Special thanks to Parcasious' story Fate:Kill that served as an inspiration for this story. Go read that story.
Hope was something that she never thought she would see again. And in a world of overwhelming darkness like hers, hope was puffed out like a burning candle in the wind before it could ever take shape.
But amidst the cheers of victorious soldiers celebrating the end of a dark age, the sound of church bells ringing in the distance, and the heartfelt cries of joy and relief of weary people dancing in the streets, hope had finally blossomed and stood triumphant over the darkness.
She could see it all. Weary soldiers falling to their knees, crying their hearts out as their struggles finally bore fruit. Poor friends and families hugging each other in relief, knowing days of starvation and poverty were at an end. Listless and resigned eyes now shone with life and hope, finally looking towards the future with certainty. A nation was no longer torn by strife, but united together in peace.
She could feel it. Down in her bones and in the pounding of her heart. A new dawn had finally come. The dream of a better world that she and so many others held was finally coming true. The history books were turning over to a new page, closing a dark chapter in the Empire's history.
And all of this… because one man shouldered the weight of all their hopes and dreams.
"When I first brought you to Camelot," He spoke tenderly. "I promised to one day show you a world full of life, a world without unnecessary hardship, and a world without conflict."
He stretched his hand to her, his smile beaming.
"It's here now. Do you want to see that world with me?"
It was a foolish promise he made to her on that hillside so many years ago. One she ridiculed as impossible, but one that finally came true before her eyes.
She grasped his hand, holding it tightly, and beamed at the man she loved the most.
"Alright then. Lead the way."
As they walked hand in hand past the marble hallways of the Royal Palace towards a new world, a wonderful memory resurfaced from the depths of her mind.
Standing at the end of a long journey, she could see things clearly now. The day they first met was the day everything began. Who would have thought that a random encounter in the middle of a forest would blossom into something more?
She smiled wistfully as she lost herself in her memories, hugging close to the man she called her Hero.
It was the tale of an Assassin drenched in darkness, and an Emperor who served as the beacon in the dark.
The story of an Assassin finding her light, and an Emperor who triumphed over the darkness.
It was a tale like no other. One that would go down in history.
The Legend of Akame Alys Pendragon and the Holy Emperor of Camelot.
Prologue: A Destined Meeting
Many years ago…
Her name was Akame, a seventeen year old assassin who only knew the path of the kill.
Sold into slavery by her parents with her younger sister, she was molded to become an Assassin by the corrupt and rotten Empire. Years of torturous training and constant bloodshed made her numb to suffering. And all that was left of a bright little girl was a sharpened blade crafted solely to kill.
Standing upon a hill of her victims, her mind, body, and soul were twisted beyond forgiveness and redemption. Even after defecting to join the assassin group Night Raid and dedicating her life to destroying the corrupt Empire, her life never truly changed. She killed and killed. She murdered and murdered. Standing upon a hill of corpses that kept growing larger. With hands that were stained deeply with blood that nothing could wash it away.
There was no hope for her, or a place in the better world Night Raid fought to bring. Only death awaited her in the end.
"After her!"
Akame blindly ran through the dark forest, the moonlight casting an eerie glow on the foliage. Sweat trickled down her face, mingling with the copper taste of blood on her lips. Sweat trailed down her face, while her eyes dilated as she focused ahead. All she saw were trees and shrubbery around the narrow dirt trail she was on. There was no end in sight.
Her heart pounded hard and fast. She could hear metal boots stomping on leaves and the distant shouts of soldiers chasing her. She glanced behind her, and saw dozens of distant torches lighting up the dark held by distant dark figures holding silhouettes of swords, spears, and guns.
"Don't let her escape!"
She took a step, and a jolt of pain shot up her spine. She covered her mouth and stopped a pained scream from escaping as tears pooled at the corner of her eyes and she continued on without stopping.
'Dammit,' She winced, holding back tears. 'dammit!'.
Another jolt of pain shot up, and she glanced down and saw a knife sticking through her stomach. Each movement sent searing agony rippling through her body, blood oozing from the wound and staining her clothes.
"There she is!"
'Shit!'
Her instincts screamed, and she swiftly tilted her head to right just as an arrow sailed by her and embedded itself in a trunk. A hail of arrows followed suit, and she narrowly dodged as she weaved through the foliage.
Then came the muzzle flashes. Automatic guns and pistols spat out a barrage of bullets. Akame quickly bent her knees and jumped up to the trees and narrowly avoided the projectiles.
"Fire at branches!" A voice shouted over the sound of magazines being replaced. "We almost have her!"
The firing resumed and bullets began to zip through the dense mesh of branches and leaves. Akame hurriedly jumped from branch to branch, her heart pounding rapidly, surrounded by the brief trail of light that followed the bullets zipping by her. A bullet passed by perilously close to her. A second grazed by and seared her skin. A third bullet sliced her skin and drew blood. A fourth tore through her pouches and spilled its contents.
Akame jumped, then let out an anguished scream as bullet lodged itself in her heel. She tumbled down uncontrollably through the leaves and branches and fell into the middle of moonlight forest clearing.
"Got her boss!"
Victorious cheers accompanied the sound of several boots rushing towards her location.
Akame let out another wail, her teeth gritting as the tears at the corner of her eyes threatened to spill.
'I'm not going to die today. I'm not going to die today. I'm not going to die today. I'm not going to die today-'
She pushed herself up, before another scream escaped her lips. The collapse pushed the knife lodged in her stomach deeper into her wound, and a puddle of blood began to form right next to her.
She tried to push herself again, but her muscles gave out. She collapsed to the ground, unmoving. The sheated katana she used to protect her barely out of her reach.
"Found you!"
More cheers erupted as her pursuers began to surround her.
Akame stared at her captors as they rushed into the clearing. There were four, then ten, then fifteen, then twenty. Those with guns aimed and pointed their weapons at her, while others brandished their sword and spears menacingly.
'No… no…'
She breathed in and out. All she could hear was the sound of heart pounding as despair creeped in.
"Never thought we would find the Akame of Night Raid stalking around these parts."
An officer stepped forward, his smile gleefully reaching his ears. He gazed upon an exhausted and tearful Akame.
'Go away. Go away…'
"You look cuter in person than in the poster. Don't mind if me and the boys have some… fun, before we turn you in?"
Gleeful laughter erupted.
"Alright!" The officer raised his voice and clapped. All eyes were on him. "Let's relieve ourselves and relax! Line up!"
The men began to inch closer to her broken form.
Akame closed her eyes. 'This world… is so cruel.'
"Not if I say anything about it."
The winds rustled gently in the air, before suddenly a burst of compressed wind made a beeline for the officer.
The officer spurted blood as the wind went straight through his chest. The compressed wind then somehow retracted out of his chest, like a soldier pulling out his blade out of an enemy, before the officer collapsed to the ground. His hands still twitching and his mouth seeping with blood.
The soldiers quickly zipped towards the direction of the attack. "What the!"
Akame's ears perked up at the sound of another pair of footsteps coming closer. With great effort, letting out a yelp of pain, she pushed herself up a little and turned her head towards the source of the attack.
A lean male no older than eighteen walked into clearing, his shoulders broad and tall. He looked like a simple militia man from a remote village; wearing a long white polo and gray pants with a breastplate and pauldron on both of his shoulders. But he looked disturbingly composed as he walked into a clearing full of armed soldiers.
"You son of a bitch!" A soldier aimed his gun at him. "You're gonna pay-"
It was a blur. In one moment he was standing and in the next moment three soldiers spurted blood from the open cuts across their next and collapsed to the ground.
"What the fuck! Open fire-"
A pair of arms were slashed off, followed by a scream, then the chaos began.
Screams erupted as muzzle flashes lit up the night. A head rolled here. The body of a soldier was thrown and embedded into a tree trunk there. Blood spurted from the chest as a blade of wind slashed through armor and flesh.
"He's too fast!" A soldier firing a gun shouted.
He tracked the blurred figure of their attacker killing his comrades and aimed his gun in his direction.
"And you're too slow."
Compressed wind stabbed through his back and emerged at the front before it retracted back.
The screams and gunfire suddenly stopped. The last remaining soldier blinked, before rapidly glancing left and right. A few seconds barely passed since the officer died, and now only he was the remaining soldier.
His whole body shook in horror as beads of sweat formed on his face. The clearing was littered with the mangled dead bodies of his comrades. Their blood and limbs carpeted the grass and dirt. The assailant had seemingly vanished.
"Let me go please-"
BOOM
A fist made contact with the last soldier's chest. The sound of bones crushing ringing in the silence of the night.
"After planning to touch that girl? Never."
The soldier went flying and smashed into a tree. His body was motionless.
The man lowered his fist, took in a deep breath and sighed.
"No matter where I go, all I see is horror and suffering."
The leaves underneath him crunched as he turned around and walked towards Akame prone form.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Please, let me help you."
Akame, injured and exhausted on the ground, gazed up at the man who saved her. He had blond hair and green eyes. And he sported a soft caring smile that seemingly showed no malice or harm towards her.
But was it really genuine? In this dark world, there was no kindness that could be found. Only death, misery, and corruption.
Regardless of what Akame thought, her twitching body could not lift a finger against him.
The man suddenly paused, then knelt next to her. His eyes gazed on the blatant wound on her stomach and narrowed.
"Stay still."
He placed a hand on his stomach, and Akame shivered at his touch.
"... who.." Akame rasped out. "... are you?"
"Just someone who wants to be an Emperor."
Blue circuit-like patterns emerged from the man's hand, and it rapidly spread out and enveloped her whole abdomen.
".. what are you doing-"
Blood spurted from Akame's mouth. Her complexion was deathly pale.
"Don't speak." The man sternly reprimanded. "Just look at your stomach wound and you'll see what I'm doing."
Akame shifted her gaze towards her wound. Even though her vision was blurry and darkening, her eyes widened.
The wound was… healing. The wound which profusely bled blood before suddenly stopped bleeding. And the red swollen skin surrounding the knife began to return to a healthy light skin tone.
"Here, bite this." The man slotted a handkerchief over her open mouth. "I need to pull the knife out to finish the healing process."
Akame weakly nodded, still processing what she witnessed, and bit down the handkerchief.
"On three. One, two, three."
In a swift movement, the man removed the knife in one pull with a sickening twist. Akame bit the handkerchief hard and muffled a scream.
"We're almost there." He comforted her. "Just a little more."
Immediately, the circuit-like patterns began to grow brighter. And the large oozing wound left behind by the removed knife slowly knitted itself back together. It was like watching a seamstress sewing a large gaping hole on a torn piece of cloth shut.
Akame, who watched the whole scene, remained silent as her wound healed itself.
"There," The circuit-like patterns dimmed then disappeared, and all that was left was a reddened patch of skin. "I'm not a great healer, but this should buy you sometime until we can get you to safety."
The man gently scooped her in his arms.
"I know you don't trust me. This world doesn't leave much room for a healthy trust between two people. But I healed you instead of killing you, and I hope that's enough to show you that I have no ill intent."
Akame wasn't listening. Her vision rapidly darkened. Exhaustion marred her features as her eyes began to lull to a close.
"Who are you…?"
"My name is Arthur Pendragon. And I'm going to save you."