Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga kiru
Soul of the City
Seryu looked out of the window of their temporary base in Kyoroch, looking at Adrien as he sat by himself on the steps to a walkway, still in mourning for his friend from the painting. She didn't really know the woman, but she had helped her and sheltered her from Night Raid. She wished that Adrien hadn't destroyed the painting, but he had explained it was her wish. It still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Strangely enough, his clothes had been slightly embered ever since he his fight with Tatsumi, and while it seemed he could control their intensity, it was still noticeable.
"Seryu. His punishment will come later. For now, we will deal with your own." Esdeath's voice broke her out of her thoughts as Seryu turned around to see the rest of the Jaegers around their leader, each of them with unreadable expressions. She nodded and stepped forward. "Normally your punishment would be harsh for letting a member of Night Raid go so easily, but considering your condition, I will go a little easier on you." Seryu let a small smile onto her lips, as Esdeath sighed. "I must be getting soft the more I spend time with Adrien." She said before shrugging. "Your punishment will be such: You will not get a new arm for another week, and you are not allowed to visit Adrien in the same time period." Seryu's smile vanished "In fact, you will be put under solitary confinement for a week. We'll still be going to the capital, but you will be in another carriage." Seryu's dejected expression had the other feeling somewhat bad, but Esdeath ignored it. "That will be all Seryu. You are to go to your room and await further instructions."
"Yes Ma'am." Seryu said sadly, saluting quickly before leaving the room. Esdeath then looked out the window Seryu was previously at, a glare appearing on her face.
"Your punishment though will be much less forgiving" Esdeath said to herself more than anyone, but it did get Wave to shiver a bit at the news.
"Why did you want us here again?" Bols asked curiously, his mask hiding any curious expression he might have had.
"To witness what her punishment would be so you were all informed. I'll be sure to tell Adrien later." Esdeath replied, casually walking towards the door. "You're all dismissed for the day." At that, she left them, intending to ensure Seryu's punishment was upheld.
"So... what do you guys think about all that?" Wave asked Bols and Kurome, the two of them looking at the man with impassive/unreadable expressions.
"I suppose thats what she deserves." Kurome said plainly, once again munching down on one of her cookies.
"I think it's a bit harsh, especially her not getting a new arm, I mean, that girls been through hell and back. I think we should be able to give her a break, y'know?" Bols offered gently, but Kurome shook her head.
"I think Esdeath needs to show that we can't just get away with whatever we want just because we think it's the right thing to do. This goes for Adrien especially. I don't know what his punishment will be, but I imagine it won't be pleasant for him." Kurome said, looking out towards the window where Adrien was more or less sulking.
"I guess you're right. But with what Adrien said, Night Raid isn't really our enemy are they? They want to fight corruption and manipulation, we want to fight corruption and abuse, why can't we just convince them that we're ultimately on the same side?" Wave asked cautiously, but Bols was the one to answer him with a shake of his head.
"I don't think that would be possible. Personally I don't know what Night Raid's endgame is, but I imagine whatever it is involves a lot of deaths, potentially of powerful individuals, that, even if they can be ruthless or power hungry, still make things run. Replacing the people that Night Raid kills isn't easy." Bols answered, making Wave nod in understanding. "Granted, Bolic wasn't like that. There are others that can take his place, and one is being elected as we speak, the main reason we were assigned to protect him is because of his relationship with Honest." Wave nodded again as Bols continued. "But we have no idea who else Night Raid could go after, nor where exactly they cross the line of 'unforgivable transgression'. Thats why they're a threat." Kurome nodded as well, agreeing wholeheartedly with Bol's assessment.
"But with what Adrien said, then this Abyss or whatever is supposed to be coming about because of people that abuse their power." Wave said, earning a curt nod from Bols.
"But that doesn't mean Night Raid gets to decide who lives and who dies." Kurome spoke up, a small glare at the young, but still older than her, man. "And besides that was the whole point of Adrien joining us remember? To get the emperor to investigate the drug traffickers, the kidnappings, the excessive taxes, everything that could be causing the Abyss. Once we get to the capital we'll be able to see if Adrien's little plan has borne any fruit." She surmised, making Bols and Wave grow quiet, with Wave adopting a thinking expression. Kurome left wordlessly afterward, followed by Bols. Wave looked out the window at Adrien, his form still unmoving, wondering just what would come next or if the emperor had listened to the undead knight.
"Ow! Damn it!" Lubbock cringed in pain as Najenda tended to his wounds, of all the members, Lubbock was the one with the worst injuries with Chelsea coming a close second. Thankfully Lubbock was able to use his imperial arms to stitch both his own and Chelsea's wounds, but that didn't mean they didn't need tending to.
"Quit whining." Najenda lightly reprimanded, applying the bandages around his shoulder, a rather sizable stitching slowly being covered up as Najenda worked. Najenda's face had remained an impassive expression the entire time, despite the worry she felt for the young man. The Rest of Night Raid had retreated to a revolutionary outpost near Kyoroch as they licked their wounds, which while in some cases severe, they had still managed to accomplish their mission. Due to Lubbock and Chelsea's injuries, they were in the beds of the hideout as Najenda and Leone guarded them. Sheele and Akame were outside, guarding the perimeter. Najenda had yet to confront her on the time within the painting, but the other members knew that it was something that needed to be discussed as a group.
"I can't believe it... Tatsumi's..." Leone said, disbelief in her voice, but a firm strike from Najenda got her to be silent. Chelsea would have probably said something as well, but she was currently unconscious, still recovering from Esdeath's beating.
"We're all grieving our loss, not only of Tatsumi, but also of multiple elements of surprise in our trump cards, and the loss of an imperial arms." Najenda replied curtly, but then smiled bitterly. "But ultimately we succeeded in out mission, and while that's not all that matters of course, it's still a victory." Leone nodded, but the somber expression on her face did not fade.
"We'll win this. Eventually." Lubbock said suddenly, both women looking at him. "Even if it kills us all. We'll rid the empire of corruption." Najenda and Leone both nodded, a spark of new conviction from the words of their worst injured member reminding them why they were fighting.
"In order to do that though, we're going to need a new imperial arms for the girl." A new but familiar voice reached them, making the three conscious assassins turn their heads to see Lapp entering the room. Relief was present on all of their faces until Najenda noticed a missing person.
"Where's Susanoo?" Najenda asked with a raised eyebrow and slight worry.
"He said he would help Sheele with the patrol, outside with her now." Lapp replied casually, pointing a thumb over his shoulder to the door.
"Where the hell did you go?" Leone asked with genuine curiosity, looking at the armored man as he approached the bedside.
"A little bonfire I set up a few miles west of Kyoroch, luckily me and Susanoo don't tire easily so we just walked straight from there to here when we teleported." Lapp answered, looking over the two wounded before looking to Najenda. "What about you boss? Weren't you hurt?" Najenda shook her head as she looked down at her real hand, some bandaging around the forearm.
"Just some minor burns and wounds, nothing serious. We were lucky with that much at least." Najenda said mirthfully, suddenly being reminded of the final tally of the fight.
"Well what now? Return to the capital and continue with our normal missions?" Leone asked, with Najenda humming to herself as she considered that.
"For now, yes. We continue our normal operations within the capital." Najenda said, getting up from her seat and looking towards the door. "But before that, we need to talk to Sheele about what happened." The other members got a little quieter upon hearing that, hoping that whatever news Sheele had, it would't be worse than what they thought.
Esdeath sat down besides Adrien in silence, the two of them overlooking the courtyard before them as a light rain began to fall. She said nothing, a neutral frown on her face, and Adrien's hidden behind his ember-laden armor and helmet. She wanted him to say something first, but he wouldn't. She finally broke the silence with a sigh before looking at him, her face remaining neutral.
"Why is Sheele still alive?" Esdeath asked, not in a threatening manner, but instead with curiosity, knowing enough about the knight that he rarely responded well to threats, and since there was no real way to punish him, her threats meant little anyway. She knew that now, and so she had to resort to non-violent means of teaching Adrien just who he answered to.
"Because of the threat to both Seryu... and my friend within the painting." Adrien began, before elaborating. "My friend did not want any fighting within her world, and so I made a temporary truce with Night Raid to ensure we left safely. Not that it mattered." He admitted a bit ruthfully, Esdeath giggling a bit at his expense. Oh Adrien, despite your strength, you still try to find the best in people. Your one weakness, but one that only makes me love you more. Esdeath thought with a blush, coming to see the undead as much more than a physically and mentally strong individual, but one that had strong morals and values as well.
"Your friend, what was her name?" Esdeath asked curiously, shifting closer to the knight.
"She didn't have a name, she was simply the Painting Lady." Adrien replied simply, Esdeath humming a bit at the answer.
"That's still a name in a sense..." Esdeath said, before a more serious expression crossed her face. "Seryu's punishment has been enacted. She's not to be visited by any of the Jaeger's and she won't receive a new arm until after a week has passed." Esdeath's statement caused Adrien to look up at her. "Your punishment will come after we reach the capital. Seryu's punishment is also partially yours considering how much you like to converse with the girl. But that is only the beginning." Esdeath's tone had become almost smug as she said this, with Adrien's full attention on her. "I'm leaving your true punishment to your imagination, but for now, I'll tell you this..." Esdeath then paused and leaned in close to where her mouth was right by his ear. "I doubt you will enjoy it." She whispered before getting up slowly and leaving, leaving Adrien to his thoughts.
"For some reason. I suspect she's right." Adrien said to himself once Esdeath had left sight. His body taking in an unnecessary sigh before he too stood up and walked back inside, a dread air following him.
"Sheele... you mean to tell me that Tatsumi did all of that just because he dipped his finger into some paint?" Najenda asked incredulously, her and the rest of Night Raid having finished hearing the purple-haired assassin's testimony to the events within the painting. The girl just nodded, unable to look up from her lap due to embarrassment, shame, and sadness in recalling the memory.
"Normally I would call bullshit. But considering Adrien... I'm willing to believe it." Leone stated, Lubbock nodding along with the sentiment. Akame gripped the edge of her shirt tightly, frustrated at the seeming stupidity and avoidable circumstance of Tatsumi's death. Susanoo and Lapp appeared rather impassive about the news, and a recently woken up Chelsea seemed to be seething with rage.
"You helped him kill Tatsumi!?" Chelsea raged from her position on her bed, her condition not allowing her to walk fully just yet, several members of Night Raid glancing at her in surprise, but Sheele merely clenching her eyes tighter.
"Chelsea, no! It was either that or to merely die in a vain attempt to kill Adrien. Even if he had died with Sheele's efforts, but who knows if Tatsumi would have been hostile towards her, and if that Seryu girl had been killed... considering Adrien's reaction..." Najenda trailed off, wondering just how strong Adrien would or could get when actually enraged.
"But Boss!" Chelsea exclaimed, but Najenda sent her a glare.
"Enough! Any of us would have done the same thing. It was clear Adrien was familiar with the painting, so he would have had the advantage over us, and from what Sheele said, he was the only reason she got out of there at all." Najenda's reprimanding was met with a surprised look, and upon looking at the other members of the assassin group, Chelsea saw that the other members were either looking away or giving her disdaining glares at her accusation of Sheele.
"Plus, we need as many hands as we can get." Najenda replied, a solemn expression on her face. "Once we get to the capital, we have another mission, thankfully rather small compared to our recent ones, but still important." Najenda said, and the rest of Night Raid nodded in understanding. "And if any of you encounter anything like the black substance that Sheele described, you are to either avoid it or if possible, procure it safely, as it could prove a valuable weapon if we used it properly. I feel as though we might need every advantage we can get in this." Najenda said, explaining her reasoning upon seeing Night Raid's incredulous expressions.
"I think that's rather unsafe. If we see this stuff, I believe we should destroy it so it can't be used by anyone." Lapp proposed, with Akame, Sheele, and Leone nodding in agreement. Najenda put a hand to her chin, and seeing no one was going to argue with Lapp's statement, she sighed.
"Perhaps you are right Lapp... very well, if you see this substance, avoid it or if possible, destroy it with extreme prejudice." The rest of Night Raid nodded, determination flowing through their ranks.
Two Days Later
The carriage ride back to the capital was much smoother and much less exciting than their initial trip out to Kyoroch, but the Jaegers were still thankful to be heading back home. Esdeath and Adrien sat next to each other with Kurome, Bols, and Wave across from them. Seryu was in her own carriage behind theirs, following along on the rather well kept path. The air was a little depressing considering they had technically lost. As the rode however, and reached the capital proper, some of them could hear laughter and conversations from the other side of the carriage doors.
Wave decided to open up one of then windows, and was slightly surprised to see the city in a relatively good mood. He remembered the first time he came to the capital and remembered the general dread or unease in many of the people he saw along the way to the palace, but now the people around him seemed to be in much higher spirits. As for why, he could only guess.
"Wow. The city looks... different." Bols said with a bit of welcome shock, pleased with the faces he saw as they rode by. Esdeath merely hummed in interest as she too looked out to the streets. Adrien watched, a studying gaze as he saw the people on the streets, merely going about their business. I will need to ask Lilith what has happened since we left the city. And more specifically if the agitated Humanity has settled at all. Adrien thought, managing to glance at the palace in the distance as they travelled, wondering how his Firekeeper companion was doing.
"Wonder what happened." Wave said aloud, Kurome humming in contemplation as she bit into another one of her cookies.
They continued to observe their surroundings as they approached the palace, and upon arriving, noticed that the palace itself had not changed much. Same number of guards, same checkpoints, same aristocrats and nobles mingling about within. Nevertheless the Jaegers continued on their way back to where they usually met inside the palace. Adrien however, upon leaving the carriage and entering the palace proper, continued to his room, heading straight towards the Firekeeper. No one stopped him, but Esdeath did decided to follow him as he seemed so determined.
Adrien opened the door swiftly, and to his great relief, saw Lilith sitting with a cup of tea, a maid right by her side. She had a small smile on her face, her head facing in his direction since before he came in.
"Ah, Ashen one, thou hast returned. It is good to know you have come back safely." The Firekeeper said pleasantly, Adrien approaching her calmly, before glancing at the maid. The woman bowed curtly before excusing herself as she left, right before Esdeath entered, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "And to you as well General." Lilith added as Esdeath stepped in and closed the door behind her.
"Lilith, has everything been going well?" Adrien asked, memories of the wild hunt's leader still in his mind. The Firekeeper nodded, not looking at him directly, but still very much directed at his inquiry. Esdeath decided to sit down on the couch across from Lilith, crossing her arms as she listened to their talk.
"Yes, in fact, I believe the state of the capital is much greater than when thou left. I heard that the emperor hath greatly reduced taxes throughout the capital region, and hath lifted merchant tolls for entering or leaving the capital. There hath also been an inquiry into the local guard offices, and several officers within hath been apprehended for corruption. Even some of the Noble families have been taken in for... rather unsavory practices." Lilith explained, her smile never leaving her face, Esdeath's eyes widening slightly at the news as Adrien mulled over the events. "The Humanity has calmed slightly, but there is still corruption yet, and I doth believe many nobles hath become wary of the emperor." Adrien nodded, and while he was happy about the news that the emperor had taken his words to heart, he knew it would take more time for things to become more stable.
"That is good then, and I trust there have been no more run ins with... Syura?" Adrien asked tentatively, to which Lilith frowned a bit, but nodded. "That's good. I hope it stays that way." The undead said with uncertainty, obviously not believing that would be the case.
"So it seems the emperor has been taking your warning seriously." Esdeath noted with an impressed smile, her previous annoyance with Adrien visiting Lilith somewhat forgotten. "If this keeps up, Night Raid will have little reason to keep up their practice." Esdeath chuckled a bit at that, and Adrien nodded at the statement. Esdeath eyed Adrien, a small smirk on her face. "Well Adrien, now that we are here at the palace, and you have met with Lilith, catching up and all. So I believe its time for your punishment to be issued." Lilith frowned upon hearing that, concerned over what kind of punishment would be handed to the Ashen One. Esdeath reached into one of her uniform's pockets and procured a small parchment, to which she handed Adrien. The undead took it, unfolded the paper and began to read. A few seconds later and Adrien dropped his arms as he looked at Esdeath, his eyes giving her a questioning gaze. "Everything you need should be In that parchment as far as information goes. I expect you to set off tomorrow." Esdeath said with finality, spotting an empty teacup with a full teakettle next to it. She poured herself a cup and took a sip, a pleased smile on her face.
"What dost the request entail?" Lilith asked after a moment of silence between the three.
"I am to liberate a castle that has been taken over by revolutionaries. Apparently they have known about the castle for a while, and were intending to send the whole of the Jaegers to handle it, but Esdeath is sending only me. It is said that it could be the main base of Night Raid or at the least, some high profile rebel leaders. Thus it's destruction is required due to it's close proximity to the capital." Adrien explained, the answer making Lilith frown.
"But why?" Lilith asked, sadness and confusion in her voice, to which Esdeath provided the answer.
"Because he failed to kill a member of Night Raid when he had ample opportunity to." Esdeath said curtly. "And if he fails to bring this castle down, then I will have no choice but to inform the emperor that Adrien is not holding up his end of their little bargain." That statement made Adrien freeze, realizing Esdeath was effectively blackmailing him. The blue-haired general got up from her seat upon finishing her tea and headed for the door. "Adrien, do be careful on your assignment." Esdeath said ominously as she left, making Adrien clench his fists. For as much as that woman says she loves me, she certainly enjoys making me not like her. Adrien thought bitterly.
Lilith stayed silent, not willing to speak up at the moment. Adrien came up the Lilith, and sensing his intention, the Firekeeper stood up. Adrien kneeled down in front of her and opened up a hand in presentation, Lilith placing one of her own upon it, ready to receive the souls he wishes to offer. She sensed the writhing of greater souls within him as well, knowing he would need the Transposing Kiln, preparing herself to transpose the souls.
Adrien looked around the halls of the palace as night descended, the yellow and orange rays of sunlight peeking through the windows beautifully. No one was around him, as the people he was set to meet with tonight were already at the location, which if Adrien recalled, was the same place the last time he had met with these people.
The emperor had requested Adrien's presence at the earliest possible convenience, and so after imbuing himself further with souls and transmuting the more notable ones to weapons, he made his way to his meeting with the emperor and who else the young boy had invited. The undead had nearly passed the door due to there being no guards in front of it, something which surprised him, but thankfully was able to hear familiar voices on the other side. Upon opening the door, he saw five recognizable figures. The one he was least familiar with was the maid that worked in service to Lilith, and while she rarely talked, and the Ashen one did not know her name, he recognized her face easily. The next two were identical in their professions, but very different looking on the outside.
"Ah, You've come, take a seat." Esdeath said with a surprisingly welcoming tone, General Budo nodding to him as he came in, the large blonde-haired general ever having the stoic serious scowl on his face. Upon seeing him again, Adrien couldn't help but notice how the general's scowl had softened somewhat, as if he had less weight on his shoulders than before. The next two were both politicians, and upon him entering, one smiled with glee, while the other sent a death glare at him.
"I'm glad you've come knight Adrien, I apologize for summoning you so late, but I felt that I had to thank you for your advice." The young emperor said as he walked up to Adrien, unafraid of the undead's height and general intimidating appearance. "Ever since you left, and thanks to you, the capital has been booming! And we've uncovered many different prominent crime rings that were all disbanded, their members arrested, and subsequently executed, in no small part to General Budo!" The Emperor's excitement could be akin to a child who saw a fight and was retelling it to a friend with great detail.
"I see, I am glad then that my words have proven useful your Majesty." Adrien replied, taking a seat next to Esdeath as the emperor himself returned to a large cushioned seat that honest was sitting next to, in a similarly lavish seat, while Budo chose to remain standing.
"Yes, of course, Adrien, we are very thankful you have enlightened our young ruler, but we have another matter to discuss, so as much as we might love for you to sta-" Before Honest could continue his statement, the emperor cut him off.
"Which is exactly why I wish to have him with us as we discuss how we might spread the capital's prosperity throughout the empire." The emperor said, a small pout on his face as Honest attempted to kick Adrien out of the meeting after he had just arrived. "We had discussed this earlier as well!"
"But I still disagree your highness, while he might be somewhat wise, I fail to see how he might replace your advisors on such matters." Honest asked, although to everyone else in the room it sounded more like pleading.
"Because nearly a third of my so-called 'advisors' were involved in many of these criminal circles, some of them involving slaves, drugs, and who knows what else." The emperor responded indignantly, and as he and the prime minister were having this back and forth, Adrien looked to the two generals to see Esdeath holding back an amused giggle, and Budo merely closing his eyes and waiting for it to be over. Apparently they both found it ironic how The emperor was talking to Honest, and while one found it amusing, the other found it annoying.
"Moving on." The emperor stated, crossing his arms. "Generals, what is the state of the rebellion? And how might this effect my new found strategy of strengthening the empire?" The emperor asked, glancing at the two generals. I see Adrien thought. Despite everything he has seen, he still believes the rebel army to be some form of power grab attempt or something that is wholly selfish. Granted, I never asked him to investigate the rebel's wants and demands.
"I believe it shouldn't be too much of a problem with most of the central territory, but the outer reaches of the empire might prove more resistant or more likely to deny or destroy any imperial escorts for new laws or regulations." Budo explained calmly, earning a nod from the emperor.
"There are some exceptions of that though, and rebels still act within the central territories as well and around the capital. As I'm sure you know there is a rather substantial rebel base a few days outside of the capital to the west that is one of the theorized main bases of Night Raid." Esdeath added, making Adrien glance at her, and she merely smirked in his direction before facing the emperor again. "Adrien is going to go there and eliminate the threat once and for all, and hopefully make imperial transports much safer when in that area."
"Truly? By yourself knight Adrien?" The emperor asked with a sparkle in his eyes, apparently awed that the man would take on the base on his lonesome. The prime minister suddenly had a small smile on his face, but it soon dissipated to a more neutral look, apparently not wanting the emperor to suddenly look to him and see his expression. Budo narrowed his eyes at Esdeath, suspicious about the plan.
"Yes... I will leave in the morning, and hopefully we will be through with the base in a few days time." Adrien said after a moment of silence, Esdeath's smile growing just a hair, but enough for Budo's eyes to widen, realizing the true nature of Adrien's mission. Blackmail? But why? Does she not say that she loves him? And then sends him to his death? What is going on? Budo thought to himself, shock and slight disbelief going through his mind, but his face remaining mostly unchanged.
"That is excellent! Then after that, perhaps it would be best if the Jaegers went back to hunting Night Raid. Until then though, let us continue." The emperor declared, everyone but Adrien nodding. The undead merely breathing out softly, the unnecessary breath an indication of the slight stress his situation was putting on his shoulders.
Najenda walked with purpose through the halls of the revolutionary base, it's complex akin to a series of warehouses and small houses than anywhere important. The building she was in specialized in medical operations, and she was there to see a now recovered companion. She soon found the specified door and knocked gently. A moment later, and she got a response.
"Come in." Sasha's voice called from the other side, and Najenda entered, seeing the imperial arms user sitting on the open window ceil, cleaning her dual knives. She saw Najenda come in, her mechanical legs twitching a bit, but she said nothing else, a rather dull expression on her face. Najenda approached, a neutral expression on her face as she looked out the window Sasha was sitting in. "Lovely day." Najenda said, looking out over the sparse forests that surrounded them.
"Sure." Sasha said, her demeanor not having changed at all. Najenda sighed, scratching the back of her head.
"Listen, we accomplished the mission."
"I heard." Sasha responded immediately. "I also heard about Tatsumi... Adrien again." Sasha said, her expression becoming a scowl as she looked over the landscape, the grip on her knife tightening. Najenda nodded solemnly, and placed a hand on Sasha's shoulder.
"If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have been there to fight in the first place. Thank you." Najenda said, her attempt to make Sasha feel less terrible making Sasha sag her shoulders a bit, taking little comfort in that thanks. "How are your legs?" Sasha got up from the window ceil and walked around a bit as naturally as anyone else would.
"Like I never lost them." Sasha said with a faint smile, kicking her feet a bit. Najenda nodded, remembering when she herself had finally gotten used to her mechanical arm, and how she had learned to live with the fact she would never truly 'feel' with her arm again. She was glad that Sasha was not overly upset about her legs, and hoped that if anything, she would at least be able to fight at her previous strength, and perhaps, even better than before.
"Thats good, are you ready to fight?" Sasha sent a glare at Najenda, although it was not necessarily one of hostility to her, but instead it was directed at another foe, and was borne of determination and revenge.
"I was made ready."
Najenda led Sasha through the rebellion complex with purpose, determination in both of their eyes. The soldiers around them glancing briefly, but were often too busy with their tasks to look for long.
"The next mission is an important one. Apparently another group of imperial arms users have been terrorizing many villages in the area around the capital. The empire isn't doing anything about it. We believe they might be connected in some way, but we aren't sure. Either way, it needs to be taken down." Najenda said, Sasha nodded with understanding, a small scowl appearing on her face. "We have their last known location, and we're being sent to investigate. Chelsea's imperial arms was destroyed as you know, so while a new one is found for her, we're to keep working." Najenda stopped, and faced Sasha, who looked at her leader curiously.
"We'll be counting on you." Najenda said simply, and with definitive truth, indicating the gravity of their situation with the essential loss of three imperial arms users in such a short amount of time.
"Don't worry, I won't make the same mistake again." Sasha said with a glare, the leader of Night Raid examining her gaze, and seeing no hesitation or issue with the statement, she nodded.
"We leave in the morning." Najenda said, the two of them continuing their walk, walking by several houses and tents the moaning of injured soldiers reaching their ears, but continuing on nonetheless.
Three Days Later
Adrien trudged purposefully slowly as he neared the rebel occupied castle. It had taken little time to reach the location thanks to two aspects. The first was the fact that Adrien did not need to sleep, and so merely kept on going during the night when most would find a place to second was the fact Adrien had ran nearly the whole way, not wanting to waste time and be away from the Jaegers for longer than necessary. His fears of Syura had only increased when he learned he would be sent away on a mission by himself, and he only hoped that the dark skinned man was away and that his friends would be close to Lilith until he could return.
The castle itself was rather old looking, obviously having been run down for a long time before the rebels took shelter in it's walls. There were holes in the stonework covered by boards, wooden log fences, or new built masonry, although the latter he could only spot one instance of. The night sky made it hard to see as the moon was waning, thus there was not much light to see with. Before he could examine further, he heard rustling behind him, and before he could turn around, a long blade struck his back, embedding halfway before the momentum stopped. He turned his head to see a masked man glaring daggers at him, but upon realizing Adrien had very little reaction to the attack, his hostile glare turned to fear. In the next instance, Adrien's dark hand had claimed a new victim. Around him he heard more rustling before a strange sound met his ears, and following it, he saw a great red light soaring above him with a red smoke trail following it, a stark contrast to the dark night sky.
"That can't be good." Was all Adrien could muster before he ran in the direction of his revealers, the castle's bells beginning to ring in the distance.
"What the hell!?" Enshin asked incredulously, the member of Wild Hunt watching as a red flare went up not far from the revolutionary-occupied castle, him and his leader adorning surprised scowls, the rest of Wild hunt either adorning neutral, uncaring looks, or sadisctically entertained looks.
"Looks like we aren't the only ones that have this place on their target list. It can't be Night Raid, and I doubt its some random imperial scout..." Syura said to himself, before adorning a rather sly smile, letting out a small chuckle. "So, our surprise guests must be the Jaegers." The imperial arms user stated, looking out at the castle as the alert bell began to ring. "Doesn't really matter, they would have all died anyway, why don't we take a seat and see how far these guys get?"
"Aww! Syura I wanted to go see if there were any cute guys out there!" Cosmina complained childishly, a pout on her face. Syura sighed as he closed his eyes.
"Fine, but we stay out of the Jaegers way, If that Adrien character is there, and he only has one or two more people with him..." Syura chuckled darkly, imagining how they would take advantage of a tired and worn Adrien. "Then we strike, and I get to have his little pet all to myself."
Author's notes
Well, its back, and while not my shortest chapter, its still a rather short one in comparison to many of my others in this story. The reason? Lots of work, writers block, my other story, some other writing projects that have taken up time, trying to watch some anime, and a few other misc. things. I know it probably sounds like excuses, but I promise I'm doing my best, and I really want to finish up this story (not because I don't like it, but because I've been working on it for two years now, and I feel myself becoming burned out to a degree) . How far away are we? I want to say that right now we're in the last third of the story. I won't spoil whats in store for the next few chapters, or what the tentative 'schedule' is, but I feel like the story is approaching a somewhat natural end with the death of Tatsumi, the conclusion of the now MAJOR Kyoroach arc, and with the return to the capital.
I want to kind of re-iterate that me saying I want this story to end isn't me saying that I want it end it ASAP, defiantly not. the last thing I want to do is build this story up and then disappoint everyone by rushing the ending, and to a degree, I felt as if I sort of rushed this very chapter due to lacking an update for nearly a month now, and wanting everyone to know that the story isn't dead. If I sound like I'm ranting, i may be honestly.
Before I end the author's notes I wanted to say thank you again to all of you reading and leaving reviews as I love getting feedback and constructive criticism. I look back at my fist chapter of this (now more than two years old) and say "Damn, how far I've come." It makes me really happy and to a degree nostalgic when i see people that posted reviews on the first or second chapter review on the most recent one. Anyways, before I get too sappy, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...
Thanks for reading!