Chapter 47: Kill the Revolution

Que the Intro

(Song This is War) A warning to the people (Show the people of the Empire) the Good (Tatsumi stands with Night Raid, his generals and his new army in his new attire and flag of Night raid and Golden Dragon on shared pole held aloft by its standard bearer) and the Evil (Volgoth in front over a demonic host with the Six Arch-Devil Generals in front with Valtor's shadowing form and Mark in the background and Argardon towering over the rest of the Generals along with Boreth and his inner circle scheming) This is War. (Tatsumi and Esdeath protecting Makoto and his sisters) To the soldier (Bulat wearing Incursio without the helmet and Air siting in his lap) the civilian (Angela holding Ieyasu's hand as she rallies the people in the shield) the Martyr (Budo's dead body) the Victim (Kyoko being held and comforted by Tatsumi) This is war. (Armies clashing) It's the moment of truth (Isshin's Ghost without his face mask looking at Tatsumi) and the moment to lie (Volgoth grinning at his servants) , the moment to live (Tatsumi finding resolve in a fight) and the moment to die (Soldiers dead on the ground), the moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to FIGHT! (Que battle montage) To the Right! (Spear destroying a Dwarven Automaton) To the Left! (Esdeath killing a Revolutionary Army soldier with her new sword) We will Fight to death! (Sheele taking down a target yet to be revealed) to the End of the Earth! (Eden from space) It's a Brave new World! (Tatsumi kneeling before Supreme Matriarch Maltise) From Last to the First! (Emperors showing Tatsumi's Grandfather, Father, Uncle and Makoto) To the Right! (Bulat killing a Revolutionary Army General) To the Left! (Mine Firing away) We will Fight to Death! (Tatsumi slicing an enemy in half) To the Edge of the Earth! (Eastern Lands) It's a Brave new World (Strongholds of the Giants) a Brave new world! (Dwarven capital of Karak Hammerdeep) (End battle Montague and show Melitine under shadow of Volgoth with Red sky above) A warning to the Prophet (Syura clutching a Staff of Asha) the Liar (Volgoth sitting on the Imperial Throne with Graal and Lorhish to either side of him) the Honest (Aria with her new long hair and new outfit clutching her new sword) This is War. To the Leader (Najenda in her new get up and with her new ponytail with her Desert Eagles in hand and Susanoo at her side in a battle pose) The Pariah (Esdeath in her new outfit with her hair cut short levitating ice shards) The Victor (Spear in her new Teigu Armor Valkyrie with her new Teigu Greatsword Yadviga held aloft atop a mass of dead enemies) The Messiah (Tatsumi in the Golden Emperor's Armor with wings fully aloft and his sword Michael in one Hand and his shield Enoch in the other facing off against a Argardon) THIS IS WAR! (Mangled bodies of Volgoth's victims and of enemies killed by Tatsumi, add also Koro devouring baddies as Seryu grins maniacally) It the moment of Truth (Tatsumi with Akame his mother hugging him) the moment to lie (Boreth Falkland scheming) the moment to live (Tatsumi in bed with Merraid and Akame) The moment to die (Tatsumi killing the Skaven King) the moment to Fight! (Battles) the Moment to fight! (Tatsumi and Spear side by side) The Moment to Fight! TO FIGHT! (Night Raid vs the Arch-Devil Generals) To the right (Najenda firing her desert eagles) to the Left (Susanoo destroying a blob of Revolutionary Army soldiers) We will Fight to the Death! (Falkland's two generals killed by Sayo's arrows) To the Edge of the Earth (Map of Eden showing Tatsumi's journey so far) It's a Brave new World (Tatsumi overlooking the cities of the Lizardmen) From the Last to the First (Line of the Emperors of the Empire) To the Right (Spear driving her new Teigu Greatsword thru an enemy) To the Left (Akame slicing down several Skavan at once) We will fight to the death (Tatsumi fighting Volgoth) To the Edge of the Earth (Tatsumi overlooking a city not Melitine) It's a Brave new World from the Last to the First (Line of Emperors again with Tatsumi included) It's a Brave new world! (Empire's End logo appears) (Song End)

Rage, hatred, and fury: these things were at the forefront of Tatsumi's mind: he and his force had arrived at the small hamlet of Vikada or rather what was left of it after the Revolutionary Army had 'enforced justice' as their captive soldiers had put it. The fact that Tatsumi's favored method of executing enemy captives was now being used to kill his people out of pure spite was infuriating, but far more so were the fact that the RA were content to just leave the people who had done nothing wrong to hang on crosses to die in their village's square. "AAGH!" a woman's shriek yelled snapping Tatsumi out of his thoughts and he turned to one of the last remaining people on crosses: a woman, at least six months pregnant stripped naked and hanging by a cross, Tatsumi didn't waste a moment cutting her down from the vile cross: under ordinary circumstances Tatsumi would be amazed by her beauty, her lovely face, her graceful curves, ample d-cup breasts, long flowing dark blue hair like that of Luna and her deep tan skin like that of Lilianna, but he had little time, the women needed medical attention more than most and in this case he was going to have to get her to the best: Dorothea and Aria.

By this point in the campaign he had met up with Esdeath and Aria's forces with his own troops that had followed him east under their command and the forces of the Oarburgh Clan lead by to his surprise Chelsea of all people: yes sweet Chelsea the spy of Night Raid had become a rallying leader for her clan's soldiers in Merraid's absence, despite being the youngest Oarburgh sister she had all the courage and charisma needed to lead forces into war and while her style of fighting would have been out of place in a normal Imperial army the forces of the Oarburgh clan were anything but a normal Imperial army and she was a force to be reckoned with at their head in the absence of Merraid.

Of course also his forces were augmented by other armies, the pincer had closed on Alkan and there was no escape and his enemies knew it: so they had evoked the last principle of an enemy facing utter annihilation which was what Tatsumi had in mind for those who wouldn't accept his offer of joining the True Emperor, they had decided that if they couldn't win they'd leave nothing for Tatsumi to have. This had some success for them in the countryside but not in the larger cities: at the arrival of the armies the Falkland family had turned on Boreth and stripped him of his titles and power, the people drove him and his forces out of the cities along with anyone loyal to him: the RA forces had nothing left but an army of 18,000 soldiers, these were the last true diehards of a dying cause: they had nothing to lose and as such did not hesitate to break every law of warfare and of civilized society: they were little more than beasts at this point though to call them so would be an insult to most of Eden's fauna.

All these factors lead to the RA forces according to his scout digging in at the point of the province's highest peak, a tall lone mountain called Mount Ya'ash which was Falkland's choice for a last stand: Tatsumi knew for a fact that Boreth had decided his best course was to fight a last stand, he had no way to escape and he was a cornered snake against an army of mongooses. Tatsumi held out hope that maybe some of them would give up their doomed fate, yet Tatsumi worried for those that would, especially considering at this point the enemy had nothing to lose and thus would do things normal people wouldn't think of doing. He took a look at the woman in his arms as he had opted to carry her bridal style to avoid her taking more pain then she was already in. His hatred for whoever did this to her was fresh in his mind: there were a few captive RA soldiers that Tatsumi's forces had taken prisoner on their arrival as they were stragglers that stayed behind and Tatsumi had some ideas as a reply. "An eye for an eye: the Revolutionary Army and those who support it need to learn I'm a lot scarier than they are; if they aren't going to respect me they should fear me I've got no other option" Tatsumi thought and arrived at a medical tent where Dorothea and Aria along with a host of other medical professionals were at work saving lives from those still alive: Tatsumi was glad that he had no shortage of medical supplies as the war had constant demand for them for his army; also the main factories that made them were in Gassarnel lands and Audrey had along with her brothers made sure that they had brought more: the crystals used to power the tanks also had medical properties and could be refined into a liquid that could heal some of the most dire wounds short of missing limbs.

"I've got another one! Dorothea! Aria!" Tatsumi yelled as he ran in, the two immediately looked at him and at the woman is his hands.

"She's pregnant, that means she takes priority: we'll handle this personally" Aria replied, and a number of people helped carry the woman to an empty bunk, then began Aria and Dorothea's medical work which Tatsumi didn't stay around to watch as he had others to help.

Later that day… Tatsumi had brought up RA prisoners to a nearby hill, at his side were Esdeath and Spear with the Four Rakshasas in a ceremonial stance, besides them were a number of high-ranking brass and soldiers. Tatsumi stepped forward and looked at one of the RA soldiers. "You knew about this? Were you behind it" Tatsumi interrogated?

"Shove it up your ass you puss ridden fucker of a tyrant!" the soldier replied, Tatsumi kicked him in the gut.

"I'm not going to ask again" Tatsumi replied seriously.

"You want me to make him talk?" Esdeath asked.

"Chancellor Falkland's orders: he knows the game is nearly over and he's determined to take out as many of you imps as possible! For each of us- "The Soldier replied Tatsumi picked him up by a throat.

"For each of you that dies the quicker your cause dies and when this over I'll wipe a very memory of this madness from Eden's face! Now I've got something in mind for you and all your fellow monsters: you seem to be fans of my punishment, well you'll be on the end of it with a couple twists, first you'll be hung upside down and secondly that cross will be on fire!" Tatsumi replied then threw the man at a nearby wall he yelped in pain and the snapping of bones could be heard by Tatsumi, two of Tatsumi's royal guard moved to secure him. "Get him on a cross: nail him to it and reinforce it so that it doesn't snap under flame, also get wood and oil: cover him with that I want him to burn in pain" Tatsumi ordered.

Shortly... A forest of captives hung from crosses as Tatsumi took a good look all bar one officer that they had taken captive were nailed to their doom. "I'd love to stick around and watch but I've got more important matters: Falkland is going to die, and I've got something special in mind, I can however send you to your deaths: Smaug: Dragon Armor!" Tatsumi declared and dawned his fiery red armor. "Flamestrikes!" Tatsumi declared and small embers went up lighting the pyres underneath the crosses which slowly began to burn to screams from those underneath them; Tatsumi didn't look back as he walked away: Remus and Womyn on either side of him looking unphased, while Balluck dragged the remaining RA soldier along to the nearby Esdeath who smiled upon seeing Tatsumi.

"Hello Tatsu-bunny" Esdeath greeted with a curt wave before rushing to hug him and planting a chaste kiss on her husband's right cheek. "I'm impressed by the example yet why did you leave one alive?" Esdeath asked.

"To get information out of him: Esdeath I think you can be quite persuasive, the interrogators have tried their best, but this guy won't crack and Aria's too busy dealing with the wounded to get information" Tatsumi explained.

"Ah good, you have learned well the first lesson of war: know your enemy as you do yourself and also that wars are won by information gathered at the right time, now as to this man I think I can get him to talk" Esdeath replied.

"You'll never get me to talk, not after I survived what you did to my city!" the man stated firmly.

"Northerner: late 40s reaching retirement age as far as his people are concerned, stubborn as an Aurochs and about half as smart nope a third as smart" Esdeath replied analytically. "Hmm, tell me what city was it that destroyed, you see I destroyed only one in the North and not even entirely: Kalsliv the capital so unless you're-" Esdeath continued then stopped she noticed something, the soldier's uniform had taken a beating and more than a few holes adorned it: in this case the one that caught Esdeath's attention was the one on his right shoulder. Esdeath tore the sleeve off revealing an all too familiar mark. "You!" Esdeath replied then seized the man by the throat to the shock of the restraining Balluck along with Tatsumi and his other two Sacred Swords. The mark was that of Valtor; but it had a number of ritualistic markings with runes carved in the northern style, beneath it was another mark that of Northern Bear in crimson. "TRIBE-BREAKER! SERVENT OF DEMONS! USURPER AND MURDERER! RAPIST!" Esdeath screamed in a shrill voice Tatsumi had never heard her use before but it was primal rage.

"What the hell?! You're a Valtor cultist?!" Tatsumi yelled.

"This man is more than that: he is a Red Bear: The Elite Reavers of the Northern Kingdom, they have prayed on the Empire's people for centuries! More than that they are the enemy of my tribe and responsible for nearly destroying my entire Clan!" Esdeath replied, Tatsumi glared at the man with newfound hatred.

"Your Clan? What clan are you monster?! Then I'd at least take some joy in hopefully having taking part in the slaughter of whatever monsters sired you!" the Reaver replied: Esdeath grabbed him by his neck with both hands lifting him up to the man's surprise as he didn't expect a woman to possess such- raw strength.

"My name is Esdeath, Esdeath Patras! Last of the Old Patras Clan and First of the new! Now I have one question that you will answer and depending on how you answer it your death may be quicker" Esdeath explained.

"Ha- I saw a man with hair like yours a chief he was my arrows struck true: mighty man he may have been but even the mightiest may be felled by an single shot and I pierced his body with many! You have his eyes and his hair and I guess you are his spawn: I'm not surprised; there is irony in this: we decimated your people leaving you to live and you in turn ravaged and destroyed ours, perhaps Valtor and the other great gods of the Old Ways have a sense of humor; so now how will I die? Will you grant me a warrior's death, or will you be a coward?!" the Reaver replied.

"I will grant you a warrior's death but it won't be my blade you meet in battle, I'd not stain if with your filthy blood: No you'll face my champion: my husband in single combat to the death: in true Patras tradition" Esdeath decreed giving her verdict.

"Then I'll make him die! I'll take the person that matters most weakling" the Reaver replied, Esdeath drew her blade and drove her rapier into his knee causing him to drop down on it in pain.

"You'll fight him a cripple, the only weakling here is you murderer and my husband is strong, stronger then even me: the strong survive and the weak perish and such is your doom" Esdeath explained; she then used her blade to draw a large circle in the ground, the people of the camp looked on, Esdeath then said a word under her breath and two swords made of ice appeared. "You accept my charge my husband; I'd be loath to waste your strength on this matter" Esdeath asked Tatsumi as she offered him the blade.

"I'll do it, for your honor though this will be overkill" Tatsumi replied taking the blade.

"It would be overkill whether it be me or you that does this deed: he is weak and the weak perish" Esdeath replied then turned to her father's killer. "Give me your name that it may be remembered within the annuls of history murderer: I must know what craven felled my father; much less with a bow foul fighter and raper of little girls" Esdeath demanded.

"The name is Curon and I embrace your rebuke, many of your tribe took my cock that day and killed many of them" the Reaver replied, at this Esdeath shattered the ice blade.

"You will fight without arm and die: Tatsumi kill him, do so without mercy and make it slow" Esdeath ordered, Tatsumi usually wasn't one for fighting defenseless opponents but given that the man in question was a rapist murderer who killed his beloved wife's father and had taken part in evils unknown he didn't restrain himself and took up Valruost in his other hand; the man tried to wrestle him Tatsumi sliced his hands off with a clean swing.

"AUAGGH!" Curon howled Tatsumi then dropped his blades and grabbed the man with his fist removed the ragged loincloth and crushed the man's testicles with joy, the man shrieked as Tatsumi did so. Tatsumi then began to use his hands to slowly and methodically break every bone with ease; his restraint was thrown to the wind and Esdeath smirked as Tatsumi beat the man to death with his bare hands, then when the man looked be nearing death Tatsumi retrieved Valroust "Elra Tu Os Ves! Maka Vad!" Tatsumi yelled in the language of Esdeath's people which translates as meaning "You are weak! Embrace Death!" in the Imperial dialect.

"He who passes the sentence should pass the sword" Tatsumi said then beheaded him, the ugly head rolled off, those watching the seen looked on in shock.

"Your highness!" a Runner shouted running forward then stopped to take in the seen.

"Yes?" Tatsumi asked the fact that he had just brutally executed a murderer wasn't enough to take his attention from more important matters.

"The other armies have arrived, also the city of Alkan itself has surrendered: we await your orders as to what is to be done" the Messenger explained.

"What of Falkland?" Tatsumi asked.

"He and the last forces have fortified their position on Mount Ya'ash they're aware they don't have anywhere else to go" the Messenger explained. "The other Generals will be wanting to meet to plan for the final battle: your orders?" he added.

"Ready the troops finish treated the injured and execute the remaining RA Captives I don't want any rebels to be alive that aren't on that hill" Tatsumi ordered, the messenger began to leave but Esdeath stopped him.

"What are your orders as regards the city of Alkan? As the last stronghold of the enemy to fall examples must be made to prevent a future conflict" Esdeath asked.

"The people and the city will be spared; they are our people and they willingly surrendered: besides they aren't the last stronghold: that is Mount Ya'ash and there I will make an example" Tatsumi explained.

"Understood" Esdeath replied smiling that he was indeed what she wanted in a husband. "Now you go ahead and met with the others: I must tend to this killer's body personally" Esdeath explained then dragged the body off, no one stopped her.

Later that day… Tatsumi stood in the meeting tent where he and his generals had gathered, all except one. "We will start as soon as Esdeath arrives" Tatsumi explained after overriding arguments to start without her, as soon as he said this Esdeath walked into the tent with- a new cape, one stained with blood.

"What?" Esdeath asked as people looked at her new choice of wardrobe.

"Let me guess, your father's killer?" Tatsumi asked.

"I had to put his skin to some use, can't just feed him all to my Wyvern" Esdeath replied, some people in attendance winced at that.

"Just make sure you don't wear that thing on any diplomatic missions" Tatsumi replied, Esdeath smirked then took her place at his side.

"Our scouts have taken a good survey of the enemy's last holdout, about 18,000 soldiers under Boreth Falkland's direct command, with co command to the five or so generals still alive, all remaining Revolutionary Army forces outside this holdout have either been wiped out or have changed sides or disbanded and returned to their normal lives; a victory here will be the end of this conflict" Spear explained.

"Speaking of the enemy commanders give me a look at our deck of cards to see who is still alive" Tatsumi ordered. The deck of cards was a system he had implemented before they had started the campaign, each general under his direct command had a deck of playing cards with each having a photograph of an important RA leader on one. The Generals went thru their decks and handed Tatsumi the cards for confirmed targets; at the end his personal deck had only eleven cards left in play, three were civilian rebel leaders who while being non-combatants were still monsters guilty of war crimes four were the remaining high-ranking generals of the Revolution that had sided with Boreth and of these only one was actually a war criminal that being General Brezhnev, and the last three were Boreth and his two personal generals: the Masked Duo as Tatsumi liked to call them and were represented by the two Jokers in the deck: Boreth was the King of Spades, Brezhnev was Jack of Clubs and the remaining three were the two Queens of Hearts and Spades with the last being the Ace of diamonds.

"General Nikita Brezhnev, General Berthold Gregor, General Mitsuki Tashima, and General Natasha Romanovich are the only remaining RA generals still alive. Now General Pais did our scouts notice any civilians about their camps I want to know if Boreth is using human shields I don't want to risk killing any innocent people" Tatsumi asked.

"Negative on that, the RA forces are all armed, also my scouts also noticed that they have fortified in without anyway out they must have decided to borrow an old Dwarven saying 'dropped the Oathstone and will die fighting for it'" Pais explained.

"I'm going to give Boreth one last chance to surrender along with any of those with him who wish to" Tatsumi replied.

"Even now? My Emperor I'm sure they've already decided their fate" General Takemori replied.

"Boreth may have decided his fate but not everyone there has, they don't have to die here, there is no point in dying and being forgotten fighting for a madman, if they have to die fighting I'd rather they died fighting for something that matters: at the end of the day Falkland's dream is dead; the Old Empire is dead, all that is left is our cause and those who have yet to choose a side, this war may end today but an new war begins one that is a fight for our very right to live against an enemy that seeks only our utter destruction, we need everyone we can get to fight that fight, as long as they aren't monsters like the ones we face" Tatsumi explained. "I'll elaborate on our next enemy after this battle is over, that is a conflict for another day and for now we must focus on the present: now I want you all to prepare a battle plan, after that I and a select few Generals will go to confront Boreth under a flag of truce, if he surrenders I will grant him a swift death, if not he will die violently: now my generals see to the plan I have something that needs to be done by me personally" Tatsumi explained, he then got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Esdeath asked.

"I'm going to think about what to do to Boreth if he doesn't surrender, I've got an idea to get rid of him if he doesn't" Tatsumi replied, Esdeath shrugged knowing that it was best to let him consider that in private.

Tatsumi left the tent then went to find Sheele, making sure to actually first dismiss his bodyguards to speak with her alone, he found her in her tent reading. "Sheele" Tatsumi replied.

"Yes" Sheele greeted looking up from her book.

"I need to talk to you about something: a contract" Tatsumi explained, Sheele smiled and let her serious face show.

"A contract? I've currently got one" Sheele replied.

"One from the Revolutionary Army which no longer exists as it did when the contract was made and to kill Prime Minister Honest who is no longer alive, I offer a contract that needs to be done and I know that you the Master of the Order of the Sorrowful Ones can carry it out without issue" Tatsumi replied, Sheele chuckled.

"You want me to kill Boreth don't you? You know usually I'd charge a fortune but as Boreth isn't as influential as he once was and the fact you are my husband, I'll do this for a premium rate" Sheele replied.

"How much?" Tatsumi asked.

"I want Trader-Town and the position of Minister of Security" Sheele replied Tatsumi's jaw dropped.

"Just kidding I only want the position and to be your bed as one of your three nightly partners for the next two weeks" Sheele replied

"I was going to say an entire city is a bit much for a tin-pot ruler of nothing but a single hill" Tatsumi replied.

"He is a Teigu user so that immediately increases the price due to hazard pay also I doubt you'll find another assassin capable of killing another Teigu user who is of my caliber, trust me Tatsumi you're getting a good deal, besides what's money to me? I'm married to the Emperor I have more money than I could ever dream of besides it's never been about the money" Sheele explained.

"What do you mean it isn't about money?" Tatsumi asked confused.

"Oh it's because I enjoy killing my targets, the thrill of the hunt, getting to know your opponent then building up to that moment where against all odds I kill them; there is satisfaction in my work and I don't ever plan to retire from it; the life of an assassin is the only one I know and there are no shortages of targets or people wanting them dead; but I'm going to put my talents to the best use and that would be as your spymaster and the head of whatever secret force you decide to create to keep the peace and eliminate corruption after the war" Sheele further elaborated.

"What secret force and why would I need one?" Tatsumi replied, Sheele frowned gave him a peck on the cheek and leaned on his shoulder, her breasts nuzzled against his head.

"Tatsumi, Tatsumi, Tatsumi-kun, my beloved: you of all people should understand how the world works by this point and in order to change it for the better you need to when you win find a way to keep all that you've gained, just because you'll have killed Honest and all others who oppose your ascension to the Imperial Throne doesn't mean that there will cease to be evil people and corrupt people. No in order to deal with that you'll need a strong firm force to enforce the laws of the New Empire and one that is capable of operating in both plain sight and in the shadows; a secret police force if you will but one that more or less acts as Night Raid did before the conflict where now we are an elite military force under your direct command, it will need all sorts of people and equipment to get it running and working but what it needs most is a very cunning and shrewd mind to operate it and while you are very much a keen and smart person with knowledge beyond your years you can't be everywhere at once and a good ruler is as only as good as those who follow them, that is why I want to be Minister of Security it is a field I have much expertise in and am very suited for" Sheele replied. "As to the instance on being one of your primary bedwarmers for the next two weeks well consider me a slut for your cock, I love it and wrapping in my boobs" Sheele added, Tatsumi didn't need to know about the last part as he already knew why she was insisting on it.

"Deal, only one condition, don't kill anyone without my approval and I have to insist on advocate for the target in question I can't just have my citizens assassinated unless I know for certain they are a threat, now for my plan when we go to negotiate I want you to get behind their lines in an RA uniform, the moment you have Boreth isolated kill him but wait until the battle starts and attack him when he isn't defended, I want him dead but I want you and even more importantly our child to survive" Tatsumi replied.

"I wouldn't dream of doing so without it, last thing we need are the wrong people dying as for your plan you have thought this thru pretty well" Sheele replied calculatingly with the smile she usually gave when she revealed her true self.

"Any particular reason why we have to keep meeting secretly like this?" Tatsumi asked.

"It's part of my order's tradition to keep secret our members identities, but more importantly my status as grandmaster, the less people know about my secrets the better because that means anyone I've made an enemy of over the years isn't likely to either go after them or find out it was me that killed their wicked relatives; secrecy is essential but I suppose I can tell our immediate friends but only those I know I can trust to keep a secret; which means I'm not telling Lubbock he's obnoxious or Chelsea with her knack for gossip" Sheele replied, Tatsumi smiled kissed her and turned to leave. "One more thing: I insist on keeping Boreth's Teigu for safe keeping I have no desire for anyone outside of our inner circle to have that weapon, if what I've read about it from Dorothea's books is true the last thing we need is some ambitious soldier getting their hands on it and thinking he or she may make a better emperor then you" Sheele concluded, Tatsumi nodded in agreement and returned to the strategy tent where his generals were nearly done with the preparations.

"I still think we should siege them out, they don't have much in the way of food" General Dirk Gassarnel replied.

"We can't do that, we don't have the time for a protracted siege, Honest's forces grow in strength day by day and other warlords are no doubt likely to rise up as the knowledge of the coup becomes common place" Tatsumi replied entering the room, he had heard these suggestions before and as much as he'd like to use those tactics time was of the essence and while he wasn't aware how much was dependent on time he knew for a fact that the war would take more lives if he didn't act quickly and decisively to end it quickly which meant he had to takes risks he didn't want to take to win which while not the best way to operate as a commander was the only option on a time crunch especially since this wasn't the war that mattered, no winning this war quickly allowed him to focus solely on the war that mattered which meant any other conflicts in his path to victory had to be won speedily and efficiently or else Eden would be consumed by the demon tide something which was not known to his subordinates outside his inner circle yet so that he could focus on the current conflict and not have to worry about the next.

"Of course, my Emperor it was merely my opinion" Dirk replied.

"In an ideal world and if this was the only conflict going on I'd gladly go with it but we don't live in an ideal world, we live in a world of demons both literal and figurative so we need to win victories as quickly as possible to keep our enemies from gathering their strength or forming an effective counter" Tatsumi explained. "Now what about our plan for the attack?" Tatsumi asked.

"I'll explain that my Emperor: I like your way of thinking" General Barton replied and Tatsumi came over to the table and looked at a map of the enemy positions. "The bastards are dug in deep along the whole side of the hill: barbed wire, trenches, machine gun nests the works, the only thing the bastards don't have are landmines because we've been blowing up their munitions whenever we can, they don't have any pillboxes either, but what they do have are 18,000 diehard bastards and bitches that are trapped like a cornered bear: which means they are going to be damn near unbreakable" Barton began. "However they don't have enough troops to anchor their flanks as much as they want to, they have no cavalry because not a single horsemen wants to fight for them at this point, which means we can envelop them however they have put very strong dugouts on their flanks, usually I'd bomb the shit out of them with artillery but that'd take too long to set up: infantry mortars and tanks are the name of the game to take out those dug outs. However the key to this battle is Boreth; that old bastard is at the back of his line like the coward he is and he's got a Teigu that will kill hundreds of our troops each them he uses it; the sooner that bastard dies the sooner this fight ends, but until then lots of troops are going to die, so best we make 20 of those bastards die for each man we lose!" Barton explained brashly.

"I've made preparations: during the negotiations I've got someone who will go behind the lines once the fight commences it will be their job to kill Boreth, now what about the other officers? I want to know where they will be, if we can neutralize the other leaders, we'd be able to fold the flanks in contention" Tatsumi replied.

"I've had our best look it over, they've set up in a crescent atop the high ridge with the mountain at their back; however my scouts noticed the army regimental standards before they were spotted, General Brezhnev's troops which make up the bulk of the army about 8000 are spread evenly between the two flanks and I'm not sure which flank he'd be commanding also the Northerners that remain about 2000 of them are on the left as well, however I can verify that General Gregor's troops are in the front as they are mainly heavy infantry; the forces of the other two generals are to the front of the main formation as a skirmish line with their heavier troops in between the two flanks and the center" Pais explained.

"We'll have to split the difference on Brezhnev; Aria you're in charge of the attack on the left flank, Barton you'll take the Right and whichever one of you kills Brezhnev be sure to bring his head back: I've got plans for it and those of the other leaders: I'll lead the center as usual, Audrey you and your brother will handle the troops to my immediate left, Esdeath I want your troops with Aria for the attack on the left flank, Barton your troops will be the hammer that hits their right, I want the Delvar soldiers held in reserve, along with any other commander whose soldiers aren't part of the strategy; if we start taking heavy losses pull your troops back and commit the reserves; I want our formation to be loose though: I'm not sure about the capabilities of Boreth's Teigu but if its capable of killing hundreds each time he uses it then its best to move in a loose formation to minimize losses" Tatsumi replied then took a pen from the table and drew what kind of formation he had in mind, the formation was shaped like a Bull's Horns, with the added benefit of reserves along the rear flanks of it for the purposes of cycling out fresh troops.

"Your majesty, what about our cavalry?" General Takemori asked.

"Keep them out of the fight, the terrain is not suited for using cavalry and charging those fortified emplacements sounds like a good way to get them killed" Tatsumi replied. "Now any more questions?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yes, how do you plan to get your assassin in to kill Boreth and can you be sure they'll succeed?" Jessica Delvar asked.

"As to when it will be during the confusion that follows my diplomatic request for them to surrender: there will likely be a fair few enemies who'd rather save their skins and during that hustle and bustle it will be easy to get my assassin in" Tatsumi replied, Jessica smiled, he was smart the RA would be focused on who was running away and not who was running towards them. "Any further questions?" Tatsumi asked, no one had any and as such they went to finalize the plan.

Not to long after the meeting Tatsumi was approached by Makoto along with Fal, Air and Luna who were all dressed to fight and with Bulat nearby. "Tell me you four aren't serious about fighting in this battle" Tatsumi greeted.

"We are going to and more importantly we have permission to" Air replied, Bulat didn't interject.

"Who gave you permission to?" Tatsumi asked.

"That would be me" Aria answered surprising him, Tatsumi took a good look at Aria; her angelic beauty enhanced by a silver plate armor that was of the finest mithril, the set which had been a gift from Aria's parents had served her well and was designed with her choice of attire in mind, the beautiful pearl, silver and chalcedony diadem she wore as a crown only enhanced her beauty further and the fact that since he had last seen her- she had grown her hair out, it was now as long as her mother's.

"You did?" Tatsumi asked confused.

"Tatsumi I was about their age when I first started my career as an assassin and as far as I'm concerned they've excelled enough in their studies to where they can fend for themselves and they have done so excellently in every fight that they've taken part in, also Bulat has done an excellent job of keeping them safe and your sister has too" Aria replied.

"Wait my sister?" Tatsumi asked backing up.

"Nessa and Bulat are dating" Aria explained, Tatsumi nearly fainted at that.

"Whoa back up, my sister is dating my mentor is- I thought you were gay?" Tatsumi asked.

"So, did I but your sister is very persuasive she's- a lot like you" Bulat replied, Tatsumi sweat dropped.

"Ok I get Fal, Air and Luna but what about Makoto?" Tatsumi asked.

"Esdeath-nii's been teaching me for years and while I'm not the Emperor any more that doesn't mean I won't fight for my people" Makoto responded.

"Fine, just don't get yourselves or Bulat or Nessa killed" Tatsumi replied and left restraining himself from fainting to the chuckles of his stepsisters.

Two Hours later… Tatsumi began was at the head of the force, his soldiers arrayed themselves in formation outside the range of any enemy forces then Tatsumi and a small group of riders rode forward under the banner of a truce, it took a couple of minutes for Boreth to reply with his own delegation under General Romanovich and General Tashima along with himself coming to parley.

Tatsumi took a good look at them, Boreth and the two generals, Boreth was not accompanied by the two masked generals for once but he was dressed in attire Tatsumi hadn't expected, battle armor with a rather ornate helm which was engraved in the shape of a Manticore head. "Ah Tatsumi you come to parley with me" Boreth replied exuding a relaxed air about him, he clutched his staff firmly.

"I come asking for your surrender and that of your soldiers, enough people have died fighting this war, and this war isn't even the one that matters you know that Honest is the true enemy not me" Tatsumi replied.

"On the contrary while I do agree that former Prime Minister Honest is indeed the true enemy you are the bigger threat because of what you represent, you and your cousins pose a threat: any ruler who wishes to establish themselves must first deal with those who internal threats to their power, something your ancestors were no stranger to but in my society such actions need only be taken once: a purge of the old guard as has been done many times, in fact I've already designed the machine that will end your regime" Boreth replied and brought up a nearby wagon with a tall towering implement of death, a stock meant for holding the head while hanging from it was large sharp metal blade Tatsumi noticed the whimpering form of a captive, one of the many people from the countryside who was strapped into the trap. "Allow me to demonstrate" Boreth replied and nodded to the driver of the cart who had been holding a rope separate from the reigns used for the carthorses, let go of the rope, the blade fell and the poor farmer's head dropped, his eyes and face frozen in terror. "Quite deadly and effective don't you think?" Boreth replied.

"That contraption is a crime against humanity itself, I'll see it destroyed, surrender now Boreth I figure you won't but so you know that killing machine of yours will never see service again in fact it will be both the first and last of its kind" Tatsumi replied.

"I'll never surrender, not your army will be broken and the Revolution will rise!" Boreth replied and his smile turned into visage of demented murderous glee of the kind that Honest frequently had.

Tatsumi turned to the other generals. "I knew he wouldn't take the chance to do the right thing but will you two I wonder, Brezhnev and Gregor are war criminals but you two are new to me and to your ranks as my informants have told me you rose to prominence as subordinates of fallen generals; you two know that standing here is suicide and so do goodness knows how many soldiers: so to you and them I offer one last chance" Tatsumi replied then picked up the megaphone from the side of his saddle. "Attention all soldiers of the Revolutionary Army, this is Emperor Tatsumi I of the Golden Dragon Empire, this war is over, there is no escape and no one coming to save you, with that in mind I could have easily ordered no quarter, no negotiation but that would be unfair and against all laws of civilized warfare and we are all Imperials not Barbarians from the North or savages from the South and as such since you are all at the end of the day Imperials I as a fellow Imperial ask you a question. Why fight and die for the ravings of a madman when you could join me and be richly rewarded, I'm the future and best hope of all that remains of our glorious nation, the Old Empire is dead and a new one is rising, my Empire, and everyone who joins me this day will have the chance to take part, if you wish to do so else be remembered as monsters: Berthold Gregor is a monster, a murderer of innocents and a slaver, Nikita Brezhnev is a monster, a coward who uses innocent people as shields and who wants to murder children and Boreth Falkland… HE'S THE WORST OF THEM ALL! The man wants nothing more than genocide of all people that disagree with him even slightly, he would kill you all if it benefited him, he's only interested in himself not one of your lives matters to him. For me however every life matters: all lives matter, but above all else our choices matter: everyone has the ability to choose their fate, nothing is set in stone but what is set is that I take any death that happens on my watch as my own fault, that is on me, also I reward those who fight for me, what has Boreth gotten you, nothing more than death and destruction along with defeat after defeat always running but now he is trapped no need to go down with him; but as I said it's your choice: you hold in your hands a weapon and you can choose whom it will be used by: a brave dragon or a craven manticore, which are you?!" Tatsumi declared.

For the next moment there was silence but then some troops began to break ranks, the two generals to either side of Boreth turned to Tatsumi and both women handed him their ceremonial daggers. "I accept your offer Emperor Tatsumi, your father was a good man and my father spoke highly of him before Honest had him beheaded for sedition, all because he refused to hand me and my sisters over to him as hostages" the blue haired general Mitsuki replied.

"I side with you my Emperor; you are right we are not savages and Boreth took savages into his army! We as true imperials should not fight alongside those who have raped and murdered our people for centuries!" the blonde Natasha replied in a northern provincial accent, the two then crossed over to him.

"TRAITORS!" Boreth yelled and retreated behind the line, Tatsumi and his entourage left, no one but Tatsumi noticed that in the confusion of red uniformed soldiers leaving the hill one purple-haired officer was going up it shadowing Boreth's trail.

Shortly… General Natasha and General Mitsuki rode at Tatsumi's side, the troops who shared their views followed them and Tatsumi's entourage. Tatsumi took a breath then winced. "RUN!" Tatsumi yelled, those surrounding him did so and those who hadn't heard his warning ran soon after they heard the loud crack of energy and an explosion disintegrated a company of soldiers who lagged behind, at this those who hadn't been running ran but again some didn't run fast enough and another crackling bolt of energy struck and dozens more soldiers fried to cinders. "MURSAK!" Boreth's loud voice echoed.

Tatsumi turned towards his front line and signaled with Valruost, the soldiers advanced and his honor guard advanced rapidly to protect him, the last minute defectors fled behind the rapidly advancing lines which moved at full speed, Tatsumi leading them forward as the lines met and they rushed the hill not bothering to skirmish as Boreth wasn't giving them the chance. Line met and Tatsumi and those at his side lost themselves in the carnage

Above the carnage from a tower Boreth stood extending his staff his eyes green pupiless eyes "DIE: MURSAK!" Boreth declared and another green surge of energy came down and this time hundreds died, Boreth was alone in this endeavor he had sent all of his followers into battle to seek whatever death they thought best for them leaving him with about five trained guards, soon to be none.

Suddenly a door to the tower opened and the guards looked to see a solitary soldier with purple hair, who looked at them with smile before drawing a pair of Daggers. "Chancellor an assassin!" one guard yelled.

"Kill them!" he ordered not bothering to turn until he heard the first yell which disrupted his focus, he turned and noted his guards being ruthlessly slaughtered by a single person and with lightning speed, he barely had enough time to get his guard up before the remainder were slaughtered by the assassin whom he now had a good look at, she was dressed in a red army jacket but she tossed that aside revealing underneath a carapace of Teigu plate armor as she sheathed the daggers.

"Who are you?" Boreth asked perplexed.

"Your death: I'm sorry" Sheele replied and drew Extase from its sheath and lunged at him, Boreth dodged and readied himself for the melee. "You've been marked for death, as Guildmaster of the Order I've accepted the contract and taken it upon myself to fulfill it" Sheele commented icily and was surprised by Boreth's parrying with his staff.

"I've heard of the Order of the Sorrowful Ones, is Tatsumi such a coward that he sends an assassin to kill me?" Boreth replied.

"No, he is not, he is merely preoccupied with your army and for you sake I hope you prove a capable opponent, I'd hate for the leader of the 'mighty' Revolutionary Army to be witling" Sheele taunted, Boreth lunged.

"Ophir: Blade of Wind!" Boreth declared an the staff turned into a Halberd and the two began the melee.

Elsewhere in the battle… "FOREWARD!" Aria yelled, her face partially obscured by her helmet as she led her flanking force, the RA soldiers on the flanks were lightly armored up close but they had very good positions, fortunately the armor of Aria and her soldiers held up as they charged into the jaws of the enemies frontline. "Razordawn: Rip flesh!" Aria yelled and slashed with her Teigu Rapier, the swift strike cut cleanly thru three armored RA soldiers as if they had been paper; to her left Air shadowed her while Bulat loomed large and proud over the RA soldiers, some of which took one look at the Hundred Man Slayer in his Teigu battle armor and ran where others charged towards him hoping to make their name, a freshly minted brigadier rebel general among them. That General was the first to die impaled by Incursio's spear and behind him came five more rebels who were shishkabobed and flung aside with speed. To Aria's right came four frenzied northerners who had charged into battle naked their bodies covered with runes and hair dyed red with blood, Aria noted their great axes smirked "A possible challenge" she thought.

"Noctis Wave: Cloak!" Aria declared and vanished from the sight of the four berserkers then suddenly they began to drop, the first with a brutal slice across his neck, the second with his arm hewn off and guts torn open, the third died as his skull was cut in half and the last in hazy rage was cut down by vertical slice down his spine which was followed up by a horizontal chop thru his midsection. Aria then reappeared, as a shriek of rage was heard by another northerner, this one she recognized as their leader Vamu Saika who was angry that she had just slaughtered his personal bodyguards and he charged towards her with a Greatsword and clad in imposing northern battle armor, Aria side-stepped the charge then had to parry counter slash before launching a probing strike.

This would have been an amazing personal duel; opt word being would have been because as Vamu's rage had caused him to charge Aria he found himself ignoring someone else. That someone else was a 13-year-old lavender haired girl named Air Grundel who lunged at him from his side and drove a dagger with two rapid strikes into both eyes blinding him. "AGAAGH!" Vuma shrieked and dropped his sword in his pain, Air didn't stop her attack with that and outstretched his hand to Aria's shock as lightning cracked forth and tore into Vuma; the shock was enough to kill him and Air was nearly attacked from the rear by Vuma's two younger brothers who had seen him fall, both brothers however before they could reach her were felled by Bulat, the older of the two with a spear to the throat and the later by having his head smashed in Bulat's grip, he then yelled out and charged thru remaining northern soldiers, as Aria noted a barrage of ice shards fell reinforcing soldiers.

"This is going to be a bloody day" Aria thought then charged once more into the fray as a lone soldier tried running, no it was an officer and Aria wasn't going to let that officer escape especially not with general's braid on his uniform, the general clutched at his chest as he stumbled over a loose rock he then turned to see Aria blocking his escape.

"You may kill me this day, but the Revolution lives on: I'm but one of many eggs broken to make it come true!" General Brezhnev yelled and drew his saber, he knew he was doomed but he would at least die fighting: Aria waited for him to make the first move.

"You wanted me and my parents dead? Expect your death to be excessive" Aria replied and easily countered a rushed strike and sliced the sword arm of her opponent off, Brezhnev grit his teeth and pulled out a pistol and fired at point blank range, the shots because of his accuracy and because Aria's battle armor was actually Dwarven Mithril from older days bounced off uselessly and the magazine emptied, he then grabbed a grenade from his side but before he could bring it to his mouth to yank the pin out with his teeth a gunshot fired from nearby tore his hand to bits and Aria sliced his legs out from beneath him by slicing his ankles, she then drew one of her kukris and sliced up his guts. "Die in your filth! Die in black blood!" Aria yelled her visage fully demonic and with a brutal slice from her rapier cut his liver in half, dark blood poured out of the gaping wound, Aria then closed his eyes the hard way with two swift stabs to both sockets, Brezhnev let out no scream but a guttural "UGH!" as life left him and his soul went to hell.

With Tatsumi… Boreth's honor guards charged with both of Boreth's two generals at their head, Tatsumi charged forward leading his soldiers both familiar faces and others people he hardly knew but all were united in purpose and following him, the two generals readied heavy machine guns that conventionally should be mounted on a stand instead of carried by a grown man, these guns had a sizable amount of rounds ready to break their charge.

Those rounds were never fired instead, a barrage of arrows came from above piercing thru the two men and a few more behind, the two were down and their deaths didn't panic the honor guard. "Icarus: Star's End Salvo!" Sayo yelled from above her armor shining white amid the blood stained fields and she fired away hundreds of arrows as she used her trump card, the arrows tore down and thru the honor guard killing them all to a man, while panicked RA soldiers charged knowing that it was either die fighting or die on a cross, when faced with the option of dying quickly in an unholy sabot of a fight or dying slowly and in an agonizing fashion over a few days most soldiers chose that fate. Tatsumi then noted a wagon which had Boreth's killing machine and casually flung a fire ball from Smaug at it, the fire consumed the contraption and the wagon along with a nearby ammo cache and about four or five rebel soldiers who had been using it for cover. Tatsumi then soldiered on towards the main tower where he knew Boreth and Sheele would be fighting.

Inside the watchtower… "It cannot end like this! No! Years of careful planning, years of fortunes spent, my dreams of the new glorious nation can't die here!" Boreth yelled and sliced towards Sheele who he was barely keeping up with. "I've seen your type before Assassin! He was an outcast and he provided me the labor to run my family's mines at a dirt-cheap price; just so you know you and all the other purple-hairs would have been worked to death there but I see now that I'll have no such thing! You Daughter of a Whore and Whore of a Tyrant!" Boreth yelled in fury against Sheele.

At this set of choice words Sheele grew angry and her strikes came quicker as she pushed him towards the balcony once more, then she yelled something in a language Boreth didn't recognize and Extase glew bright with blue light, this sudden brightness was enough and Sheele opened Extase's scissor blades and closed them on Boreth's arm amputating the limb and breaking his guard before drawing one of her daggers and delivering it thru the ceremonial helm into his temple. Boreth looked at her some life still left in him. "I'm sorry" Sheele replied and sliced him clean in half with Extase, his staff fell from his lifeless hands as he upper body fell backwards as his lower body fell forward. "Agma Ka Videkk Akar" Sheele chanted and removed the head from the body as Tatsumi and the Four Champions rushed in covered in blood. "It's over" Sheele replied and sheathed Extase, her armor was stained with blood and she now stood smiling.

The following day… Tatsumi's victorious army marched into the city of Alkan with the Emperor himself at their head and with about 5,000 remaining rebels being marched in tow. The final victory at Mount Ya'ash had been overwhelming, on Tatsumi's side 2000 of his warriors had died but on the RA's side 11,000 rebels had fallen including Boreth Falkland whose head was marched at a front of the column and who's helmet Tatsumi had repaired and was now worn by Sheele to recognize her killing of him, she also carried his Teigu staff which had bonded to her in the aftermath. Also killed in the massacre was General Brezhnev whose body hung from a cross of brass being carried by Tatsumi's Royal guard alongside Boreth's two generals who's heads occupied pikes that were carried aloft by Sayo and Chelsea to cheers from the audience, along with a number of civilian leaders of the RA who at the last had been pushed into military service. However, they had taken alive a number of RA civilian leaders who had surrenders out of cowardice, in addition to General Berthold Gregor, known as 'the Butcher of Gallia' among other things and who was the highest ranking RA military officer still living, alongside a couple of captured RA leaders. But the most numerous captives and these numbered in the thousands were captured RA soldiers, diehards who stubbornly were believing in the cause to the last and like the rest of the captives Tatsumi needed to make an example of.

"Tatsumi victory is now yours now what are you going to do with it and more importantly what are you going to do to make sure this kind of revolt never happens again" Esdeath asked from beside him as she was carried aloft alongside him on the backs of their troops.

"First we will hold a Triumphal Parade to mark the end of this war and the heroic victory of our soldiers, secondly I want to hold a special ceremony for the hero of the hour, I'm going to have to give Sheele the highest honor possible, and in this case it will be Grand Dragon; the highest honor of our new Empire" Tatsumi explained. "As for the RA soldiers I want to make an example of them and their leaders, I want that example to be the most grandiose and over-top punishments possible to ensure we NEVER see the ideology and beliefs of Boreth Falkland again" Tatsumi explained.

"I can help you with the latter" Esdeath replied.

"No I need to devise this myself, you can offer some suggestions but it's on me as the leader of the Golden Dragon Empire to decide their fates; the soldiers however will share a different fate from the leaders as they are more numerous and unworthy of the fate that will befall their leaders so as such their punishment while still extreme will be lesser" Tatsumi explained, then thought on the matter: he had time to do so as the Triumphal Parade would come first and that was an easy matter as it was in progress, Sheele's ceremony could come later but after Triumphs it was customary in the old Empire to have the vanquished enemy dealt their doom and Tatsumi saw no need to change that tradition as certain elements of the Old Empire had a place in the Golden Dragon Empire and this was certainly one of them. "I'll make an example of them that no one will forget, monsters like them deserve to die and I'll make sure that they die in the most hellish manner possible" Tatsumi thought then conceived a brilliant plan for a display of punishment and execution in the cruelest and brazen way possible, then he smiled, Esdeath took a look at that smile and smiled too as she figured that her beloved had come up with the punishment.

"Do you want me to take part in this?" Aria asked Tatsumi presently.

"No, you killed the worst monster they had Aria and that's enough for me, besides I've got some plans for afterwards, I need to spend time with you and our girls but also your sisters and Makoto, this battle was hard fought and you alongside Esdeath and them stood out from all the others and I'd like to speak in private but also plan for the future, as for Kyoko and Mishi I want to assure them that everything that happens in the aftermath of this war happens because we need prevent one like it from EVER happening again, this isn't about destroying an enemy it's about destroying an idea: ideas rarely die and this one needs to" Tatsumi explained.

That afternoon… "Bring forth their leaders" Tatsumi ordered and his retainers brought up the RA's leaders. "You men stand guilty of high crimes against the people of the Empire along with high treason and war crimes: as such you will face judgement, do any of you have anything to say before I decree your fate?" Tatsumi asked.

"I have something to say; you're no better than the old Empire, no better than the Prime Minister and all his dogs" A former assembly member rebuked, Tatsumi picked the man up, the frail man's breathing was panicked as Tatsumi gripped his throat.

"I'm better then Volgoth, I don't engage in wanton depravity, I don't eat my fellow human beings, I don't rape innocents, I don't murder indiscriminately, I hate killing, and most importantly I remain human Volgoth is no longer human, no longer Honest, Honest has been dead since before I was born only Volgoth remains: I am still only human, imperfect but capable of good where Volgoth desires only to commit evil" Tatsumi responded, using the real name of his enemy for the first time in public. "For you however I have no mercy, you committed crimes against innocents, willingly welcomed murderers, robbers and rapists into your ranks, were willing to kill innocent children for your ideals and wipe out centuries of history for your own sick agenda, one that seeks to murder any who disagree: for your crimes I have only the most brutal of punishments in mind for you and for your soldiers lesser but still brutal ones" Tatsumi replied. "To you I invite to your last meal, a feast of victory mine, but you won't have any of the food, no you won't even see the faces of the victorious eating or anything at all but darkness" Tatsumi explained. "Guards restrain them I'm going to put out their eyes!" Tatsumi ordered and the soldiers carried out this order two men restraining a condemned man while Tatsumi marched with dagger that had been taken off of the body of one of Boreth's two generals, he enthusiastically carved out the eyes and the sockets of the leaders of the RA blinding them, after words he had black clothes wrapped around the gaping holes in the front of their faces as they screamed in agony; he then had them taken to a platform he had constructed, while they couldn't see him they heard him as he lead them below it.

"This platform is my own design though Esdeath helped, the spikes which you cannot see are her idea; you see above this is a grand banquet table, large enough for 5000 people and seated for that many, the ceiling will lower the more people gather above; and when the table is filled the roof will be brought down on you who be restrained to this ground, the spikes will be driven into your body but you won't die from the spikes no you'll die from being crushed to death: crushed and forgotten by the victors because after this feast ends I'll have this chamber filled with molten lead: consider yourselves doomed, there is no escape and you're in the jaws of death" Tatsumi explained, he then had them bound with strong cords; except for General Gregor and the one man who had spoken out. "All of them except for you general will meet this fate I've got something special in mind for you" Tatsumi explained and had him lead out to the yells for mercy and rage from the condemned and they returned to the surface.

Tatsumi then came to another platform that was overlooking the feasting platform; the center piece was a grand wheel, Tatsumi ordered Gregor strapped to it. "Now that you are here you'll be broken soon but first I'm going to have your mouth nailed shut, I've heard you were found of killing my people in this fashion so you will meet the same end" Tatsumi explained, then was handed a hammer and nails as the soldiers held him the wheel, the first nails Tatsumi hammered into his hands and feet to keep him stuck to the wheel, the second set were hammered into his lips, the nails held his mouth shut and an additional third set were hammered into his cheeks about the area of the jawbones. "No more words from you Gregor; I don't think you'd have anything productive to say" Tatsumi explained then turned to the last leader; a man named Phyllis. "You will take part in my feast and be fed a special dish: Gold" Tatsumi explained.

The banquet and Sheele's ceremony followed after and Phyllis was the centerpiece of the table, Tatsumi was true to his word and had molten gold pour down the man's throat, as muffled screams came from below as he knew the spikes were doing their job. "Esdeath a toast to victory and the deaths of all the monsters in the Empire" Tatsumi commented.

"And a toast to you, the strongest" Esdeath replied and two chinked glasses, Tatsumi drink wine while Esdeath drank water as she insisted on to insure healthy offspring, Tatsumi was rather insistent on his beloved wives and lovers staying healthy during their pregnancies but Esdeath was devoted to making sure that her children came out strong and had tribal knowledge with regards to how her people did so and most importantly was the drinking of water and goat's milk, and the consumption of the finest of meats and grains.

"Aria will you do the honors with regards to the wheel" Tatsumi asked.

"Gladly, shame I won't hear him scream" Aria replied getting up and walking over to platform where the blinded and silent general hung from a wheel she then sent it spinning; the wheel spun as they dined, the screams from bellow ceased as the condemned had ran out of breath and accepted their doom and within an hour it concluded, the condemned were still alive underneath.

"Pour the lead in there now" Tatsumi ordered and a lever was pulled, and lead was pumped in underneath, Tatsumi then left the doomed to their fates.

Later outside the city… A forest of crosses had been constructed and now occupied a valley outside Alkan. "For the crimes against the Empire and high treason I sentence all these traitors to hang by the cross to die and they will hang from it until their bones turn to dust, here a forest of corpses shall rest and mountains of Skulls shall mark the road to Alkan for centuries" Tatsumi decreed, the RA soldiers were stripped, scourged, and blinded before being hung from crosses their bodies nailed to them Tatsumi didn't stay to watch their doom it would take days he did however oversee the construction of mounds of skulls from the dead of the RA during after the battle, 10 large mountains were made and marked the valley of the Oubliette as the vale beneath Mount Ya'ash was now called. The bones that weren't skulls were carted off Tatsumi then ordered the construction of a monument from their bones an arch serving as a warning to those who defied his rule.

All this was done within the period of 5 hours, apart from the construction which would take weeks and be completed long after the Emperor had marched East in search of new allies to aid in the War that Mattered which was what Tatsumi called his new war, one war had ended but another had begun and the fate of the world was in the balance.

That evening… Tatsumi had gathered for a private dinner with those that he wanted to protect the most. "I'm glad that daddy is doing alright and wasn't hurt in all the nasty fighting" Mishi commented.

"I'm glad you two were nice and behaved while I was fighting" Tatsumi replied.

"Daddy why did you have all those people killed?" Kyoko asked seriously.

"Kyoko, they were bad people and, in my experience, the only way to keep bad people from doing bad things like they did ever again is to kill them, the dead cannot do anything as they don't move" Tatsumi explained. "Also an example had to be set so that more people didn't follow their path, people that may have otherwise been good and become evil because of bad examples: for example Kyoko you and Mishi will be good strong, kind, caring women someday and that is because you have me and your mothers to be examples for you, people follow examples it's in our nature and if you make sure that bad examples are punished hard enough then people won't take after them again" Tatsumi explained.

"I'm just scared daddy you may end up turning bad" Kyoko explained, Tatsumi hugged her and held her close to him and looked her in his eyes.

"Listen my little Kyoko, I will never be like those I've killed, I can't stand killing, the reason I fight is to stop the senseless killing: I wish I would never have to kill again Kyoko but as long as there are people that want to see all I love and cherish destroyed I have to fight and stop them from seeing those plans thru, but trust me Kyoko I've never let this change my core principles: I've not had to compromise them as they don't affect what happens to me anyway but even if they did I wouldn't change my beliefs for anything" Tatsumi replied.

"Even to keep me and everyone else safe?" Kyoko asked.

"I'd never have to because I will do everything to keep you safe as it is my first principle" Tatsumi explained.

"So, Makoto how many baddies did you kill" Air asked changing the subject.

"I lost count at about 30, how many did you kill Air?" Makoto asked.

"53 including the Vamu Saika, Nora was so proud of me" Air replied, chuckles came from round the table; Esdeath smiled at her bloodthirsty sister-in-law.

"That's nothing Air I killed-" Fal began to say when suddenly the room felt surprisingly warm and they heard the snap of a lock as the door to room was sealed by some fell magic; suddenly two intruders appeared; one clad in ruby-red armor the other a beauty of deceptive design.

"What a quaint gathering we have here Agrael and it looks like we have finally caught up with him" Lashara commented. "Boy are you a hard man to catch and quite a looker; I'll enjoy playing with you" Lashara commented looking at Tatsumi who had already drawn Valruost and stepped in front of Kyoko and Mishi.

"Demons! What do you want? And who are you?" Tatsumi questioned ready to fight.

"Demons? Oh you confuse us with brutal brainless creatures of rage and destruction, no my dear young Emperor we are Devils, in fact not even of the conventional nature, we were once like you, mortal: once I was a fair human queen who made a pact to charm all the young men of my domain to warm my bed, after I died I became what I am today and continue my ambitions while slaughtering the enemies of my liege lord Valtor Abaddon, my partner Agrael was once a powerful elven sorcerer who made a pact with those he couldn't control and as such he became what he is now and his true name is forgotten though I've always been known by mine Lashara, Arch-Duchess of the Sixth Circle of the Black Pit and ruler of Helvidia one of the cutest little kingdoms on the far side of the tenth pentagram of Hell" Lashara explained. "But for you we are you foes; your world is going to be part of the domain of Lord Valtor thru his representative Volgoth Ugor, Arch-Demon of House Abaddon and such we are bound to serve his commands and he wishes you and those you treasure to be brought back to him but I think he'll be happy with you dead, I'll enjoy playing with you" Lashara explained and drew a whip, Agrael readied his staff.

The fight that followed was confusing and intense, as the two Arch-Devil easily launched an attack, Aria was knocked aside and knocked unconscious by Agrael's staff as she attempted to use Noctis Wave's cloak while Lashara went immediately for Tatsumi knocking Esdeath to the side where Esdeath found herself engaged by Agrael in single combat. Lashara used a spell to bound Tatsumi and mesmerized his mind as she took him to the bed. Esdeath saw this and tried to overpower Agrael but the demon was not going to let her have any ground: fortunately both demons had ignored the children in the room and this proved to be a fatal error: Makoto drew his sword after coming out of his fear and had to pick who to attack and this case he decided to attack the enemy with his back to him picking up Smaug, which allowed him to use it, and driving the Teigu blade into Agrael's back thru the demonic armor causing him to drop his staff.

"Katris Val" Esdeath declared and the Devil was frozen into solid ice so cold as to freeze a demon and with a slash from his sword Makoto shattered the demon. Lashara had in the meantime removed her armor with a spell and was getting ready to mount a stripped Tatsumi when a javelin pierced her back, she shrieked then phased out of existence. The two Arch Devils were defeated and Tatsumi was left on his bed naked and confused as to what just happened and what to do next.