Chapter 62 Ethics?

The night light can only be so pale when it is contrasted by the natural darkness. The formidable stream of unsettled households can sometimes be overwhelming to an aimless traveler. With this disparity comes our human instincts. When the sun shines so highly in the sky, we run for cover, hoping to find ourselves a sense of security. When the clouds completely cover the moonlights, we break for fire, wishing to lend ourselves the superficial guidance or façade.

Black and white, right and wrong, bad and good, are these things really predetermined?

Is the empire just in sacrificing human rights for the sake of order and peace? Is the revolutionary army right in trading the lives of many for an unknown future of possible anarchy? Who can answer these questions?

Maybe that is why the study of ethics is such a disputed area.

For some people in particular, however, it does not really matter.

…

Crossing over another rotten fence, Junius dashes toward the location of which Captain Myra has informed him. Equipped with no other weapons but his hand cane, the silver-haired general takes out his pocket watch, and times his footsteps.

"The sudden outburst comes from the direction of the park, Seryu's encounter with the Night Raid assassins has just begun. With Hei's intelligence, some members of Night Raid are able to cause serious danger to Seryu and her Teigu, namely Akame and Bulat. In addition, it is not very clear how many Night Raid members are currently in conflict with Seryu, and knowing her sense of unyielding justice, she would probably take on all of them without any clear thinking…"

BANG!

With a rough estimate of his arrival time, Junius hastily increments his approaching velocity by another twenty percent. Any fool can easily comprehend the power of the gunshot from that thundering noise, but Junius takes it to another level.

"The only Teigu capable of making such noise is the Punpkin, which means Mine is one, if not the only assassin, whom Seryu is encountering. Hei's sources suggest that the power of the Pumpkin can increase with the amount of danger in which the user surrounds themselves. From the intensity of the last shot, it is not hard to conclude that Mine is in the disadvantage, which shows Seryu is currently taking the upper hand."

Leaping from one tree branch to another, the young general carefully lowers his own presence by immersing in the shadows of the buildings – even though he has predicted that Seryu is winning this supposed conflict, it is always wise to observe your enemies before actively charging into a battle.

He is almost there.

…

The situation is not very optimal.

With another shot fired at the monstrous biological Teigu, the pinkette cannot help but tightens her grip on the Pumpkin. The amount of mental stress she has been experiencing for the past five minutes or so has been overwhelming. Her Teigu is already working astonishingly – the last shot, which blasted off a large portion of Koro's head, was a result of a tremendous danger in which she has situated herself, but the undying monster just does not seem to give up on its unreasonable regeneration ability.

This Imperial Police Captain in front of her has already called reinforcements, which means a continuing fight will only result in a defeat for the two assassins.

Dodging another assault from the biological Teigu, Mine takes a step backward, and readies the Pumpkin into an aiming stance. The amount of momentum her opponent produces each time is certainly able to crush her bones if directly impacted, but without destroying the core of the biological Teigu, it is impossible to cause permanent damages on Koro.

The monstrous arm is swinging at an inhuman speed toward the sniper. If she cannot successfully dodge that attack, then her petite body will be scattered on the ground in pieces in the next second.

However, Mine does not seem to move.

SLASH!

With lightning speed, Sheele surprisingly takes another cut at the monstrous being's left leg, successfully offsetting its balance, causing it to miss its previous target.

BANG!

Another shot from the pinkette's pierces straight through the middle of Koro's head, creating a giant splash of redness in the middle of emptiness.

Of course, there is no need to communicate with words.

With so many years of battle experience with her best friend, Mine intuitively knows what her partner is planning, what role she should play in accommodating their assault patterns, and what risks she should take. She also knows, very definitely, that Sheele is not going to let her die so easily.

A grateful smile quickly finds it's path to the pinkette's face before disappearing in the next instant – her target is still standing.

"Don't you ever underestimate the strength of a biological Teigu!"

With great confidence, the Imperial Police Captain widens her smile at the ongoing conflict. She knows, for a fact, that Koro cannot be killed that easily, no matter how hard the two pathetic assassins seem to be trying at this point.

It will be done very soon.

Justice will be served.

There will be no obstacles this time.

The brunette cannot remember exactly at what time did she begin this adamant search for justice. Does it matter? She tightens her grip on the tonfa guns – no, it does not. It is her duty, it is her code, it is her ethical truth that is guiding her to this very day. Since that first day when she underwent the body mechanization, she has decided to become the defender of justice, no matter the cost, for justice is undoubtedly the greater good.

"If that is so, then I must take out the Teigu wielder first!"

Dashing out from Seryu's blind angle, a purple-haired girl swiftly ambushes the thoughtful captain with her colossal pair of scissors. The angle is aimed perfectly for the lethal kill, any attempt to dodge or block such an assault will end up with at least of pair of crippled appendages.

If she had chosen to wait until the reinforcements earlier, then none of this would have happened, yet the reinforcements would have taken a protracted amount of time to arrive, granting the assassins the chance to escape. That is why Seryu did not hesitate to charge into a battle with the two elites of Night Raid.

Even though she is about to lose a portion of what contributes her human side.

But does she really care? Nothing should stand in the way of what is ethically righteous!

Not even her own humanity.

Making the final decision, Seryu places her arms into a defense position, shuts her eyes, and awaits for the inevitable to happen.

CLANG!

"My, my, Seryu, please don't just idiotically throw away your own self, life is not that long, so you must treasure every piece of yourself."

The pain did not come.

Upon hearing that voice, the young captain reopens her eyes with confusion and surprise.

White top hat, white trench coat, white trousers, silver hair, black eyepatch.

A hand cane is placed precisely between the two blades of the Extase, effectively hindering any further process of the weapon. How it is able to protect itself from being cutting into two pieces from the Teigu is a question for another time.

For now…

"Gen – General Brutus!"