Hello again, people, and welcome to chapter 17 of The Glacial Ones!
Just before we get on to reviews, I would just like to say thank you everyone who reviewed for your support. I admit I wasn't as confident with the last chapter so the support is very much appreciated.
Thanks!
Now, onwards to answering reviews!
Kaioo: At the moment Harry's presence hasn't really affected the main story line so far. That will start to change in the coming chapter, especially with Wild Hunt. As for Bols, I admit that I don't want him to die either, however this is Akame Ga Kill, so I can't just have him walk away because I like him.
I spent quite some time thinking of a way to let him survive realistically. Then I realised that he doesn't have to win, just survive, and Harry has a neat healing trick. So I have thought of a way for him to survive, but still remove him from the main story line. Thanks for your review, and know that I think most people don't want him to die.
Silent Lurker: You keep throwing these awesome ideas at me! Thanks for your support! Anyway, for Fal I already had the idea of kinetic energy multiplying gauntlets, but I never thought to link it to her emotional state, so thanks for that. For Luna I have an idea I will probable follow through with, see below the review section, but Air is still in the air. I can't believe I just typed that. Anyway, thanks for your continued ideas and support!
Zathol: I spent a while after I read your review thinking about how she would react, and I've come to the conclusion that she would be annoyed at Harry for crying, but also go into overprotective mode and drag whoever was responsible down into the dungeons for a session of her favourite hobby.
Hmm, I also had an interesting thought for a Teigu for Luna. Please read the whole thing
Book of Lies: Lilith, would be a small book/tome that records the names of everyone within its range (range depends of user). The user has the ability to cross names off the list, which will create a 'lie' to the world that saying 'this person does not exist'. This means that that person cannot be seen, heard or touched by anything in reality, allowing them to go through solid objects etc.
The downsides are that it drains the user to sustain it, and if you leave the range the affects will vanish. Also, people who are under the 'lie' cannot interact with the rest of the world, as that would require their presence to be 'true' and break the 'lie'. Anyone who is told of the lie can see and hear the people that are hidden i.e. if Luna used it to hide Fal and Air and then told Harry and Esdeath before hiding herself and having one of the other two tell Harry and Esdeath that she is gone, then all three could only be seen and heard by Harry and Esdeath, as long as Luna can sustain the book and the other two remain within range.
Its trump card would be something along the line of lying about something else i.e. telling the world that there isn't any air within the books range etc.
It's effectively the ultimate stealth Teigu.
What do you think?
Anyway, now that all that is out of the way, let us begin chapter 17 of The Glacial Ones!
I do not own, in any way, shape, or form Akame Ga Kill or Harry Potter.
-T.G.O-
Chapter 17: A Game Most Bloody
The thunder of hooves on cobblestone shattered the peace and quiet, well relative peace and quiet anyway, as seven riders stormed from the Capitals east gate, hunched low as they drove their mounts onwards, unaware that they had been observed and reported on.
At the front of the group, Esdeath lead the Jaegers towards the east, Harry moments behind her and the remaining five members of the Jaegers ranged out behind them as they went.
They did not, stop, nor slow, and would not until their horses began to tire too much to keep up the blistering pace.
So it was that they never say the hawk flying off from near the city gate they had just exited, a note held in its claw.
The Jaegers were moving. Night Raid was waiting.
The game had begun.
-T.G.O-
Najenda looked at the small slip of paper held in her metal right hand with a small amount of confusion.
"The Jaegers have left the Capital, but there was seven people? Hmm."
"What's wrong, boss?"
She turned around to look at the speaker behind her, Akame and Mine looking at her slightly worriedly from where they stood dressed in their swimwear.
Mine spoke again.
"Did something go wrong? Are they coming?"
Najenda nodded.
"Yes, the ploy worked and the Jaegers are heading this way at high speed, but the report says that there was seven riders instead of six. We haven't had any reports about a new Jaeger have we?"
Akame stepped forward.
"No…but the Revolutionary Armies report on the Jaegers suggested that the boy we have reported to be with Esdeath spends a lot of time around them though. It could be him."
Nodding, Najenda looked at the slip of paper again.
"Possible. It just means another unknown factor to watch out for. If it is the boy, them he shouldn't be too hard to deal with, but it still pays to be careful."
She looked up at the silently listening Akame and Mine.
"The plan is still a go though, so you guys go and attract attention with the others as nonchalantly as possible. Make sure to inform the others that there is a possible unknown factor."
The two girls nodded in stereo, Mine answering for them both.
"Roger!"
With that they turned to walk away, Najenda turning once more to look across the lands far below.
The first move has been made.
-T.G.O-
Mid-morning the next day saw the Jaegers standing together next to a fountain in the middle of a town square, each nibbling on food they had brought from a nearby stall. They were all listening to Esdeath as she read over the information that the Empires spies had passed on to her via method identical to that of those Night Raid had used the day before. Not that they knew that.
"Najenda has been reported still heading east, however Akame has been seen heading south instead. Their group was witnessed splitting in two after arriving here, with those two as leaders."
Scrunching his eyebrows in a dark expression, though whether it was because of Night Raid or because he couldn't eat his snack without removing his mask none would ever know, Bols spoke up to the group.
"If you head east of here you would reach Kyoroch, where the headquarters to the Path of Peace are located. If you head south of here then you will reach several cities that support the Revolutionary Army. Either way, it is rather suspicious."
Wave grinned.
"Well then, if we're quick then we could be able to catch up with them! Let's go!"
Shaking her head Esdeath glanced around the group, eyes lingering for a moment on Harry who was silently nibbling on some bread beside her.
"The members of Night Raid are all criminals from the Capital, so their wanted posters were never circulated around the local regions. Because of this we instead had them tracked. On top of that fact, our trackers and spies just happened to see them split into two separate groups going in different directions. This all seems far too convenient."
Ran nodded from her left.
"Yes. There is a high chance that this is a trap to draw us out. What other reason could they have for standing out so much other than to draw us away from the Capital and defeat us away from our home turf?"
Esdeath looked thoughtful, staring off into some distant memory as she pondered the possibilities.
"Yes. Najenda would fight like that. She fights calmly, but has a burning heart."
Beside Harry, Wave groaned.
"So that means it could be too dangerous to give chase after them."
Esdeath shook her head.
"No. This is an opportunity that we won't waste. Night Raid, who up until now have be cleverly hidden from our eyes, has neatly revealed themselves. We will prepare for whatever trap they have and crush them, trap and all."
She gazed around the assembled Jaegers.
"Harry, Seryu and Ran will all be with me. We will be following Najenda east. Kurome, Wave and Bols will all be following Akame south."
Sitting on the edge of the fountain opposite Esdeath, Kurome grinned darkly as she continued.
"Make sure you are all aware of your surrounding at all times and make sure you are prepared to retreat if the any has superior numbers that you cannot defeat. We may be on the offensive here, but I don't want anyone doing any suicide attacks."
She reached, out, grasping the air in front of her and crushing it as she suddenly clenched her fist closed.
"They are the final mongrels who oppose the Capital. Hunt them down and destroy them, without fail."
"Roger!"
Life was nothing like chess, despite what a certain old man thought at times. Chess, on the other hand was modelled after life. Combat, to be exact.
The second move has been made.
Now it was Night Raids turn to move.
-T.G.O-
Bols, Wave and Kurome thundered across the barren, empty landscape, driving their horses through the narrow canyons and stony passages side by side in their endeavour to catch up with Akame and her group as quickly as possible.
Riding to Waves left, Bols looked down at the rapidly passing ground with a doubtful expression under his mask before he finally spoke up.
"So we will be going up against Night Raid, the Capitals strongest. I wonder if someone like me can really win against such people."
Just ahead of him Wave grinned back over his shoulder at Bols.
"It'll be alright. I fought a member of Night Raid before Doctor Stylish died, and even though he didn't really fight back I got the feeling that we were on similar skill levels. So as long as we work together we can win no matter what!"
He grinned again.
"It is actually rather heartening to be with you right now, since your Teigu is well suited for eliminating large crowds of people."
Riding off to Waves right, Kurome grinned.
"You keep on saying cool things like that, but you seem to be the one who would hold us back the most, Wave."
She smirked as Wave looked over at her in shock and abject horror.
"What!? Are you saying you don't trust my fighting ability!?"
Kurome nodded, still grinning.
"Yep. Exactly. I get this feeling that you would be really weak when we actually need you."
She kept grinning as she saw Waves face, showing an odd mixture of frustration, horror and annoyance.
"If I equipped Grand Chariot it would be different!"
Still grinning Kurome gave him a superior look.
"Go on then, show me how strong you really are."
"Bring it on!"
Their…conversation, was interrupted by Bols as he sweat dropped at the two.
"No fighting each other, you two. We're on a mission."
Wave growled in frustration before turning his gaze back in front of them, Kurome's grin fading until it was just barely noticeable, but still there, as Wave spoke up again.
"Hey, what's that in front of us?"
The other two turned their gaze towards the oddly shaped object in front of them, their horses thundering closer and revealing it to be a straw scarecrow shaped like some kind of body builder on steroids. Kurome raised her eyebrows.
"A scarecrow? What's it doing here?"
The three slowed their horses, Bols jumping off his as they did.
"You're right, it is a scarecrow. It's so suspicious it couldn't be more suspicious than it already is!"
They came to a stop several metres from the odd scarecrow, Bols walking forward to have a closer look as Kurome and Wave climbed off their horses, Wave breaking the sudden silence as he walked over beside Bols.
"It would be pretty bad if it was some kind of trap. Let's have a look at it, carefully."
Beside him Bols nodded, Kurome walking a step behind Wave as they approached the scarecrow.
They grew closer, peering at it for any side of a trap.
Kurome dived to the side.
A flash of light and a laser pierced through the air that Kurome had been inhabiting moment ago, Bols and Wave spinning to see what was happening behind them.
A mistake.
Behind them, the scarecrow that they had been observing exploded in a shower of hay as a shape shot out of it, a blur of movement rocketing towards Kurome. Wave and Bols spun once more, Wave diving into motion.
"Kurome, look out!"
Wave dived in front of the younger girl, bringing up the sword containing Grand Chariot just in time to block a devastating blow from the attackers' odd stave-mace type weapon. He had a moment to think 'oh, shit' before the attack kept going, the force behind it picking him up off the ground and hurling him off into the distance, Bols turning his head to watch him as he flew.
"Wave!"
Bols spun around again, facing their attacker as Kurome drew her blade, her smile taking a bit more of a psychotic turn as a voice reached them.
"The sniping idea failed, but we still managed to blow one away, even if it wasn't the target we wanted to eliminate."
Night Raid appeared before them, Tatsumi wearing Incursio and Akame on either side of Najenda, Leone crouched in front of Akame, grinning.
Bols scowled as he observed them before sighing.
"The entirety of Night Raid? That means that the east group was a complete fake."
Najenda pointed her metal hand at the two remaining Jaegers, ignoring Bols comment.
"Bols and Kurome of the Jaegers. Even among the other Jaeger, you two are priority targets, so prepare yourselves."
Scowling, Bols reached for his Teigu, Rubicante.
"I have burned countless people to death, so if assassins target me there is nothing I feel that I can do about it."
He pulled up his flamethrower, pointing it at Night raid with on hand on the trigger and the other on another handle sticking out the side of its dragon head like main body.
"However, I will not die here!"
Beside him Kurome stood watching Akame.
"Sis."
Akame looked back at her.
"Kurome…"
Kurome clapped her hands together, give an innocent grin of pure joy.
It was almost terrifying.
"I'm so happy I got to see you again! Thank you, sis!"
She placed a hand on her katana, sliding it from her sheath at the same time as Akame drew Murasame.
"Now, if I kill you with Yatsufusa, I can add you to my collection and we'll be together again!"
She held the blade above her head, pointing upwards towards the sky as her smile took on a terrifying twist, hands bursting from the ground behind her as human shapes began to pull themselves from the ground.
The ground began to shake, causing Night Raid to stumble.
Stagger Tatsumi looked around wildly.
"What is this?! Is this an Earthquake?!"
Kurome's grin turned positively horrifying as a massive, grey, bonelike hand erupted from the ground behind her, a massive form pulling itself from the ground.
"As long as it's a dead body, I can turn it into my puppet, sis."
A massive, bonelike, clawed hand was placed beside her, palm up as she stepped onto it, letting it lift her into the air as she sat down, waving her legs over the side.
"Even if it happens to be the ultra-class danger beast, Desta Ghoul."
Lifting her into the sky, Night Raid gazed up at the danger beast she had summoned. It was massive, easily over a fifty metres tall, a monstrous, dinosaur like beast made up of bonelike structures as it stood to its full height.
Down below, Najenda gritted her teeth as Tatsumi, Akame and Leone all prepared themselves for combat.
Kurome stood up and stepped off the Desta Ghouls hand, stepping onto its shoulder and looking down at Night Raid.
"Now then, let the Teigu battle begin! I wonder how many will die?"
There was a moment of silence.
The sound of steel on steel rang out, Kurome blocking a downward slash from Akame as she seemed to almost materialize in front of her. Akame continued onwards, landing behind Kurome as she spun, dodging a slash from Yatsufusa and lashing out with Murasame, Kurome dodging backwards out of the way and bringing her blade up in another slash that Akame easily block before slashing out towards Kurome's throat.
Kurome jerked backwards, already knowing that trying to control all her corpse puppets had left her to slow to dodge.
A clang rang out, Akame's blade slamming against the blade of a spear wielded by one of Kurome's said corpse puppets. She leapt backwards, shock written across her face as she observed her newest opponent, a blonde haired young man with the bottom half of his face hidden by a mask.
"Natala!"
Akame gritted her teeth as the corpse puppet shot forward, thrusting his spear towards her, only to be deflected by Murasame as Akame leapt forward to meant him, her blade flashing as she deflected more lighting fast jabs and slashes, shouting out as she did.
"Return him back to the earth, Kurome! He's a childhood friend is he not?!"
Kurome shot forwards, slashing out with her katana and forcing Akame to block, blades grinding together as she did.
"What are you saying, sister? Of course he's a childhood friend, that's why I'm using him, so we can be always together."
She grinned psychotically.
"Don't worry though, I'll add you to my collection as well, sis. That way we can all be always together, just like all those years ago."
Akame gritted her teeth once more, pushing her blade against Kurome's.
"Don't joke around like that."
Kurome just smiled up ay her, her eyes hidden by her bangs.
"That's a pity."
Akame jerked away, just barely blocking an attack from Natala that sent her flying backwards off of the Desta Ghouls shoulder, sending her plummeting towards the ground. Far below her, Bols jerked the barrel of his flamethrower up towards her.
"Magma Drive!"
A ball of magma shot out of the barrel, rocketing towards the falling Akame, who spun in mid-air, attempting to escape the magmas flight trajectory.
The ball of magma flew closer.
It shot past Kurome as she was pulled out of the way by a leaping Tatsumi.
"Don't just rush in by yourself! That's not like you at all, Akame. We're a team for a reason, so don't just attack alone!"
Akame looked at him as they feel, nodding sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, Tatsumi."
Above them Kurome and Natala leapt off the Desta Ghoul as Tatsumi landed in a crouch, still holding Akame as the massive danger beast looked above them.
Kurome glared down at the two from her place on top of the cliff as Tatsumi placed Akame down.
"Sis…For you to betray us all and join people like them…"
She thrust a hand out towards the Desta Ghoul in obvious anger.
"Kill them all, Desta Ghoul!"
The Desta Ghoul leaned backwards, a ball of energy forming in front of its mouth.
Then it thrust its upper body forward, opening its mouth wide as it did.
Devastation.
A massive beam of invisible, colourless energy shot forward, carving out a massive furrow through the stony ground below almost twice as wide as the Desta Ghoul itself, obliterating everything in its path for hundreds of metres and completely changing the landscape of the valley.
Silence reigned on its throne once more.
Kurome giggled softly as she sat down on a nearby rock, nibbling on a candy as she did.
"It completely changed part of the terrain. Still, I suppose that I shouldn't have expected something like this to work on a group like Night Raid. They all dodged it completely."
The Desta Ghoul turned its massive body towards the nearest enemies, Najenda and Susanoo, grasping the top of the cliff face as it slung its massive right hand at the two, shattering the ground where they had stood as Susanoo leapt away, grabbing Najenda as he did.
With a thud, Susanoo landed on the ground far below, holding Najenda as he slid backwards, gazing up at the massive danger beast.
"So this is a Desta Ghoul. What incredible destructive power, though I suppose it was to be expected."
Placing Najenda on the ground, Susanoo prepared himself as the Desta Ghoul turned towards them.
"Alright, Susanoo! We'll all defeat it together!"
The massive danger beast swung its arm a second time down towards the pair as Susanoo responded.
"That order is incorrect Najenda."
Najenda looked over at where he was standing, his arms crossed as he watched the approaching hand.
"While it is indeed a fearsome foe…"
The Desta Ghoul's hand slammed downwards at him, determined to crush him into paste.
"…this is still a foe I can defeat on my own."
Susanoo slammed his weapon upwards into the Desta Ghoul's descending palm, knocking it backwards into the air once more. Najenda just nodded with a grin.
-T.G.O-
Further away, opposite Kurome, Mine leapt backwards as Natala's spear extended across the gap between them, piercing the cliff face just below her and interrupting her attempt to eliminate the corpse puppets master. A moment later a second corpse puppet came running across the length of the spear, a small pistol in each of her hands.
Mine smirked, disconnecting the sniper attachment of her Teigu, Pumpkin, and spinning the barrel towards the newcomer.
"So you use guns as well do you? Well bring it on!"
-T.G.O-
Meanwhile, at yet another nearby location, Tatsumi pulled himself into a combat stance as a large, apelike danger beast landed several metres in front of him, growling as it did. Studying it for a moment, Tatsumi noted it wasn't a danger beast he knew of before ducking under a wild swing from one of its massive arms that smashed the solid ground below, leaping backwards immediately afterwards as the beast brought up its other arm in an uncontrolled uppercut.
Deflecting a crushing blow above his head, Tatsumi slammed into the ground, bring an arm up to block a savage bite from the danger beast, its teeth gnawing uselessly on Incursio's armour.
He swung he other arm forward into the beasts stomach in what would normally be a devastating blow but only sent the large apelike creature backwards a few metres, staggering it. Behind it another corpse puppet rose up from the danger beasts' shadow, an oddly formless being covered completely by a tattered black, hooded cloak that only showed it the creatures' strange white mask.
Tatsumi cursed in his head as the second creature shot towards him, a blade sliding out of its sleeve as it did, slashing towards his chest.
He leapt backwards, already knowing that his attacker was too fast for him to dodge.
The blade drew closer.
Incursio reacted to the threat, a six eyed snake like construct leaping out from the armours back and biting down on the blade with its many, many knife like teeth, forcing the attacker to leap back before melding back into the armour as Tatsumi materialized Incursio's bloody red spear, thrusting it towards his attacker in a series of fast jabs that his opponent managed to weave through.
His attacker began cackling, babbling away.
"Inexperienced, inexperienced, inexperienced, inexperienced."
Its twisted, warped voice repeated the word again and again as it weaved through Tatsumi's attacks before leaping up over a lung and landing on the end of his spear.
Tatsumi froze in shock.
It lunged forward, blade thrusting towards Tatsumi's face.
Incursio reacted once more, three eyes opening up on either side of the crest above Tatsumi's face, knifelike teeth biting down one the attackers' blade again, the corpse puppet leaping backwards, muttering as it did.
"I failed…failed…failed."
Tatsumi back flipped away, narrowly dodging an uppercut from the apelike danger beast as he did and preparing himself once more.
He could already tell that this was going to be a pain.
Literally.
-T.G.O-
Over with Bols, he released a wave of fire from his flame thrower towards a charging Akame, spinning around as fast as possible when she leapt around him, landing behind him with her blade slashing towards Bols chest.
There was a spurt of blood.
Murasame slashed across the stomach of a bald, sunglasses wearing corpse puppet with a riot shield on his back as he shielded Bols from Akame, who cursed in her head as she tried to dive backwards, knowing that Murasame couldn't affect something that was already dead. She didn't move fast enough, the man's foot lashing out and slamming into her crossed arms as she barely blocked the attack, knocking her flying backwards where she landed on the ground with a crunch.
Behind her Leone shouted out.
"Akame!"
Leone charged forward towards the fallen girl, only to stop as something wrapped around her right leg. She had only a moment to notice the corpse puppet that had caught her with its whip before she was slammed into the cliff wall beside her with enough force to crater it, sending out a wave of dust and shattered rock.
Leone smirked from the crater, looking at her attacker as he retracted his whip, standing up almost completely unscathed from her impromptu meeting with the wall.
"You've really done it now old man."
The man slashed his whip forward.
Leone grinned.
"I can see through an attack of that speed eas…oh."
Her boast was cut off as the man began to flick the whip back and forwards so fast it was but a blur, as though there was a storm of flickering whips heading for Leone, who had barely enough time to cross her arms in front of her head before the storm of attacks slammed into her.
-T.G.O-
Far above them all, looking down at the combatants, Kurome sat on her rock, Natala standing beside her.
"Aren't my toys just great?"
She grinned.
"I was lucky and found Desta Ghoul hibernating in Seiga in a huge hole. Rokgough was originally a General for the Empire but was caught trying to betray us and join the Revolutionary army, so he was assassinated. Hentarr was a really tricky one to kill and was a survivor from the Ban tribes, and finally Apeman was a favourite of mine for a while, since he is easy to use, despite being a knuckle head."
She stood up cheerfully.
"And of course we have Natala, who was a childhood friend of mine and protects me whenever I activate Yatsufusa."
She brought a finger up to her lips in a shushing motion.
"I also have another danger beast I recently added to my collection, but you'll have to wait to see it, okay?"
She grinned almost childishly.
-T.G.O-
Down below her, Tatsumi gritted his teeth and jerked backwards out of the way of an attack from the so called Hentarr, slashing his blood red spear at the masked mans back only for Apeman to throw his body in the way.
The crimson spear slashed deep into its side before the danger beast grabbed to shaft and leapt, pulling Tatsumi up into the air and grabbing his legs before slamming him down, the back of his head and neck cratering the ground slightly before Tatsumi dazedly flipped back to his feet, breaking the danger beasts hold and kicking it in the jaw as he did.
He landed on the ground before shooting forwards, slamming a fist into the bulky apes' stomach and sending it sliding backwards before leaning backwards into a hand stand to evade a slash from Hentarr, landing in a crouch and slashing his spear at the approaching Ban tribesman.
Hentarr ducked under the attack then leapt backwards to evade a powerful kick sent towards his face, Apeman recovering in time to grab the leg and swing Tatsumi around, releasing him and sending him flying into the cliff face with a crash.
-T.G.O-
Standing with her back to Rokgough, Leone looked over her shoulder at the man.
"Old man. So you were an imperial general. I thought you were strong."
Rokgough slashed his hand across his chest, sending the whip flickering towards Leone.
One large, padded, animal like hand reached out and caught it in mid swing.
"An attack like that won't work on me twice!"
"Good work, Leone!"
Najenda leapt in from above, her mechanical fist firing off on its cable, slamming into Rokgough's stomach and sending him flying backwards before Najenda reeled in the cable even as she leapt forward, landing on top of the former general with her metal arm against his throat.
"As a former colleague of yours, general Rokgough, I promise to free you from these bindings as fast as possible."
Behind her, Leone grinned.
"It's been a while since I've seen the Boss fight."
She rolled her arms.
"Alright! Me t…"
There was the sound of a blade cutting through flesh and bone.
Najenda looked up in shock and horror.
Kurome landed from where she had leapt down from the cliff top.
Blood splashed across the ground.
-T.G.O-
And we are done with chapter 17!
I know, I'm evil to end it like this, but writing this chapter was slog and I need my fun. Anyone who as read the manga will know what happens next.
Anyway, firstly, I would like some feedback on my teigu idea (look under the review section at the top of the chapter) and any and all comments would be appreciated.
Finally, as you probably guessed, any and all ideas, likes, dislikes, advice or constructive criticism are all welcome and appreciated, so please review!
This is my longest chapter yet, so I think I'm going to go to sleep now!
I hope you enjoyed it and see you all next time!