Devil May Cry: Blood For Peace
Chapter 5: The Legend Of The Cursed Six Demon Arms
It was mid-morning just after ten o' clock am and Vergil and Akame had just served breakfast while two other bowls were left out for the two that always slept in. Vergil made sure to watch Akame and make sure she didn't try to eat up the other two like she often would do or try to do. But with Vergil watching her every move she had to accept defeat once again.
Once breakfast was taken care of, the team decided to take some time and do some training. Today, Akame would be his training partner. First up was Vergil. Their regiment for today was simple, it was speed improvement training. Vergil needed no more improvements since his speed was already flawless, he was the quickest warrior on Night Raid making Akame who was previously the most quickest now the second quickest but she was okay with that since she respected Vergil as a teammate and a friend.
Vergil stood on the training yard with his Yamato in its sheath ready to go, he gave a nod.
"Ready, let's do it!" He replied.
Akame nodded and began, she used her own speed to help his training. Vergil never required training for anything, his training days were all just a test of ability to him, but, he liked to test himself a lot since he was already at his peak.
Akame began by throwing several rocks up in the air letting them fall down towards Vergil. He focused on as soon as the rocks began to fall closer he would swing his sword and continue to getting faster with each new swing. In a matter of seconds, Vergil was swinging his sword wildly, he was so fast Akame wasn't able to keep up with his movements and by the time he finished, the rocks were in several little pieces all around him and his sword untouched. Vergil panted a bit since he was demonstrating his true speed, it was completely inhuman and all Akame saw was blue slashes.
Akame checked the stopwatch she had in her pocket and looked at it.
"Ten seconds. You cut them all up in ten seconds. Impressive as always Vergil." Said Akame with a smile.
"Thanks, Akame. I guess I'm improving, wasn't the other day twelve seconds?" He asked
She nodded. "That's right. A new record by two seconds, a small improvement, but definitely still an improvement." She replied
"That's surprising, I didn't think I'd be able to improve anymore. I thought I reached my limit of power already." He looked up at the sky.
"I guess I haven't yet reached my full potential. Thanks for your help Akame." Said Vergil showing his appreciation for his friend.
"No problem." She replied.
"Alright, your turn." Said the half-devil as he sheathed his blade and went on the wooden walkway so she could take her turn.
"A speed test as well for you?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes, and increase the speed every three cuts if you don't mind." She politely requested.
"Sure thing, whenever you're ready." He said.
Akame took a deep breath and got into fighting stance.
"Ready."
Vergil nodded.
Seeing her take stance, he began. He started off moderately fast. Picking up a wooden crate, he tossed it up and as soon as it was in range Akame swing her blade cutting it in two, Vergil was quick to throw the next one her way and she did the same, he increased the speed and threw it her a bit quicker since she said every three times. Once again she sliced it in two and was quick to cut the other one, this continued for several more minutes until Vergil was pretty much throwing one every two seconds. She kept on cutting and cutting, slicing and slicing with elite speed until she cut one but failed to slice the next one, it hit her on the shoulder prompting the training session to stop. Vergil checked the stopwatch and read the time to her.
"Twenty minutes, you kept it up for twenty minutes, not bad at all Akame, you beat your previous record." Vergil praised her for her speed.
"The…fifteen minute one?" She asked between breaths.
Vergil nodded.
"That's right, well done Akame, it seems you're improving too."
Akame smiled.
"Thanks, Vergil. I appreciate your help."
"No problem Akame." Vergil took a bottle of water and threw one to Akame who caught it and opened it, she chugged the entire bottle in five seconds.
Vergil looked on in awe.
"Well…looks like you broke another record, the record of the world's quickest chug of a water bottle…" Said Vergil baffled by her ability to consume food and liquid in seconds.
Akame just laughed a bit.
Vergil shrugged and chuckled taking a sip of his own bottle of water. Akame sheathed Murasame and walked over to Vergil.
"Wanna go grab a snack?" She asked.
"Sure, but I don't want much since I'm still full from breakfast." He replied following her to the kitchen. Akame opened the fridge and took out a bag of rice cakes, she gave two to Vergil then had the last ten inside the bag. Vergil had only eaten one, but when he looked at Akame she was already wiping her mouth while the empty bag laid on the table.
"Did you seriously just finish the entire bag in less than a second?" Asked a shocked Vergil.
Akame nodded.
"Mmhm. They were delicious." She mused.
"Yeah…I'm sure they were."
In walked Leone.
"Heya guys whatcha doin'?" She asked.
"Oh just contemplating how Akame can possibly devour an entire bag of rice cakes in less than a second." Replied Vergil.
"Rice cakes, I've seen her swallow entire cooked birds whole, so that's nothin' compared to that." Leone laughed.
Vergil looked on apathetically
"If she can do this much, then I believe it…."
Leone laughed again.
"You'll see her devour much more along the way, nothing can stop Akame from eating the food she really likes in literally one bite." Said Leone with a toothy grin.
"I'm gonna go hit the training field with Sheele so I'll see ya guys later." Leone waved and left the kitchen.
Vergil turned back to Akame.
"So I guess we aren't going anywhere until Najenda gets back?" He asked.
Akame nodded. "That's right, the boss said she wanted us to stay at the base until she returns, she won't be back until tomorrow morning because she went to Revolutionary Army HQ to check some things." She answered.
"I see, very well then. I suppose this counts as a day off for the time being then."
The day went on and everyone just relaxed while Akame and Vergil began to prepare supper.
Meanwhile in the capital, at the Imperial Castle..
The young emperor sat at his throne while Minister Honest looked on like he always did. A man with Purple eyes, wavy black hair with long parted front bangs that went past his eyes, he was wearing leather armor and steel greaves as well as black titanium gauntlets that went from his hands all the way to his elbows.
"So, you claim you can take care of Night Raid. How do you intend to do that?" Asked the Young Emperor.
The man spoke with a deep, rough sounding voice.
"I can, I have a plan of action I intend to follow, and it starts by taking out their associates. I will draw them out and eliminate them one by one. You can leave Night Raid in my hand's Sire." Spoke the man.
"Very well, but you must tell me your name first so I know who I'm putting my trust in." Replied the Child Emperor.
"You may call me, Moonlight Hunter."
Minister Honest walked out from the shadows.
"The Moonlight Hunter? The same Moonlight Hunter who slaughtered the Northwestern tribe's army in a single day?"Asked the minister.
"You are correct Minister, it's an honor to know such a capable man is aware of my work." Replied the Hunter.
"In any case, I have some work to do. I will come back and report when progress has been made." He bowed then left the castle.
"Minister Honest, you know of this Moonlight Hunter?" Asked the Emperor.
"Yes. There have been rumors about a man who's colder than any other warrior known. Not much is known about him besides two things, He's willing to use any means necessary for whatever task he is given. And the second one is the most interesting of the two."
"And what would that be?" Asked the Emperor.
"He possesses one of the Six Cursed Demon Arms." Replied the Minister with a sinister grin.
Elsewhere, Najenda was waiting to meet with some Revolutionary Informants who had done some observation work undercover in the capital.
"I wonder where they are.." She thought about what to do next.
"Well, if they aren't here maybe they went to the meeting point, I'll go check." Najenda made her way to a cave where she had agreed to meet up with them, but as soon as she entered, she was greeted by a horrific sight.
The cave floor and walls were painted with blood, there were corpse's laying everywhere. As Najenda went further in, she heard a very soft grunt which put her to a stop as the sound hit her ear. Quickly she began to scan the floor of bodies and see which was still alive. After a few seconds of looking, she saw a hand twitch which immediately drew her attention, there he was, lying propped up against the side of the wall, she ran to the severely wounded Revolutionary Spy.
"What happened here?" She asked, leaning in a bit more as she waited for his answer.
The soldier weakly turned his head to face Najenda.
"I was about to send..Tetsuga and Raiko to meet you..when a guy wearing black armor showed up.." The soldier coughed three times before
"Easy now, don't force it, slow and soft to save your strength." Najenda said softly.
He slowly nodded, mustering up what little strength he had left to finish his answer.
"He had a big black blade with writing on the front, I couldn't see what it said…b-but I think I know who.." He coughed again.
"The moonlight..hunter..wielder..of the first…cursed arms..be careful.." The last bit of color drained from his face and his body went limp, he was gone.
Najenda slowly stood up.
"We will be, thank you for being able to forewarn us…you can rest peacefully now." Najenda's face turned serious.
"I have to tell the team right away so we can be ready…" With that, Najenda quickly left the cave and mounted her horse than took off heading back to base.
Back at Night Raid HQ.
Akame finished snacking and got up from her chair. Since Vergil was a part of Night Raid and had already proved himself a very capable warrior, he would need to know about Imperial Arms.
"Vergil, can I ask you something?"
Vergil reverted his eyes from the book to look at Akame.
"Sure."
"Do you know about Imperial Arms?" She asked.
Vergil nodded.
"Yes I am, I knew of the Capitals corruption, I looked into everything else about the Imperial Capital and when I found out they had powerful weapons, I looked into everything about them." He answered.
Akame smiled.
"I guess you came prepared then huh?"
"I like to make sure I'm prepared for anything, especially if it's a foreign country, let alone an empire." Replied the half-devil. He wasn't about to enter a place entirely new to him without being well versed in the place and everything that surrounded it.
"That's good thinking. Well, I just wanted to make sure." Akame was glad he already knew, she wouldn't have minded explaining things to him, but it was good to see that he was prepared and up to date with everything. It made sense that he had made it this far on his path.
"In any case, I still think you should give this a read." Akame handed him a book about all the known Imperial Arms.
"Ah, the book describing all the known Imperial Arms. I'll definitely give this a read. I know about the Imperial Arms, but I don't know about them individually." He took the book.
"Thanks, Akame."
She smiled. "Mhm!"
At that exact moment, the door opened and in rushed Najenda, the sudden return made the two looked over at the boss, Woke Sheele up and caught Bulat's immediate attention.
"Najenda? Done with the meeting already?" Asked Vergil.
"The meeting didn't even happen, I need you two to gather the others, there's something important I need to tell everyone." She ordered, despite the concern to what was going on, the two didn't waste time doing as they were asked. In less than five minutes, Night Raid gathered in the command room.
"So what's the problem boss?" Asked Leone putting a hand on her hip.
"We need to be very alert on missions from now on. The Moonlight Hunter has returned, I went to the meeting point, and every single revolutionary army soldier there was slaughtered, one was alive and described to me who attacked them, the description could only fit the Moonlight Hunter." Najenda explained.
"Moonlight Hunter? That's the guy who has the first cursed demon arms right?" Lubbock asked.
Najenda nodded.
"That's right, The Berserker Blood Armor."
Bulat's usual cheerful expression quickly became serious at the mention of the name, and Vergil was quick to take notice of this, there was likely a reason for that, but Najenda had more to say so he'd inquire about it later.
"Damn, those weapons are supposed to have a power that even surpasses Imperial Arms.." Lubbock cursed.
"Precisely why I'm telling you all. He didn't say when he'd strike, but whenever taking a job, always bring someone with you, there's the off chance he may try a surprise attack when on a job, I don't want any of us to be caught off guard so stay alert and always stay together, is that clear?" Najenda asked, making sure her team understood the severity.
"Loud and Clear boss." Replied Akame while everyone else nodded in agreement.
Najenda nodded in return. At least it was out there now, the team was aware of The Hunter's reappearance, so they would most definitely keep their eyes open and their guard raised.
Najenda looked back at Vergil.
"Now then, You know of Imperial Arms, but now I should tell you the old story about the cursed arms." She cleared her throat and began.
"A millennia ago, the first emperor who began the Capital's downfall had sent a team of his best soldiers, warriors who could crush anyone or anything in their way to a village in the far Southwest. They were at peace, but the warriors destroyed the entire village, slaughtered everyone, men, women, and children, they didn't care. It was a massacre. The attack was all a set up in an attempt to start a revolt, but it failed and the emperor just shrugged it off. In the Midst of the attack, the village chief hid because he didn't know what to do. As skilled as he was, he couldn't handle them alone. He developed a strong hatred for the emperor, a hatred so strong and evil that it consumed him. I could understand him to a certain degree seeing as he lost everything. But his hatred took him over and heavily tainted his aura with pure evil and darkness. The dark aura was so strong, that it attracted demons, demons from the seven circles of hell. They granted him the power to forge the most powerful weapons, but for a price. Each creation would eat a good portion of his soul. Within his limits, he was able to create six weapons of chaos and mass destruction." She went on.
"With whatever energy he had left, the village chief contacted six of the most powerful warriors across the nations leaving them with the task of using his created weapons to take revenge on the empire, and they did just that. But once the emperor was slain, the six warriors became obsessed with the power they had in their hands. Eventually, they used their power for self-gain and pleasure, they raided many villages and killed millions of innocent people. Knowing that innocent blood had been spilled by the very weapons he created, The village chief used whatever energy left in his life force that he could to curse his weapons, the curse would cause the wielders to go insane and they all fought to the death. None of the six survived. Not long after that, the distant son of the village chief scattered the weapons throughout the globe, hiding them away from the world so no one could ever use the weapons again. Because of the curse, the weapons take a highly life-threatening toll on the wielders." Explained Najenda.
The team just sat and listened, Vergil wasn't surprised. Power often drove people mad, it lead himself down a cursed path so this kind of thing wasn't new to him.
"I see…"
"Out of all six, only two Cursed Demonic Arms have been identified, The Moonlight Hunter is said to have one of them," Najenda added.
"Cursed Six Demonic Arms huh? Sounds interesting." Replied Vergil, hearing that story caught his interest, and if this Moonlight Hunter was supposed to have one, then it presented a good chance to test his abilities.
Najenda smiled, she was expecting Vergil to say something like that.
"I had a feeling you'd say that, but even with your power and skills, do not underestimate him." Najenda warned.
"I never underestimate my opponents, I just know I'm going to kill him, one way or the other.." He simply replied.
"Well, you are very skilled, so I'm not too worried about you, but just remain vigilant."
"Will do." Replied Vergil
"Alright then. Since we have the infamous Moonlight Hunter targeting us, I want extreme caution from everyone. As skilled as you all are, the Hunter is just as skilled, and he's using a weapon that not many know about, we know nothing about its trump card either, expect the unexpected and stay sharp. Whenever you are out on Missions, you will be assigned a partner for precautionary situations, we won't know when he strikes, so it's imperative that you all keep your guard up at all times is that clear?" Asked Najenda after her leader-like speech.
"Understood." Said Akame
"You got it, boss!" Replied Leone.
Everyone else nodded.
Vergil was thinking about something, Could Demonic Arms counter Devil Arms? This came to mind only because these weapons were essentially created by the seven lords of Hell, all were high ranked demons who had legions of their own. He didn't know for sure, but it was just a theory. He would just have to find out for himself whenever the opportunity would present itself. If this Hunter was really after Night Raid, their paths would eventually cross and a battle would most definitely ensue, but he was prepared for that, he hoped this man was a challenge, it had been a long time since he found a worthy opponent.
"I'm going to go check for new jobs, I recall there was a couple. In the meantime, for now, we're done. I'll gather you all once the jobs have been finalized." Najenda stood up.
"Akame, can I count on you to inform him about the two identified Cursed Arms?" Asked the boss Najenda.
Akame nodded.
"Leave it to me." She replied.
"Very well then, I'll talk to you all again shortly." With that, she returned to her room.
Vergil crossed his arms and waited for Akame to start.
"The first one is called The Berserker Blood Armor: The Murderous Rage Of The Beast. It's an armor fueled with pure killing intent. It's like Incursio since both were made from the remnants of a Danger Beast. The Berserker armor is made from a double S class Danger Beast called Galagher. A monster which got stronger the more blood it would shed. The trump card it has is unknown, but it said to be one of the strongest of the six." Akame explained.
"Berserker Blood Armor huh? Sounds fun, especially since blood is the source of power.." He mused, if the weapon used blood for power, the term Demonic Arms sounded accurate.
Akame nodded and continued
"The second Cursed Demon arm we know is called Malfestor: The Gauntlets Of Chaos. Just as the name suggests, they are gauntlets for the hands and feet, it's said to be powered by the hatred of mankind, the gauntlets are unbreakable. Since it's full of hatred, the user must have complete hatred for all life or at least a similar amount of hatred that was used to make it in order to use it, if they don't, the user is killed. But whoever can wield it gets access to its trump card, unfortunately, we don't know what its trump card is either, but we should be very careful." Akame suggested.
"Yes I agree, but as long as we proceed with caution, we'll be fine." Spoke Vergil with confidence.
Cursed Demon Arms? Now that was new to him. Who would have thought that there were some other powerful weapons besides Imperial Arms? Every weapon had its drawbacks, some minor while some major. But power usually always had a price. If these weapons were meant to destroy Imperial Arms users, then the users of these Demon Arms might pose a good challenge.
"Exactly, I think so too." Akame nodded in agreement.
"Have you ever met a user of a Cursed Arm in battle?" Asked Vergil, Akame had seen lots of combat in her days, so he wondered if she ever had faced off against a user of said weapons.
Akame shook her head.
"Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to. None of us have besides one." Replied Akame.
"Who was it?" He asked.
"Bulat, he had a mission we received from one of the elders of the south-western tribe about Imperial Military forces setting up a spot near a village. Bulat handled the Imperial Soldiers with ease. But not long after, The Moonlight Hunter appeared. He was there to set the village ablaze. Bulat and him fought for a while before the Hunter fled." Akame explained.
"So Bulat has only fought him?"
Akame nodded.
"If you want the whole story, you can go ask yourself. I'm sure he'll have no problem sharing it with you." Suggested the swordswoman.
Vergil nodded.
"I think I'll do that, thanks Akame."
She nods.
"No problem, he should be in the training area. I'll see you in the kitchen later."
Vergil nodded in agreement, they were always on kitchen duty now, but he was fine with it, cooking was no problem for him.
With the story of the Moonlight Hunter and the Cursed Demon arms still fresh in his mind, Vergil went to the back and saw Bulat training like always. Every little bit of information he would get on this Hunter would be a great help to determine what this guy was all about. If they were going to run into this hunter, then the more he knew about him, the better.
Vergil raised a hand getting Bulat's attention.
"Bulat, can I talk to you for a moment?" He asks.
Bulat spins his staff then drives it into the ground and puts his other hand on his hip.
"Sure! What's on your mind?" He asks, his mood cheerful as always.
"Akame told me a bit about your encounter with the Moonlight Hunter. I was hoping I could get the full story from you?" He asked.
Bulat smiled.
"Curious about his fighting ability eh?"
Vergil nodded.
"That's right, if I have a clearer picture of his way of fighting, I'll have a better idea of what to expect." Replied the Half-Devil.
"Good thinking! Well, I remember his style of fighting completely, I'll describe it to you as best as I can."
Vergil nodded in response.
"For starters, that guy fought with a giant sword, but even with the size of the sword, he still swung it fast. The sword is powerful too, I blocked some attacks and even though I did a solid strong block, he still managed to push me back a bit with it, he swings it with two hands for a strong attack but can also wave it single-handedly too. His offense seemed to excel at long range considering the size of his weapon. His defense is strong and he blocked a lot of my attacks, but I made sure to land some good hits. The key things I noticed in the fight was his combo attacks, all his strikes are meant to shed a lot of blood, makes sense considering his Cursed Arms. But even with. In short, he has long range attacks, excels at quick and powerful strikes and has enough speed to evade quick." Bulat explained.
"I remember the entire encounter like it was yesterday."
-FLASHBACK SEQUENCE-
It was just about sunset in the South-Western Village, in the center of the town stood Bulat still equipped with Incursion's armor. The bodies of the Imperial Army soldiers laid on the ground in a pile of blood and gore.
"Thank you very much for your help Night Raid, we can finally return to the peace we've waited for." Said the Village Elder expressing his gratitude.
"Not a problem! And if you need anything el-." Bulat's sentence trailed off as he watched the same Elder slain right before his eyes as the man's torso fell to the ground and blood spewed out, the villagers screamed and ran away.
"Everyone get to your houses! Now!" Shouted Bulat, and everyone did exactly as told. Once the bottom half slumped to the ground with a thud, Bulat saw a man completely covered in black armor, the mask had a visor slit for the eyes, but all he could see was a piercing red glow where his eyes were.
"It won't matter if they stay in their houses. Everyone in this village is set to burn, and I won't let Night Raid get in my way." The armored man drew a black longsword with some writing engraved on the base of the sword.
"Who are you!" Bulat asked.
"You may call me, The Moonlight Hunter. This village will burn and you'll die along with their hope." The hunter replied.
"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that!"
The two men charged forward and began exchanging strikes, steel on steel and very fast, despite his speed, the Hunter managed to keep pace with him. This guy was strong, but Bulat wouldn't relent. Instead, he kicked it up a notch and began his rapid swing attack, the Hunter blocked all his attacks, but he saw a small opening and took it. Bulat let a swing of the Hunters blade nearly hit him, just to quickly evade to the side then went for a forward strike hitting the hunter in the back with a clank. The hunter groaned a bit as the hit got him, but quickly countered with a strong horizontal strike, but Bulat was ready and blocked just at the right time to stop the strike, but the force of the impact pushed him back a bit. Letting himself get knocked over Bulat rebounded off the ground and went for a quick low sweep which took the hunter off his feet and onto the ground, Bulat quickly followed up with a downward strike which managed to just chip the armor, the spearhead broke through a bit as Bulat saw a little bit of blood drip from the hunters shoulder.
But the hunter wasn't shaken and caught Bulat by surprise with an upward strike with the base of the sword hitting him just on the jaw, Incursio's armor had kept his jaw from breaking. Bulat groaned in pain but shook off the strike and landed on his feet in fighting stance.
The hunter was up on his feet also in stance.
"That's it, I'm about done playing around. Time to meet your end!" The hunter replied, but just before he could run his hand on his blade, the sound of a whistle caught Hunter's attention which was followed by a female voice calling from afar.
"Hunter! The mission has been canceled, we're leaving!" The voice sounded cheery and high pitched, the girl sounded young but he couldn't say for sure.
"Looks like it's you're lucky day. You get to live longer, but the next time we meet, you'll be dead!" After that, the Hunter jumped up into the sky and was picked up by petite shadow and off they glided.
Bulat wasn't going to let them get away so he jumped up after them using his speed, he managed to catch up, but one of the six figures jumped back and a gust of powerful wind pushed Bulat back sending him falling to the ground, but he caught himself by using Nantota to slow himself and jump back to his feet.
-FLASHBACK SEQUENCE END-
"After that, I haven't seen them ever since."
"I see, thanks, Bulat. Now I have more of an idea to how he fights."
Bulat nodded and gave a thumbs up with a smile.
"No problem! Happy to help."
"I'll let you resume your training now." Vergil replies.
"Cool. Oh yeah, Vergil, Next time you need a sparring partner and no one's around, come ask me. I'll be more than happy to touch-tips with ya." Said Bulat pointing the tip of his lance at the Blue-clad Devil and gave a wink.
Vergil knew he just offered to be a partner, but Bulat's choice of words made him feel somewhat awkward, he wasn't sure why but it just felt that way.
"…Yeah, thanks." Aside from the questionable choice of words, Vergil wouldn't mind sparring with him sometime, he was strong and fast, a perfect opponent for training and a good way to test himself.
So he brushed off the awkward moment and continued on. Walking back inside, Akame approached him.
"Hello, Akame." Greeted Vergil.
"Hey Vergil, did Bulat's story give you an idea of the hunters fighting style?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, it was enough to give me a fair idea of how fights. Of course, I won't know for sure until I face him myself. And I look forward to that day. As long as that fool still breathes life, he's got a permanent target on his back, and I'm aiming for the bulls-eye." He replied, curving his lips into a small smile.
Akame returned his smile at his statement.
"In that case, I'll be sure to leave him to you."
"Excellent. There's six of them, if two people are using some, I don't doubt that the others are currently being used as well." He replied.
"I was thinking the same." She said in agreement.
With the news of their new enemy delivered, the team prepared for the missions as nightfall came.
Come ten o' clock pm, Najenda called the team to the command room. Once the whole team was there, she began.
"Thank you all for coming, we've received a mission that in my opinion, cannot wait." Najenda continued.
"There's been a recent string of kidnappings, our culprits have been kidnapping several children between the ages of seven to twelve. Sources have told me the people behind this vile act are a newly assigned taskforce put together by the Minister, they are called The Messengers. The sole purpose of the group is to nab children of people who oppose the capital just to force families into submission. But that's not all, they've even killed some and abandoned some in forests filled with Danger Beasts."She explained.
Everyone's expression became darkened, they couldn't believe how low the Capital was sinking to, threatening the lives of Children was crossing a major line.
"Putrid scum.." Commented Vergil.
The mention of Danger beast infested forest brought back memories, horrible memories of the ruined childhood her and her sister had.
The memories flashed before her eyes. Her and Kurome had to fight for their survival in the assassin's trial.
"Akame?"
Vergil's voice brought her back to reality. "Huh?" She blinked.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She nodded.
"I'm fine." She returned her attention to the boss.
"Alright then, we've been told there are two hideouts they have, I'm assigning all of you into groups of three to kill everyone involved as well as saving the children. Both squads will have a prime target along with the other associates also counted as targets, but make sure you kill the prime targets first. Once the children are free, a team from the revolutionary army will be watching for a signal to come to bring the children back to their parents." Najenda informed.
"Understood," Said everyone in sync.
"Vergil, Mine and Bulat, you three will take the west hideout, your target is Captain Kyrogure, he's a former Captain of Incendiary squad but was promoted when the Messengers were formed. I'm making you in charge of your squad Vergil."
He nodded.
"Leave it to me." He replied.
"Akame, Sheele and Lubbock, you three will take the east hideout. The target for you three is Ex-Lieutenant Morioka. Previously a Lieutenant of Imperial Guard, he was demoted when he killed three of his own men in a mission gone wrong, but the Minister praised his actions and made him second in command of the Messengers. Akame, you'll be in charge of your team."
Akame nodded.
"Got it."
"Leone, I want you to keep a watchful eye on General Tanaka. He is the current acting supervisor of the Messengers and he'll likely call for backup if he even finds the slightest thing suspicious, if he arrives at any of the locations during our operations, he'll call backup immediately, so if he heads towards any of the two locations assigned, I want you to send a signal letting the team know so they can make their escape."
Leone put a hand to her chest.
"No problem boss, I'll watch him like a Lion." She said giving a toothy grin.
"I know you will." Said Najenda giving a smile before quickly becoming serious again.
"Alright, nothing further at this time. So let's go kill these bastards."
"Yeah!" Said everyone in sync.
With their orders given and their targets assigned, Night Raid left, the group traveled together partway before preparing to split off.
"Spill some extra blood for me, Kay guys?" Said Leone with a smile.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure it's a bloodbath." Replied Vergil, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lip.
Leone gave him another toothy smile.
"That's what I'm talkin' about! I'll see you guys later." With a wave of her hand, Leone took off in a burst of animalistic speed.
"Good luck you guys!" Said Sheele with her usual friendly smile.
"Thanks, Sheele, same to you guys." Everyone nods and gives a smile before the six split off into their three assigned groups and head to their designated hideout to infiltrate.
"So, what's the plan?" Asked Bulat running alongside the two.
"The layout given to us by the client revealed two floors in use as cell blocks, he also said there may be another extra cell block in the basement, we should get a look of how many guards they have for each cell block before we devise the full plan.." Vergil explained.
The other two liked the answer given by their acting captain.
"Sounds good to me!" Replied Bulat.
Mine said nothing, but she thought the approach was a smart idea, of course, she wouldn't openly admit it, so she just followed along. This was her first mission with Vergil, she'd be able to see a bit more about how he worked. She silently recalled the night they first met Vergil, she remembered how easily he slaughtered the guards. She could tell he was very skilled, she just didn't know to what extent.
As they got closer, the trio could see the top roof of the hideout poking out from the top of the forest. Suddenly, Vergil slid to a stop prompting the others to do the same.
Before anyone else could ask, Vergil was quick to speak up.
"Everyone, get in the tree's now!" They all nodded and took cover in some thick top branches of some trees. As they looked down, they saw a large group of guards on patrol looking around, they could kill them right there, but Vergil put storming the hideout as a priority, they had the main target and they weren't inside the hideout yet, but they would most likely get another chance to end those guards later. Once they passed, Vergil poked his head out and confirmed the coast was clear than signaled the others with his hand to come back out.
Vergil jumped out of the tree and landed on his feet. Out followed Mine and Bulat.
"Let's keep moving, the quicker we get there the better." Vergil ordered his team.
The other two nodded as they charged their way through the forest eventually reaching the hideout. It was an old prison used in one of the wars many years ago, just by looking ahead the trio saw several armed guards outside guarding the perimeter.
"How are we going to get in with all those guards there?" Asked Mine, the hideout was guarded all around in every angle and corner.
"I can take out a good amount, Mine I'll leave the rest to you once I take out my share. Then once we're inside, I'll be counting on you Bulat."
"Got it, let me know when." Replied Mine.
"Okay, sounds good." Said Bulat with a smile.
"Here's the plan, once I take out my share, I'll signal you with a phantom blade and then cause a distraction to line them up for you." Vergil explained to Mine.
She had to admit, the plan sounded pretty straight forward, it was a good plan. He was doing a decent job as a leader so far, of course, she would still observe for the rest of the mission.
"Alright, now that we are clear about the plan, I'm moving in. Watch for the signal." Said Vergil, the other two nodded and took cover in some bushes while Vergil moved in.
He used his speed and quickly teleported to the roof while the other two stayed there in the bushes while Mine watched for the signal through her pink Snipe Scope. On the roof, Vergil glanced down at the large group of guards at the back. Taking out the guards in the back seemed like the likely start since they would be the first to come running to the other side if they heard something or even felt slightly amiss.
Looking around for something to use, Vergil picked up a rock and threw it at the window of an old shack next to the hideout on the very far left, on impact, a small corner of the window shattered as the rock fell through, the guards looked at each other.
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, but we'd better go check it out, if someone steals some of the gear in the shed, we're not gonna hear the end of it."
One guard looked at the others.
"Half of you stay here and guard the perimeter, your all to remain here until we return."
"Sir!" Shouted the other guards in sync.
In total there were ten guards, now there was an even five split apart into both sides of Vergil. The half-devil teleported on the roof of the shack as he watched the guards arrive, thankfully for the heavy forest they were in, the many tall trees above the shack provided perfect cover, so Vergil was hidden within the shadow of the trees from the moonlight.
"Let's get this thing open." Said one guard while the others watched as the head guard reached for the key, but that moment would be their last, Vergil jumped down from the shadowy roof and unsheathed his blade, with speed faster than the blink of a human eye, Vergil swung his blade and in only three seconds, he landed on the ground crouched. With the click of his blade sheath, the guards fell to the ground in a pool of blood.
"Now for the other half." And Vergil took off towards the last five at the back, he just ran by them and sheathed his blade, again the enemies fell over after blood spewed from their five wounds, five for each guard. Now the back was clear and all that was left to do was kill half at the front then line up the last five for Mine to take out. All she needed was one shot and he knew she did. Vergil went on the roof again and glanced down at the front of the hideout now, ten guards like the back, but they wouldn't be a problem. He took a few extra minutes to scan the area, he saw the entrance to the pathway and marked that has he luring point so, he jumped down waving his sword slaughtering half with a single cut and sheathed when his feet hit the ground.
"Holy shit! He's gotta be from Night Raid, I've never seen anyone kill with such precision!" Exclaimed guard.
"We gotta take this bastard down!"
Hearing that, Vergil kicked off his heel in a burst of speed headed towards the pathway.
"Don't let him get away!" Shouted one of the pursuing guards as they ran after him, taking Vergil's bait which brought a smirk to his lips. Vergil lead them to the middle of the pathway then stopped at a dead end as he reached a cliff, immediately after, the guards arrived, single file like planned.
"Looks like this is your last stand scumbag!"
"Actually, it's yours." Vergil replied, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, he conjured up two blue phantom blades then threw them up in the air and shattered them causing a blue light in the sky for a few brief seconds.
Mine watched on through her pink scope and saw the signal. She grinned and took aim with Pumpkin.
"Well, it's about time." With a lock on all guards, she pulled the trigger and a thin orange beam emitted from her weapon, and Vergil simply stepped to the side exactly as the beam zipped by him and directly through the heads of all five guards. In seconds, they fell to the ground with small black holes in their heads, smoke fuming from them before disappearing.
Vergil waved them over to follow, and they jumped down from the tree and went to meet with him down the pathway entrance to the hideout.
"Nice shot Mine, as expected." Said, Vergil
The compliment bringing a proud smile to the sniper's face.
"Thanks. Though, you're not doing too bad either. " Complimented Mine in return.
Vergil smiled and nodded before his expression became serious again, he looked over at Bulat.
"Bulat, when we're inside I'd like you to go on ahead with your invisibility and count the total number of guards inside in each of the three cell blocks." Said, Vergil.
"You got it!" Since they were still outside, Bulat crouched and as soon as his fingers touched the ground, he shouted.
"IIINNNCURRRSIOOOOOOOOOO!" His voice echoed as the Danger Beast Tyrant's spirit roared and the armor appeared on Bulat covering is upper body and arms as well as his head.
"Perfect! Now then, with the entrance clear of all guards, let's get inside. Remember, our current priority is to kill our targets, only then can we free the children, understand?" Vergil asked, showing more of his leadership colors.
The other two nodded and Vergil turned to face the hideout.
"Alright let's move!" Vergil took off with the other two following closely behind him, now that the outside was clear, the infiltration wouldn't be hard so they casually rushed through but stopped at the stairway prompting the other two to stop as well.
"Go ahead Bulat, we'll wait here while you go check." Said Vergil leaving the recon to Bulat.
"Leave it to me!" Bulat replied, excited and determined as always. Bulat activated his invisibility and crept up the stairs and went to take count of the guards.
"So, Leone was telling me about the job you had with her and she told me a bit about your weapon, is it true that it's stronger than Imperial Arms?" Asked Mine trying to make conversation with him so there wouldn't be an awkward silence while they waited.
"That's correct, it's a Devil Arms, this blade was forged by my father so it's not just a weapon to me, aside from being a memento, it's a powerful blade that can cut through anything, and I do mean everything, even time and space itself." He answered.
Mine was intrigued, she had never heard of Devil Arms before, all she knew about was Imperial Arms and the urban legend of the cursed arms. Vergil was strong and she saw firsthand what he could do, and despite how powerful and quick he was, she got the feeling he was holding back, she couldn't explain how she knew, but it just based on everything Najenda had said about him, she could just feel he wasn't using his full power especially in the surprise attack test the other members of Night Raid had thrown at him.
"I see, I guess you don't have a triumph card then huh?"
"No, I have several trumph cards." He replied.
"Seriously?"
He nodded.
"I can do a lot with this blade, but it only has one drawback, if you can call it that. The sword is linked with my soul, so the strength on the weapon and its abilities all depends on my well-being. Like if I was to sustain serious injuries, the blade's potential would greatly diminish. This is why I cannot rely on my blade alone." He replied.
"Linked with your soul huh? Wow…" She never heard of a weapon that connected with someone's soul. She knew how affinity matching worked, but that was an entirely new thing to her.
Bulat returned and deactivated his invisibility as he approached his teammates.
"There you are Bulat, so what's the total?" Asked Vergil.
"There's a hundred-fifty. Fifty per cell block and there are three cell blocks. I also counted thirty kids in each block." Replied Bulat.
"Good work, alright then. Here's the plan, Bulat and I can keep them busy and take some out while in the process, but while we keep them occupied, I'll need you to look for a good vantage point so you can provide some cover from above, this way we can take them all out in one go." Vergil explained.
"Okay sure, but who's gonna watch my back in case I'm discovered? Sheele usually does that and she's with the other group." Mine complained.
"I'll cover your back."
"What? How? You'll be dealing with the guards, how could you possibly cover me and kill them at the same time?" Mine wasn't too sure she liked this plan, even with someone as strong as him, how could he watch her back and slaughter guards at the same time?
Vergil put a hand on her shoulder causing Mine to look up at him.
"Mine, just trust me. I'll have your back." He replied
She looked at him for a few extra seconds, studying his expression. He looked determined and serious, so much to her doubt, she nodded and sighed.
"Hmph! Fine, But if I die, it's on you." She said, giving a sheepish smile.
"Fair enough, but you'll be fine."
Looking at Bulat, the two men nodded at each other before looking back at Mine.
"We're going in right away, so as soon as you see us enter, go find a vantage point, we'll keep them busy." Vergil instructed.
Mine replied with a nod, and not even a few seconds later, the two men took off up the stairs.
"Ready Vergil?" Asked Bulat.
"Yeah, let's do this."
Both men jumped down from the upper floor and swung their weapons still mid-air. Vergil swung the Yamato and Bulat swung his Lance Nantota. Vergil's blade cut five guards upper torso off in a mess of blood while Nantota killed ten in a series of rapid-fast swings. With a gory entrance, the two men spoke in sync.
"We're with Night Raid, and we're here to take out the trash."
"Kill them!" shouted a guard, and the ordered guard does what he's told and goes for a downward slash, but Vergil is already behind him with his back turned, Vergil stabs him, once his body goes limp, Vergil puts it out and sheaths, the click dropping the man to the floor as blood spews before his body hits the ground with a thud.
In a matter of minutes, Vergil and Bulat found themselves surrounded by several men all armed.
"These fools don't even know what's coming." Said Vergil, back to back with Bulat.
"No doubt, let's crush these guys Vergil!" Said Bulat with an overexcited tone.
Vergil nodded and the two charged forward striking down every guard that made a move. Strength in numbers wouldn't help the guards as they kept getting cut down. Vergil using his elite swordsman skills and his speed, he zoomed by a group and unleash a series of slashes killing several guards in the mix. Bulat waited until the men around him jumped at him, at the same time he began to wildly swing his lance completely decimating every guard who dared to stand in. Blood rained down on Bulat in his Incursio armor.
Some of the guards were shaken up by the sight but still charged in but were flattened by several Phantom Blades that would downpour hard onto the guards impaling them in several places killing them on contact. Not long after, the Phantom Blades on the ground broke apart into pieces and disappeared.
"Now we just gotta snuff out our targets, where do ya think their hiding?" Asked Bulat.
"My guess, somewhere on the upper levels, the main guy in charge here wouldn't stay below near the prisoners and guards." Vergil mused.
"You're right. Let's check the upper levels for an office, or any other room that you wouldn't see in a prison, I'm sure we'll find our guy there." Suggested Bulat as they made their way to the stairwell.
"Yeah, let's take a look." He replied, taking point as they made their way to the upper levels, once on the second floor, the two took cover by a wall. Peaking in from the side, Vergil and Bulat saw the next cell block, guarded by soldiers just like the previous one.
"We aren't in a rush, but I'd like to eliminate these guards in one go." Commented Vergil.
"Well, normally I can, but I can't get all of them since they're scattered out around the block." Replied Bulat.
"Don't worry, I have it covered." Said Vergil gripping his blade sheath.
"What? How are you gonna do that?" Asked Bulat, confused to what he had planned.
"Just watch." Suddenly, Vergil's senses picked up trouble heading to his teammate outside.
"Wait here for a moment." Said Vergil as he teleported out away.
Bulat blinked.
"Huh?" He chuckled.
"Vergil's an interesting fellow.." He muttered to himself as he remained in cover.
Meanwhile, outside Mine was watching from a nearby hill that showed a view of the entire hideout.
"Jeez, he should know that I can actively take part in battles that are up close and personal.."She let out a sigh. Suddenly she heard a twig snap behind her, the sound made her look back only to see nothing. She set her sights back on the hideout, but a voice caught her by surprise.
"Looks like your wide open girly!" An outside guard went for a killing strike, but before he could even get closer, Mine saw Vergil there with his blade deep inside the attacker's chest. Mine wasn't expecting Vergil to be able to keep his word, but here she was still alive.
"V-Vergil!?" She was so surprised, he really was fast.
"I told you it would be fine." He simply replied.
"Anyway, I'm assuming that was enough to power up?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah it was, what do you need?" She asked.
"I want you to shoot it at me." Vergil replied, much to Mine's disbelieve.
"W-Wha!? Are you out of your mind! You'll be disintegrated!" She replied, to which, Vergil gave her an unamused look.
"Mine.."
"Okay! Jeez!" She took aim and Vergil jumped back, as Pumpkin Charged up the shot, Vergil conjured up the energy within him and the within the Yamato. Just as the beam fired. The Yamato glowed purple and blue then he cut an X with the sword, the cut slicing open a portal which the beam shot in directly, the portal closing immediately after the beam went inside, the whole event leaving Mine with a dumbfounded look.
"Uh...Huh?" She blinked.
"Okay..what just happened?" She asked.
"You'll know soon enough." Vergil pushed the call in button on his earpiece.
"Bulat, I need you to line up all the guards in approximately twenty seconds, can you do that? Oh, and you might want to hurry, seriously."
Bulat heard the order loud and clear from the transmission and pressed the button.
"You got it!"Bulat didn't question it and quickly scanned the area for an idea, then one came to mind as he saw the skeleton key on a desk. Moving fast, Bulat jumped down breaking his invisibility after grabbing the key and sprinted down the long hall.
"Hey! He's got the master key, stop him at all costs!" Ordered the head guard, and all of them chased after Bulat.
"Okay they took the bait, where am I going?" He asked on the radio.
"Just to the end of the hall, but jump out of the way just after the turn." Vergil answered.
"Roger that!" Bulat did just as told then dove to the side, Vergil teleported to where Bulat lead them then quickly cut open the portal facing the front towards the row of guards, but immediately the portal opened, out came the beam from Pumpkin which had already enlarged, the beam shot out completely turning all the guards to dust. Once they were dead the portal closed.
Bulat stood there confused about what he had just witnessed, it was really cool but at the same time, unreal.
"Whoa, what just happened?" Asked Bulat.
"I'll explain later, let's finish the mission first." Replied Vergil.
Bulat nodded. "Right."
The two went to the third and final floor, just down the block, the two spotted the warden's office.
"That's where our target is, Bulat go invisible and kill our target, I'll handle the guards." Ordered Vergil.
"Leave him to me." Bulat went invisible and easily snuck by the guards successfully making it to the warden's door. Vergil hooked his Yamato to his belt than in a small flash of white, the Beowulf Light Gauntlets appeared around his hands and feet. Teleporting above, Vergil came down hard to the ground landing with a powerful punch that shook the floors, the strength launching up all the guards in the air. With every single guard mid-air and vulnerable, Vergil unsheathed his blade as the gauntlets disappeared back into his soul.
Taking the chance he created, Vergil launched himself up in the air and zoomed by every guard in a flash of blue, swinging his sword multiple times as he zipped by. Landing on his feet, Vergil sheathed with a click and the guards spewed blood everywhere as it rained down below.
Bulat came out of the warden's office leaving the corpse of their target in his chair.
"Target down and the coast is clear, come on in Mine. It's time to free the children." He said to her through the radio.
"Got it! I'll be right there." She replied. Once they regrouped, the trio split up to every cell block and freed the children, they were all so happy when they were told they were going back to their families.
The three successful rounded up all the children and Vergil conjured up several blue phantom blades and sent them high up into the sky shattering them and creating the Night Raid logo with the blue shards. They didn't have to worry about the Capital seeing it as these hideouts were far away from the Capital itself.
With the signal spotted, the revolutionary rescue squad arrived and took the kids safely back their families. With another successful mission closed, Vergil lead his team back towards the direction leading back to HQ. Once again, his and Akame's team met up at the hill and walked back together.
"Good work everyone! The mission was successful, both hideouts are no longer in operation. Well done." Najenda praised.
"Nothing further tonight, I'll see you all at supper." She added. The team went to put their weapons away while Vergil and Akame made their way to the kitchen.
"So are you okay now Akame?" Vergil asked.
"Hm?" She nodded.
"I'm just happy we were able to save those children." She replied giving a smile.
It was good to see Akame in good spirits again, earlier she looked a little out of it, there was most likely a story behind earlier, but he'd let Akame come around herself and tell it whenever she was ready.
"I am too." Vergil replied as he began to cut vegetables, seeing Vergil busy gave Akame a good chance, she quietly dropped some extra meat in the pot on the element.
"Hehehe~" She giggled as she watched the meat plop in, to which Vergil took a fork and took out some of the meat, leaving Akame with a hurt expression.
"Vergil…why?" She said, her voice slightly pouty.
"A Balanced meal is essential for a warrior.." He simply replied, but she kept on trying to sneak some in every chance she could get, this would continue for the rest of the preparation time before supper was eventually made.
Meanwhile..
Outside the now former hideout stood a man in black armor, he exited the hideout Vergil's team was at and chuckled.
"Looks like they were here, it's not much, but still worth reporting to the Minister." The Hunter put his sword on his back holster and headed back to the capital.
"Night Raid.. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other very very soon…" The hunter crossed the border and headed back to town.
-End Of Chapter—
It took a bit, but here it is guys, the next Chapter for this story. I still wanted to update this and my other story before finally getting back to my horror fic. This chapter is a bit longer than the last so I hope you all enjoy it! A quick note, the cover for this story is only temporary, I plan to make a much better cover for this pretty soon. I just have to update my photoshop then I'll have a much more polished book cover.
There is lots planned so I look forward to hearing all your feedback on this chapter. Thanks as always for showing all the love and support for this story, I didn't expect so many people to enjoy it as much as my other bigger story. Anyway, that's it for me in this one. Until the next one, enjoy the chapter and I'll talk to you again soon. Happy Reading!
~Darkslayer740