Being eating a sandwich, Akame sat quietly by a fountain, taking advantage of the darkness to be able to eat in peace. Beside her, Tatsumi was looking in all directions, before yelling.

"Hey, Akame! Why are we staying here? Now is definitely not the time to eat! We must kill Zank."

Continuing to eat, Akame asserted.

"You shouldn't trust your eyes to find someone."

"What?"

Closing her eyes, Akame seemed to take advantage of the stillness of the city to hear any suspicious noise around her.

" An enemy presence ... footsteps ... a threatening aura ... you must be able to anticipate danger before it happens! And for that, you have to start trusting your hearing. "

" How ? "

" Tatsumi, by behaving like you do, even a blind man would understand your intention to kill ! You are very stressed, and anyone can read your intentions on your face! If you don't calm down, your lack of professionalism will cause your downfall. "

Hearing it, the boy stood still. Then, finally, he lowered his gaze.

" I didn't scold you. " Akame assured, thinking he was going to sob.

" It's not that. " Tatsumi asserted, letting herself sit cross-legged. " It's just that I feel insignificant, ever since I came to town. "

Thinking back to Galadriel, Narberal, Sebas, and all the members of Night Raid, he declared.

" When I left my village, I thought I was the strongest person in the empire! And yet, in less than a day, I realized how insignificant I was. "

Smiling, while looking at his sword, he declared.

" Compared to you, I am weak and stupid ! Only my voice is strong. "

" What do you mean ? " Akame questioned. " That you want to give up ? "

" No. " Tatsumi asserted, standing up.

Thinking of Galadriel, he cried out.

" I want to become strong! Very strong ! And a day I promise that I will impress this person! Yes, I would help him and I would prove my strength to him. "

A huge crashing sound was suddenly heard, followed by a roar.

" What … ? " Tatsumi wondered, standing up.

Dropping her sandwich, Akame grabbed her sword, before starting to run in the direction of the crash.

Screaming in fear, people were fleeing, as a violent fight raged in the neighborhood where they lived. Coming in running, Bulat, Lubbock and Leone finally saw the combat zone.

Collapsing at that moment, a house collapsed and raised a cloud of dust. Jumping back, out of the smoke, Aura and Mare showed wounds on their bodies, while they looked exhausted.

" What … ? " Lubbock wondered.

" Go back. " Cried Aura. " This time, it's serious. "

" Is that Zank ? " Wanted to know Bulat.

" No, he's dead! One of Jadabaoth's demons came to kill him and stole his teigu. "

" What ? "

A sudden laugh was heard. Lifting their faces, the small group saw a young woman, sitting on a roof, while she was wearing a white mask and a hat of the same color.

" What a pleasure to meet you, Night Raid. "

" Who are you ? "

While Galadriel had grabbed Zank's teigu and returned to Nazarick, Shalltear had now disguised himself, and was playing the role of one of Jaldabaoth's commanders. Her lady's plan was simple. She wanted to test the strength of Night Raid and give them an opportunity to improve their power.

" I am the right arm of Jaldabaoth-sama! I introduce myself! I am Devalma. "

" Jaldabaoth? " Lubbock frightened, starting to position himself behind Bulat. " Damn it! What is this guy doing here? "

" He is not in this empire. " Shalltear retorted. " He just instructed me to come and kill all the teigus users in this country! After all, your empire is so weak that I could easily kill all of its inhabitants in less than a day. "

" Don't make fun of us. " Leone roared, turning into a beast.

" If you are alone, now is the time or never to kill yourself. " Bulat declared, invoking Incursio.

Chuckling, Shalltear asked.

'' Do you really think I'm going to stoop to fighting cockroaches? No, I have a better opponent for you. "

Snapping her fingers, she called someone. Immediately, another roar was heard. Sensing a strange icy breeze, the Night Raid trio felt their bodies shake.

" What…? "

Hearing heavy footsteps, they then saw a death knight walking towards them. This is what creature Galadriel had transformed Zank's corpse into. Noticing his heavy armor as well as his terrifying face, Leone couldn't help but take a step back, as she felt her confidence melt away.

" It's ... What is this monster? "

" A death knight. " Taught them Aura. " He's a living dead soldier with tremendous power! It seems he's strong enough to destroy a country. "

" And the worst part is that Jaldabaoth has a hundred in his army. " Mare affirmed.

" What ? " Lubbock frightened.

Seeing the death knight walking towards them, the boy felt his legs paralyze. For some reason he didn't know, just looking at the corpse's horrid face was enough to freeze him with fear.

"I… I want to run away! But I can not ! My legs refuse to move. "

" I will really enjoy seeing you being slaughtered. " Shalltear asserted. " But do not worry ! As soon as you're dead, we'll take care of your teigus. "

" SHUT UP ! Guys, we stay motivated. " Bulat suddenly roared.

Suddenly rushing towards the death knight, he whirled his combat spear above him, before slamming him powerfully towards his opponent. Reacting in time, the knight positioned his shield in front of him for protection. Attacking without hesitation, Bulat struck the shield so hard that his weapon sparks against the metal of the shield.

Taking the attack, the knight then raised his sword. However, before he could attack, he felt Bulat relentlessly strike his shield. Continuing to attack with force and speed, he eventually forced the feet of the death knight back.

Seeing this, Leone ran towards the duo. Then, performing a magnificent leap over Bulat, she aimed her fist at the corpse and slapped him in the face. In an instant, Shalltear stopped laughing, seeing his warrior on the ground.

" Hum ? "

" This death knight is level 38. " Remarked Mare. " In addition, he has a magic shield that allows his defense to go up to level 44. "

" There is not such a big difference in power between Bulat and him. " Aura asserted. " However, it is not the same for endurance. "

Not looking hurt at all, the death knight stood up to face the duo in front of him. Getting back into fighting position, Leone rushed towards him and attacked him again. Nonetheless, she was surprised, seeing him move his body to the side, so quickly, that she passed him without realizing it.

" What ? "

Raising his sword, the corpse was about to strike it down on the back of her neck, to behead her.

" In your dreams. "

Threads wrapped around the knight's body, immobilizing him. Standing behind him, Lubbock had managed to get his body moving. A trickle of blood trickled out of his mouth as he bit his tongue violently. The pain had succeeded in replacing the fear and the boy was now able to use his teigu.

" As if I was going to let you kill my friends. "

Seeing him do it, Shalltear let out a weary sigh. Then, staring at Lubbock, she began to create a purple flame in her hands. The heat of which would consume the boy's body, giving him no chance of surviving it.

However, before she could launch her attack, she turned her gaze to see a laser beam move towards her and slam into her mask, creating an explosion that destroyed much of the roof where she was standing.

Seeing this, the twins stood still, blinking several times. Then they turned their heads to where the shot had been fired.

" I got it. " Mine asserted, as she held Pumpkin in her arms.

" This idiot… " Aura muttered.

" Shalltear is not going to be happy. " Mare affirmed.

Seeing the Jaldabaoth commander disappear in the midst of an explosion, Leone asked.

'' Do you think she's dead ? "

" No ! Because if this is the case, we will have greatly overestimated the level of Jaldabaoth and his army. "

Suddenly, a flick of the arm was enough to clear the smoke where Shalltear was. Was floating in the air, she was unharmed. Only a part of her mask was broken. Nonetheless, her gaze turned to where Mine was, she only showed hatred in her eyes.

" You, I am going to exterminate you. "

At first scared to see her unharmed, Mine got ready to shoot a second time. However, in a second, Shalltear flew up to her and crushed his weapon under her feet.

" What … ? "

unable to speak further, Mine felt Shalltear's hand grab her neck and lift it up without a hitch. Gesturing in vain, she let out noises of agony as Shalltear lengthened the size of her fingernails. Getting ready to gut her and see her dying, the vampire felt huge roots wrap around her body.

Noticing the plants, Shalltear let go of Mine, before grabbing the plants. Tearing them off, she freed herself in a few moments and flew off at the last minute to dodge the tip of a whip. Staying in the air, she stared angrily at Aura and Mare, who had positioned themselves in front of Mine.

Of course, they had done nothing to protect Mine out of kindness. One of Galadriel's orders was that they were only to let Night Raid fight the Death Knight and prevent Shalltear from killing one of them.

" I feel that we are going to have to face each other. " Aura asserted. " We're going to show you the power we got from Galadriel-sama. "

Trying to calm down, Shalltear stared at Mine, who was picking up her teigu. She knew that Galadriel had forbidden her to kill any of the members of Night Raid. However, she memorized the young woman's face and swore to herself that one day, she will make her suffer a thousand tortures and tortures, before killing her.

For its part, using more power, the death knight suddenly broke Lubbock's threads and broke free.

" What ? " Lubbock wondered. " It was indestructible thread. "

Turning to him, the corpse began to run before aiming its sword at him. Too scared to avoid him, Lubbock suddenly felt someone give him a shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Then, seizing his giant scissors, Scheele opened them, before closing them on the blade of the knight's weapon. Many sparks were seen, as the two weapons began a violent duel. Having wedged the sword between the two blades of her scissors, Scheele attempted to cut it in half. Yet far too strong, the sword withstood the pressure.

Having a arm free, the death knight aimed his shield at Scheele and attempted to strike her. Nonetheless, appearing behind him, Akame struck an area of the knight's back, which was not protected by his armor. Managing to cut his back, Akame then stepped back, preferring to let the curse of her sword fall on the knight.

Immediately black lines appeared all over the corpse's body, showing that Akame had managed to injure it.

" Perfect. " Cried Leone.

Nonetheless, she and the other members of Night Raid ended up being flabbergasted, seeing the black lines disappear, while the death knight remained standing. The teigu curse had no effect on him.

" What? It's impossible. "

" He is already dead. " Bulat understood. " Akame, the power of your teigu will do you no good in front of him. "

Arriving in turn, Tatsumi stared at the armored monster in front of him, which roared again. Like Lubbock, he felt his legs shake as he wondered.

" What is this monster ? "

Not asking this question, his companions rushed towards the armored monster, hoping to find a ploy to kill him, while fighting him.

Being in Nazarick's infirmary, Regina stood still, her gaze lowered. Looking at her arm, she finally put her hand on the area of his arm that had been reattached to the rest of his body. Thanks to Pestonya's power, the pleaid had been able to recover his arm. Maiz not his pride. After suffering such a humiliating defeat, she couldn't look Galadriel in the eye anymore.

"I shamed her."

" Regina. "

Looking up, the pleaid saw the door to the room open, as Galadriel appeared in front of them.

" My ... My lady ? "

Then lowering her gaze, she mumbled.

" I'm sorry. "

" What happened ? What happened to you ? "

" I ... I ... I ... " Regina stammered.

Suddenly, Galdriel noticed the scar on her shoulder, where her arm had been torn off. Immediately, Galadriel struggled to contain her rage. She couldn't believe a human dared to hurt one of her precious concubines.

"As soon as I find him, he will beg me on my knees to allow him to be tortured by Neuronist rather than me. ''

Feeling a dark aura escape from Galadriel's body, Regina began to tremble in dread as she cried out.

" Galadriel-sama! None of my apologies can ever erase the humiliation I inflicted on Nazarick! I… I was miserable! And I know that only my death could… "

Suddenly, Regina felt Galadriel's arms wrap around her, as the demon hugged her.

" What … ? "

" You are alive and that's the only thing that matters to me. " Said Galadriel. " It is I who follows in the wrong! I sent you alone to a region when I knew nothing about the power of the people who lived there! Regina, I'm sorry. "

" What ? No ! Galadriel-sama, I… "

" Regina, you know that the only reason I would never have forgiven you was if you had gone to fight against this man and that this second fight would have ended in your death! You just followed my orders. "

" But ... I lost. "

" Not matter! You are alive ! And I am happy about it! Your defeat doesn't matter, as long as I can continue to trust you! I would never be mad at you when you simply wanted to carry out the mission that I gave you. "

Hearing this, the Pleiad couldn't help but look down in shame as she sobbed.

"Galadriel-sama…"

"Nevertheless, I want to know everything." The demon told her. "Tell me absolutely everything that happened, without missing a single detail."

Having explained everything, Regina spoke while staring at her lady who remained perfectly stoic as she sat in a chair across from her. Having heard everything without saying anything, Galadriel had been able to get a summary of the fight as well as the defeat of the Pleiad. Yet she was silent, even when Regina told her that this strange fellow had a master.

If anyone looked at the demon's face, anyone would have thought she was stoic. However, her brain was running at full speed, while she asked herself thousands of questions, without being able to have answers.

" Who was this guy?" How did he defeat Regina? Who does he work for? Who is his master? How come they know me? ''

Having cast a magic spell on the memory of the Pleiad, she now held a scroll with the face of the man in the bandages drawn. But she could look at him, she couldn't recognize him.

"Galadriel-sama… again… I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, then don't hesitate to use this experience to improve yourself."

" What ? "

Getting up, Galadriel made as if to leave. However, turning to her, she cried out.

" Regina! I hope I can count on you to become stronger and learn from your mistakes! And the next time you meet this man, I'd be proud to see you beat him. "

" Galadriel-sama… I was stronger than him! However, I don't know why but… I lost all my power! My lady, he might have a teigu. "

" No ! A teigu does not have such a powerful power. " Said Galadriel thoughtfully. " Nonetheless, it could be a special ability of that person! In the meantime, Regina rest! After, I'll tell you my next instructions. "

Then leaving the room, Galadriel saw Albedo waiting for her in the hallway. Walking past her, before heading to her office, she cried out.

" I imagine you overheard our whole conversation. "

" Excuse my rudeness, my lady! Indeed, I allowed myself to hear what happened to Lupusregina! If I can ask, what are you going to do? "

" It's simple ! I'm going to send the Hanzos a Wanted Notice and send them to find this guy across the empire! I'll also tell Demiurge! We never know ! This guy could very well have the idea to fight Jaldabaoth! In any case, we must find this guy! It has become a mission whose priority is equal to that of controlling this world! I want to know who he is and, most importantly, who he works for. "

" So, once we have guessed it, I guess we are prohibited from killing him until he has spoken. "

" Absolutely! First, we will corner it under our power! And once he has no escape, we will pretend to offer to spare him, in exchange for his knowledge! Anyway, if he ever dies, we'll just have to use Pestonya to resuscitate him! However, beware of his strange power, which seems to allow him to reduce the power of his opponent! I don't know if it's an ability he has or if it's thanks to a magic item. "

" I have never heard of a race of creatures capable of doing this. " Albedo asserted. " Looks like he'll have a lot to teach us! And what will we do, once he has answered our questions? "

Displaying a hateful face, Galadriel asserted.

" You will leave me alone with him. "

Level power :

Esdeath : 51

Bulat : 39 ( + 1 )

Mine ( with teigu ) : 37

Akame : 35

Leone : 35

Sheele : 34

Lubbock : 30

Ieyasu : 28 ( + 3 )

Tatsumi : 27 ( + 1 )

Sayo : 27 ( + 3 )