Akame ga Clover

by stringdog

Death is the end…or is it? Reborn in a new world where magic is everything by Fate itself to counter a threat that violated the laws of nature Akame and Tatsumi must first regain their memories of their past live and then fight to protect the Clover Kingdom from the threats that it will face but who will accept people like them? The Black Bulls of course.

16. Chapter 16: Execution

Here is the sixteenth chapter in this story released when I wanted it to be released based of my release process for this series. At long last it is time for the mission that Asta and Noelle will accompany Akame and Tatsumi on so there's nothing more to say about that as they head out to learn the full extent of what the Black Bulls do. That is all I have for the administrative stuff I have for y'all and there are no guest reviews that need a response or questions to answer so I will end this here. Do keep them coming as your support is the best motivation for me to keep producing chapters at this kind of rate. That is it for this pre-chapter note so it is time to sit back and enjoy the sixteenth chapter in Akame ga Clover.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.

Chapter 16: Execution

"Leave your Squad robes here." Tatsumi said as Noelle and Asta met them in the common room of the hideout. "You can't wear them on this mission."

It was the night after the trip to Kikka for their day off and Asta and Noelle were ready for their special mission with Tatsumi and Akame. It was to take place tonight and at the time that they'd said at breakfast, a time well after dinner so night had fallen by then, the new recruits came to the common room to find Akame, Tatsumi, Finral and Yami all waiting for them. Only Yami wore his robe, the other three didn't though Finral was in his normal clothes while Akame and Tatsumi wore long coats with hoods that had been pulled up over their heads, black for Akame and white for Tatsumi.

Neither of them knew what this mission would entail other than that it was a serious mission, something that Akame and Tatsumi often went on, and that they're presence on it been requested for it as well. That was strange but it was their orders, so they went with it for the moment. That said the order to remove their robes was odd because why go on a mission as a Magic Knight and not wear your robe.

"But I just got this." Asta said looking down at his robe. "I worked so hard to earn it."

"Why can't we wear them?" Noelle asked, she may not have wanted to be in the Black Bulls but after Saussy Village she'd begun to truly accept that she was part of the Squad. "Vanessa said yesterday that they were a good thing to wear around town as they are a crime deterrent."

"They are but this mission is one of the special ones we go on and while they are sanctioned at the highest level they are of a sensitive nature, so no Squad robes or insignia allowed and that includes your headband Asta." Tatsumi said as Akame bent down and picked up a bag at her feet and pulled out a pair of hooded coats like theirs, white which she handed to Noelle and Asta with the former getting white and the latter black. "Usually, it's just us who go on them, with Finral as transport, but as new recruits to the Black Bulls, the first since I joined just over a year ago, you are expected to participate in one as soon as possible so that you understand the special service that we do for the kingdom."

"What you do?" Noelle said as Asta begrudgingly took off his robe and headband before putting on the coat, which he was surprised fit him quite well and looked good on him, though Noelle was still hesitated. "What do you do exactly? We've heard vague things about it but no specifics."

"You'll see very soon exactly what we do." Akame said her tone serious. "But it is special work that requires us to not show our affiliation. That ensures the Squad is protected should we fail, which in our cases would mean we were killed during the mission, and we can continue to do our jobs without issues from those who would try to stop us from making the kingdom a better place."

"We do still do normal Magic Knight work as well." Tatsumi said. "But Akame and I, we have some special skills that make us some of the best at this work and we can do it without the need for any extra training. We're aided but a few others from one of the other Squads who we've worked with in the past, and maybe more in time will be able to join us but for now it's just a few of us."

"These are orders of the Wizard King himself." Yami said looking at the new recruits. "Only the Black Bulls and a few trusted others who share Akame and Tatsumi's specific background circumstances are in the loop about these missions so consider this mission your reading in on them. You will not have to actively participate in this mission or go on any others after it but for reasons that will be made clear at the end of your mission, should you want to remain Magic Knights, you have to be on this one. From what Akame told me this is one of the worst she's dealt with so bear that in mind when you see what you will see on this mission."

"The Wizard King himself sent us on this?" Asta asked stars in his eyes as Noelle noted the ominous nature of it, but this was a direct order not just from her Captain but the Wizard King himself, so she begrudgingly took off her robe, she was starting to like wearing it, and pulled on the white coat which surprisingly fit her quite well. "So cool. I can't believe he already knows about me."

"It's more as the new recruits but knowing that magic loving freak he does know about you already and likely has something else planned for you if I know him and I do." Yami said as Tatsumi picked up two brooms that were on a table off to the side. "Now head out. Tatsumi, you got the orders and have reviewed them I take it."

"Yup, read them when we got back from the pit yesterday." Tatsumi said patting a pocket on his coat. "I'll give them it when we reach the starting point."

"Good." Yami said as he took a pull from his cigarette. "Finral, portal now. No point in waiting any longer. Knowing what they're up against waiting any longer could be bad as we don't know if they have any commoners in their clutches."

"Of course." Finral said as he opened a portal to the same point he'd done so for Akame and Tatsumi a few days back. "Send the signal when you're done, both to me and Marx. I'll come to preserve the chain of evidence to him and deliver any living prisoners to the pickup point for them."

"We will." Akame said as she turned and walked through the portal while Noelle and Asta were a little disturbed by the 'any living' comment.

"Get going." Yami said to the others as Tatsumi made sure that they were heading into the portal after Akame before bringing up the rear. "And Tatsumi, bring them to justice."

"Always." Tatsumi said as he went through Finral's portal, and it closed behind him the moment he was on the grassy hilltop that overlooked the valley beneath them and the mansion a few miles away on the hilltop at the end of the valley. "Alright you two, do you know where we are?"

"No." Asta said helpfully but that was to be expected.

"Other than a place like that would have to be in the Common Realm I don't know." Noelle admitted as she looked around and noted the mansion in the distance which was something you wouldn't find outside of the Common Realm. "Where are we?"

"We are in the lands of House Highball." Tatsumi said as he pulled out their orders and handed them to Asta and Noelle in the scroll they came in. "Well former lands and house that is as they're our mission objective."

"Former?" Noelle asked confused at that as she wasn't aware of House Highball doing anything to merit stripping of lands and titles though she dutifully unfurled the scroll and began to read, Asta reading over her shoulder which would normally make her blush and confused but any insecurities she had around Asta were washed away as she read her eyes wide. "Oh…"

Warrant For Arrest and Execution

It is hereby decreed by Julius Novachrono, 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom, that House Highball and all their full time employed servants are guilty of high crimes against the Kingdom. These crimes include, but are not limited to, murder of citizens, abduction, torture, and assault, though a full attestation of crimes will be assessed in the ensuing investigation into the matter and as well as determining how House Highball was able to get away with this for so long.

In accordance with Clover Kingdom law and the powers vested in me as the Wizard King, House Highball is officially stripped of noble status and of any and all privileges that that had once entailed. Furthermore, it is hereby ordered that the former Lord Highball be taken into custody alive for further questioning of his crimes to learn the extent of them and to discover if there are any further co-conspirators other than the ones in his family and employ.

It should be noted that this order to bring him in alive is explicitly reserved for former Lord Highball. His wife and all their servants are to be apprehended as well for their own crimes, however lethal force is authorized in the apprehension of them and is left to the discretion of the apprehenders as to whether such force is appropriate.

The exception to this is his daughter and heir Venalia Highball. Her crimes have been thoroughly proven by an eyewitness and the veracity of the claims has been confirmed by magic approved for such purposes and under which no lies can be told. As such, it is hereby ordered that she be executed for her crimes and that her execution be conducted immediately upon her capture. This has been approved by Captain Charlotte Roselei who has also formally expelled Venalia Highball from the Blue Rose Knights.

Signed,

Julius Novachrono, 28th Wizard King.

There was an accompanying note that Tatsumi handed to Asta and Noelle to read as well as they needed to see it too and he did so before they could ask about the decree as it was prudent they saw the note before he and Akame answered any questions. Both had been shocked by the decree, which had the proper stamp that couldn't be forged to authenticate it and was signed in the Wizard King's own had, but they took the note and began to read it as well.

Akame and Tatsumi,

Thank you once again for your noble service to the Clover Kingdom and for bringing these heinous crimes to light. Lord Highball was a trusted member of the nobility who many felt wasn't corrupt or classist given his work for the commoners of his area and his wife's botanical skills but alas it seems that we are wrong there. I want him brought in alive, he will answer for his crimes but we must know the extent of them so that is an express order that I know you can carry out. His wife can be executed if you see fit and any resistance can be met with lethal force, which I know you two will not hesitate to use.

Venalia on the other hand must be executed immediately hence why I've already decreed it. Charlotte has been shown the evidence via Marx's magic and ensured that Venalia is at her home for this so that she can't flee and while Venalia doesn't know it, yet she has been expelled from the Blue Rose Knights with immediate and permanent effect. All Charlotte asks is that you remove her robe and bring it back before executing her, she has disgraced it and doesn't deserve to wear it but don't stain it with her blood.

Finally, as tough as this will be on them, it is necessary to both your two new recruits the full extent of the crimes of House Highball and for them to see the justice you will carry out on my behalf as this is the kind of stuff only the Black Bulls or those like you two can do. That is why I am ordering Tatsumi to execute Venalia Highball in front of them so that they know what it is that you two do. After that I will leave it up to your judgement as to what to tell them.

Julius

"Wh, what does the Wizard King mean?" Noelle said as she handed back the paper to Tatsumi who put them away again her voice soft and her eyes wide at what she'd read, as well as how casual the Wizard King seemed to be with Akame and Tatsumi. "By see the full extent of their crimes that is. What is going on?"

"You know how I was recruited because I tried to kill the Captain, right?" Akame asked and the pair nodded. "Well in the wake of that I was taken to the Wizard King and his assistant Mushroom Head, and the latter used some spell on me to confirm my story of being raised as an assassin as well as my desire to get away from my handlers. There is more than just that but for now all that you need to know is that part of the deal I made to avoid a lengthy prison sentence was to help take the bastards that made me down. I am a trained assassin, a killer who has no qualms taking life when I have to, and I did this to end them and the corruption because nobles who funded it."

"They did?" Noelle asked. "Nobles of the Clover Kingdom funded an assassin school?"

"They did and they didn't care that less than 20% of the commoners bought for it survived the training to get their grimoires." Akame said. "They just wanted trained assassins who would do their bidding and kill those who either stood in their way to more power or who they deemed to be acting above their station."

"Sounds about right." Asta said. "Nobles don't really care for us common folk."

"I, I can't deny that." Noelle muttered recalling how she'd felt in Saussy Village and the way she treated Asta when they first met, and still did but old insecurities took a while to get over.

"That is correct and in my case they used their money to hire sadistic trainers and buy kids strong in magic to forge them into weapons for their twisted goals." Akame said. "I was one of the few who survived, my magic is on the level of most higher ranked nobles for some reason, that I still don't actually know, and my attribute is, as far as I am aware, unique, and frankly perfect for assassination work. That and I have instincts that allowed me to survive what I went through, but I always knew it was wrong and wanted to be free. Captain Yami and the Wizard King gave me that chance and I took it. That freedom truly came when we raided and destroyed the training camp."

"And were the Highballs involved?" Noelle asked stunned by what she was hearing but the look in Akame's blood red eyes was telling her that it was true, the hardness there gave Noelle shivers. "In this training camp I mean. They are a lower ranked noble family with decent wealth and power but not enough to do more than live comfortably and that's about it."

"No, I was the one who put them on the radar of what we do when I beat Venalia in my entrance exam for the Magic Knights." Tatsumi said. "But that's to come. Let Akame finish."

"There's not much more to say really." Akame said. "We raided the compound, took several of them in alive and managed to get most of their records. We turned those over and then began to hunt down the corrupt nobles as they were identified. Didn't you notice several families or at least certain nobles vanishing?"

"I'm royalty." Noelle reminded them. "Other than houses that have Magic Knight Captains like Vangeance, Boismortier and Roselei I don't know the nobles beneath us."

"That also tracks." Tatsumi said not realizing that Noelle was covering for the fact that because of her failure to control her magic she was basically shut in her family's palace and not told about what was going on over the last few years. "Well, they have been."

"We took them down, with some collateral damage such as the Vice-Captain of the Coral Peacocks retiring due to her mother being the one who funded the assassination attempt on Captain Dorothy, and taking down those nobles who funded my forced training led to more and more discoveries of corruption." Akame said. "And as Tatsumi has similar training, don't ask as that will be explained later if you are able to accept what you're about to see, he joined me. There is a lot that you need to know in context, but we can't tell until you see what the Highballs have done and understand what we do."

"As for the Highballs specifically." Tatsumi said. "When I faced Venalia, she called me out for the combat trial by the way, she revealed her sick and twisted views on commoners right before our battle began. I couldn't let that stand and beat her so brutally and savagely that only the Black Bulls would take me, which worked out perfectly. Then, after everything was sorted following what happened when I first arrived at the hideout they were placed on the radar for corruption and crimes against the kingdom. Recently evidence came to light that gave us the go to act against them, that was our investigation while you were in Saussy Village. During it I learned that travelers who pass through here often go missing."

"And I found out why." Akame said. "The Highballs take them in as hired help, likely make them comfortable to get their guards down, and then kill them."

"They…" Noelle began as Asta stared at the pair. "But they're nobles. What would they do that?"

"Because they can get away with it." Akame said simply.

"Besides, you saw the decree and the stamp." Tatsumi said. "That is the seal and signature of the Wizard King."

"I did." Noelle said with a sigh. "Alright, I guess we just follow your lead then. This came from the Wizard King, so it is official."

"You do and our orders are for you two to just watch what happens, do not act unless you have to save one of us." Akame said as Tatsumi passed her a broom. "Hoods up. You're with me Noelle."

"Get on." Tatsumi said to Asta as he and Akame hopped on their brooms, opting for the sitting style as they had passengers who did as instructed and pulled their hoods up to cover their heads before getting on behind them. "Alright let's go."

With that Akame and Tatsumi took off and flew high into the air before making a beeline for the mansion as fast as possible. The stealth and sneaking was over, it was time to go in hard and fast and take these bastards down at last.

Noelle and Asta quickly grabbed their respective flyer's waists and held on for stability as they shot through the air. This wasn't what they were expecting at all as in the past the few flights had been more leisurely, but it was clear that they had to reach the mansion fast and were doing so with Akame just ahead of Tatsumi as they streaked over the town high enough to hopefully not be noticed and thus preserve the surprise of their sudden arrival.

"Follow me in." Akame yelled out.

"Of course." Tatsumi said as Akame pushed forward with Noelle clutching her tightly to get ahead of Tatsumi as they neared the mansion and he deftly fell in behind her.

Akame knew where to go thanks to her spying session a few days before and her assassin training from both worlds ensured that she could recall the locations of things almost perfectly. As such she was able to navigate them around the building on a wide arc so that they could turn and fly straight at the mansion and at the level where the study was. That was their primary objective given the evidence hidden there and Akame was making a beeline for the window opposite the door.

"Er what are you going to do?" Noelle asked as the flew at it the worry in her voice. "That's a glass window and this family is known for their Glass Magic, so it's probably made or reinforced by them."

"Glass can't withstand a Magic Bullet." Akame said simply as she held up her right hand and fired off a concentrated blast of gray colored mana from her right hand that shot through the air and at the glass window where it exploded on impact.

Subtlety was out of the window at this point and actually welcomed to some extent and Akame kept it up firing another shot that slammed into the lock of the study door and blew a hole in it just to ensure that it couldn't be locked. Noelle tried to figure out Akame's attribute from her mana color but couldn't beyond that it had to be metal based to have a gray color to it though there were some metal attributes that didn't have gray colored mana, so she really didn't know.

All of this was driven from Noelle's mind as they reached the now open window and banked hard once inside to avoid the wall and come to a hover in the corridor as Noelle clutched Akame's waist tightly. A few seconds later Tatsumi flew in and banked to the other side to hover looking down the hallway as he lowered the broom to the ground.

"No way they don't know that we're here now." Tatsumi said as he and Asta hopped off his broom and onto the hallway carpet, the broom falling to the ground next to him, but Tatsumi would get it later. "Keep your senses open Akame."

"None." Akame said as Noelle realized that they were finally no longer moving and slowly got off herself to stand on shaky feet before Akame did as well and just left her broom where it lay. "They'll be on us soon and waking any sleeping guards but with ki they won't get the drop on us."

"That was…" Noelle said as she adjusted her hood over her head so that it fully hid her silver hair.

"A swift entry." Akame said simply as she and Tatsumi both took point in front of the recruits and sensed for ki in the mansion and quickly picked up a few sources with at least two making their way to them from Tatsumi's side of the hallway. "The evidence in the room next to us is behind a bookcase and could be destroyed so we have to secure this spot first no matter what. Tatsumi, you feeling what I feel?"

"Two coming to us and one of them I recognize." Tatsumi said his tone deathly serious. "Which means that it's the head steward guy so the other with him is either a guard or the lord himself. I've got this, you head on to secure the others in the house starting with the noble's bedchambers. We've caused some commotion and no doubt guards are trying to get the family, make sure they don't escape but leave Venalia alive for the moment, she's mine."

"Oh, I will, our orders are specific with her." Akame said as her grimoire glowed and floated up next to her getting Asta and Noelle's attention as it flipped open to the first page. "I'm going after the mother, I think she's the person wandering around upstairs with an attendant who's just as culpable, I'll handle them now and move onto the rest of the staff."

"Good then this is hopefully the lord himself." Tatsumi said.

"Right, make sure to capture him, you've got the only capture spell here." Akame said as her grimoire glowed. "Now, Blade Creation Magic: Murasame."

"Blade Magic?" Noelle asked her eyes wide as the rectangular handle and then red hilt of a sword appeared from the pages of Akame's grimoire that she grabbed and pulled out the same way Asta did with his sword only Akame's was very different and one that Noelle had never seen before. "I've never heard of that magic before."

"And what kind of sword is that?" Asta asked his eyes stars as he saw a long, single edged, sword with a slight curve to it that Akame held in both her hands as it was clearly a two-handed blade. "I've never seen one like it."

"It's why I was sold; my magic is perfect for an assassin as I can created blades without a grimoire and bladed weapons with one while also controlling the sharpness of them so at their strongest there is very little I can't cut." Akame said. "As for the sword, it's called a katana, a sword native in this world to the Land of the Sun, a land far from this continent that I've never been to, but I am intimately familiar with this kind of sword, so I know how to use it. Stay close to this door and follow Tatsumi's orders, this is our mission you're just observing."

With that Akame sprinted off a lot faster than either realized she could move, which meant she was likely using some form of reinforcement magic, and in seconds she was at the end of the corridor and rounding it as she went after her own quarry. Asta and Noelle just blinked at that before they turned to Tatsumi as he kept his eyes on the end of the corridor.

"Er, so she can use a sword." Noelle said not sure what else to say. "I'll admit that I didn't see that coming."

"Yup, better than me in fact though she's basically only really good with a katana but damn is she good with one." Tatsumi said as the ki of the people he sensed began to move faster. "I'm more rounded and prefer the standard straight, double edged, sword."

"So can you give me pointers?" Asta asked his eyes stars again.

"Sure, when we get back and if you accept what you're about to see then I'll give you some lessons in swordplay, as will Akame when you're ready to handle her." Tatsumi said as two figures, one a fancy dressed servant the other a portly man in a fine light blue suit cut in the latest fashion with medium length brown hair shot with a lot of gray and a thick beard that was perfectly manicured. "But first I've got to deal with these two."

"Halt, you have trespassed on the property of Lord Highball." The steward said raising his hand as Tatsumi began to walk towards him as his grimoire floated up next to him. "If you leave now you won't be punished for your crime."

"Crime, funny word that coming from criminals and sadists like you who are about to face justice for those crimes." Tatsumi said as he held out his own hand, his grimoire flipping open as it moved to find the right page. "Thankfully, I only need the former noble alive to answer for his crimes, a personal order from the Wizard King that I can't disobey you see. You on the other hand, you I can, and almost certainly will, kill."

"Wait, I recognize that voice." The steward said as his own grimoire floated up, as did that of Lord Highball's but the latter's was clearly slower showing the slowness some nobles had with their magic due to their lack of training thanks to their naturally high mana levels though neither broke stride as they closed on Tatsumi who did come to a stop. "You're…"

"Yeah we met a few days ago when me and my girlfriend came here to make sure you were guilty now let's get this over with." Tatsumi said his spell already ready. "Armor Magic: Gibbet Cage."

Bands of what seemed to be iron appeared out of thin air around Lord Highball with one around his neck though not strangling him as it rested on his shoulders, one around his biceps and upper chest that pinned his arms to his chest, another around his forearms and abdomen, and a final one around his waist that pinned his wrists to it. Two more appeared on his legs with on his thighs and just below his knees as chains connected the bands that were now tight but for the one around his neck. Lastly a metal arc formed over his head connected to the metal band around his neck and holding his head in place.

"What is this." Lord Highball said as he began to struggle but couldn't move before his eyes went wide. "My, my magic, it's being drained."

"Useful, isn't it." Tatsumi said. "It's my binding spell and no I don't know why it's considered armor but who am I to judge it. That nice magical drain you're feeling is a little adaption that my magic has to it. You see, a while back someone actually broke free of my Gibbet Cage, that got real messy unfortunately as I like a good clean kills, so my magic adapted to prevent that. It's not unbreakable but against a low tier noble like yourself it will do the job perfectly."

"Just who are you?" Lord Highball said as his steward looked stunned at Tatsumi clearly stunned.

"I am the man who will bring you to justice for your crimes, as well as all those here who've committed crimes as well." Tatsumi said seriously. "You are lucky, my lord, you get to come in alive. The others, well they may not be so fortunate."

"Please, have mercy." Lord Highball said. "I've got a little daughter, she's a Magic Knight and she's here, spare her at least. Kill me if you must, murderer, but let my darling girl live."

"Mercy, I don't think you know the meaning of that word." Tatsumi said coldly his tone so cold that Asta and Noelle shivered as they'd never heard it from the older boy before. "And dear Venalia is no longer a Magic Knight, her crimes have come to light but don't worry, she won't be your daughter for much longer seeing as I have the signed execution order for her from the Wizard King. I will personally kill her; you have my word there."

"Wait, you, you're the legends that are whispered in the nobility." Lord Highball said as the last of his magic was drained and he was fully captured. "The people who come for those of us who enjoy the perks of our station and wrongfully remove us from this life."

"Wrongfully is the wrong word but yes I am one of the four who are whispered of." Tatsumi said giving into it a bit and adding. "Don't you lot have a nice name for us, go on, say it."

"Night Raid." Lord Highball said his tone fearful. "The murderers who appear in the night and kill or abduct good, honest, nobles like myself."

"Oh, how I am glad that you lot gave us that name, you don't know how fitting that is." Tatsumi said ignoring the man's lies because he was an evil monster that would soon face justice. "But I think I've had enough of a chat with you, time for you to chill for a while as we deal with the rest of this situation."

With that Tatsumi took hold of his magic and yanked the Gibbet Cage with Lord Highball in it towards him before moving it to the side and through a window with a loud crash as Lord Highball screamed only to yank it hard back and into the wall to embed it there. The former lord gasped from the impact and his eyes went white as he stuck there with a few trickles of blood running down from some minor cuts the glass had caused but Tatsumi just left it as the act had finally snapped the steward out of his stupor.

"You'll pay for that you vile commoner." The steward yelled as he leveled his right hand at Tatsumi and fired off a Magic Bullet to try and keep Tatsumi at bay his grimoire flipped to a spell he was likely about to use.

"I don't think so." Tatsumi said as he ran at the man and ducking under the attack so that it sailed harmless down the corridor to shatter the window at the far end. "You're crimes end now."

With that Tatsumi leapt up and flipped over the man, drawing his sword, and slashing it in one smooth move as he was upside down while passing over the man to cut his arm off at the mid bicep. The man howled in pain as blood spurted from the stump, but Tatsumi ignored it as he twisted in the air to land behind the man on the carpet in a crouch, his sword low and across his body while still in just his right hand.

Still yelling in pain, the head steward turned to Tatsumi who rose as he did and slashed up diagonally as he did glad that the turn had splattered him with blood from the man's missing arm. Tatsumi's sword cut through the man from hip to shoulder, bone and all thanks to Akame making sure the blade was razor sharp before they headed out, and eviscerating his heart in the process. There was a spray of blood from the sword and splattered against the wall and ceiling as Tatsumi finished his killing blow.

The steward was of course dead before Tatsumi finished cutting through him, and he fell backwards, eyes wide and blank, as his grimoire disintegrating as he did, to crash to the ground a growing pool of blood soaking into the expensive carpet. Tatsumi looked up, a hard look in his eyes and as he did he felt the ki approaching from the far end of the hallway and cursed, he'd toyed with these two for too long and a guard was coming.

"Get down!" Tatsumi yelled to the shocked rookies who were stating at what they'd seen unable to fully process it as until then they'd not realized just how merciless Tatsumi was. "Now!"

Both did as told and the dove onto the ground as Tatsumi threw his sword end over end down the corridor before he ran after it. His timing was a little off, though blood pinwheeled off the sword as it flew so he got some spots on his face and white coat, and the guard was already rounding the corner and able to avoid it so that Tatsumi's sword slammed into the stone wall of the corned behind him hilt first and clattered to the ground. Tatsumi didn't mind however as the throw had been a distraction for what he really needed.

"Armor Creation Magic." Tatsumi said as he ran, and his grimoire flew behind him flipping to the right page. "Hoplite!"

All Asta and Noelle could do was blink as they looked up to see Tatsumi's clothes had morphed into some unknown suit of what looked like bronze armor that covered his chest, forearms, and shins while encasing his head in a plumed helmet. Oddly, he was now wearing some kind of leather skirt thing with metal strips on it but all that was immaterial to the circular bronze shield and long spear that formed on his left forearm and in his right hand respectively though his sword's sheath remained on his back. It was a proper, full suit, of armor which made sense given that his attribute was, well, armor.

Tatsumi of course didn't notice them as he got his shield up and deflected a Magic Bullet away as he closed in and then with an expert thrust drove the spear up and through the guard's gut so that it burst out of his back as he planted his feet in front of him. The guard coughed out a spray of blood, his eyes wide in shock as blood ran down the spear and over Tatsumi's hand before he yanked it out as the light left the guard's eyes. The dead guard crumpled before Tatsumi, his grimoire vanishing as he did, and his body flopped to the ground.

"Well, that worked." Tatsumi said as the armor seemed steam off him, and his clothes returned to normal. "Gotta clean up though."

With that Tatsumi picked up his sword, tore a clean patch off the guard's shirt, and wiped the blood off his hand as best he could before he began to wipe the sword down as he turned and walked calmly back to the new recruits who were getting to their feet eyes wide at him. That was to be expected, they had just watched Tatsumi kill two people in a matter of moments without hesitation and he seemed unphased by it as he finished cleaning his sword and sheathed it before tossing the bloody cloth to the side as he approached them.

"Not what you were expecting." Tatsumi said as he reached them and pushed the doors open into the study to look for the bookcase that Akame had described with the pair following him in.

"Not at all." Asta said unsure what to really say as Noelle just nodded in agreement with Asta. "I mean we saw death on our first mission, but this is different. I never expected to see a teammate kill so swiftly and efficiently."

"In our line of work there will be times when life must be taken because sometimes to save people from evil that evil must be killed." Tatsumi said. "Akame and I are good at that, we don't hesitate to do so, which is just one of the reasons why we are sent on these missions because we don't have issues with killing when it is needed. It's dirty work but it has to be done and you'll soon see why lethal force has been authorized in this mission."

"I knew that death was an option, my brother made that clear to me multiple times as I made it clear that I was going to be a Magic Knight." Noelle said. "He's killed in battle, even executed as he has a spell that is specially designed for such instances, but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. Even after what happened in Saussy Village I'm not used to this at all."

"You won't be expected to be, or to kill at least when it can be avoided, but you should know that there will be times when you have to take a life." Tatsumi said as he found the bookcase but left it as is. "The lord here will be taken in alive, he won't escape my binding spell, but the others are fair game for death if Akame and I deem it necessary. Other than Venalia, who has the execution order against her, and Lady Hightower, we only expect to need lethal force when it comes to the guards as they will use it on us."

"What did they do?" Noelle asked. "I trust the Wizard King but still, to get such a response from him, they must have done something bad."

"Behind here is the evidence against them." Tatsumi said as he backed up and gestured to the bookcase. "But we need to keep it secure. Shame we don't have someone with something like Locking or Sealing Magic as that would be really useful now, if that even exists that is."

Tatsumi was unaware of the anti-bird that had followed them here via Asta's hair and was now perched on the bookcase looking down on them actually had Sealing Magic, back when she'd been human that is. She understood what the two older Black Bulls were doing and while it was rather bloody and violent she could accept it; she'd seen the aftermath of such naked greed before and was no stranger to death and blood so she got it, and she would have been useful, but it wasn't her time yet, so she just observed the trio talking below her.

"Can't you use your magic?" Noelle asked Tatsumi. "I've heard of Armor Magic, there's a mage with it in the Crimson Lion Kings and apparently my brother just recruited an Armor Mage as well so surely you've got some defensive spell that would work."

"There's a third?" Tatsumi asked confused. "Guess it's not as unique as I thought if another Armor Mage has appeared, could it be?...no it can't be, he survived unlike us."

"Huh?" Noelle asked confused.

"Sorry, just musing on something given who the other Armor Mage is." Tatsumi said shaking his head. "As for whether I can use it or not, as of right now no. My spells allow me to generate protection but only in the form of spears, armor on myself, and a binding spell, well a torture spell as well but I don't use that one. So far I haven't…"

Tatsumi was about to finish when he felt it, the ki of people downstairs moving around and he recognized one of them, it was Venalia, he'd recognize that putrid maliciousness anywhere even if he'd not been able to read ki at the time because there was nothing else here that would be able to match it. He swore as he looked around. He needed to secure this room and the evidence in it right away and then take her down before she could escape but he didn't know how to.

It was as he was getting a little desperate that his grimoire suddenly floated up before him glowing and opened, flipping to a blank page, there were plenty in it, and a spell appeared on the pages with a diagram of how it would work. Tatsumi grinned at that, it was a little complicated, but it was perfect for what he needed it to do right now.

"Woah cool, you learned a new spell just like Noelle did in Saussy Village." Asta said. "What is it?"

"A guarding spell, just what I needed but the tradeoff is that I can't access that particular suit of armor while it's active but worth it." Tatsumi said as he held out his hand. "Armor Creation Magic: Sentry Suit – Chivalrous Knight Style."

Asta and Noelle blinked as a suit of full plate metal armor in the classic fashion you read about in fairy tales complete with a large, two-handed broadsword and a helmet with the visor down formed in front of the bookcase as if it was just a decorative piece on display in the noble's home. The suit stood there not moving as Tatsumi grinned at it.

"Right, your orders are to stay here and guard this bookcase." Tatsumi said pointing to the bookcase behind the suit of armor he'd created. "Anyone who is not us three or Akame, er the raven-haired girl with Blade Magic, is not allowed past you to the bookcase. Defend it and kill if necessary, got it."

The armor, to the shock of the rookies, nodded at that with the sound of metal scraping on metal as it did. It seemed that Tatsumi could give it orders and it would obey them, not that either rookie felt like testing that out at the moment. Tatsumi himself nodded and turned to leave his pace fast as he walked out of the study.

"Come on, we need to go." Tatsumi said as he left causing Asta and Noelle to hurry after him. "I can sense it, Venalia is making her escape with the two guards that were on patrol duty, the others have been handled based on the ki I'm sensing. We need to move. Follow me and stay safe."

"Um what?" Asta asked as Tatsumi turned and ran towards the end of the corridor that the lord and his now deceased head steward had come down. "How can you tell all that?"

"Is your mana sense that good?" Noelle asked. "I've heard some people have really good mana sense so that would explain it."

"No time to explain but I'm not sensing mana now follow me but stay back until I have Venalia in my binding spell." Tatsumi said as his grimoire flipped to the front page. "Armor Creation Magic: Incursio."

This time the suit that formed on him was one that was really unique to Asta and Noelle and they just stared at the plate and canvas armor with a cape that formed over Tatsumi as he ran, complete with a unique helmet that fully encases his head, and had no idea what it was or why it was called Incursio. Tatsumi of course would explain later but for the moment he needed to get outside and fast, so he just ran as Incursio formed over him, a good quick change this time because he needed it to be quick before he reached the end and leapt through the window, which just so happened to still have glass in it.

"Did, dud he just leap through the window?" Noelle asked as the glass shattered, and she tried not gag on the mix of coppery blood and the clear scent of excrement that was in the hallway for some reason. "That wasn't open."

"So cool." Asta said stars for eyes as he ran after Tatsumi and ignoring the dead body he passed on the way. "Come on Noelle, he told us to follow him."

Noelle just rolled her eyes but did just that. She had no idea what was going on, this whole mission had been hectic and fast from the get go so at this point she was along for the ride. She just hoped that soon she'd get the answers she needed as she and Asta neared the broken window in time to hear the sounds of a brief battle finishing outside.

---

As all of this was happening Akame was rushing through the mansion and up to the top level where she could sense the ki of two people and judging by what she was feeling they were most likely both women. She knew one had to be the wife and that was her target, she needed to eliminate right away due to her crimes and Akame had to do it as fast as possible before the whole mansion knew what was going on and unlike her husband, the wife didn't need to be taken in alive.

When the order was given for a live capture Akame followed it but between her training and magic it was a fair bit harder for her to managed that when on a mission and her life was on the line. As such she often went for the kill first, especially with the more heinous ones, and as she reached the top level she was already prepared to do that. Tatsumi had the binding spell and would deal with the one they needed alive; her job was to make sure that no one escaped the mansion to evade justice.

That started with the wife of the lord who, based on what Akame was sensing regarding her ki, was walking along one of the corridors that Akame was nearing likely heading to her bed chambers and had an attended with her. Akame hadn't seen much of the wife during the investigation, but she was sure the person with her was the woman's equivalent of that fancy steward that Tatsumi had spoken to. Well, she was equally culpable if she worked here but Akame would at least try to not kill her unless the attendant gave her a reason to do so as she neared the corner she needed.

Akame was running at full sprint so when she reached the corner and rounded it so fast that she actually had to run up and along the wall, over windows that cracked, to preserve her momentum. This had the added effect of ruining any chance of surprise, not that Akame needed it as she flipped back to the corridor floor, Murasame out to her side and never breaking stride as she closed in on her target.

"Intruder!" The attendant yelled as Akame had rounded the corner. "My lady, run, she's here to murder you."

"No, I'll handle her myself, I've got a new plant that works differently on females compared to males that I can't wait to try seeing as we didn't get that couple the other day." The lady said raising her hand as her purple and green grimoire, which matched the purple long sleeved silk dress with green leaf-like accents that she wore, began to glow. "I'll…"

Akame didn't say a word as she reached the lady during her statement and slashed her sword across her body as she ran past the woman. The former noblewoman's grimoire was still flipping pages when Akame bisected her at the waist, cutting off her left arm just below the elbow as well as it was in the way, and the attendant let out a scream of horror as she turned to run back down the corridor and a no doubt back staircase that existed there as her mistress's upper body flew into the air in a spray of blood and gore with a shocked look on her face while her lower body toppled backwards as Akame ran past it.

The former assassin just ignored it as she closed on the fleeing attendant and brought Murasame down to her left side and at an angle to her body. Then, when she knew she was in range, she slashed her katana upwards at a diagonal across the attendant's back.

The attendant led out a gasp of pain as Akame cut her across the back and severed her spinal cord at an upward angle that paralyzed the woman from that point down and she fell flat on her face and slid over the carpet for a few feet before coming to a stop with her hands in front of her and head turned to the side. The attendant was breathing hard but alive as blood seeped out of her back to stain her dress, but she was clearly in too much pain to use her grimoire that was a still in a pouch on her lower back.

"What are you?" The attendant asked her breaths labored as Akame walked to her head and crouched down so that she could give Akame a side eyed look that had a mix of horror and confusion in it which Akame was expecting as she wasn't exactly someone you'd expect to find at this hour and with hostile intent. "A girl? You're only a teen girl? What the fuck?"

"I lost my girlhood innocence years ago, though my maidenhood is intact for my beloved so at least one part of me is still innocent." Akame said calmly as she moved Murasame to her left hand never breaking eye contact with the woman as she created several blades over her back to stab down the moment the attendant tried anything just to be safe. "Now tell me, how many servants are there? I couldn't get a good read the other day when I was spying on this place. Also, how do I get to their quarters?"

"Fuck you, you little fucking cunt." The attendant said her vile curses now coming out as she lay there spittle coming from her mouth and her eyes bulging. "I'm not going to tell a murderer a thing and if you think you're going to get out of this house alive then you got another thing coming. Go on and torture me you sadist bitch, I ain't saying a word."

"Unlike you and your mistress who enjoys poisoning her victims and watching them die, likely in agony, I am not like that." Akame said looking back and noting that there was a journal on the ground near the lower portion of the body which would be good evidence against the family before looking back at the downed attendant. "I don't go in for torturing. I am here for one purpose and that's justice. I never kill for fun or pleasure, that's what makes me so dangerous."

"What the hell are you talking about?" The attendant said now really confused. "Justice? This is a noble house; they can do as they please and the common trash that inhabit this kingdom should be grateful for the few days of luxury my mistress provides them before she graciously puts them down like the filthy animals that they are."

"They thought they could, but the Wizard King found out and I saw the evidence a few days ago on my last visit to this vile place." Akame said noting the flash of fear in the woman's eye. "Yes, I snuck into your master's study and found his little torture room, along with the brat's hobbies in the guest house thing and we are certain we knew what your mistress was up to, you just confirmed it. I reported what I saw in and now you lot have a kill or capture order that I was handed by the Wizard King himself. I'm sure anyone tied to a shady noble would have heard of the rumors that have been swirling for about a year and half now seeing as so many have died or gone missing."

"Night Raid, the secret noble hunting murder group that has those who enjoy their station in fear." The attendant spat using the name that had been given to Akame and the others over the last few months though as it was accurate she didn't mind it. "You're one of them."

"We are sanctioned by the Wizard King but yes we do that though we didn't chose that name this time around, not that I mind it." Akame said making sure the attendant knew who was backing her. "So that means that you're, how do you put it, fucked."

The attended growled as Akame looked down at her but Akame saw the thoughts going through her head via the older woman's eyes. This was an attendant, likely a commoner of decent birth who had the same taste for sadistic torture as the mistress of the house, and saw her position here as being above other commoners, so she was really screwed by all this.

"I see, well then I am sure that a deal is in the works." The woman said faster than Akame had expected which showed the attendant's true loyalties, as well as the pain in her voice. "You've got me with this wound so what can I do to be healed and let go."

"Oh, you're under arrest, that's final." Akame said bluntly. "You are complicit in the Highball's crimes, so you are going down with them. The only thing that will save you and get me to put in a good word with the healer who the Wizard King trusts is if you tell me what I asked. Do that and I'll knock you out so you can be taken in alive and then tell the right people that you cooperated here so they will cut a deal with you first before any other servant or guard taken in alive. That's the only way you don't get executed for your crimes."

"You really hold all the cards then." The attendant said and Akame nodded at that. "Fine, I can see when I've lost and it ain't like this noble scum wouldn't do the same to me to save their own hides so fine I'll cooperate. There are 8 people currently in the servants quarters which can be accessed by a narrow staircase that was made for servants at the end of the hallway."

"And where does it lead?" Akame asked.

"The kitchen." The attendant said. "That is the hub for us and in the back of the kitchen is a door to a corridor where the servants live. There are 3 guards there, they will be aware by now as we heard that window breaking so they'd be roused by the duty guard to check it out but they're comfortable here so they should still be getting ready. Other than them there are maids, two stewards, and a cook that should be down there as myself and the head steward were serving our respective household members tonight. There are other staff but they're either on duty like the other three guards or don't live in the house as they work in the forest around us but they all know what these monsters get up to."

"I figured that, and we'll get the records so that those not present can be hunted down by the Magic Investigation Department." Akame said as she held out her right hand to create a meat cleaver style blade with a simple metal handle, the blades that she made with her raw mana never had popper handles like Murasame did, but the metal part served well. "Thank you. Don't worry, this blade is dull, I can make blades as sharp or dull as I want, and that wound isn't fatal so you will be brought in alive."

"Wai…" The attendant began but Akame cut her off by grabbing the handle part and bringing the blade down on the attendant's neck right on a pressure point that knocked her out and would keep her like that for a while.

Akame didn't care what she had to say, the woman had told her what she needed to know and Akame got up from her crouch, dismissed the blade in her hand and the ones that had been floating over the attendant's back. Once that was done Akame hurried to the end of the corridor still carrying Murasame though she passed it over to her right hand as she moved.

It took her a moment to find the stairway but once there she hurried down not wanting to be caught in a narrow back stairway, and made it down to a small landing at the bottom sensing ki as she went to make sure there wasn't an ambush. As she did she passed others along the way that no doubt serviced the rest of the house, but she ignored them as she pressed on and then pushed through the door at the bottom to find herself in a large kitchen.

As an avid eater Akame liked kitchens but she ignored it due to the mission as she felt the ki of three people who were awake nearby and hurried through the kitchen towards it as there was a tinge of menace to the ki indicating that it was likely the guards. The ki was coming from the other side of a door at the back of the room so Akame hurried to it and pushed through it to find the sight that she'd been expecting greeting her, only more unprofessional.

That was because the three guards were just now staggering from their rooms off the long back corridor that served as the servant and guard quarters as Akame pushed through the door into from the kitchen with their grimoires out the and looking around. Their eyes quickly found Akame standing there with Murasame by her side as the blood that was still on it slowly dripped onto the floor. They shouted and rushed her in a near line which Akame just looked at before she ran at them with Murasame in her right hand.

Clearly these three were focused on close combat but against Akame they had no hope as the first came in range of her blade and brought her left hand up to it as she slashed it with precision born of years of practice, running past him in the process as he staggered a few paces. Then his throat opened up and spray of arterial blood shot out as he let out his final gasp and fell face first to the ground in a growing pool of blood.

Akame was of course past this at this point and already leaping to the side and onto the wall to avoid a spell from the second one. She easily avoided it and ran along the wall, slashing Murasame at him as she passed him like she'd done to the first guard only this time rather than cut his throat she took his head from his shoulders completely so that it flew into the air as blood geysered from the stump and the body pitched forward.

The head was still in the air as Akame leapt off the wall with Murasame in both hands as she raised it high over her head while coming down on the last guard who had stopped to prepare a spell but now look up at her wide eyed at his impending fate. That came a moment later as Akame brought Murasame down in a vicious slash that cleaved the man in twain from head to crotch in one smooth downward stroke as she landed in a crouch before him, coat fluttering from her movements, head low so her hair fell around her despite the hood over her head and blood coated katana parallel to the ground.

Blood spurted from the body as the two halves fell away, the cut so smooth and clean that the organs and entrails remained in their positions until the halves hit the ground and spilled out from the impact, as Akame slowly rose, the scent of copper and shit in the air one she new well. With a casual flick of Murasame to the side to remove as much blood as she could from it she walked between the pieces of the final corpse to the servants quarters making sure to avoid stepping in the gore that she'd left in her wake though getting blood on her shoes was unavoidable.

She'd dealt with the guards permanently as she should, they were a hostile threat to her, but she would at least give the servants, two maids, two stewards, and a cook based on what she'd been told of the, the chance to surrender. The ones not in the house would be hunted down later, mainly rangers and foresters she presumed, so for now she was going to focus on the remaining servants.

That wouldn't be too hard as Akame only managed a few steps when 5 of the dozen or so doors along the corridor opened and out of them walked two women who looked to be in their late teens or early 20s, two men who looked to be about a decade older, and a reedy man in his 50s. All looked down the corridor at here and went white as Akame came to a stop.

She couldn't really blame them as she got a sense of what they were seeing, the remains of the three guards, two of which were no longer whole, entrails, organs, and a shit ton of blood that was drenching the part of the corridor that led to the kitchens. That was a sight that would shock anyone, especially half-asleep servants like these.

Between them and the bloody mess of three dead guards was a short girl with long black hair, blood red eyes, and wearing a hooded black coat over a black dress thing with a strange red item around her neck that fell over her ample bosom and carrying a katana that still dripped with blood while she had a fair bit of it on herself. It was a sight that would strike fear into almost anyone.

"I would highly recommend that you surrender." Akame said to them in a detached, neutral, tone as they stood there though none had grimoires on them at the moment. "Because none of you are trained in combat and you can see what I've done to the guards who were meant to protect this place."

"W, what's happened to the master and mistress?" The cook asked.

"And the head steward?" One of the stewards asked. "What of him?"

"And our lady's handmaid." A maid asked giving the title of the currently paralyzed and unconscious attendant upstairs. "Did you kill them as well?"

"The former lord of this place should be captured by my partner as he was wanted alive while the head steward is likely dead." Akame said her voice still neutral. "As for your mistress, she's in three pieces on the top floor, I didn't have the time to be restrained with her and given what she's done she didn't deserve it. The handmaid is alive but wounded and out cold. You've got a choice, surrender and I'll make sure it was known that you did so that you can cooperate and try to avoid execution, or fight me and I don't hold back against people complicit in the crimes of their employers."

"Why are you here though?" The cook asked hit tone a little more defiant as the maids and one of the stewards fell to their knees to show that they were surrendering right away. "You come into our master's house and slaughter his men, what gives you the right to do that? Bitch."

"You know the crimes that the Highballs have committed." Akame said and the cook just nodded at that. "Well, the Wizard King is now aware, and he was the one who gave me the right to come here and detain or kill you lot. Me and my partner are part of the team he uses to bring down corrupt nobles and those who help them."

"Ah, well we knew this day was coming." The cook said as he reached up to his neck and ripped off a necklace that Akame hadn't noted there to reveal that it had a glass vile on it. "And unlike the others, I'm not going to prison, not with what I've done here."

At that the man shoved the glass vile there into his mouth and bit down on it. Clearly it had some poison in it, likely a poisoned plant knowing the wife's magic, and he coughed out blood from the glass cutting the inside of his mouth before he fell back convulsing. Akame made no move to stop him as his body finally stopped convulsing which indicated that he had died or was about to. Once it was clear that the cook wasn't going to get up Akame just turned to the last steward that was still standing and looked at him.

"Joining him in the afterlife or the others in at least living a little while longer?" Akame asked.

"I surrender." The steward said falling to his knees.

"Good now is there a way out the back?" Akame said as she walked forward, Murasame blunting as she did. "I'd rather not trek through that mess on my way out."

"The door in the back." One of the maids said pointing to the end of the corridor. "Takes you out back, we use it rather than the front door. What will become of us?"

"Likely a long prison sentence, or death, depending on what we find in the investigation and your level of cooperation." Akame said as she raised her katana and brought it down on the maid's neck to knock her out. "But thank you for surrendering, I don't like killing, I'm just good at it."

The others didn't get a moment to say anything as Akame swiftly knocked them out, sharpened Murasame back to normal once the last one was out, and began to run down the corridor past the cook's clearly dead body along the way. The door was just as they said it was and took her outside and placed her behind the mansion just as she heard a window shatter followed by the sound a spear flying through the air. Instantly Akame knew what was going on and she hurried around the house to where the guest house was as it was time to bring this mission to a close.

---

As soon as Tatsumi was through the window, no damage to himself thanks to Incursio, the spear that came with Incursio materialized in his hand as he looked out and down at the well-manicured ground. The two remaining guards were running over it, one ahead of and the other behind a blonde girl around Tatsumi's age in a blue Magic Knight's robe as they led her to the guest house that no doubt had some escape tunnel there. Naturally Tatsumi planned on ensuring that they wouldn't make it there.

Part of jumping out of a closed window had been to get their attention by leaping breaking the glass and they all turned to see him in the air bearing down on them with Venalia's eyes going wide. It was clear that she recognized the armor he wore from when they faced off in the Magic Knights Entrance Exam.

"Run mistress." The rear guard said as he turned, and his grimoire began to glow. "We can hold him off for you. Get…"

He didn't finish his sentence because as Tatsumi was in the air he cocked he right arm back and then through the spear down at the man as he'd turned to face Tatsumi. It took only a few seconds before it slammed point first into his chest and then erupted out of his back in a visceral spray of blood as he fell back to ground, the spear vanishing as he did and the grass getting stained with his blood.

Tatsumi knew he could resummon it should he need it, but he didn't need it as he landed on the grass without an issue and sprinted at the final guard who's grimoire was now flipping open as he put himself between Tatsumi and Venalia. It didn't finish as Tatsumi was on in before it reached his spell, batted away the grimoire with his left fist and then punched the man in the face as hard as he could with his right hand. The shattering of bones and cartilage was audible as his face was caved in by Tatsumi's metal clad fist which had the added enhancements that wearing Incursio granted the user.

As such the man was dead before he was blasted back hard and past Venalia, forcing her to dive to the ground to get out of the way, and at the corner of the guest house that they'd been running towards. His body slammed into it and then through it thanks to the angle he'd impacted at, pinwheeling it into the stone wall were it hit with a final crunch before it flopped to the ground where it lay in a broken, motionless, heap.

"Hello Venalia." Tatsumi said as Incursio fell from him in a cloud of steam, and he walked towards her as she looked at him her eyes wide in fear as he lowered his hood now that she was the only one around. "I see you remember me."

"You're that filthy commoner who humiliated me at the Entrance Exam." Venalia said as she pointed a finger at him her rage negating any fear she might have had at seeing him kill her two guards without an issue, not that she was any stranger to death herself. "I knew it, I knew you were evil scum and now you're here to rape and murder me just like the beast that all you commoners are."

"Nope, just here to do my duty for the Clover Kingdom as a true Magic Knight, unlike you." Tatsumi said as his grimoire flipped to the right page while hers also began to glow and open. "Armor Magic: Gibbet Cage."

Tatsumi's binding spell was faster and formed around the girl so that in seconds she was bound like her father and her magic began to drain. Her grimoire closed and flopped to the ground as Tatsumi used his connection to his magic to move her back and to the side of the guest house feeling 3 sets of familiar ki approaching him as Venalia began to curse and struggle in vain. Good, it was time to end this mission.

---

Asta and Noelle ran after Tatsumi to the broken window in time to see him throw a metal spear with a large red arrowhead like point at one of the two guards that was escorting a blonde girl with long ringlets in her hair. The spear killed the guard before their eyes and then Tatsumi took out the other guard with a punch after he landed on the ground.

"Come on, we've got to follow him." Asta said still shocked at seeing his Squad mate kill so efficiently but knowing that they had to go after him.

"How?" Noelle asked as she looked down, they were at least two stories. "Neither of us can…"

"We jump." Asta said with a grin as he grabbed Noelle without warning and hoisted her into a full bridal carry before he leapt out of the window and down to the grass below that would cushion his landing somewhat.

"Asta!" Noelle wailed in indignation as Asta carried her, her face bright red before he landed on the grass with an exhalation though he seemed fine, which he was as his strong leg muscles took the impact though he probably couldn't have jumped from higher. "Get your hands off my royal person!"

At that Noelle slapped Asta as hard as she could, which caused him to drop her on her ass on the ground as he complained at her actions because he was only helping. Noelle certainly didn't like landing on her ass, but the slap had been warranted, he'd carried her without asking, not that she minded being carried like that by him because she found she did though she didn't know why, nor would she tell him that, and got to her feet. Only then did they move around the house to find Tatsumi there with a bound Venalia Highball, the fancy clothes gave it away, right by the guest house.

A moment later Akame rounded the back of the house and jogged over to them. Asta and Noelle blinked at her because she was a bit of a state as there was a fair amount of blood on her, it somehow made her black cloths darker that was how they could tell, and she was still carrying that katana her odd magic made. Ominously there was blood on the katana, and it dripped on the ground as she came to a stop and held it by her side but clearly at the ready.

"Has the father been dealt with?" Akame asked as Tatsumi turned to them ignoring Venalia who was cursing in her cage as her magic was drained. "And that head steward for that matter?"

"Yup, the now former Lord Highball is in a Gibbet Cage and embedded into the wall by his study while the steward guy and a guard that came to aid are dead." Tatsumi said. "And don't worry, I learned a new spell that allows me to recreate one of my suits of armor independent of me and have it guard what I assign it to guard. Only thing is that I can't use the suit while it's like that."

"Useful even with that trade off." Akame said. "Which one?"

"Chivalrous Knight." Tatsumi said. "It's guarding the torture chamber you found in lord's study just in case the guards try to destroy the evidence there."

"They won't be a problem." Akame said. "All three are dead, I took them out as I went to subdue the servants."

"Ah that's good then all guards are dead and servants sorted so the evidence is secure." Tatsumi said. "And the lady? What about her."

"Dead, no time for restraint with her so I took her out right away." Akame said though she decided to not mention that she bisected the woman. "Her crimes will come to light, so her death was warranted. Her handmaid and the remaining stewards and maids surrendered, well the handmaid had to be injured first, and are out cold. The cook took his own life."

"Probably was more involved than the others so decided to take the easy way out." Tatsumi said as he looked to Asta and Noelle. "How are you two holding up?"

"Surprisingly well." Noelle said which surprised her, but she was just about holding it all together. "Other than the smell that is. After the first mission we've got an understanding for the underside of the Clover Kingdom, one I've overlooked, so other than the shock of you killing people it's not bad."

"Yeah though we still don't know what these people did." Asta said. "We trust you and the Wizard King but what did they do to warrant such a response from him?"

"We'll show you the worst that is here right now and you'll be with us when we examine the torture room's logbooks, so you'll see plenty of proof." Tatsumi said as he looked to his girlfriend. "Break the lock, show them the guest house."

Akame nodded as she went to the guest house and with a slash of her katana cut through the padlock on it, along with a good portion of the door, as if it weren't made of metal. It fell off as Asta and Noelle approached cautiously. Akame didn't say anything as she kicked open the doors and instantly the putrid scent of death and decay washed over them.

Asta and Noelle looked in and their eyes went wide in utter horror at what they were seeing before them. Inside was worse than the glimpse that Akame got as there was a small area of floor that was stained with old, dried blood, overlooking a large hole in the center that was a dug out pit that went deep into the earth.

The pit itself was filled with decomposing bodies, some just bones at this point while others that were on the top much more fresh with wounds on them from various implements or marks of poison. At the far end of the pit was an earthen ledge that had a hole in it, the escape tunnel that Venalia was going for.

The rest of the building had been hollowed out with large cages installed around the pit on all three sides that had bodies in them as well while various chains and manacles hung from the ceiling. These were where the wife poisoned her victims and watched them die slow and agonizing deaths, something she'd record in minute detail they'd learn, and still this wasn't the worst thing.

No that was for the three still hanging bodies of young, naked, women that Akame had seen a few days ago. Tatsumi breathed out a sigh of relief that the two travelers he'd seen in the tavern weren't here but still, the sight of three women dead was hard to see even for someone like him who'd seen this shit before.

One of the women had whip marks all over her body, another lacerations from some weapon that had left glass in her wounds showing who'd killed her, and the last had scotch marks all over her likely from heated metal. The wounds were so extensive that a cause of death could not be determined for any of the three women beyond dying from extreme torture.

"What, what is this?" Asta asked his voice low and filled with horror and his eyes wide at what he was looking at.

"The dark side of power." Tatsumi said darkly and in a tone that radiated fury at what he was seeing. "They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's not really true as there are those in power like the Wizard King who are not corrupt, but it does have a ring of truth because power does corrupt those who are susceptible to corruption. It corrupts those who believe they can use it to get away with such crimes and unfortunately those who can commit these evil acts are also those who will do whatever they can to amass power."

"I, this is horrible." Noelle said as she looked at the sights before her, her eyes just as wide as Asta's. "I, my family wouldn't do…"

"There's a difference between the classist attitudes of most nobles like your family Noelle and what you are seeing before you." Akame said her voice a lot gentler than Noelle was expecting. "This is the absolute worst of that corruption that exists. The people who killing, torturing, maiming, all for fun and a sick sense of pleasure. What I've seen in you as well as many other nobles is simple classist attitudes towards the common folk and peasants that have become ingrained throughout the generations. That is bad but it can be corrected little by little over time with the right people, that is what the Wizard King is striving for. This, this is just unforgivable evil and must be whipped out."

"I…" Noelle said before she couldn't take it anymore and rushed out and to the side to get away from the sight as she fell onto her knees and vomited on the ground.

Instantly Akame had turned and hurried out after her as Tatsumi stayed to talk to Asta. As soon as Akame reached Noelle she knelt down next to her teammate thanking the decision to have the girl wear her hood up as it kept her hair back and prevented it from falling forward and risking getting puke on it. At the same time Akame dropped Murasame next to her and put her other hand on Noelle's back and rubbed her softly there, a kind gesture that Noelle hadn't expected from the older girl.

"It's hard to see the dark, ugly, truth of the corruption in our kingdom." Akame said her voice low and kind as Noelle wretched some more though her stomach was empty now while tears flowing down her face both at what she'd just seen and the whole look she must have right now as a royal. "And we've shown you some of the worst there is. This is the worst I've seen in this lifetime, but I've seen worse in my past life, and we, Tatsumi and I that is, will see worse in time. This is what we do for the kingdom, we make sure that this can't happen to anyone else, and we take the burden of doing it upon ourselves because we can handle it."

"I, I just…" Noelle said as she turned her head to look at Akame to see nothing but sympathy and kindness in her red eyes which was a stark contrast to the coolness she'd seen there since she joined and made Noelle realize that Akame really did care for her teammates. "I know I look down on commoners and while I've accepted Asta it's still hard but this, this is something I'd never do, something my family wouldn't…"

"I know Noelle, you are still at heart a good person, I felt it in your ki the moment I first met you after Asta save you." Akame said though Noelle had no idea what this ki was that Akame was referring to. "You've had hardships that no one can relate to because they are masked by wealth and privilege but just because you were born to that doesn't mean you can't also suffer. It gave you a mask you still wear to hide your true feelings, Mine is a lot like that and I know you met her yesterday, but deep down you're kind and don't want to hurt people. Just know that you have a home now, one that accepts you faults and failures and all. We are here for you; your Squad mates are."

"I, thank you." Noelle said unsure how to handle this. "I've read you wrong Akame."

"It's fine, just ask Tatsumi how I was when I first met him, I was a cool towards him at the start, but I had good reason to be." Akame said. "In the past I've lost too many friends so it's hard for me to open up to a newcomer as they often die quickly."

"What do you mean?" Noelle asked confused.

"I've lived a life of blood and death where many who I loved and cared for have died, I even had to kill the person dearest to me to save her, so I had to let Tatsumi survive his first mission before I could be friendly to him." Akame said. "He did and without an issue against a tough foe, he really showed his potential then as he killed that monster of a man and came back alive. True he promised he always would come back alive and failed in the end, but I fell for him and fell with him."

"Er…" Noelle said now even more confused as she looked at Akame though Akame didn't seem to notice as she continued talking.

"Now, in this life things are different." Akame said. "Unlike before we actually have support from the highest person possible and there is healing magic so death may not be as frequent for those we love. I am sorry if I was cool towards you at the start, it's a habit these days and I just had to make sure that you were truly good Noelle, same with Asta, and you are."

"I don't understand most of that." Noelle admitted as Akame got up and offered her hand which Noelle accepted and Akame pulled her to her feet. "But I can't let this stand, I refuse to let someone like that taint the nobility."

"Good then use it to be better." Akame said. "Show what a royal should be like."

"I…" Noelle began but she was unsure what to say.

"Just think on it but for now it's almost time to end this, Tatsumi let's finish the mission." Akame said as Tatsumi came out of the place with Asta who at least looked better though he still had a look of horror on his face but there was a flash of determination in his eyes. "Asta, how are you?"

"I, I'm angry." Asta said his voice clear on that front. "That nobles could do that, that they could just kill people like it was nothing, like life was cheap and meaningless. It's like those guys the other day in Saussy Village and what worse I see that that girl is wearing a Magic Knights robe. We are here to protect the people and not do whatever that was."

"That we are and don't worry she's not a Magic Knight anymore." Tatsumi said as he patted Asta on the back glad that he was at least handling this alright, at least his exposure to this shit wasn't like Tatsumi's had been, as he turned to a still bound Venalia who was looking drained but still furious. "Venalia, you've been expelled from the Blue Rose Knights and permanently banned from the Magic Knights not that that will last much longer."

"How dare you speak to me you piece of trash, all of you are nothing more than scum here to prevent me from doing as I please as is my right as a noble." Venalia yelled as Tatsumi walked up to her. "I can't believe that a noble is even with you lot, yeah I can tell by the accent that the other girl is of noble birth. Hey, girlie, you disgrace the nobility by accepting trash like this and letting them defy their betters."

"No, you disgrace the nobility, we are stronger that commoners that is true and as such we are supposed to be better than them." Noelle said as her resolve came to her, at least in terms of noble pride and she glared at Venalia before looking to Akame. "Um, can I tell her who I am?"

"Yes, there's no one alive around to hear it." Akame said. "Lower your hood Noelle."

"Fine." Noelle said as Tatsumi stopped to look back as Noelle lowered her hood so that there was no doubt as to her heritage which caused Venalia's eyes to go wide as the Silva look was very distinctive. "You may be a former noble Miss Highball, but I am Noelle Silva of the Royal House of Silva. Even in the rankings of nobility I exceed you and I find your actions disgraceful. You shame your class, your entire family does. This is not how a noble acts and the Wizard King seems to be right in his judgement."

"You'll see that in a moment because I'll carry out that judgment shortly." Tatsumi said as he turned back to Venalia and unclasped the rose clasp of her Magic Knight robe. "First I've been ordered to remove this and make sure it's not stained with your blood; you've disgraced it enough as it is. You are no longer allowed to wear it and as misandrist as Charlotte is she is still a Magic Knight Captain of great skill who I respect, she deserves to have her Squad's robe back without it being ruined."

At that Tatsumi pulled the robe from the girl and brought it back to Akame. As he did he could tell that her magic was drained thanks to his connection to Gibbet Cage and would take some time to recover so he dismissed his spell, he wouldn't need it and as he did that finally caused Venalia to snap.

"Alright, you want me to admit it then fine, I did it, I killed those animals and many others like them because it's not illegal to kill animals." Venalia wailed as she backed up and staggered from the effects of Tatsumi's Gibbet Cage. "Peasants are nothing but livestock, worthless trash for me to do with as I please and those three weren't fit to look the way they did. One of those bitches had hair I'd kill for, so I whipped her to death for it. Another had flawless, smooth, skin that I could never have so I made sure to burn it and mare her pretty little flesh as punishment. The last had the body I crave so I had to mutilate her to make her nice and ugly. They should be grateful I spent so much time killing them and then pleasured myself to it, that's a high honor for animals like them."

"Wow I think even Aria wasn't that bad." Akame said as the girl finished her rant, and she took the robe from Tatsumi. "This girl has some serious problems."

"She's disturbing on a level I didn't think possible." Noelle said her eyes wide as she was sure she heard what she heard and really didn't want to think about it anymore as it was just sickening. "Is this what some of the nobility are like?"

"This is what the worst of the worst that we've seen so far is like." Tatsumi said as he turned back to Venalia who seemed to have exerted all her energy and was now panting were she stood before them. "Not all are like her but remember this Noelle, this is what some here are like and the attitudes that she just showed to commoners is not reserved to just her and her family. Use what you have, and will, see tonight to be better. Akame…"

"I know Tatsumi." Akame said as Tatsumi walked towards Venalia before addressing the others her voice serious as she made sure she was behind and between them. "Asta, Noelle, don't look away. This is what we do, you need to see this. Burn what is about to happen into your minds so you understand what is called upon Tatsumi and me at times."

"Venalia Highball you have been found guilty of murder, torture, and crimes against the citizenry of the Clover Kingdom." Tatsumi said as he raise his hand up to his sword's hilt over his right shoulder. "By order of Julius Novachrono, the 28th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom, you are hereby sentenced to death. I will now carry out your punishment."

At that Tatsumi reached Venalia and before she could do anything he drew his sword and cut her clean across the abdomen in a single downward strike without any hesitation that killed her almost instantly and left and arc of blood on the ground from the move. Tatsumi was bent down as Venalia's lifeless body fell back to lay on the ground her arms wide and her grimoire vanishing as she hit the ground. Tatsumi just rose to his full height and held his sword by his side, blood coating int and dripping off it and into the ground.

Asta and Noelle had seen him kill only moments ago but that had been in a battle situation. This was different as it had been an execution order against someone who was basically defenseless as she had no magic at the moment, Noelle could sense that. The bitch may have deserved it, even if Asta felt that it was a harsh sentence, but the way Tatsumi did it so coldly was chilling and the look in his eyes as he turned back to them and produced a cloth to wipe down his sword was unnerving. It really drove home to them that he was a killer and would do so when he his duty called upon him to kill.

"That is what we do." Akame said as Tatsumi sheathed his sword. "We did it in our last life and we do it now for the Clover Kingdom. As Black Bulls with no familial ties and experience killing we are the best out there for such missions."

"This, this is what the Squad was getting at." Noelle said. "This is kind of missions you go on that can't get recognized by the kingdom."

"Correct, they've known what we do since I joined and my mental block was removed." Tatsumi said as he reached them. "In the wake of that, the block was known thanks to Mushroom Head's magic after he used it on Akame following her capture where it was revealed during her interrogation, and we told the Wizard King everything about our past lives. Akame's block had broken earlier on and she'd not told him which is why she wasn't pardoned after her first year."

"I still don't get it." Asta said. "Why did she have to die? Surely it would have been better to keep her alive and make her make amends for all the wrong she's done."

"Because there are monsters like her out there who can't be redeemed, who can't make up for the crimes they've committed." Tatsumi said. "She can't be forgiven and while there can be discretion in some cases this was not one of them. If you wish to be the Wizard King one day then this is the kind of decisions you will be faced with."

"Oh, well…" Asta said.

"Take your time to understand it." Tatsumi said. "There will be that and the more you learn as a Magic Knight the more this will be clear."

"I get it, at least in this case." Noelle said. "Though I am still confused by a lot of things that you've been going on about recently, mainly this whole past life stuff."

"And the time has come to tell you but first answer us this." Akame said seriously as she looked at the pair of rookies. "Now that you've seen what we can do, what we will do when the situation dictates it, do you still want to be Black Bulls, do you still accept us as your teammates? Think on that for a moment."

Asta and Noelle looked at each other and did that. It was an interesting question and if they'd not seen what they'd seen to justify Venalia's execution and the whole stuff in Saussy Village they may have had different answers, but they had seen all of that and understood a lot more about the dark side to the Clover Kingdom now. This, this dirty work that they'd seen was something that the Black Bulls were tasked with at times and because of their position and skills Akame and Tatsumi were the ones who carried it out.

Despite all this the couple had accepted Asta and Noelle as teammates and shown just now how much they truly cared for them as fellow Black Bulls. How could they not accept them after all this, after showing them what they do for the kingdom and the burden that they carry from doing such dirty work.

"Yeah, course I do." Asta said with a smile at them. "You're Black Bulls like me, my friends so that makes you family to me."

"As royalty I cannot allow evil like this stand in the nobility." Noelle said with a flick of her pigtail as her old arrogance came back to her somewhat. "If you are the ones who are ending it then you have my support and as Asta said we're all Black Bulls. We're the failures, the weirdos, the Squad that is looked down upon but a such we are the ones who apparently get the needed stuff done."

"Good then it's time for you to be read in on the full extent of our backstory." Tatsumi said as he began to lead them to the mansion. "And we can do that as we look over the evidence against the lord. He's been taken in alive so that he can provide us with more information on his corrupt and evil cronies. That's how this works."

"That is good then." Noelle said. "If there are any other corrupt nobles than I want them removed from the nobility that they are defiling."

"So, what is this backstory?" Asta asked.

"One moment actually." Tatsumi said as they reached the mansion. "Akame, how bad is the servant's quarters."

"Bad." Akame admitted. "Had to be quick and efficient so the scene there isn't one these two need to see."

"Got it them I'll go and bind the servants now and meet you in the study." Tatsumi said. "Tell them the story."

"I will." Akame said. "My part is longer and more complex than yours so it's easier this way."

"Good, I'll fill in what I can when I get back." Tatsumi said as he headed around the back following the blood trail that Akame had left when she'd come out of the house.

"So, what is this backstory?" Noelle asked.

"It is the full and truthful story of how we ended up in the Clover Kingdom and this is classified information, you can't share it outside of the Black Bulls unless it is to one of only 5 approved individuals, got it?" Akame said and they nodded to that. "Alright then to start off the stuff I've been saying about a past life isn't hyperbolic or anything like that, it is true. Tatsumi and I, along with others in this kingdom two of which are on the approved list as they too are aware of their true nature, are reborn souls."

"Reborn souls?" Noelle asked as Asta just looked confused.

"We are not from the Clover Kingdom originally but a different world entirely, one in which we died during a revolution against a corrupt government and as a result, and for reasons we do not know, our souls were reborn in this world." Akame said. "Our tale began in that world when I…"

From there Akame told Asta and Noelle the full story of their past and that had been before dying there, being reborn with the mental blocks, and all that as they made their way to the torture chamber, another horrific thing for them to see, and gathered the evidence once Tatsumi rejoined them as Akame was arguing with his suit of armor. They did that as they looked over the books and noted what they had while Akame contacted Finral to get to the mansion which he could do as he'd seen the place. It was time to get the stuff and the criminals back to headquarters and let the investigation go from there.

Overall, it had been a productive and successful mission and as they gathered the evidence to take back to the Wizard King Asta and Noelle began to truly understand the pair. It was the last test for them as new Black Bulls and they'd passed it so that from then on they could deepen their bonds and they'd need it in the coming months for the challenges ahead. That was to come, as was some training for Asta as he really wanted it from the couple seeing as both were skilled in the ways of the sword, first though it was time to wrap up this mission as the Highballs were brought to justice at last.

Well there it is, the first (and probably only) special mission that Asta and Noelle will go on but they needed to do so and see what they saw at that mansion to understand Akame and Tatsumi and all that they do for the kingdom. Now they do and they accept the couple as teammates so they can grow from there and Asta now had a swordsman and a swordswoman to teach him more about how to handle a sword which will make him better. That first lesson is coming up next as the story moves onto the next stage but the final part of the opening phase of the story, the one where Akame and Tatsumi's past is revealed to Asta and Noelle, is over and soon the first of the three great threats that Asta and the others face is about to rear its ugly head. All that to come but that is all that I have for this chapter so I will leave it off here. If you like my story then please follow, favorite, review, PM, etc. it is all appreciated and helps me get better and stay motivated to keep producing more content and any questions asked I will do my best to answer both privately and at the start of the next chapter. Until next time.

Stringdog