in his right hand, and the Dragonslayer Greataxe in his left. He spotted Esdeath at the other end of the group of assassins, a very pleased smile on her face.
"Looks like this party just got bigger." Leone said with a surprisingly growing confidence as the three newcomers came into play. While Adrien was among them, so was Susanoo and Lapp, two of their heaviest hitters. Sheele looked to where Adrien was, an unreadable expression on her face as she saw the knight again. Then Esdeath rushed them, soon followed by Adrien as he swung at Lapp. The armored assassin's shield easily blocked the Dragonslayer's Greataxe, and as he did, Susanoo rushed up to Adrien as well. But the biological imperial arms was once again forced to block as Adrien swung the Demon's Greataxe at him. Adrien applied a great amount of strength to both weapons, bearing them down on his attackers, before springing upwards, using his enemies as leverage to jump over them and towards the other combatants.
Esdeath used her rapier and an identical one made of ice to force both Leone and Sheele into defensive tactics, but before Najenda could capitalize on the general's situation, Esdeath leapt towards the three men, and threw her Rapier at Najenda. Forcing the woman to dodge, lest she be impaled. Esdeath landed only a few feet in front of Adrien as he did so as well, his impact causing two new deep footprints to form below him. Then both of them simultaneously turned around and got back to back, facing the assassins that now surrounded them.
"Any plans?" Adrien asked quietly as he eyed both Lapp and Susanoo. Esdeath hummed for a moment before she shrugged.
"Kill them before we find the rest of their little gang and then kill them too?" Esdeath suggested, to which Adrien didn't respond, but instead reached into his box for the second time that night. Gone now was the black iron set of armor, and instead he donned thin black-dyed brass armor plates that covered his torso. His leggings were the same, and matched perfectly, adding a ragged and torn skirt that draped behind him. His helmet had changed the most, as it no longer covered his whole face, but instead only covered the crown of his head and his eyes, it had flame like protrusions from the edges of it, and gave off a near kingly look. And in his hand he held a massive great sword, easily Adrien's own height. It looked to be made of molten steel that was marred black, as if it had been scarred by something, and was in a constant state of burning. There was a strange indention on the blade, but no one in the field could get a clear enough view to see what it was.
"Then let us end this." Adrien said, a strange sense of finality in his voice that Esdeath was not used to hearing from her lover, but simply made it one more aspect that she fell in love with.
Najenda was sweating nervously. This is exactly what we wanted to avoid. I need to tell the other three to continue with the mission somehow... if they come over here, and the other Jaegers realize all of us are focusing on Esdeath and Adrien, they might evacuate Bolic away somewhere. Najenda thought with increasing nervousness as they all stared each other down. Then ice crystals began to form around Esdeath, taking the form of sharp spikes, while Adrien dug his feet into the ground and pointed his sword straight up in the air, holding it firmly, before swing it in a arc that would have caught anyone in front of him, flames spewing into the sky as the sword was suddenly wreathed in red flames while Esdeath fired off her ice spikes, sending them at everyone around her but Adrien.
Kurome watched the doors to the temple nervously, as did every guard, some of them looking at the stained glass windows, trying to get a read as to what was going on outside the building. She knew something was going to happen soon, but she just wasn't sure exactly when. Ever since that gunshot went off, they've been hearing the sounds of battle outside, but unwilling to leave their post, Kurome, the guards, and Seryu were all remaining where they had been stationed. Thankfully their nervous wait came to a halt as the doors swung open violently to reveal Wave and Bols. Nearly two dozen guns were immediately trained on them, but they lowered upon seeing who it was exactly.
Kurome herself let a breath release she didn't know she had been holding as she saw Wave and Bols approach, with the pyrotechnic holding his arm tightly, blood running down it's length. She motioned for one of the soldier's to fetch a first aid kit, which was brought quickly as the same man began to treat the injured Jaeger.
"What happened? And whats going on?" Kurome asked as she examined Wave's armor, looking for any obvious signs of battle.
"We encountered Akame, that guy that can use strings, and the Incursio user. I think Adrien and Esdeath are taking on the rest of them, believe it or not." Wave said, while looking around the room. "Good to see you guys haven't encountered anyone yet." Kurome shrugged.
"That could just mean they're planning something." Kurome said as she reached into her bag of cookies, bringing out one of the treats before munching on it. Wave considered that as he nervously looked at Bols as the soldier finished patching him up. Then he looked over to the back of the temple where Bolic was, who was shuffling anxiously, but with an unreadable smile on his face. A smile that made Wave feel uneasy.
Then the sound of crashing was heard overhead, making everyone look upwards, where the sound of struggle could be heard in the wooden ceiling. Then a roar was heard, followed by the sound of gunshots. The unmistakable sound of Seryu fighting could be heard, along side several other footsteps. Before the ceiling suddenly caved in and two figures dropped from it. One was the Incursio user, while the other was a green haired man with strange devices on his hands fitted with razor thin strings.
The guards immediately fired into the two of them, but the Incursio user blocked all of the incoming shots with his armor, the bullets pinging off harmlessly. Then the other assassin spread out his hands, firing strings around him, he paused to look below him for a target, and once found, he swung the strings like whips towards Bolic. The Path of Peace member jumped to the side in an effort to avoid the strings, but his effort was in vain as a man with sunglasses and a large shield suddenly jumped in front of the strings, black lighting still clinging slightly to his form. The ends of the strings were digging into the metal shield rather easily, but nonetheless were blocked from their intended target.
Kurome had just summoned Wall, one of her puppets, before black and purple lightning struck the ground next to her and once again Natala emerged, once again wielding his spear, which upon his thrusting, immediately surged toward the green haired man. The assassin used his string to pull himself towards the shield bearer and away from the strike.
Tatsumi landed with a thud and attempted to cut down some of the soldiers who were now forced to reload their rifles. Only to be stopped by the Grand Chariot wielder. Tatsumi thrusted his spear forward, aiming for the man's chest, only for it to redirected by a blue trident that suddenly appeared in the man's hand. Tatsumi growled a bit, before he felt killing intent surge behind him, and was forced to jump up to avoid a spout of flames. As he descended though, the ceiling above him caved in again, revealing Seryu, who was pointing her gun at Akame as the black haired assassin came down as well. Koro's large monstrous form attempting to grab her, but was held back by well placed sword strikes. Seryu noticed Tatsumi was in the air, and changed targets, bringing her gun and sword to bear. She fired repeatedly, Tatsumi withstanding each shot easily. Seryu was forced to shift her position to land, and soon everyone was on the ground, the guards having their weapons trained on the various Night Raid members.
Akame, being the fastest of everyone in the room, maneuvered around Koro's large form, unable to do much against the biological imperial arms, she went after the guards which actually had hearts to poison. Seryu went to intercept her, but Tatsumi was after her first, and thrusted his spear at her neck, forcing her to duck. Her hair followed her, but most of her ponytail was cut off from the attack, a sign of how close she had gotten to being hit. Koro was upon the Incursio user in the next second, enraged about his Master being attacked. Wave was doing the same as he began to flank Tatsumi.
Bols and Kurome fought with Lubbock, each struggling to land a solid hit on the assassin. Natala too was having difficulty keeping up with the agile man as he bounced around between them and Wall. But eventually the three of them had managed to leave a few cuts and burns on him. He was still ready to fight, and his strings appeared to be strung taught, obviously caught on something, but none of the Jaeger's knew what. Akame herself had managed to weave through the guards, effectively halving their numbers in little time, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Kurome. Her little sister too occasionally glanced at her as she fought Lubbock, the two of them sensing the time for their coming duel was near.
As Tatsumi prepared to deliver an attack to his armored rival, the doors to the temple were broken open as Lapp's body was thrown threw them, traces of fire sticking to the front of his armor, announcing the presence of the rest of both Night Raid, and the Jaegers.
Moments Earlier...
Leone screamed in pain as the flat side of Adrien's sword struck her back, being caught off guard as she engaged Esdeath, the general only a few feet in front of her. She felt her skin burn and boil as the flame soaked blade struck her, before she was sent skidding across the dirt with her face in it. Esdeath herself only smiled as she ducked and dodged an attack from Susanoo, before using her position to swiftly turn and gut punched the biological imperial arms, the artificial man being sent skidding back several feet. Adrien was forced to roll as he narrowly dodged a pair of scissors that closed loudly right where his neck had been. The moment he got out of his role, he thrust his weapon towards his attacker, but Sheele blocked the weapon with her own.
Najenda was on the ground, an ice spike stuck in both her artificial arm and her lower abdomen as Lapp tended to her, despite her protests. The man had been on the other side of the clearing when Esdeath had sent all of those ice spikes after them, but when it was clear she had been injured, he rushed over to her. Everyone had some method to defend from them, Lapp's shield, Leone's animal reflexes, Susanoo's regeneration, Sheele's Extase, but all Najenda had was her normal reflexes.
She probably predicted my every move. Najenda thought as she winced painfully when Lapp applied wrapped more bandages around her waist. "Damn it Lapp, I can take care of myself, go help them!" She ordered, but she couldn't help but feel thankful towards the armored man for stopping to heal her.
"Your the only reason Susanoo is active remember, if you go down, so does he. You must know that right?" Najenda's head hung as she knew the man was right. She couldn't help but feel like a burden now though. "Thankfully it looks like the bleeding has stopped for now. Whatever you do, don't remove that ice, okay?" Najenda nodded weakly as he got up and unsheathed his halberd and shield. Whether they had intended it or not, the combat had taken them closer and closer to the doors of the main temple, and the whole group was now encroaching upon the building. Lapp then rushed into the fray, his main target being Adrien.
Unfortunately for Lapp, Adrien was ready for him. Esdeath formed a large ice wall that separated her and Adrien from the rest with the exception of Lapp and Sheele. Sheele went in for the general, but the imperial officer dodged each swipe as Lapp rushed Adrien. The armored assassin swung his glaive, but Adrien rolled past it, getting behind Lapp. A Powerful hand gripped Lapp as he was suddenly lifted up off the ground, before he threw the man towards the doors to the temple, before he flung a surging sphere of fire at him, that same sphere having it's own rings of fire around it, the wild pyromancy hitting it's target squarely, sending Lapp flying into the temple.
As Lapp burst through the temple doors, Susanoo, Leone, and Sheele shattered the ice wall they had been trapped behind previously. Esdeath jumped back next to Adrien, and gave him a nod, to which he gave one in return. Adrien switched his sword with the same fire-spewing axe from before, and quickly raised it above his head and slammed it down before the Night Raid members could do anything about it. Fire and magma were sent flying, forcing the assassins back, with the exception of Susanoo, who went straight through the fire, only to be knocked back by a boulder sized chunk of ice. When the smoke from Adrien's attack had subsided, they managed to see the tail end of Esdeath and Adrien as they rushed into the temple.
Najenda managed to catch that as well, and she struggled to get up as the rest of Night Raid followed after the two power houses. The others were already in the temple, and she could hear various sounds of battle from within the building, gunshots, both automatic and semi-automatic, metal clanging against metal, the sounds of both furniture and ice breaking, and the sound of fire as it was spewed around in various amounts and intensities. By the time the leader of Night Raid had reached the door, she stumbled upon a battleground. All of the pews that had most likely dominated the building before were now broken down into nothing but splinters and odd semi-still together pieces. Strewn about were the corpses of imperial guards, but two were still standing, and carrying something at the back of the room that appeared to be a covered up painting. All of the members of Night Raid had wound up mostly on the door's side of the temple, while the Jaeger's were all on the opposite end, where she could barely make out the form of Bolic as he hid behind a stone alter.
The sound of a roar made her look to her right, and saw the form of a large dog monster as it fought against Tatsumi with disturbingly human like arms and hands. Meanwhile Sheele pushed her imperial arms against the sword of the Seryu girl she had heard reports about. She was surprised the sword was able to withstand the power of Extase. Esdeath was near the back where the soldier were, a confident smile on her face as she witnessed the battle unfold. Adrien was holding off against Lapp and Susanoo on the left side of the building, with the Grand Chariot user backing him up, using his Trident to support the knight. Then in the center of the room Akame was facing off against a little girl, the obvious form of Kurome, the two sisters' blades clashing several times in a battle of reflexes
"I think enough is enough." Esdeath suddenly said, causing Najenda too look at her, and realized she had been staring at the assassin group leader the whole time. Then her gaze fell to the form of Seryu facing off against Tatsumi and Sheele. "Seryu!" Her sudden shout caused the orange-haired girl to glance at her leader right as Esdeath lifted the painting that the two remaining soldiers had brought out. The large tarp that was covering it fell off, revealing a picturesque scene of a wintery forest in the middle of the day. Adrien too glanced behind him, and once he spotted the painting, his body froze long enough for Susanoo and Lapp to get in two good hits on the knight before he was caught by Bols.
Esdeath brought the painting to bear, and then threw the whole object towards Tatsumi and Sheele, as Seryu attempted to jump out of the way. The painting rolled in the air horizontally, the front and back ends switching constantly. Sheele was faster though, and with a free hand, caught Seryu's leg as she attempted to flee. Koro attempted to intervene, but Tatsumi tackled him, and pinned him in place with his armor's strength, before he lifted the canine up, and threw him at the rolling painting. Tatsumi intended to block the attack all together, but Koro seemed to be absorbed by a bright light as the dog made contact with the painting, the object not slowing down at all. He was shocked long enough to be caught by the painting as well, his from disappearing with a swirling white light. Seryu didn't even have a chance to scream after Koro as the painting struck both her and Sheele at the same time, the two of them disappearing in the same manner.
"NO!" Adrien's sudden yell could be heard throughout the temple grounds as he attempted to save the girl, but Susanoo caught him, the imperial arm's weapon slamming into the knight's chest. The painting came to a stop at the corner of the room, close to Najenda, who stared at the new object with wide eyes.
"Damn it!" Lubbock yelled as he looked hatefully at Esdeath, before he pulled on his strings with great force. Nothing seemed to happen for a second, before blood spewed on Esdeath's back. She looked behind her to see that some kind of string trap had finally been strung on Bolic, the poor man now in more pieces than a jigsaw puzzle. She sighed in exasperation.
"I guess I should have figured Night Raid would have found some dirty way to complete their mission. But no matter." Esdeath said, as she stared straight at the green-haired assassin. "You all won't live long enough to see the results of this mission anyway." Her eyes went to the rest of the assassins before she looked over to the painting that was now lying in the corner of the room.
"This was a gift from the prime minister, its similar to an imperial arms, but doesn't require a person to actively 'wield' it. He entrusted it to me to get rid of Night Raid for good, for whoever goes in, doesn't come out." Esdeath began with a sadistic smile, but soon after her smile faltered completely. "I had hoped Seryu would have been able to avoid it, but there was no better opportunity to use it... having them distracted from fighting and all made them the perfect target. Along with those four of course, but better only one of my own gets caught than two." No one moved for a moment, everyone trying to contemplate what Esdeath had said, and what had just transpired.
"Susanoo, capture the painting!" Najenda ordered, the biological imperial arms already ready to pounce at the painting.
"Bols, destroy it if necessary." Esdeath said coldly, and while hesitant, Bols did level his flamethrower towards the painting. Adrien rose from his position silently as he reached into his box, his armor and weapons changing again in an instant. He went back to his normal armor, using the Abyss Watchers set but in each hand he wielded identical greatswords. Winds seemed to slowly gather on the swords on their own, their rough exterior being the converging point for the gathered winds. Susanoo pounced, and Bols pulled the trigger, and time slowed as Adrien rose both his weapons, and slammed each down, one in a trajectory in front of Susanoo, and the other in a trajectory in front of Bols, and while he was nowhere near either, the attacks formed huge vertical and circular blades of winds that reached the height of the temple, the attacks forming a V shape with the painting protected in the center. The attacks themselves dispersed the flames instantly, sent Susanoo sprawling backwards and impacted the walls and ceiling of the temple, the building itself seeming to crack as the immense storm like winds struck it from the inside.
"No one touches the painting." Adrien said ominously, as he began a slow walk to the painting, forcing all eyes on him. Esdeath eyed him curiously as he approached the painting. Susanoo went to attack him, but an massive ice spike formed from below him, forcing the artificial man to dodge. Esdeath's foot now had a frosty trail that led from it to the spike as she continued to watch Adrien. Once he reached the painting, he placeed his hand against it, as he too was pulled into the mysterious artifact. Then the room fell into silence, nearly all of them assuming the knight had just killed himself.
"Adrien..." Esdeath murmured quietly, a slightly shocked expression on her face as the last visages of light from the painting vanished. "What in the world are you thinking?"
Author's notes
Holy Crap! Almost 12k words! This chapter is almost too long! Honestly it would have been even longer if I hadn't decided to make it a two parter. I know you guys hate cliffhangers, and I honestly didn't want this to be a cliffhanger. But the chapter was getting too long, and for what I have planned next is going to take a bit in terms of word count too. So I hope you all understand.
But yea, that was a lot of fight. I really wanted everything to flow as well as possible, and I tried to involve everyone in one form or another, but its really hard to do that sometimes, so if the fighting seemed a bit choppy with the scene changes, I apologize. Especially with how many different areas there were to cover, you all probably noticed I skipped Wave and Tastumi's initial battle, and shorted s section up to simply what Najenda was experiencing and seeing. But anyways, despite that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...
Thanks for reading!
