Author's Note: Just a little heads up for everyone reading this. A bit of this entry will be backtracking to certain parts before the last scene of the last entry.

You know, before Pyro went all arson on Bols.

It'll be labeled were it begins going back in time and when we get back to the present, but I thought I'd let you readers know before hand so there's no confusion.


Pyro looked back at the raging form of Wave. The teen roared, charging at him.

The grown man stared at him blankly, his mind clear of all things. Ablaze before him was the man that took everything from him: Bols. Set afire by the Clockwork agent's own hands

This act of revenge gave him, closure I suppose. Assurance that everyone that man had unjustly slayed could now rest at ease with the passing of their murderer.

It also filled him with a sort of emptiness. Something like when one hasn't a clue what to do next, only more...vacant.

Pyro placed his hands in his pockets. Waiting.

Waiting for the infuriated teen.

Waiting for him to try and claim vengeance for his friend.

Revenge. It was and always been a never ending cycle.

Pyro knew this, but he didn't care.

Justice need to be carried out. For all those innocent lives snuffed out by the fires of greed.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" Wave yelled as he drew closer. The young man pulled his right arm back, preparing his opening attack. "I SWEAR, YOU'LL PAY!"

The Jagear stomped on the hard ground inches from where Pyro stood, chunks of rock flew upwards from the force. Wave swung his right arm forward, catching only open air as his target's body morphed into flame.

This seeming immunity didn't deter Wave. He recovered quickly, throwing an upper cut through Pyro's body. Again, the blow had no effect on the intangible fireman.

Regardless of this, and with a undying fury urging him forward, Wave continued to send blow after ineffective blow at his friend's murderer.

"Give it up. You can't hit me." Pyro said with a slightly sad tone. "It's pointless. Just give up."

"Shut up!" Wave shouted between punches. "I'll avenge my fallen comrade!"

Pyro let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. "This is pathetic." He turned around, facing the furious Wave. The forward reopened his eyes. "Go ahead, knock yourself out. You'll accomplish nothing in the end."

"Just shut up!" Wave threw a punch aimed at his opponent's face. Once more, the blow hit open air as his face morphed into flame.

The Jagear roared as he continued his futile assault, too stubborn and blinded by rage to see the obvious.


Behind them, Bols's right hand twitched. Slowly, his fingers lifted off the ground.

The man was alive, for the moment anyway. All thanks to his fire resistance training he went through when he first the Incineration Squad.

Despite his built up resistance, Bols knew it was only a matter of time before he would die.

He couldn't even see in front of him anymore, and barely hear anything to boot. Bols couldn't feel much of anything, not that he wished to experience all the agonizing pain his body was currently going through.

The eldest member of the Jagears had four, five minutes at the most. Plenty of time to do what was necessary, now that his death was inevitable.

At a gradual pace, his right hand reached inside his pocket, gripping around a small cylinder device: A detonator for the self-destruct feature of his Imperial Arms.

In other words, Rubicante's trump card or better yet its last resort.

If he was going to die, the least he could do was deny the enemy the use of his Imperial Arms.

The blast might catch some of his allies, but with no way of knowing for sure if his fellow Jagears were close or even if their enemies were nearby, he had to risk it.

Otherwise, innocent people might die due to his inability to prevent Rubicante from falling into enemy hands.

In his heart, Bols knew that whatever god(s) watch over this land would forgive him for this: His final act.

Bols pulled the detonator out of his pocket. Slowly, and with all the strength he could muster, the masked man lifted his arm out before him.

Images of his wife and daughter filled his mind. A final comfort in this last moments.

'I'm sorry, Kurono. I'm sorry, Illia.' Bols now held the detonator before him. His thumb resting on it's single button. 'Looks like I won't be coming home tonight. Forgive me.'

With every last ounce of strength left in his body, Bols pressed his thumb down.

Click!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!


Meanwhile, in the Capital...

The streets of the Capital's market district bustled with the sounds of various Imperial citizens.

The young Emperor's eyes widen with awe as he looked every which way.

He had traveled through this district several times before, but never truly seen it. To take a few moments and admire the sights.

He along with most of his group were disguised to hide their true identities from the crowd.

Currently, the young Emperor wore a brown sleeveless shirt with black outlines, dark green baggy pants, black shoes similar to the one's his friend Steven wore and black arm bands. He wore his mid-lengthed hair in a single pony tail and had a sword holstered to his side. Mostly for show, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Having fun?" Steven asked with a smile. (He wore the same hooded outfit he usually wares when on missions for Clockwork)

Before they left the palace, it was agreed that it was necessary to drop 'your highness' or other such titles at the end of every sentence so their little disguise ruse would be more convincing.

Anyone who were to look at them now would see two strangely dressed children, a foreigner dressed in the garbs of the Ritterlichkeit household, an Imperial Senator, and two mercenary bodyguards.

People might wonder why this band traveled together and what business they might have here, but that wonder wouldn't last for longer than a few minutes.

The young Emperor turned his head. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"There's much more to see I assure you." Jast called back. He carefully worded what he said so it sounded like he was given some important visitors a tour of the city. "I'll make sure you experience everything the Capital has to offer."

"I hope so!" Steven cheerfully replied.

"I do as well." The Emperor added.

Jast turned his head back a nodded in response. He eyed the two 'mercenaries.'

It was funny, underneath all that armor one would never expect members of the Royal Guard to look so...ordinary.

Made it all the more convincing that they were nothing more than simple mercenaries guarding two kids.

Under normal circumstances, someone might have tried something like pick pocketing.

However, with General Esdeath and her Jagears severally punishing any offense no matter how insignificant along with the fact they were accompanied by Jast, a known ally of the people, the chances of any such incident was relatively low.

Only the insane or foolish would dare commit a crime under these circumstances or cause harm to one of the few politicians that actually cared for the citizens they were sworn to serve.

And even if such an event were come to place, between Xien Shi and the two Royal Guards, they should be able to handle it smoothly.

They only began traveling around the Capital not too long ago. There was still many things that had to be brought before the Emperor's attention. The true nature of his beloved Empire, and the work of his trusted Prime Minister.

Jast continued to walk behind Xien Shi, wondering which part of this corrupted cesspool they should visit next.


Minutes before Wave's rage filled assault...

Tatsumi blocked a powerful right hook from the Apeman, sliding back a few dozen inches. The clocked figure; a member of the Ban tribe known as Hentarr, struck a the young man once more. Once again, the tribesman's blade had no effect on Incursio's armor.

With each strike however, Hentarr was narrowing down his list of vital striking points. It was only a matter of time before the cleaver undead found a weak spot.

"GRAND FALL!"

As soon as he heard the shout, Tatsumi quickly jumped to one side narrowly avoiding Wave's signature attack.

'Damn it!' The teen mentally cursed. 'I need to find a way to get rid of at least one of these guys!'

The Apeman roared, quickly dashing towards the Night Raid member. Tatsumi grinned his teeth angrily, bringing his arms up to guard.

The Danger Beast threw his arm back, reading a powerful swinging blow. His opponent moved his arms accordingly to block the strike.

Apeman roared one again, swinging his arm downward when someone familiar slammed into the beast. The corpse flipped end over end, finally coming to a stop several dozen feet away.

Tatsumi looked at the large man before him, blinking a few times to make sure his eye's weren't playing tricks on him.

"Aren't you-?"

Norman gave the young man a wide smile. "Yes, it is I! The Giant Slayer Norman!" He hefted his axe up on over his right shoulder. "I see you're in need of assistance one again young lad!"

"Well yeah, but what are you-"

"I shall deal with this ape like beast!" Norman interrupted, turning to face the stunned beast. "My friend will deal with that other enemy, leaving you two armored users to fight one another on equal terms!"

And with that, the Northern Tribesman let out a battle cry as he rushed towards Apeman.

"Wait!" Tatsumi yelled to the charging Norman. The latter couldn't hear the young assassin over his own roaring. "What friend?"

"I believe he's referring to me." The voice of yet another familiar person answered.

Tatsumi turned around, coming face to face with the man he owed most in Clockwork.

"Raryu!"

The Ban tribesman gave him a half smile. "It has been some time, has it not?"

"There's more of you Night Raid?" Wave cut in, drawing attention to himself. "Or are these reinforcements sent by the Revolutionary Army?"

Raryu turned his gaze to the Jagear. "You are wrong in assuming we are members of Night Raid, or even of the Revolutionary Army for that matter." He paused to take a few steps forward. "We are something far more powerful than those band of misguided fools."

"And what would that be?!" Wave shouted as he shifted into a fighting stance.

"Something you've already been introduced to."

Wave relaxed his stance a tad in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Raryu closed his eyes. "You will find the answer, if you give it some thought."

This confused the Jagear even more. Something he's already been introduced to? What did that mean? Had he already heard of their group or...and when an idea formed in Wave's head.

'This guy's hinting that someone introduced me to their group, but who? When did I-'

"I look forward to your reply."

Wave felt a surge of realization blow through his mind: Fuyu. Fuyu had, in a way, introduced him. The Chairmen mentioned his plans of launching a coup, but he never mentioned who he was working with.

'Could these guys be his fellow conspirators?' Wave felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of his armored face. 'It makes sense if you think about it, but why are they here? Why are they helping Night Raid?'

Without turning his head, Wave glanced around for the Partas survivor. He caught the man strolling towards the battle with that masked man.

'What exactly are you planning?'

Before he could think further on it, Wave's attention was brought back to the here and now as Tatsumi ran towards him.

"On the attack huh?" The Jagear said more to himself than anyone else. "Fine by me! I'll show you what I'm capable of, Night Raid!"


As Wave held his ground trying to put together the puzzle pieces Raryu thrown at him, the muscular tribesman turned to another matter that acquired his attention.

"I'll leave that foe to you." He said to Tatsumi before walking off to his current focus. "This one here is mine."

"Uh. Sure, no problem." The young man replied.

Raryu stopped, nearly face to face with someone he knew from a long time ago.

A fellow Ban survivor...well, not a survivor anymore but a clan member that lived through Esdeath's genocidal campaign.

"Rar...yu?" The red skinned tribesman struggled to say. It a surprise that a corpse still possessed the ability to speak, let alone remember who he was.

"Hentarr," Raryu gave his fellow tribesman a half-smile. "I am glad to see you. Even if you are nothing but a walking corpse."

"Rar...yu...how...are...here...?" Hentarr replied, tilting his head slightly. "How...are...you...al...ive?"

Raryu let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I wish I could tell you, but current circumstances prevent me from doing so."

Hentarr straightened his head. He stared at his fellow Ban clansmen for a few moments. "I...saw..."

"I know." Raryu reopened his eyes. "I know."

The two stared at one another for what seemed to be an eternity.

Finally, after a long period of silence, Raryu closed the gap between the two of them. He placed one hand on Hentarr's shoulder, looking at his fellow tribesmen with sad eyes.

It was bad enough he died before they could avenge the lost of their clan, but now he was used like a toy by someone who worked under the same witch they sworn to kill.

It was a fate worse than death, one that Raryu knew he had to remedy.

"Now, my old friend." His grip on Hertarr's shoulder tightened. "Allow me to free you from the curse that binds you here."

Raryu grabbed onto the corpse's other shoulder. He spread his feet out so they would support what action he was about to carry out.

Vains popped out of the muscular man's arms and legs as he pulled from both the left and the right. Hertarr twitched as his fellow tribesman pulled harder and harder. Blood began to trickle down the corpse's face as his body shook uncontrollably.

Raryu yelled, pulling as hard as he possibly could. Hertarr let out a scream before his body split in two, one in each of Raryu's hands. Blood splattered on the latter's face.

He took several breaths before letting the two halves of Hertarr fall to the ground. The Clockwork agent closed his eyes after straightening his posture.

"Rest knowing that I will avenge our fallen clan." Raryu said before reopening his eyes. "May you find peace in the next life, my old friend."


Najenda dashed to her left and right, swiftly dodging every whip lash attack her opponent sent at her. This corpse puppet was once a close friend of her's back when she was a general.

General Rokgough, a respected man within the Imperial Army. At least, he was at one time.

Najenda knew the man well, she assumed he was assassinated by Kurome because he planned on leaving the Empire and joining his close friend in the Revolutionary Army. Not that he didn't realize how corrupt the Empire was beforehand, just that it was probably the trigger.

So not only did Najenda feel responsible for her friend's death, but felt that if anyone was going to bring him peace it would be her.

'Given these injuries I've received from General Esdeath, I'm a lot faster than I expected.' She thought between dodges.

Rokgough pulled his whip back, then slammed it into the ground before him. The force of the blow created a small crater. The whip disappeared underground, burrowing towards the leader of Night Raid.

"Earth Shaker?!" Najenda shouted. She knew the attack, what it was capable of and most importantly its weaknesses. So she jumped straight up, avoiding the ground burrowing attack.

"We've been fighting each other for so long," Najenda said, aiming her mechanical arm towards her opponent. "I know all your moves like they were my own!"

Part of her artificial fist flew forward, rushing towards Rokgough. The latter dodged, allowing the metal hand to crash into the canyon wall behind him.

This however, was all according to Najenda's plan.

She reached for a button hidden in her fake arm's shoulder guard and pressed it.

"Reel Assault!" Najenda shouted moments before her mechanical arms started pulling her towards its other half.

Once she was close enough, the former general kicked her old friend's head with all her might(along with added force from her current velocity.) Rokgough's head was blow clean off, his body fell to the rocky floor.

Najenda landed as well, her mechanical arm whole once more. She looked back at her old friend's body, clinching at the sight.

Rokgough had risen once more! Despite lacking a head, the curse of Yatafusa still commanded the corpse to its bidding.

A memory played inside Najenda's head: It was of Rokgough, alive and well, smiling at her. She could hear his voice as clear as day.

"Let's go for a drink, Naja."

The former general angrily flashed her teeth. "What the hell kind of Imperial Arms is this?!"

Before Najenda could make a move, Susanoo dashed past her, weapon in hand. The blades on his stave spun round and round. The organic swung his weapon towards Rokgough, cutting the latter to ribbons.

When the deed was concluded, Susanoo turned to face his master.

"Sorry to intervene, but we have a situation."

Najenda blinked twice before placing one hand on her waist. "Report." She bluntly replied.

"That winged beast is rising once again." Susanoo said. "It'll be free in a matter of moments."

Najenda's eye widened for a moment. That skeleton monstrosity took a direct hit from Pyro, someone who she understood was powerful enough to fight General Esdeath on equal terms, and that beast was getting up again.

"If that thing- that Dracolith takes flight, we might face near annihilation." The former general said. "We need to prevent such a situation from happening."

"Yes." Susanoo agreed with a nod. "And to do so, I request that I use my trump card. It might be the only way to stop that beast."

Najenda nodded in reply. "Granted. When you're ready."

Susanoo closed his eyes, moving his hands before his core. He held them out in a connected, loose ball. A grow started to emanate from his core.

"Magatama Manifest."

Susanoo's trump card is similar to Koro's as it transforms him into a sort of Berserker. The difference however is the source of power used for this transformation.

Koro uses his core's own energy, which is why he's unable to move for awhile after transforming.

Susanoo uses the life force energy of his own user, allowing him to move even after the energy to sustain his transformed state runs out.

This form can only be used three times before his master would die, but in exchange for such a risk Susanoo's strength is increased exponentially.

Susanoo's hair turned to white, his eyes to bright yellow, his horns turned black and even grew larger. His shirt turned black dangling at his sides, his pants also turned black, and a giant symbol encrusted ring hovered behind him.

His upper body seemed half puppet like as it bulged out in way that reminded everyone who set eyes on the organic that he was made, not born.

With his transformation complete, Susanoo quickly moved towards the might Dracolith. Hoping to destroy it before it became a threat once again.


On the cliff where the Sons of Nores along with Syrua gathered, one of the cloaked figures stood by a tree where the latter was hiding.

"Lord Raven is overpowering those infidels." The Son of Nores stated. "They are no match for his might."

"That's what I expect from a unique individual like him." Syrua replied. "Out of all the people I've meet on my trip to the Eastern Islands, that guy is the most interesting by far."

The tan-skinned man tilted his head to his cloaked ally. "Oh by the way, I wouldn't stand there if I were you."

The latter turned his head. "What do you-"

A single energy beam passed through the man's skull. He dropped to the floor as the rest of his fellow Sons of Nores dove for cover, either by dashing into the forest behind them or simply falling to the ground.

"Told you so." Syrua said, crossing his arms behind his head.


Walker and Doya ran across the open plain a top the canyon wall, rapidly shooting at one another.

For the past few minutes, both tried to hit the other but so far neither even remotely hit the other.

This reminded Walker of old times. When he and Doya used to have shooting contests to decide which one of them was the better shooter.

Remembering the old days only encouraged the mercenary to free his former partner from this unholy curse. He began to fire faster and, after a few more moments, finally managed to hit Doya.

Three green rounds passed through her body, sending the puppet flying backward.

As she fell, Doya smiled. "Nice...shooting...Walker." She said before disappearing over the edge.

The merc's eyes widened. He ran forward, stopping once he reached the canyon edge. "Doya!"

A bullet nearly nicked the tip of his nose. Walker reflexively drew his head back and his hat flew up.

Walker hesitated for a moment before looking back over the edge. 'That's right. How could I forget?' He thought as his eyes looked at smoking barrel of one of the magnums.

Doya's smile never left her face. Even in free fall she still held that same smug look she always worn.

'She has no will of her own. Hell there's barely anythin left of her now.' Slowly, the merc raised one of his own twin pistols.

Walker could feel tears rolling down the side of his face, but he wouldn't let his feelings deter him from what needed to be done.

He was a mercenary after all, there's nothing professional about letting his emotions get in the way.

He aimed his pistol at Doya's smiling face.

"You're nothin' but a corpse now." These harsh words escaped from his lips. A second after, he pulled the trigger.


Kurome swung her sword low, aiming at her opponent's legs. Raven jumped, flipping over Kurome and quickly spinning around to strike at the young girl with his own blade.

His strike was blocked by Natala, whom timely arrival saved his master from losing her head. Akame charged at Raven, swinging her sword straight down. The latter moved his other sword and blocked the attempted sneak attack.

Kurome rose to her feet at that point. She threw her sword forward, aiming to pierce the masked man's chest.

Raven countered by kicking her square in the chest, following that counter with a simple spin that pushed Akame and Natala back.

Kurome hit the ground hard. Her big sister calling out to her while Natala rushed to her side.

"I grow bored of this game." Raven said before vanishing. He reappeared directly in front of Kurome. The latter's eyes widened.

Akame dashed towards her little sister, Natala rushed with all his might, but neither would make it in time.

The masked Raven raised one of his swords up, reading the final blow.

"Die."

He swung his arm down. Before he could slice through Kurome however, Raven felt a hand on his shoulder.

The latter stopped his arm, mere inches from Kurome's neck. The masked man turned his head, looking into the eyes of the intangible Pyro.

"Not going to happen." He bluntly said.

"Oh?" Raven smiled underneath his mask. "So, are you finally going to join in the battle?"

"Am I?" Pyro replied with a smile.

Before Raven could offer a response, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He jumped away, avoiding a scythe that cut through Pyro's morphing body.

"Damn." Lacus said, spinning his scythe around so it rested on his shoulder. "Thought that would work."

"Eh." Pyro shrugged his shoulders. "Guy's just smarter than he looks." He turned his head towards Lacus. "Are the others here?"

"Raryu and Norman are." Lacus answered. "There a little ways back, helping out Tatsumi with his problem."

"I see." Pyro turned his head back to Raven. "I'll leave this to you then."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I won't be long. Just have to take care of some unfinished business is all."

Pyro looked at Kurome, smiling. The latter had risen to her feet. Behind her stood Natala. His cold eyes staring at Pyro.

The Clockwork agent ignored the seemingly intimidating look from the corpse. "You ok kiddo?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Kurome replied. She still wasn't too sure how to treat this man before her.

He was an enemy of the Empire to be sure, or at least an enemy to General Esdeath.

Yet, this man acted like he knew her and even protected her. Kurome had no memory of this man, but he insisted he knew the two sisters.

Maybe she should treat him kind of like how she treats her big sister.

I mean, as long as he was an enemy to the Empire it was expected of her to eliminate this man and she will try but...something about him felt...odd. Kurome couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Akame joined up with them, her eyes glancing towards the far wall. "That thing's getting back up again." She said, drawing the majority of the group's attention.

Their eyes drew to the very much alive Dracolith. It shook and moved back and forth, gradually freeing itself from the rocks the pinned it to where it currently stood.

"Your kidding." Pyro replied, placing one of his hands on his forehead. "Bastard just doesn't want to give up."

"I'll handle it." Susanoo cut in, suddenly appearing before them. His new, unseen form surprised the group.

"Wow, when you get so buff?" Pyro said with a smirk.

"I'll defeat the Dracolith." Susanoo said, ignoring Pyro's comment. "You focus on your enemy."

Not wanting to waste another second, Susanoo dashed forward toward the skeleton monstrosity.

Akame, Kurome, Lacus and Natala turned to face Raven. Pyro casually walked away from the group.

"Alright, that's my cue."

Akame and Kurome turned their heads back.

"You're leaving?" Akame asked.

Pyro turned his head back. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon." His body began to morph into fire, then gradually vanished to nothing. "Try not to die while I'm gone."

The two sisters returned their focus back to their masked foe. Even with another person to help, this man won't go down so easily.

Akame gulped. Whoever this man was, he was by far the most powerful adversary she fought thus far.

"Just like old times, right sis?" Kurome said with a smile. She mainly said it to help reassure her sister.

Akame eyes her younger sister. "That's right Kurome." She replied with a smile.

It was ironic. Mere minutes ago, the two tired to kill one another. Now, they were fighting side by side like nothing drove them apart in the first place.

Life was funny sometimes.

Lacus Bloodborn twirled his scythe around in the open air. "Alright, shall we get started?"

Raven let out a single laugh. "I was about to say the same thing."

Lacus smiled, grasping his weapon with both hands. Raven held his two Shingu out at each end, preparing to strike.

A chain wrapped around Kiriichimonji. Once fully wound around, it tugged at the blade. The force wasn't strong enough to pull the weapon out of Raven's hands, but enough to hold him in place to a few moments at best.

The masked man looked towards the origin of the chain. His eyes locked onto a black dressed woman who looked similar to the scythe user before him. Impressive that she managed to flank around without him noticing.

Raven smirked underneath his mask, knowing he'd have to repay the woman for her efforts.

"Now!" Lacus yelled, charging the masked man. Akame followed along side Kurome. Natala dashed ahead of the three, reaching their target well ahead of the others.

The puppet swung his bisento down upon Raven. The latter blocked with his free sword.

Lacus ran past the two, spinning around and swinging his weapon towards Raven's backside. The latter swiftly pulled his chained sword and moved it to block the strike. The backlash of the sudden, and surprising motion sent Luna Bloodborn flying towards the trio.

"Shit!" She shouted moments before she crashed into her twin brother.

Raven shook the chain wrapped around Kiriiichimonji free with one motion, then his Natala's bisento with full force.

The corpse flew backwards, feet scrapping along the ground knocking up dust and rubble. Akame and Kurome dashed past the puppet. Together, they unleashed a furious assault of slashes and jabs on their opponent.

The latter blocked, parried or dodged each strike like child's play.

The Bloodborn twins recovered and join the two sisters in their assault, Luna sticking to long ranged attacks while Lacus constantly aiming to take their opponent's head. Yet even with four assailants Raven still proved to be untouchable.

Natala rushed back to join in the fray, about to join in on the seemingly futile assault when the masked man disappeared all together.

The five fighters turned their heads, looking in every direction for their opponent. Several moments past without a trace. It was as if he simply vanished in mid air.

Still, they didn't stop looking. They had to find him before-

"Where are you looking?"

Blood flew into the open air. Luna Bloodborn dropped to her knees. Behind her stood Raven, Kiriichimonji covered in the cannibal's blood.

Lacus tighten his grip around his scythe, veins popped out of his face as he watched his twin fall.

"You bastard!" He screamed, charging at the masked man. Lacus Bloodborn swung his weapon, catching open air as his opponent vanished once more.

Before he could react, Lacus felt a sharp pain run through his chest. He looked down, spotting the Water Dragon Sword coated in his own blood. Lacus turned his head around, glaring at Raven. The latter swiftly pulled his sword out.

Lacus Bloodborn fell to his knees, barely holding himself up with his scythe. He looked at his sister, bleeding out and dying if she hadn't already passed.

"D-damn it..." He weakly cursed before falling to the ground.

Raven snapped both swords to his sides, blood splattering on the barren wasteland.

He turned his head toward his remaining three opponents. "It's time I finish this pathetic game."

Raven dashed forward, creating a sort of 'sonic boom' as he launched off the ground.

Akame and Kurome barely managed to raise their swords when the masked man suddenly appeared before them. The latter raised his left hand, swinging his Shingu down upon Kurome. The young girl managed to block the strike, but the force of the blow knocked her back.

Natala rushed at the man and received a kick to the chest for his efforts. Akame raised her weapon and swung down, but she might as well have been moving in slow motion.

Raven quickly rolled around the strike and the young assassin. Now poised behind the Night Raid member, the masked Son of Nores drew both of his Shingu across his neck as he prepared to take the teenager's head.

By this time, Kurome regained her footing. Her eyes widened as she watch Raven's swing his swords forward.

"BIG SISTER!"

The younger sister's screams were eclipsed however as a massive explosion went off somewhere behind her.


A few minutes ago...

Susanoo casually walked towards the Dracolith. The massive beast gradually freeing itself from its rocky imprisonment.

It shook off another bolder, freeing its right hand. It grabbed onto one of the many rocks before it, crushing it under its bony fingers as it pulled its left arm free.

The skeleton beast finally noticed the organic Imperial Arms approaching. It roared, opening its mouth wide as it charged dark purple energy between its jaws.

After a few moments, it fired the energy beam at Susanoo. The latter stopped in his tracks, holding one hand up towards the incoming energy attack.

"Mirror of Yata." The organic said.

A moment after, the giant circle hovering behind him moved in front of his hand. What seemed like a sort of glass formed inside the round frame.

The dark purple beam collided with the so called mirror. It contested with the glass surface before reflecting off its surface and rushing back towards the Dracolith.

The skeleton roared in pain as it was hit by its own attack.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Susanoo dashed forward, delivering three quick jabs to the beast's face. The organic followed up with a right kick, knocking the monster's head back.

With his opponent dazed, Susanoo held one hand high above his head. Seconds passed before a giant, blue sword seemingly made of glass materialized in the palm of his hand. He grabbed onto the sword with both hands, swinging it down upon the living skeleton.

"Sword of Kusanagi!" He yelled, cutting through the winged beast like a knife cutting through butter.

The beast let out one last defiant roar before the purple grow in its eyes vanished.

Susanoo landed on the ground, glaring at the hollow remains of the Dracolith. He closed his eyes, turning around. "Now to-"

"Don't think this is over..." A sharp, eerie voice that seemed to speak inside Susanoo's very mind said. "There's more to the servants of Nores then you realize..."

Quickly, the organic turned around. What he saw made him questioned once again what the hell that beast truly was.

Emerging from underneath the rubble and rock were numerous dark purple shadows. These shadows raced towards Susanoo, stopping in the space between him and the rock pile.

One by one, these shadows rose above the ground morphing into featureless humanoid bodies with white open mouths and perfectly round eyes.

These bodies pulsed, heads tilted in every which direction. They collectively let out a low, creepy laugh as they slowly grew closer to their target.

"This is odd." Susanoo bluntly said. "What exactly is this?"

"Tell us..." The same eerie voice from before spoke inside his head. It echoed several times before speaking once more.

"Do you believe in an afterlife...?"

Everyone of the dark purple humanoids jumped or ran towards the Imperial Arms, screaming in the same yet different screeching roar the Dracolith had shouted before.


Moments after Bols's suicidal attack...

A massive crater. That was all the remained of Bols or his Imperial Arms.

Embedded in the canyon wall closest to the crater was the Night Raid member Leone. Blood ran down the side of her breath as she took rapid shallow breaths.

"Man...What the hell..." She weakly said before slowly freeing herself one limb at a time. "That guy...exploded or something...?"

She took a step forward, letting out a weak chuckle. "It's a good thing...I'm confident...in my recovery abilities..."

Her knees felt like the would give in on at anytime. Still, Leone dared to take another step forward.

"I'll shake this off...in no time..." She fell head first to the ground, quickly falling into unconsciousness.


A far distance away from the collapsed Night Raid member, on the other end of the crater in fact, was Wave.

The Jagear, still wrapped inside Grand Chariot's protective armor, laid face up on the barren ground.

'What...happened?' He though, as he found he didn't have the strength to speak. 'Bols...what did you...?'

The young man tried to sit up, but couldn't do as much as lift a finger.

'Damn...I can't move...' Wave felt his consciousness slipping.

Images of his fallen comrade flashed before his eyes. Despite how the man look like he was death incarnate, Bols was a kind hearted, shy man who cared about those he came to know and love.

It wasn't fair. Just what the hell was he gonna break the news to his wife and kid?

Assuming he would make it out of this, given his current, helpless state.

'Bols...' Tears rolled down the teen's face. 'I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I couldn't...'

Wave's eyes closed as he started to lose his battle to stay conscious.

As the last lights faded from his sight, the sole question that's been driving him made these past few days echoed in his mind.

'What sort of ideal world do you want to create, Wave?'


Pyro materialized in the center of the crater. He looked down at the barren ground.

"Here I never thought you'd have the balls to do something like that. Not that I knew you could in the first place" He said in a low tone. "You have more guts than I realize, Bols."

The Clockwork agent tilted his head up to the sky. "Too bad you made the wrong choices in life. It might've been nice, having someone like you as an ally."

The spiky haired man let out a sigh. "Oh well. What's done is done. No way to change it no matter how much we hate it."

Pyro took one step to the side, looking in that direction. "I saw bossman heading over towards Akame and Kurome, so they should be fine with him there." He said before turning around.

"Wonder what Chelsea's doing. I haven't seen her, but she's more of a 'behind the scenes' type so I guess she'll be watching all this from somewhere."

His body began to morph, first into flame, then into smaller sparks. "Wouldn't hurt to see if she's alright."

And with those words, Pyro vanished from the battlefield.


Meanwhile...

"BIG SISTER!" Kurome screamed. Her voice over shadowed by a massive explosion going off somewhere behind her.

The fiery explosion failed to draw Raven's attention, he swung his two swords down aiming to take Akame's head.

The masked man saw movement in the corner of his eye. He pulled his head back, narrowly avoiding Natala's extending bisento.

"How annoying." He said before noticing a narrow stream of dull orange energy rapidly coming in his direction.

Raven cursed, in order to dodge he had to give up taking Akame's head for the moment and so he did, bending over his back while maneuvering his Shingu under Natala's extended weapon.

Once the energy beam past over head, Natala withdrew his bisento, and of course Akame jumped away, the masked Son of Nores stood back up.

He eyed each of his prey, though they couldn't tell with his face underneath the Imperial Arms Balzac. The dark purple man grinned his teeth in anger. This game was becoming more and more annoying. The longer this dragged out, the greater the risk his true identity would be discovered.

At this stage, though would prove a problem.

As much as he'd like to kill another of these infidels, Raven knew it would be best to retreat while he had the edge.

"I'm bored." He said aloud. "You lot aren't enough to entertain me. Consider yourselves lucky I don't finish you now."

"Oh, so these three aren't enough to entertain you huh?" Fuyu whispered into Raven's ear. "I might have the solution to your problem."

The latter quickly jumped away, turning midair to face the light blue haired man. The Chairmen smiled widely at the masked man, pleased he managed to give the latter a good scare.

"Flash Demon..." Raven bluntly said, trying to hide the fact that his heart thumped widely in his chest. "You certainly live up to your reputation."

Fuyu gave a slight bow. "I'm pleased you aren't disappointed." He glared into the mask covering Raven's face, smirking. "Now then, as for your entertainment problem-"

Fuyu vanished, leaving only a dust cloud where he once stood. Raven's eyes widened, he quickly raised both his blades, managing to block Fuyu's own sword inches from the forward's face.

The Pastas survivor grinned his teeth in a sinister way. "-I trust a duel with yours truly such provide you with an abundance of fun. After all, it's not every day you meet someone that can rival your speed!"

Fuyu pressed his weight forward, pushing his masked opponent back one step at a time.

"Now then, I hope you provide me with the same sort of entertainment!" He pulled back his sword and forcefully crashed it against Raven's two Shigu. The force pushed the latter several feet backwards, shocking the man.

While he knew about the Flash Demon and his accomplishments when he was a general, Raven had hoped the man had weaken during his time of idleness as the Chairmen of the Senate.

Turns out, not only was that hope diminished before his eyes, Fuyu was much stronger than he originally though.

'Damn it!' Raven mentally shouted. 'I never thought he'd be this powerful alone!'

"What's wrong?!" Fuyu shouted as he dashed towards his opponent. "Finished already?!" He slammed into Raven, pushing the latter further back.

Once the masked man regained his footing, he tightened his grip around the two Shingu in his hands. Raven didn't want to show these all his tricks at this stage, but he's been given little choice in the matter.

He cringed his teeth, vanishing from sight. The masked Son of Nores reappeared in two placed at once, each a far distance from where the man was standing a moment before.

Both exact figures seemed distorted at times, proof that Raven was moving at inhuman speeds between both spots while the 'light of his body' remained in those places.

"So you do have a trick up your sleeve." Fuyu said with a smile. He vanished, then reappeared behind both Ravens at the same time.

"Too bad I know how this one works."

They swung their one-handed swords down, the Raven's' moved blocked it. The swords collided, both afterimages of Raven and Fuyu vanished as they reappeared in the space between the two faded images.

"It's foolish to challenge me in a contest of speed." Fuyu said with a smirk. "I take it you never fought anyone stronger than yourself before."

Raven grinned his teeth in anger, he let out a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm about to become a great deal stronger."

"Oh?" Fuyu tilted his head. "Are you talking about the ability of that defect in your left hand?"

"Indeed, it should be waking up right about now." Raven calmly replied. "With my strength increased beyond my natural limits, your downfall is certain."

Fuyu chuckled. "Such big words from a man using borrowed strength." He smirked once more at his opponent. "That power boost will only last 3 minutes, do you think you can defeat me in that time?"

"I can and I will."

Fuyu smirked even wider, showing parts of his teeth. "Interesting. Let's see what you got!" The Partas survivor knocked the masked man away.

Raven landed a foot away from the latter. He pulled back the hood covering the top of his head, revealing his dark purple hair. It stood fully spiked up, thanks to the coursing power provided from the Water Dragon Sword flowing through his body.

He moved both Shingu before him, crossing the blades across each other. He vanished, then reappeared to Fuyu's left. He swung Kiriichimonji, aiming at the latter's head.

Fuyu quickly moved his sword over and blocked the strike. The Chairmen sent a kick at Raven's chest, but the latter dodged by vanishing from sight. He reappeared to his opponent's right, swinging both of his weapons down.

Fuyu once more quickly moved his sword and blocked the attack, all without looking at his enemy.

"I must say," Fuyu started. "Your strikes certainly have become much stronger."

He turned his head, looking at Raven with one eye. "But they're nothing compared to General Esdeath."

Fuyu smirked as he noticed his opponent jerk his head back slightly. "That's right, my sister hits much harder."

"Bastard!" Raven shouted, loosing his composure if only briefly. He jumped away, landing several feet away. "I won't stand for this insult!"

"Then stop talking and do something." Fuyu said with a smirk, moving his sword to his side. "I'm waiting."

Raven pressed his teeth together. He was furious! Never had he fought someone stronger, or even insult him in such a way before!

He didn't care about escape now, in fact he completely forgot about that. All that mattered was he put this man in his place, no matter what!

And with that in mind, Raven decided to use a certain method. He dashed to his left, Fuyu let out a single laugh before following suit.

After a few steps, the masked Son of Nores vanished. His opponent as well, chasing after the man at superhuman speed.

When the two reappeared, they stood between Kurome, Akame and Natala.

Before the latter three could react, Raven kicked Natala towards Fuyu. The Chairmen smirked, vanishing as Natala passed over the spot the forward had stood before reappearing in the same spot.

Fuyu dashed forward, clashing his sword against the Water Dragon Sword.

"Using these people as shields is useless against someone with my speed." Fuyu said with a smirk. "You should know that, or are you getting desperate?"

Raven grunted. He didn't expect much from this tactic, but still...

"Fine!" He pushed off his opponent's sword. "Then I'll dispose of them!"

The Son of Nores rushed towards the nearest of his so called shields: Akame. Fuyu frowned, vanishing from sight as the latter realized the masked man was coming for her.

Raven swung the blade in his left hand down. Fuyu reappeared beside Akame, pushing her aside.

She didn't escape unscathed however, as Raven managed to cut rather deep into her right cheek.

The Night Raid member fell to the ground, landing on her butt. She wiped the blood currently oozing out the deep cut on her face before standing back up.

"What's wrong?" Fuyu said, pointing his sword towards his opponent. "Are you so frustrated that you can't kill me you decided to kill those not involved in our fight?"

He shook his head, letting out a sigh. "You continue to disappoint me. Perhaps I should end this now."

Kurome looked to her older sister, eyes focused on the wound on her face. She tightened her grip on Yatafusa, grinning her teeth angrily as the young girl turned to face the masked man.

"I'll never forgive you!" She shouted, holding her Imperial Arms up above her head. "I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR HURTING MY SISTER!"

Dark purple lightning shout of the blade and into the ground. The young assassin had deployed seven puppets over the course of this battle, most of which were destroyed by now.

However, she kept one in reserve. One that was her true pride and joy among her collection of corpses, as well as the hardest to control. However, with so few active puppets she shouldn't have as much of a problem keeping it in check.

"Come out, Iwa Armadillo!"

The ground ruptured as Kurome's final puppet clawed its way out.

It was a beast, slightly larger than the average man. It was armored with golden brown scales all over its body, the one on its front were rectangular like and smooth with the one's on its back were triangular like and spiked up.

It had three long, sharp claws on each hand and a cone like face with two small black eyes.

(Think like the Pokemon Sandslash, only bigger and with an anteater face.)

"No way..." Fuyu took a step back. "How the hell did you acquire something like that?"

Raven turned his head to the latter. He heard of a few types of Danger Beasts and other creatures native to this land from Syrua, but nothing like this thing standing before them.

It seemed...normal compared to the others he's been told about.

"What is that creature?"

"You know those Ultra-class Danger Beasts?" Fuyu nervously replied. "Well this is a Danger Beast that makes those guys seem like pushovers. It's a goddamn Z class. Rarest of the rare."

"I'll make you pay." Kurome said in a low tone. "I'll make you pay for hurting my big sister."

The Iwa let out a low growl, it spread it's multi-jointed legs out.

Fuyu's eyes widened as it knew exactly what was about to happen next.

"Run now!" He shouted before jumping as far away from the creature as he could. "Get away or you'll be caught up in the attack!"

Once he landed, Fuyu quickly spun around running as fast as he could.

Raven felt a drop of sweat pore down his face.

If someone as powerful as that man would turn tail and run then it was serious. He wisely decided to follow his opponent's warning, turned and ran for it.

Akame turned to do the same, but was surprisingly grabbed by Natala whom dashed away as soon as he scooped up his master's dear sister.

The Iwa Armadillo jumped high in the air, hovering above the canyon. The Z-class Danger Beast wrapped itself into a perfect ball. Slowly it began to spin, faster and faster until the light from its body seemed to distort.

"Erupt!" Kurome yelled, calling out the attack name of her puppet since it lacked the ability to speak. "Unrelenting Needle Assault!"

Thousands of small, cylinder like needles shot out from the spinning Danger Beast, rushing at a high velocity at every imaginable angle.

The small needles tore up the ground upon impact, transforming the level barren ground into a distorted rocky plain. Once hit, the canyon walls collapsed in on themselves taking with them any unfortunate to be caught by the free falling boulders.

Members of every faction fell helpless to the rapid assault, each individual doing what they could to avoid a fatal blow or in some cases unable to do anything but ride it out.

Despite all the destruction around, the area Kurome stood remained untouched.

Though seemingly a random wide spread attack, the Unrelenting Needle Assault was one of the Iwa's easily controlled attacks. It could choose to effect a certain area(s), exclude a certain area(s), or plainly attack everything around it.

As her puppet continued its attack and those that could move tried to escape from its fury, Kurome stood still as a statue. A single tear rolled down her face, shed from the helplessness she felt for failing to protect her sister.

Ironic coming from the same little sister that wanted to kill her with her own hands.


Several minutes after the attack...

Tatsumi flipped over a large patch of rubble that fell on him during that brutal last attack. He scanned the devastated landscape, nothing looked the same. The very canyon the where in was nothing more than piles and piles of large boulders and rocks.

"Unreal." The teen said.

He vaguely saw what cause all this devastation in the first place, let alone where it came from. Still, whatever it was the thing held a great deal of power.

"Tatsumi!" Mine's voice called out to him. The young assassin turned around, quickly spotting the pink pigtails of Night Raid's self proclaimed Sniper Genius.

She waved at his with her Imperial Arms. Behind her was Walker and Bulat, both banged up but not nearly as Leone whom they carried between them.

Tatsumi's eyes widen. Quickly he ran over to his fellow assassins.

"What happen?" He asked once he closed in.

"Don't know." Walker bluntly replied. "We found her like this. Still breathing though so at least there's that."

"She was near the crater were that massive explosion went off." Bulat added. "She must've been caught up in that."

Tatsumi stared at Leone for a few more moments before looking at the other three Night Raid members around him.

"I'm glad you guys are alright." He said. "Now we need to find the others and-"

Susanoo suddenly flew in, carrying Najenda in his arms. The latter looked winded, but whatever fatigue she felt didn't seem to bother her when she stood before her subordinates.

Her eye turned to each one, though she held her gaze on Leone for a few more seconds than when she looked at the others.

They in turned mostly stared at Susanoo, still in his white haired ultimate form.

"Is this everyone?" She asked with some difficulty. "Where's Akame, Chelsea and Lubbock?"

As if summoned by that very question, Lubbock, seemingly came out of nowhere, suddenly popped up. He ran over to his teammates, waving one of his hands as he called out to the group.

"Just what the hell was all that?!" The green hair pervert shouted as he drew near. "The entire canyon collapsed! Man I though I was going to die!"

"Luckily you're too stubborn and resourceful to be stomped out by a little rock slide." Walker replied with a smirk.

"There was nothing little about that!" Lubbock snapped back. "Everything exploded around me! It was like someone planted bombs in the ground and blew them all up at once!"

"Not exactly but close enough." Mine replied.

"Did you happen to see Akame or Chelsea on your way over?" Najenda asked her green haired admire.

"I haven't seen Akame, but I thought I seen Chelsea." Lubbock said, holding his hands out to his upper chest. "When the ground started to get torn apart, I'm pretty sure I saw that Pyro guy scoop her up and flew out of here."

Najenda closed her eyes. "Well, at least we know she's safe. I'm sure she'll find her was back to us soon."

"Uh, what makes you say that Ms. Najenda?" Lubbock asked. "Isn't he the enemy?"

"Not that an idiot perv like you could tell," Mine cut in. "But last time a checked that fire guy seemed to have a thing for her, so its a safe bet."

"OH COME ON!" Lubbock yelled. "First Tatsumi has all the luck with hot chicks and now Mr. Appears When You Least Expect It is getting it on with Chelsea!?"

He brought his hands up to his head, rubbing his hair randomly between the two. "THIS IS SO UNFAIR! WHY CAN'T I GET JUST ONE GIRL TO FALL FOR ME!? WWHHHHHYYYYY?!"

"Maybe if you weren't such a pervert, you wouldn't have this problem." Tatsumi replied but low enough so his best friend wouldn't hear him.

"Oh good, you all made it." The familiar voice of one particular red eyed, black haired girl said.

The members of Night Raid turned their attention to the source.

Standing a few dozen steps from the group was Akame and Natala towering behind her.

"Akame!" Tatsumi half-shouted.

He along with Mine and Lubbock quickly shifted into a battle stance. Walker drew one of his twin pistols with his free hand while Bulat, Najenda and Susanoo calmly watched the corpse puppet behind their comrade.

"It's alright." Akame said, turning her head to her sister's dead friend. "He's only here to make sure I get back to you guys in one piece."

Natala looked at his master's older sister. He nodded once, then suddenly jumped off and quickly disappeared from sight.

"OK so you and your sister made nice or what?" Tatsumi said. "Cause I'm really confused by all this."

"Kurome felt responsible for me receiving an injury from that masked man." She replied, holding two fingers up to the cut on her cheek. "She might be my enemy, but she's still my sister."

"So you're telling us that Kurome caused all this?" Najenda asked.

Akame nodded. "She summoned another corpse puppet. A Z class Danger Beast."

Najenda's eyes widened. She was one of the few that knew about the Z class. Human sized creature with unbelievable power and intellect. Just one could devastate an entire country. As impressive as this display might seem, it was only a warm-up for such a beast.

To think Kurome had one under her control was terrifying. How did she manage such an unbelievable accomplishment?

"What this Z class about?" Bulat asked.

"I only heard rumors about'em up North." Walker answered. "They're a small band of intelligent and powerful creatures that could destroy entire countries. Small compared to usual Danger Beasts too, which made it all the more unbelievable."

"They are real." Susanoo added. "My former master and I fought one in the past."

"But you totally destroyed it together right?" Tatsumi said all cheery.

Susanoo closed his eyes, shaking his head. "We barely managed to get away."

He reopened his eyes. "It read each of our moves and countered them perfectly. They are intelligent creatures, in whole league above even Ultra class Danger Beasts."

"So your telling me these guys are even stronger than the class of Danger Beasts that they used as material for the Imperial Arms?" Mine added in.

Susanoo looked directly at her. "From the time I was born, there were only four recorded battles between the Imperial Forces and the Z class Danger Beasts. This includes the encounter my master and I survived."

The organic turned his gaze to the group as a whole.

"Two of these were victories, but only thanks to task forces numbering in the thousands. Even with such an advantage, these forces lost over 70 percent of their fighting strength before they finally put the beast down and this was fighting only one of these monsters at a time."

"No way..." Mine replied in shock, saying what many of her fellow assassins were thinking.

"The two slain Z class were used as material for two different Imperial Arms." Susanoo continued. "One would be the ultimate Imperial Arms, the other is its closest rival."

"The Empire defiantly has the ultimate Imperial Arms." Lubbock added. "Ms. Najenda and I know that for a fact, but we have no details on what it does or even what it looks like."

"So we have one Z class made Imperial Arms belonging to the Empire and another unaccounted for." Walker said. "That sucks. Could really use that other one."

"Well thanks to the civil war 500 years ago that along with countless other Imperial Arms are spread all over the nearby territories." Bulat replied. "No way to know if it operational anymore."

"What about the other encounter?" Tatsumi asked. "The fourth one with the Z class?"

Susanoo crossed his arms. "That was the first recorded conflict: a battle between 12 Z class Danger Beasts and the entire military might of the Empire. Keep in mind very few Imperial Arms were made at the time so none were used in this battle."

He paused, deciding how best to depict what happened next. "It ended in a complete disaster for the Empire. Over 38 percent of their military might was annihilated in the single confrontation. Also as a result of the battle, the chain of islands in the Eastern Territories were formed."

"In other words, the Eastern Islands weren't always the Eastern Islands."

"You mean they reshaped an entire continent?!" Lubbock shouted. He, along with everyone else, couldn't believe such a feat was possible.

"The Z class are a force to be reckoned with." Najenda said. "You've all seen a small taste of their power today."

"These Danger Beasts were a threat to all mankind." Susanoo added. "Fortunately, like other Danger Beast they tend to avoid settlements and only attack when provoked."

"They mostly died off now, thanks to territorial fighting with other Z class." Najenda finished. "So the chances of running into one this day and age are relatively low."

"So no need to worry about them aside from the one Akame's crazy little sister has." Lubbock replied. "Got it."

"Eh you never know." Walker added. "You might have a run in with a Z class in the wild someday Lubbock."

"THAT'S NOT EVEN REMOTELY FUNNY!"

"It is when you overreact like that."

"In any case, we should withdraw." Najenda cut it. "We're all wounded and near our limit. Let's head back to the hideout and recover before heading off to Kyoroch."

"Roger." The majority of Night Raid said in unison.


Meanwhile...

Kurome watch as the Iwa Armadillo rapidly dug through the boulders and large rocks. It was searching for the other Jagears amongst the rubble, specifically Wave and Bols as the two were somewhere over this way.

After a few minutes of constant digging, the Z class Danger Beast finally found something. It pulled it out of the hole, placing it before Kurome.

"Wave!" She shouted, crouching down. Thankfully Grand Chariot was still active, no doubt saving his life from the fallen debris.

"Wave, wake up!" She yelled, shaking the teen's chest back and forth. "Please, wake up!"

Wave slowly opened his eyes, though Kurome couldn't tell thanks to the armored helmet. It took the young Jagear a few moments to regain his senses.

When he could feel again, everything hurt. Everything.

Any move he made echoed pain through his body.

That was fine, he could deal with the pain. It was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. The lost of a comrade, and his failure to avenge him.

"K...Kurome...?" He said, slightly turning his head. He cringed as pain screamed through his body. "Is...Is that you?"

"You're alright." Kurome smiled. Tears pooled up in her eyes. "Thank god."

Wave never seen this side of Kurome before. She was actually being nice, the complete opposite of the cocky attitude she had before. It threw the so called 'man of the sea' for a loop.

Strangely, he found this side of his comrade to be...cute.

Wave shook off these feelings. First he had to know what was going on.

"What happened?" He asked. "Last thing I remember...was a giant explosion and..."

"Everything's fine." Kurome replied. "The enemy retreated. I don't know where but they're gone."

"I see." Wave said, turning his head back to look at the sky. "Kurome...Where's Drake and Chairmen Fuyu?"

"Oh good to know you care boy." Drake's familiar voice filled the young man's ears. "Though I don't think you're in a position to worry about others right now."

Wave turned his head. He face filled with joy as he seen one of his closest friends was alright. Notably, Drake's red eyes reverted back to their usual dark blue.

"You made it!" The young Jagear cheerfully said.

"I should be saying that to you fool!" Drake replied with a smirk. "What I went through is nothing compared to that explosion you got caught up in. Hell I'm surprised you're still alive."

Wave let out a short laugh. "I'm tougher than I look old man."

"So it would seem boy." Drake replied with a chuckle. "Oh, and since you were wondering. Chairmen Fuyu decided to go fetch Commander Esdeath and the rest. Seeing as we're all beat up and what not linking up with the others is the best move."

"Now all that's left is to find Bols." Kurome added.

Wave's heart sank at the mention of his name. "Uh Kurome." He said, regaining the young girl's attention. "Bols is...That explosion was..."

He tried. Tired so hard to say it, but he couldn't. The Jagear couldn't bring himself to say the truth.

That Bols blew himself up after being sent on fire by the same man who killed Dr. Stylish.

That the kind hearted, intimidating man they all knew and loved was gone forever.

Wave tighten his fists, or the close as he could given his current condition.

Kurome lowered her head, frowning. Despite Wave's inability to break the news she seemed to have gotten the message.

"Oh...I see..." She said. "Bols is...gone."

Wave looked at the young girl. "Bols is gone..." He said in agreement.

Drake scratched the back of his head. "Don't beat yourself up over it kid." He said. "Things got crazy real quick. I mean, we were only suppose to fight Night Raid and then two more enemy forces showed up. We're lucky we only had one casualty."

"I know but still." Wave frowned. "I should've been able to protect him. He was my comrade and I-!"

He cut himself off, pausing a few moments before continuing. "I let him die. If only I was stronger, then maybe I could've-!"

"Let me stop you right there." Drake cut in. "You're thinking that if were stronger you could've prevented Bols's death right?"

Wave looked at the old soldier. "Yeah."

"Your asking for the impossible Wave." Drake bluntly replied. "Everyone dies, no matter how strong someone is there's always going to be some person they can't protect. That's how this world works."

Wave let out a disappointing sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, Drake was right. Still...

'What sort of ideal world do you want to create, Wave?'

That question echoed through his head once more, only this time it didn't cause the usual confusion and frustration he experienced thinking about it.

Now he knew the answer.

Wave looked up at the sky.

A world where no one he cared about died. A world where no one had to go through the tragic loss of a comrade or loved one ever again.

A world with no needless pain and suffering.

A world of true peace.


Elsewhere...

Several miles from the battlefield, Pyro held Chelsea in his arms.

Moments before the two fell victim to the Iwa Armadillo's wide ranged assault and so Pyro grabbed his girlfriend and made a mad dash (or more like mad flying) out of the line of fire.

The Clockwork agent knelt down. "That was close." He said, looking at Chelsea. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine..." She replied, her face blushing red. Before now, no one ever held her quite like this. It was rather...distracting.

(You would think after all the making out they've done she would be prepared for something like that. Eh, anime logic.)

"Uh..." Chelsea turned her head, looking away from her boyfriend. "C-could you put me down now?"

Pyro stared at her for a few moment before realizing how embarrassed she must be. He let out a chuckle, suddenly rising to his feet and startling the young girl in his arms.

"H-hey! What are you-?"

"What's wrong?" Pyro smiled. "Don't you like being held by a strong guy like me?"

"It's not that I don't like it, I...It's just..." Chelsea struggled to find the words. Honestly, she never felt like this before. Feeling her heart beat so fast in her chest made the young assassin uneasy.

Pyro's child like attitude didn't help at all, and toying with people was suppose to be her thing!

Pyro let out a laugh, closing his eyes in the process. "Chelsea, you really are cute when you're flustered."

"Sh-shut up!" The latter's face turned to a brighter shade of red. "Put me down right now or I'll make you!"

The Clockwork agent laughed once again. "Alright, alright." He bent over, lowering his arm wrapped around his girlfriend's legs before releasing them.

Chelsea's feet planted firmly on the ground. Pyro withdrew his other hand, allowing his girl to stand without any support.

"There. Happy?"

Chelsea spun around to face the man. She made a pouting face, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm pretty mad at you making fun of me."

"I wasn't making fun of you!" Pyro replied with a chuckle. "I was commenting on how adorable you were."

Chelsea spun around again, turning her back to the childish man. "I'm still mad." The young assassin said.

She pressed her fingers into her skin, head slightly lowing. "I mean...No one ever seen me like that before...Its sort of..."

"Embarrassing?" Pyro finished what his girl was trying to say. Chelsea took one step to the side, half turning back to her boyfriend.

She looked at him with sad eyes.

Not the usual kind, but the kind that you show when you're not sure if you should be sad that you got worked up over something seemingly stupid, that the love in your life had to witness that(even if he caused it), or the fact that it happened in the first place.

"Yeah..." The Night Raid member closed her eyes, giving the latter a sad smile. "It's silly isn't it? To be upset over something so stupid. I mean we did-"

"Chelsea."

The latter reopened her eyes. "Yeah?"

Pyro smirked, rubbing the back of his head. "I won't sugar coat this. I mean, it is pretty stupid to get worked up over something like being held in the arms of a guy with the current state of our relationship."

"Well thanks a lot!" Chelsea shout back with the turn of her head.

"But you can't help it since this was your first time." Pyro lowered his hand, grinning his teeth in a smile. "Just be glad you were carried by someone strong like me and not some wimp like Lubbock."

Chelsea turned her head back around. She had a smug smile on her face. "Yeah right, like I'd let that perv hold me in the first place."

Pyro let out a laugh. "See? There's the usual Chelsea we all know and love."

The latter let out a chuckle, placing her hands on her waist. "Like you could keep this side of me down for long."

"Not that the other side of you wasn't cute."

Chelsea smirked widely, showing off her teeth. With the flick of her wrist, one of her needles slid out of her long sleeve and into the palm of her hand.

She moved the needle up to her boyfriend's face, holding it off to the side of his face.

"Do you want me to punch a hole in that pretty face of yours?" She said but casually and somewhat seductively.

Pyro smirked. "Like you could in the first place."

Chelsea let out a smug hump. "Oh trust me, I'm working on that." She said, casually slid the needle back down her shirt sleeve.

The young assassin leaned forward, kissing Pyro on the cheek. She moved around the man, spinning back to face him once she gained some distance.

"Thanks for the save, but I gotta head back before the others start worrying about me." Chelsea said with the wave of her hand. "I'll see you next time!"

"See you soon." Pyro replied, holding one hand up to his upper chest about to wave back when the Clockwork agent saw a shift in the light behind Chelsea.

Blood shot out in the open air.

Pyro's eyes widened as his girlfriend fell, face in shock as she had no idea what was happening. The pyroman took reflexive a step forward, he glared at the masked man standing behind the collapsed Chelsea.

The dark purple haired man was drenched in sweat, his chest bouncing up and down from panting. He cloths were torn in some areas and the sword he held in his right hand dripping with blood.

"You shouldn't have stood in my way." Raven said between breaths, tilting his head to the left. "I'm in a hurry, so move."

Pyro grinned his teeth. Some parts of his body started to morph into fire "Bastard-"

"Hold on." Raven held up one hand. "Now you could fight me, but then your friend here would bleed out." He tilted his head down, looking at the young girl laying at his feet.

"You see, the sword I cut her with has a special ability. One that never allows any wound to heal."

The masked man lifted his head, staring at Pyro. "If you want her to live, you best find a way to stop the bleeding soon. Otherwise, she'll keel over and die."

Pyro clenched his fists. Judging from the way this guy carried on, it was a fair assumption this was the one of the cloaked figures Fuyu came across before. A member of a meddlesome fourth faction that neither he nor anyone in Clockwork had any knowledge of before today.

He had to burn this guy to a crisp. Both for personal reasons and for the benefit of their collective goal.

Pyro's eyes moved to Chelsea, the girl firmly grasping onto a patch of grass before her, eyes wincing in pain.

If this masked man was telling the truth. If his sword did in fact prevent wounds from healing...

She would be in trouble without medical attention alone, but that added onto the mix made it all the more fatal.

Pyro let out a retrained breath, relaxing his stance. 'I can't leave her like this.' He thought, accepting his defeat. 'Not with those wounds.'

"Alright." Pyro said, shooting an angry look at Raven. "Go."

"A wise choice." Raven replied. He dashed off, passing Pyro and disappearing into the forest.

Without another second to waste, Pyro rushed to his girlfriend's side. "Chelsea, don't worry. I'll fix you up in no time."

The latter responded with a pain filled smile. "I'll trust you. So don't disappoint."

Pyro nodded. He ripped her already torn shirt further, showing the full extent of the wound.

It wasn't a deep cut, but one that rain from her upper shoulder to her lower back. Blood oozed out and spread everywhere across her back.

'Not as bad as I thought, but...' Pyro gently pressed his hand down upon the wound. Chelsea's body cringed in pain.

The Clockwork agent hesitated for a moment. He turned his head, looking at the back of his girl's head.

The only thing he could do to stop the bleeding would cause a great deal of pain for Chelsea, but it would save her from bleeding out.

"I'm sorry, but this is gonna hurt." He said before moving his other hand towards Chelsea's back.

"Do what you have to." She humbly replied.

"You asked for it." Pyro's hand started to glow orange-red. He pressed them against Chelsea's skin, it sizzled underneath.

The young assassin screamed in pain. The skin on her back burned, sending a mass volume of pain throughout her body. She pulled out the patch of grass she held, clawing into the ground.

Regardless of how horrible he felt about causing her pain, Pyro knew the lightly burning the skin on her back and forcing it to melt over the open wound was the best shot she had at living through this.

He moved his hands up and down along Chelsea's back, closing up the wound as best he could. It would leave a nasty scar, but that didn't matter. All that did was her survival.

In that regard, they were in agreement.


A few minutes later...

Raven emerged out of the forest and into an open plain. Littered in the open air were the other Sons of Nores he brought with on this nightmarish detour.

Most of them anyway, seeing that some of their ranks had been thinned from that last attack.

"Well I have to say, that was quite amusing." The familiar voice of his partner Syrua filled his ears. "Seeing you lose your cool and all."

Raven turned his head, seeing the cocky man standing behind him. He always choose to surprise his opponent by approaching from behind. One of the quirks they had in common.

"I underestimated my opponents and overestimated my own abilities." Raven replied. "I won't make the same mistake aga-UGH!" He quickly moved one of his hands to his face, slipping it underneath the masked Teigu.

The dark purple haired man gagged. He felt something slip out of his mouth. Raven pulled back his hand, staring at the blood that now covered it.

"Wow, those side effects are a real pain aren't they?" Syrua said with a sneer. "Well that's what made the Water Dragon Sword a failure after all."

Raven lowered his hand, glaring at his partner. "Stop making fun of me, or you'll be the next one I kill."

Syrua sneer grew larger. "Awh, someone's a little butt hurt huh?" He said, placing his hands on his waist.

"Shut up or die."

"You need to chill out. No need to be so serious about one little failure." Syrua shrugged, closing eyes. "We'll more than make up for it on our next trip." He said before turning around. The grey haired man took a few steps forward.

"Now then, let's have some fun." Syrua spun back around. He smiled wide, showing his teeth. "Our next stop: Kyoroch. Home of this Path of Peace organization I've heard so much about."


And here ends this entry to Clockwork.

Many things in this one, Bols final suicide attack, the death of the Bloodborn twins, revealing the existence of the Z class Danger Beast and showing what happens when you mess with big sister Akame and Kurome standing there watching it. O-O

I swapped out the Kaiser Frog that Kurome had in the anime/manga and replaced it with the Iwa Armadillo. (I wonder how many of you could figure out what the Iwa means...)

There were several reasons for this switch, from trying to balance the scales for the obviously overpowered Akame-Kurome tag team to creating a hint of what the latter is truly capable of and personally to create a scene where Kurome just snaps.

Yes, Kurome and Akame have set it in their minds to kill one another, but they won't stand for the other dying by anyone else's hands. (or blade or whatever in some cases)

It somewhat stated later on in the manga that if you truly love something but circumstances prevent you from being with that thing, you have to set it upon yourself to kill that thing because you feel that way in the first place.

In other words, a noble 'If I can't have you, no one can.'

Like Akame said in this entry: "She might be my enemy, but she's still my sister."

Now, as for the creation of the Z class. I felt it was necessary to create a number of beasts that were abnormal from the usual genre of Danger Beasts.

Usually Danger Beasts are large, powerful monsters that seem to follow the 'Bigger they are, the more powerful they'll be' system. The exception to this would be Dr. Stylish's artificially made humanoid Danger Beasts, whom were far stronger than the average human and even retained some intellegince.

So, why couldn't there be a group of Danger Beasts with enough intelligence and power to cause any large armed force trouble but small enough so they wouldn't carve a path of destruction by moving from place to place?

That, along with the desire to create something outside the status quo, is why I created the Z class.

Human sized beasts when by themselves can destroy a(small) country and when gathered in groups have the power to devastate an entire continent.

In a way, you could think of each one as another Esdeath running around. Scary right?

How exactly did she acquire such a beast? Well you just have to wait and find out. Till next time.