Chapter 17: Last Kiss
Tatsumi's Past
"Hey, old guy. What were my folks like?," a younger brown-haired boy asked his elder who looked shocked as he was usually not religious or appreciative of his surroundings or the history of his country.
The old man looked to the side, his eyes glistening.
"Your parents were quite the pair, Tatsumi. They were adventurers, just like you're turning out to be. Brave, stubborn, and full of life. They came from a land in the West, hoping to learn from this country the means to form an alliance to pluck out the corruption. Unfortunately, they were looked down on for being outsiders and were forced into hiding by a man whom the former Prime Minister enabled by sparing him when he really shouldn't have. He framed them for a crime and they were hunted down and killed by a man named Gozuki." he reminisced with a warm smile that was bittersweet. He thought of a pink-haired vixen and a brown-haired rogue as he said this- the latter having Tatsumi's green eyes.
This almost made Tatsumi not want to join the Empire, but the village was in need of funds and protection to support its livelihood.
"Why do they do that even though it means they die?," asked Tatsumi.
The old man sighed as he replied-
"It doesn't matter if you don't get acknowledged in the grand scheme of things. Just the tiny fragments of memories that make up a person drifting elsewhere give value to life by the little things that make their lives made it worth living. And it can be the fuel for the actions that eventually lead to a brighter future. We aren't defined by how glorious we die but how we live."
Tatsumi had since walked off.
Present
The "blade" shucked from Tatsumi as Najenda and Leone rushed to him.
"Tatsumi?!" Leone shouted, a look of genuine concern in her eyes.
"I'm fine..," he said before he coughed up blood.
Najenda then looked around to see where the enemy was.
"Leone can you-," she said before she suddenly coughed off blood and collapsed.
"Najenda!," Leone shouted.
Leone then saw a cold breath emerging from midair as she zoned in on that, leaping to attempt to scratch the attacker.
"What did you do?," she asked the person she couldn't see but knew was there.
"I didn't do anything. The weed has toxins in his family jewels that are toxic. He did and hid piles of bodies in his humble abode. The Great One managed to revive the countless brats the weed managed to have his way with using his authority. But the point is that she's going to die and you can't do a thing.," a malevolent voice chuckled from every direction. The voice was youthful and sophisticated yet full of malice.
Tatsumi squinted through the blur of pain and fatigue, trying to locate the source of the voice. His heart was racing and his vision swam with darkness, but he pushed himself to his feet. He had to protect his comrades.
"Najenda!," he shouted as he rushed to her aid.
"This is all karma for what your ancestor did 500 years ago. Or rather from the start. You see that your oldest ancestor didn't like the draconian ways the First Emperor ruled so you decided to assassinate him, but in doing so she created a dictatorship where the slightest hint of malice yet she kept something that should've been destroyed but ensured the country's demise. People didn't like that and the rightful heir managed to usurp them. Rinse and repeat with 500 years later when your masculine predecessor staged a coup de'tet- starting a civil war for those who wanted to punish Humans while the other side wanted to cleanse Evil Beings like me who "don't exist". It led to certain people trying to de-escalate the conflict between us. We just wanted our property back and our land, but they wanted peace...but he in his self-righteousness, had them captured and tortured by his descendants for centuries- a ploy set up with Fiend's assistance.," the voice explained.
"What the hell are you trying to say?," asked Tatsumi as Najasho and Wave nodded, agreeing to attack the enemy.
The voice then snickered.
"Showing is better than telling!" he shouted as a blinding flash.
500 Years Ago
They saw a man who looked like Najenda sitting on the other side of a table with two obscured horned females on the other side. It seemed tense and secretive.
"He's not at full capacity and the others would never agree to this. They just want to see you all extinct or tormented. But this has gone for too long.," said one of them- who had a more assertive, abrasive attitude.
"We just want the Brain- an akashic record, but one that causes this land to suffer mental instability in those unable to resist it. Your ancestors had noticed an increase in heinous individuals. The only way is to bring it back to our King.," she added.
"We won't torment you anymore, but you're too dangerous to roam free. You need to be kept at a certain level of advancement so it doesn't harm the planet. We just need the evil ones to thrive. We lack two powers to make us be able to live freely- the Tyrant with its power of evolution and the Lionelle- allowing for infinite regeneration. We can restore ourselves, but we need constant malice. It's not like we thrive on it, it's just a biological function.," the woman concluded.
The other then spoke in a softer, gentler voice. The women had swell bellies indicating them being pregnant-
"Perhaps we can find common ground. Maybe in a few centuries when relationships become easier."
The silver-haired man then smirked as he replied-
"I thought you were fantasies and you're nice..."
His expression then turned cold as he stated-
"But you need to answer for your crimes."
Suddenly both were stabbed from behind by a then-revealed Incursio user. The two women were aghast at the treachery.
"This is why Humans can't be trusted." the more cynical woman noted as she fell.
"Our children. Please let them-," she begged.
"No, you're going to be tortured till we find a way to kill you conventionally. Teigu aren't meant for slaying monsters. They're last resorts to punish trash. If those idiots don't understand this- then we can kill them too. By telling him that we killed them in self-defense when they tried to assassinate us, the fatass lose his will and he'll call off his attacks believing you're dead. Then we can go back to changing this country for the better. Dark actions for the sake of the world.," the silver-haired man said as the Incursio user looked grim. From the latter's perspective, the Silver-haired man looked demonic with oval-shaped pupils and warped facial features.
"Devi and that Fiend guy said it was the right thing to do, but-," the Incursio user noted before the silver-haired man snapped-
"You've already sided with us and traitors aren't tolerated. Now put them in those devices. We can't have these THINGS giving birth to more troubles. These Freaks are too much to handle in a fair fight."
The Incursio user shook reluctantly as he dragged their unconscious bodies as the silver-haired man looked on.
They then were tortured- their fleshes flayed, injected with deadly diseases, etc. as the silver-haired man took notes on their recovery in order to find weaknesses. The Incursio user was very self-loathing in his expression as he did this in the cavern next to the large brain.
Present
The scene shifted back to the present as the voice grew in volume and the invisible attacker grew closer. Leone's eyes narrowed as she felt the malicious aura intensify. She knew she had to act fast.
As a dangerous presence neared Poney, Yomihime kicked it away in time.
Najenda shook as did Tatsumi from the vision they had witnessed.
It shook them to their core.
"The... the Brain," Tatsumi whispered, his hand tightening around his summoned spear.
"Yeah. It does have infinite knowledge, which boosted your society, but it was tainted by the Great One and it causes people to go nuts- selectively so you goody two shoes can eliminate them. And the First Emperor wanted it gone for that reason, but your side wanted it. Disagreements rose and it led to his death...in other words, the reason the Empire is corrupt is because of people like you with good intentions!" the voice explained.
"S-shut it!," Tatsumi shouted.
"And it's all been taken care of if you just allowed the Queens- that's the identities of the women you saw by the way- just take back the brain- 500 years of misery would've been avoided, but you just had to let your senses of justice over your lost friends override reason and your ancestors took it out on these women who wanted to make peace, ensuring the fall of this country and a wrathful husband. That Incursio user was your ancestor, his descendants went to the West nation in shame of his actions and the silver-hair would keep them alive and tortured while keeping the descendants in the dark outside of stories of monsters underneath the capital.," the voice rattled on.
"Reminds you of them right?," it added as Tatsumi then flashed to Aria and how his friends had been tortured and how similar it was to the vision he saw.
"Tatsumi it doesn't matter! He's gonna kill us! We can talk about it later!," Leone shouted.
"Shrimp!," Najasho yelled.
"Tatsumi!," Wave screamed.
Tatsumi began to breathe fire, fly, and swing his lance wildly as he flew into the sky.
"Seems like you're broken. Easy to kill!," the voice yelled as his form suddenly showed itself- an armored white being with metallic wings- fleur tassels on the back of his helmet head, clawed hands, taloned feet, and sinister purple eyes.
"Arondight!," the creature declared as he generated a saber of light to stab Tatsumi from behind, piercing him into the ground to the horror of everyone- the blood gushing out like a red flower in all directions.
The others looked in horror, but
The pain was intense, but Tatsumi's resolve didn't waver. His eyes burned with anger and determination as he glared at his attacker. The white being then generated more energy as it caused more blood to splatter. This time Tatsumi's eyes were opaque and lifeless.
"Tatsumi!," Leone yelled as she dashed towards him, only to be met with a swift kick from the being that sent her flying into a tree, rendering her unconscious.
The others didn't even bother attacking due to sensing the overwhelming power this creature possessed, deciding to hide in the thick trees.
He then callously kicked Tatsumi's body to the side. The villagers then went inside, afraid of the attacker, while being ashamed of their cowardice.
The being then walked to an infected Najenda.
"You've always been a pain with that brain of yours. No more smart aleck tactics from you.," he said as he proceeded to use Arondight to stab her through the head.
"Why didn't you save them with all that time?" asked the woman as she coughed blood. Her vision fading.
"I can't lie. Because they were nuisances to our hedonism. It was better to keep them out of the picture to think they were dead so we could manipulate the Great One to our advantage. But your nation's corruption brought reason the moment the Emperor died and he became obsessed with getting them back along with his brain. But there's a silver lining in this.,"
"How so?," asked the woman before he kicked her teeth in.
"Oh my. Planning to blow yourself up? Can't be too careful.," he mocked.
"In any case. His heirs will be born- perfect for molding. So say the great Alba.," the monster explained before ripping into her stomach and pulling out a device that he flung into the sky, exploding.
"Oh my..," he said as he sensed Murasaki arriving. In a flash of light, Alba vanished.
The indigo-haired warrior then went to Najenda and tried to comfort her as the latter bled out.
"Things feel better in this country...what did you do?" the silver-haired woman asked.
"We couldn't bring back the dead, but we did the next best thing in allowing other versions of them to live a life they would've lived.," Murasaki explained, knowing what was going to happen.
"I don't get it but it looks like you outlived me. My bloodline is a bunch of fucking idiots...and I have a certain lech to reunite with. ," Najenda replied.
Murasaki's eyes grew grim as she felt the life draining from Najenda, holding her newly restored arm.
"None of us had an idea of what Justice was. Maybe in the next life, we'll finally see the world clearly.," she said as she saw a vision of the green-haired Lubbock as she fell limp.
Murasaki then turned to Tatsumi, half of her accepting his demise while the other half...
"Tatsumi! I'll do better! I'm starting to get what you're saying! Just please!" she begged in the Esdeath voice with tears in her eyes.
"Shuddup. I wanna reunite with Mine soon, but things are different... You seem to be getting it finally, dumbass...," he said as he got up and laid on his back.
Sorry, Akame, but..., he thought.
"Hey, half-Esdeath. You wanted to do this right? I don't have much time left...," he said weakly. The Esdeath half of her was bittersweet on the prospect, having wanted it, but due to her pride and nature, she could never truly have this opportunity. And the Akame half acknowledged his request as a friend.
Murasaki inserted herself into Tatsumi, his manhood inserting into her womanhood. It was far more pleasing than she imagined, but knew it was something empty, given the situation. She hugged him and went for a kiss.
They separated as Tatsumi gave a request-
"I'm wondering if we can unite like you guys did. Can I?"
Murasaki nodded, her eyes still glistening with tears. She knew this was a moment of peace amidst the chaos, a brief reprieve from the endless cycle of battles and deceit. She leaned in and kissed him, her lips soft and gentle against his.
Their bodies glowed and it was just Murasaki left with now draconic wings on her back and a draconic tail along with her eyes gaining slits. She coughed out blood, which seemed to be sentient as it slithered away.
While Tatsumi did request to be with Mine, subconsciously, he was drawn to them. She then cried as she felt her stomach.
Berli
The caskets had been opened and from the mutilated bodies, emerged a set of two-horned entities- twins as the leaders of the Black and White Factions crowded like vultures. Both desire to shape their ideologies into their faction's dogma. The Great One of the Center still surrounded in darkness gazed from the darkness. Solar-Flor's vice leader had replace him as the White King of the Plant Evil Beings.
"So, now are you guys finally getting it?," asked the leader as he looked to a Lionelle and a Danger-Beast humanoid, appalled by the torture.
"I didn't do anything because I thought they were dead. And because fighting the Prima Imperator was too big a risk to get my brain. But times changed. And you two who once shunned me, understand the cause.," he said as they kneeled before him. Tendrils emerged from him and attached to the two as essences were absorbed.
He glowed and then warped to the tortured women, his hands glowed as they were restored to normal. Looking at him endearingly.
"Nine Months their time will be 18 years in Hell. We'll be ready to conquer by then.," he said- his voice, ominous, solemn, sinister, and malicious.
Next Chapter: Trinity 16- The true purpose of the Teigu is revealed.
Author Notes: This chapter spells the end of the original Tatsumi and Najenda- having the revelation of their ancestor's sins exposed and dying in shame- with the former having to merge with a woman who caused much misery to him.
More importantly, with Solar-Flor, there's no schemes to hold the Evil Beings back from wiping out the Central Continent.