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

Soul of the Painting

Within a painted world, a sea of Evergreens encompassed the land, full of rolling hills topped with enough Evergreens to conceal the hills themselves like a blanket. Each Evergreen loaded with snow and ice, the ground beneath the trees also littered with snow, making everything a canvas of green, brown, and white, even the sky itself was a perpetual shade of whitish-gray. As such was the natural state of the painted world. Only today, that natural state would be disrupted.

A large dog creature ran through the forest at incredible speeds, his rider holding on as best she could. Drips of blood fell onto the white snow, dirtying the purity of the untouched substance as the creature ran across it, marring it's image with his large paw prints. Winds rushed by his rider, her face soon becoming uncomfortably cold, not being dressed for the environment. She could only grip the creature by her legs, as her right arm was busy attempting to halt the bleeding of the stump where her left arm used to be.

Seryu cursed under her breath as a branch struck her side as Koro ran through the never-ending forest. She gripped her wound tightly, not having the time to stop and tie a tourniquet on what little remained of her arm. She looked behind her, but could not see her pursuers, nevertheless due to Koro's tracks, and her own blood trail, she knew they would find her eventually.

"Koro, try to smell for somewhere safe! Fire, or food or something! Some kind of civilization!" Seryu cried desperately as they travelled the snow-covered forest. Koro did just that, stopping momentarily to sniff the air. Seryu took the opportunity to take out a large rag from her pocket and aggressively tie a make-shift tourniquet around her stub. It was difficult and she was forced to utilize her mouth, but she managed it, the blood stopping soon after. Then she noticed that the blood trail she had been leaving was worryingly large, and her head had been getting lighter and lighter the longer they ran through the forest. Then Koro set off again, just as quickly as he had been before.

Seryu held on with her right arm, trying to see any form of path or indication this direction had been travelled before. But unfortunately, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The only thing that changed in fact, was the height, because they were now going up an incline. Obviously they were going up some kind of hill, but she could not begin to see the top due to the sheer number of trees. Eventually the hill seemed to level out slightly, and then suddenly they broke through to the first clearing the young guard had seen since coming here. And in the middle of that clearing was a small log cabin with smoke rising from a brick chimney near the back of the building. Koro approached the building carefully, cautious of whoever might be in it, but Seryu was too desperate to be bothered with such cautiousness. She got off of Koro and banged on the door, her consciousness becoming more hazy with each passing second.

"Please! Help us! We... We're hurt!" Seryu called out, loud enough to where anyone within the cabin could her her, but quiet enough that hopefully her Night Raid pursuers would not hear her. Seryu heard the soft trading of foot falls as they approached the wooden door. Seryu could tell that whoever it was, was probably not wearing shoes for some reason. The door opened slowly, and what appeared before the young guard surprised her.

"You are... hurt?" A young woman asked, she looked to be Seryu's age, but she was nearly a full foot shorter than the Jaeger. She wore long gray robes that draped along the floor as she walked. Behind her and inside of the building was a cozy interior with a pot by the chimney fire, and on that whole side of the cabin were numerous paintings, all of which looked to be fairly abstract and made with a great amount of white, black, and red. Despite all of this, the girl's features really struck Seryu as she stared into the smaller woman's crimson eyes. Her hair was as white as the snow around them, and her skin was extremely pale, almost ghostly. Seryu only knew of one other person to have such features.

"A-Adrien?" Seryu asked, her mind becoming even more fuzzy from the stark similarities between the woman and her role model. The pale girl looked at her confused, before she caught sight of Seryu's arm. She looked behind the guard and saw Koro as well, who's size was quickly shrinking.

"Come inside, please." The woman said, and as if on instinct, Seryu entered groggily, Koro following closely behind, but as she entered the warmth of the home, that was when she noticed the pale woman's hair, as she realized it was long enough to cover the length of a full bed. Another moment later, and Seryu felt her balance finally give, as her face quickly made contact with the floor, knocking her out cold.


"W-What is this place?" Sheele asked as she shivered, not being equipped for the snowy climate in any way. Her purple dress and undergarments were all she had on, and while she was used to the natural cold of the northern capital, this was a cold more akin to the Northern kingdoms and provinces therein. Something that she was not prepared for.

"I don't know, but if I had to guess, its some kind of... separate world." Tatsumi said, no longer equipped in the Incursio armor, but still well equipped for the cold due to the vest and jacket he always wore, and the fact he had lived in conditions arguably worse than this. He glanced at Sheele and sighed in exasperation before he took off his jacket and handed it to the purple-haired woman. She looked at it with curiosity, but knowing she needed something heavier, she took it and equipped it. She could still feel the chill, but it wasn't as bad as before. "The tracks are still present because its not snowing." Tatsumi said, his hunter instincts coming back to him from his time in the village. "It might not stay that way, so we need to move quickly." He said, continuing their trek through the forest, following the paw tracks of their enemies's imperial arms.

"What are we going to do if we find them?" Sheele asked, and Tatsumi chuckled, for to him, the answer was obvious.

"Kill them of course, and then we find a way out of here." Tatsumi said confidently, a confidence that Sheele did not share.

"But... what if there is no way out?" Sheele asked with a scared tone, Tatsumi didn't respond as he trudged forward through the snow. Sheele was silent as well, unsure of if she should ask again or not. The tracks were thankfully very clear, along with the frozen blood that followed the paw prints. The assassin remembered vividly catching the Jaeger off guard immediately after their transportation, and managing to slice the woman's arm off, but before she could finish her off, the dog creature had picked her up and ran off at the Jaeger's instructions. Afterwards, Tatsumi deactivated his armor and allowed himself to rest as they searched for the Jaeger.

Several more minutes passed as they continued to follow the trail, not speaking, with Sheele holding onto Tatsumi's jacket firmly, and Tatsumi occasionally rubbing his hands together for warmth. The trail seemed to come to a brief stop where they could see it suddenly veer off in a new direction. Tatsumi hummed as he saw this. Sheele walked up to him curiously.

"What is it?" Sheele asked, Tatsumi looking off in the new direction the trail took.

"The trail suddenly goes in that direction, a near ninety degree change in course... either they saw something over there, and went for it, or saw something in the other direction and ran away from it." Tatsumi said aloud, and looked about for a new trail that might have followed the Jaeger. There was no sign of any other trail. "Actually... I think we're the only ones in this forest... period." Tatsumi suddenly piped up, Sheele listening with growing curiosity. "You hear that?" Tatsumi asked rhetorically. "No birds, no animals, and on the ground, there are no other tracks in the snow besides that girl's and our own. Its like... this place is desolate." Tatsumi's observation made both him and Sheele much more wary of this place, as if there was some other being in the forest, then it most likely had impressive hiding abilities. Either possibility made them worry.


A moment became a near eternity as both Night Raid and the Jaegers stared at the painting where Adrien had just vanished through. The Knight having shocked both groups with the intense winds that his swords had produced not a few moments earlier, creating giant dangerous looking cracks in the ceiling and walls where the winds had impacted. Everyone there saw what had transpired as Adrien supposedly sentenced himself to death or whatever else awaited him in the painting. However there was one person in the temple that knew better than to think Adrien would give up on life so easily.

"I recommend we heed his words Najenda." Esdeath spoke, her voice loud and clear over the stunned silent fighters. "I trust Adrien to know what he's doing." Esdeath said, a strange smile on her face. Najenda though, after having recovered from the previous scene, glared at the general and scoffed.

"I bet you do." Najenda said dangerously as she considered the offer. The ex-general could tell that Adrien actually meant something to the blue haired woman, or else she wouldn't have even bothered to talk. But the alternative is tempting as well, if we destroy the painting, then we could get rid of Adrien and another member of the Jaegers... But at the loss of both Tatsumi and Sheele. I don't think I can accept that unless it was a last resort. Najenda thought mournfully, the thought of having to abandon two valuable team members just to get rid of Adrien was a horrendous, even if understandable, thought. Thankfully, there was an alternative. "But I don't. I'm taking that painting, and I'm going to find a way to free my people. Susanoo, you know what to do." The biological imperial arms nodded and turned toward the painting, only to come face to face with Wave.

"If anyone's taking that painting, its us." Wave said defiantly, echoing the thoughts of his Jaeger members. Susanoo was about to attack him, but the temperature in the air suddenly took a nose-dive as Esdeath activated her powers, a giant ice spike suddenly forming around the painting, trapping it in the ice. Wave dodged the attack from Susanoo, and proceeded to counter with an armored first landing in the imperial arm's chest. He was pushed back by a foot, and Lapp followed Susanoo's example by attacking Wave. He didn't get far before being blocked by Esdeath's rapier. She had rushed into the fray, intent on stopping the assassin group from messing with the painting.

Two katanas clashed again as Kurome struck out at Akame, while Natala attempted to flank. Before the puppet could get close though, a bullet ripped through it's unfeeling shoulder, courtesy of Najenda. The former general dodged a bout of flame from Bols, and retaliated with two shots from her revolver, but Bols merely continued to fire his imperial arms, the flames from the device melting the lead, and throwing off the bullets trajectory, causing them to miss. The flames scorched the wall where Najenda had been, with Leone suddenly taking over, and charging the flame wielder. But a pillar of ice sprung up from beneath the blonde, slamming into her stomach, making her collide with the roof. The large cracks that were already there growing exponentially. A large chunk of the loft suddenly came down, followed quickly by the stone and tile roof above. Everyone managed to dodge the section of roof, but it left a large pile of rubble between the two groups,

"Any more damage, and the whole building will collapse." Lapp said, a bit of caution in his voice. He glanced over to see the painting still trapped within the ice, the ice itself now having dust and a few pieces of rubble on it's surface.

"Then maybe we should avoid bringing any more damage to it." Esdeath said, her smile having never left her face. Najenda looked at the general with surprise. She thought about what Esdeath had said, considering the offer. "So why don't we take this whole fiasco outside?"

"Not a chance Esdeath. Leaving that painting alone, here, I can't allow that. If we can't rescue them, then I sure as hell am going to make sure your people don't come out of there." Najenda said in defiance, Esdeath staring at her with a challenging gaze. For a moment, both groups once again stood there, awaiting definitive orders.


The first thing Adrien noticed about his surroundings were the signs of battle in the snow around him. In many places the ground that was beneath the snow was visible, and there were a few smatterings of blood here and there. It was impossible for him to tell what exactly had happened, until he saw the large pool of blood that surrounded what he recognized as Seryu's arm. In it's grip was one of her pistols, the muscles still tense from when she had been fighting. The undead walked over to it slowly, and knelt down by it's side, before picking it up gently, as if it would break. He looked around far more frantically, and noticed that a trail of blood followed Koro's paw prints as well as two other sets of human shoe-prints. He gently put the severed arm within his bottomless box before standing up fully.

"She was pursued in trying to escape. She will not know of the dangers within a painting. None of them will..." Adrien stopped as he noticed that he could hear nothing, with the exception of the occasional breeze, there were no birds, no wolves, nothing. It was eerily silent. He quickly stood up, and followed the trail in a sprint. The blood trail only becoming slightly smaller, until it suddenly stopped altogether when the trails took a sharp turn at a point in the forest. He followed it without question.

Adrien worried at what he might find at the end of the trail, whether it be corpses or otherwise. Didn't general Budo say that people have ventured into this place, only to never return? Adrien slowed down as he considered that thought. Then where are the bodies? There were no other corpses at the area of arrival, and I have not spotted any since following the trail. Adrien couldn't decide if that fact was more, or less worrying.

That was about the time when Adrien came upon the backs of two individuals he knew well. Tatsumi and Sheele were both facing forward, following the trail ahead of them determinedly. They had not noticed his approach. He slowed his pace and instead followed them in silence, wondering what they would do if they found Seryu. Although, he had a good idea of what it was they were planning.

They parted through the trees into a clearing, and upon reaching the clearing himself, Adrien saw that there was a log cabin situated in the center of the clearing, and was where Koro's trail stopped. Adrien felt the sudden urge to barge through the door in the cabin to find out who was inside, and who had Seryu. That was when Tatsumi activated Incursio, and Sheele unsheathed Extase. Before they could take another step towards the house, Adrien acted. He sprinted forward, creating a lot more noise than he had before. Tatsumi and Sheele turned around in shock at the commotion made by the knight.

What the fuck is he doing here!? Tatsumi screamed in his head as Adrien's form came closer and closer, his iconic Zweihander in his right hand and a silver shield in his left. Sheele sensed an attack coming, and ran to her right, on Adrien's left in an attempt to flank him. Tatsumi simply readied himself in a defensive position, ready for the knight's attack. Instead however, Adrien ran further right, avoiding Tatsumi by going around him. For a moment, both Night Raid members were confused, before realization hit them.

Tatsumi surged to block the knight, but upon getting close, Adrien whipped around and threw a small throwing knife, the projectile hitting Tatsumi's chest, but bouncing off of the armor harmlessly. Tatsumi struck with his spear, but it was blocked by Adrien's shield, before Tatsumi was forced to dodge a large sweep from the Zweihander. Sheele rushed against Adrien, her giant pair of scissors open, aiming for the knight's mid-section. Adrien shifted his Zweihander upside down, and swung his shield out to meet the scissor on his left side. The imperial arms impacted with the sword and shield, a solid clang rang out within the clearing, echoing throughout, both weapons and shield refusing to budge. Sheele tried to press her imperial arms together, but it would not budge, only eliciting sparks against the sword and shield. Before Tatsumi could intervene or Adrien could counter attack, the door to the cabin opened.

"Wait!" A gentle voice called out, the door to the cabin open to reveal a pale woman with equally as pale hair, and a pair of crimson eyes, looking upon the scene with a pleading expression. Adrien, upon seeing the woman, recognized her immediately. A wave of relief struck the undead upon realizing that Seryu was taken in by her instead of a stranger. "Please, do not fight. This place... has known not much, so please, do not let it be filled with violence." Adrien considered her odd words, wondering what this place did know if not violence. Nevertheless he back-stepped out of the scissors and merely stood there in an undefended stance.

Sheele was hesitant to follow the woman's request, worrying that it might be a trap, especially considering Adrien had heeded her words with no hesitation. Then Tatsumi struck Adrien, an armored fist meeting the knight's face, and sending him sprawling back, but he did not retaliate, instead merely trying to get up from his position. Tatsumi would not allow it as he pounced on the knight, and proceeded to strike Adrien's face repeatedly with his fists, grey blood spewing out after each hit.

"Please, no!" The woman called again, but to no avail, as Tatsumi did not stop. Adrien finally grabbed his fists, and held them back, not letting Tatsumi strike him again. Sheele came up behind Tatsumi and put a hand on his shoulder, making him glance at her, and after a tense moment, he stopped attacking, and allowed Adrien to get up.

"Give me one reason..." Tatsumi said, his voice low and dangerous. Adrien said nothing, but instead went over to the pale woman. She looked at him worriedly for a second, before realization stuck her, and a smile of familiarity found itself on her face.

"Ashen One, tis truly you." the woman said, stepping out onto the snow, but it did not seem to bother her. "It has been so long... so terribly long." She said, before coming up to the undead, and much to Adrien's surprise, hugged his waist. "Uncle Gael never returned, I assume the worst happened to him. After I managed to finish the Painting of Ash, everything began to fall apart in the church. So I fled into it, here." The pale woman explained, and Adrien gently laid his hand on top of the woman's head in a comforting manner. He remembered briefly that this painting was made within the Painted World of Ariandel. He wondered how this painting had left the other, but supposed that was not something to worry about.

"I see. Has anyone else come here?" Adrien asked curiously, but received a head shake from the woman. "Curious." Adrien supposed that anyone that came into the painting could have gotten lost and died from the temperature, but he was not sure. "Lets step inside then, I have come to procure a visitor." Adrien said as he and the pale woman both began to head back to the cabin. Tatsumi and Sheele both looked at each other, unsure of what to do now.

"If you would both like to join us, you are welcome to, but please do not fight." The woman offered, turning around to face the assassins, Adrien stopping as well, offering no words, but instead he put his weapon away, it and the shield disappearing into the box. Sheele tentatively stepped forward, with Tatsumi close behind, his armor still active.


"Why are we here?" Tatsumi quietly asked Sheele as he and the purple haired girl watched as Adrien checked on Seryu, taking out her dismembered arm, and seemingly contemplating something. The pale lady was next to him, occasionally commenting on something, but Adrien seemed not very keen on responding.

"Because we have no way of leaving?" Sheele added, and Tatsumi merely sighed in defeat, knowing she was right, even if that wasn't the point of his question.

"No, I mean, why are we here with Adrien of all people? We should be fighting him, trying to find a way out of here, not just sitting here watching him... do whatever he's doing." Tatsumi said distastefully, but he got quiet, apparently not wanting to comment further on their predicament.

"Do you think there is anything I can do?" Adrien asked the Painting Lady, looking down at Seryu's sleeping form, with Koro by her side, also asleep. In his hand was her lost arm, as he considered if there was any way to reattach it. He honestly had little experience with dealing with such a serious medical situation. Considering it was near impossible for an undead to receive a 'life-threatening' injury, it was unsurprising. He was either active or inactive, rarely did injuries or damage have much of an impact on his abilities and strength. The broadsword he had given her was lying nearby, along with the twin pistol she still had on her.

"I do not know." The Lady said honestly, and reached out to gently touch Seryu's leg. "It might be too late for her arm to be reattached Ashen One." Adrien thought about that, and indeed she was right. Unless I use humanity on her, but even that may not restore her limb. Adrien thought despairingly. He looked behind him at the two assassins, and noticed that Sheele was looking around the cabin, taking in the sights, while Tatsumi was staring at him, Incursio still hiding his expressions.

"Mr Adrien?" A small voice asked, and Adrien immediately turned back to Seryu to see she was now slowly waking back up, looking up at him with a confused expression. "What happened? Why are you in my room?" Seryu's question carried with it a a dazed tone, not comprehending her surroundings.

"You are not in your room Seryu." Adrien said simply, kneeling down next to her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You are within the Painting of Ash. With an old friend of mine. We are... safe..." Adrien said tentatively, glancing behind him. Seryu followed his gaze, and upon seeing the two members of Night Raid, her daze vanished, her eyes widened, and her memories of coming to the painting resurfaced like waking up from a nightmare. She shot up suddenly, reaching for one of her guns, but instead, Koro jumped in her lap and growled threateningly. The two members of Night Raid shot up and assume defensive stances as well.

"Stop." The pale lady said defiantly. Adrien merely rose, and faced Night Raid, clear that if they wanted to start something, he would be in the middle of it. "Not in my world. Not in my home." Adrien relaxed, but the humans among them did not.

"Stop? We've been trying to kill each other for months, he's killed our friends!" Tatsumi exclaimed, a spear now pointed at Adrien. "I won't rest until he's dead and stays dead!" Tatsumi's declaration put Seryu even more on edge, while Sheele looked off to the side.

"He didn't kill me, even when he had the perfect opportunity too." Sheele said tentatively, causing Tatsumi to freeze, as he knew this to be true. Seryu looked at Adrien, but the undead kept his sights on Tatsumi, as did Tatsumi him.

"If you do not fight, I can take all of you back to the physical world." The pale lady suddenly interjected, making everyone look at her with wide eyes, with the exception of Adrien. Seryu put a hand on Koro's head, and the imperial arms calmed down, while Sheele lowered her stance. Tatsumi looked to Sheele, a bit hesitant to lower his guard, but reluctantly, he did so as well.

"Can we leave then?" Adrien asked, and the Painting Lady paused, looking away slightly in thought. A moment passed in silence as they waited on an answer. Adrien was about to ask again, but the Lady responded before he could.

"Yes, of course Ashen One, we shall have to go somewhere more open then." She said quickly, and began to move towards the fireplace, where there was a large pot sitting upon the grate above the fire. She removed the dark iron lid from it and a golden light shone from within. "But first, would anyone like some estus soup?"


This is just getting ridiculous. Chelsea thought in exasperation as she fought the four Rakshasa demons. Even if they did not possess imperial arms or any sort of special equipment, what made them deadly was their training and their strange abilities in the form of incredible bodily manipulation. She had been forced to deal with incredibly strange attacks and strategies. The demon named Mez had the capability of making her sweat much more sticky and dense than normal, and acted a lot like tar or a heavy oil. Making it perfect for keeping someone in place. The others had similarly ridiculous, or even more impressive abilities.

Chelsea, still disguised as Najenda deftly dodged, a disturbingly flexible arm and fist as it attempted to punch her, extending unnaturally from the demon named Ibara, his disturbing smile never fading.

"What wrong girly?" Ibara teased, as Chelsea was forced to jump away from an attempted bear hug from Sten, the large man only chuckling as she bounded away. "Not scared of the Rakshasa demons are you?" But as she stopped to catch her breath, a sharp pain struck her nerves as a needle-like point drove itself into the back of her right shoulder. Chelsea glanced behind her as she saw the last demon, Shuzuka, pointing her index finger at her, the nail having extended a dozen feet to pierce her shoulder.

"I believe she is Ibara." Shuzuka said teasingly as she broke off her fingernail, the inhumanly sharp nail falling to the ground. "Either that or she's severely underestimating us... unless all your imperial arms can do is make you look like someone else, because that would be really underwhelming." Chelsea snarled a bit as the nail left her arm and she looked menacingly at the four demons, quickly making the decision to get serious about this fight. So in a puff of white smoke, she went from Najenda to her original form. The demon's smiled at her change.

"Decided that a change of form was in order?" Mez teased as she got closer to the Night Raid member.

"Yes, in fact I did." Chelsea said triumphantly, and in another puff of white smoke, her formed changed again. The four demons had to pause in shock as they saw her new form. Mez for one seemed to go from sadistically entertained, to outright scared upon seeing Chelsea's new form.

"Don't be fooled." Ibara said fearlessly as he got even closer to Chelsea. "Even if she has that woman's from, that doesn't mean she can copy her imperial arms too." He rapidly approached, intent on striking the woman. However he was stopped when his foot was frozen upon the ground he tread, ice quickly crawling up his leg. He looked back at Chelsea's new form, the eyes of Esdeath looking back at him.

"Is that what you think huh?" Chelsea said, but with Esdeath's voice coming out as clear as day. "Then you'll be sorely disappointed." Then from below Ibara, a dozen ice spikes sprouted from beneath him, fast enough for him to not be able to react as he was impaled in twelve different locations, two of which were his head, killing him instantly. "I might not be the real Esdeath." Chelsea began again as she readied her new rapier. "But I can assure you I am just as deadly." She pounced after Mez with inhuman speed.

The blonde-haired, dark-skinned girl dodged quickly, managing to avoid being impaled by the rapier. However Chelsea followed up by driving her other fist into the girl's stomach. Mez coughed, as she was thrown back, and landed roughly, and clutched her stomach. Then she felt something warm on her hand, and looked down to realize her stomach was now bleeding. She looked back up to see Chelsea's fist was now encased in ice, with small spikes where her knuckles were.

Sten ran at her side, aiming to punch her in the side of the head, but Chelsea ducked, the woman's blue hair trailing behind, being caught in the punch to no effect. A soft hand was placed upon Sten's chest, before his entire body was frozen solid. Chelsea reared her still ice-covered hand back, and punched the living ice sculpture, the man breaking into pieces not unlike stone. Seeing her comrades dispatched so quickly, Shuzuka took a few steps back in fear, having not expected this level of brutality in return from their target. Then Chelsea rounded on the dark-haired woman. Shuzuka extended all of her nails at once at Chelsea's Esdeath form, but instead of a body, the sharpened nails found themselves imbedded inside a wall of ice that appeared in a fraction of a second. She broke off the nails, but Chelsea had jumped over the wall, and began to shoot ice shards at the demon, who narrowly dodged each one. They planted into the stone ground harshly, and before Shuzuka could react, new ice spikes formed from the shards, all headed in her direction. She dodged most, but one caught her in the leg, forcing her to the ground with a yelp as blood poured from her right leg. She heard a whistling sound, and looked above her just in time to see Chelsea's heeled foot crash into her skull, turning it into pulp.

Mez stood up slowly, the wound on her stomach still bleeding, but still hoping she could contribute to the fight, or flee if necessary. She looked about for Shuzuka, desperately looking for who she thought was the only other survivor. She was wrong. Esdeath's form landed behind her, making her jump as she turned around fiercely.

"Sorry, but I think I've wasted enough time here as it is." Chelsea said, looking at Mez threateningly. "I need to get back to the real Najenda, so..." Mez struck first, thrusting a fist at Chelsea's face, making contact with her cheek, but instead of meeting flesh, her fist struck hard ice, making Chelsea smile. "It truly is terrifying how much power she has, and to think she holds back just to see people fight..." Then she punched Mez's face back, her jaw breaking from the force, before Chelsea back-stepped, and thrust forward with her rapier. The tip pierced Mez's right eye, sticking out of the back of the blonde's head, unable to move as she met her match. Esdeath's form disappeared in a puff of white smoke as Chelsea reappeared, Mez's corpse falling ungracefully. A small tingle was in the back of her mind, as the cost of turning into Esdeath with her imperial arms weighed on her for a moment."Now..." Chelsea said to herself as she looked up to where the temple was located, noticing that even in the dark of the night, the temple appeared damaged. "...Its time I joined this little show."


Tatsumi and Sheele followed the forms of Adrien, Seryu, and the strange lady. Adrien was holding a painting and stand for it as he walked as well, doing so because the pale lady had requested it. They had walked in silence as they approached a larger clearing, away from the cabin. The trees around them were the same as all the others they had come across, but due to who they were following, to Tatsumi at least, they seemed much more ominous. Sheele was shivering slightly in the cold, as was Seryu, but Adrien and the pale lady were unaffected, while Tatsumi, still donned in Incursio was kept safe from the temperature.

"Sheele." Tatsumi whispered, without turning to her, and she looked at him curiously. "I have a plan. Once she opens some portal or whatever, we take her and Seryu hostage. Force Adrien to stay here, and once we get back to the real world or whatever, we destroy the painting. Keep Adrien from ever coming back and hurting Night Raid again." Tatsumi's plan made Sheele's eyes widen, and she looked ahead at the other three, considering the plan. "It should be easy, if we can get Seryu, Adrien won't do anything that could get her hurt. You'll grab her, and I'll grab the pale lady. If Adrien tries anything, you know what to do." Sheele was hesitant, but nodded nonetheless. Despite her conflicted feelings toward Adrien and his actions, she needed to remain loyal to Night Raid. Even if it meant resorting to less than savory measures.

"We are here." The lady said, as they broke through the treeline into a large clearing, easily enough space to fit a large colosseum. Seryu looked around briefly, now able to admire the calm beauty of the snow covered land. Adrien stepped ahead, and placed the canvas on the holder, put down a small seat in front of it, and stepped aside for the painting lady to do her work. She stepped forward, climbed on the seat, and withdrew several items that she placed upon a small ledge where the canvas was held. Adrien watched her as she dipped a brush into a jar full of a black liquid. So black, that it looked almost sinful to be here amongst the white of the snow. He recognized the pigment, and as she began to stroke upon the canvas, he heard fast footsteps. He had little time to react as an armored fist struck his face, sending him away from the lady, while Tatsumi pointed his spear at her. Adrien quickly got to his feet, prepared to fight once again.

"Mr Adrien..." A weak voice called, and he turned to see Seryu, with half of Extase held against her neck, the blade ready to slice her throat at a moments notice. He froze in his tracks, Koro was on the ground in front of Seryu, still small, and was growling at Sheele, but even the dog could recognize the danger his master was in.

"Now." Tatsumi stated clearly, his gaze on Adrien, but his voice directed at someone else. "Take me and Sheele home. Or Adrien's friend is dead." The Painting Lady paused, gazing at Tatsumi sadly, and then Adrien, before she once again began to paint. Adrien did nothing but gaze between Tatsumi and Sheele, watching them carefully.

"I'm sorry." Sheele whispered to Seryu, remorse in her voice. As much as she felt that this was wrong, she needed to get back to Najenda, and she owed too much to Night Raid to simply abandon them or act against them.

"If you were sorry, you'd let me go." Seryu whispered back with venom. Sheele winced as the comment, but said nothing further.

"Well? How long is it going to take!?" Tatsumi asked dangerously, shifting his gaze to the Painting Lady. She said nothing at first, continuing to stroke on the canvas, making Tatsumi press his spear to her neck, which made her stop.

"I apologize, but if I paint too quickly, then it will simply become another world. I must concentrate." She said quietly, and after another moment, Tatsumi's spear left her neck. She continued, and he watched curiously as she once again dipped her brush into the black, tar-like liquid, but when it contacted the canvas, it became a myriad of whites, grays, browns, and most obviously, blacks.

"What are you painting with?" Tatsumi asked, genuinely curious about the mysterious substance.

"It is a pigment, as dark as the soul of man." She said cryptically, to which Tatsumi cocked his head, approaching the jar. He gently reached out, his spear going down to his side as he focused on the mysterious substance.

"Don't, Tatsumi, it is dangerous." Adrien suddenly warned, making the assassin look back at him, and then the pigment. He stopped, and for a moment, everyone else did too. Seryu adopted a look of tension as she feared anything that Adrien would consider dangerous. Sheele seemed tense as well, worried about what her partner might do next.

"Yeah, and so am I." Tatsumi said as he gently dipped the tip of his left hand's index finger in the jar, before bringing it back out, his finger now having a small amount of the tar-like substance on it. He brought it to bear, and showed Adrien. "Heh, worrying me for nothing." Tatsumi said, as he flicked his finger in an attempt to get rid of the substance, only for it to remain on his finger. He did it again, with the same result, and slowly, the pigment dissipated as it seemed to meld into the armor. "W-What?" Then he tensed up, dropping his spear as his right hand gripped left, the appendage suddenly spazzed slightly, as if in pain. Adrien became on guard as Tatsumi grunted in pain, the sensation quickly spreading to his arm, and then his chest, his cries becoming louder as the pain spread.

"Quickly! Get away from him!" Adrien commanded as he rushed past the struggling Tatsumi and grabbed the pale lady, as well as the pigment, and the canvas, quickly stuffing it into his bottomless box. Sheele reluctantly let Seryu go, allowing her to get free, but the moment she did, Koro grew to his full hight, and she was forced to dodge as the giant dog attempted to swallow her whole.

"Koro! Not now!" Seryu exclaimed, much to the surprise of both Sheele and the dog, as he paused. "With Adrien!" She ordered as she stood up and ran to meet with Adrien and the woman, who was already by the edge of the clearing. A pained scream met Sheele's ears as Tatsumi cried, his entire body now gripped in an unknown pain. Waves of black ripped from where his finger had dipped into the pigment to the rest of his body, not unlike ripples of water. She wanted to help him, but unsure if she was capable to do so. She didn't understand why this was happening, and the only two that might know were behind her.

"T-Tatsumi?" Sheele asked warily as she stepped closer, Tatsumi's body still pulsating with a strange black energy. She reached out, but as she did so, Tatsumi lashed out at her, his armored hand now ending in sharp claws. Fortunately, a shield was there to block them as Adrien jumped in front of her.

"Go." Adrien said simply, and as he did, Tatsumi's helmet suddenly split open like a maw, with sharp rows of teeth encompassing the inside of the newly formed mouth. Sheele did as she was told and fled to where Seryu and the pale lady was, as Tatsumi gripped the shield that was blocking him tightly, and let out a deafening roar in Adrien's face. The red eyes that Incursio came with now had a set of red irises and black pupils, and stared at Adrien. Whatever Tatsumi had become growled at the knight as it's form quickly grew, the talons on it's hands and feet becoming longer as well. Tatsumi threw Adrien aside roughly, the knight able to remain standing despite the rough treatment.

Sheele watched in worry as Tatsumi's form became more animal as he grew in size, now reaching nearly twice the teen's original height. Seryu grabbed her roughly and forcefully turned Sheele around to face her.

"What is that!? Is that his imperial arms?" Seryu threatened, and despite lacking one arm, she was ready to intervene in Adrien's fight and help him if need be. Sheele shook her head in confusion as she looked over to Tatsumi's form.

"N-No, this is... something else." Sheele said forlornly, watching as Tatsumi roared and pounced at Adrien, the knight needing to roll out of the way to avoid the strike. Seryu withdrew her blade with her good hand, and Koro growled as the two prepared for a fight.

"The beast..." The pale lady said, causing the former guard to stop in her tracks. "The beast within the armor was never tamed. It reacted to the pigment, and is now consuming the boy." She said ominously before Sheele suddenly stepping forward.

"Then we have to help him, please!" Sheele begged, hoping that her friend might be spared or saved.

"It is likely only a matter of time before the beast calms down... but it might be too long for us to try to survive..." The pale lady said sadly, clearly not joyed about the prospect of Tatsumi being lost to the beast, but unable to stop it from happening. Seryu watched pensively as Tatsumi took a swipe at Adrien, who back-stepped and withdrew his Zweihander, and swung back. Tatsumi jumped up above Adrien, and landed behind him, and proceeded to kick him in the back, the teen's form growing bigger and more monstrous the more time that passed. Adrien recovered quickly, and as Tatsumi once again lunged, Adrien squatted low, and thrust his Zweihander forward, Tatsumi impaling himself on the massive blade. A vicious roar escaped Tatsumi's new maw as he slashed at Adrien, but the undead withdrew his blade and blocked the attack with his shield.

"No..." Was all Sheele could say as Tastumi's blood pooled around him, the withdrawing of the blade, causing quite a bit of the crimson liquid to fall onto the snow. Adrien rolled away as Tatsumi weakly attacked him. The armored assassin got on all fours, reeling from the blow. Adrien kept his distance, and watched mournfully. "Please! Do something!" Sheele begged Adrien as tears welled up in her eyes, the sight of her friend bleeding out almost too much for her. She was angry at the knight, but knew that he was merely defending himself. A strange sound came from Tatsumi, a sound not unlike flesh being melded and shaped. She watched as Tastumi's bleeding stopped, and his form grew even bigger, quickly becoming the size of a small house. Then the cape to the armor began to stiffen up and split int two, the red cape quickly shaping themselves, and becoming membrane. Adrien backed up even more as Tatsumi got quiet. Then a monstrous animalistic roar escaped what was once Tatsumi.

"So that..." Seryu began, now realizing what had become of the assassin. "...Is Tyrant." The roar sounded again as Tyrant rushed after Adrien, the dragon spreading it's wings threateningly. Adrien dodged under the dragon, and sliced upwards, hitting it's belly, causing blood to cover the knight, but that wound quickly began to regenerate. Tyrant tried to get in front of Adrien, but the undead kept fleeing underneath the beast, and striking at it's legs and belly.

"What is Tyrant? What happened?" Sheele asked Seryu in desperation, wanting to know what had become of her friend.

"Tyrant is the danger beast that Incursio was made from. I began to study Imperial arms when I became a Jaeger, wanting to know everything there was about what you all would bring to the table. Incursio was special though. Along with its enhanced strength and speed that it gives it's users, it can also adapt and evolve when it encounters difficult scenarios. But this is... something else." Seryu said in both fascination and slight horror as she watched her mentor battle the dangerous beast. "Whatever that pigment was, it must have forced it to evolve so rapidly that it... transformed back into Tyrant, but I didn't know that was possible." Sheele turned her head back to the battle as Adrien just barely dodged Tyrant breathing out a torrent of flames, instantly melting the snow around itself.

"Is there anything we can do?" Sheele asked Seryu, seeing as the orange-haired girl seemed to know much more about Incursio than she herself did. Seryu said nothing, but lowered her sword as she watched with wide eyes.

"Hope that Mr. Adrien wins."

Adrien was having flashbacks to his fight with Midir, with a few notable differences. One thing that Adrien was extremely grateful for, was that Tastumi's new dragon form had yet to display any signs of being able to fire magical lasers. One thing that he was not so grateful for though, was the fact that every time he struck, Tatsumi's dragon form would begin to rapidly heal. Lightning would be effective since he is a dragon now... unless dragons of this world have different weaknesses. Adrien thought as he was forced to block a blow from Tatsumi's claws with his shield, being pushed back several feet. He does not have a tail either, making me wonder if he is or is not an actual dragon. Adrien's train of thought was interrupted by the dragon as it unfurled it's wings and flew upwards, getting behind him quickly.

Tyrant let loose a massive volley of flames at the knight, the man being forced to hold his shield up to protect himself, the silver shield quickly becoming a cherry red. The dragon rushed him, believing the man was vulnerable, only for him to reach into a box on his hip. His shield changed to a blue one with a golden dragon crest on it, while in his other hand he held what looked like some sort of handle with a chain attached to the end. He skillfully rolled under the attack, once again getting under the belly of the beast.

Once he was safe for a second, Adrien looked down in his hand at the object he had crafted from Bulat's soul all those weeks ago. He had yet to even test it's function, but he supposed now was a good a time as any.

"Incursio." Adrien said simply, as a small gale swept around him, his body being shrouded by winds. The dragon leapt back, and swiped at his form, only for his shield to block it as the knight held it with both hands. Instead of his Abyss Watcher armor, he now adorned a near exact copy of the Incursio armor, only that it lacked a cape, a spear, and most notably, had no color to it, only being two different shades of gray. The dragon roared angrily, as if insulted that an armor similar to himself was being used against him. Adrien pushed against the claw, but was forced to dodge the dragon leaping at him, attempting to catch him in his maw. Adrien once again reached into his box, and withdrew a large, black, double-headed axe.

Once Tyrant's head was close enough, Adrien lifted the axe up and brought it down on the dragon's maw, stopping the whole beast dead in it's tracks, the rear end of the beast kicking up into the air due to the sudden stop. The snow around the dragon's head kicked up aggressively due to the force, and came back down just as quickly. Tyrant 's head now had the axe embedded rather deeply into his skull, Adrien holding onto the weapon fiercely.

"With the added strength from Incursio, and the fact I am using Belvacc, another imperial arms, stopping a beast like you is no problem." Adrien told Tyrant as the dragon lay there, not willing to move due to the axe lodged so close to its' brain. "Do not move, or I will finish this." The knight warned, his face unreadable due to the helmet that now donned him as a part of the armor. The dragon growled, but seemed to comply as it remained still. Adrien stood there, hand on the axe in case the dragon tried anything, trying to think of a way to reverse whatever had happened to Tatsumi.

Humanity won't have any effect... considering what first caused this, it might actually make this worse. Adrien thought to himself as he held the dragon down. Perhaps... the dark hand might work. It would be risky, but it is the only way I might be able to forcibly reverse the transformation. As Adrien's mind continued to think, he heard a shout from the side.

"Look out Mr Adrien!" Unfortunately the warning had come too late as a massive tail suddenly spun and struck Adrien in the side, knocking him away from the dragon's head, his axe still lodged in it's cranium. Tyrant rose up from his position, and eyed Adrien dangerously, as it grabbed the axe handle and carefully extracted it from his skull, more blood running down it's face. The wound was healing back again, and the dragon threw the axe away into the air, flying far away, enough for everyone present to wonder if it would ever be found again.

Adrien watched as the dragon crouched down on all fours, growling at the knight. He did not have that tail before, perhaps he can modify his form to suit his needs? That is... troublesome. Adrien thought warily as he reached into his box, not intending on retrieving the axe right now. Out from the box, he took out a different axe, this one smaller, and only having one blade. The steel axe looked rather plain, and as Tyrant charged, Adrien ducked under the attack like before, and cut upwards, and as the weapon sliced into the draconic flesh, lighting surged through the wounds, making Tyrant cry in pain.

Well its effective, for now... Adrien thought worryingly as he began to aggressively slice at Tyrant's legs, yellow lighting sparking at each wound, causing the muscles in the area to tense up violently. Whenever Tyrant would attack, Adrien would dodge or block the strikes effectively, not allowing the dragon to get an easy upper hand.


"We need to help Mr. Adrien." Seryu said determinedly, looking off in the direction that Belvacc was thrown. She recognized the imperial arms as one of the ones that the three beasts had used, and while she was curious as to why Adrien possessed it, she couldn't deny that Adrien might probably need it. "We need to get Belvacc back to him." She said, as she began to turn in the same direction. Sheele stood in front of her with a neutral gaze. Seryu was about to get defensive before the assassin spoke.

"I'll get it, you most likely won't be be able to wield a weapon of that size with one arm, and while Koro might be able to carry it, what if Tyrant comes for you and the lady?" Seryu stopped and considered her logic, and as much as she didn't want to trust the assassin, she supposed that there was wisdom in those words. "I know you have no right to, but I owe Adrien. This is the least I can do."

"A-Alright. But hurry, Tyrant will continue to evolve to match Mr. Adrien's strength. I don't know how strong that is, but at the moment, it already looks like his healing is increasing in rate, and the strikes are having less effect." Seryu warned, and Sheele nodded sadly, still burdened over the thought of her friend being lost. Sheele ran in the direction of the axe, Extase still on her back.

"I'm sorry. I feel as though the blame resides on me." The pale lady said sadly as Sheele ran past, the purple-haired assassin only glancing back and giving a nod of acknowledgement. Seryu came up to her and shook her head.

"Don't blame yourself, its Tatsumi that started all this..." Seryu trailed off, watching as Adrien was caught off guard by Tyrant's tail yet again, and sent sprawling across the snow covered ground. He recovered quickly, and jumped away to avoid another torrent of flames. He quickly withdrew his pistol and shot all four rounds into the dragon's hide, and while they managed to pierce, they did little damage. Tyrant flew up above Adrien, and swooped down at the knight, a burst of flame coming down as he flew past. Adrien held his shield above him, the dragon crest shield protecting him from the fire. As Tyrant landed, Adrien was upon him. He struck at the dragon's head with his axe, lightning sparking across it's face. The axe wasn't cutting as deep before however, and Adrien noticed that. Tyrant reared back it's head and snapped at Adrien. The knight stepped back quickly, and reached into his box yet again.

Instead of an axe or sword however, he withdrew a very distinctive looking rifle. It was wide, a gunmetal gray, and had a large bayonet on it's end. When Tyrant saw it, he seethed with rage as he roared and once again dove at Adrien. Adrien wielded Pumpkin and pointed it at Tatsumi, energy gathering within the weapon.

At that instant, Sheele had returned, with Belvacc in hand, but still somewhat struggling to handle the heavy weapon. When she saw Adrien using Pumpkin, she froze, instantly reminded of her best friend, and the fact that her killer was holding her weapon, and likely about to cut down her other friend with it. She wanted to stop it, get between them, but she wasn't fast enough, and she'd likely get herself killed if she tried. Tatsumi wasn't truly in control, and Adrien was just as dangerous a force to get in front of. Tears welled in her eyes, seeing, what in her mind, was a hopeless situation.

Adrien pulled the trigger, and as the energy reached it's apex, the gun froze, and all the energy dissipated. Adrien only had a fraction of a second to register this as his form was caught in Tyrant's maw, the armor helping, but not entirely diminishing, the feeling of being crushed between the jaws of a dragon. The pain didn't stop as Tyrant breathed out fire while Adrien was still trapped.

"Mr Adrien! No!" Seryu cried in horror as Tyrant's maw was consumed in flames, tears began to freely flow down her cheeks as her mentor was consumed in flames. She got up, now with a vengeful look in her eyes, ready to strike, but then Tyrant flung Adrien from his mouth, and upon landing, Adrien jumped up and took a large gulp from his estus flask, his body briefly shining gold as the rejuvenation took place. He switched out Pumpkin, now knowing it would not work for some reason, and took out a large cannon-shaped device that was strapped to his left arm. In his right hand he held his smaller silver axe again.

"Lets try this other one then." Adrien said as he hefted the cannon up. It was another soul-made weapon, this one from the imperial arms user Bords, based off of the 'Peach' imperial arms. He pulled the trigger attached to the weapon, a mighty bang echoing through the area as the projectile flew from the cannon to Tyrant, and impacted the nose of the dragon. It cried in pain as it reeled from the shock.

"Adrien!" Sheele's voice carried over the area as she made herself known. Adrien glanced at her, and when he did, she threw Belvacc over to him, the woman being forced to heave the weapon as if it were a dumbbell. The axe flew true, but Tyrant raced after Adrien, claws ready to strike the knight down. The undead sprinted for the axe, and leapt to retrieve it, grabbing the handle before it hit the ground. As Tyrant reached him, Adrien attacked with both weapons at once, slicing at the claw on his right with the axe, and shooting the dragon's face with the cannon. The claw on his left was not defended against, and resulted in a small showering of grey blood, but the undead's attacks hit as well. The claw hand was cut in half by the cleave, only the thumb remaining, while the projectile struck the dragon's right eye. Tyrant roared in pain, but the injuries were quickly healing. The wings on it's back began to unfurl as it began to lift off. Quickly Adrien reached into his box, bringing out an ember, quickly crushing it, the edges of his armor now flaking off like embers of a fire.

Adrien stored the cannon and instead brought out a normal looking whip with a small red gem on the handle. The whip was flat however, and resembled more of a scarf. He lashed out with the weapon, the cloth seeming to reach indefinitely as it latched onto Tyrant's leg, and allowed Adrien to climb with the dragon. It seems as though all of these soul weapons are coming in handy. Adrien thought as the whip seemed to retract itself, Adrien's form getting closer to the dragon as both ascended into the white-gray sky. As he did so, Adrien caught a glimpse of the world around them, and realized now why the forest had been so silent. Surrounding the boreal forest was a land of dull reddish-browns and blacks, old shapes could be seen such as distant mountains and eerily colored castles, but all had fallen pray to whatever had befallen the land. Is this... the rot? This is what becomes of a painting? Adrien thought mournfully as he saw the land. Eventually though he reached his target as he caught up with Tyrant.

Adrien sunk Belvacc into Tatsumi's leg and began to climb the dragon, each insertion causing the creature to cry in pain. Eventually it had had enough as it forcefully flung it's lower body into the air, making Adrien lose grip and fly upwards, even higher than Tyrant himself. The dragon righted itself and went for Adrien, while the undead once again switched his weapons, replacing the whip with the dark hand, facing the appendage out to meet Tyrant's skull. The claws of the beast came first though, although only one posed a true threat.

Adrien switched hands with his weapons, slicing at the only intact claw with Belvacc, and reaching out with his right hand for Tyrant's face. He made contact with the angled snout of the dragon, and Adrien activated the dark hand the moment he made contact. It started working as the dragon screamed as the white light encompassed his hand and a small portion of the dragon's snout. There are two distinct souls... Tatsumi and Tyrant. And an abundance of humanity... an indefinable abundance. It is replicating itself, and too quickly for me to stop it... Adrien thought mournfully. Even he would find it hard to control himself if he had so much darkness within him. It seemed to be dispersing from his body naturally, but not quickly. He absorbed as much as he could, and the humanity that coursed through his dark hand almost overwhelmed him before he was forced to stop himself. Tyrant was still there, and was attempting to bite at the knight, his one good claw being held back by Belvacc.

Adrien pushed off of Tyrant's face, bounding into the air, he brought his left hand out, the appendage now having orange flames dancing about it, and slammed it into his chest, as red flames ate at his body, but boosted his strength. The dragon was not intimidated as he flew higher, flames pouring from his mouth, which engulfed Adrien's form as he descended. I'm sorry... Adrien said to both himself and Tatsumi as he brought his axe down as hard as his strength would allow. He impacted the tip of tyrant's snout, splitting it in two in a bloody mess, and making Tyrant falter, his wings stopping from the impact. Adrien withdrew the imperial arms, and climbed a top of Tyrant's head as it dipped backwards, threatening to make the undead fall off. The armored unkindled would not allow it, as he put his weapon on his back, forcefully grabbed the edges of the dragon's head, and forced the creature's body to twist up-right. Tyrant cried aloud as it's head was being handled so violently.

Adrien saw they were quickly approaching the ground. For the last time, he reached into the bottomless box, and pulled out a large spear, the tip of it being as large as the blade of a great-sword. The undead raised it above him as they both plummeted to the ground, the spear's tip aimed directly at Tyrant's head. Once they were a moment away from hitting the snow-covered ground, Adrien struck the top of Tyrant's head. The resulting impact from the dragon's house sized form hitting the ground was immense. Snow from the surrounding trees fell as the wind flew by the Evergreens, and snow was sent flying into the air, obscuring the two fighter's forms.

Sheele was forced to shield herself with her arms from the wind pressure, but still trying to see the impact itself. Koro had been proactive, and became giant right before the impact, and shielded both Seryu and the Painting Lady with his body. But even the biological imperial arms shook from the impact. Once snow had settled, the area was filled with silence, the observers now watching with baited breath to see who or what would emerge from the crater that now occupied a good portion of the clearing.

Adrien watched as lighting sparked around him, the dragonslayer swordspear still in hand, the blade completely immersed in Tyrant's skull. Lightning still coursed through the body, with muscles twitching in response to the erratic electrical discharges from the spear. However, that was the only reason that the body was moving at all.

Soul of the Avenging Assassin

Avenging? Was he... avenging Mine? Or Bulat? Adrien thought curiously as he withdrew his spear. I... should not dwell on it. Sheele will not be happy, but I was rendered with no other options. Adrien stepped off of the dragon's head, and looked at it's now lifeless, red eyes. He looked away again, remembering what the young assassin had looked like before all of this had occurred, and his first interaction with the teen. I wish it had not come to this. Adrien said to himself as he walked away, and out of the shallow crater that now occupied his immediate area. He still held the sword spear as the observers of their fight came to meet him, two of them running.

"Mr Adrien!" Seryu cried out in joy as she ran to him. She noticed how similarly his armor looked to Incursio, and how he looked as if he was on fire, but he was alive. To her, thats all that mattered. The snow around him melted from the heat that was coming off of his body, and when she got close, he held a hand out to stop her.

"It is best to wait until the effects of this pyromancy runs out." Adrien told her, and she nodded in understanding, a grateful smile still on her face.

"Tatsumi!" Sheele cried out as she rushed into the crater and went to Tyrant's head, and grabbed onto it's edges. "T-Tatsumi... please. Don't go!" Her desperate cries were accompanied by her shaking the head of the beast, to no effect. "Not again." She hugged the head, and began to openly sob as her body lost it's strength, devolving into mournful sobs and cries as she held what used to be her friend.

Seryu watched, a conflicted expression on her face. She knew that another member of Night Raid had been defeated, and usually that would involve celebration, but seeing Sheele in such a state, even if she was an enemy, was heartbreaking.

"Let her mourn." Adrien finally spoke, making Seryu look to him. "I failed them." Seryu looked at him with a shocked expression. "I do not hate Night Raid, so I do not desire their deaths..." He said, trailing off, remembering his anger towards Mine for what she did to Run, and how that his statement might not be entirely true anymore considering he had very openly wanted to kill her for what she did.

"Then why didn't you save him!?" Sheele's voice carried an accusatory tone to it as she suddenly rounded on the undead, still holding Tatsumi's head. "Why did you have to kill Tatsumi!?"


Author's notes:

Man, these things keep getting longer and longer. I hope this isn't a trend, because for the umpteenth time in a row, the chapter has gone on for longer, and I've been forced to postpone the return to the capital due to not wanting my chapters to be the length of a fucking novel. Plus theres wanting to work on my other stories as well. Huge credit to Rainsfere for editing this, and another huge thank you to everyone who has read this and continued to support me! It seriously mean a lot especially considering the World's circumstances with the quarantine and what not.

I really hope you guys enjoyed the fight scenes, and just how differently I'm taking the story. You guys seem to really enjoy it, and I hope I can continue to provide you guys with quality chapters. Also, this would have been out sooner if not for a very particular subject...

DOOM ETERNAL

Holy shit is this game amazing. I beat it in the first three days of playing, and I'm considering re-playing it on ultra-violence. It'll put my skills to the test, but I think it would be fun. But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...

Thanks for reading!