I believe this is my finest chapter yet. I apologize for the wait...maybe I just didn't have time. Anyway, Enjoy!
The skies tainted red, colour of blood, fire and war. Villages were raided and set ablaze, obliterated, erased from the surface of the world. The Empire had made a new conquest at almost no cost. General Esdeath had vanquished another tribe of the North, a nation that remained silent, that ignored their neighbours' calls for help and help didn't come their way, neither. Its people showed great resistance to the Empire's advance in their country. All that struggle, only to be crushed, all hopes scattered away by the arrival of the strongest general.
At dawn, She had arrived, she had seen the enemy, and at sunset, only mountains of corpse and burned villages remained of the tribe. No one can defy such a manifestation of sheer power.
And Azure had seen it with his own eyes.
That is why he knew it is impossible to take over the Empire with an entire army: so many people would needlessly die for nothing. In this situation, it is better to consider quality over quantity, to assemble a small group of silent, yet abnormally powerful allies capable of overpowering even the strongest general and subtly eliminating his enemies one by one. That was Azure's wish.
It all started on the day he and Esdeath arrived on the battlefield of a skirmish between northern tribal soldiers and the Imperial Army. It was General Azure's first command mission. He was a proud young man, 16 years old, excited for new adventures. There, he saw men with big shields protecting a bridge and soldiers bearing imperial arms charging at them, as if they wanted to destroy the bridge itself. It was a slaughter. After that, enemy reinforcement would come and rout the soldiers. It was like that for at least fifteen minutes. Obviously, Azure tried to do something about it, to yell his orders at the rampaging soldiers. However, his presence was denied, all eyes were on Esdeath, who watched the slaughter with a cold expression. Azure stared at her. What was she thinking, letting so many men die! Finally, unable to control himself anymore, he asked:
"Aren't going to do something, Esdeath-san?"
She winked and advanced. "All soldiers retreat!" she ordered. "I will handle the rest and show our rookie here how we fight!"
"Eh? You are going to fight them by yourself?" Azure asked, bewildered. "At least let me accompany you, I'll watch your back."
She rejected the offer with her hand.
The soldiers were now on the back, their General at the front. Even the enemy were surprised…well…not all. Some were panicking, others were laughing, and there were even some staring lewdly…
Never underestimate your enemy, no matter what.
Within seconds, the whole river froze, along with the bridge and the tribesmen protecting it. No enemy was spared…none, all of them frozen solid by her Imperial Arm.
The army crossed the frozen river and came across the village the tribesmen were protecting. It was now defenseless and vulnerable. Only women and children remained.
"Men, you are free to do what you like to this town. Violate it, slaughter it, burn it to the ground!" she said before laughing maniacally.
Azure was bewildered. Was it even in the realm of sanity to give an order this cruel? Was that how all imperial officials did things?
It is important to understand that Azure came from the far country of Icarius, absolutely inaccessible for those who came from the outside, thus the country was closed. People had to leave, come back and tell what they had seen to know what happens in the rest of the world. The young man left his country at thirteen and had exclusive training in order to become a commanding General, which is why he doesn't know much of the Empire's atmosphere and people's everyday life.
Finally, at the end of the day, Azure managed to secure a few maidens and kids under the pretext they were going to be his "harem". No one paid attention to that, as if it were commonplace in the Empire.
Two weeks later, he was called back to Icarius and brought the refugees with him. He then integrated them in a village not far from the capital and went to meet his father at his final moments.
At that thought, a tear rolled from his eye.
Azure sighed and left his room to eat supper with everyone. Today, Akame has hunted giant reptilian-looking danger-beast…probably what he and Tatsumi were killing that other day. Fortunately, they had Susanoo as a chef: he is the best. He made everyone's favorite dishes: a huge pile of meat for Akame, steak for Tatsumi, strawberry parfait for Mine, etc.
Suddenly, a tiny kitten came and crawled towards Mine, who was controlling herself to stay stoic and keep eating her dessert. Its mere presence excited Azure: he has a soft spot for every kitten he sees!
Just as fast as the kitten appeared, Azure caught it and hugged it, rubbing his cheek against its fluffy fur. His eyes were like sparkles, his face was red and…the kitten he was hugging a second ago turned into an embarrassed girl.
At that moment, Chief Najenda and Lubbock came through the door. Just in time to witness an extremely awkward scene.
Chelsea, with a scarlet face, was sitting on Azure's lap, apparently being hugged by him. Azure, who apparently hadn't realized he wasn't cuddling a cat, was rubbing his cheek on her chest. At their left, we could see Akame, having finished her ration of meat, thoroughly inspecting the "couple". On the background, Mine, Leone and Tatsumi were roaring of laughter.
Lubbock gave them a "Thumbs up!" and Najenda winked. Azure, finally realizing what he was doing, blushed deep red and bowed before Chelsea, apologizing profusely.
With that, the evening ended on a joyous tone. However, each one of them knew that they would be setting off to Kyoroch in the morrow and enjoyed a deep, but tense sleep .