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Tatsumi found himself in the Imperial Palace, seated in what appeared to be the Jaeger's main room considering the group currently eyeing him up.
He spotted Lubbock and Kurome standing next to each other, giving no external signal that they knew him. He kept looking around, searching for any other familiar faces. Unfortunately, he found one in Seryu Ubiquitous. He felt his fists ball while she smiled and walked up to him.
"I remember you! That guy that got lost a while back." She gave him a pat on the head, the cold metal fingers reminding Tatsumi of how Sheele had severed her real arms. "Don't worry, you'll be joining us soon enough."
The phrasing made Tatsumi perk up, his fists unclenching. "Joining you?"
"Of course Tatsumi. You'll earn your own Teigu and serve as a back-up to the Jaegers." Everyone turned to see Esdeath, who had just returned from a meeting with the Emperor about the official status of her reward.
"Uhm, but I…" Tatsumi started to think a lie, some kind of cover. He felt something shift in the sleeve of his coat, giving him the bolt of inspiration. "I'm no fighter. I'm a simple shopkeep and trader!" He reached for the shifting bundle, and quickly drew it out. He opened the sack of cloth, revealing various pouches of spices. Everyone other than Esdeath and Kurome looked at him quizzically, not understanding what the fine powders proved. The youngest assassin caught a whiff of the fragrant masses, causing her stomach to rumble and forcing her to munch on more of her candy to quiet it.
Esdeath, however, smiled at him. He could barely understand why that response seemed to please her before he was being dragged towards what he suspected was a private room. He dropped the spices, disarming himself unintentionally.
"You get that, new guy!" Lubbock cheered with tears of clear annoyance in his eyes. For a moment, Tatsumi considered throwing something at the sex fiend. But before he could decide, the door slammed shut, cutting him off from the Jaegers.
Esdeath threw Tatsumi onto her bed, and relaxed herself. No one would dare intrude or even risk getting close to her private quarters. The young boy looked at her with trepidation, uncertain of what was going to happen to him. Cautious considering his position. Smart boy.
"I knew you knew that demon, but I didn't expect to find one of his children." She explained, watching him jump at the information.
"W-w-what? How do you know that? What has the old man told you?" He demanded, switching gears from timid to angry with the speed of a scorned youth.
She felt a sneer cross her face. "That monster and I barely talk. What I have learned is through my spies and listening to whispers. He sends orders and I obey under coercion. I loathe that arrangement." She eyed Tatsumi's guarded expression. "But I see I'm not the only one affected by that demon's machinations."
"Just what are you getting at?"
Their eyes met and held each other, struggling for dominance. "What I want, is for you to aid me in destroying that monster. He seems to have no ability to harm his children."
"I can tell you, he believes in physical discipline." Tatsumi rolled his eyes at the incorrect information. Sensing that he wasn't understanding, Esdeath realized that this wasn't going to be easy. Really, is this boy that dense? I had such high hopes for him.
"You must understand. Now that I've claimed you, I own you and your life." She watched the grim realization cross his face. "But I'm not heartless. I won't force you into anything out of consideration for your actual relationship, failure that it might be." He looked like an arrow had pierced his heart. "But I need your help to take the advisor down. And you can do that willingly or as a martyr."
She watched as Tatsumi's green eyes closed, waiting for his response. He took several deep breaths before opening them and meeting her ice-blue eyes with his own steely gaze. "I'm in. But I expect compensation."
Despite the intensity of the moment, Esdeath felt herself smile. So begins his downfall.
Lubbock and Kurome were in the Jaeger's main room, watching as Bols and Wave coordinated themselves to make a meal. They were about to be served when the door slammed open, revealing the advisor with a level of unreadability that no one could hope to comprehend.
"Slave-boy, I need you. There's a special mission from the Emperor to complete." Tsu explained, striding forth to grab Lubbock by the arm. Before Lubbock could even consider responding, his plate had moved in front of Kurome and a familiar sword sheath was pushing into his opposite side's ribs.
Lubbock's sense of betrayal only deepened with Kurome's exit comment. "Have fun. Don't break my property."
Why do I put up with this again?
Aria stepped off the grounded boat, the pristine beach completely silent other than the rhythmic pounding of the waves against it. She looked at the heavy forest in front of her, and caught sight of some shaped stones in the tangle of vegetation.
Turning back to the boat and its captain, she called out to him. "I'm about to go in, withdraw but be ready to land again." The captain nodded, retreating from her view. Aria turned back and strode towards the stones, leaving the beach behind. She felt a chill crawl up her back despite the red cloak wrapped around her shoulders to protect from the chill of the shadowed forest floor. The stones marked the beginnings of a path.
The path was still visible, thick slabs of shaped rock edged by long grasses and the occasional shrub growing between the cracks. She strode along the old path, using it to hasten her journey towards the heart of the forest. As she walked, she noticed how the air was practically still. No birds calling out or small insects droning left the forest with an empty feeling that put her on guard.
The sound of rustling beyond the path's grasses was the only warning she received before a shadow launched over her head, moving in a definitively predatory way. Aria looked at the spot where the shadow landed, catching sight of a strange leonine Danger Beast before it vanished back into the forest's gloom.
She stood still for a moment, waiting for the Danger Beast to return. She let Emparthos activate, selecting a sinful memory of her own to sacrifice as fuel for its abilities.
An 8-year old Aria stood in her home's darkened kitchen, a sliver of moonlight highlighting a wooden block holding several cooking knives. Hesitating for a moment, the child-Aria reached out for one of the knives, gripping and then swiftly pulling it free. She staggered at the unexpected weight of the cooking knife before settling down and pointing its edge at her wrist. If she couldn't flee the horrors of her family, at least she could die to escape it.
The rallying growl of the leonine Danger Beast brought Aria back to reality, the beast already leaping at her. She felt the grip materialize in her hand, and instinctively swung up to cut through her attacker. As blood splashed onto her and dyed her white dress crimson, the two halves of the Danger Beast landed to either of her sides.
After flicking some blood away from her eyes, Aria looked at her now-stained dress and the knife born from her attempted suicide. The hand-thick blade was slick with blood from its black handle to its tip, a distance that approached two full feet in length. While Aria could calmly assess this as impractical in the kitchen, she saw no reason to complain about its more weaponized size. She spared a glance at the leonine that had tried to kill her, noting its mossy green fur and unusually long claws. Thankfully, it appeared to only be five feet long from nose to tail, and barely reached her waist in height, making it smaller than most Danger Beasts of its type.
More growls started to echo in the forest, letting the girl know that she was no longer alone. Aria took a two-handed grip on her weapon, before losing herself to the battle as the creature's friends arrived. As her eyesight tunneled and her senses extended, Aria kept moving forward against the waves of Danger Beasts, flowing through the attacks like water over rocks in a stream. She occasionally felt a claw try to catch her cloak, but she skillfully used the cloth to lure and evade more strikes while dealing her own. She considered counting how many of the creatures were slain before wisely deciding it would be a waste of time considering how many pieces most of them were being reduced to. Even as she battled, she felt the details and emotions behind her suicide attempt fading from her mind, leaving only a vague awareness of the event behind. The price for her survival but one that always left her feeling hollow.
By the time she no longer sensed any enemies, her feet left the stone path for the hard-packed earth in front of a pile of ancient stone that vaguely resembled a building. Imperial records said this place was destroyed, she remembered with mild sadness. She looked over the ruin, letting the sunlight piercing the gaps in the structure give her ideas of how to enter it. Eventually, she picked out a gap that seemed to lead to the inside of the ruin, and clamored in with as much grace as she could manage on the uneven and irregular surface.
When she had gotten inside, she noticed a scattering of tree branches that had been blown into the ruin. Picking up one of them, Aria reached into a dress pocket for her small Firestarter to dispel some of the ancient shadows. After managing to successfully turn the branch into her torch, she began to delve deeper into the ruin.
When she stumbled across a stairwell leading downward, she let a single thought cross her mind. The answers are in here Master, in your birthplace.
"So what's it like?" Mien gave her ponytail another hand brushing while she waited for Akame to answer her question. With only the two of them left in the base and a lack of contracts, they had quickly become bored of ceaseless training and resorted to talking. Though it mostly revolved around Akame and her relationship with Tatsumi.
"What's what like?" Akame inquired, uncertain of what aspect Mien was trying to discuss.
Mien felt herself redden slightly as she stuttered, "K-k-k-k-kissing Tatsumi…" The pinkette watched as Akame's cheeks turned as red as her eyes.
Akame floundered for a few seconds before giving her embarrassed answer. "It's warm. Not just his lips but everything inside me warms up and I feel lighter." Mien quickly turned away, trying to conceal a jealous grimace. Even though she had asked, it still hurt her. Unrequited crushes were the worst.
A loud slamming made the two turn in surprise, looking at a newly arrived Leone. The blonde quickly made eye contact with her two friends, a wild look in her eyes. "Tatsumi got grabbed by the Jaegers!"
The two seated assassins quickly jumped to their feet, questions on the tips of their tongues while they reached for their weapons. "What? How?"
"He was watching over the old safe house and apparently ran into Esdeath herself. And what's worse is that Tsu and Lubbock got sent away on a mission from the Emperor."
Akame let her free hand clench into a fist before asking her next question. "What about Kurome and Aria?"
"Kurome is still with the Jaegers, but Aria hasn't been seen in a while." Leone shook her head. "I don't know if they're onto us or what exactly, but we have no information besides hearsay and no one that we can get to confirm it."
Mien and Akame shared a look before the black-haired girl gave her decision. "Everyone is on alert. No one else leaves the Capital without us knowing about it."
Kurome was a professional. She had survived the Empire's Assassination Program, been cured of her addiction, and was currently working as a deep-cover agent of the Revolution alongside one of her friend's killers. All of that took nerves of steel. But even she became worried. Sure, she had spent some time with Tastu-nii and the rest of her group was friendly, despite having to act like she didn't know him at all. But when she couldn't find Lubbock and then found that Tsu had left the Captial for an unknown destination days ago, she became unsettled. Much worse in her opinion, she couldn't meet up with Leone at the café without suspicion arising and Aria was nowhere to be found. Even she had to admit she was getting lonely.
"Attention Jaegers!" Esdeath's commanding voice rang through their room, making the collected Teigu users look at their superior officer. "There's been sightings of a new bandit city being built in the ruins of an old garrison on the Gyogan Lake." She unfurled a marked map of the bandit-infested ruins for all of them to see. "And we are going to be the ones to eliminate them all."
A few appreciative murmurs passed through the other Jaegers while Kurome looked at Tatsumi. Despite his situation, she was surprised to see him look so composed and eager.
"And I guess I'm going with you?" Tatsumi asked Esdeath, his lighthearted question fitting his role as a willing member of the group. Esdeath nodded with a light smile, something that made Kurome angry. It was annoying enough that she couldn't talk to him like normal, but knowing that Esdeath was likely using him for whatever she wanted since she had claimed him as her lover was pushing the black-eyed girl to her limits.
Seeming to sense Kurome's apprehension, Tatsumi looked at her and smiled. "But could we make a stop before we leave. There's something I need to grab." His sheepish expression only made Kurome smile back.
Lubbock yawned and stretched from his position atop his tan horse. The stallion had been under him for the majority of the past few days, diligently putting up with him and the saddlebags that had been thoughtfully packed by palace staff before he had left. A quick glance in front of him let his eyes catch sight of Tsu in his spotless white robe atop a black mare. He could probably count the amount of words they had exchanged since leaving the Capital on both his hands. So it came as a surprise when a flat voice called out to him.
"As an information-gatherer, you often serve as the mission planner do you not?" The question seemed innocent, but Lubbock knew better than to believe that. As much of a help that Tsu could be at any given time, the assassin couldn't trust that.
"I do." Lubbock's short reply doubled his word count for the day.
"Then what do you do about unforeseen circumstances or types of interference?" Tsu hadn't turned around to face Lubbock, yet he could tell the advisor was irritated about something.
"Well, you just have to change it on the spot." Lubbock admitted, "But it's only fair if I get to ask questions back."
"Fair enough. I imagine you have many questions due to my own disinformation campaign."
"How many lovers have you had in your life? How many hearts have you broken?" Lubbock half-joked, watching as Tsu's shoulders tensed before quickly relaxing.
"I'm not answering that." Tsu's head turned and Lubbock found any chance to wittily respond crushed by the intense glare he received. "Especially with someone like you."
Swallowing to strengthen his resolve, Lubbock tried again. "Well then, anything you can tell me about the creation of the Teigu? Or even the Shingu for that matter. We only have vague ideas about how they were made."
Tsu paused, as if deciding what to reveal. "I can tell you that Teigu were made of something besides the Ultra-class Danger Beasts that is extinct in this world. And the Shingu are the result of that missing component."
"Well that's… useful." Lubbock started to wonder exactly why the advisor was talking to him before he noticed Tsu had stopped his horse. He also stopped his horse and looked where Tsu was looking across a large lake that they were passing.
"Make camp, I've got something I need to do." Tsu ordered Lubbock before slipping off his horse and sprinting to a cluster of nearby trees.
The remaining assassin sighed and dismounted his horse, muttering to himself as he began to set up camp. "If you were just trying to find a spot to go to the bathroom, say that instead of asking weird questions."
By the time he had set a campfire and their tents up, Lubbock couldn't see a trace of Tsu. Deciding to wait, Lubbock began to hum and mentally compiled the information he had on the Jaegers, Esdeath, the Imperial palace, and even his current traveling companion. When he had finished organizing his thoughts, he became aware of an unsettling feeling building on his skin. He looked up at the noonday sun, yet he could feel shivers crawling up his back. And despite the pleasant weather near the lake, Lubbock was unable to hear the sound of any birds, insects, or other animals that would call the area home.
By the time Lubbock began to realize why he was feeling so unnatural, it was too late. He heard a single inhuman scream before the world went mad. His chest tightened as the sun itself faded from a cloudless sky, the edges of his vision darkening. But even as he struggled to remain upright, Lubbock's knees gave out and the tilting horizon changed colors, greens and earthy browns becoming bloody reds and purples.
In the moments before his vision was completely swallowed, Lubbock swore he saw birds falling like rain.
Aria could no longer tell how long that she had been searching the ruins for anything. The labyrinthine network of hallways, stairs, and rooms had innumerable metal torches scattered throughout them that gave off blue flames when she lit them. The strangest part for her was the unusual lack of hunger pains or dry throat from dehydration. She hadn't touched her supplies since she had entered the underground world and yet not even her bread had gone stale yet. Even more disturbing was the tree branch that she was using as a torch had not diminished in the slightest. It was like the world had been frozen in time.
Sighing as she turned down another unlit passage, Aria found herself stepping into a cavernous room that her torch failed to even partially illuminate. She couldn't catch sight of any of the walls as she stepped further into the room. She continued on until she caught sight of the far wall, stopping and studying it as she realized that the wall wasn't actually solid, but filled with miniature holes that reminded her of woven mesh. As she stepped closer, the torchlight glinted off of something to her right, which made her turn to investigate it.
Quickly moving to the glint, he found an open carved stone door with a metal locking mechanism that led beyond the mesh-like stone wall. Aria couldn't a shiver from running down her spine as she realized what she was looking at. This is a cage, formed out of the earth itself.
She peeked into the cage, feeling Tsu's bedtime biography sweep over her. "And they locked him up, until the boy was not a boy, but a teen."
"You grew up here, didn't you Master Tsu? So far from the sun and sky? No wonder you're so pale." Aria whispered to the nothingness as her eyes found a raised dais that looked large enough to serve as a bed. On top of the ancient stone were three colored, leather-bound books that appeared to be as wide as Aria's hand and thick enough to rival a brick. Seeing the curiosities, she quickly grabbed the books, marveling at their lightness before opening the one colored blue.
When she couldn't identify the writing inside as any known language she opened the green-colored one, only to find the unknown language again. Now frustrated, she opened the black book and was pleasantly surprised to find legible and understandable writing on its pages.
Returning to the front page of the last book after stowing the others in her pockets, Aria scanned the words on the page. After she finished the page, she quickly reread it. After a third time of inscribing the writing into her memory, Aria was trembling. By the fourth time, Aria's feet were already carrying her and the book towards the surface. Before she could even realize what was happening, she stood outside the aboveground ruin as it emitted smoke and gouts of fire. She guessed she had dropped her torch or a possible reaction to the lit torches, but she was running to the beach so she didn't bother to confirm either of her theories.
Before long, she was back on the chartered ship and standing at its side railing while the boat began its journey back to the mainland. The captain failed to mention the length of her absence or the blood staining her dress. Even as the boat rocked beneath her, Aria's mind kept focusing on the opening words of the book she had begun to read.
To whoever finds this, know that I am the First Emperor of my eternal Empire and that I have sinned greatly for my people. Recorded within this book are transgressions I committed as a younger man, against a boy whom fate entrusted me. May Tsu someday find it in his heart to forgive me, for I am too weak to atone for myself.
Akame and Mien waited on a cliff overlooking the road to the Capital. After Leone had reported that the Jaegers were soon leaving, the two had decided to stake out the gates and consider any possibility of a rescue mission to recover Tatsumi from their clutches.
When the two caught sight of the group leaving, they watched closely as Esdeath led her group of Teigu-users out of the Capital. The two assassins felt their hands clench at the sight of Tatsumi in the heart of the group, eagerly chatting with Esdeath while Kurome watched from the back of the group. Akame could only watch as a sincere smile crossed Tatsumi's face at Esdeath's reply.
How could he get along with that monster? Akame did her best to suppress her killing intent, but found it wasn't enough. Esdeath stopped and looked at their hiding spot, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to find them. Thankfully, Tatsumi spoke up to draw her attention before whistling the Night Raid birdsong.
Mien looked at Akame before they replied with their own variations of the birdsong. Above them, two large hawks took flight and Tatsumi pointed them out to Esdeath. She seemed to accept the idea that she was sensing the hawks with a nod before the group continued on. As they marched past Akame Mien's position, they noticed that Tatsumi had somehow managed to recover Incursio as it swung from his hip. They caught a flash of his green eyes as he passed by, a confidant smile on his face.
Lubbock's consciousness came back with a vengeful rocking. He opened his eyes to see the side of his horse and the ground slowly passing beneath. He gave a groan and tried to right himself, only to find that he'd been tied onto the saddle in a rather undignified lump.
"So you're awake." The flat voice of Tsu commented from somewhere beyond Lubbock's field of vision as his horse came to a stop. "I don't expect a thank you for saving your life considering I nearly ended it, but I do expect you to be understanding as to why I decided to keep us traveling."
Those comments were more than enough to fully wake up the injured assassin. "What? That scream, that whole trippy, near-death moment was because of you?" He felt hands starting to undo the ropes holding him, the bindings crawling across his body.
"Yes. As I'm sure you've noticed my lack of expression, it doesn't exactly mean that my emotions are that weak or unfathomable. When they build up to dangerous levels, particularly my killing intent, I need to excise them safely in abandoned areas. Unfortunately, that usually causes dangerous conditions. So apologies for not realizing that you were still in range." The ropes came undone and Lubbock felt himself start to slide down the side of his horse. He rolled with the pull of gravity and landed with some grace and stood up to look at Tsu.
"So where exactly are we headed? You didn't really give me much to go on other than 'beyond Gyogan Lake.'" Lubbock put his hands behind his head, thinking of a map of the Empire and any relevant landmarks he could remember.
Tsu's head tilted and used his chin to point further up the trail. "A village about an hour's walk from here is suspected of high treason against the Empire. The rumors of the nature of their treason, however," Tsu's eyes closed, "is something of a state secret. I've merely been sent to confirm or disapprove it."
Lubbock nodded along, the plan clearly forming in front of him. "And you can't check it personally because of your notable position, so you brought me." Lubbock felt a smile cross his face. "Clever use of available resources. Those questions were a test to get me ready."
"Sure." Tsu gestured in the direction of the village. "Now go."
Still smiling, Lubbock happily complied. It wasn't often that people recognized his merit and skills.
When the village came into view for Lubbock, he found himself stunned by the picturesque hamlet. A large number of thatch-roofed buildings were scattered around cobbled streets that were currently clogged with stalls and people celebrating some kind of festival.
He made his way to the edge of the festival, quickly becoming a part of the crowd and making his way towards a tavern. After getting a seat at its bar, he made eye contact with an older woman working behind it. Her brown hair was pulled back to reveal her blue eyes, which were highlighted by the lack of color in the gray work clothes she wore. Taking a second to grab a cupful of beer, she made her way over to him and offered the drink.
"A stranger in our town is rare. What brings you here?" She asked, eyeing his gray coat and the rifle on his back.
"I'm a hunter. You know, wander the wilds between villages, kill Danger Beasts and other animals to trade for money. That sort of thing." Lubbock lied. He casually motioned to the ongoing festivities outside. "But since I've never been here before, mind telling me what's going on?"
The woman eyed him carefully before nodding to herself. "We're celebrating a wedding during the time of our god's blessed messenger."
"Huh?" Lubbock looked at the woman in total confusion, unable to make sense of the answer she had given him. "Can you say that in a way I could understand?"
She sighed before replying, "Our god's messenger and prophet, The Loving Father, is this village's sacred guardian of marriages so we're celebrating him so he blesses a wedding we're having later."
"Oh. Interesting. You don't follow the Imperial church?" Lubbock asked, carefully gauging the woman's response. He watched her shoulders tense and her hands clench before relaxing.
"No, our beliefs are older than the church of the Empire or that new religion." Lubbock felt his curiosity peek at the mention of another belief system besides the Imperial church that was popular. "Besides, our god is real and his messenger yet walks this world."
That statement made Lubbock's eyebrows shoot up. "Really? What does this Loving Father look like?"
She pointed to a statue in the center of a nearby square. "There he is, in his gentlest form." The statue was nearly fifty feet tall and finely detailed. Lubbock had no problem picking out the folds in the man's robe, the laugh lines on his smiling face, the diamonds that made the statue's eyes glow white with captured sunlight. It didn't take long for Lubbock to identify the Loving Father. It's Tsu. An older Tsu. The assassin let his eyebrows furrow as he thought. But that guy claims that he doesn't age as part of his immortality. He's full of more lies than a book of fiction.
"Does the name Tsu mean anything to you?" He questioned the bartender, watching as she stiffened. She nodded, keeping her eyes from avoiding his.
"That name is very powerful. If you know it, you must also be one of his Children." She stated, bending in a slight bow. However, she straightened as a church bell began to ring across the village. "Come with me. The wedding is starting."
Lubbock decided it would give him more information and followed the woman out of the tavern and into a large stone cathedral full of stained glass windows. Inside the large church, they took a seat in the back left of the pews. Lubbock scanned the seated villagers, identifying dozens of families and specialized craftsmen that would be needed to keep the village functioning. A shift in the lighting drew his eyes to the stained glass windows encircling the sanctuary. He noted how each one was designed to tell a story of some kind, an old practice from the days when everyone wasn't literate.
He identified the first story in the series. A green-haired man in armor with a glowing halo that indicated his divinity stood over a map of the continent, a miniature army kneeling before him. Lubbock felt something dreadful building in his stomach as he turned to the next window's story. The divine man was sailing to an island where a number of people in white circled around a black figure and a giant white beast twisted in the shape of the crescent moon. Lubbock could barely keep the gasp from passing his lips when it finally struck him.
This village worshipped the First Emperor as a god and his living messenger, Tsu, was heralded as their prophet. He felt a sense of utter wrongness wash over him as he turned to the next window. There the figure in black knelt before the divine man sitting on a throne as he was given a white robe and the corpse of the white beast from the island.
As Lubbock started to puzzle out the missing context of the window, he heard organ music begin as everyone in the pews rose to their feet. Lubbock turned to see a young man dressed in a pure white tuxedo, who he surmised was the groom, walking down the center aisle followed by a priest in green robes with a similarly colored veil obscuring his whole head. The two reached the front and turned around, the groom standing slightly off to the side as the organ music changed to the familiar bridal march. Lubbock felt his heart race at the black-haired bride's dress. Blue silk and lace exposed a sinfully tasteful amount of her cleavage. A slit that ran up the left side of the dress to her mid-thigh gave flashes of blue stockings and garters, further exciting him as he felt his fantasies shift the woman for Najenda. It was as his fantasy turned to his own dream wedding that he realized what was wrong.
"Hey," he nudged the tavern woman's shoulder as they sat in response to the priest's signal. "Not trying to sound ignorant, but aren't brides supposed to wear white?"
She gave him a confused look, before nodding her head. "So that's how everyone else does it? We've always done so in honor of the Loving Father's wife Lailah. Now quiet."
While Lubbock tried to process the information bomb that had been dropped on him, the priest began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to celebrate the most holy of vows we mortals can exchange. Here in the presence of our god, the Emperor who conquered this land as his Empire, we will witness this union of man and woman. As the Loving Father once took a mortal woman to bring forth his Children, so too will we give this couple's words as an offering to the Heaven's gatekeeper Lailah so that her husband may bless this marriage." With his part said, the priest motioned to the bride and groom to begin their own vows, but Lubbock was too shocked to hear what was said. He let his body copy whatever motions the other attendees made before he snuck away in the congratulations after the ceremony ended.
By the time he made it back to the advisor, Lubbock had decided what to reveal to Tsu. When he found Tsu standing next to their horses, Lubbock waited.
"So you're back? Traitors or not?" Tsu's business-like question didn't surprise the assassin. That was what they had come so far for.
"Depends. Does worshipping the First Emperor as a deity count?" Lubbock noted the flinch that Tsu gave at his response.
"Were they worshipping me as well? My stories are already famous as is." Tsu wondered aloud, his words somehow devoid of the pompous ego expected with his reply.
"They were. But one thing I want to know is who Lailah is." Lubbock was expecting another flinch, only to watch as Tsu began to soundlessly cry. He felt the punch a mere moment later, his chest registering the strike as fire across his ribcage. He landed on his back, the wind gone from his lungs as he looked up into Tsu's hollow expression.
"As a traitor to the Empire, I am allowed to dispatch you in any way I prefer. In light of our former camaraderie, I grant you exile. Should we meet again, you will die." Tsu's flat tone was replaced by a venom that threatened to stop Lubbock's heart in his chest. He didn't even have the strength to make a move as the advisor ripped the goggles from his head and mounted his horse. He barely managed to sit up as Tsu tied Lubbock's steed to his own and began to head down the trail that they had arrived on.
When Tsu was out of Lubbock's sight, he finally got to his feet and stood still, realizing that he may have done something horrible.
I need to find the Revolutionary Army before that bastard comes back. Lubbock quickly reached under his coat and withdrew Cross Tail, strapping the gauntlets on with no hesitation. After confirming his directions, Lubbock sprinted into the nearby woods, heading south as fast as he could to hopefully reach the Revolution's headquarters. But the dread settling over him was already taunting his efforts.
Tatsumi stood atop a ledge, looking down over the garrison ruins at Gyogan Lake. Bodies were strewn everywhere, the smell of death already reaching his position. He turned to look at the Jaegers and Esdeath, the group that was supposed to be arriving today to exterminate the bandits that were currently dead in front of them.
The General seemed the least affected by the apparent slaughter, letting out nothing more than a disappointed sigh while the Jaegers had more mixed reactions ranging from Dr. Stylish's interest to Wave's look of revulsion.
"What could have done this? A Danger Beast?" Run wondered aloud, curious as to how many seemed to die in such a scattered pattern.
"Who cares? Justice was served!" Seryu cheered, Koro bouncing in her arms in agreement.
Kurome and Bols moved closer to the bodies, noticing a lack of wounds on all the visible bodies. "It couldn't be a Danger Beast." She pointed out with Bols nodding alongside her. "No animal tracks or signs of violence."
"Disease maybe? Quite a stylish one if it is." Doctor Stylish said, a hand stroking his goatee.
The sound of horses running towards them made the Jaegers turn and reach for their weapons, looking through the trees for a glimpse of the rider.
When Tsu revealed himself atop a black mare with a tan horse in tow, they all remembered the gate guard's description of the advisor's leaving party. He slowed his horse and had it trot towards them, coming to a full stop a few feet in front of them.
"What do you want?" Esdeath couldn't keep the loathing out of her voice as she questioned Will of the Empire.
Tsu reached into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a scroll and unfurled it. "By order of the Emperor, if the Will of the Empire finds the suspected village to be traitorous and in rebellion, he may seek to use an appropriate amount of force to eliminate the threat." He closed the imperial order and tossed it to Esdeath. "I've come to lead the Jaegers in an elimination of a village of traitors. Please follow and do not ask any more questions, General."
Kurome stepped up towards the advisor, drawing their attention to her. "And where is he? My Tracker?"
Tsu's inscrutable face didn't change as he pulled out Lubbock's goggles and extended them to the youngest group member. "His sacrifice was unfortunate, but necessary." Kurome wordlessly accepted the goggles and his words, forcing Tatsumi to clench his hands in order to not scream out at Tsu for failing to protect his friend.
Tsu turned his horses around, motioning for Esdeath to ride the unmounted horse. While she moved into position, Tsu's blank gaze swept across the remaining fighters. "We have some distance to go. Follow."
Without a word of complaint the Jaegers and Tatsumi began to follow, uncertain of the situation anymore.
Just who the hell do you think you are? Tatsumi thought as the destroyed garrison left his sight.
This is sort of a short chapter to set up for our next big one.
But now that the Jaegers march on an unsuspecting village, Kurome and Tatsumi believe that Lubbock is dead, Aria has found a piece of lost history, and Akame is super jealous of a certain General.
As always, thanks for reading and leave a review!
